One of the things that earthsiders don’t really realize is both how quiet and how noisy it is in space. When you are in your suit, there is no noise from outside. I watched explosions going off all around me in a silence as complete as if they were vid’s with the audio off. Missles rush past just meters away and leave no whine or roar in their wake.

What you can hear is your suit. The pumps, the fans, the heaters, the coolants. The radio and the computer click and hiss in your headphones. Even the HUD, Heads Up Display, seems to make a small hum it’s contribution to the noise in your helmet.

And all the while you concentrate on two big things and bunch of little ones. First, How do I stay alive? And secondly, How do I carry out my mission? Everything else gets lower priority on my to do list right now.

I’m approaching the enemy ship. 15 seconds to target. It’s not maneuvering, so it probably doesn’t see us as a threat. Well that is going to change pretty quickly.