Mission STS 192

Mission STS 192

"Lofter, if you can hear me - I, Dr. Sarah, confirm that I am the lone survivor of the Mission STS 192"

Thankfully, I was in the back control compartment. When the debris hit, I got the information from the control center, and I immediately asked others to enter. Dreworth was the closest to the airlock, but, the airlock was the first part to get in contact with the debris. I quickly went to the Soyuz III and started the procedure of undocking. Thank god, there was fuel. Not filled completely, but thirty percent was filled. The nearest to our current location was ISS and me kind of hoped that thirty percent was enough. 

Just as I undocked the Soyuz, there was a knock on the glass. I thought someone survived. I turned towards the window. It was Dreworth, with a solar panel inside his stomach, going through the body. Damn that view, it was enough to recur as a nightmare.

I looked back at the vehicle - completely damaged, and had joined other debris in search of other brave people like us to be marauded. I positioned myself, fixed ISS as the destination and left it in the auto-drive mode. Well, I especially loved this feature, I never had enough courage to drive that piece in manual mode. Too dangerous for me. 

The vehicle started moving towards the set target. I looked at Mother Earth. The most beautiful planet existing, at least I can say so because I had visited other deserted planets. They are nearly uninhabitable. But currently, some locations are there in these planets, especially Mars, where secret experiments are being undertaken. Some franchises, carry experiments on humans and other creatures, trying to develop new mutants. They failed to do so back on Earth, so they left in Mission STS 178 (This would always be remembered as the Great Space Trickery). It was a well-executed plan by Prof. Harrington and his associates. They somehow convinced certain people to provide supplies of humans, animals, and food. They have their own special procedures, abduction methods. People back in Earth feared abductions by Harrington's associates than normal abductions for money and all. It was seriously funny that people nowadays felt happy if they received a call from the gang, that their so-and-so has been kidnapped. Because Harrington's associates never call back the family of the abducted.

(A still from movie Gravity)

I looked at the Fuel level, it was thirty again. That was enough to make me freeze. The vehicle was moving, but then how far would it go? One sure conclusion, me reaching back on Earth was now even less sure. I estimated the distance from the current location to ISS. It was showing a double hundred, I had moved forty only. I prayed a lot, for this one time make me reach ISS. Another unsurety was, what if ISS would have been destroyed also? Nah, the guys there would have drifted off-course as soon as they received the message of debris chain reaction. They are experts on escaping death. 

I had no other work to do, so I started playing some old Hank Williams country music. My list started with Hey Good Lookin'. After four songs, I realized that I had a better job - to connect back to the control center. It was worth a try to ask them for a rescue mission. I tried connecting back to Earth, but the blackout was still there. No connection. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I received some noise. 

"Hey, this is Dr. Sarah, mission STS 192. Anybody copy?"

Some static noise. 

"Anybody, anywhere, copy?"

"Anyone, copy? Do you copy?" shouted I this time.

I heard back the voice of a child. 

"Boom, boom the pack of Velociraptor attacks T-Rex, it is surrounded..." she stopped suddenly due to the shout I suppose. She continued "Papa, your device is shouting!"

She continued "Papa, it is shouting", hearing no response from her dad, she responded "Sorry, but Papa is in the garden"

"Hey, hey dear - how ya doin'?" some tears floated inside the Soyuz. Well lack of gravity, they could not touch the floor.

"Fine, may I know where from are you calling?" I heard the sweetest of voice. I forgot everything. I turned off the alarm, that went because the fuel now was low. Damn the indicator, the alarm worked, God knows how!

"You heard of space?" asked I.

"Hmm, my father says, it is dark out there, and difficult to talk. How can you speak then, you must be lying?" she asked.

"No dear, you can talk out from here. Who's your papa?"

"I don't want to say, he has asked never to say, anyone, his name. He says people hate him for what he does - though it would help humanity in the long run" replied she with utmost innocence.

"Then, what about the garden?" asked I.

"Simply a lie."

"You can say who he is. I am literally going to die out here - my fuel is nearly empty and no one knows except you that I am here," said I, almost breaking down at my current situation.

"Madam, you stay there, I would find you out and bring you back to Earth - we would have dinner together. I would listen to your space stories!" I could not reply, instead, I slowly spoke 'Ok dear, I would be here'

"My father is Prof. Harrington, and I am his daughter" and she rushed to her mother, saying I want to go to space before the connection went out.

"Why so dear?" asked her mother.

"I don't want to say, but I want to go there"

"I remember the childhood promise that I would go and find me, finally found ya, but alas, I could not bring you back to Earth." said I.

"I kept the other promise that I would be here, see dear, I am here. I couldn't warn you that day, but my father's name is Prof. Harrington. He aimed for good things but did it in a wrong way" again I said.

My last proper message to Control Center thus would be true -"I, Dr. Sarah, confirm that I am the lone survivor of the Mission STS 192"

- Siba Smarak Panigrahi

(Dedicated to Swagat Susmoy Sahoo, and the great movie GRAVITY)