A build up chapter to the part one Finale. Everything here has a purpose.

November 26th 1972.

Sandra awoke to a chill. Not a cold chill but more of an absence where something warm should be. She pulled herself out of bed. Jason was standing near the balcony, looking out towards the sea.

“Same dream?” she asked.

“Same dream.”

“You still haven’t told me what it’s about,” she said pulling herself out of bed.

“If I tell you, do you promise not to laugh?”

“Promise.”

“I… I keep having this dream of us. Only we’re not us. We’re other people.”

“Oh? And who am I?”

“You’re always this girl. This kind, fun loving person. And I’m always an angry cynical man. Always alone. But you always end up finding me and breaking the ice.”

“Really? You make me sound so noble,” she smiled, “Where was it this time?”

“I was… er we were in a school in some far off future. I was alone sitting all by myself. I wanted to be alone but you just wouldn’t stop. You kept showing up with the same smile on your face every time and asking me if I wanted company. I said no of course but you sat down anyway.”

“What happened next?”

“Well… we ended up becoming friends and then one day after school we just…”

“Just what?” she smiled smugly.

“We just…we… you… you kissed me. Just like the first time we met.”

“You always were withdrawn,” Sandra laughed.

“Well I’m lucky you were there.”

She stood up and walked over to him, “Yes you were.”

***

February 25th 2413.

“So what’re we doing today?” Spitfire bounced.

I sighed, “Where are we? What do you think we’re gonna do today?”

“I don’t know,” she said cheerfully.

“We’re hiking,” I said, “We’re gonna ascend El Capitan.”

“Can I fly?”

“No.”

“Ugh, fine. How long until we get there?”

“See that rock?” I pointed. El Capitan.

“Yeah. Why?”

“That’s where we’re going.”

“All the way up there?!”

“Yeah,” I smirked, “Why?”

“But that’s so far!”

I smirked and hefted my bag, “Well then we better get going then.”

“What’re you trying to do? Kill me?”

I stood up and started walking, “I thought you were in the Wonderbolts.”

“Well we don’t do hikes like this on a daily basis,” she said as she followed.

“Oh don’t give me that,” I said as we hiked along the trail. The view around us was pretty stunning. The trees were green, the birds were chirping, everything was right. And to our right was El Capitan, the rock we’d soon be ascending.

“I mean look at you. You have the toned body of an Olympian. A hike shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

“What’s an Olympian?”

“They’re the best athletes in the system. They compete at a competition every four years to see who the best of the best is.”

“That sounds like something I could get behind,” she grinned, “But why don’t you compete?”

“Because I could destroy everyone at it. Plus I’m pretty sure that androids aren’t allowed to compete.”

“Oh. How come Gin and Dane didn’t have to come with us?”

“Gin went to a wine tasting and Dane went to the beach. And considering we’re in California and Yosemite National Park is nice this time of year I figured why not visit it?”

“Ugh, but that rock is so far away!”

“Which is why we should get going. Dane said that the weather would be great today and I don’t want to waste it.”

“But I’m gonna be so tired. I can think of a few other things we can do that are more fun and just as tiring. Plus we don’t have to go out into a forest to do it. Not unless you want to…” she said with a sly grin.

“What’re you getting at…?” I turned. She had her lips with a naughty grin on her face. I turned red.

“You know, you do a good tomato impression,” she laughed.

“Wow Spitfire, wow.”

“What? You mean to say you wouldn’t enjoy it?”

“Oh fuck you!”

“You really wanna?”

“I-gah-er- ugh! You are unbelievable!” I fumed and stomped off. I wasn’t angry so much as I was embarrassed. What the hell did this girl have? A remote to my EM centers probably.

“Love you too Jett!” she laughed and followed, “Guess you are a little scared of some T and A!”

“Oh hop off me!” I laughed and started running.

“Hey wait up!”

We started coming on a different part of the trail. It was newer than the others and ran up along the river. It seemed like a shortcut to the rock and probably was. I took it and ran up it.

“Aw come on! Don’t make me chase you up hill!”

“Then stop chasing me and I’ll stop running!”

“Not a chance!”

***

Nightshade was an interesting girl. More so than most realized. The Shadowbolts captain was certainly a two sided coin.

She bore a striking resemblance to her sister, Spitfire. The only major difference between the two was that Nightshade was slightly paler than her younger sister and had dark blue hair instead of her sister’s orange.

A bit more violent and prone to act on those impulses than her sister she fit in perfectly with the Shadowbolts. Though there was a bit of resentment that came with the position. She’d only gotten it due to being second to her sister.

Tempest Wind had given the Wonderbolts’ Captain’s position to Spitfire instead of her. She remained as number 2 to her sister. Her little sister.

Though she had fought a bit of jealousy at first she managed to get it under control and resume a working relationship with her sister. But she always felt like number 2.

That is until Princess Luna came along and offered her the position of Captain in the new flight team she was forming. She gladly accepted the position at the cost of leaving the Wonderbolts short another flier. Spitfire was sad to see her go but had been supportive of her endeavor. After she left the team was short three instead of just two. Along with Nighthawk and Eagle Eye, she was the third to leave the team in over a year. Ever since then the Wonderbolts had been looking for adequate fliers with pilot experience. There was one up and coming rookie named Rainbow Dash that could easily fill one of the spots but she was still under review.

But that was another story. Nightshade led the new team with dignity and respect and held a tight leash on the team. All sorts of fliers made up her new team. A few of them even being a few criminals who’d been fast and lucky enough to be pardoned by Princess Luna in exchange for joining. Though there was still and intense rivalry that was almost borderline hatred between the two teams Night felt that she had her team under control. Things were looking good for her. She even started talking to her dad again.

Until six weeks ago.

Six weeks ago was when her little Sis dropped off the face of the world and had not been seen since. She hadn’t even found out about it until she got a letter while on tour. Needless to say the news shocked her. Her little sister was missing. She always figured that something like that would happen to herself considering all the dangerous tricks the Shadowbolts performed. This kind of thing happened to her! Not her sister.

She sighed. Her home back in Cloudsdale was quiet. Outside it felt like darkness. In reality it was bright as it could possibly be.

There was a knock at the door. She raised her head from her kitchen table and walked to the door and answered it. A man in a guard’s uniform stood before her.

“Miss Nightshade?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“I was told to inform you that the Princess is making an announcement today regarding your sister. 1:00 today at the Aerodome.”

“Alright,” she sighed, “Thanks.”

“No need ma’am. And you have my condolences.”

“Thank you.”

The man tipped his hat before flying off. Nightshade closed the door.

“Guess I better put something decent on.”

After changing into some cargo pants, combat boots, and a black leather flight jacket, she pulled on a pair of sunglasses and left her home.

***

“Celestia... you… can… run… fast!” Spitfire huffed.

I sat down on a rock overlooking the river and opened up my bag producing two sandwiches.

“Well duh, I’m a robot. I’m not even tired either.”

She flopped down on the rock, “Fuck… you…”

“Well that’s not a nice thing to say to the guy who just beat you in an 10K. That and I have the water bottles.”

She sat up, “Can I have one? Please?”

“Can you apologize?”

“Come on dude! I’m so thirsty I could drink my own sweat!”

“Fine,” I laughed and tossed her a bottle. She happily drank half the bottle before she was satisfied. I handed her a sandwich before taking a bite of mine.

“You know,” Spitfire said between bits, “You would make a great Wonderbolt if you had the wings for it.”

“I’ll humor you for a minute. How so?”

“You’d have the fucking endurance of an Arctic Tern and the speed of a falcon. You would easily be the fastest member of the team. Well, next to me of course.”

“Wow, not a little bit full of ourselves are we?”

“Hey I’m that fast! If you’ll let me fly for once I can show you.”

“Sorry but that’s not gonna happen. Not in a national park.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Oh shut up and eat your sandwich.”

We shared a laugh and finished lunch before continuing on towards the famed rock.

***

Dane arrived back at the lodge. The wooden structure sat on the outskirts of the park overlooking the large forested area. He walked into the cafeteria of the lodge and grabbed a cup of coffee before continuing on to the tables. The building was a bit crowded but the large open space helped a bit. That and the large windows gave it a nice view overlooking the forested area of the park.

He walked over to a table and sat down. Gin had her head on the table and was covering her ears with her hands.

“So how’d the wine tasting go?” He asked.

“Fucking awful. I can’t even afford to think my head hurts so much,” she mumbled.

“How the fuck do you go from drunk to hangover all in one day?”

“Actually it skipped drunk and went right to hangover.”

“What the hell did you drink?”

“I think it was some Russian blend. That stuff was as strong as gasoline and- Ow my head!”

“How would you know how strong gasoline is? That stuff is banned from use inside an atmosphere.”

“It was an analogy you heathen!”

Dane laughed and looked out the window. The rain was pouring down pretty hard now. There was a crack of thunder and Gin moaned and held her ears. Something about the rain…

“Ow! Allah help me there has to be something I can take to fix this!”

“I think Jett has a med kit in his bag and… Oh shit.”

“What?”

“I told Jett that the weather would be great for hiking.”

“Well I think it’s safe to say your days are numbered at this point.”

BEEP

BEEP

Dane removed his phone from his pocket, “Fuck.”

“You’re going to answer that.”

He cringed and tapped the flashing green icon on his phone, “Hello?”

“SO, GREAT WEATHER FOR HIKING HUH DANE?!” Two angry voices yelled.

“Uh, hi Jett. Hi Spitfire. Lovely weather we’re having?”

“FUCK YOU!” Jett yelled, “We’re fucking huddled under a tree on Bravo trail! And it’s your fault!”

“What weather report were you looking at when you said it would be a great day to do this?!” Spitfire yelled.

“Uh,” Dane pulled out a weather schedule, “Whoops. Uh next week’s?”

“If Jett doesn’t kill you when we get back I WILL!” Spitfire yelled.

Gin managed to pull herself up, “Heh heh, hell hath no fury like an angry girl. Ow.”

“When is it supposed to let up?” Jett asked.

“Uh, let’s see here. Tomorrow.”

…

“We’re gonna have to walk in this aren’t we?” Spitfire asked.

“Uh…”

“Fuck you,” Jett said and hung up.

***

I shoved the phone in my pocket and sighed. The rain was pouring pretty hard. The run off from the trees was a bit ridiculous.

“Can I at least fly us to the lodge?” Spitfire asked.

“Do you want to get blown out of the sky in these winds?”

“I can do it,” she said confidently. Heh, funny. Her hair was falling down in the rain.

“Well how would you plan on carrying me?”

“I’d just hold you by your shoulders.”

“Well if you do it that way then we’d have the aerodynamics of a brick. And in this storm we’d be fucked.”

“I swear you’d make an excellent Wonderbolt,” she laughed, “Alright big guy, you win. We’ll walk.”

I pulled my bag off. It was a bit wet but everything was. I removed a raincoat.

“Here,” I said, “You’ll need this more than me.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine,” I smiled, “I don’t get cold.”

“But I will.”

“That’s what the coat is for.”

“Yeah, but you’re warm. Why not share it?”

I sighed, “We’ll be getting back later.”

“That’s okay. I’d feel like a jerk if I kept it all to myself.”

“Alright, you win.”

“Good,” she stood up and accepted the coat. I pulled my bag on and joined her. She draped it around herself and pulled me in under it.

“Alright, it’s a long walk back but at least we’ll be warm,” She smiled.

“Alright, let’s get going. Dane is gonna die and it’s gonna happen today.”

With that we started walking. The rain was a bit harsh but we didn’t care. As long as we were with each other, nothing could dampen our spirits.

***

Are you sure?

Yes. It’s there. It’s definitely there.

Okay… So now what?

We wait.

Wait? Shouldn’t we call this in?

No, not yet. It’s there but not active yet. You know the protocols. We wait. If it activates and begins development then we call it in. For now we wait.

Why would they have us do something like that? This could be the most interesting development in the history of the science! This could make everything!

But it also could break everything too. While it could make everything, hell even open up an entire new branch of philosophy and new ethical ideas, it could also break everything if this becomes unstable.

So we wait…

Yes. But, I don’t think we’ll have to wait long.

Why is that?

Because… I have faith.

***

We arrived back inside the lodge just as it started down pouring. The weather was noticeably terrible to the point where a notice was issued. The storm was growing pretty bad so there was no going outside at all for anyone. Not unless they wanted to die or get blown to god knows where. Fortunately our hotel room was in the lodge so we didn’t have to sop around in wet clothes for the rest of the day.

We ran through the sliding doors and into the lodge. Water was dripping off of us like a water fall but we didn’t care. We were laughing for no reason other than it was fun to laugh. We were soaked to the bone but again we didn’t care.

We walked past the front desk area into the large open cafeteria. Various people were crowded in the large open space talking, playing games, watching TV, just waiting out the storm in general. I pulled off the coat and gave it to Spitfire before seeing if Dane and Gin were in here.

Sure enough they were. Gin looked to be suffering from the effects of a hangover and Dane looked to be scoping the place out in fear. I laughed. Time to scare the living shit out of him.

I turned to Spitfire, “Hey Spits, you remember how when we first met? How you got all mad at me when you woke up?”

“I don’t see where you’re going with this,” she said wringing out her hair, “But yeah. I punched you in face.”

“Well we’re gonna mess with Dane so I need you to act angry.”

Spitfire smiled, “I think I can do that.”

“Excellent.”

I put on my best angry face and stomped up to the table. Spitfire was right behind me. This was gonna be so good.

“So, ZERO PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN HUH DANE?!” I yelled. He jumped and turned.

“Oh, uh, hey, uh, guys. Uh, lovely weather we’re having?”

“Yes, Lovely,” Spitfire deadpanned.

Dane sat in a cold sweat. We continued to stare him down, judging him, making him feel uncomfortable. It was fun to watch him fidget in his seat, not bothering to attempt to run, knowing the effort would be futile.

Suddenly Spitfire started to giggle. It was a soft sound that quickly erupted into laughter. I soon followed. What can I say? It was contagious. Dane let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew, I thought you guys were mad at me.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, we are,” I laughed.

“We’ll just get you back later,” Spitfire laughed.

Gin moaned from the table top.

“The hell’s wrong with her?” I asked.

“Drank something Russian. Got a bad case of brown bottle flu,” Dane said pulling out his phone.

I put my bag down and pulled out a medical case, “I think I have some medical Nanites in here somewhere… Ah ha!”

I pulled out a syringe with a small dial on it. I turned the dial two notches to set it to the proper setting.

“This might sting a little,” I stabbed it into her neck. I wasn’t sure if she was just too tired or in too much pain to move but she didn’t react too much to the needle going into her neck.

Soon though she sat up holding her head.

“Better?”

“Yeah, a lot better. I feel tired but yeah, I feel better,” she said.

“Good. Nanites. Little engineering wonders.”

“What did they do to her?” Spitfire asked.

“They digested the alcohol in her body and converted it into glucose. She should be receiving a burst of energy at any time now.”

“Cool.”

Dane slammed his phone on the table, “Why is this thing not working?”

I looked at it. The screen was black.

“Maybe it’s a reflection of your soul.”

“Oh ha ha ha. Look who finally has a sense of humor.”

“Oh shut up. If you just bothered to check you’d see the battery was dead.”

“Asshole.”

I sighed and hefted my bag, “Come on Spitty. Let’s go get changed.”

“Alright,” she smiled.

“Don’t do anything too naughty!” Dane called.

“Die.”

***

I’m sorry George. But there’s nothing left we can do.

The ship was destroyed.

Memories are intact.

Transfers. Possibilities.

Found it. Floating in space for 2 years, 9 months, 17 days, 6 hours, 21 minutes, and 53 seconds. Death permanent.

Nothing left to do.

Gone.

Activate.

“Sir.”

…

“Sir!”

George shot up in his bed. He rubbed his eyes and tapped the terminal.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Something’s happened. You need to see this.”

“Alright. I’m on my way.”

***

“Daddy. Why does Cat hate me?”

“Hate you? What do you mean by that?”

“She doesn’t like me. I can see it in her eyes. She never wants to be around me. Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“What? No no, she doesn’t hate you. She’s just angry is all.”

“Angry? Why?”

“Well… Well I… I think that… Truth is, is that we lied to her.”

“We?”

“Yes, your mother and I… we lied to her.”

“About what? Lying isn’t good.”

“We… we lied to her about everything…”

***

Several Days Earlier.

Spitfire sniffed.

We were sitting in the cafeteria still as the storm raged on. Thunder had struck a few times causing some small children to cry. Lighting flashed, drawing the attention of the prepubescent kids causing their parents to go after them as they rushed to the windows to watch. Everyone else just didn’t care, preferring to ride it out. Gin had fallen asleep in an armchair near the fire place with Dane napping on the couch next to her.

A small baby was crying. The mother was attempting to lull the child back to sleep. Hmm.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey.”

I looked back at my phone. The weather system was still to pass over us in the next few hours. We should be getting to sleep soon.

“Hey,” Spitfire said, “I know that song.”

“Really? It’s a Johnny Cash song I think. How can you possibly know it?”

“It’s an old lullaby back home. In fact it’s something my mother used to sing to me to get me to fall asleep.”

“That’s something I’ve never understood.”

“What?”

“Lullabies.”

“Really? Why?”

“Well it’s probably something organic creatures would understand. I never understood how words could get someone into a state of calm or sleep.”

“Well maybe it’s not the words so much as the person.”

“Person?”

“Well my mother was always a comforting figure. Maybe it’s because the person is there is what makes the whole thing work.”

“Maybe,” I said, “Would never work on me though.”

“Why’s that?”

“The only person who had any kind of power over me is now gone.”

“What about your father?”

“No. Not him. My sister had something that he could never hope to fully have.”

“What’s that?”

“My trust.”

“You don’t trust your father?” Spitfire asked.

“No. Not fully. He and my mother kept the biggest secret in the world from me. After that… well I’m more careful now.”

“Do you trust me?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course I do. That’s not even a question.”

“Why though?”

“You were there for me when I was at my lowest. When I wanted to do nothing but shut the world away you came through and gave me a shoulder to lean on. Even for an android, that counts for something.”

She grinned, “Aw, that’s so sweet. Do I really mean that much to you?”

“I’d be lying if I said no.”

“While that is sweet, don’t go getting all so-ah, ah, ah CHOO!”

She sneezed before sniffing and wiping her nose.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I jus- AH CHOO!”

I crossed my arms, “Yeah I think you have a problem here.”

“I don’t have a pro- AH CHOO!”

She sniffed again before speaking, this time though she sounded a bit congested.

“How long were we out in the rain?”

“Two hours.”

“Well I suppose it’s possible I caug- ACHOO!”

I laughed and stood up, “Come on Captain. Let’s get you to bed.”

“Do I have to?”

“I’ll make that an order.”

“Alright, alright,” she managed to laugh. I walked over to her and helped her to her feet before guiding her back to our room in the lodge. She sneezed a few more times but other than that it we got there in once piece. We entered our room and walked over to the bed.

“Why is it so cold?” Spitfire shivered.

“It’s not. It’s you. Here, why don’t you just lay down and I’ll go get you something to eat?”

“Oh, okay,” she said, “I’m still in these grungy clothes though.”

I sighed, “You can change. I’ll go grab something from the cafeteria.”

I closed the door and walked out of the room back to the cafeteria. I returned with a cup of soup and some tea. Spitfire was lying in the bed looking a bit under the weather.

“Sorry,” she said.

“For what?” I asked.

“That you have to do this. You shouldn’t have to take care of me like this.”

I deadpanned, “Spitfire, we’ve been living together for the past six months. Really? And I’m the one that should be sorry. I shouldn’t be stupid enough as to trust Dane with telling me the weather.”

“Well still I-”

“No.”

“But I-”

“But NOTHING. Just sit down and eat your soup.”

“Hmph,” she managed before taking a sip.

“Now you just sit there and relax Captain,” I said before standing up.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh relax LittleFire. I’m just grabbing my pad,” I said grabbing the device and a chair to sit on. I plopped it next to the bed and turned on the TV. The news was on.

“Renowned Volcanologist Andrew Daniels has recently filed a report with the Office of Science and Technology that is causing a stir among the scientific community. In his report he warns that increased earthquake activity and rising ground levels above the Yellowstone Caldera may be early signs of an eruption. The caldera has not erupted in over 640000 years and counting but many say that the Earth is overdue. The super volcano has the potential to completely block out all sunlight on the planet and bring the inner system economy to a complete halt. Due to the fact that the volcano can apparently go at any time it is difficult to calculate the odds of such a disaster occurring.”

“Super volcano?” Spitfire asked, “What’s that?”

I looked up from my pad, “A huge as fuck volcano. The Caldera in Wyoming is the only one that poses a real threat to the Earth right now and supposedly should have gone off 40000 years ago but hey… Mayan calendar ended 400 years ago and we’re still going.”

“Mayans?”

“Oh, sorry. They were an ancient civilization that mysteriously died out. But not before they made a calendar that mysteriously ended on December 21st, 2012. Of course nothing happened but still.”

“Oh.”

Another story came on, this one much more interesting to my tastes.

“The Starship, ironically named Rama II, was completed today along with its escort fleet.”

The TV changed to a live image of an EXTREMELY large cylindrical like object floating in space. Next to it was a similarly smaller and much simpler looking object. The large object resembled an O’Neill Cylinder. It was large. Astronomically large. On the manner of nearly 100 kilometers I would estimate. The one next to it was clearly only a prototype and it looked it too. The larger one was FAR more interesting. The thickness of the ship was around 1 or 2 kilometers. The ship was colored greyish white with various windows dotting the bottom. Internal systems, observation decks, lounges, everything needed to run a civilization. The inside was extremely different was well. It was green, blue, every color Earth was and more. Clouds flew along the inside of the shell of the cylinder. And enclosed ecosystem. Various small settlements and cities dotted the surface of the cylinder.

Then came the next part. The massive antimatter engine pod that was suspended near the rear of the cylinder by a series of massive towers anchored to the surface. A large glowing tube extended all the way to the edge of the bow of the cylinder before it connected with a large internal dock. All along the tube were various towers anchoring it to the surface.

“The ship is humanity’s first interstellar starship ever devised. Constructed over the course of the last 100 years the ship is scheduled to leave in the next 50 years for Alpha Centauri while a crew is found to populate the ship. Rama II was built an effort to establish a permanent human colony outside the system and will leave with a fleet of support vessels.”

I grinned and pulled up a diagram on my pad.

“What’s that?” Spitfire asked.

“Rama II. The largest object ever built by humans.”

“What’s it for?”

“Going to the stars. It will give us everything. It’s… It’s everything I could ever hope for.”

“Really? Why?”

I laughed, “The one thing I want more than to be a pilot is to leave this world.”

“Why’s that? Aren’t you happy here?”

I sighed, “In all honesty, while I like it here, the stars offer more. This universe is huge, and I want to see as much as I can. If I can, I want to get a ticket on that ship. I know Dane, while he can act stupid sometimes, is smart enough to get on Rama. On that ship is my future.”

“Even beyond going to that academy you were so excited about?”

“Yeah. Yeah. The chance to explore a new world and to build a new life there is something I’d like to do. Here, all I am is an experiment. But out there… I can be anything.”

***

The next day, Spitfire’s condition had improved. With a few medical Nanite injections the cold virus had been completely purged from her system. While we were on earth, we TECHNICALLY had to get SOME work done so better to get it over with now than have to do it last minute. We were on a flight over to Hawkinsville Wyoming that sat outside the park by about 50 kilometers.

The city itself was interesting. Built in the late mid-21st it wasn’t officially ‘finished’ until after WWIII. But enough about that.

Our plane flew over the outskirts of the city. A shipyard was visible. Various craft were docked atop large concrete pillars. The largest in atmosphere craft sat docked to a large ring that continually passed over it in a series of circuits. Each time the ship got a little bit darker.

“Look at that,” I laughed, “O’Brian Class Destroyer.”

“What now?” Spitfire asked.

“It’s the largest ship allowed to operate in atmosphere," Dane said, "Also the most powerfully armed. 16 heavy gun batteries with two primary rail guns running on the fore northern and southern fore bows. It’s also equipped with 30 marlin class missile pods and 4 Icarus class Antimatter war heads. That and it has 2 hanger bays.”

Spitfire blinked, “Okay… so you can blow up a planet with it.”

“Yeah Dane, way too much on the specifics,” I said.

“Specific?” Gin said, “You call that specific? Did Dane happen to mention what the small arms lockers are loaded with? Cause they’re loaded with 60 caliber bolt action heavy gauss sn-”

“Okay, shut up. Too much detail.”

“Hey you mentioned it. Don’t get mad at us,” Dane said.

“Uh, who’s the one doing all the work on this project? So shut the hell up?”

“Fuck you.”

“You wanna go swimming in old faithful? Cause that can be arranged.”

The plane landed at the airport and we stepped off. TSA molested us, you know, normal stuff. Fortunately they missed Spitfire’s wings. THAT would have been one HELL of a conversation. We hefted our bags and got walking into the metropolis.

***

July 16th 2345

Two Figures sat on a green hill side outside a city. A large geodesic dome rose up over the whole structure. Beyond it laid a red landscape. Above it was one of the only clear night skies they would see this month. Apollo and Sara laid back on the grass and stared up at the glowing diamonds in the sky.

“Hey Sara?”

“Yeah Apollo?”

“Where do you think we’re from?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well. I guess I can phrase the question better. Do you believe in life after death?”

“Well now that you mention it, I don’t know really. I never really considered it. Why? What do you believe?”

“I don’t know. If I tell you you’ll laugh,” Apollo said looking away.

“No I won’t. I promise,” Sara said reassuringly.

“Alright. Well, I have this crazy idea that death is just another beginning. The ultimate exploration. That when we die we just move on to the next life or world even.”

“That’s not so crazy.”

“Well what could be crazier than that?” He asked inquisitively.

“Well, I, uh, people who watch golf. They’re pretty crazy if they watch something so boring,” she laughed.

“Yeah I guess. But that wasn’t what you were gonna say.”

“How do you know?” she asked sitting up. Apollo followed her up.

“Come on, we’ve been friends since the 3rd grade. And now we’re in high school. That’s a pretty long time to know a person.”

“Yeah, well you still don’t notice some things,” she whispered.

“Like?” Apollo smirked having heard her.

“You jerk. You weren’t supposed to hear that,” she blushed.

“Well what was it supposed to mean?”

“Well, I, uh, well, um. Well, it’s just that we’ve been friends for a long time…”

“And?”

“Well, uh, we’ve done pretty much everything together since grade school from studying to learning how to ride bikes and… well we’ve had a lot of fun together…”

“So we’ve been friends for a long time,” He said still not getting it.

Sara turned red, “Ugh! You are just so clueless!”

“About what?” he asked, confused.

“About… About… About how I…. how I…”

“How you what?”

“How I… How I… How… Damn It Apollo!” with that she grabbed his face in her hands and leaned forward to bring him into a kiss. It was a soft contact though it lasted a long time. Her lips were gentle on his as his eyes widened in surprise and as hers closed in the bliss of the moment. Tingles shot down his spine as she moaned into his mouth. Finally after a few seconds she pulled away with a look bashful look on her now red face.

Apollo blushed, “I err, um, what did I do to… that… I mean, we, me and, you,” he managed to stutter.

“There,” she sighed, “Now you know.”

He managed to form a coherent thought and found a way to translate it into language, “I… Er… I know what?”

“THAT I LIKE YOU DUMB ASS!” she shouted, “I really like you. Like, LIKE like you.”

“I, err, oh, uh, Okay…”

…

“So?” Sara asked.

“So what?” Apollo responded.

“Do you… do you like me?”

…

Sara nervously bit her lip, waiting. Apollo sat up and looked in deep thought for a second before speaking.

“Yeah,” he smiled, “I think I do. Yeah, I definitely do.”

“You like me?” she asked hopefully.

“Isn’t that what I just said? Geez, starting to wonder who’s the dumb ass here,” he rubbed the back of his head.

Sara grinned widely before reaching over and embracing him in a hug.

“So… now what?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well… I like you and… you like me so… are we dating now?”

“Well… I guess; I’ve never really done this before.”

“So I guess we have to have a first date now,” he said.

“How about this?”

“What? Just stargazing?”

“Yeah,” she smiled, “Just relaxing out here like this. I mean, how many good nights like this do we get?”

“Yeah I guess you’re right.”

“Here,” she said patting the grass next to her.

“You want me to… to sit next to you like that?”

“Well we are dating now so isn’t that what we do?”

“I guess.”

“Ugh,” she sighed, “Here.” She moved over and wrapped her arms around him as they both lay down upon the hill, staring at the stars.

“I like this,” Sara said, “It just feels right.”

“Me too.”

“So you never answered my question.”

“About?”

“What do you think happens after we die?”

“At this point,” she sighed with content, “I don’t care.”

***

We hadn’t gotten a hotel room, rather we just planned to camp out in the park during our stay before moving eastward on a road trip.

But now we were loitering about the town. We had wondered into a bookstore. I started looking around at some old philosophy and science fiction classics while Dane and Spitfire did…

Well I don’t know what they did.

***

“Hey Spitfire,” Dane laughed, “I think I found the perfect book for you.”

He held up a small paperback novel, Dating AI, A Guide to Falling In Love with Artificial Intelligence.

She blushed, “You’re fucking evil.”

“I know.”

“Bastard.”

He placed the book back on the shelf.

“Hey guys! Park closes in a few hours so we might wanna get going!” Jett called.

“Alright!” Gin called.

“You ever been camping before?” Dane asked.

“Few times. Why?”

“Cause we’re going bare back here. No bathroom, no TV, no anything. Just the four of us, two tents, the essentials, and whatever we packed in our duffels.”

“Guys! You coming?” Gin called.

“Yeah!”

Spitfire and Dane hefted their bags and walked over to the entrance to the store.

***

We started walking out of the city. The park was only a few miles out so walking wasn’t really a problem. The walk was enjoyable. Just talking with friends was all I really needed to have fun these days.

I smiled. While these people weren’t perfect by any mean, they were still my best friends. I couldn’t ask for anyone better.