Yuri pushes the hatch forward, the heavy metal glides easily through the air. He clips his tether to the guideline
and pulls himself through.
I breathe.
One boot forward, then the next. I clip myself to the guideline. A quick tug to ensure it’s secure. Then I push through the open door.
Following the guideline. One hand in front of the other. Examining the metal exterior as I go.
There are a few scrapes to the protective paint covering, but more concerning is the buildup of corrosion. The paint and metalwork is already beginning to flake and lift from the main body of the station.
Unlike the ships of Earth, there is no moisture to cause rust. However, in space, the corrosion usually stems from the bombardment of UV rays and meteors colliding with the station’s hull, but the station’s true enemy is atomic oxygen.
My eyes flick to where the station's body joins to the solar array. The moving parts are the most susceptible to space corrosion. The last thing we need are the joints seizing up.
The golden wings closest to me are mostly intact, apart from the unhealthy angle of the leftmost arm. And the final solar panel appears to be missing.
Not bad, all things considered.
I shift to my other side, my left hand clutching the metal bar on the wall. My legs flail beneath me for a moment before I steady myself against the metal.
“Scheisse.”I hit my comms on, “The left side of the station is shredded.”
“Damage report,” Clayton demands.
“Destroyed in the meteor storm. Multiple asteroids have pocked the metal. The solar array isKaputt.We will be lucky to salvage it for parts.”
And tucked beneath the solar array, cocooned in metal work, that once made up the starboard photovoltaic array, is the Columbus module.
How is Alex still alive in there?
I hit my comms on, “I think my previous estimations are off. Way off. There is no way she has hours left with this level of damage.” Asteroids – plural – must have pierced straight through the hull, and even if they haven’t, station shrapnel surely has.
“How is the other solar array?”
“Appears functional.”
“Comms?”
“In one piece.”
The metal graveyard is bathed in an ominous red hue. Reluctantly bringing my attention away from the safety of the Station, outward to the void.
This isn’t Earth. This isn’t our Sun.
This is a dream.A nightmare.
Overshadowing the Space Station is a gas giant, its surface a swirl of rich orangesand deep purples.
A crimson aura surrounds the planet, encircling it from behind. It spins, the vibrant oranges swallowed by purple clouds as it turns.
Slowly, it reveals the source of the red aura. The eclipse passes, each moment stretching into the next. Until…
My lips part at the sight. “Wunderbar.”
Never in my life would I have thought I would get to witness this.
“What do you see, Matty?” Clayton asks.
