Aurora ~ Chapter 1
 | Aurora |
- Aurora ~ Prologue
- Aurora ~ Chapter 1
And there will be such intense darkness that one can feel it.
Exodus 10:21
She had once been a great beauty, an elegant enchantress worshipped by King and commoner alike.
Without shame, she had ensnared any who dared to gaze upon her regal splendor. She had been adored by all, pursued by thousands, but possessed by none. She had been the impossible dream, the goddess who inspired a million hopes, launched a thousand ships. But that had been long ago. Long before the very ones who bowed before her had misused and abandoned her, her beauty faded, a barren shell. Now she was lost, alone and forgotten, her ruined visage carefully hidden from those who once groveled at her feet. Now, they only came for her tears, sparkling shards of dark crystal strewn across the endless velvet backdrop of space.
.
Captain Marcus Donnely folded his arms across his chest, his dark eyes fixed on the forward viewscreen. He had seen the images, of course. He knew the history, although most it had now passed into the realm of myth, and somehow the loss still felt personal. He supposed it was some sort of racial memory. Or perhaps it was his love of history that guided him to visit this remote area of space whenever the opportunity presented itself. The corner of his well shaped lips twitched in an ironic smile. Sentimentality wasn’t his style. Perhaps it was just his age. Soon it would be time for him to retire and the thought weighted heavily on his mind. He was tired. He must be, to give in to such poetic turns of thought. He realized with a start that he was no longer alone.
“Callie. How long have you been standing there?
“Only a few moments.” The woman’s voice was deep and throaty, what an earlier time would have dubbed a ‘whisky voice’. “You should get some rest. Your shift has been over for quite some time.”
Donnely ran a scarred hand over his short clipped greying hair. “I just wanted to watch our approach. Does that make me a foolish old man, Doctor?”
The blonde laughed softly. “Foolish, no. Old, definitely not! A romantic…..I think so…but I won’t tell anyone.”
“Yeah, I’d appreciate that. Can’t have the crew thinking I’m going soft.”
“I don’t think you have to worry, Captain.”
“It’s quiet”
Callie cocked her head and listened to the steady hum of activity that was ever present on the Althea Jerome. Somewhere a metallic clatter echoed through the deck as someone dropped a tray or tool. She smiled. “Only you could call it quiet, Marcus.”
“No Ion Drive. I knew the minute she dropped out of the hyper-sphere”.
“Most people don’t even notice the Ion Drive”
“Well,” Donnely patted the bulkhead as one might a beloved pet, “we’ve been together a long time. I know all her moods at this point.”
