The viewscreen flickers on in the apartment, bathing the small bedroom in pale, blue light. The words, "Message Loading....", flash in yellow as the whir of small machinery breaks the silence. Victor Cross sits, relaxed in a chair just opposite the screen. A fairly tall man, Victor sprawls lazily across the chair. The first hints of grey are starting to appear in the hair at his temples, his face is weathered and angular. He lifts the red mug in his hand to his mouth, quietly sipping from it. He glances back behind him as he waits, shallow grin on his face as he looks upon the small, still sleeping form in the bed.
Finally, the screen comes to life. It brightens the room by several degrees of intensity, but does not wake the other occupant. On the screen is a stylish living room, holoscreen in the center, overstuffed couch positioned just right to watch it straight on. The coffee table looks to be antique, carved of oak and stained a deep brown. A pair of lamps on long, black stands flank the couch. Various books and magazines are neatly piled on the coffee table. In the distance, a bookshelf stands against the wall, filled to overflow with various books.
From the side of the screen, a face appears. Jade green eyes peer into the screen, over a pretty face that roughly resembles Victor’s own countenance. Red hair spills over her shoulders, falling in waves of crimson. When she speaks, the voice is melodic, somewhere between soprano and tenor.
"Hey big brother. Looks like you’re not home, again.", she pouts a little, pursing her lips. Backing away, she continues, "I just wanted to see how you were doing, guess you’re kind of busy. Ya know, I wish they’d never sent you off to Sivad, Vic. I miss you being around." She shrugs, "Well, as much as you were around when you were here, soldier boy. Mom and Dad appreciated the message, by the way. It’d be nice if you called them, though, you know how Mom is." She disappears from the screen.
Victor takes another drink from the mug, fingers half obscuring the words on the mug. #1 Brother is what it says, written in big, white letters. He sags a little, brown eyes watching the screen intently. Reaching forward, he lowers the volume.
The girl appears again, carrying a black mason’s cap and gown. The cap has a golden tassel on it, and it flops around as she walks back onto the screen. Happily, she starts to speak, voice carrying her pride well, "You’re looking at a college graduate, now, Vic. Yesterday, Magna Cum Laude even." She wears a broad grin, "See, big brother, you’re not the only one with brains in the family. Anyway, Mom and Dad are taking me to Hilton Head this week, as a sort of graduation present, so we won’t be back for a while." She sticks her tongue out at him, "So there. You get stuck with a bunch of stuffy Sivadians, I’ll be lying out on the beach, in the sun." She grins one more time, looking over at something off the screen, "I’ve got to go, Vic. We’re leaving in the morning, so I have to pack. I’ll call again when we get back, hopefully, Mr. Busy will be home, huh?" She puts the cap and gown down, "Stay safe, big brother.", she says as she reaches forward to cut off the screen.
Victor presses a button on the console, calling up another message. The screen shows an anchorman, dressed in a sharp suit. He starts to speak, "This just in, from our INN correspondent in the Sol system." The words, Archived Message, blink on the bottom of the screen as the shot switches to a view of Earth from space. The planet looks serene, blue and green marking land masses and bodies of water. White clouds are visible throughout the planet, just another typical shot. Then, a plume of red and white appears on one of the landmasses, followed by more in a chain of fury. Soon, the white clouds turn grey and expand over the whole planet. A voice in the background can be heard, "Oh my god." The shot continues for several seconds, then fades back to the anchorman, "You heard it here first folks. Mad man and xenophobic terrorist leader of Keep Earth Pure, Gustav Eiger has just detonated over a dozen plasma bombs on the surface of the Earth. The death toll is thought to be staggering, but can not be confirmed due to conditions on the planet. Stay tuned folks, INN will have more on this breaking story."
Victor’s face contorts in pain as he presses the button and the view screen goes dead black. The only light in the room is the small amount of daylight, peeking through the curtains. He’s shaking now, eyes watering over. He rises, coffee sloshing over the mug and onto his hand. Slowly, he turns away from the view screen. Mug and coffee both fly towards the wall, propelled by anger. It impacts against the wall, red shards and coffee spraying across the carpet. The form on the bed shoots up, startled.
She’s a smaller woman, maybe in her late twenty’s. Her brown hair is shoulder length, hanging in her eyes at the moment. Her features match the rest of her body, small, and deep brown eyes look out from amidst the strands of hair. She wears a long nightgown, colored silver. The startled expression quickly leaves her face as she finds Victor standing there, his eyes red and his body shaking.
Crawling across the bed, she places a hand on his, gently. In a soft voice, she says, "Vic, you have to stop doing this, its been a week already. It’s not healthy." He stands, unmoving, tears welling in his eyes. She looks up at him, brushing the hair from her face, "Look at me, Vic. You didn’t know, you couldn’t have known. Stop tearing yourself up."
The tears never come, instead he just collapses on the bed. In strangled tones he says, "I know that, it doesn’t matter. Maura, I should have"
Angrily, she cuts him off, "Should have what, got blown up with the rest of them." She continues, "You need to get it together, Vic." She runs a hand through his short hair, "Or this is going to kill you." She gets up from the bed, taking care to avoid the red shards poking up from the carpet, "Now, I’ve got to go get my Metazone, I’m due for my next treatment. When I get back, would you please have this cleaned up?"
Victor sits up on the bed, no longer shaking. The episode over, he speaks again, voice even for now, "Yes dear.", he says with mock sarcasm. He gets up and begins collecting the shards, "Anyone ever tell you, you’re bossy for a Specialist."
Already dressed, she turns around and gives him a withering gaze, "Yes, you. I could just leave you know?", she says, obviously not meaning it.
Victor shakes his head, "Don’t know what I’d do without you." He has a fairly large collection of red ceramic shards by now.
Maura opens the door, "Probably wither and die, you old coot. I’ll bring back breakfast." She steps out and closes the door behind her without waiting for an answer.