I lifted the flaps of the box. An envelope with the words "Watch This First" scrawled in Ben’s handwriting caught my eye. Picking up the envelope, I removed a small circular disk the size of a button from it. After pushing the disk through a slot on the side of the screen, I instructed the computer, "CHIP, play the disk."

My heart felt as if it had sunk into my boots when Ben appeared on the screen. He sat on the couch in our Base house. His dark-brown hair seemed longer than usual and definitely a lot messier. A full day’s growth covered his chin. From the redness of his eyes and the dark circles under them, I knew something had been keeping him up nights. Ben rarely worried, so if something was keeping him up, it had to be serious.

He began, "Angel, if you are watching this, I must be dead. Knowing you like I do, I know you are sitting behind your desk on the Liberty. You have thrown yourself into your work. You have been doing anything to avoid dealing with the pain."

I looked around, exchanging an amused look with Nate. I guess Ben knew me better than I thought.

"Angel, I love you so much," Ben maintained, casting me a sad yet involuntary smile.
It broke my heart just knowing that I would never hear Ben call me Angel again.

I smiled, putting my hand to the screen. "And I love you," I agreed; tears forming in my eyes. I missed him so much. The hole in my heart that he left when he died ached. I watched him on the screen of my terminal, knowing that my time with Ben ended when the disk did.
Ben paused for a moment to stare at his wedding ring, twisting it around and around his finger. The hunted look that I saw in his eyes made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Something was definitely wrong.

"I am in big trouble, Angel. I discovered that the Crimson Fleet have been working on a secret biological weapon. And they have made several attempts on my life and have threatened to kill you and Reggie. I don’t know. Maybe they have already tried to take you out."

"The accident," Nate whispered.