Anith: Beyond Space

08

Roxanne opened her eyes. She looked around, her head hurting.

"The sun rises to you," he said quietly.

She sat up. "Where are we?"

It was dark. And her stomach...she was nauseous.

He shifted in the dark, reaching past her. A blind went up, making her gasp.

"You begged me to leave Earth," he said quietly. "It is my duty to provide for you. So welcome to space."

She stared at the expanse quietly. "You just...moved us into space? I thought you said two weeks-"

"You informed me that was not acceptable. If you've changed your mind, don't let me know. Because it's too late," he pressed a button.

She couldn't tear her eyes from it. It was...terrifying. Beautiful, but utterly terrifying.

He sighed, reaching past her to close the blind.

"It's jarring. We'll be here a while. I have a stabilizer for the gravity, but you will feel nauseous."

Roxanne sighed, laying her head back down on the pillow. "You just up and left for me? Don't you have responsibilities?"

"Yes. I do." He said gruffly.

Roxanne shifted. "Anith...tell me the truth...this is an inconvenience. Isn't it? I'm sorry, I know it's the trouble-"

"Stop apologizing. You insult my honor as a warrior you know," he stood, "Assuming that I'm some...derelict, who does not take care of his family."

Roxanne smiled, closing her eyes. "Family huh? You barely know me."

"I know you enough." He mumbled, "Eat. I bought snacks, from Earth."

"Do you want some fruit? You should eat some fruit. I bought some bananas," he opened a container, setting the plate at her bedside.

"There are strawberries too, but I know you don't like citrusy before you brush your teeth,"

Roxanne ate her bananas. "You eaten yet?"

He sat down next to her, eating with her. Roxanne chewed quietly, silent tears rolling down her face.

"I didn't want you to see it. What's it like leaving your atmosphere. It's sad. A type of homesickness that shakes you up."

He wiped her tears. "It'll be alright, Roxanne." He kissed her head. "Everyone accidentally commits war crimes sometimes."

"I didn't...well-" she sighed.

He patted her head softly. "There there," he consoled her, "Everything will be fine. I've got you."

Roxanne chewed her fruit, not being able to taste the food, just the saltiness of her tears.

He shifted in his seat. "Don't cry. Do you want to go back to Earth?"

The stars twinkled in the expanse as they flew further from her planet. She closed her eyes.

"No...no I don't."

Anith said nothing, patting her one last time, before heading back to the controls.

Roxanne opened the blind, watching space go by.

"One day we'll leave. And we'll see the stars. You'll see little Rox. It'll all be better then."

She sniffled. "It's pretty, Mom."

Anith looked at his receiver, a crease in his brow. He checked the controls once more, before standing.

"Hey, Anith, how far are we from Iohiri?"

He clenched his jaw. "This can't be right," he murmured, tapping the monitor, he swirled around, pressing buttons, reading monitors.

Roxanne frowned, getting up. "Anith? You okay?"

He clenched his jaw. "This can't be happening. Everything was calibrated before I left..."

He sighed, closing his eyes. Before he left the earth's atmosphere. Maybe they did something to interfere with his signal then.

"Anith you're scaring me. Is everything alright?"

"What exactly did you do," he asked, turning around.

She stumbled back. "What?"

He shook his head. "They interfered with my controls. We're set for a course...but it's not Iohiri."

"Heh," she chuckled nervously. "What do you mean?"

"I'm asking, why your government tried to route us to a black hole. What did you do, Roxanne, that is making your people want to kill you?"

She scoffed. "Black hole huh? And you can't override it?"

He clenched his jaw. "I can't redirect the course electronically. I would have to attempt a manual override."

"Well can you do that?"

Anith looked at Roxanne. He had to believe in her. After all...it seemed like they'd be stuck in space for a while.

"I don't know."