Final Mission Report: An Epilogue

Written by Omni

USCSS Montero
Evening, December 17, 2183

Together, the two unscathed survivors, Colonial Marshal Glenn Roberts and Medic Hikari Roku, began preparation of the crew and the ship for the weeks-long journey to Sutter's World.

There was a very brief funeral for the coffee guzzling Captain Kenny McCormick before ejecting his body into space along with the incinerated Abomination.
Roberts uploaded all of the recovered data and personally cleansed the ship of any trace of the pathogen or any other contaminants aboard with an incinerator unit and fresh air scrubbers.

Roku spent a few days tending to the wounded, ensuring they were free of the alien pathogen and on their way to blissful recovery in cryostasis.

Corporate Agent, Bruce Jensen and technician Asahi Ogai were recovering well and although the pilot, Paddy Lohan, had undergone surgery in the Pauling MedPod, his arms were not salvageable but the areas of detachment were healing well.

Lori Clayton remained infected, but safe in hibernation. With the help of Ogai’s tech knowledge, they were able to put her pod on a manual release instead of the same timer as the rest of the crew.

As for the synthetics, Vera Kirby and Joe: They were taken to the technician's workstation, for inspection and repair upon arrival at Sutter's World.

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After a few days, everything was ready. Roberts and Roku nestled the crew into their cryopods then strapped themselves into seats on the bridge as the USCSS Montero began its transition to FTL (faster than light).

Roberts would remain awake for another day or two, and Roku for the duration of the trip, taking special care of her twin sister, Tsuki. She administered IVs and the last doses of Hydr8tion so that the girl would hopefully wake from her coma soon.

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Roku sat on the leather cushions at the mess hall table, spinning the cube of dehydrated bourbon between her thumb and forefinger. She picked up the note discarded from the gift box from when she had torn it open. It read:

お姉ちゃん,
メリークリスマス ! 探してなんとか見つかる 事 を 願って 居ます よ。
どうもありがとうございました。
体 に 気をつけて ください。
乾杯！
- 守る

Sis,
Merry Christmas! I hope you find what you are looking for.
Thank you for everything. Please take care of yourself.
Cheers!
- Mamoru

She smiled. Her younger brother didn't know the truth, that she had been headed out into deep space to find the family they had lost so many years ago. Now she had Tsuki and she hoped what remained of her family would soon be reunited.

Roku walked over to the bar and removed a glass tumbler from a protective case in the cabinet. She placed the cube in the bottom and slid the glass under the re-hydrator. A thin blue light blasted the cube, liquefying it into bourbon.

When it was done she took it to the table and sat back down just as Roberts walked in. He wasn't looking forward to hypersleep so he smiled and sat down next to her.

Roku took a sip of the bourbon and handed the glass to Roberts. She then grabbed the small, plastic, electronic Christmas tree from the table and switched it on. It began to turn and flash as it chimed in with a polyphonic holiday jingle. Then Roku laid her head on Roberts’ shoulder and sighed. He put his arm around her for comfort.

They both sat there, exhausted, watching the tree glow and spin.

...To be Continued...