Signing Off

end communications (and old short story from highschool we had to do for a writing class).

Red lights were blaring overhead, illuminating the dark floor of NASA’s external communications. The only person left in the facility was the chief of the unit, who was frantically running from computer to computer, typing in code after code, trying to get the emergency transmission shown on the main screen. Finally, the communication’s chief breathed a sigh of relief as the glitched camera view of Expedition 55 finally appeared, “...copy...control…”, the radio fizzled as she messed with the audio, “Copy, Ground Control. The Expedition 55 crew is asking for a line of communication for emergency assistance.”

The girl paused, carding a hand through her dusty brown pixie cut, allowing the line to go through, “Captain Freeman, this is Kenneth Drage reporting as the only help. How can I be of assistance, sir?”

“Kenneth,” the Captain’s face lit up, it’s like he didn’t expect to see the short girl, “are you the only one here?”

“Yes, sir.” she grimaced, pushing her geeky glasses up, as she disengaged the emergency protocols with a few swift keystrokes, “Everyone else lost hope when we didn’t hear back in the specified amount of time.”

“Sorry about that, the crew and I became so enamored with the data we were receiving, that we lost track of time.” he crossed his arms, unease dancing in his eyes, ”It seems we are not the only ones in the universe, there are-”

Kenneth froze, a grin stretched across her face as she screamed in elation, stopping the Captain in his tracks, “You found life-forms!” Her ice blue eyes were aflame with passion as she fired off questions faster than he could process, ”Are they sentient? Are they intelligent, or are they primitive? Did you find them first, or did they find you? Are they hostile? Wha-”

“Chief Kenneth,” Captain Freeman quietly urged, ”let me finish. We are not the only ones in the universe, we ran into a few...life-forms...that showed themselves sentient and highly intelligent. We found a hostile race of aliens.” He took a deep breath, “They’re considered hostile, because they attacked Jackson during our last space walk. He’s...no longer with us. Hart and I are okay, but the shuttle was damaged from the attacks the hostiles launched. We just got our communications back up.”

“What...but…” the girl ran her hand through her tangled brown locks, “if we were peaceful...why would they have attacked?” she muttered under her breath, “Should I call in the boss? He would know how to proceed.”

“NO!” was the harsh bark from the Captain, “The boss does not need to come in! It’ll take too long to get him to see our side.”

That gave Kenneth a pause, “Your side? What are you talking about, sir?”

Captain Freeman had an unreadable expression cross his face, “The damages to the shuttle are too severe to return home with everything intact. We made a choice between escape measures, which would have left behind the data we collected on the life-forms, or saving the data, which would require me and Hart to be left behind. Jackson brought back valuable information from his space walk,” his expression melted away to reveal unbridled adoration, “it will change how we view life, how we view the universe. So, we’ll be using the last bit of power to send the data to NASA, all you would have do is publish it as ours: Freeman, Jackson, and Hart.”

“No disrespect, sir, but don’t you want to come home?”

“We already made up our minds. All you have to do is approve it and we will proceed with the upload.” The Captain softly smiled, “We are willing to give up our lives for what we love.”

Kenneth gave a watery frown, “But...I’ll never see you guys again...You won’t live to see what you found...You won’t be able to continue your own work…” she sputtered out excuse after excuse, trying to change their minds. She would do anything for science, but could she really condemn these men to their deaths just for some facts? Her hands were in the air, making frantic gestures that displayed her desperation as the Captain’s face did not change, no matter how good her excuse was. She knew she couldn’t dissuade him.

She took a deep breath, tears welling up in her now murky green eyes, “Okay. I approve of the last mission Expedition 55 will carry out. Sign off after you upload the data, and I’ll end the transmission.”

“Thank you, Kenneth.”

In the background, she could hear Hart softly singing, Rocket Man. She knew she wouldn’t be able to convince him to come home either. They were both willing to give their lives for their love of space.

A small static screech echoed through the cold NASA centre as the two men started their last recording. The last moments of their lives before they slowly asphyxiated to death, “This is the Expedition 55’s remaining crew...Freeman...and Hart...signing off for the last time…” the radio stuttered out the Captain’s voice for the last time.

Kenneth tried to stifle a sob as she heard the radio cut off, hearing the file finish uploading. She took her glasses off, rubbing her eyes, as the monitor that had displayed Captain Freeman was now dark. The only thing left on it was the harsh green text of “COMMUNICATIONS TERMINATED.” She never thought she would have to sacrifice anyone just for some scientific data.

Slowly clambering to her feet, she dragged herself across the dark floor to the exit doors, blearily deciding to read through the file in the morning. As she pushed the double doors open, an unsettling feeling crawled across Kenneth’s skin, causing her to look back at the green text on the monitor. It was eerie as it flashed, making her uneasy. It was like she was being judged, and it was sentencing her as a criminal. She never did well with silent judgement, even if it was by inanimate objects.

Shaking her head, Kenneth locked the doors, asking herself the very question that will haunt her for the rest of her life, ‘What have I done?’