David checked the sensor inputs. Yup. Still recording. Same as the last fifty days.
No one went out for longer than David–not solo, at least. But David was that rare surveyor who could spend months, even years, entirely by himself without being bothered at all. Most surveyor teams went out into space in pairs or a group of four, and they usually stayed out in the emptiness for a few months, tops. David was now just getting his latest trip of over a year started. His last trip had gone for twenty-three months, and he (and his small survey ship, the Wandering Star II, a refitted cargo hauler) had surveyed an impressive chunk of interstellar space.
Space wasn’t really empty–not entirely. There were small balls of ice and dust, gas formations, particle clouds and all manner of other debris. The Cross Surveying Company of Delta Vega, David’s boss, had undertaken the job of painstakingly scanning and mapping every single sector of space within Alliance jurisdiction. It was lonely, boring work. But it paid very well–the government and private shipping companies both were willing to shell out lots of money for the kind of data Cross could provide. And, because David was willing to stay out for so long and worked alone, he had managed to make himself rather wealthy. He now owned the Wandering Star II outright, as well as a big house in the deserted Crescent Mountains back on Delta Vega.
It was great. His only regret was that Jeena wasn’t here to share it with him.
—
They had met only once in the last decade, and it had been by chance. He had been on Mandolia for one reason or another, wrapping up some old business, when she happened to walk by the First Landing cafe where he was having a mid afternoon bite to eat. Against his better judgement, he had called out to her.
She looked exactly the same as she had when she left him, twenty years before. It was almost too much to bear.
She said a few words to her companion, a tall, blond woman of maybe thirty, who nodded understandingly and left. Jeena came into the cafe to sit with him.
“You don’t look any different,” he had said. It was a pretty stupid thing to say, and he knew it. But it was all he could think of. She smiled.
“You do,” she said. “You’ve gone gray.”
He shrugged. “Happens. Except to you. Who was she?” He nodded towards Jeena’s pretty friend, who was sitting on a bench outside.
“Wife,” said Jeena. David arched an eyebrow, and she smiled. “Just recently.”
“Ah.”
They sat in silence for a moment. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asked. She shook her head.
“No. I have to get going soon. But how are you? I haven’t seen you in years.”
“Oh, fine,” he said. “I work for a survey company, now.” He told her a little about his job.
She smiled. “I’m happy for you. You always wanted to get back out into space.”
“Mmm,” he agreed, sipping his coffee. “It’s nice work. I called the ship the Wandering Star II.”
“Did you?” She laughed. “Wow. That takes me back. I hadn’t thought about those days in years, aboard the original Star. We had some good times, huh?”
“We did.”
“And you wanted to name one of your CVL ships that, didn’t you? Back before the company went bust.”
“And you left me,” he said, a hint of the old animosity creeping back into his voice.
A cloud crossed her face. “Let’s not fight,” she said warningly. He nodded. She sighed. “It’s easy to fall back into familiar patterns. You’re so frustrating. It’s as if I never left.”
He looked down at his plate. “I wish you hadn’t. I’m glad to see you. But I still miss you.”
“I know,” she said. They sat in silence for a few more moments. “I have to go.”
“Well,” he said. “It’s been good to see you.”
“Yeah. You too.”
“Good luck with that,” he said, waving his hand at the young woman sitting on the bench outside. “Does she know about you?” He fixed her with a penetrating stare. “About what you are?”
Jeena nodded. “She knows. Goodbye, David.” She kissed him on the top of his head and walked back out of his life.
—
The stars swung slowly by David Goldstein’s face. The sensor readings were fine. Nothing new. Nothing to report. He put on a little music, an old waltz, picked up a well-worn old book from beside his console, and began to read.
He had plenty of time.
