The Stars Look Very Different Today

‘Ground control to Major Tom,’ Tom hummed as he patrolled the Mars dome. He loved Bowie. It may even be the reason he became an astronaut. Most people didn’t get the reference, but his inner child grinned every time.

Red dust stretched endlessly beyond his visor. Routine duty: circle the dome and scan for damage. In five years, nothing had gone wrong — but one breach could spell certain death for the whole settlement.

He rounded a rocky outcrop and paused. Something was wrong. A faint swirl of dust drifted along the dome’s surface. That shouldn’t happen unless…

His mouth went dry. He grabbed his radio, fingers trembling.

‘Major…’ he started, but the radio slipped from his grasp. Static hissed.

His inner child wasn’t grinning anymore.

The radio crackled.

‘Ground control to Major Tom.’

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Inspired by a flash fiction photo prompt from Story Lamp Reviews on Medium.

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