'Sacmis' (formerly 'Alien Abduction')

Chapter 36: Pods

“There is no artificial gravity in the shuttles,” said Teo, “and gravity on Mars is just 38% of that on earth - so you’ll all weigh less than half your usual weight.”

“Instant weight loss with no pain. I like it,” said Gemma.

They were sitting in the galley sharing a mid-day meal. Mars landing had been scheduled for the next day. 

“So - apart from Laura - the rest of you will need some practice in the Zero Gravity chamber.”

“Why can’t you just beam us down?” asked Gemma.

“Too risky,” said Irvn, “we can’t be entirely sure of the surface or the conditions, so the shuttle will be safer. Easier to pick a good landing spot.”

“The question is - which of you is going to be first?” said Teo.

After a moment’s discussion, the women agreed they should draw lots. The Aliens produced a bag and placed four round plastic disks inside, on which they wrote the numbers one, two, three and four.

Kate drew the one. With Gemma drawing two, Amisha three and Laura four.

“Wow, Kate - you’re going to be the first woman on Mars.”

“Better even than winning Gold at the Olympics,” added Laura.

After the meal, Teo left to prepare the shuttle, while Kate, Gemma, Amisha and the other three Aliens went to the Zero Gravity chamber.

“Have fun, girls,” said Laura. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“That should leave us plenty of wiggle-room,” replied Amisha.

Laura lingered in the galley for a while, but a persistent question was nagging at her mind:

Somewhere on this ship, there is accommodation for 200 women.

So she decided to explore.

By now she was beginning to get the hang of the ship’s layout and the Aliens seemed more relaxed about them moving freely around. She left the main wheel for the central core, following the same route they’d taken previously. 

The Aliens had said the accommodation was located in the second, smaller wheel which, so far, none of the women had seen. She walked slowly and casually, taking time to get her bearings and soon recognised the entrance to the chamber where they had tried on the spacesuits. 

Just past this, she reached an intersection that looked very like the one where they entered the central core from the main wheel. There was an open hatchway through which she’d just come, another straight ahead that led to the bridge, also open, but two closed hatchways on either side. 

She looked around, saw no sign of anybody, then swiped the pad for the entrance on her left. Nothing happened. She wasn’t at all surprised, since the Aliens had said ‘sensitive’ areas would be closed to them. Just to be sure - and with little hope - she ran her hand over the swipe pad for the right hand hatchway.

It slid open so instantly and silently she almost jumped.

A second shock was the near-darkness that lay beyond the hatchway. During ‘daylight’ hours most of the ship was brightly lit, with hardly a shadow to be seen anywhere. But here, there was hardly any light at all, only a dull red glow from above just strong enough to illuminate the walkway that stretched ahead of her.

As her eyes became accustomed to the reduced light, she saw that, in comparison to the rest of the ship, this area seemed much more basic. There was still the same industrial steel beneath her feet, but in place of the usual smooth-surfaced walls and ceiling, the corridor ahead was lined with a type of wire-mesh that gleamed dully in the red light. Through this could be seen curved metal beams that formed the wheel’s construction and a mass of cables and trunking.