Everyone in the office are busy minding their own businesses. A usual scene in the Aeronautics Space Administration.
“Sir, a package came for the employees under your team,” a personnel reported, that has interrupted them from discussing.
“From whom?” The Head Astronaut asked, almost not breathing after an hour long mind-blowing and head work findings.
The man creased his forehead as he read the name, “Henry, Sir.”
They fainted and looked at each other as they heard the name, while the personnel is distributing the boxes.
“T-This is not—” The Astronaut was cut off when he saw the book.
“This is the same book we had found the other week,” he uttered as he pulled it out from the box.
“Whoever that person who has written this, knows what we did. This only means that Henry’s team had successfully come back without us knowing!” One of the women panicked.
“But the thing is, we don’t know this person is.” Another one frustratedly covered his face, and heaved a sigh.
The Head Astronaut read the title once again, that has given him reasons to wish for his death, though he’s already so close to it in his age.
He gulped. “EMPTIED MEMORY.”
—
Jean held her shoulders and shook her a little. “Give us a call right away when something happens, do you understand?” she reminded.
“I will. I will never waste those years and months of efforts we have put into this mission,” Eve agreed without blinking her eyes.
Just thinking what it took and cost them for her to finally get hired, she cannot think of any possibility that she will mess up. Much more, even he is no more with them, Nil’s connections somehow helped them out.
“And remember—always, that starting today, you are no longer Eve, not Euvy, but Eunice Ventura,” Rum added as he roamed his eyes around.
“Noted. Look, guys, I can handle this smoothly, okay?” she assured, though she truly feels excited to finally meet the people behind Captain Henry’s team’s fall.
“Okay. We can’t repeat the same mistakes again.” The old woman gasped.
“Jean, I promise, nothing bad will happen to me.”
The car’s door closed behind her and a few employees glanced at her direction, probably wondering who she is, to which answered when she showed her invitation form to the man who welcomed her halfway.
“You really look familiar, Ma’am,” the man noticed, scratching his name as he tries to remember.
“Well, they say that there are people out there that looks similar to us. How I wish I had met that person whom you think I resembled.” She smiled casually, but pleased upon knowing that things will not be hard for her. In no time, she is certain that there are individuals that will be haunted by their betrayal throughout the day and night.
The pathways are a bit busy, but there is no much noise in the surroundings. The employees are so focused on their works that they don’t even care who comes in and out, who passes by.
“I have heard that the team you are assigned to is working on something big. But I doubt that it will be them who will take the mission. No matter what the situation is, I think it is still preferable to choose younger ones to be sent in such cases. If ever, you might be one of those to be selected,” he stated confidently.
“That will be a great honor for me.”
She frowned as soon as she sees the door leading to the office where the team she is to be with staying. Her feet are even faster than her guide, given that she knows the building too well.
The man chuckled, thinking that she must be really excited, that her pace suddenly got faster, that he has to stride longer in able to keep up with her.
“I remember her now,” he then spoke. “But I was still a kid back then when I first met her. She walked this fast too whenever she works on something double time!”
She turned to him and watched him changed his mood from glad to gloomy. Somehow, she understood what is it for.
“But her team lost in the outer space when they had observed a black hole. No one of them made it back.”
‘You are wrong. Some of them did,’ she opposed inwardly.
As expected, no one has even noticed that they have opened and entered the room. The team seems to be into some debate, that they all look serious about the matter.
The man hemmed to get their attention, but instead of him, they get intrigued by the person standing just a few inches behind him.
—
They were all spacing out when another interruption intervened to their conversation. A personnel came back with someone with him. How long they are already standing by the door, they don’t know, for they are having a meeting about the case they thought they had already escaped from years ago.
“Ma’am, I was told to bring here the newly hired.” The man smiled and glanced at the person behind him.
The woman then went in front of them, smiling genuinely, yet that gave them a pinch of guilt and horror.
“Hello, Sir, Ma’am! I am Eunice Ventura Zimmerman, the newest member of your team,” she introduced to herself while friendly looking at them one by one.
After some thoughts, Marco has finally acknowledged his father’s name, that he has changed his surname to his. Despite the fact that the old man was unfortunately one of the officer’s lookout outside the organization: got involved in the raid, and killed along with the others, she has understood that him as well is just another victim.
The room became silent—fearfully serene to be precise.
“I told you, you look so familiar.” The man chuckled, facing Eunice.
“Now I believe you. I think so, too,” she whispered, acting differently from the Euvy they know.
“It is nice to finally meet you, Miss Ventura! I am—” the man who was told her is one of the newest members of the team, and probably their new prospect to bait on the mission, again.
He is saying a lot of things, but her attention is on the faces of the people she remembers. Their eyes show the same look: fear.
“And lastly, I am—”
“Peter Hopps,” she continued, eyeing on his nameplate.
“Yes, Peter Hopps.” He extended his hand and reached hers for a shake.
“He’s the nicest guy here.” The attendant winked at her, to which she just shook off and watched him off.
“Well, since it is just your first day here. I think it would be just fine if you would not—”
“Why not?” someone cut him off.
“Right, why not?” she agreed.
Puzzled for seconds, Mister Hopps nodded and went back to his seat, as their team Head has motioned him to do.
“Please have a seat, Miss—” the Head glanced at her.
“Mrs. Zimmerman,” she responded. With a clean record, no one will surely doubt her, she thought.
“Oh, Mrs. Zimmerman,” the man repeated and stealthily threw a relieved smile to his members. “So, we were discussing about the current discovery earlier when you come in…” he paused and removed the paper covering the projector.
“Here it is.” He showed the paused video.
She sat down on the vacant seat at the back, waiting for the clip to play. With the busyness she had for the past few days, she had lost track of the current news; hence, shocked her when it starts to play.
“According to the Space Administration, these beings might can understand, and they even have a civilization like we have. However, they are still to be observed until proven that they won’t impose threat to humans,” said the female reporter. “In spite of being seen not so far away from Earth, compared to Neptune’s distance from us, it is now a puzzle for them why this planet had not been discovered sooner!” The woman glanced at her fellow standing a few feet away from her. “Yes, Dylan?”
“Someone sent us a comment here, mate! This person claims that the planet was already there for decades, and probably, for centuries already. If so, how did it happen that it is already there once, vanished, and appeared again?” the anchor stressed out to every word.
“Well, that is his claim, Dylan,” the woman smiled. “Until the scientists give us an explanation about this one, we cannot inform the people with the possibilities we can think of,” she then chuckled.
“In Regards to that, this man had also mentioned that the planet was first discovered more than two decades ago, when the Space Administration sent a team to investigate the black hole that has suddenly appeared near it! What happened to that mission, he mentioned no more apart from that. What do you think about this? This person seems to be so into this discovery, that he actively participates in our discussion.”
The two glanced at each other and to whoever they are with inside their studio. The woman then raised a bit her brow to Dylan and the latter one shrugged his shoulders as he turned to someone at the corner.
“Do we already have an update on it? How about the Space Administration, did they have already released any statement?” he inquired, curious as everyone else.
“I see. Unfortunately, folks, the Administration haven’t said anything about this yet. Nevertheless, we will keep you updated on this matter. This is a—” he paused, as if thinking for the right term, to which he cannot figure out which words fit to his thoughts.
“I don’t know how to say it,” he later admitted. “Because looking back years ago, there were no information about black holes and missions mentioned by the Space Administrations. I mean, was it not just informed to the public?”
The video ended, so is her attempt to think who could be the person who sent them the claims. Whoever he is, he seems to be aware of what happened that time.
The Head turned to her and handed her his copy of the said matter. She flipped the pages and saw the images taken. Despite the wrecked spaceship is already in the verge of almost unrecognizable, its design is no doubt belongs to the Space Administration.
“Isn’t this spaceship ours?” she asked while looking at the creatures that seemed to be humans except for that they have wrinkled thick skin, longer legs and arms, as well as elongated fingers, a bit hunchback.
“The old model, yes,” one replied, who has never taken off his eyes on her since she stepped in.