Black Hole Heartbeat

Krakk - 70

The next morning, they held a memorial for Querius. Krakk had not slept last night. Neither had Rusalka. He had no idea about the rest of them.

They stood around his desk. Krakk had prepared his body to be sent home. Rusalka's small hand wrapped tightly around his, her head near his chest. He could feel her body twitching, her fingers squeezing. Donovan and Roka spoke fondly of their card games with Querius, while Lavell told of her discussions on any manner of subjects with him. Her voice creaked with sorrow. Most of the crew muttered niceties, embarrassed they had nothing to say. Serpe declined to attend at all. Isoline's eulogy surprised Krakk the most.

She stepped forward and stood straightbacked. She took a sip from the glass in her hand, then laid it down on Querius' workbench, leaving a water ring. The eyes of the room were drawn to her. "Querius was a dear friend of mine. The underappreciated cog in our operation, one that will be sorely missed. It is a rare event for a soul to come along whose mere presence enriches the lives of those around him. There may be those here who until his terrible death under the most unfortunate and avoidable circumstances thought of him as nothing more than a scientist, technician, engineer. All three. The choice depends on your experience of the man. But those who knew him, truly and deeply knew him, will surely remember him as something far greater. And those of us who knew him so well know no shame in shedding a tear in his memory, do we?" Rusalka gave a soft spasm in his arms and sobbed. Krakk ran a finger across her cheek to wipe away a tear but found her fur dry. "Would anyone else like to say their words?" Isoline asked. She walked away from Querius' desk and took another drink. "I do." Elizabeth said.

Her expression was dark. Jaw tense underneath red hair. Shoulders taut, arms stiff by her side. "A lot of you were on Tupurs with me, the rest of you heard what happened to Querius," she said, letting out a sigh that crumpled her. She turned to the picture of Querius which Rusalka had placed on his desk.

"It's my fault. I killed Querius." "Elizabeth, that's not –" Ana started. Elizabeth raised a hand to silence her. "It is. I know a lot of you are thinking it. Now I've said it. I'm sorry, Querius. Sorry I ever dragged you into this shit." Elizabeth's hard stare lingered on Querius' picture a second longer. Then she turned and hurried out of the room, Ana following.