The Void Above

The Mission

"There's no crying allowed in space, Commander Devens."

The gruff words of Captain Patterson echoes in my mind. I wipe the tears from my cheeks,
I'd give anything to hear him say those words again.

I lay back as much as I can in my chair, staring aimlessly out the pods port window.
The uncountable collection of stars shimmer against the black void. In the distance I could see a pinky blue swirl of a galaxy. Space was truly amazing thing to experience.

But its also extremely terrifying.

If I knew I'd end up here, Would I have still said yes to the mission?

I'm not sure anymore.

With seemingly all the time in the world...it wouldn't hurt to reflect on the past.

Its the year 2075, Howard Patterson is the Captain of USS Quester for the U.S Space Exploration Division, one of the first of its kind. A crew of four, two men and two women, were tasked to explore and report back the new findings that the vast expanse of space holds. America wasn't the only one interested in space exploration, many other countries have already sent teams of their own into the great unknown.

I've always loved space. My parents named me named after one of the moons of Jupiter. They just liked the name, I don't think they knew how much I would grow up loving space. I practically grew up laying on a blanket in the backyard with my father, pointing at every star I could identify.

Yet here I am, surrounded by more stars than I can count and all I wish for is the Earth beneath me.

The mission had been running smoothly up until a week ago.
At least, I think it was a week ago.

This space exploration mission has not been easy for our team. Two years in, Lieutenant Mark Reynolds, had an accident when repairing the solar panels outside the ship. It should have been an easy repair, the hinge on the panel needs regular maintenance.

This thing came out of nowhere.

Mark was struck by a projectile, but it wasn't a rock or space debris...it was gelatinous. I've never seen anything like it before, it looked like the movie Flubber evil twin. It stuck to his suit and carved a path through like a hot knife would to butter. I cant forget his short cry that pierced through the intercom, terrified and panicked.
We couldn't even retrieve his body, on the possible threat of contaminating the ship. We were forced to cut his tether to the ship and watch his body drift away. Our funeral for him could only be given in words and hidden tears.

The next tragedy happened in the fourth year, to Lieutenant Amy Smith. After observing the moon in question for several days, we decided to land the ship to investigate the green, fern like life forms that inhabited this moon. For two days, we took many samples of anything we could get our hands on. Rocks, leaves, sap, air, and the slimy mucus-like coating over the soil. It was exciting to think that there was a possibility of a new earth. We were packing our equipment up when we heard her call out to us. 

"Hey! I found something you guys should come see! Its some kind of  crevasse or opening." 

Those were the last words I heard her say, other than her screams. Captain Patterson and I just managed to get over there when we see the vine coil around her torso, lifting her feet from the ground. You could see white spikes start to grow quickly from the vine, not halting its growth at any material in its way. Her limp body was then pulled into the opening, disappearing from sight.

I dont really remember what happened after, only running for the ship. I think I blocked most of it from my memory. All I know is that once again we were unable to provide a proper funeral for Amy, just like Mark. It was much more difficult to hide my tears. Captain Patterson seemed to look in the other direction, understanding the weight of two crew members deaths will take its toll on ones heart.

At the time, I wondered if he felt the same pain as I did. 

A few days later, We determined that the plants on the surface were actually one unit, all connected underneath the soil. Amy simply ventured too close to the mouth, it could have been any of us.

Sometimes I wish it was.

With the last of us, Captain Patterson and I recognized the importance of keeping the other alive, not just for the morality of it but to ensure ones sanity remained intact.

Space takes no prisoners and prides itself in its ability to create and destroy.

Most of our days were spent quietly attending to the ships maintenance and documentation of the planets or systems we traveled by. We decided it was safer to not land on any more moons or planets.

But they'res more dangerous things in space than moons, planets and stars.