Signal Lost

Part II

Lance's pulse raced as that blasted computer struggled to load.

"What is wrong with me?" he thought to himself. He seldom lost control of himself like this. The constant bombing and ricocheting bullets in the war were a living hell compared to what he was going through now.

In an attempt to calm down, Lance got into his favorite position - lounged back into his chair. He kicked his long legs on top of the desk.

"How many days have I sat here, listening through albums upon albums of shitty music?" Lance thought to himself. He took a couple deep breaths before cursing at the computer again.

He checked his watch; nineteen minutes left.

Lance began to feel relaxed - until he laid too far back and fell onto the floor. Adding to the embarrassment, some of the clutter on his desk fell with him. He opened his eyes to see that old tennis ball on his forehead.

"... Hello?" said a familiar voice.

Lance rose to his feet in a panic.

"Oh... hey! Had a bit of a fall as you probably heard" smirked Lance, looking off to the side and trying to fix his clothes. It was Julia on the screen. Her first glimpse of her brave husband after ten years is of him falling on his ass. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh my go- are you okay?" asked Julia, stuttering as she spoke.

"Of course. A little fall isn't going to stop the ace of the UN Air Force!" exclaimed Lance in a sarcastic tone as he took the pose of a superhero. He then got back into his chair.

Lance and Julia stared at each other. Julia had not aged a bit since he last saw her. Her green eyes managed to charm him yet again. She also was sporting the same pixie hair cut that he loved.

Not a single imperfection could be found on her olive-colored skin - or maybe she had just been using foundation again. Regardless, Lance was shocked that she looked exactly as he saw her in the picture he had been looking into for all these years.

When Lance looked at his own mirror it came to him that he aged poorly. His hair line had receded over the years and his pale skin felt rough. Maybe it was the stress. Maybe it was the years of space travel. Or maybe this is what would inevitably happen without Julia to keep him from falling apart.

Julia broke the silence with another chuckle.

"What... is it the hair?" asked Lance,

"Funny how the Hero of D.C. now looks like a pasty, confused middle-aged man."

"Yeah, well, you don't get much sun when you're travelling light years away from it."

Lance and Julia giggled like they were teens again. He half-heartedly dusted off his jumpsuit and got more comfortable in his chair.