The Sapphire Pass: All-Father

Countdown

Day 4:

Ophelia and James went through their final motions to leave the affairs of the planet in the best shape possible for Iago to take over until they could form stable and fair governments. They uprooted parts of James' garden making sure it was all secured inside the last container to be shipped out and would be ready to be grown hydroponically once they were on board his mother's ship. To end the day on a high note, they made sure that aside from the amounts needed to restore the remaining inhabitants of the earth, all of the White was destroyed en masse, with a single tree being left in the care of Iago and Indira.

James and Ophelia made it clear that Orion and his descendants would be in charge of making sure that it would be destroyed upon their deaths, unless their children required it in some capacity. Until the last of Iago and Indira's family line was snuffed out or no longer needed it, whichever came first, Orion's family would be their caretakers.

Day 3:

Ophelia packed the last remaining remnants of her life, taking things she found important to her development before and after meeting James. She went to the former barracks and took one of her old packs and several sets of dark clothes. Stopping by the warehouse and retrieving some paintings that reminded her of James, Iago and the earth itself. She also grabbed the green dress with the flowers that he gave her the first time he took her to see his garden.

James spent time making sure all the information for the Sapphire machines was destroyed. Back-ups, hard copies, redundancies, all were completely destroyed and unrecoverable. He made sure that Iago would follow his instructions and destroy the final one, for good. As soon as James and Ophelia left the system.

Day 2:

Ophelia opened her eyes for the last lingering look at her home. It was now empty except for the clothes and emergency supplies she carried with her. She made a physical list of all the things she didn't want to forget and checked off everything twice. She looked around the barren space as she stood at the counter trying to memorize every square foot of her life.

She smiled through her tears as she and James had their last dinner among family, knowing it was only a matter of time until she forgot what their voices sounded like, or what it felt like when they smiled and laughed with her. Their faces would fade until she only had an idea of a description of who they were.

She cried herself to sleep, waking several times in the same cold sweat as she had during all the nightmares she had before. Eventually deciding to stay awake and watch her final sunrise, home.

Departure:

Ophelia felt a lump rise in her throat. Her entire body seemed to get heavier with every breathe she took, and every step closer to the machine felt more sluggish than the last as she studied her environment for the first and last time.

That door squeaks if you open it too wide and the door knob is loose causing it to spin before it opens. This window rattles when the machine boots up, one of the foggers for decontamination whines when they come back through. It would never be used again.

The familiar sounds she grew up with and left behind willingly not so long ago, she would be leaving behind forever. Why did the notion of that pull her down so low when she once longed to be free of it?

Then she saw why.

The door at the far end of the hall opened, and Iago strode toward her with rushing steps, eyes full of hope and unbearable sadness.

He didn't say anything as he reached her, pulling her in close and crushing her in a hug. He pulled back for a brief moment, studying her face as their tears fell in sync.

"I can never capture those eyes of yours," he whispered softly.

"Actually, I have something for you that might help," Ophelia said with a small smile, pulling away and grabbing a large package wrapped in brown paper. "James thought you might like it."

Iago's eyes grew wide, and his tears became heavier than before, splattering on the light gray material of his shirt, turning it dark.

In his hands he held a large portrait of Ophelia with the moon in the background, making her glow just as James had seen her the night she returned from the rebel camp. Her head was turned slightly to one side, but her yellow eyes followed whoever dared to lock eyes with them.

"This is perfect, I'll cherish it forever," he said pulling her into another tight hug. "Don't forget, we'll meet again at the statue in fifty years."

"Yeah, I know," she choked out.

The promise he made her swear to the night before. The promise they both knew she'd never be able to keep. With the time difference it would be more than seventy years just to reach this point in time. One-hundred twenty years was far longer than any human could aspire to.

James nodded. Even if she couldn't keep her promise he would bring her memory if that's all the was left. Then he handed Iago a small drive containing all the video memories he had of Ophelia, including when she attempted to create chocolate.

"We'll see you soon," he said giving Iago a quick hug.

Ophelia held onto Iago's hand until it finally slipped from her grasp as she walked away. He entered the booth and pressed a button. The window rattled as the Sapphire machine whirred to life.

"Safe travels," he said through the comm, smiling brightly through his tears.

She nodded, praying that Indira would keep him safe as she wrapped a hand around his waist and comforted him.

Ophelia took hold of James hand and stepped through the portal one last time with a single deep breath.