2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light)

by Robert Storey

  The Indian man grinned. ‘Oh, it was, it took us two weeks to get it out of all the equipment. Two weeks!’

  Tyler wiped a tear from his eye; the man’s tale was unbelievable, but amusing. Who’d have thought someone would design a zero gravity toilet, with a reversible pump?

  ‘So, Commander,’ the Indian said, as a few of the onlookers moved away, ‘I hear congratulations are in order.’

  Tyler gave him a puzzled look.

  ‘You are to be made captain of the Archimedes, are you not? I bet the person you’re replacing will be sick to their stomach they’ve missed out on overseeing the mission of a lifetime.’

  Tyler’s memories of his captain came flooding back, memories he tried so hard to forget. His face darkened. Draining the rest of his drink he handed the empty container to Astrid who looked at him in dismay.

  ‘I must be getting back,’ he said, and without a further word he glided off towards the module’s closest hatch.

  Alexei, the Russian cosmonaut, looked up from a discussion he was having with two British astronauts. ‘You’re leaving so soon, Commander?’

  Tyler glanced at Alexei as he passed but didn’t reply, his sour mood compounded by the joviality surrounding him.

  With the sounds of merriment left behind, Tyler slowed and stopped in the auditorium to gaze out into space and the stars that shone bright in the blackness.

  Something touched his shoulder, making him jump.

  He turned to see Astrid had followed him.

  She flashed him a grin, her face apologetic. ‘Forgive Sohail, he did not know what he was saying. He always does, how do you say? Put his mouth where his foot is.’

  Tyler’s lips twitched at her mistake, but the smile faded before it could form.

  She put her hand on his shoulder, the touch lingering. ‘My quarters are close, stress relief can be good for the soul as well as the body.’

  He raised his left hand where a gold wedding ring glittered in the half-light.

  Astrid looked upset, but masked it expertly. ‘I admire your loyalty. I, too, have a love on the surface, but with times as they are we must take comfort where we can find it.’

  Tyler found her attractive, very attractive, but he loved his wife and family and to throw away that trust for lust was, for him, ludicrous. He was about to reply when he saw some movement through the window. Across from his vantage point, a large section of the ISS could be seen, and his eyes were drawn to a long corridor that ran around the edge of the auditorium’s outer rim. Eighty feet away, passing through this curved passage and visible through a line of sweeping, nano-fibre windows, a host of GMRC scientists and security personnel manoeuvred two large objects, one of which was a transparent oblong pod used to transport individuals under strict quarantine.

  Tyler’s expression changed to shock as a jolt of recognition hit him. The procession turned before disappearing around a corner and without a word to Astrid, he thrust himself from the window towards the nearest hatch.

  ‘What’s wrong?!’ Astrid called out, but Tyler was too intent on chasing the GMRC team to respond; instead, he propelled himself like an arrow through a connecting module.

  Flying through three hatches without regard for safety protocols, Tyler activated his mag-boots with reverse polarity to execute a tight ninety degree turn at speed. Bending his knees to absorb the energy of his flight, he flexed his legs to full extension to continue his headlong pursuit. With Astrid left far behind, Tyler passed through the corridor he’d seen from the auditorium moments before. Pushing out with his hands to match the curvature of the module, he braced for impact as the end of the passage came into sight. Unable to slow his momentum, Tyler’s shoulder crashed into the closed hatch, the sound echoing in his ears as a grunt of pain escaped his lips. He spun the circular handle round, heaved open the door and went through.

  The area was deserted. Looking left and right, he could see no sign of the GMRC contingent. The module in front was also empty, as were those above and below. Unable to hear anything either, the silence total, Tyler moved right to search for signs of his quarry. A dead end led him back to try the left turning, where a locked security door barred his way. Through a small porthole he could see a sign that told him the ISS transport hub lay beyond. This was where the last GMRC Sabre transportation craft was docked. He knew he had to get there, and quickly. Urgency upon him, he tried – and failed – to override the unfamiliar system. He banged the door in frustration.

  ‘Tyler, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.’

  Tyler turned to see Astrid appearing through the aperture behind him. ‘I saw—’

  ‘Saw what?’ Astrid said, when he failed to continue.

  He shook his head and returned to the door to attempt another computer override sequence.

  Astrid pulled him back round. ‘Tyler, tell me! What did you see?’

  ‘Can you help me get through this door?’

  ‘Zut alors!’ Pushing him aside, she entered a code. Nothing happened. Trying again with the same result, she looked at him in concerned confusion. ‘This code should work.’

  ‘They don’t want us seeing what they’re up to.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘The GMRC, who else?’

  Letting out a string of curses, Astrid yanked out the computer console to expose its wires and then pulled out a couple and twisted their ends together. Repeating this process twice more, she shoved the panel back in and tapped in a series of numbers. The red light remained, the obstruction unmoved. Letting out a squeak of displeasure, she thumped the screen with the heel of her hand; there was a click and a clunk, and the light switched to green.

  Tyler pulled open the door, but Astrid barred his path with her arm. ‘What is happening, Tyler?’

  With no time to spare, Tyler gently but firmly moved her aside. ‘Follow me.’

  He pulled himself forwards through another tunnel and Astrid shook her head and moved after him.

  It wasn’t long before they came to another locked door. This barrier had no window and this time the French astronaut’s attempt at an override was fruitless.

  Tyler bunched his fists in anger. ‘Damn it!’

  ‘I know a way round,’ Astrid said, ‘but first you must tell me what is happening. This hatch shouldn’t be locked, it’s a safety hazard.’

  Tyler, trapped by circumstance, calmed himself. ‘They said he was dead.’

  ‘Who? Your Archimedes captain, Bo Heidfield?’

  Tyler nodded. ‘He died—’ He held out a hand to the floor as if his friend and colleague rested there. ‘He died right next to me. I saw him, there was no life. He had no pulse.’

  ‘You tried to bring him back?’

  ‘For a time. Help came, but it was too late. They took his body away soon after.’

  ‘And now you think he still lives?’

  ‘I saw him, I’m sure I did, in a quarantine capsule. I must find out. I must!’

  Astrid’s expression turned grave. ‘Come – this way.’

  Floating away, she led them up into another node of the space station. Locating a hexagonal panel on a side wall, she detached it and secured the metal cover to the floor. Now exposed, a narrow tunnel ran off into darkness, pipework and cabling packed in all around. Before entering this tiny entrance, she removed two small breathing masks from a nearby cabinet and handed one to Tyler.

  ‘This will be a tight fit,’ – Astrid secured the apparatus to her head and tore off two tags to expose the filters inside – ‘but it will bring us out above the decompression chambers and the space station’s arrivals module. Try not to knock any levers on your way through, some will trigger a fire breach alarm that will cut off the ventilation system and flood the conduit with halon gas.’

  ‘You don’t have fine water mist suppression?’ Tyler said.

  She shook her head and ducked inside. Tyler removed the tags from his own mask and followed her in. Sliding along, the two made quick progress, the zero gravity environment neg
ating the restrictive effects of the cramped conditions. The mask created a moist pocket of air over Tyler’s mouth and nose, and he paused as Astrid halted ahead and then disappeared above. Her hand reappeared a moment later to help him through the hole and he struggled up beside her.

  They were now suspended over the entrance to the decompression area of the ship, as Astrid had predicted.

  Due to the disorientating nature of space, the area in view seemed to be below them and the people that moved through this adjacent node were unaware of the two astronauts above, looking down at them through a metal grated ceiling.

  Astrid put a finger to her mask to indicate they should remain silent. Tyler gave a nod and took in the scene unfolding beneath. A host of scientists in standard GMRC spacesuits congregated at one of the airlocks that led to the large transport space-aircraft still docked to the ISS, the side of the giant vehicle just visible to Tyler through a window off to the right.

  As the men and women disappeared into the decompression chamber, he realised they were too late; the pod had already been taken on board. Growing angry, his grip tightened on the grating before him, his knuckles whitening. As he saw the last of the people disappear, he turned to say something to Astrid, whose eyes widened in warning. She shook her head and gestured for him to keep looking. Her vantage point of the corridor was better than his and the reason for her reticence soon became apparent. The tall form of Sylvia Lindegaard, the woman he’d had the misfortune of speaking to in the Archimedes laboratories, floated into view, and beside her was the head of the GMRC’s Archimedes security detail.

  ‘Everything is in place?’ Lindegaard said to her companion.

  ‘Yes, all the doors have been secured and the charges have been set.’

  ‘The escape pods?’

  ‘Deactivated.’

  Above, Tyler swapped a fearful glance with Astrid.

  ‘And the other space stations,’ Lindegaard said, ‘they won’t be able to undock from the ISS?’

  ‘No. We’ve been very thorough.’

  The woman nodded in satisfaction. ‘Excellent. As soon as we’re clear, give the order for detonation. I’ll be in my quarters.’

  ‘Very good, ma’am,’ the guard said, as Lindegaard entered the airlock. With one last look around, he followed her inside.

  Feeling like he was in some kind of nightmare, Tyler looked at Astrid, who looked terrified. ‘We need to move!’ he said, through his mask.

  The two of them scrambled back into the narrow tunnel and emerged soon after into the corridor.

  Tyler tore off his mask. ‘Sound a general alert!’

  Astrid was already tapping at a computer terminal. ‘There’s no response, they’ve corrupted the system. What do we do?!’

  ‘We have to get to Archimedes.’

  ‘What about everyone else?’

  ‘There’s no time; this place is a ticking time bomb. Move!’

  Hauling themselves through the interconnecting corridors as fast as they could, they reached a six-way junction and headed towards the Archimedes. The rotating umbilical came into view and Tyler glimpsed through a window the GMRC Sabre transport moving away at speed from the ISS. A distant sound came from behind and the flexible connection between Archimedes and the ISS rippled and warped. Through the same window Tyler saw a fireball erupt into space, followed by another and then another. Lights and sirens flashed and a horrific groaning noise emanated down the corridors towards them.

  Hauling Astrid past him, Tyler spoke into a com station. ‘Sandy, can you hear me?!’

  ‘Sir?’ a voice came back through the speaker.

  ‘Fire up the engines and undock from the ISS, NOW!’

  ‘What? Why?!’

  ‘JUST DO IT!!’ He pulled his mask back on and turned to Astrid. ‘Help me with these clamps.’

  Together they pulled back a heavy red handle, followed by a second.

  Another, larger explosion lit up the external blackness. Debris flew in all directions and the European Space Station drifted sideways as it twisted and tore itself apart like tinfoil.

  ‘Get into the next module and close the hatch,’ he said to Astrid, as he braced himself against the final lever. ‘As soon as I pull this handle we’ll disconnect from the ISS.’

  ‘You’ll be sucked out!’

  ‘I’ll be fine, move!’

  Astrid moved back and shut the airlock. Tyler heaved with all his might and the final clamp sprang back with a dull clang. A whoosh of atmosphere vented out into space and Tyler sucked in a gulp of air and held on for dear life as the umbilical broke away. The remaining air rushed past and he activated his magnetic boots. With ice forming on his skin and his eyes on fire, he put one foot in front of the other and reached for the button to close the outer doors. But as he did so, time slowed to a crawl. His hand fell short of its target and he sank to his knees. Toppling over, his feet still attached to the floor, his vision grew dim. Tyler’s final breath expelled from his lungs and darkness closed in.

  In his last moments Tyler heard a voice and felt hands clasp his ice-cold face. Warmth returned and he opened his eyes wide as, with a great gasp of inhalation, his lungs filled with air. A mirrored mask projected a reflection of his face back at him and a white, gloved hand reached up and slipped the visor up to reveal a clear, plastic bubble beneath. Sandy Turner peered at him in concern. ‘Tyler, can you hear me?’

  He nodded, coughed and then sat up as his pulse rate returned to normal.

  ‘I was doing a routine sweep of the ship’s exterior, operating its systems remotely,’ Sandy said, as she helped him to his feet. ‘You’re lucky.’

  Astrid reopened the hatch and rushed to his side while Sandy flipped open a computer control panel on the outside of her spacesuit and powered up Archimedes’ engines. ‘What the hell’s going on?’ the spacewalk specialist said. ‘I saw explosions.’

  Tyler got to his feet. ‘I’ll explain later; you two get to the control deck. We need to shed weight; I’ll jettison the science modules.’

  Sandy gave a nod and took Astrid with her while Tyler sped through the partial gravity on Archimedes to the now deserted laboratories. Once there he set in motion the separation procedure. Securing an airlock, Tyler pulled down a red lever and a hiss of hydraulics signalled the release of the clamps. Green icons lit up on a nearby screen and a button rose out from the wall. He smacked it with the palm of his hand and watched through the hatch window as the science modules were released into space with a great puff of gas, as jets of air thrust them away from the rest of the station.

  Rushing back to join the others, Tyler emerged onto the control deck where Sandy and Astrid stood staring out of the central window in silence at the horrific scene beyond. The ISS, or more precisely what had been the ISS, drifted in pieces, great and small, the heartrending forms of human bodies floating amongst the wreckage. In the distance the similarly eviscerated European station, Guardian, spiralled away into deep space with flashes of electricity sparking in the dark.

  Astrid put her hands to her face. ‘Mon dieu.’

  ‘I can’t see the Jiùshìzhǔ,’ Sandy said.

  Tyler scanned the expanse for the Chinese Space Station, but he could see no sign of it. The bottom half of their view was blocked by the ejected science modules, which gradually moved away from the Archimedes. But as the laboratories continued to recede into the distance, a great rent appeared down their centre and the structure exploded into fragments as the stricken form of the Jiùshìzhǔ clove through it at speed, heading straight for them, a host of broken Sabre space-aircrafts drifting end over end along with it.

  Tyler’s eyes widened and Astrid screamed.

  ‘Go!’ Sandy said as Tyler dragged Astrid aft. ‘I’ll manoeuvre us away from it for as long as I can. Suit up and get out!’

  ‘What about you?!’ Tyler said.

  Sandy slid her mirrored visor down. ‘I’ll follow you out, NOW GO!’

  Bulkheads and doorways flashed past. Red warning light
s sent shadows cavorting through the ship. A door swished open and Tyler and Astrid rushed to the spacesuits and dragged them on. Seconds from destruction, they entered the airlock and switched on their magnetic boots. Tyler hit a button and the air left the chamber. The external doors opened and Tyler led Astrid out into the vacuum of space. They pulled their visors down as the sun rose from behind the Earth, and turned to see the Jiùshìzhǔ’s massive form bearing down on the Archimedes.

  Sandy Turner emerged from a hatch a hundred feet away and Astrid grasped Tyler’s arm and pointed.

  ‘Sandy, move!’ Tyler said through his helmet’s radio.

  She looked round, but it was too late, the out of control Chinese ship ploughed into them. Sandy disappeared in a mass of twisted metal, her scream cut short. Tyler and Astrid staggered back before turning to run along the hull of the fast disappearing ship, while dodging the chunks of space station that rained down around them. Tyler tripped and fell, his visor flipping up. Astrid stopped, ducked a fast moving object and helped him back to his feet.

  She lifted her own visor. ‘There’s nowhere to go!’

  Tyler had an idea, but before he could say anything a shadow loomed. On instinct he shoved Astrid in the chest. A look of shock crossed her face as she fell back. A giant solar wing swept past, barely missing her, and smashed Tyler from the Archimedes, carrying him out into the dark void of space.

  ♦

  Astrid watched Tyler’s limp form spiral into the black. The Space Programme was destroyed. The hopes of saving Earth’s surface and those living on it, lost to sabotage and betrayal. Turning her head inside her helmet, she saw out of the corner of her eye the bulk of the Chinese Space Station rearing up above her. As it came crashing down, her last thoughts were of broken promises and lost love.

  Chapter One

  Spiralling end over end it skimmed across the heavens, dragged onwards by gravity’s hidden all-consuming embrace. On its metallic skin, criss-crossed with pockmarks and deep impact gashes, were the blackened symbol of NASA and a line of scarred lettering that had once formed a word.