Take Me Out To The Black

Title Take Me Out To The Black
Rating PG-13

He'd always wondered why they called it "The Black". The spacers who frequented the bars down by the docks where no self respecting Child of the Alliance would be seen dead - which perversely made it one of the most popular places for the university's final year students to sneak into - those bitter men and women whose faces told of a lifetime's struggle, they would talk in hushed tones of the lure of the black. The thrills of heading to the very edges of known space - many ventured out there to lose themselves, only to finally find who they truly were.

The distance between stars out there was so great that a ship could travel for weeks without passing by a planetary system, a star. For those who had spent their lives on the central planets where there was never anything resembling true night because of the proximity of neighbouring stars it was a daunting, sometimes terrifying thing. As the nights wore on, the tones would become hushed and the tales would turn to those of spacers who had left the central planets, called by the lure of the black, who had lost their minds and their humanity.

Simon remembered laughing at that, the idea of being able to lose yourself - or your self - on the 'edges of known space' had seemed ridiculous.

Now he counted on it.

There had never been a time in his life when he hadn't been able to see the sun, but it was a regular occurrence out here in the space between stars. He stood at the entrance to the bridge, not crossing the strangely organic looking threshold - that was still the prerogative of crew members and despite the captain's words Simon knew neither he nor River were crew, not yet anyway - and watched the captain take his turn at piloting. Watching the man, with his inscrutable expression, Simon thought perhaps he finally understood. It wasn't just the darkness outside the view ports that gave rise to the epithet; it was the darkness inside those who remained out here.