Orpheus

8

Olivia, Owen, and Pratham were still asleep when Riley finished freshening up. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to make her way towards Sector 11 to grab something to bite. As she walked through the gym in Sector 10, her gaze fell on her reflection on the huge glass panels on the sides, before focussing on the sight just beyond: The Earth with its blue hue kissing the darkness. Riley couldn't help but be in awe; the diamonds of the night seemed to compliment the clouds.

She was in space, away from home, about to journey further than any human had ever dared to go, and that frightened her to a certain extent.

Frightened her, yes. But also thrilled her to a certain degree.

After an eternity she tore her gaze from the longing Earth and continued walking towards the kitchen. She reached Sector 11 and found that she was not alone; Connor was sitting there, eating what seemed to be a sandwich.

Realizing the fact that she and Connor were alone in the kitchen made Riley a little more tense than she'd like to admit; she still wasn't sure what her feelings for Connor were. A few months after they both met during their mission training, they'd begun dating, but ultimately it didn't work out; Riley had been the one to end the relationship. She wouldn't say it ended badly, but it had ended anti-climatically. And suffice to say, there were a bunch of loose ends, one of them being her inability to know what she felt.

'Well,' Riley thought, 'If you're going to be spending the last leg of your life with these people, might as well forget about the bullshit.' Besides, her grumbling stomach would soon grow loud enough for him to hear; might as well make her presence known.

She walked to the food counter, got herself a sandwich, and began walking towards the table. Diplomacy would be the best weapon of choice, she decided, so she began with a simple "Hey."

Connor shifted his dark irises from his sandwich over to Riley. There was something about those eyes, dark and unrevealing like a black hole, hiding a singularity inside. "Hey Riley."

There was a palpable tension in the air, like ozone. "So... How are ya taking all of this?" she asked sitting opposite to him.

Connor's still face, though pale with jet black hair, showed a hint of humanity. "Surprisingly well actually." He smiled a bit, which made a small part of her heart melancholic. "What about you?"

Riley didn't know how to answer, in part because she didn't know the answer; part of her wanted to embrace the stars and complete the mission, while the other was screaming at her to jump back and kiss the dirt.

"Good, I guess. Olivia seems to be taking it far worse."

"That I can't deny." he replied, but there was an undercurrent of coldness to his voice at the mention of Olivia "Hope she gets over it fast; can't have her compromising the mission."

There was a small, yet comforting silence afterwards, until Connor asked: "How are the incubators coming up?"

"This place was built for stuff like this, so most of the work is already done. Three population bombs for each of the three planets; enough to start a colony."

"And how do you feel about that?" he asked as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Leaving the people on Earth to die?"

Riley noticed that he was staring at her seriously; it seemed like this was a test of sorts.

She straightened up. "Well, if I'm being honest... I don't know. I guess it's a necessary evil. Just like how they're willing to send us on a suicide mission if our planets are inhospitable."

Connor looked at her for a second, before smirked and looked down.

"What?" Asked Riley.

"Nothing... It was about the suicide part."

"So, you're not the least bit concerned that your planet won't be the one?"

"Look Riley," he said with a pleasant smile, leaning back "nature is never evil. It may be hard, frightening, formidable. But never evil. Even if my planet isn't the one, the cryopod would be enough to stretch the rest of my days in peace, but I highly doubt that'll be necessary."

'How is he so-'

Riley's thoughts were interrupted when Elise suddenly stepped out of the on-board cultivation area, her hands muddy. It looked like she was busy with the plants that morning. "Morning Riles!" she greeted, before turning to Connor. "Connor." she said with a nod of acknowledgment.

"Elise." he replied with a catatonic nod of his own. It appeared Connor had retreated back to his emotionless shell of responsibility. "Wake the others up; it's time we discussed our trajectory."