IronStrange Week 2020

Day Two: Ghosts in the unconventional sense

Ironstrange Prompt #2, Tuesday
Ghost/Future.
Both filled.

Summary:
Tony and Stephen, still sharing a ship, track down an old SOS signal with little hope of rescue. What they find isn't what they expect, and changes things between them.

Notes:
Hope you guys like this one, and it's got a rough part dealing with some sad scenes. (That's the grief/mourning tag.) This is a continuation from the first one, as the rest are going to be. Have fun.

Stephen and Tony were a few weeks into an easy companionship when they found a ghost. However, that’s a little bit later, and can wait.

 

They did arrive at that space station a few days after their first encounter, and Stephen did decide to stay. Tony went and got supplies for two while Stephen stayed on board. They both knew that the alien’s wouldn’t be well received in such a crowded place. 

 

So Tony came back with a bunch of his favorites, as well as some of Stephen’s which came from a list he’d been sent to the HUD he had attached to his ear. 

 

And thus, they set off. Two days in, Tony finally admitted to Stephen that most of this lifestyle was waiting, and to find ways to combat the boredom. They’d both blushed at the accidental innuendo and moved on.

 

Now, nearly a month into their friendship, and after a rather lame item dropoff, they were once again waiting. Tony was draped over the pilots chair; legs hanging over the armrest and chin tucked uncomfortably against his chest. Stephen was on the floor, legs spread in front of him while he fiddled with a game console reminiscent of the Game Boy, or at least that’s what the data files on old Earth Tony pulled up said. 

 

A sudden, loud, bleeping filled the small room, making Tony jump and Stephen scowl when he lost a life in his game. 

 

“What’s this?” Tony muttered, swinging his body around to sit the correct way, leaning over and peering at the screen on the console, tapping the screen and swiping it up to display on the window in front. 

 

Stephen groaned and pulled himself off the ground, taking a few steps forward and dropping into the copilots seat to look at it as well. 

 

“Seems to be an SOS, similar to mine,” Stephen said, tilting his head while rubbing his goatee thoughtfully. 

 

“Yeah, but this one’s old enough to have a time stamp, and it’s pretty weak at this point. We’re quite close, when most SOS signals stretch far enough to take several days of travel, like yours, but the data has eroded enough that it’s only a few hours,” Tony explained, typing on the console and setting course for the ship.

 

“I feel like you’re simplifying this by a lot. How long does it take for data to erode on average?” Stephen asked, frowning.