- Time Skip -
I woke up from my bed, which was the one attatched to the ceiling. I was strapped to it so that I won't drift away in microgravity. The first thing I noticed (besides the floor) was that everyone was awake, as all the other beds were empty. Did I miss something?
I slowly freed myself from the belts of the space bed, which kept me in place. I didn't even struggle, as I've gotten accustomed to it over the course of the journey. Speaking of, we were nearing the end of it. Mars was now visible from the first window I passed by. While it was still a bit far to see details, there was one thing that I could clearly see: Valles Marineris.
Valles Marineris is a massive system of canyons, famous due to it being the largest canyon in the Solar System, being over 4000 kilometers long. It is also the deepest one, at approximately 7 kilometers. In fact, it is so big that it can be seen from space. I read a lot about it, but seeing it in person just made it so much more incredible. It almost looked like a giant scar on the Red Planet.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6JdqnYhIK
I wondered: where is everyone?
Getting out of the sleeping area, I still didn't come across anyone. It felt like the Remedy was abandoned. Maybe I'm in a dream, all alone, near an alien planet?
But that wouldn't make sense. Somebody needs to keep the ship up and running. There's a reason why were so close to Mars. Someone made sure that we won't explode or crash along the way. Plus, where would everybody go in the first place? We're so far from home and there's no hotel in orbit of Mars, unlike the Earth, which has the Hyperspace.
I knew that someone must be here and I was basically playing a game of hide and seek. I decided to check the central passege, located behind the miniature control centre. Still, nothing.
The other obvious place to check was the storage room. Everyone could be busy with inspecting our supplies. Using the lack of gravity to my advantage, I reached the room in no time. There were several crates, each containing various resources: fuel, food from Earth (because our farming capabilities are greatly limited), spare parts and a lot more.
- Happy birthday! - Anthony exclaimed out of nowhere, revealing himself. Everyone else was also in the storage room, except for Einstein.
- Ahh! - the surprise unironically scared me, especially since I got used to surprises being almost synonymous with surprise attacks. For a brief moment, I was in full combat readiness. I did calm down after realising that it was my birthday.
Today is the 29th of July, but I forgot about that. Even though our trip has been significantly shortened thanks to the Agency's cutting-edge technology (normally it takes half a year or so), it felt like it was going to last forever. The visible infinity of the cosmos only made this feeling seem more legitimate. I pretty much forgot about time altogether and was just hoping to arrive safely and come back alive after a while.
- Not every surprise is bad - Arika recognised the issue. She has been on a plenty of solo missions, most of which took place before we had even met. Because of the frequency of operations, she got used to handling unexpected twists like this one.
The team then sang Happy Birthday and I was just floating there, still shocked by me forgetting about my own birthday. As a strange form of gift, we went to the vertical farm and prepared ourselves a solid Martian breakfast. Martian, because this is what will be sustaining us during our stay on the surface, aside from the contents of leftover supply crates. It wasn't the best meal ever, but it was refreshing, since we've been eating only lyophillized food for almost the entire duration of the trip.
However, one more surprise awaited me. Out of the blue, Justine called me shortly after we finished eating.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUp7Ty3wWCe
- Give me a second - I flew out of the vertical farm, so that I can talk freely to my mother. I waited for a bit until mom actually spoke up, because of the communication delay caused by the distance between us.
- Happy birthday son! - Justine was strangely happy, compared to the previous calls.
Mom has been calling me every now and then, after she inevitably found out about my presence aboard the Remedy. She was obviously furious and she dislikes Captain Nigel even more than before. One weird thing was that she never mentioned discharging me from the Academy of Astronauts, even though this would be an obvious move.
- I hope that the Agency made you comfortable in space. After all, they came up with this whole "Remedy". How are you, by the way? - Justine continued.
- Good, thanks. I just saw Mars through the window. Valles Marineris is much larger than I imagined - I replied.
- Wow, must be a crazy view! - mom responded.
- It is, believe me - I confirmed.
- Every night, before I go to bed, I look up at the night sky. Even though you're so far away, I still see you. Not with my eyes, but with my heart. It's a shame that they launched you into space without my consent for the third time... - Justine accented - You'd be safe with me. I wouldn't allow anyone to hurt you and Nigel can't convince me that I'm incapable of protecting you.
- I know that you'd do your best, but the assassins are no joke. That guy I encountered almost a month ago was honestly horrifying to look at, with his cold expression, pretty much drained of emotion. He was laser focused on his goal, like a machine... - I started rambling about my encounter with the assassin.
- I know it was terrifying... - Justine replied with empathy.
- It was guaranteed that another one would have shown up sooner or later. They would also put you in danger. Maybe it's better for me to be far away... even without you... - I came to terms with the fact that I miss mum, even though it's barely been a month. Sure, dad is here and that's great, but mom and dad aren't the same and never will be. One cannot replace the other...
- I miss you too, Chris. The only thing I can do is wish you health, strenghth and happiness in your 15th year of life - Justine wished.
- Thank you, mom. I can't wait to come back to the Earth and hug you... without the threat of people trying to kill me... - I responded, hoping that the Agency will deal with the assassins.
- I guess this is all I have to say for now. Happy birthday once again and see you on the Earth! - Justine finished. Afterwards, we ended the call and I came back to the vertical farm.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1AyReKQ8L
- Wait, I just realised something - Claudius started - We're both fifteen now.
- Oh - I forgot about that too.
- What a cheerful day - Anthony interrupted - My son is fifteen, we're really close to Mars and we will make it there without coffins.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded and red lights went off everywhere.
- Are you sure about that? - Amber gulped.
- ALERT: CRITICAL ENGINE FAILURE! PREPARE FOR DEORBITATION! - an automated voice told us. Even though it was a robotic voice, it was eerily similar to Captain Nigel's.
- Beautiful - Sebastian sighed.
We came over to Einstein, who was in the control room as I've predicted. He was busy, trying to find the malfunction and fix it ASAP.
- What on Earth is happening?! - Anthony was the first to reach him.
- I have no idea! The engine just died for no reason! - Einstein was on the verge of panic, which was understandable. Deorbitation meant that we were about to crash into Mars.
- We're not on Earth! - Sebastian reminded us.
- Claudius, go to the bottom of the rocket and see if what's wrong. Chris and Arika, I need you with me to help me search faster. Sebastian, check how close we are to Mars, so that we'll know how much time we have left. - Einstein instructed us and everyone listened. Arika and I sat down next to Einstein and we browsed all the monitors to find what's important.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iIyrpI2ih
- What about me? - Amber stood behind us, waiting for instructions.
- I don't know; beat up someone if there's a need - Einstein shouted back a random thing, as he was focused on the screens and control panels, just like Arika and me.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADUakpe9T1
- I have bad news - Claudius called Anthony, who ended up helping with communication.
- What's the matter? - Einstein was sweating, so were we.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEgQY286dK
- Somebody smashed the engine. I'm surprised that it's still in one piece and hasn't exploded yet - Claudius said that on a single breath.
Einstein, Anthony, Arika and I looked at each other.
- There's a saboteur?! - we exclaimed at the same time.107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNefHYCwqdt
and then Add to home screen.