Chapter 2:
Date: November 20th, 2137
Location: Mars Colony, Residential District
¨Thomas….I….something happened yesterday….something….something terrible…." Thomas had never seen Kati like this before. Though her face was harder to see through the computer screen, he could still make out the subtle differences in her appearance.
Her black hair, which was usually nicely kept in a ponytail, was frayed and sweaty. Dark circles under her eyes told the story of several nights going without sleep. Her shirt was ragged, loosely hanging on her shoulders like she had just thrown it on before calling him. But the worst was her eyes. If he focused on them long enough, he could just make out the subtle flitting of her pupils as they darted around, focusing on one thing after the other.
"Kati are you alright? Have you been sleeping?" Those were his first questions. Her physical health was the first thing that concerned him upon seeing her ragged image pop up on his computer screen. The woman looked away for a moment, as if asking herself the same question, before turning back to the screen,
"No Thomas….I…..I haven't slept in 2 days…." Kati confessed. As she blinked, her eyelids held closed for a couple seconds, refreshing the dried surfaces of her eyes. "Something happened a few days ago….I can't get it out of my head…."
"What is it? What happened?" Thomas asked purely out of concern. If he knew what was bothering so much, maybe he could offer to help her. It didn't help either of them if she kept him in the dark.
"A woman came to the station a week ago….Katherine Foster….she had this….thing….on her face. I tried to get it off, but It wasn't any use. We couldn't remove it without hurting her….it….it was wrapped around her….like a parasite…." Kati began. The whole thing sounded like something from a science fiction novel. Thomas listened in silence, begging for her to go on.
"After a couple of days, the thing came off on it's own. Died on its own. We thought….we thought everything was going to be ok…." She began choking up, her breaths becoming more labored and forced. Before Thomas could ask her to stop for a moment to breathe, she managed to catch herself and slow her rapid breathing.
"A day later, she woke up. She seemed fine. We told her we needed to do an examination on her but she kept insisting on seeing her husband Marlow, the captain of the ship she arrived on." Kati paused, focusing on her breathing as she came to the climax of her story. "Before we could get her restrained, she began twisting, and writhing on the ground. We thought it was a seizure or something….and then….and then this….thing, explodes from her chest! Blood everywhere! God I….I was so scared! I….I've never seen…." Kati lowered her head into her arms on the desk in front of her. Thomas sat in shock for a few minutes, wondering just what he could say to comfort her. Then it hit him. He had decided.
"I'm coming to Sevastopol." The words hit Kati like a freight train. Her head bolted up from her arms in an instant, looking at the screen in shock.
"You what?" She asked in bewilderment. Thomas shook his head, dispelling any second thoughts about the decision that had prodded his mind.
"You've obviously had some serious trauma. Or at least, you think you have. All that time in space isn't doing you any good, and you need a friendly face around. I'm coming to Sevastopol. It'll be fun, we'll share a few drinks, shoot some pool, and I'll help you get over this fear of yours-"
"It's not a fear Thomas!" Her voice suddenly cut in, grounding his to a halt. Closing her eyes, she brought her hand to her forehead to brush some loose strands of hair from her face. Once the stray hairs were brushed aside, she opened her eyes. They no longer looked frightened, instead, they looked determined.
"Something came out of that woman Thomas. Some sort of….alien. Security still hasn't found it, and I'm worried….I'm worried it could pose a lethal threat to the people on board this station. Thomas please….stay on Mars. You've got something good going for yourself….I don't want you putting yourself in danger because of me." She stopped, looking at him for a reaction. She was hoping she could dissuade his heroic plans of coming to her rescue. She didn't want him there. Not because she didn't enjoy his presence, but because she was worried for his safety. That creature was still on the loose, and if he came and it proved to be dangerous…..she didn't know how she would be able to cope. Unfortunately, Thomas's face remained the same, his furrowed eyebrow showing nothing but concern for her wellbeing. It would've been flattering if he wasn't being so stupid.
"I'm sorry Kati. You know I can't do that. I'm going to take the next transport I find and I'll meet you at the terminal. I'll call as frequently as I can. Don't worry about it, everything will be fine." With those final words sinking into her mind, Thomas decided to end the call. He didn't want to prolong the conversation when he knew she would only throw more protests at him to stay away.
Closing the laptop, Thomas pushed away from his desk, and stood up in his chair. His eyes looked around his small apartment, eying some of the things he would need to bring. If he was going to go to Sevastopol, he needed to start packing.
Date: December 13th, 2137
Location: Zeta Reticuli region
Ship: Achilles
Thomas's eyes cracked open. A bright light flooded his eyes, forcing him to close them again. He wanted to go back to sleep. He was so tired, so exhausted. He flexed his fingers, trying to regain feeling in his arm. Slowly, he tried to open his eyes again. This time, the blinding light wasn't as intense, and his eyes slowly focused on the ceiling above him.
There was a face above him. It was pale, with short, well trimmed brown hair, and a light stubble on his chin and cheeks. It took him a while to realize he was staring into his own face, a reflection off of the thin layer of glass that hung above him.
Suddenly, his body kicked into action, and his stomach lurched with it's new awakening. A feeling of nausea swept over him, and Thomas soon found his hands clawing at the glass dome in an effort to push it off.
With a quiet hiss, and the light click of the cryopod disengaging the locking sequence, the glass door above him slowly raised into the air. Thomas wasted no time at all before sitting up, and grabbing at the walls of the metal container. Grasping firmly at the sides, Thomas pulled himself out of his cryopod, and pushed his legs over the side.
Across from him, stood several other cryopods, each opening at their own pace. He paid them no mind. The contents writhing in his stomach, threatening to force their way out of his mouth were his primary concern at the moment.
Lowering his legs, his feet smacked against the cold metal floor of the ship, sending a shiver up his spine. Letting go of the cryopod, Thomas nearly slammed his head against the ground as his legs gave way beneath him. All of his time spent in cryosleep must've caused his leg muscles to weaken. Though, he wondered how long staying in cryosleep would it take to leave degenerative effects on one's leg muscles. Just how long was he asleep for?
Thomas grabbed the side of the cryopod, and using it as a crutch, he lifted himself back onto his feet. Standing as straight up as his back would allow him, he quickly surveyed the room for anything suitable for a good puking. Finally, his eyes rested on a silver trash can near a row of lockers. Without a second thought, Thomas hobbled over to the trash can, his legs aching after being asleep for so long.
Collapsing to his knees, Thomas reached the trash can, and quickly threw off the lid. Bending over, the young psychiatrist let out a gurgled howl as he vomited into the silver waste basket. Thomas grasped the edges of the can firmly, writhing as he emptied his stomach. Everything felt wrong. It felt like his organs had been liquified and puddled at the bottom of his gut, and now he was throwing them up into the trash can. Then there was the smell! The odor attacked his nostrils, sending all new waves of nausea into his stomach. His mind was frenzied, racing to catch up with the sudden sequence of events.
In his haste, Thomas had barely noticed the other figures emerging from their cryopods in the room. As he coughed up one last mouthful of vomit, a voice called to him from across the room.
"Hey Doc, you doin' alright?" It was a man's voice, and frankly, the only voice on the ship that Thomas had come to recognize. The voice was deep, and smooth, and belonged to the captain of the ship, a man named Jonathan. Thomas didn't know his last name. Then again, he barely knew the names of anyone on this ship, so knowing his first name was good enough for him.
He could hear the footsteps of the captain nearing him, and he slowly tilted his head to face the approaching man.
"I feel….terrible…." Thomas muttered, nearly throwing up again after speaking. Jonathan chuckled, and knelt down next to him.
"First time huh?" Thomas nodded, and Jonathan grinned a knowing smile, "Yup. Always feels like shit the first time. I remember my first time, you remember Jack?" Jonathan looked over to a bald, bearded man, sporting tattoos marked all over his muscled arms.
"How could I forget? You threw up on me. Got it stuck right in my beard! Smelled like crap the rest of the day!" Just the thought of the smell forced Thomas to spin around and heave another load into the trashcan. A round of laughter echoed behind him. A hand clapped on his shoulder, and Jonathan's face appeared beside him.
"Come on. Let's get you freshened up."
Jonathan led Thomas to the showers. As they walked, the black hallways sparked to life as the lights flickered on around them, bringing life back into the hollow ship. Each hallway was octagonal in shape, with smooth glass flooring and white cushioning on the walls, likely to prevent injury in case of an emergency. Jonathan had given him a towel to wrap around his shivering figure, and led him to a door on the far side of the hall.
"Shower's are in there. I'll get one of the guys to get you some spare clothes and bring it to you. When you're done, you can meet us in the mess hall. Hannah says it's always good to eat up after these things; helps reboot your metabolism you know? You know what they say, 'doctor's orders', amiright?" The captain chuckled and patted him on the back before walking off. Thomas watched him leave, before approaching the door. The door opened automatically with a hiss, and he stepped inside.
Taking a shower had never felt as relaxing as it had now. The feeling of the warm water running down his back calmed him. Unlike the cold confines of the ship, the water was warm, and gentle to the touch, caressing his body in an envelope of relief. The chilly shivers that followed him as the captain led him to the showers were gone.
Rinsing the last bit of soap out of his hair, Thomas reached for the faucet and turned off the water. He stood, listening to the last bits of water dripping out of the shower head as his mind wandered. Finally, it rested on his purpose aboard this ship, the reason he had come in the first place: Kati.
Was she ok? The others had told him that they had been asleep for just under a month. A lot could happen in under a month. He only hoped that she was ok, and that she had managed to calm down. Sevastopol may not have been the most exquisite station at the time, but it was once a great port for frontier ships and mining freighters. No doubt the security there was top notch - they would be able handle this 'creature'.
Alien. That was what she had called it. An Alien that burst through a woman's chest. It was hard to believe. Without any evidence to back her story up, Thomas found himself doubting Kati's mental integrity during the call. She hadn't slept for 2 days. She was basically running on adrenaline at that point. She wouldn't be thinking straight, her mind was on overload. Surely she had imagined some sort of alien disaster while she had an incident at the hospital.
Deciding to put the case at rest for later, he climbed out of the showers, and into the locker room. Sitting on a bench in the middle of the alley of lockers sat a lone pile of clothes. Thomas eyed the clothes, grabbing the shirt and raising it to his face to get a better look at it. It was a simple button up company shirt, complete with the Weyland-Yutani corporation insignia stitched into the sleeve. Thomas slipped on the shirt, along with a baggy pair of black cargo pants, and a pair of boots. Once he was dressed, Thomas looked at himself in one of the bathroom mirrors. His hair was the first thing that caught his attention, looking unkempt and messy. Using his hand as an acting comb, he ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to make himself look more presentable. Taking a step back, he looked at his handiwork, and decided it wouldn't get much better than that, and exited through the main door.
Jonathan had told him to report to the med bay for an examination. Apparently, all personnel needed to have a full medical check-up before being deemed 'fit for duty'. Thomas didn't mind, and in fact, he was quite happy; cryosleep had toyed with his insides, and he was intent on making sure everything was right where it should be. The only problem was, Jonathan had neglected to tell him exactly where the med bay was located.
The Achilles was a large ship, from what Thomas had seen on the outside. It was one of those commercial cargo ships, carrying mineral ore from planet to planet. Currently, Thomas had caught them in the middle of their trip, from KG-429, just on the outer rim of the new frontier, to Sevastopol station for a refueling. They had stopped at Terminus III, a small station sitting between the two.
The flight to Terminus hadn't been comfortable. The only ships that ever went to this portion of the galaxy were old commercial ships and construction vehicles. The new frontier had moved on, leaving the old one behind. The stations that had once been the threshold of commercial activity, were now desolate and deserted, much like Sevastopol.
The sound of laughing called from down the hallway. Unsure as where to go, Thomas decided to follow the call of social interaction. At the end of the hallway, an open doorway led into a wide room that was, he believed, the mess hall. Bright white lights hung overhead, illuminating the wide tables that sat below. Thomas could see several crewmates lounging around, eating food and talking with the others. Like the new kid on the first day of school entering the cafeteria, Thomas stood at the entrance awkwardly, looking for a place to sit. Thankfully, he didn't have to search long.
"Dr. Foster." Upon hearing his name, Thomas spun around to find Jonathan standing right behind him. "You look a little confused." He pointed out. It was obvious that Thomas was out of place. In all his time in space, he had never had the privilege of riding aboard such a low class vehicle. The only ships he ever rode in were transport ships and shuttles for transportation to and from Earth. This ship was something completely different. It was like comparing the Titanic to a pirate ship. The crew on board were rowdy, and seemingly undisciplined. Thomas only hoped that they would hold more composure when introduced to an emergency.
"Yes, well, quite frankly I am." The words had come out more contemptuous than he had hoped, and Thomas hoped the captain wouldn't have a negative reaction. If he did, he seemed to stow it away under a grim smile, before clearing his throat.
"Well, you shouldn't worry too much, since we're almost at Sevastopol. Speaking of which," The captain then looked upward, into the ceiling. Thomas followed his gaze, hoping to find something in particular that the captain was looking at, only to find he was staring at the plain metal ceiling. "Mother? What is our distance from Sevastopol?"
Mother? What was mother? Thomas was about to ask the captain if he too was beginning to feel under the weather after being in space for so long, but before he could, a voice answered back,
"Error. Error. Unable to calculate distance from destination. Destination not found. Error. Error." A mechanical female voice responded. The one Jonathan had called 'Mother', must be one of those old A.I. units that helped run the ships. Thomas had heard of them before, but had never encountered one in person. They were supposedly top of the line computers, but if that was true, how could it not find their destination, after bringing them so far? Judging by the captain's face, Thomas waged he was thinking the same thing.
"That's strange." He muttered, "Alright, Mother. What's our distance from the last recorded orbit of Sevastopol station?" The two men waited for a moment before the machine answered,
"We are approximately 400 miles from the station's previous orbital position, and closing." Thomas could see that, even though Mother had answered him correctly this time, he still looked uneasy. Setting down the lunch tray he was holding, Jonathan walked over to one of the tables and pointed to three crewmen.
"Alice, Will, Jaimie. Follow me, I need you at the bridge now." Two women and a man stood up from the table and followed Jonathan as he made a beeline to the exit. The captain marched past Thomas as though he had forgotten his existence. Not wanting to stray too far from the only person he knew, Thomas decided to follow the others to the bridge.
The bridge of the Achilles was a much smaller room than the mess hall. The room was cluttered with computer screens and machinery. As one delved deeper to the front of the room, the ceiling seemed to become lower, as monitors and other computers hung from the roof like stalactites. Thomas had to duck as he followed the narrow pathway that led between the rows of desks and computer monitors, making his way to the front.
"Can someone give me a visual on the station?" He could hear the captain's voice ask.
"No sir. I can't get a reading on it." A female voice responded. Thomas pushed his way past the last row of computers to the front of the room. The wall at the front of the room was no wall at all, instead, it was a giant glass window, split into sections, like a spider web of sheet metal. Two terminals were situated near the front, just next to the window.
"Alice, I need you to do a long range sensor scan of the area." Jonathan ordered the short, blonde haired woman sitting at one of the front terminals.
"Jamie, open a channel to the Sevastopol." Next to Thomas, sitting in a large chair bolted to the floor, was a woman of asian descent, with short black hair that fell to her shoulders. Leaning over her own keyboard, she pressed a series of buttons Thomas didn't recognize, and turned her chair around so that she faced the captain, giving him a thumbs up.
"This is the commercial vessel Achilles out of Terminus III, our registration number is MSV-7662, calling Sevastopol traffic control do you copy? Over?" Silence. You'd think working at a desk on station on Mars would leave one accustomed to the never ending absence of sound, but you would be wrong. To say in the least, Thomas was becoming very uncomfortable. Space had never been so quiet. At his office, people would walk past his door or call his name on the intercom. Hell even the silent bubbling of water from his fish tank was more soothing than this eerie silence. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Captain Jonathan decided to try again.
"This is Captain Jonathan Baker of the USS Achilles, please respond?" More silence. Thomas looked at the others, hoping something like this had happened before. Maybe there was a communication problem? Maybe someone on station was playing a practical joke on them, and would pick up any minute. But no response came, and Thomas was beginning to feel worried. Where was Sevastopol? Where was Kati? Where was anyone? After another painful period of waiting, Alice decided to break the fog of numbness that had enveloped them all.
"Maybe….maybe they're….gone?" Her words would've taken Thomas by shock had he not been thinking the same thing. Jonathan brought up his fingers to the bridge of his nose, and closed his eyes. He stood there, motionless for a moment, before opening them again.
"Alice, do a navigational scan for any large traces of nitric oxide." Alice's eyebrows raised in sudden realization before turning back to her terminal and obliging the captain. Thomas, however, was still confused.
"Captain," Jonathan looked towards Thomas, surprised to find the Psychiatrist still with them on the bridge, "Why are you searching for traces of nitric oxide?"
"Because Dr. Foster, thrusters emit large quantities of nitric acid when ignited. Sevastopol's orbital position around KG-348 required constant repositioning from it's gravitational equalizers." The captain began. Thomas was beginning to catch on to where he was going,
"And you're going to use it as a tracer to find the station." He finished. Jonathan nodded, a small smile forming at the corner of his mouth before disappearing all together.
"I've got it! There!" Alice pointed over to her monitor, leading the captain from his chair to get a closer inspection. On the green glass window, was a large graph, with a curved line bending around KG-348. Alice's finger traced the line as it circled round the planet. "Large traces of nitric oxide sir." The navigator confirmed.
"Good. Send those readings to Will. Will," The captain finally turned to the last crewmember on the bridge. The dark skinned man looked at the captain, waiting for his order. "Lock on to the coordinates Alice is sending you now. I want you to follow those nitric oxide emissions so that we follow the previous orbit of Sevastopol." The man, whom Thomas could only assume was the pilot, nodded in acknowledgement before grabbing hold of two joysticks built into the sides of his chair.
The world as Thomas knew it suddenly took a gentle lurch forward, nearly sending the surprised psychiatrist onto his back. Thanks to his quick movements, Thomas grabbed one of the nearby chairs to prevent from falling. A light chuckle emitted from the center of the room from Jonathan as he watched the display.
"You might want to buckle up doctor. You're not in kansas anymore." Thomas carefully spun the chair around and sat into it, pulling the safety buckles around his waist, and fastening them with a click. The Achilles groaned as the engines came to life, slowly nudging the craft in it's desired position. As the ship moved, Thomas watched through the great glass window as the world shifted.
The great red planet, known as KG-348 gradually ate up the view, eventually covering the entire bridge in a light shade of orange. Below them, large clouds of smoke swirled about on the planet's troposphere. As the ship lunged toward the red planet, small particles came into view, like dust floating in rays of sunshine. At first, Thomas was afraid they had run into an asteroid field, but his suspicions were suddenly put to rest at the sight of….
"Is that….a barrel?" Jamie quietly muttered. Nonetheless, her comment had been heard over the muffled humming of the engines. Jonathan leant forward in his chair, squinting his eyes.
"It is." He replied plainly. If he was shocked, as the rest of them were, his voice didn't show it. His stoic complexion deflected any signs of emotion.
"How…." Thomas couldn't help but speak up. Though there were many possibilities as to how the object had found itself in the cold vacuum of space, one in particular came to mind. Somehow, a breach had been made at Sevastopol. His fears only doubled in size when another object came into view.
"Look!" Alice pointed out at the window. Everyone followed her gaze to a small cylindrical object spinning around in circles. It was a propane tank. The top had come off, and the object had likely been spinning out of control before the gas had completely left it's container.
"Alice, do another scan. Short range sensor. Keep parameters limited to ships and life forms only." The captain commanded, and Alice complied. Thomas could feel his heartbeat begin to increase in speed at the sight of every passing object. Barrel. Propane tank. Crate. Forklift. Thomas prayed he wouldn't see it. The one thing that would turn his worst fears into a reality….
"Jesus christ…." Everyone's attention turned to the window. Arms outstretched, back facing the window, was a body. A human body. Thomas's blood ran cold. His body froze. Silence, yet again, consumed the room. Thomas couldn't tear his eyes away.
As if flowing in a gentle blow of wind, the body floated across the window. The crew of the Achilles watched in pure shock as it turned over, facing them. It was a man, no older than 30. His hair waved about, as if he was underwater. It looked almost….peaceful. But his eyes. His eyes were anything but. Thomas couldn't tear himself away from them. Blood red. Frightened. Pure horror. The man's mouth hung open, as his corpse grasped for air that would never come.
Every possible worst outcome suddenly became a real possibility. What if terrorists had decided to destroy the station? What if someone opened an air lock and the station's old equipment failed to seal the leak? What if there was an explosion that killed everyone on board? Jonathan could see Thomas shivering from the corner of his eye.
"Jamie?" The voice caught the woman by surprise, and she jumped in her chair. "Jamie, get Hannah and Dennis up here. And get Emma up here too, she needs to be on the bridge." Even after that, Jonathan still retained his composure. The captain stared at her gently, waiting for her to register the command he had given her. When at last she had processed the order, she hailed the two crewmates. As she spoke through the intercom, Alice spoke up.
"Sir I don't think that-"
"It's not for him." Jonathan pointed a finger at Thomas. The poor psychiatrist slumped in his chair, his eyes glossy and unblinking, like a fish out of water. Alice nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to her monitor. Behind them, the door to the hallway opened, and three new sets of footsteps clapped into the desolate room.
"What's the problem?" A light, accented voice asked. Jonathan pointed a finger over at Thomas's shivering body, and a woman rushed over. Thomas sat lifelessly in his chair as the woman checked his pulse.
"The hell happened to him?" The man standing near the doorway asked. Jonathan didn't look at him, but merely pointed towards the glass window. Jonathan's eyes landed on the third figure in the room, a tall, well toned woman with fair skin and short black hair. The woman walked over to Jonathan, and stood at his side, staring at the situation around them.
"What's going on?" She asked him calmly. The captain looked back at the window and shook his head.
"I'm not sure yet." He responded truthfully. Before he could respond, the other man cursed under his breath.
"What in gods name is this?!" His raised voice was a drastic change in volume in the quiet room, and sent a shake through Thomas's startled body.
"Dennis please keep it down!" The woman begged. She turned back to Thomas, gently rubbing him on the shoulder. "He's fine Jon. Went into a stage of shock for a moment, but he seems fine. What's all the commotion about…." Her words slowed down as she too took in the sight of debris.
"Mein gott…."
"Alice. Do you have anything on that scan yet?" Jonathan turned his attention back to the navigator. The woman eyed the screen before letting out a light gasp.
"Oh-Oh my god! I've got something! There's-There's something out there!" Jonathan was at her side in an instant. His sudden movements nearly scared Alice out of her chair.
"What is it Alice. Where is it." Jonathan demanded. Alice pointed to the screen.
"Just 100 meters from our position. There."
"Barton! Close on these coordinates ASAP! Full throttle."
"Roger that." Will said, grasping hold of the joysticks again.
"Hannah, Dennis, get down to Medical."
"Jon you don't even know if that's a person. People can't survive out there for that long!" Dennis spoke up.
"I didn't ask for your opinion Dr. Ward, now get down to medical!" Jonathan yelled, breaking his usual stoic composure. Dennis glared at the captain silently and was prepared to give a response before his eyes landed on the other woman in the room. Emma. Dennis visibly shrunk in her gaze before following Hannah out of the room.
"Jamie, get Eric and Jack down in Airlock one ETA 5 minutes! Full E.V.A suits! Emma, you're in command while I'm out there." Taking a step forward, Emma nodded at Jonathan before walking over to the captain's chair and taking his place. Just as Jonathan was leaving the room, Hannah spoke up.
"Wait what about him?" Hannah asked, pointing to Thomas. The startled Psychiatrist looked better than he had before, but he was still unresponsive.
"Take him with you to medical."
~Five minutes later. Airlock One~
Jonathan marched into the airlock where Jack and Eric were finishing putting on their helmets. The two men didn't wait for him to step through the door before speaking their minds.
"What the hell are we doing in here cap'n? We just got cleared from Doc, and I dunno if we're allowed to go on a space walk this soon after cryosleep." The southern mechanic questioned.
"I'm allowing it." Jonathan answered as he began to put on his own E.V.A suit. Eric, the ship's technical engineer, walked over to him and crouched down as Jon put on his suit.
"What are we really here for cap? I'd like to know what we're suiting up for before diving headfirst into it." Eric explained. Jonathan finished putting on his boots before answering the engineer,
"Sevastopol station isn't responding. In fact, I'm not even sure where it is."
"Woah, woah, woah, what's missin'?" Jack interrupted.
"As I said, Sevastopol station isn't where it was last reported. We've found debris floating around it's last coordinates. Alice picked up a life signature on our sensor scan. We're going to extract the survivor, and bring them aboard for questioning."
"Uh, excuse me, how do ya lose a space station?! Those things aren't exactly like those puzzle pieces ya can never find!" The mechanic's comments were ignored by Eric, who continued to question the captain as he finished putting on his gloves.
"How do you even know it's a person?" Eric questioned.
"What else would it be, Eric. An alien?" Jonathan answered cynically, "Emma? Emma are you there?" The captain called into the comms.
"Right here sir. Ready for your orders." Came the response.
"Good. How close are we?" The captain questioned, staring at the ceiling.
"We're just about 50 meters away. Any closer and we'll run into debris." The woman responded through the intercom.
"Good enough." Jonathan replied before looking at the two men, "Buckle up boys." The captain held out his hands to them, each holding a large metal clip attached to a thick cable. The two men accepted the clips, and hooked them onto their E.V.A suits. Once they were safely fastened, the three men turned towards the large metal door covered in black and yellow warning signs on the far side of the small room. Jonathan gave the cable a strong tug, confirming that it was secure. The others followed in suit, testing their equipment before giving Jonathan a thumbs up.
"Emma? Open airlock one." Jonathan ordered. The three men watched as the emergency light suddenly flashed on, sprinkling the room in orange light.
"Oxygen levels, depressurizing. Oxygen levels, depressurizing." Mother announced as clouds of steam jetted into the room in bursts of air. A loud clanking noise erupted from the door, and it slowly began to crack open. Jonathan's visor gradually lit up with light of the stars dancing off his helmet.
"In and out boys. Let's make this quick."
