Old Earth Communique - Dispatched April 29483
*a scratchy, fuzzy image comes in...echoes from a distant world, transmitted further and further into clarity...a set of three Opifexes, all smiles, all sat quietly around a round, glass table...fumbling with the holo-recorder, the image bouncing up and down lightly as they test for the signal.
One of the Opifexes is an elderly woman....her soft, weather-worn green eyes shine at the camera...her long, graying hair resting atop her shoulder and down the front of her green-knit vest...small touches sewn onto the fabric indicative of her caring, grandmotherly nature. She smiles, taking a deep breath, watching the two younger Opifexes adjusting the holocamera.
The other two are younger, but still old enough to exude the same kind of authority most loving parents would command...both of them with long hair, slight strands of grey running through each showing that these two had aged considerably, themselves. Both are dressed nicely...fitting well into the comfortable-looking home they're situated in...soft wind evident through large, floor to ceiling windows in the gentle billowing of the freshly-budded branches and stick-laden bushes sat beneath, gently glistening in the rain-slick, early spring afternoon sun outside of their home.
There's a feeling, looking at these three as they sit down and adjust themselves in front of the camera, that they haven't been this happy in years...*
MAN: Kenny boy? Ohh, we're hoping you get this one, and hoping it finds you safe and sound!
YOUNG WOMAN: It's been so long! *she laughs, relieved* Oh, we...we never thought we'd hear from you again, but...we always had a feeling that's where you'd gone. And it's so far away, too! At this rate, you'll be hearing this in...when will it be there? *she turns to the elderly woman*
OLD WOMAN: August? Ohh, Rubi-Ka'n Augusts are the worst....Theron and I used to rent out this place by a lake just to keep cool during the summer months..*she sighs, wistfully*
YOUNG WOMAN: It's still going to take a long time for you to get this, sweetheart...And it will be hard for us to wait so long to hear back from you.
MAN: But at least it won't be like it was before!
OLD WOMAN: Ohh-ho, it will be so much livelier around here! Although it won't bring back- *the young woman turns to her side, shooshing the elderly woman, before looking back at the camera*
YOUNG WOMAN: ...Yes, that's...the bad news, Ken. Your grandfather passed away two years ago. But...it's...okay! *she takes a deep breath, looking somber...the man holding a hand to his eyes in quiet grief...* ....he went peacefully, in his sleep.
OLD WOMAN: Ohh quiet you two...It was his time, and...though I'll miss him like nothing else, this isn't the time for getting all weepy. *she smiles, reaching over to give the man a gentle hug* Aw...it's okay Desmond, he's still watching over, and you know it.
MAN: Thanks, mom...
OLD WOMAN: Oh, you two...c'mon, this is for Kenny...*she smiles a little, rubbing a hand at her eyes* Katherine, I know Ken will be happy just seeing us, just the way we were when the message came in yesterday.
MAN: We were so overjoyed when we saw the message...and even more so when we'd seen the Christmas date timestamped onto it.
YOUNG WOMAN: It's what we wanted the very most for Christmas...*she grins a little*
OLD WOMAN: We all got our wish, yes! ...A little late, but that can't be helped, not when Rubi-Ka is so far away! *she laughs a little...looking tired, old, and frail...but still overjoyed, her deep green eyes glinting in the spring sunlight*
YOUNG WOMAN: Not much else has changed around here Ken....They built a new lunar grid access node a few miles away, and we took a trip there not too long ago. It's beautiful...hard to believe it used to be a gray ball of dust. *she laughs, smiling*
OLD WOMAN: Some parts of it still are, Katherine! You know those activists, wanting to keep things the way they always have been...
MAN: Well, I'm all for that. And I bet Ken would be too...You know how he's always been the nostalgic type, right? *he smiles, looking at the camera*
YOUNG WOMAN: ...We are hoping that sometime soon, when you...when you finish what you said you had to do there, that you can come back home. We'll be here with open arms, and I never want you to forget that you have a place back here...
MAN: And that we're always proud of you! *he smiles, nodding at the younger woman*
YOUNG WOMAN: Although...some parts of your mail were worrying, Ken. What happened to you so that you couldn't speak? You did say you were alive *and* well, but...what we wouldn't give to hear your voice again.
MAN: We were worried that something may have happened to you, but then again there isn't a way to know for sure. The solar storm they have predicted soon is going to hamper things even more, so it's possible that this message could be held up even more than it should be...but hopefully that won't be too big a problem! I hope.
YOUNG WOMAN: We want to hear from you as soon as you can, okay Kenny..? Don't be afraid, we're your parents and we aren't angry; we're just worried like any parent should be.
OLD WOMAN: They even kept your letter from when you left, you know...and kept your room just the way you'd left it. The second you feel ready to come home, you do just that! *she smiles*
MAN: And the day you get back, we'll take you anywhere you'd like to go, as a homecoming gift. Although...*he looks at the others* ....that's not much of a homecoming gift, celebrating by going somewhere that isn't home! *he and the others laugh, all looking lovingly at the camera, their faces as warm as their gray complexion can allow for*
YOUNG WOMAN: Oh, Kenny loves the beach, so I bet you he'd want to go out there the moment he gets back. *she looks at the camera again, smiling* ...And I mean that Ken! Anywhere you'd like to go, anything you'd like to do.
MAN: But for now, we just want to hear you...maybe even see you, if you can. *he smiles*
OLD WOMAN: Who's to say you'd even recognize him? He probably cut his hair to look more professional! *she laughs, the other two just smiling*
MAN: Ken wouldn't cut his hair, he's kept it like that since he was a little kid. *he smiles, looking back at the camera* Although if you did, it wouldn't change things. We'd be happy to see you just the same, Ken...
OLD WOMAN: ...What's that blinking light? *she points toward the camera*
MAN: Ohh, that just means we're almost up to the limit...*he sighs, looking disappointed*
OLD WOMAN: Oh! Already? Can't they make these things longer? We have so much more to say!
YOUNG WOMAN: Well, let's make it count..
MAN: We love you, Ken...and don't be afraid, okay? It was hard in the past, but we can't be angry at you for following your dreams, especially after all your grandparents did to get you excited about it.
OLD WOMAN: Pssshhh! And Kenny will be much better for it, won't he? *she smiles, looking at the camera* Won't you, dear? I know you'll find what you're looking for...it is Rubi-Ka, after all. They don't lie about the adventure! *she smiles*
YOUNG WOMAN: We just hope that your dreams end up leading you back here Ken...and that whatever happens, you stay happy. We love you so much, Ken...
MAN: Stay in touch with us Kenny! We'll be right here waiting for you!
OLD WOMAN: I love you too, dear...You've made us happy, and done us proud.
*they all smile, waving at the camera....the feed fuzzing slightly, clicking off*
