DEAD SPACE
by Israel Sanchez
Kindle Edition | Copyright 2014 Israel Sanchez
Twitter: @lovedoesntletgo
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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
The International Space Station, as well as all the science and technology mentioned in this short story are factual.
I plan on writing more in the Ryder Avery universe, so while this story has a resolution, it also has a cliffhanger. Now, enjoy DEAD SPACE.
Ryder Avery was scheduled to speak with his wife in less than an hour. He was at the Cupola module taking pictures of planet Earth, thinking of all the wars, movements and inventions that summed up the human race. It was an odd feeling, to be orbiting the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour, to feel as if he was momentarily suspended in time. It felt like “real life” was not happening to him at the moment. All the people he loved, all his hopes and dreams were attached to that blue planet before him.
Although he had now spent five weeks aboard the International Space Station, he still saw it as a maze.
“It’s about the size of a soccer field,” Commander Terry Willmore told him when they first arrived. “You’ll get used to it in a few months.”
This was Willmore’s second time at the ISS, but his first time as commander. Besides Willmore, there was another astronaut aboard, Flight Engineer Samantha Rogers. Samantha was also a researcher and scientist.
If everything went according to plan, the other three crew members from Russia would be arriving in a matter of hours.
As a computer engineer, Avery was in charge of several projects, but mainly with that of putting together and programming a large 3D printer. If successful, the ISS astronauts would be able to print their own parts without having to wait for a resupply missions from Earth. It reminded Avery of the Star Trek replicator.
“Your turn,” Samantha said, interrupting Avery’s thoughts.
“How are your kids doing?” he asked.
“Oh, they’re doing well. Max is now starting to crawl, which has his little big sister excited,” she answered.
“Bet you can’t wait to see them,” he said, thinking of his own wife.
“Yeah, I miss my babies,” she said, smiling. “Now, go on, your wife is probably waiting for your call.”
Avery made his way to the station where the IP Phone was set up. He had spoken to his wife two days ago, but it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. It hadn’t been an important argument, but just the typical adjustment of newlyweds, when people from two different worlds come together. They had been married for only four months when he left, and now Avery would be gone for six months. He chuckled whenever he thought of his friends complaining about long distance relationships. It didn’t get any more “long distance” than this, he thought.
The Skype-type software came up and Avery dialed his wife’s number. She answered almost immediately.
“Hi honey,” he said, smiling.
“Hi,” she said. She still looked upset.
“Are you still mad at me?” he asked.
“No, I’m okay,” she said.
She said it in a tone that really meant that she wasn’t okay, but Avery had learned to not press her too much and just give her space.
“I miss you,” Avery said. “I keep thinking that maybe I should have waited before accepting the mission. I could have waited longer.”
She smiled. “You know very well that I wouldn’t have let you stay. You’ve been dreaming of going to space for years. If you didn’t go now, who knows when you would get another chance? I couldn’t live with that. And I know you couldn’t live with that.”
Avery smiled. He knew he was a lucky man. Veronica wasn’t only a beautiful woman on the outside; she was a stunning creature on the inside. She was kind, understanding and always supportive. Although he would tease her about her Cuban temper flaring up whenever they would argue, Avery thought she was near perfect. They had met in college almost a decade ago. She was born in Florida to Cuban parents and couldn’t be more different than the Kansas born and raised Avery. And yet, they were a perfect match.
“Did you get to go on your spacewalk yet?” she asked.
“No, not yet, but I’m thinking that maybe in a few days. We’re gonna wait until the Russian crew settles in.”
“That makes sense. Let them get acclimated,” she said.
“Yeah, wish they would allow them to bring vodka. Some good Russian vodka sounds good about now.” He laughed. “Remember that night on our honeymoon?”
She smiled and nodded, but it seemed to be a forced smile.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Look, I’m sorry for the things I said –”
But she interrupted him.
“I’m not mad at you, Ryder. It was a stupid fight.”
“Then what’s wrong,” he asked. “Are you feeling well?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she then leaned in closer to the screen, as if she was about to share a secret.
The gesture didn’t make sense, since she was home alone, but it seemed to be one of those innate human traits. Sharing a secret involved not only words but a gesture that invited confidence.
“They told me not to say anything, to not worry you or any of you guys up there until they figure out what’s going on.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on?”
“No one’s sure exactly, but something terrible is happening. It’s not just here. It seems to be happening all over,” she said, her voice trembling.
“What is it? What’s wrong, honey? You can tell me.”
“There seems to be—”
The video connection started freezing. Ryder could only make out a few words.
“—Attack—”
“—Dead—”
“—Careful—”
Ryder banged on the computer. Being an engineer, he knew that hitting the computer wouldn’t solve the connection problem, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Honey? Veronica? Are you there?”
A distorted image of her froze on the screen for a few seconds until it all went black and the connection died. Avery dialed her number again, but the line was completely dead. He tried two more times, but to no avail.
He headed to Node 2, where he knew that Commander Willmore would be. His wife’s last words were still ringing in his hears. Dead. Attack. Careful. What was she trying to say? Why was she told not to warn him about whatever was going on? Was she in danger?
If anyone on board knew what was going on, then it had to be the commander.
Willmore was sitting on his desk, going over the results of an experiment when Avery interrupted.
“Commander, sir,” Avery said, getting his attention. He tried to compose himself, but his anxiety was evident.
“Avery, are you alright?”
“Sir, when was your last communication with Houston?”
“About an hour ago. We just went over last minute details about the Russian ship docking. Why?”
“Did they mention anything unusual?”
“Unusual? What do you mean?”
“Did they mention a terrorist attack?”
Willmore stood up.
“Avery, what the hell are you talking about?
Avery didn’t want to betray his wife’s confidence. She was told not to say anything, but if her life was at risk, then nothing else mattered.
“I just spoke to my wife and she sounded terrified. She said she was told not to say anything, but it sounded like there was some sort of attack.”
“It sounded like? What did your wife say, exactly?”
“The connection started to freeze up, sir. I couldn’t make o
ut exactly what she said, but it sounded like there was an attack and people died,” he said.
“Avery, I spoke to Houston not long ago and they did not mention anything of an attack,” Willmore said. “Communication has been spotty, but that’s not unusual.”
“Sir, my wife would not make something like this up.”
Samantha Rogers came into the room. She had been working out by the Japanese module. Part of staying healthy in space required at least two hours of physical exercise daily.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Avery says that his wife told him that there’s some sort of terrorist attack,” Willmore said. “Did your husband mention anything about this?”
“No,” Samantha said, adjusting her hair. “But now that I think about it, he did look tense. I just thought it was stress from work. What did Houston say?”
“Nothing,” Willmore said.
“Maybe they don’t want us to worry for no reason,” Samantha said. “If there’s a terrorist attack, what could we do from here, except worry?”
Avery thought about it and it made sense. NASA would not worry the astronauts over something that is beyond their control, as Samantha said. Orbiting around the Earth every 90 minutes, conducting experiments and following a strict regimen was already enough to keep the astronauts busy. Knowing about some terrorist attack would only add more anxiety to individuals in a high stress environment. But his wife also knew this and her demeanor was worrisome.
“I get that,” Avery said, “but I know Veronica and if she broke protocol and tried telling me about whatever’s going on down there, then it must be big.”
Willmore didn’t say another word. He turned around, sat on his desk and put his headset on. He then pressed a button on the keyboard.
“Houston, this is Commander Willmore, do you copy?”
There’s usually a one-second lag when communicating with Houston, but after a few seconds, there was no response.
“Houston, this is Commander Willmore, come in.”
More silence. Samantha eyed Ryder. Her face revealed a growing concern.
“Houston—”
“Commander Willmore, this is Houston, I read you,” a voice said.
There was an almost permeable sense of relief in the air.
“Houston, can we switch to video call?”
“Commander, our communication systems are having some minor difficulties. Only audio for now,” the voice said.
“Copy,” Willmore said, and then he looked at Avery. “Houston, some of our family members tried warning us about a terrorist attack or something of that nature taking place back home. I tried calming my crew down, but some of us are worried. What do you know of this?”
There was a long silence.
“Nothing to worry about, Commander,” the voice said. “There has been a week of disturbances across the nation, but the federal government is getting things under control.”
Avery looked at the Commander. A week of disturbances across the entire nation? That didn’t sound good.
“Copy that, Houston. Can you elaborate?”
Again, a prolonged silence filled the air.
“Negative, Commander. Until we learn more about what’s going on ourselves, there’s no need to burden you guys with information you don’t need. Your families are safe.”
Avery thought of the Oxygen Generation System near the Discovery Lab. He knew that the system was fully functional, and yet, only when Houston confirmed that their families were safe, did Avery feel like he was breathing again. He knew it was selfish, but he didn’t care if the entire world was burning, as long as his wife was safe, as long as his father was safe, that’s what only mattered to him.
Before accepting the mission, Avery knew that he would be able to talk to his wife almost daily, so he thought that the things he would miss the most were the comforts of planet Earth, like sleeping without having to tether his sleeping bag to the floor or ceiling, or like not having objects float away constantly. However, once he found himself in the International Space Station, he realized that despite video chatting often, he missed his wife the most. He also missed his father, who had raised him by himself since Ryder was 12.
“Is the Soyuz still on schedule?” Willmore asked, yanking Avery back to reality.
“Affirmative,” Houston responded. “The Russian crew will be there in two hours.”
“Copy that,” Willmore said. “Sorry for breaking protocol, but we appreciate having the peace of mind. You know how important that is up here.”
“We understand, Commander,” Houston replied.
Then, the ISS crew heard what sounded like screams coming from the background. They all looked at each other, a concerned expression evident, even in the always stoic Commander Willmore’s semblance.
“Houston? Houston?” Willmore asked.
“They’re here! It’s happening here!” the voice said, sounding terrified.
More screams in the background. Not just any screams, but what sounded like a group people devoured by complete mass hysteria. What terrified Avery was the fear in Houston’s voice when he said, “they are here.”
“Houston, come in!” Willmore yelled. Gunfire could be heard, as well as the confused screaming of people in pain.
“Houston? Come in, now!”
More screaming and then silence. Complete silence.
They were all stunned. Something or rather someone had attacked the Mission Control Center. While not exactly the Pentagon, it was still one of the most secure buildings in the world. Whatever or whoever had broken in had effectively disabled their only communications with planet Earth.
“What the hell is going on?” Willmore said, not really to anyone in particular. Willmore had spent some time in the military and he had seen combat action, but he had never been this scared in his life. His hands were shaking.
Samantha spoke up. “Commander, what do we do?”
Willmore looked at her and then turned to face Avery.
“Ryder, what did your wife say, exactly?”
“Just what I told you a few moments ago. The call was freezing, so she kept breaking up. She mentioned the words dead, attack and careful before the call died.”
“Did she say anything else?” Willmore asked.
“Just that it was happening all over, whatever it means.”
“How about your husband? Did he say anything?”
Samantha shook her head. “Not a word. He did look tense, but I thought it was just stress. Oh my God, do you think they’re okay? My babies!”
“Calm down, Sam,” Avery said and put his hand on her shoulder. “NASA said that our families were safe.”
“Did you not hear what just happened in Houston?” she snapped.
“We don’t know what we heard,” Avery said. He was trying to calm her down, but also trying to reassure himself. He knew that they had to come up with a plan of action, but acting on pure emotion would not yield any good plans. Ryder was good at that, at taking a moment to look at a problem and detaching himself from it. His wife wasn’t always a fan of that tactic. She repeatedly told him that she didn’t want him to fix the problem, but just to listen to her. Other times though, she did want him to fix it, which made Ryder even more confused.
“If Houston is not safe, do you think our families are?” Samantha yelled.
“We have to believe that somehow they’re okay,” Avery told her.
Samantha began to cry. “I’m gonna try calling my husband again,” she said, amidst tears, although they really couldn’t be called “tears.” Because of the zero gravity environment they were in, the tears became a large bubble that covered the sides of her nose.
“Yeah, you do that,” Avery said, although he knew that the chances of her reaching her husband were close to zero. If communication with Houston was gone, there was no way that anyone else could reach the ISS.
“Commander, what do we do now?” Avery asked.
Commander Willmore see
med to be in shock. Of all the scenarios he had prepared for, this wasn’t one of them. They had all heard the terrified screams of agony, the gunfire and the ominous last words; they are here. It’s happening here.
Ryder understood the commander’s shock . He could only think of his wife, Veronica. She said that she was okay and Houston confirmed that their families were safe, but as Samantha pointed out, if Houston was gone, who’s to say their families had not been attacked, too? And what about his father? He had talked to him more than a week ago.
Dead Space: A Short Story Page 1