The Crash

Jamie Richards was a ruddy tomboy who got picked on by the other kids in school. But even as kids, she and Aaron Sharpe were inseperable. Camping trips, after-school clubs, and even cross-country running for their high school athletic team — Jamie and Aaron could be found making (and getting into) trouble, mostly good trouble.
 
When Sharpe started — and bankrupted — his first business, Jamie was with him through it all. Then, for a season, Aaron lived in Jamie’s basement...he would invariably create disasters and accidental explosions; Jamie was always ready to repair and to offer Aaron constructive criticism.
 
They’d been working together for a few years when Sharpe finally stumbled onto his first breakthrough invention — reusable jet fuel-cells. Soon afterward, Jamie helped negotiate the license and supply agreements for the fuel-cell technology to be used in military aircraft. Jamie helped design the retro-fitting machinery necessary to upgrade older fuel-systems for the reusable fuel technology. It was only a few years later when Aaron started XPlore Corp — with spacecraft designed around the fuel-cell technology. Jamie was with him the from the beginning.
 
Soon after Destroyer took over, Jamie knew that Sharpe was planning to put encrypted satellites into orbit, but she didn’t expect that he was planning to commandeer an XPlore Corp plane for the task. After launching, Sharpe sent Jamie a secure message,
 
“I’m onboard ship #17. If something happens to me, I’ve left papers for you to take over the company along with some other instructions. I hope everything goes to plan and I’ll see you next week.”
 
When Sharpe’s solo-mission aboard the XPlore plane ended in a fiery explosion, Jamie used her corporate access to monitor the plane’s re-entry trajectory and arrived at the crash site before anyone else — it was an “unmanned” craft, after all...there were no emergency crews expected, only fire and clean-up crews.
 
She immediately took one of XPlore Corp’s autonomous jets to the Nevada desert where plane #17 had crashed. As expected, there was no one present at the crash-site. In the clear night sky, the flames from the jet were like a beacon. But there was something else shining brightly — an eerie blue field of light surrounding the wreckage.
 
After landing nearby, Jamie ran toward the wreckage, thinking to herself, The fuel-cells don’t glow blue like this...what was the cargo on this spacecraft?
 
Quickly bringing up the ship’s manifest, Jamie confirmed there were only small satellites, drones, and other typical cargo. Nothing unusual...
 
Aaron was on this spacecraft, too.
 
She began to weep for her childhood friend, still running toward the burning spacecraft, now visibly encompassed by the blue field of energy.
 
As she moved closer to the wreckage, it became obvious that the flames were not hot. This spacecraft was a heap of warped metal, engulfed in a blaze of fire...and Jamie was only 20 meters from it now, but there was no heat escaping from the energy field surrounding the spacecraft.
 
Jamie slowed as she neared the light, now walking up to the swirling field of energy. There were flecks of gold and other shimmering colors floating in the air. She raised her hand and reached outward, carefully touching the edge of the swirling energy.
 
In that moment she understood. She knew that the field of energy was protecting Aaron...and it was protecting her as well.
 
Jamie slowly walked through the edge of the blue swirling energy and into the flames, climbing onto the wreckage in search of Aaron’s remains. But instead, she found Aaron lying naked and unconscious, covered in blue markings with bright gold lines that looked like ancient letters — entirely unharmed. When she reached out to him, Aaron eyes opened as if for the first time.
 
Without speaking, Jamie knew Aaron had so many questions and fears, almost as if his thoughts were echoing in her[/I] mind. Aaron shakily stood from the wreckage and Jamie walked him back to the autonomous jet awaiting several hundred meters away. Aaron didn’t speak for hours, but Jamie “heard” his thoughts all the same.
 
After returning to Millennium City, Jamie took Aaron to the Sharpe Mansion and they entered his workshop through a private entrance. The strange markings on his skin faded away well before they returned to the city...so there was no explanation to give to Jeremy and Regina, Sharpe’s driver and chef, like family, really.. And his daughter Sarah wouldn’t have noticed he was gone anyways...
 
In the coming days, it became obvious that Sharpe didn’t want to talk about the accident or the mysterious blue light around the wreckage. Jamie also realized that Sharpe didn’t know that their thoughts were somehow connected.
 
Maybe Aaron was in denial. Maybe he didn’t have any memories of the crash. But Jamie did remember. And whenever Sharpe was ready to talk about it, she’d be there for him...just like she always was.