Beyond the Final Frontier
Volume One: Altair
Day 1
Hello, my name is Ian, and I'm recording this 'cause I really DON'T KNOW when I'll go back home... I'm not happy with this all, but I'm not sad too, despite the unconfortable situation I've lived these months, the beauty of the places I've visited and the sensation of live one more day to survive makes me go ahead...
Well, was I born in 2296, in a moon called Titan, orbiting the ringed jew of the Solar System; Saturn.
The Titan's sunsets and mornings are beautiful, despite the cold, I like to sit on a rock in front of my house and watch... But, from 2332 until few months ago, all I've seem was metal plates and darkness in the windows... I was atboard of the future, towards a starter colony on the Alfa Centauri system, Tauri b would be our home right now, according with my watch's calendar, we should living there a week ago...
Im a Propulsion Enginneer, formed in New Hungary's Academy, and a failed PhD in Astrophysics, but nothing that don't allows me to survive here, or in any other world... Brim was a Propulsion Enginneer too, she were my reason to live for many years, she was the only woman that maked me smile. It was a "One way ticket" make this travel to Tauri b, all the crew knew that they never could come back to Earth or Mars, Brim persuaded me to come with her, she had the hearth of an adventurer with the thristy of a new world, and me... well, I only want a place to rest during my life, this all could be real... If GALILEO did the math correctly, he commited an error while considering the water pressure inside the tanks of the auxiliary engines, we had problems with the heat override in the engines. We were all crazy trying to open the water valves to cool down the radiation reactor, but Brim had problems while trying to open her valve... I turned my head towards the chamber, noticing her absence with the other enginners, then I saw her, desesperated, hiting the valve with the wrench using all her strenght... I was completely paralized, scared with the alarms, the steam flowing violently, and the motors roaming everywhere, after a endless pair of seconds, she finally did do open the valve, wet and tired, she looked to me with a smile and blinked to me like who says "That's how to do it", a second after, the water tank at her side exploded, and I ran through that hot and hazard water, I dove several times there searching for her before all goes dark...
I woke up in a bed, I was in risk state by last 18 hours according to screen in front to me, I turn my head to my right side, wishing Brim at least laying on the other bed, probably on the same situation, but all I see is a atum sandwich, water and a coffee cup in a metal plate over the table, I turned to my left, my left arm is totally sealed with bands and it is hurting while I movementing, over the table I see a flower on a glass with water, the most beautiful flower I ever seem in my life, probably from Titan too by its familiar shape and greenish tones, tied to the glass there is a ripped flourecent turquoise ribbon, with a sticky note saying "Fight for Her"... I was wishing not to believe, but that ribbon was from Brim's uniform, then I faint again to dark thoughts, blaming myself by her death, wishing I had courage enough to came back and saved her...
I woke up again, probably much time after, because I can't feel the bandages in my arm, but this time, I'm totally adrift, I can't few my body at all, is all hurting as hell, my head seems to explode and I feel like I'm falling, a voice comes to my head, a female voice saying my name...
-Ian... Ian... Are you okay?...
That voice seems to end my travel inside my mind. I open my eyes, it seems like every light bulb on the room its bright as the Sun, my vision is so blurry that I can barely see one feet in front, there is a dark plotch in my vision, its growing, I don't know whats happening to me, I'm so scared...
-Ian, try to calm down, relax, let the air flows deeply in your lungs...
I confirm with my head, and close my eyes, "1, 2, 3, inspire... 1, 2, 3, expire..." I must being repeating this for a minute or more until I feel completely I'm okay...
I open my eyes again, but now there is no dark plotches, no blurry, my body still hurting, but I feel much better...
There is a nurse checking my pressure, she said I need to sleep or something else, I barely heard what she said, I got up, taked back my clothes, and leaved the room a little dizzy, every step seems like take a year to be done at start, I approximate from a random window in the corridor, all I see is a dark sky, with the distant Sun among the stars, but bright enough to stand out from the others, I do a little effort to see my reflex in the window...
-Here I am, in this eternal night...
I notice that my hair have some greyish lashes, like I was 15 or 20 years older, my eyes, their iris are kinda bright or light now, I had no idea of what happened to me that moment... Wait, the water on the tanks, such radioactive dosis should killed me... But I'm ALIVE. I smile for a moment, I few a tremendous hungry, anything would be nice... I walked towards the dining hall, I feel the warm air and the smell of all kind of food there, I run to the queue with a band and started my self-service, I've taken a bunch of beans with random fishes and meat, sit and start to eat... The people around me starts to look at me, probably not familiarized with a single man of my biotype eating that amount of food...
I hear another man calling me...
-Hey, go slower if don't wanna get bad...
I Know what doin'buddy, leave me alone and its all okay... - He bothered me...
-... Where you from? - (C'mon just let me eat alone...)
-I talking to you!
Who gives a F*** where we from? WE ARE ALONE, ABANDONED IN THIS ENDLESS DARK SEA!!!... WHO ARE YOU TO COME HERE AND ASK WHERE I'M FROM? A KIND OF GOVERNMENT MEN? FROM WHAT? HERE, A THOUSAND BILLION MILES FROM ANYTHING, WE ARE ALL ALONE, FREE FROM ALL CONFLICT OR CRAZYNESS THAT HUMANKIND BUILD ON THAT SICK PALE BLUE DOT OUT THERE... AND YOU, YOU THINK THAT CAN SIMPLY BROKE MY SPACE, AND FETTER MY FREEDOM IN THE ONLY MOMENT WERE I SUPPOSED TO BE AT LEAST HAPPY WITH FLAVOR OF THE FOOD????
He got a kinda scared, but I hear another guy got up and walk torwards to me... I drop the fish and turn my head to him... An authentic Martian marine, with their average height of 2,20 meters, and a imponent and strong appearance, but I wanna finish my dinner, and I had no time for considering my chances of win any fight...
-HEY! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WITH WHO YOU TALKING???
What part of "who gives a f****" you didn't understand conrade? - I, got up and said calm... But I barely reach his shoulder...
I could feel his feet near my head, a kick of martian would be the last thing I would wish that day... I couldn't
believe when I did to stop it before it hit my head, then I look to him, kinda amazed too, but he came with a punch that
should have around 72 pounds of power, he striked me in the face so hard that back to the table, almost falling in the
floor... I had no idea of what to do, then I looked to my band with food, I grabbed it slightly and turned with all my
weight on the band right on his head, he fell on the floor and I got over his body, closed my fist, I was willing to to
discount all my fault on it...
>STEPS<
Is the official Lith watching us, probably arrived few moments ago...
-ATTENTION!!!
We got on feet faster than a breath, there, freezed...
-You two, to my room, NOW!!!
We followed him to his room, then he took off his cap to the table... Closed his eyes for a moment and looked towards to the Martian...
-Douglas, one more fray, and you'll take 32 hours of detention, last time I warn you... Dispensed!
I even looked to his face that moment, I was thinking of how they did to take me out water...
-You... Ian, you never was the termagant type... What happened to you? To start, how did you get off the emergency???
I just woke up with the wrong feet... It seems since last year...
-No its different, your countenance... You changed a lot, isn't you anymore...
I'M O K A Y...
-Humm... Just In case, I'll be watching you, and you will be substituted...
YOU can't do that... That is my life!
-But I can't risk to put an unstable employee in a such important office... You need to relax, but you already woke, and I see you're in conditions of stay turned enough to fight Doug'...
Hum...
He got me the occupation of cleaner, for those days...