Smiling at Graduation
By EnigmaticPseudonym
Chapter 1- A Not So Lonely Christmas
"…I basically grew up on the Arcturus station, back when they were building up the fleets…"- Joker
Jeffrey Moreau sat on a wooden bench facing the sealed docking port in front of him. A ticket sat on his palm.
"Dec. 25, 2175; 00:00 Arcturus Time
From Arcturus Central Station
To Elysium, Skyllian Verge"
His eyes were closed and his head was resting against the wall as he collected final memories of Arcturus Station—his home.
He dwelled on the scent of paint and smoke that had flowed through the recycled air of the station. His ears picked up nostalgic sounds from the rumbling machinery and construction that echoed throughout Central Station. His skin sensed the drying tears of his loving mother from a few minutes ago. These would be the last memories that he would ever have of Arcturus, and he savored them.
Though, it wasn't as if he didn't have plenty of memories from Arcturus; living on the orbiting hunk of scrap metal for all of his 18 years made sure of that. It was because most of them weren't very pleasant.
Jeff was just a typical kid growing up on an extra-terra human colony—other than the fact that he had been born with Vrolik's Syndrome. His mom had been extremely protective of him as a child. He was forbidden to play sports, or take part in strenuous activities. As a child he had hated his mother for that—but as an adult he respected her for protecting him. To make up for his condition, his mom had programmed a flight simulator for him from scratch. Being a medium-level civilian contractor for the Alliance, Allison Moreau worked with a team of designers and built fighter craft for the Fleet. She took her simulation software, tweaked it, and developed a simple flight/space combat simulator. His new 'toy' and his constant trips with Allison to the local branch of Lockheed-Martin's R-and-D labs developed a strong love for flying within Jeff. Sometimes he would even get the privilege of test flying his mom's designs on a flight simulator. The time he spent with his mom provided the boy relief from his rough daily life.
He never played sports or tag, so he had been labeled a loner through Pre-K, kindergarten, and elementary; the loner who would rather read about aircraft than play soccer or basketball. They would call him 'Cripple,' 'Freak,' or 'Brace-Kid;' not very unique names, but they stung all the same. In fact he rarely interacted with other people, except for one girl who would say hello and talk to him for a few minutes every morning. She was the only one who had talked to him throughout all of his school years, even through clique-ruled high school. When others would steal his crutches or shove him into lockers, she was the only person who treated him as human. She walked with him to school (well, she walked, he hobbled), ate with him at least twice a week during lunch, and was just plain nice to him. What was her name again?
'Grace Benner.'
'Jeff…'
'Yeah, and her voice sounded like that.'
"Jeff…"
'Huh, sounds pretty close.'
"JEFF!"
His eyes shot wide open. His muscles tensed. "I don't have cash! Take your quarter-back assoutahere." He slurred the last few words in his sentence in embarrassment. "Ahem… Uh-oh… Sorry about that Grace. Just had my mind elsewhere." Grace towered over his sitting body. The light from the fluorescent bulb behind her seemed to accent her flowing brown hair and soft cheeks, and brightened her chocolate-brown eyes. 'Wow, you look good in this light,' he thought.
She grinned and sat down beside him. "Mind still floating around in space? Same old Jeff two months after graduation." She cradled the duffel bag she was holding.
He allowed a tiny smile to show on his lips. "Same old Grace, still scaring the living daylights out of me. For a second there, I thought I saw a Halloween witch." He grinned ever so slightly, but devilishly.
"Shut up!" She dropped her jaw in mock surprise and playfully swatted him on the arm.
"Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said after chuckling softly for a few seconds.
She breathed deeply and lay back. "So… what are you doing here all alone at 12:30 in the morning on Christmas Day?"
He turned to face her, half of his face hidden underneath the shadow of his cap's visor. "Better yet, what's the Student Body President doing with a loser like me?"
"Two answers. One, the Valedictorian is not a loser. Two, this is the only way off of Arcturus until the holiday season is over—which is in about two weeks. Now back to my question."
"I'm leaving for Elysium."
"Really? I didn't know Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, or Airbus had branches there."
"They have branches everywhere, but I'm not looking for an R-and-D job. I want to join the Alliance Navy. My mom worked on ships, and growing up around them made me want to be a pilot. Judging by that piece of paper in your hand, you're going to be Navy too?" He eyed the green enlistment form she held on to.
"Yeah, I guess my dad's job as a foreman at the Dry-Docks got me thinking about the Alliance. I guess I want to learn how to fly."
A puzzled look appeared on Jeff's face. "You told me you were going into politics. You know, to represent the Human Race in the Council?"
"I'm not going to be in the Alliance the whole time, Jeff."
"That figures, you deserve better."
Grace blushed at the compliment. "Thanks Jeff."
"No problem," he replied coolly.
"The final Alliance shuttle to Elysium has arrived. No other direct Alliance shuttles will be available until two weeks have elapsed. Thank you. To all travelers, Merry Christmas wherever you may go."
The door in front of them opened with a loud hiss and revealed the interior of the shuttle, which was reminiscent of the interior of a commercial airplane in the early 21st Century. Only two other people were aboard the final Christmas transport. Grace and Jeff chose their seats near the middle of the shuttle; she sat down first while he placed his crutches underneath his chair. The windows provided a beautiful view of their galaxy, unspoiled by the greasy and smoke-stained windows of Arcturus' residential district. In five minutes time, the locks were released and the shuttle proceeded towards the nearest Mass Relay Station.
A few minutes later, they were traveling at faster-than-light speeds towards the other end of the galaxy. The display above the aisle read, "Estimated Travel Time: 07-0830 Hours. Merry Christmas!"
Jeff was gazing out the window when he felt a weight on his shoulder—Grace had soundly fallen asleep. He gazed at her for a few seconds and draped his jacket over her torso. She moved a bit to get in a better position under the new-found warmth.
"I'll wake you up when we get there," he whispered. He pulled the visor of his cap down over his eyes and leaned towards the window. He slowly drifted to sleep as the next song played softly in the cabin.
"…When we finally kiss goodnight,
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.
The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bying,
But as long as you love me so,
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow…"
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Please Review! Constructive and helpful comments are welcome! Tell me what you think.