Chereads / The Wake of Mankind / Chapter 3 - The Distance Grows

Chapter 3 - The Distance Grows

Kei's days aboard the UGRS Fuji had settled into a predictable rhythm. His shifts at the communication deck, his meals, his off-hours - each day mirrored the one before. But all of that changed when the Fuji encountered an unknown alien fleet just past Pluto.

It happened without warning. One moment, Kei was at his station, monitoring communications as usual. The next, the ship was on high alert, klaxons blaring and red warning lights flooding the deck.

The alien fleet was small, but their technology was advanced. Their ships moved with an agility and speed that made the UGRS Fuji seem lumbering in comparison. The air was thick with tension as the ship's pilots prepared to engage.

Kei's heart pounded in his chest as he relayed orders and updates to the pilots in their attack ships. The communication deck, usually a place of routine and order, was now a frenzy of activity. His headset buzzed with the voices of the pilots, their words punctuated by the sounds of combat.

He heard their fear, their determination, their cries as they clashed with the alien ships. And through it all, he had to remain calm, focused. He was their lifeline, their link to the Fuji, their guide amidst the chaos of battle.

The fight was disorienting. In space, there was no up or down, no left or right. Only the infinite expanse, dotted with stars and the flashing lights of the alien ships. The pilots relied on Kei's directions, his voice their compass in the vastness of space.

He didn't know how long the battle lasted. It felt like an eternity, each second stretching out as they fought off the alien fleet. Finally, the last alien ship was destroyed, its remains floating in the void.

The aftermath of the battle left a strange silence in its wake. The klaxons had stopped blaring, the red lights replaced by the usual cool blue. Kei's heart was still racing, the adrenaline making his hands tremble as he reached for his headset.

"Status check," he called into the comms, his voice sounding steady despite the knot in his stomach. One by one, the pilots reported in.

"Alpha 1, all clear," came the first reply. It was followed by the rest of Alpha team, their voices filled with relief and exhaustion. "Alpha 2, all clear. Alpha 3, all clear. Alpha 4, all clear."

Kei noted each response, his fingers flying over the console as he updated the ship's status. Next was Bravo team. Again, the responses came in, each one a lifeline tethering him back to reality. "Bravo 1, all clear. Bravo 2, all clear. Bravo 3, all clear. Bravo 4, all clear."

Then came Charlie team. "Charlie 1, all clear. Charlie 2, all clear." His heart pounded in his chest as he awaited the next response. "Charlie 4, all clear."

But there was a silence where Charlie 3's response should have been. Kei repeated his call, his voice echoing in the quiet of the comms room. "Charlie 3, status check."

The silence stretched on, a cold void that threatened to swallow Kei whole. "Charlie 3, status check," he repeated, his voice echoing in the quiet of the comms room. But the silence was the only response he received.

"Charlie 1," Kei finally said, his voice cracking slightly. "Check on Charlie 3."

A confirmation came quickly, and Kei was left with the silence once more. His gaze was fixed on the console, the blinking lights reflecting in his wide eyes. Each second ticked by painfully slow as he waited for Charlie 1's report.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Charlie 1's voice came through the comm. "UGRS Fuji... Charlie 3's ship... it's been destroyed."

The words echoed in his ears, each syllable a dagger in his heart. A heavy silence filled the comms room as the reality of the situation sunk in. One of their own, a pilot under his watch, was gone.

Kei swallowed hard, pushing back the wave of grief threatening to overwhelm him. He had a duty to report this. His fingers moved mechanically over the console as he opened a direct channel to Yokota Space Center.

"Yokota, this is UGRS Fuji," he began, his voice steady despite the turmoil within him. "We have a casualty. Pilot Kazuki Tanaka, Charlie 3... he's... he's not coming back."

As he signed off, Kei felt a weight settle on his shoulders. The reality of their mission, the danger they faced, it all became too real. The excitement of exploration was now tinged with the sting of loss. And as he looked out at the vast expanse of space, Kei couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

Yet, he knew he had a duty to fulfill. Not just to the UGRS Fuji, or the United Government Space Defense Force, but to Ayaka. He had to tell her what happened, had to share this pain with her. It was a part of his journey, a part of the experience he had promised to share. And so, with a heavy heart, Kei mentally began to compose his next letter, the words filled with the sorrow of a heart mourning the loss of a comrade in the silence of space.

Kei walked through the cold, sterile hallways of the UGRS Fuji, the events of the day playing out in his mind like a nightmare. He reached his quarters and stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind him with a soft hiss.

He paused for a moment, just standing in the middle of the room. It was small and sparse, with a single bed, a desk, and a small washroom. It was his space, a tiny corner of the universe that belonged to him.

He reached out to turn on the lights, and they flashed on instantly. The sudden burst of light startled him, triggering the memory of the battle. The blaring of the alarms, the flash of the enemy ships, the frantic voices over the comms...

He sunk to the floor, his legs no longer able to support him. Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision. He wrapped his arms around himself, his body shaking with sobs. It was the first time he had allowed himself to truly feel the weight of what had happened.

After a while, the tears subsided, leaving him feeling drained and hollow. He pushed himself off the floor and moved to the desk. The console blinked at him, an empty page waiting for his words.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before he began to type. He wrote about the battle, about the fear and chaos. He wrote about the loss of Charlie 3, about the silence that followed. He poured out his heart, his words raw and honest.

When he was done, he looked at the screen, his message staring back at him. "To: Sato-san," it read. "Subject: A Battle, A Loss."

He hit send and watched as the message was sent off into the ether. The console informed him that it would take five weeks for the message to reach Earth. Five weeks for Ayaka to know the truth, to feel his pain.

Kei leaned back in his chair, feeling a strange sense of relief. The message was out there now, traveling across the vast expanse of space. Just like him, it was on a journey, bringing a piece of his world to Ayaka. And with that thought, he felt a little less alone.