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Everything Great About Comics
Space, 1951 - An Odyssey (Chapter 11)
02 March, 2010 by chris
Okay, so I'm super late. I could go back and undo the entire last post. But, I don't roll like that. I'm lazy, but I've got integrity.
Note: Despite the ending of this chapter, the story isn't done yet. Keep coming back at random intervals and there might be a page!
Space, 1951 - An Odyssey
by Chris Lawton and Mathew D. Rhys
"There's nothing here?" Kim asks, looking at Golden Rapid. "How is that possible?"
"There's nothing... nothing at all," he replies. He dashes to a machine and presses buttons, as words scroll across a screen. "Aquarius should be here. But, it's not," he says, panic entering his voice. His eyes are disconnected.
"What does that mean?"
"It means we're too late," he says, dropping to his knees in despair.
She goes to him and puts her arms around him. It's all she can think to do. As she holds him, her eyes drift over the viewscreen, where she sees a white fog surrounding the ship. It reminds her of San Francisco, where she was born. But, it's not fog outside. It's a nebula of water vapor-the last remnants of Aquarius.
Suddenly, she notices a dull beep and wonders how long it's been there.
"What's that?" She asks her companion, his eyes buried deep within her shoulder.
"It doesn't really matter" He replies.
She looks around the cabin of the ship, until she finds the source of the alarm. Releasing Mar, she goes over to the console and looks at the monitor, recoiling in horror. The display reads, "Malignant Radiation Levels High - Shields at 80% and Dropping."
"Mar," she exclaims. "Radiation is damaging the ship! Our shields are dropping! We're going to die!"
"Who cares?" He answers. "Aquarius is gone. It doesn't matter anymore."
She opens her mouth to respond, but thinks better of it. Now is not the time for a verbal argument. Instead, she moves to the control panel that she knows can save their lives. She turns the control wheel, to face the ship. But, she realizes quickly that she has no clue where she will take them. The nebula outside is so dense, she can't see anything.
"Well, anywhere is better than here," she says to herself and she sets the ship in a single direction and fires the thrusters.
The ship lurches forward, as it's propelled through the nebula. The fog seems never ending, despite how fast their ship is moving. Tiny asteroids-remnants of Aquarius-bounce off the shields, as the ship moves through.
Her heart leaps, as the nebula begins to clear, and she is once again greeted with the starry expanse of space. She glances over at the alarm monitor and she is overjoyed as she sees the radiation level dropping, and the shields rising back up.
"Thank goodness, we're safe," she says, turning to face Golden Rapid.
"Why does it matter?" He asks. "I'm the last of my kind. I'm an endangered species. My world is gone and I have nothing left."
"That's not true," she says, running to his side. "Mar, you have another home—one that has accepted you." She looks deeply into his eyes. "And you will always have me."
They stare into each other's eyes for only an instant, before they are drawn together into a passionate kiss.
"Come on, Kim," he says, moving to the panel. "Let's go home."