Blackened Space-One Shot

"They're beautiful, as beautiful as the day I came on this ship." The man stared at the stars.

"I wonder..... Are you all watching me from up there?" The man's fist tightened, memory of blurry faces appeared in his mind one by one. 

The man let out a hollow laugh. "I'm forgetting all of your faces.. I can't remember them anymore."

"It's only been a few months. And yet I'm forgetting." Tears began to well up in the man's eyes.

"I warned you all, just how bad my memory was. Ben, you never believed me when I told you. I guess with your great memory could never comprehend just how bad mine was."

The man suddenly went quiet as the distant North Star flickered. "What the hell am I doing?' A self-deprecating laugh escaped the man's lips. "It's not like you all will hear me anyway."

Even with everything it took the man a while to let go of the railing, before walking towards his room. The man stepped into the kitchen from the outer deck, his eyes drawn to the third table. The vague figure of two men appeared in his mind.

'Ben and Ivan always played poker there.' The ghost of a smile crept upon the man's lips.

'Ben always wanted to play blackjack, but always lost anyway. Ivan flaunted his wins daily even going to say cheating wouldn't help Ben win. He was right. The entire group watched that day.' The man chuckled.

The man continued to walk even as his chest burned. Next, the man came upon a couch. 

'This was Jen's hangout spot right.' The man's eyes followed the trail of stains littering the couch. 

'That damn intern. I always told her to clean this damn thing up.' The man thought with no real anger behind it. 

As the man rounded the corner his eyes fell on his room and the intricate yet faded mural surrounding it.

'Beatrice.' A nostalgic smile found its way upon the man's face.

'I remember, she painted this the day we promised to get married.' The man's eyes found the promise ring on his finger.

'Our wedding was never going to be too big, with both of us being orphans the only people we were going to invite were Ivan, Ben, and Jen.' His fingers traced the lines of the faded mural.

'Our honeymoon was going to be on Earth. We were both born there but it's been decades since we were their last.' The man finally opened the door, the burning feeling in his chest growing to overwhelming.

The man laid down too tired to take off his gear. As the man's eyes closed for the last time he thought. 'I promise all of you, I will hold SpaceNET responsible for this. I will make sure the world remembers you all, so even if I die a tragedy like this will never happen again.' The man's eyes closed. 

The SpaceNET-6 space station never made it back to Earth.