An unexpected arrival Part 6

Miller stood alone, staring at the rotating core of the gravity drive.

"Something the matter?" Kilpack asked, coming to stand beside him.

The two captains had struck an uneasy friendship, bonded by their shared burden of command.

"He hates me, Kilpack. They probably all do," Miller said, his voice a mere whisper amidst the echoing corridors of the haunted ship.

The other captain stood silent for a long moment. Eventually Miller turned and his weary eyes locked onto Kilpack's. The flickering fluorescent lights cast eerie shadows across his face. In that moment, Kilpack's stern expression softened with empathy for he too had failed his crew.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened," Kilpack finally replied. "We were all victims of this damned ship. No one could have been prepared for what we faced. Deep down, they know that."

Miller shook his head, "I saw things, Kilpack. Terrible things. But I survived and they... they didn't. They died because of me."

Kilpack stepped closer, his hand resting gently on Miller's shoulder, "Survivor's guilt, my friend. It's eating at you, but you can't let it consume you. After all, you've done the one thing that no captain who's lost crew ever has. You brought them back."

Miller's breath became ragged as he fought back tears, his voice barely above a whisper, "For a hundred years, I fought this ship. It showed me every kind of suffering the human soul can endure. And still, this hurts worse."

Kilpack squeezed Miller's shoulder.

"I let it drag me to hell to save Cooper and the others. And I'd have given my life to save theirs, too," Miller said.

"I know, Captain. I know...," Smith said from behind.

Miller spun to face him.

"And I don't... I don't hate you, Captain. I hate this THING we're on. I hate every weld I make, every rivet I punch, every system I repair. I hate that for me to live, it has to be this way... But I don't hate you," Smith said and then paused for a long moment to compose himself. "Anyway, we've finished integrating the hulk's navigational AI into the Event Horizon's systems. Looks like there's lightly inhabited system with a working spaceport not too far from here."

"Thank you Smitty. I... Let the crew know to get ready for departure," Miller said, reigning his wayward emotions back in. Then, turning back to the gravity drive and speaking to the entity residing within it, "You'll take us there and spare us the horrors of Hell or you'll wish you had."