"Skippy," I took a deep breath to collect my thoughts, we didn't have a lot of time. "I'm not going to let you drift in space until the end of time, you've had enough loneliness for a thousand lifetimes. We humans owe you, big time, more than we can ever repay. And, damn it, you little shithead, you're my, I can't believe I'm saying this, you're my friend." I hit the button to send the elevator back down. "Wait!" The elevator door froze halfway closed. "Wait wait! Joe, you're going to do this, for me?" "Somebody has to, Skippy, and I'm the one here right now." I hit the button again and the
...more
