Our mission was surprisingly productive, our data team analyzing the remains of V6 would be able to learn and maybe, just maybe, help us find the cause of its fiasco. The salvage would also provide spare parts to go into repairs of our other craft.

"Well? What do you want? A pat on the back, a hug?" the Administrator's voice greeted me back, "we wouldn't need to salvage any rockets if you and that Igor weren't so fond of wasting my resources," smoke was swirling around the stinging sentences, "and the damned thrusters are missing. You couldn't find anything more, just metal scraps. You idiots."

I left without a word, I thought it was a level-headed act of defiance but the truth is that my anger and bruised ego drove me out of the room, down the empty halls and back to my dormitory which only allowed me little privacy. I thought of a million things to say and do to ruin his life, crafty sabotage, maybe raise warnings about his incredible incompetence to other workers, but I wasn't sure anyone or anything would listen. Solitary impotence once again overwhelmed me, a flurry of thoughts and emotions jumbled up in my head feeding into frustration and rage. A boiling feast for the devils in my head, feeding me back with nightmares to torture me, nightmares of my body crumbling to pieces, the doctor examining my blood found deadly chemicals in it, an ill-timed static test burned me to death, all the procedures, the endless tests returned a jumble of gibberish, the radiation suit's air filter shattered into my mouth, Satele...

"Attention all personnel," the stentorian voice of the broadcast addressed us all, "it is with heavy hearts and saddened eyes that we inform you that our beloved V7 has crashed," mumbling filled the poorly lit room, the grunts of tables being turned, "the failure was so devastating that the remains are unable to yield any important and valuable clues to its cause of demise, it is such a colossal disaster that our very existence has been knocked out and the Agency is over." Rattling of chairs, murmurs of gossip and other voices of displeasure followed, some kept weeping over the rocket, tears splattering. "Good news follow this announcement: We know who has disrupted, sabotaged, and spited us. We will accordingly act." All eyes turned to me, the Administrator was standing there behind the coffin, his sharp angry eyes stared through me like lasers, he reached under his desk and

"BEEP!" a loud notification woke me up and the annoying voice said, "Mission Commence: Not Slash Applicable."

A break day, a day out, just enough to stretch and rest. I stared at the ceiling and its mess of exposed wires hoping a trance would form in my mind, but the techniques never worked on me. Egori's bed was empty; thinking about his blind innocence pushed my furrowed brow deeper into a frown, how I wished I were as carefree and empty-headed as him.

"Illustrations of raining fire painted on the canvas of a forlorn tree, the melancholic overtones and ill-fated figures in coal define the earliest memories we have, the oldest known painting dating back to..." the faint monologue from "Nolosheena" reverberated through the wall from the briefing room, interrupting my musings.

I pathologically avoided going to briefings but the faint fluorescent blue inside the dim room nudged me inside; Satele was there alone, transfixed by the screen, her glowing eyes painting the wall yellow.

"Why are you watching that?" I grumbled, stopping at the door.

She did not turn her head away from the monitor, "I am learning about the history of this world, after the dawn."

"...fossilized remains of these small creatures lie below great beds of black tar..."

"Is that your family down there in the dark?" Satele's confusing question added to the challenge of deciphering her.

"...black is our nature's beginning, of life, the crimson rain its..."

"No, I mean, not exactly. You can say we are related somehow."

"...did not win the game of life, an entire species' destiny interrupted by the unforeseen..."

"What is it like, losing so many relatives?"

I knew Satele was asking about the morbid sights on the display, but her question gnawed in my gut. I could not answer.

"...fields untended, yet teeming with..."

The Administrator tapped his microphone, "In the spirit of the Agency's birthday, congregate in the courtyard for the festivities."

"Open The Curtains, Reveal Gardens Anew"

We often mocked this slogan, yet we raised the surrealism over the skies.

The Agency used to regulate its public image, they fabricated glamorous stories and vivid reinterpretations of our work so the world could view our deeds as heroic. Words formed curtains thrown to the waves, blocking out sad realities. But who would buy the lofty claims that we tried to maintain when we had nothing but failed measures to justify our existence?

Our work became a mirror image of this: each day new torture, chasms of endless failures, and new deadly accidents replacing the old laments.

Perambulating aimlessly in a concrete circumscription for the umpteenth time did not excite, yet this was the tradition every year. My apprehensive boots dragging across the courtyard next to Satele, who looked far more interested in the ritual than anyone alive.

Required to witness this were the few skeletal figures which showed up every year, the deadwood of the Agency forces: Ministry, Resources, Research, Operations, Justice, Engineering, the six departments collected together in a theatrical rendition of a prison, or at least that was my interpretation.

The head of Resources, O'uaège, a cretin and opportunist, gave a short introductory speech, "This year's efforts were limited to budgetary structure improvements and efficiency," his dry wheezing hissed through the microphones, "special emphasis is warranted on individual initiatives, sustained fiscal contributors will have priority in authority assignments, infirmary-level care and..." the droning seemed to be his only talent.

The day was the same drivel over and over; the fireworks were canceled due to monetary reasons, not like anyone was in the mood to watch explosions anyway.

In my languor, I lost track of Satele and I slipped off the courtyard to look for her. Outside the main buildings, numerous edifices bore the marks and slogans of the Agency, the structures were obsolete and clunky, it was like walking through some derelict village in which occultists used to perform desperate ceremonies. Further still was the wilderness if you could call it that, rusting hulks covered the corrosive hills, curved by a river in an ominous shade of grey.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Satele! Where are you?" I called out several times but her characteristic sounds were not to be heard. My worry grew worse, I ran until my lungs burned as I circled the massive area of neglected buildings, "Satele!"

My last bet was Tower 2, an old surveillance building that resembled a lighthouse atop a steep hill, I had admired the desolate sight from up there one day and it remained in my memory ever since, I didn't know why. Time and sulfurous ash enveloped the historical building in an unhealthy yellow; with Satele's face etched in my mind I advanced up to the top, clambering along the unstable metal stairs, my grip tightened around the sharp corners of the handrails, my breathing became frantic as I coiled the last steps, reaching… I saw her.

And Egori.

"Oh, hello! Egori was showing me how to use this," she was holding a spyglass to her screen face, "you can see way over there, wow! Over there!" the main Agency building was shimmering in the distance, the sun's reflection glinting on the metal panels, "the bunker's just magnificent, isn't it?" Observing the indifferent scenery was a novel idea for Satele, she was happy with this world as it is, everything had its own place for her.

Egori on the other hand seemed mighty uncomfortable with my interruption. "Shouldn't you be attending the party?" he did little to modulate his disdain for my presence.

"Shouldn't you?" I asked in return, I wanted to ask what he was doing taking Satele on a wholly unplanned jaunt but I wasn't sure how to articulate it.

Egori took several seconds to answer. Satele was happy in her hackneyed paradise, admiring the concrete and hills as the sun traced its warbling rays above. He spun his sun hat with his finger, "do you think the Agency cares? They don't notice and we are gone. Well, this seems alright."

"I noted your absence from the party, may I—"

"It's not every day we get a break, is that not a good enough reason? Satele is having fun," he placed the hat on his head and leaned over the railing, "and I'm having fun too. Is that a problem?"

My heart was heaving and the painful feeling in my throat had grown tenfold. "It's not, I..." I realized I had nothing to say to that, my jealously was trapping my tongue.

"The Agency complicates things to absurd levels in their bureaucratic game of telephone," Egori persisted while my scarlet cheeks betrayed me, "this sort of thing has been going on for decades, in my off time I deserve to be carefree. Satele likes it here, why stir it? You have to do what you like, that's part of living. You have been acting like them lately."

A harsh dose of seeing him alone with her had uprooted my composure, and now he thought it would be a good time to disparage me?

"I have been working so hard, Egori," I couldn't contain myself as my reason collapsed into hopelessness and restrained hostility, "I just spend day after day under th- this... this black stain, I have duties that the Agency has failed to fulfill, I am not having fun, I am never done with my work, I have nightmares, I- I—"

"I know you better than you think," he cut in, "that's not it. I'm also working, and it has been hard for me all this time. You're not the only one making sacrifices. I suffer as well, and you believe you have it worse? No. Each day is—"

"'The least I deserve is Satele!' That's what you're saying, isn't it Egori?" I erupted, my burning emotions consuming my words, "I'm the one who found and fixed her! I'm the one who—"

"Bird!" Satele hooted with glee, still happily watching the landscape through the glass.

"She is not yours to command, you don't own her!" Egori shot back, "She seeks her own way, let her be, do you keep an eye on her forever?"

Thankfully I lost my breath for a moment, emotion without calculations, that was not a good way to express myself.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Satele hooted again, "Birdy! Where are you? Birdy, are you out there?"

I spotted a solitary little splash of black in the distance, flying soundlessly from one dead tree to the next.

"There it is! Isn't it beautiful? I've never seen this," Satele said, her eyes locked on the landscape, "the atmospheric pressure is so great on this planet, I wish my thruster worked better to fly like that too. Never change, birdy." She finally lowered the spyglass and spun. "Dedicating your life to flying, chasing the stars above, someone can dream! But you have to make your dreams come true, you have to fly too."

Egori took a deep breath. "My dream is not flying anywhere, I just want to spend some time with..." he twisted his mouth in a smile and glanced at me with the expression I was already very familiar with, the fake one that hid his thoughts I could only guess at, "nevermind."

Satele turned back to watch the panorama, "Bird, will I see you again? Will we meet someday? I would love to fly with you, see the world, but my flying is not what it used to be."

"Satele, what do you see in this desolate place so far from your home planet?"

"It has been a long time out in the dark, time can change everything. I have wonderful recordings, but my friends are far away now. All stars are people with their own light and beauty. You just have to spy through the scope and see."

Egori sat on the chair and chuckled. What was so funny?

"Who were your friends? I want to know more about them." I asked quietly.

"When cosmic objects meet each other, they go fast, very fast. So much energy goes to a single bright point. I met friends during their brightest moment," Satele giggled and spun her wrist motor in full rotations, "if you ask the birds about their friends, they will sing a special song."

Egori crossed his arms and laughed again, the hat obscuring his face as he lowered his head. For so long I looked at both silently, from a distance.

The view out into the field changed as the sun settled. "Birdy? Can you find the lost bird?" she closed her bright digital eyes, enveloping the tower in darkness, "I can't see or hear him anymore, can you?"

"Birds go to sleep at night, I'm sure he's fine."

"He must find his flock, big flocks sleep together," her screen stayed dark, "while they are all together, not even the brightest flashes can blind them."

Her meandering talks didn't make much sense to me at the time, like most people I asked for information and expected an answer; I didn't speak without being asked or without having clear resolve. Her mysterious expressions thrown to the wind felt like nonsense yet sounded effortless to her.

"Satele, can you tell me what you think and feel, how do your thoughts look to you?"

"Floating on the shore of the sea which fell from the air. Blue, bright and musical like a dream, all colours changing together as I drink the stream, I have to pace myself though, or else it spills everywhere."

"Unfortunate place to land, this dreary planet doesn't seem like your natural habitat."

"Distance between stars, vastness of universe, how I longed for waves of atmosphere. I have no light left to fuel me, my thoughts fade away until, by chance, another star wakes me up and I can see again," spheres ignited within Satele's screen, "you're fortunate to always have a star with you."

A bird called in the distance.