Chapter Text
The sterile lights flicked on signifying the start of another day. For the Captain it was a slow rise, something they didn't get the luxury of often. They stretched and yawned before reaching for their arm control console. They checked the date and projected conditions for the next few hours, making sure everything was still on course for the space walk they had planned today.
"Alright, should be good to go."
The Captain made quick work of getting ready, sipping their coffee along the way. A bold '#1 Captain’ stared back at them. They made their way to the largest meeting room, already running a few minutes behind. They cursed themself for being late on the one day they didn't have to wake up bright and early.
When they reached the room they could already hear mumbling inside. "Damn"
The Captain had hoped they would be able to slide by undetected and save some embarrassment.
"Good morning everyone" The Captain opened the door and entered, quickly setting down a bundle of papers and their coffee.
"About time, sleepyhead" called out Celcionna Kelvina, badge C4560. A sharp tongued cryogenic expert. She could be harsh and strict, but everything she did was for the love of her work and the colonists. She strived for perfection and excellence in everything she did.
Next to her sat Gunther B Gunnerson, badge G9572, the ADS specialist. If it could be blown up, he could blow it up. If it couldn’t be blown up...well he could do it anyway. He had a tough guy exterior with an attitude to boot. He sat with a cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth, his feet up on the meeting table. "Cap'n, good to see ya this mornin."
Up next was Burt, just Burt. Badge B1796. Burt was cryptic and stoic, but he knew how to give advice. He always said just the thing you needed to hear. Burt nodded briefly as he stood off to the side of the room, almost ostracizing himself from the group.
Lastly, beside the head seat of the table was Mark, badge M2702. He was the Captain's right hand man. The head engineer and the man who built the ship they were standing on. The Captain knew Mark like the back of their handsome and or beautiful hand. They supported each other through academy and several previous missions, so when Mark invited them to board the Invincible III as the captain, well how could they refuse?
"Captain, good morning. Are we still a go on today's walk?" Mark slid a file over to the Captain before looking up trying to gauge how the Captain was feeling.
"We are, however there will be some small changes. Mark, you and I will be swapping out for this walk. I will be the one going out in the pod." The Captain turned to the board and began hanging some pages, mostly analytical statistics of the probability of success and failure for their walk.
"What? Captain, no. You can't come out there with us, what if something happens??" Celci retorted, upset with this turn of events.
"She's right, we need ya on the ship Cap." Gunther stood up, trying to emphasize his point.
"Yup, no good plan." Burt said rather curtly. He never was much of a talker, minus the odd limericks here and there.
"Captain, please. You are the most important on this ship. We need you here to guide the colonists, and to guide us - from the inside." Mark spoke up a little as he said 'inside' trying to make himself sound assertive and serious.
The Captain waited a moment, letting the silence fill the room. "I know you are all concerned with the choice I have made. However, Mark, how much welding experience do you have in the new pods?"
Mark looked at them, puzzled. "Not much, I left the training course to work on the Invincible III."
"I finished the course. I am trained, licensed, and have 1,000 hours under my belt for this machinery. I could drive it in my sleep. Everyone else here was trained by me - however, Mark, you were unable to participate due to time constraints on the mission. I have barely put you through the basic flight training on the computer. I am not confident that you will be completely safe. What kind of captain am I to put you in a compromising position? To put any of you in that place?" The Captain looked softly at all of them, simultaneously understanding their point of view and worrying for their safety.
They all took a moment to consider what the Captain said, Mark looked especially pained. But, ultimately, the Captain had the final say. Their mind was made up, and everyone could see that. They all silently resigned to what the Captain proposed.
The briefing continued with little fuss. They all knew the plan and knew it well. Celci, Gunter, Burt, and now the Captain would be departing the ship on a sort of 'space walk' where they would fix the hull of the ship. There were several places of concern where the hull had weakened over the course of launch and the first few months of space travel. They would weld pieces of metal over the issue areas, covering any weak spots for their upcoming travel.
The ship was set to pass through a nearby planet's gravitational field in order to slingshot them, providing a slightly higher speed and conserving their remaining fuel. It was a plan Mark himself had come up with, which was met with support, aside from some skepticism on Celci’s end.
The only issue with Mark's plan was the planet's asteroid belt, they would be flying partially through it. Which is why the ship needed to be in pristine condition. They all understood the risks and decided this is what was the best course of action for everyone.
They all shared a look, unspoken words of support and encouragement were held behind their serious demeanors.
"Alright, everyone get suited up. Mark, head to the main deck and keep an eye out for us." The Captain commanded, and everyone followed - confident in their leader's abilities and knowledge.
Everyone went to their positions, getting into their suits and checking each other over.
The single passenger pods were built for minor repairs and for egress should the ship fail. It was a small oblong shape that rounded out at the top. There was room enough for one chair, a few supplies, and a suit. If you were caught out in the open with no hope of returning to the ship then you had two choices. Cut your losses, turn out the lights and oxygen, and let space lull you into an endless slumber. Or, use the few rations allocated to the pod and work like hell to make a plan to be saved.
The Captain stretched their hands out, making sure everything on their suit was snug and seated together at the joining points. They turned on their oxygen, testing it and gave a thumbs up to the other crew member, Mack, who was helping them get situated and keeping them safe during the onboarding portion.
“Alright, everyone suited up and checked over?” The Captain glanced over at their crew, gauging everyone’s status.
“A’course Cap, suited and ready for duty” came the usual quip from Gunther, always looking for the action.
“Burt and I are good too, Captain!” Celci, always the energy behind the mission. She knew how to lighten a mood.
The Captain nodded before proceeding. “Thanks for your help Mack, be sure to seal everyone up before returning to your station.
“Of course, Captain. Anything you need.” Mack replied, he seemed on edge but the captain couldn’t ascertain why. They shrugged it off and boarded their pod.
Everyone was situated and locked in shortly, after getting a final check Mack departed to his station.
The Captain gave the go ahead and everyone detached from the ship one by one. Once they were free floating it was a simple task to move up along the hull of the ship to the weak areas. They each began working on their assigned areas, making great time as they worked.
“Status update, Captain? This is check in number 3, anything to report?” Mark’s voice rang through the earpiece the Captain was wearing. They pressed a small button on the side of their helmet and responded “All good here, nothing to report. Mission status nominal, scheduled to finish ahead of time.”
Mark noted down the times and progress of each member, including checking in with them periodically. He had done three check in’s with each crew member so far. All nominal results, everything was going smoothly. Mark paused for a moment and turned towards the bay door. He jumped a bit as one of the alarms on the console wailed. He quickly clicked into the portion of the ship showing in red. There was an issue in the reactor, a small leak from the readouts he was getting.
“Mark?” The Captain’s voice cut through any thoughts he had. They had gotten the alert on their arm console.
Mark steadied himself, focusing on nothing but keeping the ship and the crew safe. “Captain, there appears to be a leak in the reactor. I need to go and patch it, it is quickly heating beyond safe levels. I need to step away.” He was conflicted with leaving the crew unwatched and taking care of the ship. But, if he didn’t fix the ship, then there wouldn’t be one for the crew to return to.
“Yes, take care of the leak. I will handle things out here.” The Captain moved their pod back slightly from the ship, pivoting from welding to instead watching the crew. They addressed them next. “Everyone, Mark has to step away. There is a leak in the reactor. Burt, I want you to keep your line open to Mark and close off anyone else if he reaches out for instructions. Otherwise we will continue the mission as normal.”
Everyone seemed to understand the task at hand, now being more cautious about their movements and trying to wrap things up swiftly.
Mark made it to the reactor in time to patch the leak and prevent the overheating. He sighed a bit and wiped the sweat from his brow. It was odd, the more he inspected it the more it looked like an intentional breach. One that came from the outside of the pipe, not the inside. He turned his attention to a white scrap of fabric on the floor. Someone’s crew member patch. Most of it was burned away, save for a single ‘C’. Mark pondered it for a moment before slipping it back into his pocket and leaving to return to the mission.
The Captain kept a close eye on the crew members, occasionally peeking out at the horizon for any signs of danger. They had at least another hour before the asteroids would come anywhere near them.
The Captain let the thought pass by and turned back to face the crew. As their eyes connected with Gunther’s pod something slammed into the side of it, sending it first into the side of the ship and then careening off into the wide open space. The Captain jolted upright in their seat, catching the smallest glimpse of what had hit Gunter, an asteroid.
The Captain pressed the button on their helmet to open the line between their earpieces “Gunther?! Respond! Are you alright?” they heard nothing but silence as Gunther’s pod drifted further and further. As it moved out of the ship’s shadow and into the light the Captain could see the entire side was ripped clean off. No one could have survived crushing weight like that.
The Captain stared for a moment, frozen. Gunther was gone, their ADS leader, their friend. The Captain snapped out of it hearing Celci’s voice. “Captain? What happened??” She sounded worried, nearing panic. Clearly the other crewmates hadn’t seen what happened as they were facing the ship.
The Captain looked out towards the horizon, finally seeing them. Dozens of asteroids. It had been impossible to see them before due to the angle of the light from the nearest sun. The Captain kicked themself for not thinking of that. It was a mistake that would cost them dearly.
“Everyone return to the ship, now” The Captain turned their pod slightly to keep an eye on the path the crew would take and the oncoming asteroids.
Mark returned to the sound of Celci’s panicked voice “Captain, the pod won’t move, somethings wrong!”
Burt chimed in “No controls, Captain.’”
The Captain felt a chill run up their spine. Something was wrong, very wrong. Suddenly the crewmembers' pods weren’t responding to commands? They went to work on their arm console trying to remotely control the other pods. They opened a line of communication to only Mark. “Mark, are you there?”
Mark responded, sounding just as urgent and worried “Captain, I'm here. Why is this happening?”
The Captain didn’t answer Mark’s question. The first thing they needed to do was get the pods under control. After that they could worry about the how and why. “Mark, listen carefully. I need you to try and remote access Burt’s pod. Try and take over the controls in any way possible. We need to get everyone back inside the ship. We hit the belt too early.”
Mark’s panic was stifled slightly by the even commanding tone the Captain displayed. He felt like they had a plan, one that would work. He would trust the Captain and do whatever they suggested.
The Captain managed to get through the system to Celci’s pod, taking control. It seemed like someone had installed a type of firewall, meant to deny access to the pilot’s in-ship controls.
“Ok, Celci. I’ve got you. I’m going to pilot your pod back to the docking bay and get you inside, then Burt, then me. Ok?”
Celci sighed with relief, sitting back in her seat and letting the Captain work. Her pod turned slightly, letting in the natural sun before it was slammed into by an asteroid.
The Captain screamed for a moment as asteroids whizzed past them. Similarly to Gunther’s pod, Celci’s was damaged beyond anything that could be deemed survivable.
Mark took in the scene, like a train wreck - he couldn’t look away. He shook his head after a moment and kept working towards gaining control of Burt’s pod. He was close, but he wasn’t fast enough. Burt was hit by a smaller asteroid and slammed into the side of the ship they had been working on. His pod drifted off into the vastness.
The Captain could see the glass shattered from Burt’s window and cringed, forcing themself to look away before seeing anything else.
Mark tried to call out to Burt, in case he was alive in there. “Burt! Burt respond! Please answer me! Burt!!” He gave up when Burt drifted out of range of the radio. Mark then turned his attention to the Captain. “Captain, return to the ship. It’s getting worse out there. Come back, now.”
The Captain shook their head, trying to gain composure. Everything spun and it felt like they were going to hurl. They took a deep breath and tried to turn the pod upwards, towards the docking bay. As they pivoted upwards, they felt a heavy thud and everything went black.