hull of the Clarke , made it look like an impossibly uncomfortable position.
“That’s OK, Lieutenant. No, I had no problem
sleeping, If anything I overslept! I’m just doing my rounds to make sure things
are ticking along nicely, albeit a little later than usual. You?”
She continued to look into space. “I come up
here every night, for an hour or two; when the ship goes into Nightmode, there
is no reflection in the Plexiglas, and I can see all of the stars.” Her voice
drifted off, almost to a whisper.
“I had no idea you did this.”
Su Ning arched her head up to look down at
him. “You may be the Captain, Sir, but with respect you don’t know everything.”
She had spoken in her usual, kind voice. But something about the choice of her words,
possibly her intonation, raised his suspicions. He was, after all, the
commanding officer of the first manned mission to Mars. The mission’s most
valuable asset was its crew, and their well-being was always his highest
priority. The revelation that Su Ning stared out into the depths of space every
night wasn’t concerning on its own, save for the fact that the controllers on
Earth should have alerted him in his weekly psych report. However, the way in
which she’d addressed him did seem a little out of sorts.
He pushed against the sofa and made his way
to her, anchoring himself on the rung beside the window and lying down opposite
her. He looked into space with her for several moments. She was right: with the light on, the window
was more like a mirror. In it, he saw her worried look.
“Lieutenant, is everything OK?” He pushed
away from the window to face her.
She looked away quickly.
The Captain allowed a long, uneasy silence to
play out before opening his mouth and drawing breath. Before the words could come Su Ning
continued, speaking quietly as if she did not want anyone to overhear.
“I am not sure if it is an issue, Sir,” she
whispered. “I would not worry you with anything unless I was certain.” She took
a final look out of the window, before pushing off towards the door. “I am very
tired, Sir, please excuse me.”
Montreaux lay confused for several seconds
before turning quickly. “Wait, Su Ning!”
He was alone.
Her parting words echoed in his head for
minutes, although he decided to let her be. He could easily have reached her
pod and confronted her; after all there was no door to close between them. But
his experience told him that people, and none more so than astronauts,
cosmonauts and taikonauts cooped up for months on end, sometimes needed their
own space.
He launched himself from the wall to finish
his inspection of the Clarke .
Chapter 1 4
Jane sighed and looked towards
the small window on the opposite side of the Lounge. Danny Marchenko sat beside
her, his bottom lip curled upwards in an amused smile.
“The United
States is no longer a superpower, Jane,” he said calmly, enjoying every minute
of their debate.
She unclipped
herself and launched towards the Lounge’s ceiling. Halfway there she expertly
twisted her lower body round so that she was facing him, while at the same time
holding her arms outstretched to catch the edges of two metal rungs attached to
the wall. Wedging her arms behind the
rungs, she crossed her legs and looked him in the eyes.
“Danny, whilst
I am all for the International nature
of this mission,” she said sarcastically, “NASA remains the main stakeholder in Clarke .” From where she was now
perched, she could see both entrances to the Lounge. She squirmed as she saw Captain Montreaux
enter from the direction of the living quarters.
He glanced up
at her and laughed at the look on her face. “Captain Marchenko, are you winding
Dr Richardson up again?” he said as he made his way to a small drawer recessed
into the opposing wall.
“I know I
shouldn’t, but she bites so easily,” Danny laughed.
She scowled at
them both before returning her eyes to the darkness of
“That’s OK, Lieutenant. No, I had no problem
sleeping, If anything I overslept! I’m just doing my rounds to make sure things
are ticking along nicely, albeit a little later than usual. You?”
She continued to look into space. “I come up
here every night, for an hour or two; when the ship goes into Nightmode, there
is no reflection in the Plexiglas, and I can see all of the stars.” Her voice
drifted off, almost to a whisper.
“I had no idea you did this.”
Su Ning arched her head up to look down at
him. “You may be the Captain, Sir, but with respect you don’t know everything.”
She had spoken in her usual, kind voice. But something about the choice of her words,
possibly her intonation, raised his suspicions. He was, after all, the
commanding officer of the first manned mission to Mars. The mission’s most
valuable asset was its crew, and their well-being was always his highest
priority. The revelation that Su Ning stared out into the depths of space every
night wasn’t concerning on its own, save for the fact that the controllers on
Earth should have alerted him in his weekly psych report. However, the way in
which she’d addressed him did seem a little out of sorts.
He pushed against the sofa and made his way
to her, anchoring himself on the rung beside the window and lying down opposite
her. He looked into space with her for several moments. She was right: with the light on, the window
was more like a mirror. In it, he saw her worried look.
“Lieutenant, is everything OK?” He pushed
away from the window to face her.
She looked away quickly.
The Captain allowed a long, uneasy silence to
play out before opening his mouth and drawing breath. Before the words could come Su Ning
continued, speaking quietly as if she did not want anyone to overhear.
“I am not sure if it is an issue, Sir,” she
whispered. “I would not worry you with anything unless I was certain.” She took
a final look out of the window, before pushing off towards the door. “I am very
tired, Sir, please excuse me.”
Montreaux lay confused for several seconds
before turning quickly. “Wait, Su Ning!”
He was alone.
Her parting words echoed in his head for
minutes, although he decided to let her be. He could easily have reached her
pod and confronted her; after all there was no door to close between them. But
his experience told him that people, and none more so than astronauts,
cosmonauts and taikonauts cooped up for months on end, sometimes needed their
own space.
He launched himself from the wall to finish
his inspection of the Clarke .
Chapter 1 4
Jane sighed and looked towards
the small window on the opposite side of the Lounge. Danny Marchenko sat beside
her, his bottom lip curled upwards in an amused smile.
“The United
States is no longer a superpower, Jane,” he said calmly, enjoying every minute
of their debate.
She unclipped
herself and launched towards the Lounge’s ceiling. Halfway there she expertly
twisted her lower body round so that she was facing him, while at the same time
holding her arms outstretched to catch the edges of two metal rungs attached to
the wall. Wedging her arms behind the
rungs, she crossed her legs and looked him in the eyes.
“Danny, whilst
I am all for the International nature
of this mission,” she said sarcastically, “NASA remains the main stakeholder in Clarke .” From where she was now
perched, she could see both entrances to the Lounge. She squirmed as she saw Captain Montreaux
enter from the direction of the living quarters.
He glanced up
at her and laughed at the look on her face. “Captain Marchenko, are you winding
Dr Richardson up again?” he said as he made his way to a small drawer recessed
into the opposing wall.
“I know I
shouldn’t, but she bites so easily,” Danny laughed.
She scowled at
them both before returning her eyes to the darkness of
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