I didn’t have to wait long; before five minutes had passed, the door to my room opened, to reveal the big man I had first seen from the Cryo pod – the one with the deep voice. He was huge – broad shouldered and muscled all over in a way that made me sweat a little and go dry in the mouth. He wasn’t handsome in the classical sense – but he was fit, and cute in a way I didn’t know how to describe. I couldn’t deny it – I liked how he looked.

“Hello.” He said in his deep, accented voice. “I am Bear.”

John nodded. “Hey, Bear. I’m John.”

“Good. Come with me.” Bear motioned for John to leave the room, so he slipped past the big man and out into the hallway.

“Where are we, Bear?” John asked.

“We are on Fortune’s Favor – a small scout ship in Imperial Space. We are currently in Traltha system. Traltha is in Spinward Marches, a long way from Earth.”

“Thanks, I guess.” John replied. “I’ve never heard of Traltha or the Spinward Marches.”

“No problem. I bet you’ve never heard of lot of things. You will learn. Is inevitable.”

John smiled. Bear’s accent made him smile. It was so stereotypically Russian from old Earth it actually gave him a sense of familiarity. “Where are we going?”

“Galley. Food is waiting.” With that, Bear strode into a decent sized common room, with a dining room table for four, a small kitchenette, and a common area with a few couches and a large vid screen. In a cabinet rested some electronic devices that John took to be similar to DVD players or some sort of gaming console.

Waiting at the table were another man – the one calling himself Drago – and a very pretty but sombre looking woman with raven black hair, who was dressed all in black, accented with silver jewellery. She even had a pair of skull berets in her hair, and the skull motif on her tall leather boots and belt buckle accented the outfit. John chuckled to himself at how wrong he had been about Hortencia, if this was her. Perky blonde? Nope! Perky goth girl? Maybe.

“Hey. I’m John.” He said, entering the common room.

“Hi John. I’m Hortencia. You’ve met Bear and Drago. Has he seen Herc yet, Drago?”

Drago shook his head. “He’s probably still sleeping on the Fusion coils. You know he likes it warm.”

“Well, as long as he stops chewing the wires to the phase converter, I don’t mind.” Hortencia smiled. “Herc is Drago’s little friend. He’s kind of a tiny dragon, about 10 kilos in size. He’s super cute.”

Tiny dragon? Neat! John smiled. “Well, I guess I’ll see him when I see him.”

There was a noise in the kitchenette, and Bear got up and returned with four hot pre-prepared meals. They were oddly like Terran TV dinners, except the portions were quite generous and the food was much higher in quality. His meal had a 10oz steak, plus two vegetables as sides, plus a desert that sort of looked like apple cobbler. Gods knew what the meat and veggies actually were, though – John doubted the food was Terran native. It was probably the closest thing people could find to Terran food out here.

“This looks pretty good.” He commented, and the others nodded.

“Spacers get pretty hungry.” Drago replied. “We try to get decent rations so our trips aren’t completely miserable. Good food helps make up for the lack of space. The Fortune’s Favor is a small ship.”

“Really?” John asked. “I thought it would be large, to generate gravity by spinning.”

“Nope. That’s old school. We use artificial gravity to make the ship appear to have an up and a down direction.” Hortencia replied. “Gravity Plating in the floor helps keep us all stable. The tech was developed a long time ago – probably just pre first contact.”

“First contact? Did we meet an alien race?” John asked.

“Not really. Humans from another part of space found Earth and thought it was a lost colony. Imagine their surprise when they realized that their star system had been seeded with humans from Terra ages ago by a species we call the Ancients. Terra is humanity’s homeworld – and sometime around 500000 years ago, aliens we call the Ancients took samples of humanity from Terra and seeded life all across the galaxy. One of those star systems developed starships around the Terran year 1200 AD, and began expanding into a stellar empire. They met Terrans sometime around 2300 AD, and naturally immediately ended up in a war with them. The first empire lost, and the Terrans took over, creating the Empire of Sol – what we call the Solomani Empire. It lasted about a thousand years before the long dark.”

“What’s the long dark, Hortencia?” John asked.

“The long dark is a period of time when the civilized worlds were hit by a great plague, and technology declined so quickly and so effectively, whole parts of the empire fell into barbarism and lost the ability to travel the stars. Eventually, the whole empire fell into what was a new dark age, until the Syleans rediscovered Jump Drive technology about a thousand years later. They then began creating a third empire of man, and set about re-exploring the places Humanity had once flown – rejoining thousands of successful colonies with their human brethren. It wasn’t all hunky dory, either – there were new wars, and a lot of growing pains – and we even discovered a number of non human sentient races as well, but for the most part, we made it back and now the Empire is moving forward again. It’s the year 1115 from the founding of the Third Empire.”

John nodded, trying to absorb all the data Hortencia had just lobbed at him. It was a lot to take in. “Then I guess nothing I once knew still exists, does it?”

Hortencia nodded, looking sad. “Probably not, John.”

“Was I the only survivor of the Hyperion?”

“Da.” Bear replied. “There was no one else alive. You were the last.”

John hung his head a moment in grief. Katie. Justin. Samantha. Dillon. Commander Scott. All dead. For a moment, it didn’t seem real to him… It seemed like a big fat joke, and an unfunny one at that. He felt stricken, and kind of sick, until he felt a big hand – a paw almost – reach out and grab his shoulder to give it a squeeze. It was Bear.

“Do not be sad you are alive, my friend. Say goodbye to those you lost, but do not give up. There is still much to live for.” Bear smiled, and tried to encourage John to eat.

John tried to fight back his grief, and succeeded, armed with Bears encouragement and his own hunger distracting him. I’ll have to say goodbye later, when I’m ready, he thought. Now it’s too close. I need time. John took a few minutes to eat, enjoying the pre-prepared meal more than he might normally have. The others took a moment to eat as well.

John was astonished he was able to finish the whole meal – normally it would be a no brainer, but with his shrunken stomach and slightly emaciated state, he was pleasantly surprised he finished. Pushing away the tray, he looked at the others. “So what happens now?”

Drago looked like he had been expecting the question. “Well, that’s sort of up to you. You see, you’re the only survivor of the Hyperion, which means you own the cargo we took from the ship.”

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“Right. Naval law, correct?” John asked.

“Yup.” Drago nodded. “But we have bills to pay – this ship is mortgaged to the Imperial Bank on Trin, and if we don’t pay up, the bank repossesses our ship and suddenly we have no home and no livelihood. So either we charge you passage to take you and your cargo to a port, offload you and dump you somewhere to make your own way, and find ourselves another job ASAP to pay the bills, or you sign your rights to the cargo over to us, and we sell it for whatever we can get for it, and pay the bills. I’ve already talked with the others – both Bear and Hortencia figure if you pull your weight you can stay and get an equal share of whatever we profit. Otherwise, if you’re not interested, we dump you on the nearest planet and do the best we can.”

John thought for a moment – the facts were pretty cut and dried, laid out by Drago. These people were probably freebooters and mercenaries, not naval personel. They needed to make money to keep flying, and to keep getting work. “Is the Hyperion worth anything as scrap metal? As the last survivor, I could sell it to a wrecker for the metal value.”

Bear looked interested. “You would do this? Is good idea. The Hyperion is worth maybe 100,000 credits as wreck. Would only cost about 20,000 to get her to wrecker.”

“Yeah. If no one else is alive, and the ship is never going to fly again, then we might as well get something for it. As for joining your gang, or being beached on an unknown planet in an unknown star system, I think I might be better off with you people. I’m not sure I trust you yet – but I hope you can see why.”

“Da.” Bear replied. “Trust is earned, not given. If you join us, we will all learn to trust together.” Bear grinned. “We are not bad guys – but we are sort of bad guys. We do jobs that others would not do, but we do them our way.”

“Translation – you’re kind of desperate people doing slightly criminal things to survive, but consider yourselves good people?”

“Da!” Bear said smiling. “You have it.”

John grimaced, wondering what he was getting into. Its not like he had much choice – it was either this, or being beached on an unknown planet. He already knew option three – the one Bear and Drago hadn’t mentioned: They simply shoot him and space his body out the airlock – then they own the cargo and the ship on their own as salvage rights. He idly wondered why that was not one of the options they gave. It meant either they weren’t like they said, ‘bad guys’, or it meant they didn’t want to alarm him. I guess time will tell, he thought.

“How is this going to work?” John asked. “I sign everything over to you, and trust you to not screw me?”

“No. As survivor, you sign share of cargo over to us – and you keep share of cargo as well. We go to Traltha and sell cargo, and split money five ways – one share each, plus one for ship. Then we either look for job on Traltha, or move on to next planet.” Bear explained, trying to show with his words, and some gestures, what he meant.

It looked pretty fair to John – it was probably the best deal he was going to get. “I guess I’m in. I don’t want to be marooned somewhere I don’t know.”

“Good!” said Bear. “Then is settled. You are one of crew. Welcome to Fortunes Favor.” The big man held out one of his paws, and John took it to shake in acceptance, his own fairly large hand dwarfed in Bears.

“Now what?” John asked.

“Well,” Drago interjected. “We can give you a tour of the ship, or let you get some more rest. Frankly you look exhausted and a little freaked out. I know I would be if I woke up several thousand years in the future. I’d be scared shitless.”

John smirked a little wryly. “Then I think you and I understand each other perfectly. Some extra rest would be nice. I’ll get the tour of the ship later.”

“No problem. Just one word about safety, though – until Hortencia shows you how to get through hydroponics safely, stay out of it and engineering. You’ll thank me, believe me.” Drago rolled his eyes, and smiled at Hortencia, who just pouted in return, and John wondered what exactly was going on between the two of them, and in hydroponics.

“No problem. I was just going to head back to my room for a while.” John took his tray to the disposal, and headed back to his room, thinking, trying to process his situation and the unreality of it – and of his loss. To him, he had seen his friends only yesterday. They had been alive, full of hope – ready for the future. Now? They’re at least 3000 years dead and gone. Why did I survive? He asked himself once again. Why me?

He went back to his room, and laid down on the bed as the door automatically closed itself. A touch of a button dimmed the lights, and he rested on the bunk, staring upwards towards the ceiling, letting thoughts of his friends wash over him. John felt his grief rising, and knew if he indulged it, he would break down. Why shouldn’t I? He thought. I don’t have to hide my emotions if I don’t want to, do I? In the end, it didn’t matter. The grief came unbidden, and slowly crept up on him till he was overwhelmed. It started with tears, rolling down his cheeks, and then with sobs. He let out his feelings in great gasping sobs, crying out the loss of his old life, his hopes, his dreams, and in the process, he started to say goodbye. It left him feeling drained – but better than when he started, and he rolled over to try and get some sleep. He had no doubt his friends would want him to keep on living – so he could do no less than honor their memory. He knew what he had to do.

As he lay there making plans, sleep overtook him, and he drifted off to a blessed rest.

* * *

When John awoke, he knew what he had to do. His friends deserved nothing less. He got gently out of bed, his muscles still a bit sore and achy, and sighed as the mop of brown curls he called hair fell in his face again. I have GOT to find a way to keep this out of my face, he thought. Maybe Hortencia has some hair ties?

Sweeping the recalcitrant locks out of his face, John left his cabin and went looking for someone who could help. The doors to the bridge were open, but John couldn’t see anyone there, so he turned around and went to the common area. Bear was there, playing what looked like a game on the vid screen. It was a shooting game with what looked like zombies – and it looked kind of fun, actually. Bear was wearing a head-rig that looked sort of like a virtual reality headset, so he gently touched Bear’s shoulder instead of shouting, figuring he might not be heard.

Bear started at the touch, and paused the game, removing his head rig. “Da?” He asked. “What is it, John?”

“I need to know who’s in charge, Bear. I have something I need to do before we can scrap the Hyperion, and I want to know who to talk to.”

“Well, I own ship, mostly, so I guess I am in charge.” Bear replied. “What do you need?”

“Are we still docked with the Hyperion?”

“Da. There is still some things we need off your old ship before we tow it in-system.”

John nodded. Good. “There are some things I need to do – and I’m going to need some help. My people deserve a better end than being left for wreckers to slag. I want to hold a small funeral, and send them off appropriately. Can you help?”

Bear thought about it a bit, and nodded. “Da. You learn a lot about a person by how they treat those left behind. We will help. Is good thing to do this.”

* * *

It had taken several hours of grunt work, but in the end it was worth it. It was all hands on deck, and everyone did their part. Soon, they were arrayed on the cargo deck, with 21 wrapped bodies – the bodies of John’s chosen family and friends from the Europa Expedition – to allow John to say his goodbyes.

Hortencia had brought a small stereo, and was playing somber music, and Bear and Drago were watching nearby, respectfully. They and Hortencia had changed into what John assumed was their uniforms from military service, but the clothing looked unfamiliar. John was there in his Hyperion Flight suit. The Fortune’s Favor was no longer docked to the Hyperion – instead the Hyperion was behind the Fortune’s Favor, being towed by a tractor beam, of all things. John knew he was going to be amazed and confused by a lot of things in the next little while – but for now, he had his duty to carry out.

He stepped forward, and cleared his throat. “We’re gathered here to say goodbye to the crew of the Hyperion. I know you didn’t know them, but to me they were my chosen family, my friend – they were my people, and together we were going to find a new life on the moon of Europa. That dream died a long time ago, along with the bodies of my friends – my family – but their spirit lives on. I will not give in to the long night – for I believe they would want me to go on. In return, I do the only thing that I can – which is commend their bodies to the depths of space, and say goodbye.”

John paused, blinking back a tear. “Goodbye, my friends. I pray you are at peace. Go with god, whoever she is.” With that, John pressed the trigger button he had been holding, and the airlock cycled – and twenty one bodies, the slain crew of the Hyperion Colony Ship drifted out, on a collision course for the white sun of the Traltha System. The journey to the sun would take about three months, before the flames would kiss at their flesh – before they were burned in a pyre and turned to stardust. John watched them go, and in the process, said goodbye to Earth-that-was, to his previous life – to everything he had ever known. As he watched them drift away, he felt the bonds that had held them together, the memories of the good times remain. He had to keep moving forward – they would expect no less.

John wiped the tear away, and turned to Bear. “Thank you, for this.”

Bear nodded. “Is least we could do.” He put one of his huge hands on John’s shoulder for support. “We know what is like to lose people. You did right thing.”

John nodded, and smiled at his new crewmates – Bear, Drago, and Hortencia. “I guess its time to tow this wreck, isn’t it?”

Bear smiled. “Da.”