Among the Stars

Nine men and women are sent to build the foundations for a colony on Mars. Fate has other plans.

“Goodbye, mission control. Thanks for trying.” The hardest part wasn’t saying those words. It wasn’t the realization that we would never see home again. The hardest part was ending the call. It meant we only had each other while we waited. There were nine of us, crowded together to listen to our team on Earth as they tried to save us. When the call ended it was eerily quiet. Each stuck with their own thoughts and fears and regrets.

We were going to be the first people on Mars. Heroes, pioneers, legends in our own right. It was supposed to be the next great feat of humanity. They warned us of the dangers when we signed up. They told us we might not come back. The promise of fame and praise was enough to alleviate anyone’s doubts. In all, thirty countries worked together for six years before the project was deemed safe and profitable enough to launch. Rigorous training, long hours of study, and countless briefings followed. Volunteers from around the globe worked for months until only we nine remained.

We were to establish a sustainable habitat for humans on the little red planet. We never even reached to atmosphere. We used the moon to slingshot our way into deeper space and sat back for the six-month journey. Somewhere along the way though, we found a flaw in the system. The water created by fuel cells had found its way into another system, where it wreaked havoc unchecked. Nicklas, the tall Swede, was the first to notice something amiss. It quickly became apparent that nothing we could do would reverse the damage, but we tried to recover as much as we could. I was the one to contact Earth when we found the extent of the damage. However, their team had little advice. Nobody wanted to say it, but we knew then that this mission was doomed to fail.

            I found a strange sense of irony. Nobody was crying or praying or panicking. We sat there in zero-gravity, isolated from the rest of humanity. Nine doomed souls, somehow at peace with their fate. What else could we do? The woman from Japan, I think her name was Momoka, looked the worst out of all of us. She was shaking and wide-eyed. I thought about trying to comfort her, but what could I say that would pacify her? It wasn’t going to be okay. We weren’t going to make it home or to the landing site before the rest of our systems failed. I couldn’t even guarantee a quick or painless death.

            My limbs felt heavy, impossible in zero-gravity I knew, but I caught her hand and squeezed lightly. She returned it and I knew she was grateful for the gesture. Without thinking about it, I held out a hand to the person on my left. It was taken by the young Indian boy, who then held out his hand to the charismatic Russian. Soon, we had all joined hands. The silence dragged on, although it was more bearable than before. We waited, no longer so alone. The first alarms went off. Our circle remained unbroken.

Reviews

[Sir Drift & Mr. Pulse]

I think it was too good to be this short I would really like to see this expand! I love everything that has to do with space, astronomy and the stars. I too wrote a piece like this, its title Stars at Day/ Stars at Night I hope you find it very useful and by reading your bio you can relate alot to a story of mine called Reflections where it involves the philosophy of coming to Earth from the stars. let me know and keep writing

[Jyoti_Ablaze]

Hey that could not be the end!
Jenna, its a very well written piece. Your vivid imagery and eloquent words have nailed it!
I absolutely loved reading this and the end made me sad n a bit anxious.
Is there a sequel coming?

[PaperHeart]

I suppose a sequel could be written, but I'm not sure if I want to yet. Thanks for the comments though~

[Jyoti_Ablaze]

You are welcome.