Avernus: Book One

by Steven Webb

  “Lets try something different. What are your thoughts on the whole solar flare conundrum?”

  “I’ll be ready when it comes.”

  Nova scribbled something on her notepad. “Do you think you can get this ship safely back into earth’s orbit?”

  “What are writing?”

  “Just some notes so I can let the Captain know you’re doing alright. Now back to my question.”

  “Let the Captain know I’ve got it under control.” Joseph started fidgeting in his chair. “I’ve checked the stats on the ship she’ll be fine.”

  “Just one more question than you can head out.” she leaned forward placing her elbows on her knees,. “What message do you want to send to earth in case things don’t go well?”

  “Tell the rest of the crews families I’ll make sure they all get home.” The chair let out a squeak as Joseph stood up to leave. “We done here?”

  “What about your family don’t they deserve to know as well?”

  He stopped mid step, looked over his shoulder, his face contorted from rage, and spoke with a stern commanding tone, “don’t bring up my family.” he stormed out of the room and down towards the common area, his heavy footsteps echoing his frustration through the halls.

  Joseph hated everything about his family. His mother was an abusive alcoholic whose only desire was to come home from work, drink and pass out in peace. Any interruptions to this routine often left him with bruises. His father had walked out on the family when Joseph was 12 leaving him to care for his younger sister. Ten years later his father attempted to reconnect with Joseph in order to appease his own soul and to introduce his son to the woman he had left them all for. His sister got married to her high school boyfriend. The two of them ran off and severed all ties to the family including Joseph who had raised her. While in college Joseph entered the Air Force ROTC program while studying for a mechanical engineering degree. Upon graduating college and entering the Air Force, Joseph had gained enough independence to remove his family from his life entirely. They had tried to contact him several times leaving seemingly apologetic voicemails that always ended with them attempting to weasel money out of him.

  He found himself at the entrance of the common area, a large open room designed for use during down time aboard the ship. Games, TVs, radio, computers, and some exercise equipment. The idea had been to keep the crew entertained should the stasis pods not work. Mental stimulation would be paramount to their well being. Sophie, Diego, and Carl sat around a table playing cards.

  “Three queens.” Diego proclaimed slamming his cards down. “Victory is mine,” he said laughing.

  Sophie interrupted his laugh of accomplishment, “No, no, no you didn’t win.” she revealed her hand with excitement. “Full house. Threes over fives.”

  “Dammit, every time. You know I’m gonna beat you next hand.”

  “Dream on, Diego. You won’t beat me.”

  “Glad I folded.” Carl flipped his cards over. “An ace and a two. Complete crap.”

  Diego kicked out the chair across from him. “Joe get your ass over here and join us.”

  Carl gave the cards a shuffle. “How do you feel about buying a round of drinks? Rule’s are you bet a round of drinks per hand.”

  “Don’t scare him away Carl, we want him to have to owe Sophie rounds, not us.”

  “Hey, Not my fault you guys suck at this. I’m looking forward to those free rounds when we get back to Earth”

  “Deal him in Carl. Joe looks like he could use the drinks.”

  Joseph took a seat as cards flew across the table, coming to halt directly in front of him. “Wouldn’t you need a drink after talking to Nova?”

  “Oh you poor soul,” Sophie said reassuring him. “I got mine done quick so she’d leave me alone.”

  “You just have to make stuff up.” Diego traded out a few cards. “I’d never show her my true hand.” He let out a little laugh, “Speaking of which, my hand is killer.”

  Sophie glared at him. “Glad you can amuse yourself.”

  “Just glad I’m free now,” Joe said. “So which one of you gets the honor of buying me a beer?” he laid his cards down revealing a 7 high straight.

  Carl set his cards down. “I’m out. I’m gonna head back to my room for a nap.”

  “Aww poor baby’s tired,” Diego mocked. “Don’t worry I’ll lose enough for both of us.” he threw down a pair of twos.

  Sophie placed four jacks on the table. “Looks Like you owe me a drink now Joe.”

  The lights in the room gradually began to glow Green, then changed to blue, followed by red. “That can’t be good.” Joseph pushed himself away from the table.

  A beeping sound came out of the speaker system. Captain Somers voice began to resonate through the room, “all crew to the bridge at once. The Solar flare’s on it’s way.”

  Joseph appeared to be in complete shock. “That can’t be. We still had a week to prepare the ship!” He ran down the corridor towards the bridge. Trent and Captain Somers were already on deck working at the ship’s controls. “What happened? I thought we had more time?”

  Captain Somers was typing furiously at the controls. “We did too but the sun’s activity sped up. You jump on Life support Systems,” she yelled as Zea entered the room.

  “Where do you want us,” Taylor’s voice came from the doorway. Carl, Sophie, and Diego followed behind him.

  Joseph bellowed out, “Carl I need you and Sophie shutting down all non-essential systems. Taylor take Diego and close off as many doors as you can.” He pulled up the ship’s rocket system and began diverting power. He heard more footsteps approaching and turned around to see Nova and Rocco running up.

  “Rocco I need you to assist Joe. Nova you’re with me.” Captain Somers pointed at the control panel next to hers. “We need to get the solar sail pulled in.”

  “Data says we have 10 minutes till the flare.” Trent said

  “That’s not enough time.” Captain Somers replied.

  Rocco rotated the ship’s schematics. “Nothing’s secure. Power isn’t being shut off quick enough.”

  “I have an Idea Captain but it’s going to take all the time we have left.”

  “I trust your judgment Joseph, just tell us what you need.”

  “Get everyone back up here and have them seal off the main door to the Bridge.” Joseph ran over to Captain Somers control panel. “I need you all to help me maneuver the ship. We’re gonna place the solar sail between us and the Sun, while maintaining our course” He began powering the wing thrusters. “Rocco take control of the thrusters on the front of the ship.”

  “Taylor, Diego, Carl, Sophie return to the bridge.” Captain Somers turned to face Joseph. “Once they get here I’m going to seal the door and shut off power to the back of the ship.”

  “Perfect.” Joseph listened to the ship moan as the thrusters came online. Than a loud rumbling took over. “Thrusters are up and running. Trent keep track of our progress.”

  The four remaining crew returned to the bridge. The Heavy door slid shut behind them, releasing a loud clanking sound signifying the lock was engaged. For some reason, this sound was more terrifying than normal.

  “Give the left thrusters ten percent power.” the stars outside the window rotated slowly, the only indicator that the ship was adjusting its position. “Now increase the right thrusters by forty percent. Rocco Maintain the front at thirty five percent while gradually adjusting the angle to keep the ship moving forward.”

  “I need all of you to lock yourselves in.” Captain Somers ordered. “We’re out of time.”

  The ship grew silent, except for the engines burning futility in the background. Joseph stared out at the sun and the tiny blue dot in the distance that was Earth. Time had run out. No amount of strategy could help them now. It was all up to his ship, to pull them through. Normally he was confident in his work, but this was an entirely different ball game. They were facing a force, even those on Earth were not
entirely prepared for. This was true terror, like he had never felt before.

  A large arc of plasma leapt off the Sun’s surface towards the Phoenix VII. the light streaked through the empty void of space ahead of them. It was blinding sight. He had to look away. A wave of radiation flew out hitting the solar sails that halfway obscured its path to the hull, causing the entire ship to lurch. A loud explosion followed. There was no doubt in his mind that was the engine going. The entire ship lost power shutting off all thrusters and confirming his suspicions. Joseph helplessly watched the stars roll in and out of view as the ship continued to rotate uninterrupted with nothing to slow down what they had set in motion. It was like being stuck on one of those spinning bridges at a carnival. His entire body started to waver as though he were drunk. He couldn’t tell which direction was up, and which was down. The ship flew dead through the vastness of space left to the will of fate. The momentum of the ship had been used to provide a semblance of gravity in the ship. With the thrust generated to maneuver the ship, and no way to restore proper rotation, all artificial gravity was lost.

  He watched the rest of the crew floating helplessly around the bridge. He felt so lost. All hope of returning home had vanished in that moment. His breathing grew more reserved, and his chest quaked as he tried to keep himself from crying. The tars were welling up in his eyes, taunting him, by growing over his eyes, with nowhere to go.

  Zia called across the bridge “Six hours of air remaining.”

  Joseph stared helplessly at the crew. They had become floating balloons, tied down and forgotten, unable to go anywhere. Silence encapsulated the bridge leaving an uneasy feeling in Joseph’s stomach. He wrapped a hand around the bar he was tethered to, pulling himself towards the computer. With his other hand he reached over and pressed the power button hoping that the small light would come on. No luck. He released his grip to return to his static position in the air. All hope that their circumstance would change was fading.

  “I’m going to take Rocco with me and we are going to attempt to jump the back up generator.”

  Rocco pulled his body to the bar, lifted his feet up placing them on either side of his hands, and slowly spun his body facing his back to the ceiling. Joseph watched and followed suit.

  “The ship should still have enough air in it for the two of you to make it safely out and back should something happen,” Captain Somers said.

  “Got it,” Rocco nodded.

  Joseph and Rocco angled their bodies towards the bay door and unclipped their safety lines. In unison they pushed themselves away from the bar, flying at the entrance bracing for impact. Joseph grabbed onto the emergency handle with his right hand. Rocco hit the door. Immediately his body began to drift back. Joseph latched onto him with his left hand and jerked his body back to the door. A loud thud echoed through the silence.

  “Ugggh,” Rocco moaned out in pain.

  Joseph twisted the handle of the door. The lock released, creating a small gap between the two panels. “Rocco reach in there with me and help me separate the doors.”

  Rocco reached his hand into the slit right below Joseph’s and the two of them began to move the door. The gap slowly opened enough for Joseph to pull his weightless body through into the hall of the ship. He grabbed onto the other side of the door.

  Rocco followed suit. He pointed to an open door halfway down the hall, “they left the door open to the electric room.”

  “Okay let’s get in there.”

  The two men pulled themselves along the wall until they reached the entrance. The backup generator was unhooked from the system, its cables floating through the air like snakes preparing to attack. Joseph pushed himself off the wall towards the generator, and grabbed the cords mid flight. He bounced off the opposite wall and headed towards the electric panel. Its shape made for an easy handhold to stop the momentum. A tug at the metal panel covering the extra power input sent it spinning through the air right towards Rocco.

  “Look out Rocco!”

  Rocco launched himself up towards the ceiling hit it and then bounced down towards the floor missing the metal plate that now bounced around the room. He caught the bar and re steadied himself. “All good.”

  Joseph chuckled, “God you’re clumsy.”

  “Shut up and fix the power.”

  He latched the cables onto the electric box. “I got it. Rocco start the generator.”

  He stretched out and flipped up the ignition switch. The engine roared to life. The lights began to glow a faint red color. Slowly but surely they grew brighter.

  Joseph felt a sense of relief at the returning familiar hum of the ship. Within seconds the gravity was restored, pulling Joseph down to the ground. He landed wobbly on his feet and wavered a bit before regaining his posture. The metal panel let out a loud clanking sound as it hit the floor. He looked over to see Rocco already standing waiting for him.

  “Look baby’s taking his first steps.”

  “Hahaha.” Joseph started walking towards the door. “We need to get back to the bridge.”

  The door to the bridge still remained partially forcing them to squeeze between the panels once again, in order to rejoin everyone. The computers had started turning on. The crew’s faces colored up blue by their screens.

  Diego opened up a window full of hardware diagnostics. “Computer’s appear to be in working order. I still need to ensure none of the data was corrupted.”

  “Get on that.” The Captain walked up behind Zea, placing her hand on her shoulder. “How are the life support systems?”

  “Running at seventy five percent. It’s enough for now.”

  Joseph listened to the crew run through their emergency checklists. None of that’s gonna matter if the engines can’t get up and running. His fingers glided across the keyboard. A window popped up, displaying the ship’s on board diagnostics. The program ran itself, checking every part of the ship to make sure they weren’t compromised. Each section that was completed pulled up a full window of statistics for Him to work through. Hull integrity one hundred percent. Perfect. He then moved to the solar sails. They had lost seventy percent functionality. The situation wasn’t looking good. They only had one remaining engine.

  “Joseph, I need an update on the Ship.” Captain Somers voice was filled with muted concern. She was trying to hide how scared she was but Joseph had known her long enough that he could read her like an open book.

  he pressed several buttons. “Hull’s intact. We’re running on thirty percent of our solar sails. we have one thruster engine left. Maneuvering thrusters are out completely.” He switched screens. “But if we go out there we should be able to get them up and running again. Let me get a suit.”

  “I’ll help guide you from here.” Captain Somers said. “Carl, and Sophie go help Joseph get out the airlock.”

  “Yes Captain,” Carl replied.

  “I’m pretty sure I remember doing it in the simulation.” Sophie said. “I just hope it’s the same set up.”

  Carl and Sophie walked out ahead of Joseph. He lagged behind trying to listen to Nova quietly talking to the Captain.

  “Listen I understand you’re dealing with a lot right now. You have too many other things to worry about, forget the thrusters. Let Joseph and Trent get the ship under control.”

  “I appreciate that Nova but please let me do my job.”

  Their voices trailed off on his walk through the hallway. Joseph wound hi way through the ship towards the airlock. Waiting at the entrance for him, Carl held the door next to the airlock open. Behind it was a room filled with the space suits. Joseph grabbed his suit. He utterly hated being stuck inside one. There was limited room inside causing the suit to sit tightly against his body. Adding the helmet just piled on to the closed in feeling. To make things worse he had never been on a space walk. At least on mars there was gravity holding him in place, but outside that door there was just empty space. Remember you’re the only one capable of repairing the thrusters. He slowly zipped hi
mself up in the suit. It’s just like a blanket. Joseph grabbed the helmet, and secured it in place.

  “Rrr oou rdee,” Sophie’s muffled words came through the helmet.

  “I can’t hear you guys,” Joseph yelled, his voice captured inside the glass walls around his head. A wave of his hand grabbed their attention. he pointed to his ears and shook his head. Carl gave a quick thumbs up then mumbled something to Sophie.

  The intercom system in his ear let out a quick beep accompanied by The Captain’s voice, “okay I’m going to open the airlock door in 10…9…8…7…6.”

  Carl handed Joseph the tool kit to strap around his waist.

  “3…2…1.”

  A soft whooshing sound made it’s way past the helmet upon the door opening. He entered the small room and pressed the button to close the door to the ship. In front of him was the exit he would soon be using to leave the safety of the ship.

  “Okay you’re room is depressurized.”

  “Let’s just get this done with.”

  The door slid open without a sound. Before his eyes sat millions of stars. The only thing separating him from them was the suit he wore. He walked to the edge of the opening, and reached around the corner. There he grabbed onto the ladder leading to the top of the ship. He gently placed his foot onto the ladder rungs, making sure to not slip. His lower foot lifted with ease, as he stepped up to the next rung. He pulled himself up and almost went flying from the force. The next step he slowed down, locking his arms to counter the momentum. Upon reaching the top, the difficult process of crossing the walkways to the thrusters still remained. The solar sail blocked the sun with its majestic spread of copper and silver panels. The solar system continued to revolve around Joseph and the ship. He closed his eyes and focused his breathing.

  “I want you to head along the upper portion of the hull towards the bridge.” Captain Somers jerked his focus back to the mission at hand. “Continue forward until you reach the four way junction.”

  “Gotcha.” The ship had just enough artificial gravity that the effects could be felt on the entire hull of the ship allowing him to stand and walk around. However the slick surface caused him to decide crawling would be a better option. He attached his safety line to the rail and proceed towards the junction ahead.