Graduation

by FightingThunder720

She could never forget what happened. She could never forget how her life was destroyed and her first friend brutally killed. But she had to move on, to keep on living. Putting his soul to rest was the first step. One-shot, rated T just to be safe. Inspired by the "Protectorate Flower" headgear.

The wind chimes softly played in the breeze, hanging from the great tree that symbolized peace between the galaxy's most advanced races. The cherry blossoms bloomed pink, contrasting the blue sky of Earth beautifully. A single flower was pulled off by the wind, falling into the hands of a young, red-haired human passing underneath. The man next to her, a birdlike humanoid with yellow feathers, the flower and fixed it in her hair. He took a step back. "Perfect," he said jokingly, clapping his hands together. "Indeed," the young woman chuckled. They continued on quietly for a time, before the girl broke the silence. "Hey...let's make sure to never forget this day, all right?" The bird laughed out loud. "We're graduating today! Of course I'll never forget!"

-572 Hours since Graduation-

Never forget. Those were the words that echoed in the woman's mind. She was now in her late twenties, but her grim face made her look like she was much older. She had been drifting in space for so long that she'd given up on the concept of days and nights. With no sun or moon, the woman's scale of time had changed. Now, she simply measured time in "Hours Since Graduation." Graduation was the term she used, but the meaning behind the word was very different. The scale of destruction that day had been incalculable, and she didn't even know what it was that had caused it. All she recalled were the monstrous tentacles, the blood, and the bird-man she'd called her best friend dragging her through the scene half-conscious. She didn't know all of what had happened, but that much she would never forget.

The woman lifted her gaze as the ship's computer alerted her to a hospitable planet nearby. "All stations, prepare to land," she said dryly, knowing there was nobody to hear her voice crackling through the speakers. She glanced over at a lone, makeshift coffin in the corner of the room. This is it, she decided.

-586 Hours Since Graduation-

The redhead trudged into a small forest clearing, dragging the heavy coffin behind her. It was a white, steel container made from a broken drop pod she'd found in the ship. She stopped, looking around at the scenery. "Perfect," she breathed. For lack of a shovel, she got on her knees and started digging with her hands. It was the very least she could do to put her friend to rest.

After she'd finished her small ritual, the woman realized she'd forgotten one thing. Sprinting back to the ship, she opened up the cryogenic storage locker, pulling out a small, pink cherry blossom. As she walked out the door, she felt a gale-force wind ripping at her clothes. The woman hunched over, sheltering the small speck of pink as she made the final trek back to the clearing where the avian's grave sat. She knelt down, bending low as she set the blossom in front of the headstone. The wind finally began to die down, as if the planet, too, was somehow at rest.