Milk Run

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Here on Psi Delta 3 I can hear them constantly. I hear them all day. I hear them all night. I’d probably hear them in my sleep if I slept.

This was supposed to be a milk run; just drop off a cargo pod and leave. I’d already made this run at least a dozen times. I never had any problems, I never heard a sound. Psi Delta 3 is an empty planet, scheduled for terraforming next year. Easy run, good money.

Then four days ago - five? six? I don’t know - my engines didn’t start after I’d dropped the pod. Help is coming, but not for another week. Meanwhile, my cargo tug has lost all power. No communications. No environmental controls. No way to block out the ever present screams.

I’ve lost seven kilograms. Hallucinations have become a welcome break from the monotony. I’m not just seeing things, I’m experiencing tactile and olfactory hallucinations, at least I think I am. Wait, what was I saying?

Sometimes I wonder if the screams are real, but I know they are. They showed up on the meters when I had power, 93 decibels. They’re real, but they can’t be. There’s nobody, nothing out there to scream.

Some of the cargo pods have been opened in the last couple days. Did I open them? I think I opened one because I was looking for . . . something. Why did I do that?

I have exhausted my supply of water. There are sources of potable water on the planet, but they’re all at least 30 kilometers from the drop zone. That’s a long hike in extreme heat. And it would mean going toward the source of the screams. There must be another way. I’ve scrounged what I need to build a sun still, but there’s very little moisture in the soil. I’m hoping I can use it to extract water from my urine. All of the cargo is terraforming supplies, so no food, no water. I’m living on Meal Replacement Bars from my emergency kit. Three a day is the recommended, the recommended - I can’t think of the word, what you’re supposed to eat. If I only eat one a day they should last until another ship gets here.

I’ve tried reading, but it’s too dark on my tug and too bright outside. There’s like an hour in the morning and another in the evening that the light is good for reading - if my head isn’t throbbing too much from dehydration and lack of sleep.

If I could restore power in my tug, even minimum power, I’d be fine. I’d have plenty of water, even enough to take a much needed shower. I’d be able to sleep in an isolation chamber without hearing the incessant screams. I could communicate with freight dispatch. I’ve tried troubleshooting the power system, no joy. Everything looks right, but there’s no power. The batteries are dead. The solar cells are not generating any juice. It’s just like the screams are stealing all the power. Yes, I know that doesn’t make any sense. Give me a break, I’m barely able to think coherently right now.

So tomorrow I’m going to try to go thru all of the cargo pods. There are at least 30 in this drop zone. I know I won’t find food or water, but maybe, maybe, I can find something to help fix my tug. Or something that can process water, or just something to block out those nonstop screams that come from nowhere.