Echoes of Harmony

Stone’s Speakeasy

Mornage, Stariek

24 December 3296

Ava Bahr sighed as she pushed open the door to Stone’s. It was early in Mornage, just after six in the morning local time, and their sun was still well below the horizon. Not many people were walking about the streets at this hour. She was sure even fewer would be inside the bar.

Immediately, the lingering smell of alcohol mixed with sweat hit her. It wasn’t a bad scent, per se. At least, not yet. Something about it felt oddly comforting even. There had been plenty of occasions where she needed a drink, whether it was to forget something or someone or just for fun. However, there was someone inside who needed her, whether he knew it or not.

Ethan Fischer sat on a three-legged wooden stool at the bar, his hand wrapped around a bottle of beer and head drooped. His shoulders were hunched as if he were asleep. She could see the rise and fall of his back with each breath he took. At least he’s alive. His hair was disheveled, and he didn’t look like he’d changed his clothes for several days. A beard covered his chin and cheeks, an aftereffect of not shaving in nearly a month. A dark sweat stain covered almost the entirety of his back.

The tavern was otherwise empty, all the other patrons having left already. Only the bartender remained, who glanced up at her and went to the back room at a look from her. She planned that, of course. It would be better if there were as few witnesses to this as possible. Not for her sake, but for his. She was fine with an audience, and so was Ethan for the most part. Not for this, though.

Ava walked up and sat in the seat next to him, turning sideways and resting an elbow on the bar. He didn’t seem to notice her presence at first. His eyes were almost completely closed, and an aura of alcohol seemed to emanate from him. A heavy smell of body odor mingled with it. She wrinkled her nose, thankful for the fact he wasn’t looking at her to see the expression yet.

Several minutes went by without his noticing her presence. She hoped he would, just to make it slightly easier to start the conversation. Finally, she gave up that hope and kicked the stool under him. It shuddered with the impact, sending a jolt through him. Ethan’s arm, along with the rest of his body, spasmed to steady himself against the intrusion, knocking over the beer. The amber colored liquid spilled over the counter and down the front of him. It took him a moment to realize what happened.

“Now look what you’ve done,” he muttered, his words slurred. He tried brushing the liquid off his clothes, succeeding only in smearing it into the fabric.

He swayed slightly as he started to stand. Only by grabbing the bar with both hands did he keep from falling over. Ava felt a pang of pity go through her at the sight. Ethan had always appeared indomitable, an unbreakable leader. To see him reduced to this…

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. All the preformed thoughts of what to say suddenly left her head. Instead, she decided to just say whatever came to her mind.

“That’s enough of this, Lieutenant,” Ava said. Her voice held more disappointment than anger, though she doubted he would pick up on it. “You were already drinking when I got here last night. It’s time for you to go home and shower, maybe change your clothes. You look like shit.”

He looked sideways at her as if seeing her for the first time. His eyes squinted as he turned his entire head, a scowl dominating his face.

“Well, if it isn’t Lieutenant Ava Bahr.” He took a step forward, his frown deepening as he neared her. One of his fingers jabbed just beneath her neck, and she barely resisted the urge to snap it off. “The girl who couldn’t stand being in the shadow of her father and needed to prove herself. When are you going to realize the military isn’t the place for little girls who still think they’re living in fairy tales?”

“Whenever you realize you’re being an ass.” Ava brushed his hand away from her, forcing herself to not twist it. “I miss them too. McCoy and Burns, they deserved better than what they got. But drowning yourself in alcohol isn’t going to bring them back.”

“Neither is not getting a drink every now and then.” Ethan sat back down, nearly falling off the back of the stool before catching the edge of the bar and pulling himself up. “I don’t see why I can’t enjoy myself a little from time to time.”

“It’s been a month, and you’ve spent more time in here than you have with your family. Do you even know what today is?” The question was met with a blank expression that bordered on dumbfounded. Ava wanted to slap him but kept herself from doing so. “Christmas Eve. The day you told me your family always spends together, no matter what. What would your parents think if they found out you missed that because you wanted to find the bottom of another bottle? What about your sister? She just turned thirteen a couple weeks ago, right? Did she get to see her brother? Is she going to be happy that her brother is drinking himself into a stupor instead of spending some of his much needed time off with her?”

Ethan mumbled something, his face turning red as he looked away from her. You’re not getting out of this that easily. She moved around him to the stool on the opposite side, forcing him to look at her.

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“What did you say?” she hissed.

“I sent her a message. That’s good enough.” A belch rumbled out as he spoke, sending a strong odor of spoiled apples into her face. He picked up his bottle and downed the contents that hadn’t spilled before waving it casually in front of him. “She’s getting to that age where she doesn’t care about her older brother being around all the time anyway. Too cool for me, y’know?”

“Did she tell you that?” Ava carefully took the empty bottle out of his hand and set it on the bar behind her. She didn’t need him to drop it and cause a mess. “That she doesn’t want to see you again? Or is it just one of those self-deprecating thoughts the alcohol put in your mind?”

“So what if it is? It’s true.” Ethan turned and rapidly banged his hand on the counter. “Where’s that damn barkeep with my next drink?”

“Oh, no. You’re not getting another drink unless it’s straight water. I don’t even want to see what your liver looks like after this.”

“Why’d you come back, Ava?” Ethan asked, turning sideways and leaning against the bar. He swayed slightly, nearly falling over. “Was it just to make me feel worse than I already do?”

“Not entirely. We’ve got a new mission. You, me, the other Snow Wyverns. The Hyperions are calling us back into service.”

“Last I heard, they disbanded the Snow Wyverns along with most of the fleet and sent us all home with only a month’s pay.” Ethan scoffed, shaking his head. “I owe them nothing.”

“No, neither do I. Unfortunately, we don’t have much of a choice in the matter.” Ava stood, gently gripping Ethan’s arm. He tensed but didn’t pull away. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up, then once you sleep this off, I’ll tell you about it.”

Ava was shocked at the lack of resistance. He allowed her to pull him to his feet and lead him out the door. Together—rather, Ava half dragging, half leading Ethan—they made their way down the street and to the nearest hyperlane bus transit point.

#

One year ago

“We’re coming up on the wreckage, Lieutenant,” Warrant Officer Natalie Trenker called out from the front of the search and rescue vessel. “Not sure how you managed to get a ride with us, but, hey, orders are orders.”

Ethan Fischer ignored the unspoken question and moved to the front of the transport, looking at the civilian liner. The sleek vessel looked peaceful sitting in the void. At a kilometer long, it could carry thousands of passengers. The shape of it resembled something like a bullet, tapering off towards the front. It hung motionless as if suspended by a thread. However, the specks of debris floating away from it and lack of any signs of power told a different story. No lights shone from the ship, not even the external ones to make it more visible against the black of space.

The Forest Hill was a day out of Stariek. Its flight plan indicated it was heading towards the system limit before jumping out on the first leg of its trip to Siatia, an independent planet about ten thousand light years away. However, when it was a few hours from the first jump, it sent a distress signal that was quickly cut off. The only words received were “Druthagar attack.”

Ethan was there because his fiancée was on the Forest Hill. After arguing with Major Avery Reinhardt, captain of the Adder, he allowed Ethan to join the search and rescue bird to aid in the search for survivors. Part of him instinctively knew there wouldn’t be any. Another part felt worried—he had been here before, and he knew he was not going to be happy about what he discovered.

The searchlights mounted to the outside of the SAR bird turned on with a click and a hum. They shone on the hull of the Forest Hill. Now, they could see more clearly what was first thought to be debris. While parts of the vessel’s exterior, along with different fixtures from inside, floated about, bodies mingled with them. Dozens of them. None wore spacesuits. They hung there motionless, frozen both in time and by the cold.

Ethan’s heart beat faster and faster as they neared the first group of bodies. He heard the warrant officer say something, but his brain didn’t comprehend it. His breathing intensified as the lights shone over the dead. One of the crew aboard the SAR vessel, tethered to the exterior, moved about, jetting himself from body to body as he retrieved each.

He knew it was coming. He knew what he was about to see. He saw it a hundred times already. In real life, in nightmares, in some moments when he closed his eyes. That fact didn’t make it any easier.

He recognized the shape of her body first. Even from behind, it was a simple matter. He had seen her often enough. Her brown hair was spread around her head like she was underwater. Slowly, she rotated around, and any doubt that Ethan might have felt dissipated in an instant.

Her face. It was the first thing he saw. Her soft, pretty features were distorted. Froth hung at the corners of her lips and eyes. Her eyes seemed to be bulging out of her sockets. Blisters ran up and down her cheeks from UV radiation. Those parts of her exposed skin not burned were blue and dessicated.

Then, her lips moved, and she spoke into his head.

“Why didn’t you save me?”

The search and rescue vessel disappeared, leaving only him and her in a sea of darkness. Her body moved unnaturally at inhuman speed, like she was sprinting with broken legs to close the distance. She put her face in his, her cracked and broken lips twisting into a grimace.

“Why didn’t you save me?” she repeated, yelling the words. Her features began to slough away, revealing torn muscle and cracked bones. One of her eyeballs fell and hung loosely by the optic nerve. Her lips peeled back, as if pulled by an invisible hook.

He tried to speak but found himself unable to make any sound.

“I am dead because of you!” she yelled.

Her hand came up and down to slash across his face. A hot sting swelled in his cheek. Ethan staggered backwards. He slammed his eyes shut, trying to force her away with his mind. Then he felt himself falling. Below was a sea of white stones against green grass steadily growing larger. He slammed into the ground and looked around, knowing exactly where he was.

Directly in front of him was the rather nondescript gravestone. His heart felt like it was gripped in a vice. Ethan tried to keep from looking at it but something beyond his control forced his eyes to it. He knew what it was going to say, he knew what he was going to feel if he read it. There was no reason to actually look at the words. But he couldn’t stop himself.

At the top was engraved “Elina Austen.”

Before he had a chance to do or say anything, the ground underneath him opened. He tried to scream but nothing came out. Darkness surrounded him as he fell again. Dirt poured into his mouth, his nose, his eyes. It scratched at his ears and ripped into his skin. Slowly, the air in his lungs vanished.