DT 2021: The Last Time

“Is it too late to make you stay?”
A hushed spaceport terminal echoed with the rumblings of a family of three overlooking a large charter-ship through transparent-metal windows. Emblazoned on the turquoise shuttle-like hull, Weaver Interstellar Interests. Few travelers wandered into this part of the spaceport complex and even fewer headed towards the specified destinations.
Anyone intending to get onboard, even the crew, were already aboard. Only stragglers remained. A wife on a mission, a husband doing his duty, and a daughter as their witness.
“Nev. You of all people—”
“I know. But I can’t help it. Someone’s got to ask it. I don’t care about the irony, whether its me knowing you can’t or you being the type to arrest yourself to prevent it.”
The husband, Neville Bradford, grimaced at his wife as she shifted her weight from hip to hip and her last duffel bag bounced against her back.
“We make an odd couple,” Viktoria Bradford observed with an apologetic smile. “You the all-knowing, and me with all the power. Right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
The couple hovered in awkward silence as they tried to weigh their words. This was a practiced ritual for them, but every instance could become their last tango. It didn’t matter if it was Miridem, Cyrus VII, or even her public outreach mission in the Inner Colonies. The Human-Covenant War entered a dangerous new phase as the aliens finally conquered the Human Sphere's colonial periphery and spilled into the interior.
Covenant ships prowled the dark of space between stars and frontlines. Any form of interstellar travel was an extreme risk these days.
“Look, Neville. I almost went to Paris IV; I missed the deployment call by mere months. The Army’s not going to give me a break like that again.”
“And Paris IV was a bloodbath. How many reservists from Sigma Octanus made it back from of the deployment?”
Viktoria was silent for a moment, but managed to answer without grinding her teeth or showing the bleeding edge beneath her eyes. “A quarter.”
“Every battle from then on is going to be like that Vik. You know that. Minab might not be in the Covenant battle net yet, but it will be. It’s inevitable.”
Neville continued under bated breath, whispering like Death itself. “I showed you those classified communiques. I could go to jail for that, but you know how close the Covenant fleets are.”
“Crystal, Lieutenant.” Viktoria answered simply adding her husband’s rank out of frustration.
“Shit… This isn’t how I wanted to send you off. I just—”
The wife reached across the distance and cupped her husband’s cheek, rubbing it with stiff affection. The UNSC Army Ranger was upset, but she understood and she still cared.
“Neither did I. But we can’t change orders. We can’t run away from this. Especially for her sake.”
The parents glanced down at their nearly-four-year-old daughter, kneeling on shaky toddler legs and against the metallic glass. She seemed infatuated with the interstellar shuttlecraft but her vague gawking and giggles were hard to interpret.
Neville steeled himself. “Yeah, I understand.”
“Take care of her,” Viktoria ordered seriously. “She’s going to be a handful when school comes around.”
Neville huffed. “And how would you know that?”
“A mother’s intuition.”
“I call bull—”
“Yar-yar-yar. I can’t hear you over the data-jockey-lingo coming out of your mouth.” Viktoria teased, interrupting her husband mid-curse with a dismissive pat on the chin.
“Why did I ever marry you?”
“Because of my sweet tattoos.”
“Yeah, definitely not that.”
The couple’s laughter drew an odd and annoyed glanced from the flight attendant waiting expectantly behind them. At least she had the mind to not interrupt the couple’s sendoff tradition. Viktoria made her own time, sensing the impatience growing behind her anyway.
“I do have to go.”
“I know…”
Neville reached out for an embrace, catching his muscle-massed wife in a bearhug. Their lips engaged in an efficient peck before they pulled apart completely.
“Say bye to your little girl too,” Neville added, picking up the chubby little girl from the ground.
Viktoria took Andra from her husband and brought her into a tight squeeze against her chest, resting the little girl’s head in the crook of her neck. “I’ll be back sooner than you realize.”
Seeming to transform in a moment of sharp articulation, the bubbly little girl revealed her intelligence. “I love you, Mama. Mama beat alien.”
“I will, Sweetie. Take care of your father for me. And kick butt at everything you do.”
“I-I will.” Andra mumbled into her mother’s neck. Viktoria planted a trio of kisses in the little girl’s mane of dark hair.
Viktoria set the girl back into her stroller, making sure to buckle her in. “I love you, little one.”
“I love you, Mama. Sooooo much.”
Neville brought his wife in for one more hug, whispering to her. “I hate these moments.”
“So do I,” Viktoria replied quickly.
“Don’t lie to me like that. I know you.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you do…”
The couple pulled apart and Viktoria turned to leave, waving a hand to her husband and daughter without a glance back. The pair watched Viktoria walk through the gate and disappear into the receiving chamber between the terminal and shuttle.
It wasn’t long before the charter-ship was a burning plume away from the spaceport and a glint against the Sigma Octanus sun.
Neville whispered to himself, “No matter how many times I see you leave… It always feels like the last time…”
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