The Inner Ring (gxg)

Epilogue

Pepper stood behind Vanessa on the bridge of their ship as they drifted along in the middle of Uranus' rings. They'd been on their own for the last week, since Xavier and Emily had gone back to Earth already, bringing along with them samples of the human bodies that they had discovered in their brief exploration of the ruined ship. Lena and Miles had stayed a few more days, helping to do more within the ruined ship with Pepper and Vanessa, but the passion for the mission wasn't there anymore. Lena wanted to go explore the solar system, not just one ship. It had been a tearful goodbye, but there was no doubt they'd see each other again soon.

They had learned more about the ships too, both that the food dispensers still worked, and that the food was edible. Emily had taken a sample back with them to Earth for analysis, but since the original users had been human, it was hoped that it would contain the nutrients that they needed to live. The communications gear was straight forward, and much faster than their old ship. They couldn't talk to Earth, but once Emily and Xavier were there, then Jason's team could page them from one of their little ships.

Pepper and Vanessa had stayed to explore, culminating in their finding the bridge of the ruined ship, along with a trove of information. They now had logbooks, pocket communicators, handheld tablets that were more like those of Earth, several star charts, and at least a dozen instruments that they had yet to determine a use for. Pepper was mostly intrigued by the communicators, since they translated different languages, and the tablets. Both types still had power, and she couldn't help but wonder what their power supply was. Perhaps they somehow used gravitational forces to power them?

But all they cared about, was that they still had each other.

They were constantly touching, not in a sexual way, but more reassurance that the other was still there. The two days apart, thinking they would never see the other again had been a shock to their psyches, and had taken quite a toll on them. Now they needed reminders that the other wasn't gone, so their hands were constantly brushing their counterparts, or legs pressed against the other as they sat eating dinner. Their evenings were spent tangled together as they cuddled and kissed. Each had woken multiple times since they were back together with a nightmare that the other had been taken from them, only to be held and consoled by their partner. Slowly but surely, they were getting better.

Vanessa was treating Pepper as though she were fragile and was afraid of breaking her. Pepper meanwhile was aching to make love to Vanessa, to reconnect and please her to forget the nightmares they couldn't purge from their minds. So far though, Vanessa would just hold her, would kiss her, and cuddle her all night, but nothing more. Part of it was that the blood that she had seen in her helmet when she woke up was from a cut on her head, that even with the healing pod had left a scar on the side of her forehead. Vanessa kept touching it, stroking it, and it brought tears to her eyes that a plan that her father had been a part of had done that, had almost cost her Pepper.

But tonight, standing on the bridge as they looked out at the magnificent vista before them, it all seemed to melt away. The innermost moon, Miranda, lay below them, framed by the giant ice planet beyond, and the rings looked as though they were dancing around them. It was an incredible view, and they had taken many pictures of it for posterity. They were both so glad that the ship had these expansive windows, unlike the tiny portholes that they were used to from their old ship, as the views just couldn't get old. No matter where they looked, it was stunning.

To Pepper, nothing could compare to the view of the woman she held in her arms though. If she moved slightly to the left, and tilted her head just a bit, then the profile of this beauty was outlined against the blue backdrop of the planet before her, and her heart just melted at the sight. She didn't think she would ever be sick of such a view. She would happily live every day for the rest of her life aboard this ship if it meant seeing Vanessa like this, or even better, holding her like this.