Stories tagged “space”
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ISOLATION
SHIP LOG #000237—D:02/08/2085—TIME:-22:05pm(EST) “Hello, computer. It’s me, again. Well, obviously. Who else is there around here? Unless Kevin Bacon got invisible and sneaked onto the ship, but I think that’s unlikely, do...
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THE SIGNAL
SHIP LOG #000001—D: 02/08/2084—TIME:14:08pm(EST) “Uh, hello? Is this thing on? OK, I think it’s working. Um, hello computer! This is Captain Donald Enslin here. I’m only guy who’ll be talking to you throughout this m...
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Stars spill out
Within hours of her last transmission, she went to sleep. Surely, there’d be a signal in the morning. But what is morning in Space? What is dawn for a forgotten Shuttle running on its emergency power supply? The faint beep warning of low oxygen l...
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Surviving Among The Stars
With each slow, deliberate breath, all she could think about was the fact that it would be nice to be able to panic. Unfortunately, that was an emotional luxury that escaped her. Her intense training at the space agency had taught her that survival in ...
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Rescued at Last?
A clang that shook the entire ship jolted her out of her meditation. She gasped, regretting it a moment later as she remembered her oxygen conservation techniques. Was she being rescued? Or was it just another piece of space debris hitting the ship? No...
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Cartographer
Our little ship coasted on the rough turbulence around Yvonne’s Delight. We were five days out from the Hydras, running a shipload of tetrahydride to Phis Minor. The pilots up front yelled incomprehensible vectors at each other, every now and the...
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Unforeseen Consequences
“The saboteur… my God, I’m so stupid. It was… I was… oh -” Security Chief Furlough grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and shook me. “Snap out of it, carto. Where is he?” “Must’ve hopped aboard...
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We have a problem
I was in the middle of our morning briefing with Mission Control. They had a new list of experiments they wanted us to setup on the micro gravity crystal lab and I was thinking about how it would screw up the normal schedule. Suddenly the communication...
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Aftermath
Consciousness returned slowly — along with a fierce pounding in my head. “Take it easy, carto.” I opened my eyes to see Captain Harrigan standing over me. I started to sit up, but he put a hand against my chest and pushed me back down...
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Route to Nowhere
A request. After the rather hostile takeover of our shipboard systems and my own mind, a request from the overseer for instructions seemed almost laughable. I swiveled my chair and let my fingers do what came most naturally to them. “What’s...
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The Unknown
We drifted. When your entire frame of reference has been removed, there’s little else you can do. There were no stars, no constellations, no dust clouds, nothing visible anywhere that could give us an idea of where we were. It was dark in every d...
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Republic: One Mans Fate
Daryn lay on the alcove, his rifle pointed down towards the crowd. It was possibly the most powerful of its kind in the whole Republic, and just touching it gave him shivers. But what got him most, this cold and windy day, was his mission. It was simpl...
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Republic: A Captain's View
Supreme Commander Var’Dir Weiken, of the Destroyer class warship, Epoch, sat in his chair on the bridge and swivelled round to the main screen. “Have they replied?” He asked the Specialist to his left. “No, sir.” Var’...
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NavComm
I peeled myself out of that reality and sat rubbing my temples for a moment. It took that long for me to realize that everyone was looking at me. “Well?” Harrigan demanded. I sighed. “It’s… complicated,” I replied. &...
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Top-Level Logic
“This must be the logical next step up in terms of cartographical thinking. I can only assume the same race that we reverse-engineered the jump turbine technology and the overseer from made the same discovery. Our computer recognises them because...
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Jump of Faith
The regular engines were down behind the thick radiation shielding, but that was fine. The overseer coaxed pseudo-thrust out of our jump drives, pushing jumpspace behind to create the illusion of forward thrust. I slotted the symbols into the code leis...
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Emergence and Violence
The turbulence on emergence was enormous. “Gravity well!” one of the pilots yelled. As it turned out, we’d emerged from jumpspace near a planet — far too close. The physics of jumpspace is simple — there is no physics. Whe...
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Force and Knowledge
“Hull stress is… way above safe limits. We’re looking at an imminent hull rupture and violent depressurisation.” Harrigan’s mouth was a grim slash. “Get everybody on oxygen, lower air pressure by 60%.” Warning ...
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Fail Safe
Charlie felt the skin sagging back on his face, pulling away from its proper location as his weight increased. He could swear his ribs were creaking, which was silly, because ribs oughtn’t make a noise until they snap. He tried to think of someth...
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Tipping Point
The collision couldn’t have occurred with greater accuracy. Three hours before, a dead spy satellite was struck by a meteor. It was not destroyed but its tracked path shifted slightly. This event went undetected. The supply ship Kosma was heading...
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Last Gasp
Almost there, she thought as she dragged herself down the corridor. She could see the doorway ahead, and hear the sounds of the creatures behind her. Zombies. Centuries of human exploration and expansion, and it all comes down to zombies. The moaning w...
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A Decision I'd Rather Not Face
“Enigma, please give me the details of Earths current state” I say, still in awe. “Earths current condition is deemed uninhabitable. No traces of life are on record. Current temperature is 129 degrees Fahrenheit. Average PH of the oce...
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Drowning in Nothingness
The ship floated away in silence, everything muted in the nothingness in space. Crewmembers gathered around the portholes like fish at feeding time, only they weren’t nearly as content. I watched, resigned to my fate, as the damaged craft drifted...
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As the Stars Twinkle in Essieterra (part 1)
I was thirteen when I first embarked on my voyage to the island of Essieterra. I sailed on an enormous galleon, though there were few passengers on board. The captain was a centaur, and the crew consisted of amiable mice and geese. I was the only human...
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As the Stars Twinkle in Essieterra (part 2)
I had been wishing to get away from the human world for the summer, and after much pondering, believing, and dreaming, I had perceived a phantasmagoric place called Essieterra. Here, mystical creatures dwelled, and passion propelled the dreams of young...