Into the comet

Abraham’s body jolted to the right as the spaceship avoided another chuck of debris from the comet. The navigation control had the target in sight but getting there was going to be a bit tricky. Luckily, he had a great pilot. His confidence in the situation never made him nervous.

“Well, that worked out.” Said captain Vasquez.

“Um, was there a point you didn’t think it would?” Replied Abraham.

“Oh yeah. Definitely.”

Abraham was nervous. As the geologist on this suicide mission, it was his job to drill as deep into the comet as possible. The lander was tested on frozen ponds on Earth, then solid stone, now they were trying to get it on a comet going about ten thousand miles an hour. The melting ice and dust were not helping, and Abraham was clenching his hands on the arm rests.

“We got this Abe, just point me in the right direction.”

Looking at the navigation controls, the landing spot was coming up fast. Abe swallowed hard and brushed the sweat from his eyes. He needed to see clearly if this was going to work.

“Okay. You got a large piece of rock coming up soon then you will need to bank right to avoid those sharp spires. The crater is just past these upcoming hills.”

Abe pointed to the screen and doubled checked his data. Vasquez took a quick look before concentrating on the scene in front of her. Blue eyes of steel fixed on the horizon, willing them to land safely. Abe stared at her a bit too long and refocused on his duties.

The spaceship pulled up around the comet fragment and dodged the tall spires covered in dust and ice. Turning down towards the carter, the path looked clear. Abe drew a long breath and tried to relax. Dropping suddenly, the ship hit the surface hard, pushing them against the straps of their chairs. Lights turned red and an alarm could be heard repeating a calm robotic voice.

“The hull has been breached. Pressure is dropping. Your immediate attention is needed.”

“Shit.”

Abe checked his screen and closed off the section of ship. It was the shower and restroom compartment. Hopefully, Vasquez could get that fixed or their trip was going to get really uncomfortable. Pressure gages started to normalize as they slowed down, skidding on the surface of the ice ball. They had landed on C/2024 45Q. People home would want to hear about the brave two person flight team, putting the US back on the world map. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. The communication screen was blank.

"Hello. This is Science Specialist Jorge Abraham with Captain Myra Vasquez. We have reached the location of the anomaly. The Pathfinder Subzero Drill has been activated and is currently burrowing to that location below the surface.”

Abe turned off the voice recorder and let the camera continue to record. Turning on his helmet communicator, he turned to Vasquez.

“How bad is the communication system.”

“Well Abe, we won’t be talking to Space X any time soon.” She replied.

“Oh. Well, that sucks.”

The helmet visors were foggier that Abe had anticipated but he was still able to see Vasquez crack a smile. The trip had been long, eight months in space, and exhausting. Two people on a spaceship left a lot to do in a short amount of time. Though, there was down time. She told him of the years of schooling it took her to get to this point. The promotions she did not get, opportunities that went to someone else. But, also how proud her dad was when she finally got her chance to prove herself. Thinking about it made Abe uneasy.

He felt guilty for not telling her the truth.

“What do you think we will find?” She asked.

“Who knows.”

She turned to him.

“What do you think the mascot will be for the high school they name after you? The fighting Abraham Anacondas?”

“Why does it have to be alliteration?”

“Oh! The Abraham Ass Kickers!”

“Yeah. Parents will love that on t-shirts. What about you? The Vazquez Vaqueros?”

“I like that. They can wear cowboy hats at homecoming. It will remind me of Texas.”

The ground gave way, startling them from their conversation.

“What’s happening?” Vazquez asked.

“It’s okay. The drill is sending back a sample.” Abraham replied.

A small drone popped out of the hole created by the drill. It held a small box, flying low toward Abe. Taking the box, he opened the lid. His breath caught in his throat. The blood pressure and heart rate monitors beeped and turned red on his suit. Vasquez walked over.

“What is it?” Vasquez said looking over his shoulder. She paused.

“That’s a weird frozen rock. If I didn’t know any better, I would think it looks like a hand.” She said.

“Yeah. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Wait. What were you expecting?”

The touch pad Abe’s suit notified him that the data was ready to be sent from the drill. If he was going to tell the truth, the time would be now.

“Something like this.”

Turning on the screen on his suit touch pad, a three dimensional object was pixelating into existence. Starting as a block is morphed into a longer oblong shape. It grew strange appendage that turned into wings. The edges became more defined. A clear object came into view.

“Were you expecting another spaceship?”

She turned to him surprised. Not by the sight of the image, but of the knowledge that Abe had kept it secret. She would never look at him the same way again.

“We have been expecting this for a long time.”