A Breath of Mars [Open Novella Contest]

01 | Adieu

Oblivion. Gloom. Seclusion. Equanimity–

Daria, informally known as Ria, Diles stirred restlessly as unconsciousness tugged at her mind, lulling her back into sleep.

"Captain Diles, report to the commanding office immediately."

Daria jolted to alertness at the robotic voice in her head. She rose from the bed, bringing her legs under herself as she woke, and yawned unattractively.

"Captain Diles, report to the commanding office immediately," a resounding voice repeated. Daria quickly silenced her comm to halt the reoccurring message. Now that Daria was a full flight Captain, she was entitled to a comm – a small chip implanted in the inner ear – where she received all her orders. She rubbed her ear irrelatively, not used to the new technology.

Daria slipped her feet onto the cold metal floor and righted her nightgown. Apparently, the Commander wanted to see her, and being late wasn't an option. She stretched her neck back to look at herself in the mirrored ceiling. Light, almost invisible, lashes surrounded chartreuse-green eyes. White blonde hair, as straight as a bone, flowed to the tip of her shoulders to frame her pointed jawline. She looked rugged. Exhausted. Plain.

Just as Daria pushed herself off of the rigid mattress, arms encircled her waist and tumbled her onto the bed. Daria let out a small squeal in astonishment.

"Where are you going?" Neiko murmured, his voice muffled by the pillow. Daria rolled over to lean down by his face and press her lips to his. He somehow found the energy to slip a hand behind her head and greedily take more kisses. Electricity swirled through her bloodstream.

The moment ended when Daria reluctantly pulled away. "Neiko." She put a hand to his chest to stop his next kiss. "The Commander wants to see me. I have to go," she said insistently. When the commander said immediately, he meant sooner than immediately.

Daria skimmed off the bed and trotted across the minute room to her cupboard. Neiko and her only had four falls to call their home on the Hub – a permanently manned space station – but it was still home. Against one wall sat their double bed, embedded in the ground to make the room feel larger. One wall was not a wall at all but a cupboard, where she was now undressing and redressing in her deep-green Captain's jumpsuit. No paintings rested on the walls. No windows gave a glimpse to empty space. Windows were hazardous, weak points that created stress concentrations. Only the high-ranking officials on the Hub were allocated windows. She was not one of them.

Behind her, Neiko rose to his elbows and stared at his fiancé as she dressed. "Ria, it's our wedding day," he said in disbelief, knowing full well what the Commander would want with her; a mission.

In haste, Daria tugged a comb through her hair. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, but you know how important this job is to me, it's my whole life." She swivelled around and stopped brushing her hair, setting the comb down in the cupboard and closing it softly. "I'll be back within a week. We'll have the wedding as soon it's finished, I promise."

Neiko being the space stations sole physical therapist demanded a schedule almost more compact than hers as a captain. Neiko, more than anyone, should understand how much a mission from the Commander himself meant.

Neiko gave a long exhale. "I love you."

Daria gazed at his dark, brooding irises for what felt like forever, admiring her fiancé. His hair was shaven close to his scalp in a military grade style, his form lean yet toned from excessive exercise. Neiko was the key to her lock, the instrument to her music. She couldn't quite fathom she was soon to be married to him.

Daria plucked a kiss on her fiancé's rich lips. "I love you too." Daria grabbed her radio from the pocket in the floor beside the bed and made her way to the door.

"Be safe," Neiko whispered after her. Daria was already out the door when the words left his lips.

The dim hallway, lit by small yellow LED's in the ceiling, was unusually noiseless despite the hour. Her radio read 3;07 am. The Commander obviously never slept.

Daria increased her pace as soon as she had fled the residential sector, her distress intensifying with each step. If she was late, she could possibly loose the mission, or even her rank as Captain. That was how serious the Commander was.

Daria reached the directorial sector where the Commanders private chambers and office were located. Two protectors stood to attention as she turned the final corner. She'd just walked halfway across the Hub – which was large enough to accommodate 23,000 individuals and 14,000 modules – in less than 10 minutes.

"Captain Diles to see the Commander," she informed the two protectors.

The one on the left, square-faced and impassive, ignored her. The one on the right leered straight at the opposite wall. "You may enter," the wall-starer grunted. Daria's forehead creased in thought about their behaviour. What was up their asses?

Daria slid the two elongated, leaden doors and entered the Commanders office. It was no small office, not like the ones managers and government officials built back on Blue Earth. The Commanders office was monumental. He had floor to ceiling windows stretching across the entire back wall, slightly excessive if you asked her, and one big desk that was meant to fill the entire room. The room itself seem to tell a story all on its own of the evolution of space. Carvings were made into the architecture on the walls, the ceiling, the floor. There wasn't a space in the room left uncharacterised.

The desk, which flowed up from the floor seamlessly, had a figure perched behind it, shadowed from the singular light he had on behind his head. The Commander. This was the third time speaking to the Commander privately, but Daria was still unnerved by him. He was a man of 6 foot 4 inches with a burly frame that contrasted every characteristic Daria had. Even at 65, the Commander was still leading strong.

"Ah," the commander said, more a breath than a word. "Captain Diles." He gestured to the seat by his desk. Daria tried not to cringe as her steel boots clinked on his pristine floor.

"Commander–" Daria started but was halted by a raised hand.

"We don't have much time, child. I've assigned you and your crew a very important mission. Mars is exhibiting some . . . unusual phenomena again. We know the pressure of Mars has increased to the point of sustaining life. Your mission is to orbit and observe Mars, then retreat back here to the Hub for analysis. A simple but crucial mission."

The commander scribbled something on the paper in front of him before he continued. Daria's heart fluttered with nerves. She hoped he wasn't recording her demeanour. "You will take your crew of 10 with two additional ambassadors who are knowledge-specific to Mars, to make up a crew of twelve, including yourself. You are not, due to any circumstance, to dock on Mars. Am I understood?"

Daria blinked rapidly. "Yes, sir." She didn't really understand, but that was only because it was excessively early in the morning. She wound comprehend the orders in due time.

The Commander looked at her solemnly as he voiced his next words. "No one has landed on Mars, as of yet. Your findings could very well change that. I am entrusting you with a very important mission, Captain Diles. Don't fuck it up."

Daria was taken aback from his use of profanity. The Commander continued. "You will leave with your crew and module immediately so that there might be a chance for you to observe these abnormal signals that we're receiving."

Daria stared at the Commander foolishly.

He raised an overgrown eyebrow at her. "Dismissed."

Daria nodded and thanked him, leaving the room before she could make more of a fool of herself. Once she was out of the range of the two protectors, Daria lent against a wall and threaded her hands through her hair.

It seemed, Daria thought, she was going to Mars.