Zarathustra In Aphelion

[MiniKitty]

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Zarathustra In Aphelion
Close beside my knowledge lies my black ignorance.

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Carrying the bag back to the Kay, the boy became more and more aware of the unwanted attention he had gottem himself. Snickering and staring, like back in the day of elementary school. Or the mines. A harsh reminder of how much more quality of life he had on Denver now. Trying to ignore the eyes of gossip, he simply hurried to the Kay.

Airlock. Hallway. Light switch. Light switch. Cockpit door. Monique lounging on the bed, visibly bored as she played some game on her PDA, while Madeleine sat in the pilot seat, brushing her orange hair. Her thin thighs held a thermo cup of steaming coffee. In a show of multitasking, she turned around with the seat to face Levan.

Hey. Laundry is done.

Cool. Did anything happen on the station?

Nope!


Moving over to the bed, he sat down at the edge of it, then emptied the bag with the clothes on the floor without any care.

Really, nothing happened?

Madeleine stared at Levan, her gaze piercing his eyes. The boy returned a slightly confused, slightly inimidated smile, then avoided her. Monique was still playing her game on the PDA, so Levan briefly glanced over it. For some reason, Monique's smirk grew wider and wider. Very slowly. Did they know? How? Levan's eyes involuntarily focussed in on the PDA. Colorful neon lights of some sci-fi city, isometric view. One of those games where you click buildings to get items to build more buildings that produce more items. Levan had one of those games on his PDA, too. That exact game.

Is that my PDA?

He's catching on, Maddy.

Eyes widening, Levan glanced over to Madeleine, who once again met his eyes with her piercing stare, accompanied by the hint of a mischievous grin.

What happened, Levan?

I put the stuff in the washing machine, then I took a nap somewhere else and came back here. And I guess you two tried to find me and found my PDA instead.

Just her.

Really, you took a nap?

The boy sighed, slightly annoyed, and grabbed the PDA from Monique, who shifted her posture to face him better.


There was an announcement on Ames about the supply ship not having reached the station. They are asking pilots to join for a rescue mission.

Good luck to them, then.

Levan gave Madeleine a flat look before standing up, intending to move over to her. Before he could, however, Monique grabbed him from behind and pulled him back down to the bed. Madeleine moved the coffee cup from between her legs onto the little tray at the controls, then got up from the chair and walked over to them.


Uhm, Monique~

Erm, Levan-
We're not going to join that mission.

Going out there almost killed us last time, Levan.

That ship is out there, and we can help them! They need us!


He tried to free himself from Monique's arms wrapped around his torso, yet Madeleine pushed him further onto the bed and sat down on his thighs, trapping him. The girl with the orange hair leaned forward and hugged him gently.

You can't save them all, love.

I can save them, Madeleine. I am a good pilot. I can find them and tow them to Ames!


The young woman placed her lips on his. Her hands gently cupped his cheeks, her thumbs caressing the cheekbones. Their lips parted and they simply eyed each other.


I can save them.

Look out of the cockpit, Levan.
Out there are dozens of ships,
down there by the Junkers.
Dozens of pilots thought they could do it.
They didn't.
Most of them had more experience than you.

Madeleine, I can do it. I can save them!

You weren't even able to save Kris.

That turned him silent. He closed his eyes and turned his face away from her. Madeleine exhaled audibly, deeply and let her hands slide down to his chest.

Right now, you can choose to save us, instead.
By not going out there.
That way, you save yourself, and Monique, and me.
And once the space weather is better, we go back to Denver.
Unharmed and happy.

All three of us!

All three of them. Monique, Madeleine, Levan. Him and his two girlfriends. All a man could want. Two pretty women that admired him in many ways. Any other man would be happy with that, Levan thought. No need to take any risks. Any suffering would be self-inflicted. Any struggle a struggle of his own making. And yet, there were people out there that needed help, and every second wasted on arguing with Madeleine and Monique was decreasing their chances of survival.

Levan filled his lungs with the tasteless recycled air of the Kay. He shook his head.


I guess you are right.


Madeleine responded with a more passionate kiss, which he returned. However, when she tried to push him to lay down, he pulled away.


Not really in the mood for that right now.

Your lower body seems to think differently.

I cannot do that when there are people out there that could be dying any second.

There's always someone dying out there.
It's space. It's horrible. People die over miniscule things.
You had a disagreement with those Auxesians and now they want you dead.
It's that easy.
Focus on your own survival, and be happy with what you have.

I am happy with what I have.

You have a weird way of showing that.

Once more, Levan remained silent. Was egoism really the right thing here? His gunboat was sturdier than most ships around, his navigating skills not too bad either. And he was an adult man. Even while being in a chokehold by two girls. But maybe they were right. Maybe the other pilots will manage to do it without him. Maybe was already too late. Maybe it was an ambush. And maybe there were better things to do right now.

But maybe he was the one to save this supply ship. The thought didn't let go of him. Neither did the two girls. Monique hugging him from behind, Madeleine from the front.

Kristoff wouldn't hesitate to help. Nobody could have stopped him from helping these people. Aspen literally went down to Erie to help defending the planet. She risked her life, too. Even Rebecca risked her life over and over again to help her friends in the most stupid ways, and escaped her well-deserved death every time. And Yoshiko would probably scolt him for wanting to play hero.

He had no idea what to do. Everything wanted him to play it safe and stay, and enjoy life. And yet the abyss was calling for him, tempting with the reward of helping people in need.

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