OUTER SPACE  |  2055 Bjoern woke from a brief and ultimately unfulfilling sleep. He couldn’t really say if he had even been asleep. When going for his doctorate, a younger Bjoern had once stayed up for three days working on his dissertation. The half-focused sense of unreality he was now experiencing reminded him of nothing … Continue reading 24:3 Nature Always Wins

OUTER SPACE  |  2055 “Captain, I’ve been trying to reach Mission Control, but communications are still down,” Konstantinov started talking as soon as she heard Major approach. As she didn’t bother to turn around, she couldn’t see how shaken the captain looked upon returning from the sick bay. “What are you talking about?” Major snapped … Continue reading 24:2 General Shorty

OUTER SPACE  |  2055 “Dritt! My Suit! I can’t 01100010 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100001 “01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 the hell happened?” Bjoern opened his eyes to see Zhang, Major, and Pape all staring at him, especially Pape; the look on her face one of sheer terror. I couldn’t look that bad, could … Continue reading 24:1 In Good Hands

OUTER SPACE  |  2055 Pape could hear Major and Zhang having words as she tentatively approached the sick bay. She paused at the door unwilling to subject herself again to the horror she knew was laying just beyond the sterile barrier. “You should have consulted with me, Zhang,” the captain growled. “I never would have … Continue reading 23:5 Beyond the Plastic Curtain

OUTER SPACE  |  2055 “Jefferson One, this is Mission Control, do you read?” The badly distorted signal crackled over the command intercom, startling Konstantinov and Pape out of their silent mutual animosity. “We are under attack by unknown aggressors. It is critical that you proceed with departure under any circumstance. Repeat. Proceed with departure. We … Continue reading 23:4 A Blast of Static

Back on Earth, Gustavo Clement removed his headset and placed it at his console in the thronging hive of Mission Control. His was one station of dozens that were monitoring the final departure of the Jefferson One spacecraft. “Luci, I need to get some air,” he said, touching the shoulder of the tech sitting next … Continue reading 23:3 Light’s Out

OUTER SPACE |  2055 Major approached the sterile compartment of the sick bay with a peculiar trepidation, created in no small part by the looming figure of Zhang, wrapped in plastic, covered in blood, and waiting for him. “What is all this, Zhang?” Major demanded. “What has happened?” “Forgive me, captain,” Zhang opened his gore-covered … Continue reading 23:2 Mercy is Given

Soléne Pape burst into the command pod, shattering Major and Konstantinov’s concentration. “Are you aware of what that monster has done?” She shouldered her way between the two senior crew members. “Do you condone this heresy?” Konstantinov stretched back to better see around the indignant buttocks that had suddenly invaded her space. “Velik telom, da … Continue reading 23:1 When Mercy Is Shown

OUTER SPACE  |  2055 It took the unexpected grazing of the upper atmosphere in 1972 for astronomers to really pay attention to Comet Doherty-Humphrey. Astrophysicists agreed that the body had most likely come from a neighboring galaxy sixty-three light years away, having been knocked out of its orbit around a young star named Beta Pictoris … Continue reading 22:3 My God, It’s Full of Stars

OUTER SPACE  |  2055 In the eighty-three years since the Near Miss scared the hell out of those tasked with keeping an eye on the planet’s celestial neighborhood, a lot of discussions over what to do about it had started and ended in acrimonious dissent. An endless parade of plans had come and gone as … Continue reading 22:2 The Body Wants What It Wants