Andromeda. It seemed a distant dream for many. For Olivia, it had become an annoyance. The Andromeda Initiative was founded in 2176 and had already launched its main hub a year earlier, almost a decade after the project began. It was a civilian, multi-species project with the aim of sending scientists, explorers, and colonists to the Andromeda Galaxy. It was a one-way trip. No one would be coming back. She would never see any of them ever again...her parents, sister, people she had known years. She had chosen to stay behind, despite their protests.
Both of her parents were in the Initiative, and were leaving with it when the Hyperion would go. Her father was Dr Martin Taylor. He was initially a medical doctor, but became involved in cryogenics, and cryogenic medicine. After publishing several books on the subject, her father was approached by the Andromeda Initiative. They wanted his expertise, to help the 20,000 or so people who would travel to another galaxy in cryosleep. He was a kind, patient man, but wrapped up in his work and his books.
Her mother was different altogether. Laura Taylor was shrewd, tall and tanned from a life outdoors. She was a botanist, from a farming family, and her career was one dominated by the science of making things grow. She would be another pillar of the Initiative or so her parents liked to claim.
But Olivia Taylor had no intention of being part of it. It seemed such an enormous risk to a young woman who was barely beginning her own adventures. She was small, slim, fresh out of university on Earth at the age of 21, with a degree in media. She had no job, unemployed, living off sporadic money from her parents and occasional freelance articles that she could sell. She lived in London with her boyfriend, Francis. He was an artist, with messy hair, blond and a straggly beard, which she hated. His eyes were dark, flashing when he lost his temper.
And that day, he was furious. "What the hell is this, Liv?" He snarled at her, waving a datapad in her face. His face was sweaty, a reddish tint to his eyes. Olivia sighed inwardly: he'd been dusting up again with red sand. She'd tried it before, in a misguided attempt to be like her biotic, perfect, older sister. But Francis was an addict.
The drug, when taken nasally, produced an intense euphoria, and short-term telekinetic abilities. It was refined from element zero on Mars originally and was powerfully addictive. "Well if you'd let me look at it and not shove it in my face, maybe I'd be able to tell you." She snapped, immediately regretting it.
"You lied to me!" He shouted. A mug on the counter behind her shot off, smashing into pieces. Olivia flinched.
"Please, just...just calm down." She pleaded. The chairs were rattling against the table.
"Don't tell me what to do!" His eyes were unfocused. He always got angry on that stuff. Most of the time, she would leave when he got this bad, but that day he was blocking the door.
He raised his hand as if to strike her, and the last thing she saw was the blue glow of a biotic attack before she slammed against the wall, pinned for a moment before dropping to the floor.
She rolled over, seeing the back of his head as he walked out, the door sliding shut behind him. A few months ago, this would have made her cry. By then, she was just resigned. She would have bruises, she was sure of that. A few more to add to the kaleidoscope of bruising across her skin, the couple of scars from cuts.
She loved him. She hated him. He couldn't live without her. He needed her. It was toxic, and wrong, but she couldn't leave. Where else would she go? Not back to her parents. They were going to Andromeda. And they had no idea what her life was like.
Peeling herself off the floor, she picked up the datapad that Francis left behind. Her eyes widened. It was a message from the Andromeda Initiative, confirming her time and date to come in for cryosleep. "I don't understand." Olivia muttered. She and Francis had discussed Andromeda in depth. He thought it was a mad idea, and when she first mentioned going he'd told her no. He couldn't cope without her. Her parents didn't want her tagging along, he'd said.
She called them. Her dad answered, looking tired, preoccupied. "What is it, Olivia? I'm heading into work soon."
"I've had a message from your precious Initiative!" There were tears of anger in her eyes, though whether the anger was because of Francis or her parents, she wasn't sure. "It said to come in two weeks' time to be frozen! Except, I've never applied to go to Andromeda! Did you do this?"
"The Initiative's ultimate goal is to establish a permanent presence in Andromeda." Her father reminded her, as if she could have possibly forgotten, a slightly sheepish tone to his voice alerting her that she'd hit the nail on the head. "The frontier will have endless excitements for us all. There'll be all sorts that you could enjoy out there."
"I'm still not going." Olivia said sulkily. "I have a life here. How many times have I told you?"
"A life!" Her mother joined him on the call. "You mean that idiot? He's leading you astray. You're wasting your potential! Look at your sister, for example."
"Oh here we go." Olivia muttered. Nina Taylor was their parent's golden girl, the perfect example of discipline and drive. She was thirty, nine years older than Olivia, a biotic who had served from the age of sixteen in the Alliance military until leaving to pursue a career in the Initiative. She intended to travel with her parents to Andromeda. Compared to Nina's talents and impeccable military record, Olivia had always been a disappointment, she felt.
"All I'm saying is Nina is taking her skills and putting them to use in the new world!" Laura Taylor said, "You don't need to be so defensive all the time."
"We applied for you in case you changed your mind." Her father said reasonably. "If you don't, the first reserve will get your place." Only her father, influential in the Initiative, could have wrangled it, she thought.
"It's not like you guys want me there anyway." Olivia said quietly, "What use would I be?"
"We always want you around." Her father's words caught her off guard. "You're our little girl. My little firefly."
Tears rose in her eyes. It had been so long since she'd heard that nickname, courtesy of her thick, messy red hair. "Why would you possibly think we wouldn't want you to come?" Her mother asked.
"Because..." Because you love Nina more. Because I'm no good. Because I'm useless. All the things Francis had told her, all those insecurities rose up inside her brain.
"Olivia, please." Her father's voice sounded oddly raw, staring at her with the vivid periwinkle blue eyes that Olivia and Nina shared. "Come home. We'll all go together. It'll be different in Andromeda. I'll be around more, so will your mother. You'll make new friends, meet a new partner. That Francis boy...he's not good for you."
"I have to go." Olivia stammered, hearing footsteps in the hall. "He's back. I have to..." She cut the call as her parents protested.
Francis stepped back into the room, taking in her frightened, pale face, her body pressed defensively against the wall. He was crying, she noticed in disgust. Walking towards her, he took her hands, pulling her against him. His tears dripped into her hair, and she shuddered a little. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, "I didn't mean to. It made me. I was just so angry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He babbled.
"I know." She murmured.
"You told me you were staying!" He said, putting her at arm's length, like a naughty child. "I have an exhibition coming up. You said you'd be there." He looked like a petulant toddler.
"I can't do this." Olivia muttered. She looked up into his face, seeing the tears, the remorse, but also the violence and instability flickering under the surface.
"What?" He asked.
"I never asked my parents to book me passage to Andromeda." She told him, "But I think they were right. I need to leave. I need to leave you."
"You're not thinking clearly." He protested. The furniture began trembling. The mirror cracked with an ear-splitting bang. "You're upset."
"I'm thinking clearly for the first time since we met." Olivia said, despite her fear, "Today was my wake up call." She pulled away, leaving everything, all her possessions and fled out of the door, hearing Francis calling after her.
She found a bar, drank a few vodkas, trying to steady herself. She had to leave him. It was the only way. After three hours, she plucked up the courage to go back. She'd pack up her things and catch a shuttle out to her parents.
As she walked down the monochrome corridor of the apartment lock, a strange feeling of foreboding overtook her. The door was open, just a crack. The kitchen was a state. The cupboards were hanging open, their contents strewn, wet and sticky upon the floor. The table and chairs were overturned.
The trail of destruction led to the bedroom. Olivia stood outside, heart beating irregularly. It was too quiet, deathly so.
"Francis?" She called out. Her voice was small.
That was when she saw him, sprawled across the bed. He had spilt some of the drugs. They stained his clothes, his chin, and his mouth. His skin was so pale, lips mauve. His eyes were open, glazed. A wordless cry of grief and horror escaped her lips. She pressed her fingers to his neck, feeling nothing.
He was gone.
Her lover. Her tormentor. And he was gone.
She was still sitting there, numb, when the investigators arrived. She sat, unable to shed so much as a tear as Francis's body was removed. She couldn't accept it, that it was over, just like that. She had wished herself rid of him, and now he was gone, like the universe was playing some colossal joke upon her.
Her heart knocked hollowly against her chest, mind shutting down, unable to think anymore.
"Liv?" A voice called tentatively. She turned her head, seeing a woman sitting on the bed beside her, dressed plainly in a white top and dark trousers. Her red hair was cut short in a bob, and she shared the same bright blue eyes as Olivia.
"Nina?" Olivia asked in confusion. "What are you doing here? When did you get here?"
"I have friends in the police here." Her older sister said, concern shining in her eyes. "They let me know about Francis. I flew in immediately. Are you ok?"
It had gone dark outside, Olivia realised. She had sat there longer than she had realised. "He's gone." She whispered.
"I know." Nina squeezed her hand. "Mum and Dad told me to bring you home. We'll leave this galaxy. It'll be great. We'll all be together. Dad was chatting to the Pathfinder recently on board the Hyperion."
Four Ark ships had been built, all with cryostasis chambers which her father had helped to build. It would take over 600 years for them to reach the new galaxy. The founder, Jien Garson had already gone in the Nexus, which would become the main hub of future colonists. The subsequent Arks would carry different species with humans on the Hyperion. Each species had a Pathfinder: part soldier, scientist and guide who would lead the way to a new home.
Alec Ryder: the human Pathfinder. Her parents practically worshipped him.
They were heading for the Heleus Cluster, where long-range scans had identified several 'Golden Worlds', which could be possibly inhabited. There was always risk however, after all, who knew what they would find when they reached Andromeda?
"Will you come?" Nina asked again, "It's all arranged."
"Yes." Olivia finally said numbly, "I'll come."