Feb. exercise - Space shuttle story

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Feb. exercise - Space shuttle story
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Mon, 02-18-2002 - 11:54am

Feb. exercise - Space shuttle story


Since I never had a job as a teenager, I couldn't really write about one. So I chose the space shuttle story. This isn't set in present day. I wrote a science fictiony type story. The title is "Incaara". Feel free to comment on this. :-)

***

Some time in the future

The low buzz of the overhead lights was the only sound in the room as she stood on the observation deck of the shuttle bay, staring out the window. The Incaara Nebula was before her, stretched out in gaseous colors of blue, pink and violet. Its long mysterious tendrils curled and stretched toward the ship, as if to beckon them deeper into her depths.

“Lieutenant Hart?”

The voice broke her reverie and she turned to see her commander, Nicholas Cameron.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

Cara tucked her short blond hair behind an ear as she followed him from the observation deck down the metal stairs. The doors whooshed open and they entered the shuttle bay. Her heart palpitated in her chest and her palms broke into a cold sweat as they climbed aboard the shuttle, the Pyxis. Was that nerves or just excitement? She decided it was a mixture of both.

Captain Jacobs had chosen Commander Cameron for the mission and he, in turn, asked her to go along. Their communications officer had picked up a distress signal somewhere inside the nebula. They had tried on several occasions to reach whoever it was. All they got in response was static. So, being cautious, the captain ordered a probe. When it disappeared without a trace, Jacobs had made the difficult decision to send the two to investigate.

Cara slid into the co-pilot’s chair and put on the headset. She began the pre-flight as the commander checked the supplies behind her.

“USS Baytown, this is the Pyxis. Do you copy?” she said into the headset.

“We copy you, Pyxis,” came the reply, crisp and clean. It was Harold Marlowe’s voice, the communications officer. “Stand by for departure clearance.”

“Aye, standing by.”

Commander Cameron took the pilot’s seat next to her. “How you doing?”

“Fine,” she replied, more terse than she had intended.

She wanted to look at him, but couldn’t bring herself. It hadn’t been that long since they broke off their relationship. She wondered why he had picked her and if it had anything to do with their previous close association. Perhaps to get her alone? She hadn’t a clue.

“We’re ready for take-off, sir,” she said, keeping her eyes plastered on the panel in front of her.

She could smell the faint undertone of his cologne. He put on his headset and hailed the communications officer. They were cleared for take-off. Before them the shuttle bay doors opened revealing the cold expanse of space and the beckoning nebula.

“Take us out, lieutenant,” he said.

“Aye, sir.”

“There’s really no need to be so formal, you know,” he said.

Cara kept her eyes ahead of her. Her fingers went over the control board as the shuttle lifted up and began its move from the shuttle bay.

“This is me, Cara.”

She winced, hearing her name. She had two choices: shrink back and continue to ignore him or confront the situation. She chose the latter, even though she would probably regret it.

“Commander, why me?” she asked, looking at him for the first time. “Why pick me?”

She had forgotten how good-looking he was – blonde and blue-eyed. His jaw was shadowed in stubble and she was wildly fascinated with the line of his throat disappearing into the neck of his uniform. Her mind conjured up a romantic encounter and she readily remembered the way his bronze skin was warm against her palms. Not to mention the springy curls of dark blonde chest hair between her fingers. The blood rushed to her cheeks and she quickly looked away to hide her blush.

“I think you know why,” he said at last.

“No. I don’t,” she snapped.

It was all coming to light now. He had wanted to get her alone. It wasn’t enough that he broke off their relationship because he had finally gotten his own command. He had said it would be too difficult to carry on their liaison with him being on a different ship. When she had suggested she could transfer, he shot quickly down the idea, making the excuse that it wouldn’t look good for the captain to be having an affair with a subordinate.

“Cara, you know you’re qualified to do this job. That’s why.”

She saw, with some horror, his hand reaching for hers.

“But that’s not the only reason.”

“Don’t touch me.”

He pulled his hand away. “Cara, we didn’t part on friendly terms. I want a chance to make it up.”

Before she could answer, the shuttle bounced and thumped. They had entered the nebula. The communications link crackled with static.

“Baytown, do you read?” Nick queried in the mike. All he got was a crackled response. He glanced at Cara. “Looks like we’ve lost communications.”

“I’m getting some interference with the controls,” she said. “The helm isn’t responding.”

The nebula was pulling the shuttle deeper into her depths. The viewscreen showing their way was affected by the interference as well. The picture was snowy; they were flying blind. Cara couldn’t really make out where they were going. Tapping the helm, she came up with their coordinates. The Baytown was still aft of their ship.

“Try to locate that distress signal,” he said.

“I have been. I haven’t picked up anything yet. But with all this static and interference, it may be impossible.”

It was almost as thought the other ship – or whatever it was – had disappeared like the probe. She scanned their surroundings, but couldn’t locate anything. Suddenly, the ship lurched as it struck something. It crashed hard into whatever it was, throwing them both forward. Cara rapped her head on the console. There was a loud screech, the lights flickered and then they lost power.

“What the hell was that?” Nick shouted.

Cara sat up, holding her head. She could feel the blood rushing through her fingers. He reached over to her, grasping her arm.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She shoved his hand away. “I’m activating emergency power now.”

She punched the panel, but nothing happened. She gave it another try and this time is made a high-pitched whirring sound before dying again. They looked at each other and Cara’s heart began to beat harder with the panic.

“I’m going to check the oxygen levels,” he said without preamble.

He dashed from the tiny cockpit to the smaller cargo area behind them. She turned, still holding her head, and watched him as he jerked away the panel from the wall. The levels were still in the yellow – if it hit orange it would be critical. They wouldn’t have enough to get back to the Baytown.

“It’s not life-threatening yet,” Nick said, replacing the panel. “We have some time to figure out what happened and what we’re going to do.” He looked up at her. “Come on, let’s get you fixed up.”

He turned and reached for the emergency first-aid kit behind him. She waved him off.

“I’m fine, really.”

She was trying to be brave, but her head hurt. She didn’t object further when he opened the kit and searched for bandages. He took her wrist and pulled her hand away which was sticky with blood.

“That’s some bump you got,” he said.

She didn’t say anything, merely sat silently as he cleaned the gash on her forehead. It was awkward letting him dress her wound. A slight rush of warmth went through her at the deft touch of his fingertips on her clammy skin.

“There. All better?”

She swiveled her chair away and looked out the front of the shuttle. “Thanks.” She fiddled with the controls. “Emergency power is out. Whatever we hit, it’s crippled us. I don’t think we’ll be able to get back to the ship.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic.”

Nick opened the overhead bin and pulled out a ZeroG suit. She heard the commotion and turned to see what he was doing.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Out there,” he replied with a nod. “I want to see how bad the damage is and what we hit.” He pulled on the jumpsuit and zipped it up.

“You’re insane!”

He ignored her response. “I’ll need you to put on a facemask as a precaution. Shut off the cockpit while I make my exit.”

“No,” she said stubbornly and crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” he wanted to know, pulling the hood up over his head.

“Because we don’t know what’s out there.” She thumbed in the direction of the nebula behind her.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll be careful.” He flashed her a grin and fastened on his helmet.

She wanted to slap him; instead she slammed her fist on the console and closed off the cockpit. Swinging around in her chair, she inspected the controls.

“You read me?” came his crackling voice over the communications link.

“Yeah, I read you.”

“Okay, I’m going out.”

Through the metal door, she heard the whoosh of the shuttle bay doors and then Nick’s curse under his breath.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Well, we found the missing ship.”

“Is that what we crashed into?”

“Yeah. And there’s a lot of damage. The fuel cell has been punctured. We’re leaking fuel as fast as a racehorse –“

“Please,” she interrupted. “I get the picture.”

She checked the gauge. He was right. At least now they didn’t have to worry about the oxygen levels. At this rate, they wouldn’t have enough fuel to get back. But she wouldn’t worry about that – at least not yet. She ran all frequencies trying to hail the ship, either the Baytown or the one they had the misfortune of crashing into. She got nothing but static on all channels.

“Fuel levels are below critical,” she said.

“How fun,” he replied dryly. “Guess we don’t have to worry about that air level now, eh?”

He had, apparently, been thinking the same thing.

“What are we going to do now?” she asked.

“If I can figure out how to board that ship, maybe we can use it to get back.” He paused, then, “Have you tried to contact them?”

“Yes. Nothing but static.”

“It just gets better, doesn’t it? I’m coming in.”

A few minutes later, she heard the shuttle doors closing, then his all clear on the radio. She opened the cockpit door. He tossed aside his helmet and sat down in the pilot’s seat next to her with a heavy sigh.

“I guess that’s what happened to the probe. It crashed into the thing.”

“Any ideas?” she queried.

“Not unless we can board that ship.”

“Either they aren’t hearing us or they can’t respond.”

He scraped a hand through his thick hair, and then looked at her. She could see he was thinking and she wasn’t sure she was going to like what he came up with. He stood up suddenly and took her by the arm, dragging her to her feet.

“Come on. We’re going for a space walk.”

“You have lost it,” she said.

“Hey it’s either stay here and die or try to figure out what the hell is going on.”

Reluctantly, she put on the ZeroG suit. She snapped her own helmet on as he did his. He closed off the cockpit and opened the shuttle doors.

“Keep your boots magnetized. The last thing I need is to go chasing you through space,” he said.

“Very funny. What do you think I am, an amateur?”

He held his hand out to her and she took it. She could imagine his calloused palm and the warmth of his skin through the gloves. It was another awkward moment she was trying desperately to handle. If she thought about it enough, she would let herself realize she was still very much in love with the man. If they were going to die today, she was glad she was with him.

She followed him across the top of the shuttle and gingerly stepped onto the ship that had crippled them. It was a cargo ship, smaller than the Baytown, and there was a hatch Nick was headed for. He released her hand and knelt at the hatch, giving it a hard yank. It wouldn’t budget. She knelt down to give him a hand. With their combined strength they managed to wrench the hatch open. Inside was darker than outside.

“Well, here goes nothing,” he muttered and disappeared down the metal ladder.

Closing the hatch after her, she followed, their boots clanging on the rungs and reverberating. The ladder led them down to the cargo hold. Emergency lighting was on and bathed the area in a soft pinkish light. There wasn’t anyone about. She stepped closer to Nick to comfort herself. He pulled out his scope and searched for life signs.

“Anything?” she asked, her voice sounding small.

He shook his head. “Let’s find the cockpit.”

They left the cargo hold and entered a corridor. There was a man lying on the floor, his head turned to one side and blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Cara knelt and checked for a pulse.

“He’s dead.”

The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She had an eerie feeling about this place. She stood up and they continued down the corridor. The cockpit wasn’t difficult to locate. The ship was made up of a few personnel quarters, a cargo hold and the main cockpit. Inside, they found two others dead. One was face down on the floor, the other slumped across the console.

“I wonder what happened to them?” she asked of no one in particular.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “But I have a really bad feeling about this.”

“Maybe we should get back to the shuttle,” she said with some urgency.

“Hang on. Maybe there’s something here we can use to repair the ship. There may be extra fuel cells here.”

“Nick, I really think we should just go.”

The scope he was holding began to bleep loudly and constantly. He looked down at it, then back up at her.

“The temperature has just dropped a radical 10 degrees,” he said.

She moved closer to him to see for herself. As she did, there was a strange mist that entered the cockpit. It swirled around them, then settled over her, as if it were some sort of entity. It formed what looked like hands and reached out for her. She gasped loudly and grabbed his arm.

“Nick!”

He waved his arm through the mist, but it went unnoticed. Unarmed, there wasn’t anything he could do by take her by the hand and head toward the exit. Whatever it was had a good grip on her. Her feet were firmly planted on the floor.

“Come on!” he shouted.

“I can’t! It’s got me!”

He cursed loudly, then gave her arm a jerk. The mysterious mist released her just as he did so and they went crashing to the floor. She landed on top of him with a grunt. Above them, the haze began to swirl and churn, looking as though it was getting ready to attack.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said.

They stumbled to their feet and ran through the corridor back to the cargo bay. Up through the hatch, she slammed it shut after they were out. Panting, she crouched on the hull of the cargo ship trying to catch her breath.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I think so.”

“Well, so much for that. Let’s get back to the shuttle.”

She gratefully followed him back to the Pyxis. As they approached, she examined it. The shuttle was smashed beyond repair. Their only hope for rescue now was that the Baytown would come looking for them. She wasn’t sure the captain would do that for two crewmen, especially when he had a thousand other lives to worry about. Back inside the shuttle, she yanked off her helmet and threw it aside. She slumped to the floor and put her head in her hands.

“Hey, that’s not a very good attitude to have,” he commented.

“Shut up!” she snapped. “We’re probably going to die here.”

She sniffled and couldn’t stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks. She kept her face hidden from him so he wouldn’t see. She felt him crouch in front of her and then his arms wrap around her for comfort. It was what she needed. She fell against him, letting him hold her.

“We’ll be all right,” he said softly. “They’ll come for us.”

“Would you?” she asked. “If you were captain, would you risk your crew for two people?”

She looked up at him through teary eyes. He wouldn’t meet her gaze and that was her answer. She knew the truth just as he did. They were going to die in the middle of the nebula with a strange killer mist in the cargo ship next door and no one to rescue them. He leaned against the wall of the shuttle, holding her cradled in his arms. He stroked her hair, soothing her.

“Just let me think. There has to be some way.”

But there really wasn’t any way they could salvage the ship to get out of the mess they were in. Five hours later, the oxygen had run out in the shuttle. They were down to using their ZeroG suits and the oxygen in them. She knew, like he did, that those wouldn’t last them very long.

It was cold. With the power out, the shuttle had lost it’s heat. She shivered and huddled closer to him for warmth. Her teeth chattered.

“I’m . . . so . . . tired,” she stammered.

“Stay awake,” he ordered. “You hear me?”

“It’s . . . cold . . . in . . . here.”

“Cara, stay awake!”

But she couldn’t. She passed out cold. And as he held her in his arms, he saw the mist creep into the shuttle.

Michelle, co-cl for The Writing Life
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Avatar for tankaray
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 02-26-2002 - 9:55am

Weeeeeellll.....


I hadn't planned on writing any more to this story.. I guess it does leave a lot of unanswered questions. hehe Originally I thought they wouldn't survive. This is, oddly enough, a stand alone piece. Maybe I should go back and write more to this! haha

Thanks for the comments. :-)

Michelle

Michelle, co-cl for The Writing Life
Life is short. Buy the shoes.
Visit

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