Silence of the Void

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Nobody can hear you laugh. Nobody can hear you cry. The oppressive silence was enough to drive a sane person to the edge. Claire Lichfield, however, felt perfectly at home.

Tethered to her ship, the Icarus VII, she floated, with nothing but her suit to separate her from death, in the void staring out at the stars all around her. These constellations had been some of her only companions for the last six months, and she had welcomed their glittering company. Being alone in space had never bothered her, most of her life she’d been alone. Born deaf her life was quite different to that of her parents and her brother. They had tried everything of course, the hearing aids, the neural implants, even a cochlear transplant, but nothing had worked. Claire was destined for a world of silence.

The repetitive flash on the HUD of her visor stirred her from her peaceful star dreaming with a reluctant sigh. Time to go to work, she thought to herself as she reeled in. Lights flashed about the inside of the Icarus VII, blinking various codes and colours to its captain as she removed her chunky outer-suit and made her way from the airlock to the deck. She ran her fingers through her not flat blonde hair, shaking away the helmet head. In the months she’d been afloat her undercut had begun to grow out, something she’d need to deal with when she returned to the space station.

Icarus shuttles were known for their advanced AI, adapting to the personality of its captain and programmed with a calming upper class British accent. A feature wasted on Claire.

Claire’s Icarus was unique in that it was the only Icarus model to be fluent in Morse code and British Sign Language. To most captains the dozens of internal cameras were yet more proof of the company’s complete invasion of their privacy. To Claire they were a welcome addition to her life.

Floating up to the observation deck Claire rolled her eyes at Icky, her affectionate nickname for her ship. Calm down, calm down, she flicked her fingers to the deck's main camera.

Irritated red lights flashed at her as the ship's main computer booted up the dormant screens.

You are late. Sunrise in T-minus 30 seconds.

Claire reclined against the cold touch of her chair with a cheeky smile, the monitors flashing as text scrolled across the screens. Had she been thirty minutes late it wouldn't have made much difference, Icarus would have done the same as it always did. She was a high-tech babysitter and she knew it. She was also certain that the ship knew it too, Icky just liked to be organised.

Would you have started without me?, she signed as the sunrise began to crest the dark planet below.

One day I might. Incoming data. Please hold.

Readings from the planet began to roll in, filling Icarus's screen with all manner of information. Air quality, temperatures, wind speed, gravity intensity, minerals, water quality. The list went on and on as the thousands of probes embedded all over the planet reported in. Nothing Icky couldn't handle while maintaining a civil conversation.

The two of them, Claire and Icarus, had been monitoring this planet for almost two years now, and things were looking hopeful. Their mission, as was the mission of all the Icarus ships, was to find candidates for a new home, a new Earth. The planet below them, categorised as Hermes Alpha, was looking to be a prime candidate. Oxygen was present, if a little lower than perfect. The temperature fluctuated in line with the seasons, though like Earth-that-was there were the occasional blips. Most importantly, there were oceans, vast oceans covering eighty-four percent of the planet's surface. Normally the company would have preferred a slightly lower ratio, but Hermes Alpha was also six times the size of earth, so Claire felt it a fair compromise.

Leaving Icky to sulk, Claire floated over to what could reasonably be called her kitchen, a counter top with a cupboard containing dehydrated foodstuffs and a microwave like machine designed to make that foodstuffs edible. Taking one of the small cubes from the cupboard she placed it into a mug and into the hydrator.

Icky, engage gravity, please, she signed over her shoulder.

In the reflection of the machine she could see Icky's sensor light flashing moodily, explaining it was too busy working to complete her request.

Claire held her finger against the start button of the machine. Icky was bluffing and she knew it. Ok, she signed with her free hand, I'll try not to make a mess of you then. She pressed the button and as the machine began to hum she dropped the few inches she'd been floating as the artificial gravity engaged. She smirked and signed, Thank you Icky, while she watched the mug spin.

Retrieving her breakfast once the hydrator pinged its completion, Claire walked back to the deck, the cold metal of the ship's floor feeling refreshing on her bare feet. Falling into her chair, the sunrise looking just as beautiful as always, she watched and sipped her mug, trying to enjoy the warm brown liquid that was almost but not quite entirely unlike tea.

You win this round.

Icarus's screen typed at her as readings continued to roll in. One by one graphs and charts replaced the endless stream of data, incorporating the information into something a person could read at a glance, the sort of thing the company liked. Claire often wondered how much, if at all, those in charge of Project Odyssey understood the information being sent home. They certainly had an infatuation with ancient Greek mythology, if not an understanding. Anything that looked good on a poster for the public, that's all they cared about. Claire had to agree that "Join Project Odyssey" had a nicer ring to it than "Earth is dying, help us".

The graphs, charts, and detailed briefings faded from the screens, packaging themselves up into compressed and encoded folders as the upload commenced. Claire just sat and waited. It was all she could do after all. Sit back and watch the sun rise over her possible new home. She hoped that one day soon she would be sitting on its surface, reclining in a comfortable chair, and looking up at the morning's sky while enjoying a real cup of tea.

Upload complete.

Claire smiled, her work for the day hopefully complete until sunset. Thank you Icky, good job. What do you want to do today then?

The lights around the ship flickered in an array of colours, Icarus putting on a show of thinking about it.

I could play some music if you like?

Claire rolled her eyes. At least once a week Icky made that joke, and at least once a week she rolled her eyes to it. You think you’re so funny…, she added an additional gesture that wasn’t standard sign language. Are you finally giving up our game of Eye-Spy?

The screens of the Icarus flickered for a moment before they began to scroll rapidly in alphabetical order. Claire leaned in with a raised eyebrow as she read down every answer and guess to their months-long game of Eye-Spy. She didn't know whether to be surprised or not. On the one hand of course a company ship would be keeping detailed records, but on the other had Icky really been adding their games to the reports? The thought of some analyst or executive back home having to read through months of their time-killing games brought a smile to her face.

I have rerouted systems. Please stand by.

Icarus’s lights dimmed, the ship's interior illuminated only by the sun cresting the other side of Hermes Alpha. What are you doing?, she signed in the dark. No response. Icarus’s cameras could certainly see her, the night vision of the ship’s cameras was often clearer than the standard footage. A sense of dread and anticipation began to build inside Claire. The screen in front of her blinked on, a single line of text from Icky.

Please stand by for tonight's performance. A classical symphony.

The footplates of Claire’s seat rose, pressing against the soles of her bare feet, the sudden sensation sending a shock up her spine. As her heart slowed from the show she felt the subtle vibrations of her footplates. It began to build, steadily building as the music Icarus had chosen played. You did this for me?, she signed, still not quite believing what she was feeling. The vibrations pulsed, the intensity building and picking up pace. It tickled, but that wasn’t why a frown covered Claire’s face. Is this really classical music?

Ok. It’s drum and bass. What are you going to do about it?

Claire laughed. There was nothing she was going to do nor anything she wanted to do to get in the way of Icky’s fun. They’d both had a long mission and deserved to blow off some steam. Besides, it felt nice.

With the vibrations beneath her feet Clair and Icky made good progress collating and categorising the data collected over the past months, as today was the last day before returning to the station everything needed to be prepared. Claire even had enough time left before sunset to catch up on some reading.

Icarus had kindly turned off the gravity allowing Claire to float freely about the cabin while it indulged in a little last night defrag. The words of R.L. Stevenson filled the pages before her, Claire couldn’t help but let her eyes drift towards her tattered and worn bookmark. A weathered polaroid of her last day on earth, sitting on Primrose Hill with her arms around Micheal while he kissed her chin. A sigh left her lips as her fingers traced his face. Not long now, she thought to herself, just ten short hours compared to the months of solitude.

With the sun setting over Hermes Alpha Icarus dimmed the lighting and charted a course home. By morning they would be docked with the space station Daedalus.

~+~

Bright flashing lights stirred Claire from her sleep in place of the usual warning alarm. Waking with a start she reached out for something to hold onto as she felt herself floating about the cabin. Engage-, was all she managed to sign before Icarus took the initiative and turned the gravity back on. Landing with a heavy clunk she scurried towards the console, eyes still blurry from the night sleep.

What’s happening?, she quickly signed as her eyes scanned the readouts on the monitors. Icarus cleared the main screen, blinking urgently as it typed.

Approaching Daedalus. No response from the station. Authorise manual override. Acknowledge:...

Claire was breathing fast, her mind forcing itself to life as the ship flashed and flickered around her. Through the cockpit windscreen she could see the Daedalus approaching, the space station glowing in the darkness around it. A long towering structure, designed to look like a spiralling labyrinth, beacons flashing in the empty docking stations. It turned slowly, orbiting nothing in particular, just twirling in the vastness of the void.

Acknowledge:...

Two ships clung to the outside of the station, Icari numbers four and nine docked in their bays. Ahead of schedule, Claire thought as she quickly scanned the readouts from the station. There was no response from any of Icarus’s pings, not from the station, nor Kiran or Jessica.

Acknowledge:...

Something was wrong. Claire typed furiously, fingers tapping against the on screen inputs checking what systems she could access remotely from the Daedalus. Everything seemed normal, so why was no one answering her? Claire bit her lip as Icarus drifted closer and closer to the station The lights died, the whole ship briefly plunged into darkness before the emergency lights illuminated the cabin in red.

Impact imminent. Authorise manual override. Claire, Acknowledge:...

Claire shook herself out of her quandary and swiped away the Daedalus’s readouts, quickly opening the user panel. As they sped towards the station she tapped in her credentials and Icarus burst into life. Thrusters kicked in, slowing the shuttled approach, as Icarus’s screen filled with code scrolling faster than Claire could read. Within moments the shuttle aligned itself with its docking port.

Accessing dock...Denied

Rerouting...

Systems Override...

Accessing the dock... Access Granted

Icarus came to a jostling halt, the shuttle rocking as it coupled with the station, landing flat against the towering structure. Claire grabbed her pack, still wondering what in the world Kiran and Jessica could have screwed up to lock down the Daedalus’s systems. Being aligned with the space station Claire laid down on the floor. Disengage gravity, she signed to Icarus.

A light blinked at her and with a sensation that never failed to twist her stomach Claire became weightless once again. Pushing away from the floor she tucked her pack under her arm to stop it floating off her back and took a deep breath. Open the airlock Icky, she signed with a nod. Something in her gut was telling her this was a very bad idea.

A light in the floor’s hatch blinked at her as Icarus confirmed the command.

Opening hatch. Welcome home Claire.

A blast of cool air hissed through the airlock, flicking Claire’s fringe into her eyes. Blinking away the tears Claire stared into the darkness of the airlock before her. Cautiously she drifted forward, waiting for the Daedalus’s automatic systems to activate at her presence. Nothing happened. Reaching back into Icarus she quickly tapped at the airlock console. Flickering to life with some reluctance the airlock illuminated.

Claire froze. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She drifted forward, letting her pack float beside her as she pressed her hands against the airlock windows. The airlock windows streaked with blood.