Chapter 1
The blue marble. That was what they called it. Earth looked so tranquil and peaceful against the dark backdrop of space and debris. One would not have been able to tell that just moments ago, earthquakes ripped through Vietnam, tornadoes devastated India and hurricanes obliterated cities throughout the United States. Seeing the place he loved so dear be safe once again gave Jake Lawson a sense of pride knowing that the citizens of earth, including his daughter, would be able to live another day.
Self destruct entering phase 4. Time left to complete destruction… 27 seconds
The monotonous voice of the command computer aboard the ISS jolted Jake from his reverie and reminded him of the urgency of the situation at hand. " I promise i'll get home safely dear…" Jake thought as he imagined his daughter's face. At that very moment, it was clear what he had to do. He had to make it back to his baby girl. Surveying the destruction around him, Jake rushed towards the German scientist who had chose to remain with him even though it could have costed her her life. " Fass, we have to go! This shit is gonna blow in 25 seconds!" Fass turned to him and let out a sad smile. "Jake, it's too late, we have no means of escape…" Jake shook his head and pleaded " Look i'm not gonna let you die here! You risked your life for me and now i'm gonna save yours!" Grabbing her hand, Jake moved towards the nearest satellite, the P19T. " Get in! We can still get out of the blast radius!" Jumping inside the craft after her, he ignited the engines. With a roar, the satellite accelerated forward into the vast emptiness of space, leaving the burning station behind.
Turning to look back, Jake and Fass were greeted by a raging fireball which engulfed the entire station. The 70 000 tonne station was reduced to nothing more than flaming rubble, consumed by the flames of the raging inferno. Holding back tears, he could do nothing but watch as his life's work was torn away from him. The sound of sniffling filled the craft. Turning back, Jake could see Fass's red puffy eyes as tears streaked down her face. The German scientist was trying to turn away but Jake could see the fear in her eyes. The fear of never being able to make it back alive. The fear of never being able to hug her family. The fear of dying in the vast blackness of space. "Hey… are you alright?" he whispered soothingly as he moved closer towards her. " Ye...yes. I'm just afrai… afraid of dying in space. We have no food aboard and our air supply can only hold out for another 6 hours. Ja… Jake… I'm scared. What if we don't make it back alive… No one will find our bodies. We will… we…" she buried her face in her hands as the sound of sobbing filled the air. He couldn't take it anymore. Unable to bear to see her in such away, Jake wrapped her in a tight embrace as she slowly inched towards him. " Shh… it's alright. I'm pretty sure the folks at NASA have seen the distress call i sent out…I promised you i won't let you die here. Not tonight." he whispered comfortingly as the German rested her head on his chest.
Looking up, she smiled through the tears and said " You're right, i trust you." Jake smiled back, satisfied that her fears had been allayed. Staring out the window of the satellite, Jake could see the blue marble, the very place he called home get smaller and smaller. His hunch had better been right. Holding her close to him, Jake prayed that rescue would come. Letting out a yawn, he realised that it had been almost 32 hours since he last slept. "What a crazy journey it has been" he thought to himself. " Hey, we better get some sleep…" he said as he looked at her but there was no reply for she had already fallen asleep in his arms. " Poor girl, she must be exhausted" he thought as he cuddled her tighter. The temperature around them had started to drop. The heating systems would not hold out for long. Holding the brunette closer, Jake closed his eyes and the last sensations he remembered feeling before sleep took him was her breath on his chest, the softness of her skin and the smell of maple syrup in her hair.
The roar of the engines above them shook them out of their sleep. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Fass looked outside the window. What greeted her was an amazing yet disgusting sight. Hernandez's face in the space shuttle's window. For the first time in hours, she let out a smile. They were going home. The shuttle latched on to the satellite as the passengers floated into the safety of the shuttle. Jake followed behind her as they entered the decompression chamber. "She really is something special" he thought as they moved into the command centre of the shuttle.
To be continued