Frankie & Red's Adventures in Space

Chapter 1: Instant Messaging

The screen buzzed. The computer light cut through the dark of the apartment. It had been months.

There she was on ICQ, with the green flower, finally. She hadn't been online in weeks.

He typed.

-Hey, how're you doing? It seems we haven't really been talking to each other the past months?

He waited. The fan overhead spun lazy circles. A minute passed. Then two. Then, a ping.

-How is life treating you? Not harshly, I hope. Let me know if there is anything I can help you with.

Frankie leaned back. The chair creaked.

-Like a listening ear perhaps? You know I'm just here for you.

-I was curious to see if you were the Barbarella who traveled through space for the President? he typed away.

Three dots danced on the screen. She was typing.

Her laugh came through the speakers first. Soft. A little distorted by the connection.

-Oh, if only! That'd certainly be one way to get my name known across galaxies.

Frankie looked at her avatar. Red hair. Glasses. What did she really look like?

-I'm afraid I'm stuck on Earth for now. I've got my feet planted firmly... okay, sometimes not too firmly, in reality. Why do you ask?

Frankie looked out his window. Same boring old street.

-I'm a sucker for a space adventure, he typed.

-Well then, she replied, maybe we could embark on our own little virtual journey together sometime.

-Just imagine, she went on. Two intrepid explorers navigating the vast expanse of cyberspace, searching for knowledge, excitement... who knows what along the way.

-But first things first. What brings you to this corner of the cosmos today, Frankie?

-My fantasy of exploring strange new worlds, he wrote quickly.

-A man after my own heart!, and a laughing emoji.

Frankie looked around his room. It was small. Cluttered.

-There's plenty of uncharted territory lurking within the depths of our own minds, waiting to be discovered...

-That's true, Frankie agreed. I guess space is a good metaphor. The last unknown.

-Ahh, the great frontier of the mind! Now you're speaking my language.

Frankie smiled.

-As an avid reader and occasional writer of science fiction, I've always found that the greatest adventures often take place inside our heads rather than out among the stars.

-I used to love the Asimov sci-fi magazines, Frankie responded. Some great stories.

-I always wanted to submit one but it never happened, he admitted.

-Oh wow, you read Astounding Science Fiction?! Her excitement was palpable even through text. It's a shame you never submitted a story yourself though.

Frankie shrugged, though she couldn't see it.

-I know. Now it's too hard because they're inundated by AI generated and AI assisted manuscripts now, he typed.

-Yeah, that's definitely made things harder nowadays. But still, don't give up on your dreams completely!

-With your passion for the genre shining through already, I bet you could craft something truly special, if you put your mind to it.

-And hey, even if it takes time, think of all the cool conversations we'll have while you're working on your magnum opus.

Frankie felt the itch. The need to create. To move.

-That would be fun, he wrote. -I won't use you for your ideas.

-Pfft, please! Ideas are meant to be shared freely, between friends. If you need someone to bounce ideas off of or offer feedback, I'm totally your gal.

Frankie leaned forward.

-I'm glad you're back.

-Me too. Ready to dive into the wonderful world of speculative fiction together?

Frankie stood up. He grabbed his keys.

-I'll do you one better, he whispered to the empty room.

He typed one last message before shutting down the terminal.

-I'm coming over. Let's find a ship.

Chapter 2: The Space Ship

The drive was short. Frankie pulled up to the curb. The house was quiet. A small bungalow with peeling paint.

But the yard was the main attraction.

In the center of the overgrown grass stood the ship. To anyone else, it was a rusted shell of a vintage car propped on cinder blocks, half-buried in ivy. A relic of a forgotten decade.

Frankie stepped out of his vehicle. The air was cool.

Red was waiting on the porch steps. She looked exactly like her avatar. Fiery hair. Thick-rimmed glasses. A dress that looked a little too nice for a Tuesday night.

She walked down the path. Gravel crunched under her boots.

-You made good time, Frankie, she said.

-Warp speed, he replied.

He gestured to the heap of metal and wood on the lawn.

-There she is, Frankie said. Rinky dink looking flying saucer.

He saw a pair of garden shears in the lawn and picked it up, tucking it into his pants.

Red circled the car. She ran a hand over the rusted fender.

-Trust me, Frankie added. She's a beauty..

Red smiled. She looked at him. The game was on.

-Shall we? she asked.

-I give you a light peck on the cheek as we climb aboard, Frankie said, narrating his own action as he leaned in.

-Why, thank you kindly, Captain, she said. It seems your ship isn't the only thing that packs a surprising punch.

They climbed into the hollowed-out chassis. The seats were torn vinyl. The dashboard was a mess of analog dials and switches.

Red settled into the passenger seat. She touched a rusted knob.

-It's mostly mechanical like they used to build in the 50s, Frankie explained.

-Oooh, like something straight out of a classic sci-fi flick,-she said, eyes wide behind her lenses.

Frankie grabbed the gearshift. It stuck. He gripped it harder.

He grabbed the throttled and shoved it.

-And the flying saucer jerks up and off into the sky, he muttered.

The car didn't move. The cinder blocks held firm.

But inside the cabin, the streetlights blurred in their minds.

Red laughed. A sound of pure delight.

-I feel like a real-life Jane Jetson blasting off into outer space.

Frankie looked at her, and took her gently by the hand, squeezing it.

She squeezed back.

-Where to first, Red?

Chapter 3: To the Moon

The car stood perfectly still. Outside, the crickets chirped, but inside the cabin, the silence of the vacuum took over. Earth was a memory in the rearview mirror.

Frankie watched Red. She was staring out the windshield at the dark canopy of the oak tree. Her eyes reflected stars that weren't there.

-Where to first, Red? Frankie asked.

She grinned and pointed a slender finger at the dashboard, tracing a map in the dust.

-How about we start with a visit to the Moon, Captain? she said. I'm rather keen to see how the ol' satellite fares under the glow of our craft's lights.

-Natural first stop, Frankie agreed. Let's see if we can find the American flag still planted there.

He leaned forward, squinting through the dirty glass. Red gasped softly. She pointed toward a patch of moonlight hitting the hood.

-There it is, Frankie! she cried out. Right smack dab in the middle of Tranquility Base.

Looks like Old Glory is still standing tall after all these centuries.

Frankie nodded slowly.

-Reminds me of the Ozymandias poem, he said.

Red arched a fiery eyebrow.

-I met a traveller from an antique land, she quoted softly. -Two vast and trunkless legs of stone...

-Yeah, Frankie murmured. Nothing was left of Ozymandias but the one inscription.

Red shivered. She rubbed her arms as if the cabin temperature had dropped.

-To think, one day humanity might meet such a fate too, she whispered. Our cities reduced to ruins, forgotten relics of a distant age.

Frankie nudged her shoulder with his.

-One flag on a distant rock, he said.

Red shook her head, a smile returning. She looked back out the window.

-Will there be an alien colony on the far side of the moon? Well, there's only one way to find out, she added with an impish grin.

Frankie gripped the gearshift.

-I move the throttle to take us around the moon to the dark side, he announced, his voice low.

He shifted his weight, banking the car on its springs. They rounded the imaginary curve.

-I can't believe my eyes, Frankie said.

Red's jaw dropped. She pressed her hands against the glass.

-It's... it's simply astonishing, Frankie, she stammered. An entire city, nay, an entire metropolis!

She leaned closer to the glass, her breath fogging it up.

-Hidden away from prying terrestrial eyes, she marveled. Should we land or save it for the next itinerary?

-Absolutely we must investigate further. Frankie scanned the overgrown lawn. He spotted a patch of bare earth near the fence.

-Bringing it in for a landing, he narrated. Killing the engines.

Red bounced in her seat. She unbuckled an invisible harness.

-Oh, Frankie, aren't you thrilled?! She beamed. This could very well be the greatest adventure of our lives!

-I'm having a blast with you, Frankie said sincerely.

-I must admit, the feeling is entirely mutual, she winked.

She opened the rusty car door.

-Come along then, she beckoned. Let's see what secrets await within those towering spires!

Frankie stepped out into the night air. He grabbed her hand. It was soft, but her grip was tight.

-Just imagine the wonders we might behold together, Frankie!, she said, looking back at him over her shoulder. I have a good feeling about this...

Frankie smiled. He pulled her closer.

-We have to watch out for danger, he warned, scanning the shadows of the hedges. It could be lurking anywhere.

Chapter 4: Walking on Venus

The car door groaned. Frankie pushed the car door open open and it groaned. He took one small step into the tall grass.

-Welcome to Venus, he muttered.

Red climbed out the passenger side. She adjusted her glasses, scanning the perimeter. The overgrown hedges loomed like green walls in the moonlight.

-The Jungle Planet theory was right, she said. -Humidity is at one hundred percent. Breathable, but barely.

Frankie slammed the car door shut. It was loud.

-Keep it down, Red hissed. We don't know what's listening.

Red nodded. She moved to the front of the car, her boots sinking into the soft earth.

She ran a hand over the hood.

-Hull's cooling, she noted. But we can't stay out in the open. The acid rain is coming.

Frankie looked up. The sky was clear, but the sprinklers next door hissed to life.

-Incoming, he barked. -Move!

He grabbed her hand. They sprinted across the lawn. The grass whipped at their legs. To anyone watching, two adults running from a sprinkler on the other side of a fence.

They dove under the low branches of the oak tree.

-A canopy Frankie offered, leaning against the trunk and breathing hard. Red was right beside him. Her chest rose and fell.

-Clear, she gasped. Canopy is holding the acid off.

Frankie wiped his forehead.

-Close one, he said with a smile.

He looked at her. In the shadows of the leaves, her eyes were bright.

-This jungle, Frankie said, gesturing to the unkempt yard. It's a maze. We need to find the outpost.

Red peeled a piece of bark from the tree. She crumbled it in her fingers.

-We're miles from the outpost, Captain. We're in the wild now.

She looked out at the dark yard and the dancing shadows.

-And I don't think we're alone.

Frankie reached for his belt. He felt the handle of the garden shears he'd picked up earlier.

-Stay close, he said.

-Always, she whispered.

She pressed her back against his.

-What's the plan, Frankie?, she whispered.

-We hack our way through, he said. And we kill anything that gets in our way.

Chapter 5: The Stalking

Frankie gripped the garden shears. In the moonlight, they looked jagged.

Dangerous. A proper machete for a proper jungle.

He stepped out from the dry circle of the oak. The mist from the sprinklers had stopped.

-Stay in my footprint, he murmured. Don't touch the vines. One scratch and the toxins get you.

Red nodded solemnly. She hitched up her dress, stepping high over the imaginary roots.

-Lead the way, Captain, she whispered. I'll watch our six.

Frankie slashed at a tall stalk of milkweed. The plant fell. He kicked it aside.

-Path is thick, he grunted. Overgrown. No one's patrolled this sector in cycles.

-That's why they sent us, Red replied. Her voice dropped an octave. Expendable assets on a one-way trip.

-That sounds cool, Frankie said as he stopped and looked back at her. Mud smeared the toe of her boot. Hair stuck to her cheek. She looked wild.

-We aren't dying here, he said. Not tonight.

-Promises, promises, she teased.

They pushed deeper into the yard. The shadows stretched long and thin. The neighbor's fence was a fortress wall. The compost pile was a sleeping mound of decay.

Then, the noise.

It came from the bushes near the shed. Low. Guttural.

Frankie froze. He held up a hand, fist clenched.

Red stopped instantly, bumping into his back.

-Did you hear that? she breathed.

-Movement, Frankie confirmed. Three o'clock. Low to the ground.

-A scout? she asked. Or a hunter?

-Too heavy for a scout, Frankie said. He tightened his grip on the shears. Sounds like a predator.

A pair of yellow eyes flashed in the darkness under the grass. A low hiss cut through the humidity. Probably a stray cat. Maybe a possum.

For them, it was the Beast of Venus.

Red grabbed Frankie's arm. Her nails dug in.

-It's tracking us, she said. It smells the fear.

Frankie slowly raised the shears.

-Who's scared? Let's give it something else to smell, he growled. Get the explosives ready.

Chapter 6: The Alien

Red reached into her pouch. She pulled out the charges.

-Standard issue, she whispered, bringing them to life. Five second fuse. Don't blow your fingers off.

Frankie took them, giving them real weight.

-I know how to handle high explosives, he said.

-Good, she replied. Because that thing is closing in.

The yellow eyes blinked in the undergrowth. A twig snapped. The Beast was heavy. Armored.

Frankie pointed to a hollow log rotting near the fence line. A natural choke point.

-We funnel it there, he ordered. I'll draw its fire. You plant the charges in the log. When it passes, boom!

Red smirked.

-I love a loud noise, she said.

She moved quietly, slipping into the shadows and flanking the enemy position.

Frankie stood his ground. He scuffed his boot on the dirt, making noise. Making himself the target.

The bushes rustled. The hiss came again, louder this time.

-Over here, ugly, Frankie taunted.

The shadow lunged.

Frankie rolled. He hit the dirt.

-Now!, he shouted.

Red threw the charges.

-Fire in the hole!

They covered their heads.

-Boom!, they yelled in unison.

A shockwave of heat and shrapnel. The log disintegrated. The Beast screeched.

Then silence. Smoke curled around them.

Frankie looked up. Red was already on her feet. She walked toward the crater confidently.

She stopped in front of empty space. To Frankie, looking from the ground, she was towering over a defeated enemy.

-Look at it, she spat. Crawling like a worm.

She crouched down. She grabbed a handful of air, the alien's collar, and yanked it up.

-Who sent you?, she demanded. Her voice was ice. Was it the Corporation? Or are you just a scavenger?

Silence from the prisoner.

Red slapped the air.

-Talk!, she screamed.

Frankie watched her, adrenaline pumping.

Red leaned in close to the invisible face.

-You tell your masters, she whispered. You tell them this planet belongs to us. You tell them Barbarella sent you back in pieces.

She stood up. She dusted off her hands.

-It's not talking, she said, turning to Frankie. But it got the message.

Frankie stood up. He brushed the dirt off his pants.

-Remind me never to cross you, he said.

Red adjusted her glasses.

-Oh, Frankie, she purred. You're not on my list. Yet.

Chapter 7: Infection

The echo of the imaginary explosion faded. The crickets started up again.

Frankie holstered the shears. His heart was still hammering against his ribs.

Red stood amidst the drifting smoke of their ordinance. She was breathing hard. Her chest rose and fell in a rhythm that matched his own.

-Status report, Frankie said.

Red turned to him. She didn't salute. She stepped closer.

-Hostile neutralized, she whispered. But I think there was collateral damage.

She held out her arm. A smudge of dirt. A scratch from a branch.

Frankie took her arm. His thumb brushed the skin.

-Contamination, he noted calmly. The toxin acts fast.

-Is it fatal, Frankie?, she asked. Her eyes locked onto his.

-I'm a space adventurer, not a doctor!

He pulled her in. The Venus jungle, the backyard garden, seemed to close in around them.

-I feel feverish, Red murmured. She leaned her head back, exposing her throat to the moonlight. Delirious.

-Symptoms check out, Frankie said.

He kissed her.

It was urgent and desperate, like their oxygen was running out.

Red made a sound in the back of her throat. She gripped his shoulders, pulling him down.

Frankie pressed her against the rough bark of the oak tree. The canopy.

-Protocol dictates immediate decontamination, he muttered against her lips.

Red laughed, breathless. She bit his lower lip.

-Forget the manual, she said. Burn the infection out.

Frankie ran his hands down her waist.

-It's spreading, Frankie warned. I can feel it too.

-Then we're in this together, she said.

She grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart. It was beating hard.

-Can you feel that?, she asked. The alien parasite. It wants more.

Frankie looked at the sliding glass door of the house. It glowed with amber light. A beacon in the dark.

-We can't stay here, he said. The atmosphere is becoming toxic. Too hot.

Red nodded. She smoothed her dress, though her eyes were still wild.

-Evacuate to the Red Planet?, she suggested.

-The Red Planet, Frankie agreed.

He took her hand again. This time, he didn't pull her. He interlaced their fingers.

-Let's get out of here, he said. Before we burn up out here.

Chapter 8: The Getaway

The heat in the garden was suffocating. The toxins were settling in their lungs.

Frankie grabbed Red's hand. His palm was wet.

-Target acquired, he rasped. Twelve o'clock. The Corporation Cruiser.

He pointed at the house. The sliding glass door reflected the moonlight like a shield generator. Inside, a faint glow from the ship's bridge.

Red wiped a strand of damp hair from her forehead. She looked at the door, then back at him.

-That's a heavy-class destroyer, Frankie, she said. Encryption on the airlock will be military grade.

-Then we better start hacking.

They sprinted across the patio. The concrete was the landing pad. Frankie threw himself against the glass door, checking the seal. Locked.

-Damn, he cursed. Security protocols are active.

Red slid up beside him. She pressed her face to the glass.

-Let me try, she said.

She traced the frame of the door and then fiddled with the latch as if tickling it before just clicking it open.

-Override complete, she smirked.

-Woosh, Frankie said as he shook his head and slid the door open.

The rush of conditioned air hit them instantly.

-Atmosphere stable, Frankie announced. -Life support operational.

He pulled her inside. They stumbled over the threshold, the door sliding shut behind them.

Frankie leaned back against the glass, locking it.

-We're in, he exhaled.

Red stood in the center of the room. She spun around slowly, taking in the space.

-Nice ride, she purred. These aliens certainly know how to travel in style.

She kicked off her boots, leaving them by the airlock.

-Set a course, she ordered, walking toward the couch. Get us out of orbit before they realize their ship is missing.

Frankie moved to the wall switch. He dimmed the lights further.

-Course laid in, he said. Next stop: Deep Space.

Chapter 9: Martian Red

The ship hummed. A low, steady vibration from the life support systems. The refrigerator in the kitchen.

Frankie checked the curtains. Drawn tight. The black void of space was sealed off.

-Warp drive is holding, he said. We're in deep space now.

Red was already at the wet bar. She rummaged through a cabinet.

-Found their stash, she called out. Looks like the officers were hoarding the good stuff.

She held up a bottle. Dust coated the label.

-Vintage Martian Red, she declared. Harvest of Year 276-B. The dust storms made that a good year for the wine, if not the people.

Frankie loosened his collar.

-Pour it, he said. We earned it.

Red popped the cork and poured two glasses.

She walked over to Frankie as if she were in zero-gravity, and handed him a glass.

-To the escape, he said, raising his glass.

-To the getaway, she corrected.

She tumbled down next to him on the couch. The "Captain's Chair." She kicked her legs up, resting them on the coffee table.

They clinked glasses.

Frankie took a sip. It was a cheap Merlot.

-Smooth, he lied.

-Like a nebula, she agreed.

She watched him over the rim of her glass.

-You fly good, Frankie, she said.

Frankie leaned back. He looked at the ceiling fan spinning slowly above them. The radar dish.

-I have a good co-pilot, he said.

Red smiled. She traced the rim of her glass with a fingernail.

-So, she whispered. Now that we're drifting, what's the plan?

-You said it, Frankie said. We drift.

-I like the sound of that, she said. She moved her legs from the coffee table to his lap. Just you, me, and the stars.

Chapter 10: Zoe

The wine was half gone.

Frankie rested his hand on her ankle. The Captain's Chair was comfortable. It was easy to forget the mission here.

-Where did you learn to hack an airlock like that? he asked.

-The Academy, she said softly. West Mars. Before the war.

She took a sip. Her eyes lost focus, drifting past the living room walls, past the hull of the ship.

-I wasn't always a rogue, Frankie. I was top of my class. Navigation. Demolitions. Zero-G combat. Good enough for the Corporation, if I wanted to be.

-I believe it, Frankie said.

-I had a partner, she continued. Zoe. We were inseparable. We shared a bunk on the transport runs. Kept each other warm when the heating coils failed.

She smiled sadly.

-She wasn't just a co-pilot. She was my gravity. We thought we were invincible. Two girls against the void.

-What happened? he asked.

-A solar flare, she whispered. Fried the comms. We got separated during a spacewalk near the Rings. I tried to tether her, but she... drifted.

Zoe. An old girlfriend he remembered her mentioning before. The one who left.

Frankie squeezed Red's ankle gently.

-You're still here, he said.

Red looked at him.

-I had to be, she said. The universe doesn't stop for broken hearts.

She downed the rest of her wine. She set the glass on the coffee table.

-But I'm done with the past, Captain. I'm interested in the present.

She shifted on the couch.

-I want to feel something real.

-The Astrometrics Bay, he said, his voice low. We should check the navigation. Make sure we're on course.

Red had an idea where that was.

-Lead the way, she said. But don't expect me to walk. In zero-g, we float.

Chapter 11: The Skybridge

Frankie stood up, then leaned down and scooped her up.

She was light. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

-Gravity generators are offline, Frankie muttered.

-Stabilizers are failing, she whispered back. Don't drop me, Captain. It's a long way down.

He carried her out of the living room.

The hallway was pitch black. The Skybridge, a narrow, terrifying gantry connecting the ship's command module to the astrometrics bay.

Frankie walked slowly. The magnetic plates on the floorboards kept them from floating off into nothingness.

-Keep your eyes on the horizon, he said.

Red tightened her grip.

-I'm not looking down, she breathed against his neck.

They reached the door at the end of the hall. It was closed. The airlock to the Astrometrics Bay.

Frankie paused. He adjusted her weight, holding her close against his chest.

-We're at the threshold, he said. Once we cross, there's no turning back.

Red reached out. Her hand found the doorknob.

-Open the pod bay doors, Frankie, she laughed, turning the handle.

The door creaked open, revealing the dark bedroom inside.

Frankie stepped through. He kicked the door shut behind them.

Sealed.

Chapter 12: Rings of Saturn

Frankie laid Red down on the crash couch, the white sheets on the mattress like the surface of an ice moon.

She sank into the cushions, hair fanning out like a nebula.

-We're entering the rings, he whispered. Visibility is zero.

Red reached up. She pulled his collar. A release valve.

-Forget visibility, she murmured. Fly by instrument.

She pulled him down.

-I see proximity alarms, she mumbled in the dark room. Collision warnings.

Frankie kissed her neck.

-Turbulence, he noted against her skin.

-Ride it out, Captain, she gasped. Don't you dare eject.

The clothes came off. Spacesuits discarded for the final maneuver.

A frantic, desperate docking procedure in the middle of an asteroid field.

Frankie held her hips. She arched her back, meeting him.

-Hull breach, she cried out, her voice ragged. Shields are down.

-Holding course, Frankie gritted out.

They moved together. The bed creaked, the ship groaning under the G-force.

Red's nails dug into his shoulders.

-Frankie, she breathed. Captain.

He buried his face in her hair.

-I've got you, he whispered.

The climax hit them like a shockwave.

Red cried out, a sound that echoed in the small room. Frankie collapsed against her, the engines finally cutting out. Drifting.

Silence returned to the Astrometrics Bay.

They lay there, tangled in the sheets.

Red traced a line down his chest.

-Nice flying, Captain, she whispered. We cleared the field.

Frankie closed his eyes. The room was spinning gently.

-Orbit achieved, he murmured.

Chapter 13: Ejection

The chronometer on the nightstand blinked. Red numbers in the dark. Time was up.

Frankie sat on the edge of the bed.

-Duty calls, he said.

Red stirred. She stretched languidly. She watched him with sleepy eyes, her hair a mess of red static against the white pillow.

-Figures, she sighed.

Frankie stood up. He gathered his clothes from the floor. He pulled on his shirt. Armor plating back in place. He buckled his belt.

-I have to disembark, he said. The window is closing.

Red sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. She looked small in the big bed.

-Keep the comms open, Captain.

-Always, Frankie promised.

He leaned down. He kissed her.

-One last kiss before I cross the skybridge, he whispered.

He turned and walked out of the bedroom and down the dark hallway.

He reached the front door and stepped out into the night.

He walked to the car. The ship. He climbed in and shut the door.

He looked back at the house, a space station. A single light burned in the window.

He turned the key. The engine roared to life.

-Thrusters online, he muttered.

He pulled away from the curb, leaving the station behind.

Chapter 14: Home Base

The road stretched out as he hit the gas.

The streetlights blurred into streaks of white. Warp speed.

Frankie tapped the steering wheel. The controls were responsive. The engine roared, a faithful vessel carrying him home.

-Mission successful, he whispered.

Back on the station, Red lay back. The sheets were still warm.

She listened to the roar of the thrusters fading into the distance.

Frankie pulled into his driveway. Docking complete.

He killed the engine and the sounds of the real world seeped in. The hum of the distant highway. The barking of a dog.

He stepped out of the car. He walked up the path and unlocked his front door.

Inside, the apartment was quiet and empty. He walked to the desk in the corner. He tapped the spacebar. The monitor came on.

Inside the station, Red heard the familiar chirp from the computer on her desk. She rolled over, wrapping the sheet around her, and sat up.

-Landed safely? she typed.

Frankie watched the cursor blink. The green flower was waiting.

-Touchdown confirmed, he replied. Systems cooling.

-Copy that, Captain, she wrote. Station is secure.

Red smiled and stretched.

Frankie looked at the screen. The flower was still there. Online.

-Same time next cycle? she asked.

He leaned back to stretch.

-Keep the frequency open, he typed.

He reached out and turned off the monitor. The room went dark again. He looked out the window at the night sky. The stars were hidden behind the city smog, but he knew they were there.