by Steven Webb
“We’re good.” Joseph let out a yawn. “We don’t leave till you do.”
You feel the same way Trent?”
Eyes half closed, he nodded.
If you say so.” Diego wasn’t one to argue. He fell into the monotony of coding, cutting out the outside world. After a while the recent sound of his computer caused him worry. When it continued despite his actions ceasing, the realization that Joseph was asleep, broke his concentration. “Trent wake Joseph up and you to go take a break. I’ll finish up here and you can pick it up tomorrow.”
Without hesitation, he did as Diego recomended.
That left Diego alone on the massive Bridge. Line after line of code passed across the screen. The familiar sting he associated with countless hours behind a computer began to set in. He sat admiring the code being produced. For all intents and purposes he was a god creating something from nothing with full control of the outcome. If he willed it would come to be. He finished entering the last numbers and started the compiling process. At that moment the 12 hours that had passed hit him like a ton of bricks. If I’m going to get this done I better get some sleep. Diego pushed his chair away from the desk. In a daze of exhaustion, He wandered down the hall still running through every possible piece of information he needed to account for, hoping he hadn’t missed anything.
The door to his bedroom was wide open, welcoming him in. He stumbled to his bed and laid down, ready to fall asleep. Warmth radiated from the bed which seemed odd. Typically the rooms were cold, keeping the beds nice and chilled. Rolling over, he found Sophie lying beneath the sheets. Her arm reached across his body. Their lips touched in the dark.
“You’re back. Did you finish your work?” Her kisses began slowly descending Diego’s neck while she spoke. A warm hand crept up underneath his shirt, rubbing along his stomach.
H is breathing was heavy. “I hit a breaking point. Can I get a rain check? I need to get some sleep. I promised the Captain I would be done in twenty four hours and I already used up twelve.”
“Of course.” she rolled over. “But after words you’re all mine. Love you.”
“Love you too.” He closed his eyes only to find himself being awoken by his alarm. “God dammit I just fell asleep.” Sophie was still passed out next to him.
Trying not to wake her, Diego hobbled out of bed. The metal frame retching and squealing with each move. Making his way through the dark he found the bathroom sink. A few splashes of warm water to the face, were not enough to wake him up. Remnants of the water dripped from his dreary face and into a puddle on the floor. He grabbed a towel, wiped his face and off, and headed back to the bridge. The entire trip down the hallway felt as if he were in a dream.
By the time Diego reached his desk the haze had gone but trying to keep his eyes open seemed impossible.
“Hey you look like you could use this,” a nearby voice said.
Not realizing anyone else was in the room, Diego jumped in his chair. He looked around the room to see where the disembodied voice came from. Carl stood next to the drink holder on the bridge. The only thing it really held was energy drinks and water, but when you’re trying to fly a ship anything else is just unnecessary. He threw a purple pouch towards Diego. Instinct kicked in, causing his hand to shoot up and catch the flying pouch.
The drink consisted of a special formula that included caffeine, ginseng, and taurine. Nasa provided four different flavors that all equated to cough medicine, and no one had yet been able to distinguish any difference. The effects however could last a full day due to a slow uptake agent added in the mix. Diego was now drinking the “guava” flavored one. “Fuck these things are nasty. Why did we finish all the good ones on the flight out. I would kill for a strawberry daiquiri one. Slightly more bearable.”
“Just be glad we still had some.”
“You know I am, considering I drank most of ’em.” Diego’s hand squeezed the pouch accidentally forcing the gel like substance to ooze out, and run down the side of the pouch. He raised it to his mouth, lapping up the precious liquid off the container, being sure not to let a single drop go to waste. “Program’s finished! Time to test it. Carl could you help me run some trials?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing. You don’t want me touching it.”
“Precisely why I asked you to help. I want to see how it handles shit data. Oh and if it’s easy to use.” Diego walked over to a desk on the other side of the bridge, grabbing a thin packet, placing it in front of Carl. “Here this should give you the numbers you need. Pick two sets of coordinates and try em out.”
“Okay can do.”
Diego sat back down at his station. The program appeared to be running smoothly with no major errors. Clicking on each page, he scanned everything to see if functionality was fully present. Man I made one hell of a program given the time window. It’s weird actually wanting to hit the deadline. Good thing my boss isn’t here to see this hehehe. At least at work I got to eat real food. And listening to music while I worked. That always made time go quick. Maybe I should go play some video games after I get done here. Not like I ever really stop working up here. I could use a hard drink. A sudden shaking of his shoulder snapped him back to reality, accompanied by Carl’s voice.
“Any chance we’re ready to get things going?”
“Yeah, of course. Do you wanna get Trent up here?”
Carl pushed the Button on the Intercom. “Trent, Diego says he’s ready for you.”
“I guess I could have done that myself huh. Oh well too late now.”
“Seeing as we’ll be back on course soon, what are you gonna do with all the fame?”
“I didn’t do anything. I was just keeping you company.” A look of confusion distorted Carl’s face.
Diego shook his head, “No, idiot, I mean when we get back to Earth.” He waited in anticipation for Carl’s response. Ever since the ship spiraled out of control he couldn’t get the thought of being stranded out of his mind. This could be a chance to see someone with a glimmer of hope that things would work themselves out.
Carl always claimed his God would keep him safe and get him home. Somehow that thought alone seemed to keep him dreaming of the future.
Carl sat up in his chair. “Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind. I kind of enjoyed my life as it was. Maybe I’ll use the grants I get to start new experiments on atmospheric transformation. You know, so one day we can make Mars habitable. Oh hey Trent.”
“What are you talking about?” Diego looked up from his computer.
From behind him a gravelly voice spoke, “Hey beautiful.”
Diego’s entire body reacted as if he’d touched a power outlet. “God dammit! Every Time,” he screamed.
His fist launched towards the source of the voice hitting Trent in the arm. Instead of a cry from pain all he got in return was laughter reverberating off the walls adding to his embarrassment. “Anyway…” he struggled to regain his composure, “let’s get this going.”
Trents pointed towards the observation glass with his long finger. “Okay, see that bright light out there? That’s Earth.”
“Well than just type in the coordinates, I’m ready to be done drifting.” Diego finally felt better about their situation but not enough to completely relax. The next few months were going to require constant attention. Their speed was slower than anticipated. Diego had accounted for all of that in his program.
“It’s not that easy, Joseph and I have to finish our calculations. I’m pretty sure some of the ones from earlier are a bit off. And speak of the devil.”
Joseph entered the bridge looking leagues better. “Am I too late?”
“Actually, Just in time. Diego’s finally ready for our numbers.”
“He knows we’re not done yet, right?”
“I do, and I’m willing to wait.” Diego leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. At this point the energy drink was kicking in, inhibiting actual sleep. Instead he kept his eyes closed and just remained t
hat way until the two minions were done.
“We’re ready for you Diego.”
“Thanks Trent. We’ll here goes nothing.” He entered the final commands. The ship began to spin into place within seconds of the program processing Trent and Joseph’s numbers. The path home was clear.
Taking initiative this time Diego reached down and pressed the intercom button. “Attention crew,” Hearing his own voice over the speakers made him wince. “We are on our way home.” He got up and left the room without saying another word, high on the idea of what he had accomplished over the preceding twenty four hours.
The gym sat on the far side of the ship, allowing for plenty of time to think about where things would go for him once they made it home, but no matter how hard he tried he remained unable to convince himself that they would make it back alright. It wasn’t like NASA to just give up on bringing Astronauts back home, yet the whole scenario just felt off. He walked passed the other members of the crew on his way through the halls. A few sitting in the dining room could be heard laughing about some TV show they were watching. His desire to be social just wasn’t there. He continued on until he finally made it to the gym. As luck would have it the room remained empty. After a few minutes of running on the treadmill a dizzy spell drifted over Diego. It dawned on him that in all of the craziness he had been too distracted to eat anything. He left the room to find himself face to face with Sophie. She handed him a meal bar.
“Figured you’d be hungry.” She stood still, rambling on nonsensically. Diego’s attention being fully consumed by the process of eating, all he heard was “play game,” and “the captain”. Having no idea what was going on he decided to just follow Sophie and figure it out as they went.
CARL
Soft music embraced Carl’s ears lulling him into a relaxed state. His ratty old bible sat open on his desk covered in highlights and penned in annotations. A combination of his handwriting and those of the men before him. Tradition called for the bible to be passed down from father to son upon turning thirty, making him the fourth owner of this family heirloom. The coffee stain in the middle of the page was the result of him and his brother fighting near their dad. His brother Zach had stolen his favorite Warneg Hero action figure and had been preparing to test the fire resistance of said toy. Carl chased him around the house accidentally slamming into the back of his dad’s chair launching hot liquid from the cup into the air and all over the dad. The memories brought back such nostalgia for him. He caught his mind wandering and returned to the passage which his dad had been reading all those years ago. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” he read aloud. He knew that as long as he held on to his faith he would make it back home to his loved ones. He turned to his journal to write his thoughts down.
Year 2058 day unknown
Yesterday we were finally able to make out land masses on Earth. Thank God. I knew you would help us get home. My faith in you was shaken but never failed. You always take care of your children. Please lend me the courage and calm to make it through the next days as it will take everything we have to get back to the station without any connection to Earth.
Carl closed his books and returned them to the shelf. His left hand gripped the metal cross that hung around his neck. It was a piece he made himself which is why the proportions weren’t exactly even. He didn’t remember even grabbing it. It was just a habit he had developed to help him deal with feelings of being overwhelmed. He removed his hand from the cross so he could clean up his room. Tidiness helped the small room feel a little more bearable, especially after being in space for so long. Clothes from the day before sat in a mound along with a damp towel. With a swing of his foot, Carl kicked the clothes into the air and towards the laundry shoot. His eyes watched as they fell through the hole.
“Score” he said pumping his fist. “Okay let’s try this again.”
The towel launched into the air this time falling short. “Dang It.” he walked over and placed the towel in the shoot.
Out of sheer boredom, he took to the halls with no particular destination in mind, more of an attempt to just keep moving. He heard the Captain expressing concern about something. Poking his head into the bridge he saw her and Rocco staring out the observation window.
Captain Somers pointed towards Earth. “I’m telling you, it doesn’t look right. That’s not the moon. And even with all those storms I don’t recognize any of the continents.”
Rocco’s voice broke from the nervousness, “I don’t know what to tell you. That’s definitely Earth.” His normal confidence seemed to be absent.
Through the glass of the bridge, Carl could see Earth covered in large grey and white clouds. Along it’s surface were the familiar blue oceans lining, redish and brown land.
Frustration boiled up in the Captain’s voice. “Yeah it should be. I’m just not thinking straight. If only we could get ahold of NASA. FUCK!” She slammed her fist against the desk.
Rocco gave her a hug. “We’re gonna make it back, I promise. Within a week we will be close enough to get ahold of them via a short range radio Joseph rigged up.”
“Sorry to be so negative. It’s just, you’re the only one I can be candid with.”
“Don’t worry, this doesn’t go anywhere.”
That was odd, Carl thought to himself continuing on towards Zea’s room to see if she was up to anything. He approached her door lifting his fist to knock. Without warning the door ceased to block the way, opening to a naked Zea standing in the middle of the room hunched over her dresser. She turned her head sideways triggered by the sound. Her face turned red as she she yelled at him, “What the hell!” The nearest piece of clothing turned into a haphazard cover for her exposed body.
Carl stumbled backwards, placing his hands over his eyes. His feet struggled to find their footing and within an instant he found himself sitting on the floor. His heart was pounding inside his chest, and his face grew warm. Sweat started gathering on his palms. His thoughts were a complete fog. “I’m so sorry,” he kept repeating as he turned and headed away from the door.
“It’s alright,” Zea’s voice came from the doorway.
Carl stopped without looking back. “I didn’t mean to… I promise I didn’t see much.”
“No, really it’s my fault. I forgot to lock the door. What did you want to talk about?” Her voice soothed his embarrassment.
He turned around to see Zea’s upper half poking out of the door, draped in a peach colored robe. It drew out the beauty of her pale skin and the blush of her cheeks. Her beautiful hair graced the top of the robe, like a tree branch barely touching the surface of the water. The gleaming of her brown eyes. Everything in him wanted to grab her and pull her close. No stop it. He thought to himself. Those aren’t pure thoughts. He looked away attempting to collect himself, despite the fact he had grown feelings for this shy young girl.
“I just wanted to chat. I was bored.” He mumbled as he continued to stare at the ceiling. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get the thought of her standing there out of his head.
“Well could you give me five minutes to finish getting ready?”
“Yeah sure.” Carl turned and wandered off, hoping to clear the event from his mind.
As he sat in his bedroom, Carl found himself replaying the events worried that he’d upset Zea. Time passed and he decided to forget about going back. It would be easier to pretend nothing had happened. The music helped distract his mind. Hours passed in isolation before Zea showed up to his room.
She brushed her hair behind her ear. “Hey so you never came back. What did you want to talk about?”
his mouth felt dry. The image of her standing naked was back. “I…I…just… Well, I was hoping to just hang out.” He felt so stupid. He didn’t have anything worth saying.
“Okay.” She sat down next to him on the bed. A new song came on. “Oh I love this song.”
“Me too. I prefer their earlier work over the new stuff.” With that, Carl felt the t
ension in the room dissipate.
The conversation came easy, as if they were long lost friends. Once he felt talked out they parted ways, leaving Carl to his own devices. He couldn’t get past how well things went with Zea. It was the closest he’d been to anyone since the mission began. He finally had developed a real friendship, but being so close to home it felt like it was too little too late. Things seemed normal aboard the ship. Everyone went about their business. Over the next few days Carl saw Zea open up to him. They would eat lunch together and make use of the media room. Things appeared to be going great. Finally the ship was preparing to enter orbit around Earth.
The crew had been in the middle of eating together as a final gesture before meeting up with the CAPS for docking when Captain Somer’s spoke up, “Everyone please meet on the bridge. It’s time we prepare to enter orbit. Now we still have yet to see the Space station but our plan is to remain in orbit long enough to line up with it. Our assumption is it’s just been too far away to see. As for Earth there seems to be several large storms covering up the main land.”
“Captain, we have a large object approaching the ship.” Joseph hollered.
“What are you talking about?” Rocco inquired, his voice full of confusion.
“Well the radar picked up on a massive object that appears to be coming directly at us.”
Captain Somers ran over to verify the information. “Everyone get to your stations.”
Carl felt useless. He found his hand once again gripping onto the cross around his neck. What could possibly be coming at them this close to Earth, he wondered. Out of the corner of the window a massive asteroid came into view.
“Quickly, set boosters to full, we have to get out of the way.” Captain Somers commanded. The green lights flooded the room. They had seen the Asteroid too late. The Phoenix VII was hurtling towards the oncoming projectile unable to get out of the way in time. “Everyone brace for impact”