The silence was... deafening.

As he walked through these empty halls, his grey eyes held a deep and sorrowful glint, the metal meeting his feet creating an echoing sound. The cool air he breathed carried the memory of the light that used to fill these halls, now vanished.

Eventually, reaching a sliding door, he hit the keypad. The door opened with a swooshing sound, as a room with a large, glass window could now be seen.

He walks into the room, observing the chairs, couches, tables, and televisions that used to be in use every single day. Now, they are a mere relic of the past.

Ignoring the décor and items that he does not even use anymore, he reaches the window. He puts his hand on the glass, the chilly feeling of space meeting it, and looks at the void of space dotted with light of stars.

Turning around and removing his hand from the glass, Evander sat down on the couch facing the large window. Then, he lays down, his brown hair that goes down to the nape of his neck touching the fluffy couch.

He takes his hand in front of his face, observing that the colour of his skin is pale.

‘That makes sense. When was the last time I was on a planet, feeling the warmth of a star?’

Closing his eyes, tucking his arms and legs to his chest, he tries to imagine the time before. He can almost hear their voices.

“Evan...”

The voice like that of a bell, waking him from his darkness. That was her voice. Calling his name with a slightly annoyed tone.

“Evan...!”

She repeated his name. He loved it so much when she did.

“Evan! Wake up!”

He opens his eyes and found he was in his cabin, as his good friend stood over him in her usual uniform of a black vest with white pants. The colour indicated what position she held within the ship.

‘She’s waking me again? And in full uniform no less...’

Black and white... It was the colour of the marines. The normal soldiers of the ship.

He raised his head, rubbing his hair that was already a little too long. And sitting himself up, Evander felt the sweat of his t-shirt and pants stick to his body.

“Ugh! What are you doing here!? Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol?”

“Pfft! And let you sleep here all day? Obviously, I am on my break! You should be thankful I don’t let you be a lazy bum.”

Letting out a giggle, she turns around, walking towards the door. Freya stops at the exit to his cabin, turning around and smiling at him. That smile, it made his face slightly heat up and make his heart beat a little faster. Evander quickly turns his head around, not wanting to her to see him like this.

‘That smile of hers, and those beautiful blue eyes always seemed to do that.’

“Get up. Let’s get some lunch in the cafeteria!”

“Alright. But get out first!”

Evander quickly pulls a pillow from his left, throwing at her as she laughs and exits his cabin.

“Seriously...”

Letting out a sigh, he got out of his covers. He was having a break today. And even so, Freya was still bothering him. Not only that, she had started calling him “Evan” instead of his name, EVANDER!

‘How dare she? I swear, I will make her life a living hell one of these days...’

But trying to put his annoyance at the friend he made aside, he goes out into his bathroom, taking the shower he needed.

Deciding it was a day for a cold shower, the cool water hit his body, a refreshing, awakening feeling spreading through him. Evander never liked the feeling of hot water. It made him feel sick...

Getting out of the shower, he took a look at his uniform, which consisted of a yellow vest and white pants. He let out a small laugh and a smile.

Him and Freya were from two different departments, one being a marine, the other, an engineer. It was really strange that the two of them became friends. It just happened one day.

‘I could never really pinpoint the date, could I...’

They met when he saw her trying to fix a module in the side of the ship. A slight malfunction had happened due to rapid use, and so when he detected it, he went over and saw her trying to fix it, seemingly panicking.

And then he said the line that made them friends.

“Hey there. As they do say, a monkey shouldn’t do a human’s job!”

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He remembers laughing before getting a fist in his face. Her face was so red, and he couldn’t stop laughing as he got up to fix it.

‘It was so fun teasing her.’

Evander quickly noticed that he was reminiscing for too long, and so he hurriedly put on his uniform and walked into his room. Taking his key card from his bedside table, he walked out into the hallways. As soon as he was outside, it was already filled with people.

That was natural.

This place, as the head of engineering, and head of operations said, was a living being. The engineers were the ones who maintained this living being and made sure it was constantly functioning.

And as an engineering operations officer, his duties were fixing, maintaining, reporting, and scanning for different problems across the ship. He would also be allowed to command and delegate work to normal engineers of the ship.

So, really, it was just chance that he met Freya that day. Normally, he would have maybe just called an engineer to do it for him.

‘I am so happy that I fixed that module.’

Evander naturally began to smile thinking about the module that brought them together as he walked through the hallways. He lived in the outer rim of the ship, so each day when he was walking to the cafeteria he would look to his right.

And turning his gaze, he saw the beautiful stars enveloped by the void. And in their light and warmth, in the life of these hallways, his body began to relax as he closed his eyes.

Evander knew these hallways inside and out.

Letting out a sigh of satisfaction, he eventually arrived at the cafeteria, finding Freya sitting at a table with two trays. One was in front of her, and the other was on the opposite side of the table from her.

Evander walks over to the table and sits down in front of her and takes a look at the tray in front of him. She always seems to get food for him for some reason.

“So? Do you like it?”

Turning his gaze back to her, he sees her grinning from ear to ear, her long, blond hair flowing down her back as a sweet giggle escapes her mouth.

“I got you some beans, for protein, then some vegetables, and a piece of meat! Though, I don’t really know what kind of meat. It just said meat with two quotation marks around it.”

“Right. Looks great.”

Evander, not even bothering with her joke as she was giggling, he maintained his still expression. But the atmosphere surrounding them was comfortable. And that was all that mattered.

Eating his food, he really did think that she knew him to well. Evander couldn’t help but be surprised each time she did things just as he liked it. And that made him smile too.

‘She seriously cares too much about me.’

“Hey, Evander...”

“Hm?”

Evander turning his gaze upward, his mouth filled with beans, he sees her cheeks being a little red. Tilting his head to the side, he asked her a question.

“What’s wrong?”

“No! Nothing wrong!”

Putting her hands in front of her, she quickly tried to dispel that notion as she took a deep breath, twirling her fingers.

“Uhm, it’s just... I’ve been thinking about something.”

Evander, raising his eyebrow, couldn’t help but wonder what is the matter with her. She usually doesn’t act like this.

The two of them sit, staring into each other’s eyes, as Freya’s body begins to become more and more tense. And finally, sucking in a large breath, she speaks.

“Evan, I want to know how-”

Evander opens his eyes as he is faced with the void that he loved so long ago. A feeling of something cool washing over him, he shakes his head as he sits properly on the couch, putting his hand where his heart is.

He didn’t even know if what he just saw was a dream, or if this place was a dream. Honestly, he hoped for the latter more than the former. Because that would mean she wouldn’t be...

Letting out a breath of air and closing his eyes, he calms himself and thinks about her last words.

“I like you too, Freya...”

His voice echoed in the empty entertainment room, no answer, no reply coming from anywhere. Evander knows this, yet he still said it, a tear flowing down his cheek that reflects the light of the stars.

It is important to speak, especially when it is the truth, when it matters.

‘But does anything matter anymore?’

Getting up from the couch, he walks back into the cold hallways, the metal clanging under his feet. He used to like this rhythmic sound. But now it was just cold and empty.

Each time he heard it, a pain would ripple through his heart. And it did so until he reached the cafeteria. Looking around, he saw the kitchen.

‘It is not usable anymore. There are no staff left. Only me.’

Instead, he walked to the side of a wall, grabbing a tray. Then, he pressed a button, and a compartment opened with a metal grate under it. Putting the tray on the grate, he closed it and a menu opened before him.

Looking at the menu, he picked the beans, some carrots, and other vegetables. There was no meat. It had all spoiled.

The farms were still operational though, since they worked automatically. All he needed to do was limit the oxygen to an area, keep a few farms alive to make sure oxygen still gets made and processed, and then use the food grown to feed himself.

He wasn’t that good with robots, or anything like that, but he had the time to learn. And, Evander couldn’t help but wonder again how long it had been? How long has he been here?

But he decided that he didn’t want the answer. It would only bring him more pain. Because each time he looked he would remember that day.

The day when he lost everything that meant anything to him.

He was here, now alone, the only member left of the Andromeda. And he knew that the other parts of the ship were falling apart, that there was no one left.

At this point, Evander had already done so many scans, so much searching, that he was done.

“Right. I’m done...”

‘No one is left other than me.’

Letting his fork sink into the pasty, brown beans, he rested his head on the cold, metal table, breathing in the oxygen that he had barely managed to keep alive.

A loud beeping noise coming from a console at the side of the room, Evander let out a sigh and walked towards it.

An error in life support.

“Right. As soon as I think about something, it has to be fixed...”

Letting out a sigh, he walks through the lonely, metal halls, ready to fix what is broken. And now, the food is left on the tray for no one to eat, just to be thrown away.