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There was a moment of silence after the radio’s connection cut out. Then, the bitter wait to see if the convict had complied with her pleas to get that box, if it was even possible to get down there.
Ava had to be truthful with herself.
The orders that had been placed prevented her from even thinking of getting down there. All the ship could do was hover over the surface and go fucking fishing. David was already doing the best he could, so she tried to appreciate his efforts. She did not want to end up in one of these lungs herself, especially knowing the operations of one of these things. There were too little resources to begin with and far too much time needed for research. This was one of the few missions that promised some kind of result. Anything.
Or the convict’s life would have been a waste. Simon would’ve died for nothing.
…And here she goes again with that attachment.
The convict, as she forces herself to him as, had revealed his name to her and she had done the same. A horrible mistake, as he was expendable and had been expected to die anyway. Not only that, but he had probably taken David with him. And her, if she died to that much of a dose of radiation. And Jack, and everyone else with her. She had a fifty-fifty chance. The odds weren’t looking good. She already felt sick. David’s chances were worse than hers due to being in point-blank range. His hand was already beginning to fail on him. And his face… Ava didn’t need to think about it more. What mattered was the mission. The mission that was bigger than herself and bigger than all of them.
The passage of time felt horrifically slow. Ava watched silently, hoping falsely that Simon had somehow survived whatever was attacking him, but even she was smart enough to realize how foolish that was. The lung had lost connection to the mothership.
“This is a waste of time. You are already disobeying orders by doing this,” Jack said.
Ava turned to glare at whoever had said that. It was the man that had replaced David after he had been irradiated.
“I already said this. The black box could have extremely valuable research on it. This could be the findings we have dreamed of!” Ava argued.
“Do you think that convict would actually sacrifice his life for us when he knew he was going to die?” Jack said.
Ava turned away from him, not in the mood to hear from him. She felt bile rising to her throat already from looking at him and the blood ocean.
“I convinced him. I’m sure of it,” Ava snapped.
He walked away, to her relief. He was likely going off to do something productive. He could, for one, prepare the medications needed for himself, David, and her. There would need to be a bone marrow transplant, and then repeated usage of growth factors to keep things up. At the very least, disease was not as much of a concern now as it was in the far away past.
She’d live through the pain.
The blood ocean bubbled up, suddenly and quickly. Ava nearly flinched when she saw it–she believed it was a monster. It was not, however.
The researchers, like running water rushing to an opening, swarmed and teemed at the window. Many gazed down at the blood below. Ava didn’t have the energy to push past.
“There! That looks like a life vest!” One said.
Ava’s attention was piqued, but she still made no movement. She just looked over to Jack.
“It’s not just a life vest…! Look harder! LOOK!” Another cried.
The excitement seemed to bubble and flow out of the researchers. Jack, who was probably hit with less as he still had some strength. He was let past. The other researchers seemed to know to not stop him.
“Well. Would you look at that?” Jack muttered.
Ava could hear him. He wasn’t as quiet as he liked to think he was. He was a pain, honestly.
“Ava, get over here and take a look with your good eye,” Jack said.
Ava struggled to stand, her steps staggering. Bile was rising further up her throat. The movement of the ship with its constant vibrating was making her nausea worse. If she hadn’t been flashed, she would’ve appreciated the vitality of the machine…
That bastard commented on her eye, again. If she had the strength, she’d clock him one, but that would be against the rules.
Ava managed to get to the lookout without vomiting or falling over. She gazed over the red sea. It caught her eye almost immediately.
Ava spotted the black box attached to the bright orange life jacket. It floated above the water, moving with the waves.
This little box was what Simon had sacrificed his life for. This was it! The hope that everyone had been waiting for!
Ava felt her stomach churn. Agony radiated up her throat as she tried to keep it down.
“Get it up! Get it up now!” Ava ordered.
“Right away!” One said.
A few rushed over to the controls. The harness was quick to latch onto the box. Ava was quick to go back to where she was supposed to be resting. She could’ve sworn she was only hit with 5000 sieverts from where she was standing.
The box was hauled up quickly. People scrubbed off the blood from it as Ava watched. The process of data retrieval began. Any bit of it was useful. Ava hoped that what was found could be used in order to validate her disobedience.
“Ava! Come on! You should oversee the box being opened!” One said.
Ava opened her mouth to speak, but one of her smarter and better colleagues spoke up for her.
“For fuck’s sake! Let her rest, you moron!” The other said.
Oh, well if they were going to phrase it like that, she ought to get up.
Ava forced herself to stand.
“I’m coming,” Ava replied.
Ava staggered over to the box. The moment the table was in reach, she grasped onto it as if it were her lifeline.
“Open it,” Ava ordered.
The box was forced open with a tool from somewhere. Ava watched, her heart racing.
Inside was the mechanical chip, the thing that everyone needed. It would give insight on what happened on the 8th expedition and what happened on the 13th. The 8th run had to have found something important, surely!
But Ava’s eye caught something else. There was something green encased in a circle inside the box.
“What was that?” One of the researchers asked.
A few other researchers gazed down into the box. Ava did as well, quietly staring at the reddened resin that encased something. It was either resin or glass. Nevertheless, it was cracked and coated with blood.
Ava was the first to think of grabbing a wipe. She reached down carefully and tentatively wiped away the blood so all could see it.
She didn’t believe her eyes at first.
“That’s… Is that a sprout?” One of the researchers asked.
Simon… Where did he get this from? How did he get that in there? Was it simply swept into the box somehow?
Did he make an effort to put this last bit of life in?
The room fell silent. Silent enough for one to hear the breathing of everyone around them.
If the blood did not destroy the plant’s chances, it could… hypothetically, it could live…
It could grow into something, anything. Something natural. The seeds of this could be spread and there could be more things planted. The corpses of man, the blood of this ocean, and the will of humanity could make this plant into something!
“This… We must report this immediately,” Ava muttered.
Her words were easily heard in the silence.
Her anguish at the fact that the destroyer of the Filament station would never see this was not. It would never be seen or heard. She’d carry that to her grave. She’d rather let the plant grow within her. May the roots taste her misery and grow to be better than it.
“We have found something more valuable than whatever this planet may offer,” Ava said.
Something she may never see.
Something Jack may never see.
Something David may never see.
Something Simon would never be able to see, unless he gazed down from the afterlife.
Ava’s time was coming quickly, sooner than she would have wanted to. She may never see this thing grow to its full potential, but it was she who had found it with her determination. Had it been for her commissioners, the black box would have been forgotten about and Simon would have died in vain.
She was to thank for this, her labors resulting in the progression of the remaining after the death of many stars!
She, who may be known for this, remembered!
And Simon, whose efforts would be forgotten by all but her, the one truly to be credited for this.
She would try to do him well by this, with the rest of the life she had within her. With all of her, and whoever else would follow her.