01 — Platform Zero

At 03:17 station time, a train appeared on the departures board that Jun had personally disconnected. Its destination was Orion. Its platform was zero. Its departure time was yesterday.

Jun put down his coffee. Beyond the observation glass, Jupiter turned in its sleep, enormous and indifferent. The last scheduled passenger service had left two hours earlier. In four days the station would be dismantled. He had already packed his tools.

The public address system cleared its throat. 'Passenger Jun Vale, please proceed to Platform Zero.'

There were nine platforms on the station. Jun knew every bolt in all of them. He had spent eleven years maintaining the doors, checking the seals, and listening to people promise to return.

His wrist terminal vibrated. The message contained no sender, only a photograph of a paper ticket. On the reverse, in handwriting he had not seen since childhood, were five words: This time, wait for me.

Jun picked up his tools again.