Epilogue I:
Never Sleep Again
Six months later.
Varissa sat at a table in her bedroom on Earth-2 and smiled as she put the finishing touches on the model she had been working on since the investigation into the Beowulf tragedy had ended. She had been cleared of any wrongdoing. More importantly, thanks to the comms being down during their cryo-sleep and the ship being lost to a black hole, there were no records for anyone to comb through that could re-spread the virus of Freddy Krueger. It was over. After centuries of terror, it would be safe for everyone to dream again.
The investigators decided a faulty power cell caused all the problems that led to the Beowulf meeting its end in a black hole in deep space. The pull of the black hole and turbulence is what most likely killed the crew members of Hawkins Salvage and Recovery according to investigators. Varissa had encouraged this with her tale of the brave sacrifice made by a faithful android and his creator that had demanded to stay aboard the Beowulf to make sure the only other surviving member of the ship was able to escape with her life as they remotely guided the shuttle to a safe distance and set it on a proper trajectory.
Varissa dreamed of her lost friends most nights. It was as if they were actually visiting her in her sleep. Who knew? With her dream power she thought it might be so. In fact, just two nights prior, she had dreamed that Nyquilio flew her and Nero to Somnium-5 and took them out for their first ever Yarvestiq. She could actually taste it in her dream and it was delicious. Nero was so handsome and they all talked and laughed for what felt like hours until she woke up. Varissa had still never tried Yarvestiq in her waking life but she was going to very soon and somehow she felt it was going to taste identical to what she had in her dream with Nyquilio and Nero.
Satisfied, Varissa put her paint brush away and turned on her lamp to get a good look at her completed model. She smiled. It looked just right. Almost everything looked like the Beowulf down to the smallest detail, inside and out. She pretended that somewhere inside that model an android and his friend shared awkward moments that make those around them question just how serious their friendship is or in another section of the ship Butch is trying to hook up with whoever the newest hot chick crew member is. Or somewhere in the living quarters Donella and Christina are squabbling over religion or a wise pilot is giving someone fatherly advice even when they didn't ask for it. Or an alien from an ally planet is constantly asking questions to learn everything he can about humans, even if it's not always the most appropriate time. And most of all she liked to think somewhere in that model was a handsome guy who, if she'd just been given the chance, might have been the one. Varissa took one last look at her model and turned off the lamp.
She climbed into her bed, called out for the primary bedroom light to turn off and closed her eyes and hoped for more pleasant dreams of absent friends.
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