Low Earth Orbit

1: EMP

This is the twentieth time I've made this trip. It's the twentieth time I cross the ocean of space from one island to another. I look out my window and see the massive Earth stretch out in all directions below me. It seems so large at the moment, so enormous. I question how I got so far away from it that it appeared smaller than a marble held at arm's length.  I was gazing through my window, impotently contemplating the planet below me, when the lights in my small cabin dimmed, leaving only the window, which glowed bright blue, as the only light source illuminating the white cubicle walls around me. I knew what that meant, and scrambled to put on the vacuum suit i had left in my closet a few days earlier. The dark blue garment was a one-piece suit meant to protect spacefarers during launch and reentry. On its right arm it bore the Japanese flag and the name of the company i work for, Hideki Lunar Resources Corp. Looking at those  two insignias side by side, I wondered when the government would approve the mandatory extension of our stay on Earth as part of the Spacefarer's Rights Bill. These matters, however, were for another time, because even after all these trips I still felt nervous about atmosphere reentry.

I opened the door and floated my way into the central corridor, from where I pushed myself against the floor with my legs, "jumping" 5 stories all the way to the highest deck, the viewing  gallery. In front of me was a 10 meter wide window, which beheld a magnificent view of the Earth. My dozen cremates were already all gathered there, all in vacuum suits, some checking flight computers, and others discussing usual merchant navy gossip; the state of the Spacefarer's Union, lunar territorial disputes, etcetera.  The conversation between my Captain and his Executive Officer caught my attention for a few seconds.

"That's impossible. The corporations have been fighting amongst themselves for years now. It can't be that they're suddenly all coalescing. The governments on Earth do nothing but help them, after all.",  I overheard the Captain.

"It's not like that", replied the XO. "Earth has been helping the Lunar corporations with technology exchange and offering subsidies, but in the end all the wealth that remains on the Moon is barely enough to keep the mining colony going".

"Ridiculous. Don't you remember how well off those people on the colony were? All of them worked a maximum of two hours a day, and the machines would do all the rest. They live their whole lives dedicated to idealism and ideology, because there isn't enough work to go around, yet more than enough money for everyone"

"Could that be why the corporations want independence? The idealism of a perfect lunar utopia."

"Probably, but they'd be worried about other things if they had the lives we spacefarers have. I was born there but I still-""

A large forward thud interrupted the Captain's speech. "Engineering, give me a diagnostic!", he shouted.

"All the engines are down", he responded, somewhat nervously. "Apparently the electric turbopump is disabled. I don't seem to know why."

"I want two engineers down to the engine bay. Ryuzaki and Kodai, both of you go and check them."

"Yes sir!", me and Kodai responded in unison.

We both floated through the hatch leading from the flight deck to the vertical corridor. As we descended through the dimly lit ship all the way to the aft engine bay, Kodai turned to me.

"Ryuzaki, you're more experienced than me. Do you have any idea what happened?"

Kodai had been on our ship, the Chíkara, for only a few months now. I had been serving for around a year.

"It's probably because the company hasn't put her through maintenance ever since the Earth government banned all Lunar ships from getting serviced at Earth facilities", i told him, speaking my mind. "It's too expensive to repair on the Moon, since you have to ship the parts from Earth. So they probably don't even bother."