The Days we Spent Together
Ronnie Camacho Barrón
The meteorite threatening to crash into the planet Arecne is already a visible dot in the sky. As an explorer of the Intergalactic union, I have found myself in this situation a thousand times before. But this is the first time I feel fear, not for myself, but for Na’aandi, the princess of the dominant house and the love of my life.
“Na’aandi, please reconsider my offer and come with me. I can’t let you die like this.”
“My love,” she replies, using her psychic powers as she does not have her vocal cords, so that I can hear her voice inside my head, “You know well that if my people have not evacuated the planet, it is because Arecne’s atmosphere is the only one in the entire galaxy that has the oxygen levels necessary for us to survive, trying to escape would only condemn us to a slower and more painful death.”
“Not if you try this on,” I hand her the latest invention I’ve been working on.
“What is it?” She starts turning it over in her four hands to study it better.
“It’s an alterable oxygen helmet, it’s a similar model to the one I use to travel between planets. I think I managed to modify it enough to adapt it to your morphology and allow you to breathe on other planets.”
“Do you really think it will work?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I hold out my hand to invite her to come with me.
“Do you have any more helmets like this?”
“No, I could only make that one.” I have a feeling something bad is coming.
“I see… I can’t accept it.”
“What are you talking about, Na’aandi? I’m giving you a chance to live, take it!”
“I know and I thank you, but I can’t leave without the rest of my people. As a princess, I owe my family and my people. I’d rather die with them, than bear the shame of being the only survivor of my race in the whole galaxy.”
“And what does it matter that you are the only one? You won’t be alone, I’ll be with you.”
“David, I appreciate your effort, but I have made my decision.”
“Then I’ll stay too. I love you and I choose to die with you rather than lose you forever.”
“Don’t even think about it, I want you to live. This is my last wish, to know that you will continue to explore the universe and turn my world and me into another one of your stories, one that you will never tire of telling.”
“Na’aandi, please don’t ask this of me.”
“It’s not a request, it’s a plea. Live so that I can live through your memories.”
“Captain, the meteor has already entered the orbit, we have to go!”, one of my crew members calls out to me from inside my ship, pointing to the sky.
“Go without me!”
“Sir, you can’t be serious.”
“Just go…” I stop mid-sentence, as an invisible force lifts me off the ground.
“He will go with you,” Na’aandi communicates with them, as she uses her powers to levitate me.
“That’s enough, Na’aandi, put me down!”
“Forgive me, love,” she comes closer to plant a kiss on me, one so long that I only realise it ends when my beloved throws me into the interior of my ship.
Even though it hurts me, I don’t give up and as soon as I get up, I try to go down again. But two of my men stop me, starting to struggle with me
“Let me go, that’s an order!”
“Sorry, Captain, our duty is to protect you,” after closing the doors, my subordinates drag me to the control room, where the rest of the team begins the take-off.
Turbulence onsets immediately. The entrance of the meteorite into Arecne‘s atmosphere begins to break it apart, scattering thousands of fragments that my team repels by activating the plasma shields.
But that’s not the only danger. The alteration in the planet’s magnetic fields is increasing its gravitational force, pulling our ship back and preventing us from moving forward.
The asteroid is getting closer and closer and the alarms warn us that, if we don’t leave the planet in the next five minutes, we will be hit by the impact.
Soon, desperation takes hold of my crew and several of them succumb to panic, bursting into tears or taking out their frustration on the controls.
Despite my duty, I stand still. It may not be as I wished, but I will die with my beloved Na’aandi.
“Your crew doesn’t deserve this fate, save them.” Without expecting it, I hear her voice in my head again.
“How is it possible that we can still communicate?”
“The love that binds us makes our psychic connection stronger. I can feel you even from miles away and I know what you are thinking. You will let your ship be hit by the destruction of my world.”
“Na’aandi, understand me, I love you, I cannot live without you.”
“What about the people waiting for them at home? Do you want to cause them the same pain you fear to experience?”
Her words hit me like a bucket of cold water, for she is right. Because while I longed for death, my subordinates left their posts to communicate with their homes on the many planets from which they came.
Seeing them bid farewell to those they love makes me realise my selfishness. And although deep down, I still wish to stay where I am, I obey Na’aandi’s request, taking control of the ship.
The lost time has worsened the situation. The plasma shields are at their limit and seconds away from collapse. An idea comes to me to reconfigure them to become absorption barriers, which transform the kinetic energy caused by the impact of the meteorites into power for the engines.
The ship’s thrusters instantly gain power, but at critical energy levels, the automatic safety systems prevent them from operating at full throttle, forcing me to continue accelerating manually.
“Move, dammit!” I exclaim, as I pull the heavy lever in charge of the engine speed.
“You can do it, David, you have to save them!”
“I swear I’m trying, but it’s too heavy for me,” I begin to worry too.
“Don’t give up, my love, I know you can do it! I believe in you, I love you!” her words give me the strength I need to accelerate to full throttle.
A couple of engines explode in the process, but finally, we manage to leave the planet, witnessing the infinite starry tapestry of the cosmos in front of us.
“I made it, love, the crew is safe,” I announce, but receive no response. “Computer, show me the planet Arecne!” The interface obeys, projecting an image of my beloved’s world, now shattered by the meteorite.
While some of my men celebrate the fact that they are still alive, I crumble at the helplessness of not having been able to save her. Although I wish to throw myself into the void of space, I will obey her last wish and swear to myself that I will not rest until the whole universe knows of the beautiful days we spent together.
Ronnie Camacho Barrón (Matamoros, Tamaulipas, México) has an education in International Trade and Customs, and in Bilingual Technical Analyst Programming. He is the author of 2 novels, Las Crónicas del Quinto Sol 1: El Campeón de Xólotl(Amazon, 2019) and Carlos Navarro y el Aprendiz del Diablo (Pathbooks, 2020). He is also the author of 10 children’s books and is translated into more than 6 languages. His most recent work is an anthology of short stories Entre Nosotros, Antología de terror, fantasía y ciencia ficción (Amazon, 2021).
Literaven.com 