(Sorry I’m late again. Slipped my mind. I’ll be better about it.)
The Final Transmission of the T.E.S. Golden Arrow
The hum of static. Fuzz in the radio, the symphony of the universe. Radiation of distant stars. The static shifts, finding something buried in the great sea of Nothing. Finding it, a voice never to be seen blares to life.
“…, Captain of the Terran Expeditionary Ship Golden Arrow, broadcasting what will be our final transmission. This is our final cry before the eternal silence. Our ship is broken, life support failing. There is no salvation for us, we are beyond known space. By the time you are hearing this, we will already be dead.
“As explorers, we accepted this fate when we set foot aboard the Golden Arrow. The universe must be charted, explored. It is the calling of the human spirit to go further than anyone before. In this, the crew and I have no regrets. There risks, we knew that we were taking them. That things have come out against us gives us no cause to complain. What follows shall be report of our discovery, and then the final messages from most the crew. Ensign Ellan threw himself out of the airlock yesterday in a noble attempt to give us more time.
“We passed beyond known space at Sela’rou. We have discovered no habitable planets. We encountered three black holes and a gravitational anomaly which we could not properly investigate with our equipment. We charted a thousand systems, the data of which is transmitted in a sub-wave beneath this recording. No signs of non-Terran life. Goodnight, God Speed.”
The static flairs again, filling the silence. Then, after a time a voice comes from the Nothing, solemn.
“This is First Lieutenant Oumari. Yumi, I love you. Give my best to the children. Know that I will always love you.”
Silence, static, silence, sobbing. “…Mom…mom…I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…” Sobbing, static, silence.
Calm. “This is Navigations Officer Kolinisou. The crew is blameless for our present state. I alone bear responsibility…” the transmission is interrupted by a flurry of shouting that is hard to make out. It returns with a roar. “MY FAULT. Please see that my estate is divided among my children.”
The fuzz returns and is conquered by a frenzied voice. “Officer Kolinisou bears no blame. Let no mark against him be placed on his record. This is Erin Smitz, by the way. Ranks don’t matter anymore, not here. Carry this message, so that is rests in the Terran Naval Academy as a warning. See you around.” Gone. Gone forever.
A resigned voice takes shape from the hissing static. “Hey. I think Smitz is right. There’s no more need for ranks, not here. Looks like I’m going to be the first Greenberg not to be buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. Yeah. Oh boy.” Sobbing.
The universe took over the channel.
Fuzz.
Nothing.
End of recording.
