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Manifest

Europa's End

By Hayley M. MoonPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 23 min read
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Manifest
Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. That's because they weren't on Europa, they hadn't seen the horrors we had.

2049

It was a position I didn't want to be in again. It was my first mission since the Mars colonization attempt. That was six years ago; for those six years I lived in shame, in regret hiding using aliases and staying away from the hounds disguised as press.

Something about this didn't feel right, and when George Dixon, the director of mission control at Brandon Global reached out it felt like a set up. But I needed the money. It's something about being a 62 year old widowed man in your mother's house that will make you do things you said you wouldn't.

Now, here I was the head honcho the one in charge so to speak. Barking orders to the crew of seven wasn't my style but I was irritated. A 210 billion dollar mission and the coffee sucked, the food was tasteless and the comms equipment had proven to be just as shitty.

I held my breath as Christine approached I hoped it wasn't going to be a repeat of yesterday. Just like the last task assignment meeting she had lingered making eye contact with me as she rolled onto the balls of her feet.

But I have to give it to her; she wasn't afraid to ask for what she wanted and that I did like. She had barely pulled me aside before she let it be known that she didn't like working with Sanchez.

Emelia Sanchez was a Latina from Zone 2 and a hard ass. She always by the book one of the reasons I chose her for the mission.

Christine was an add on aside from her ivy league biochemistry degree, I am sure curtesy of Daddy donating to the campus' expansion project and the fact her last name was on the letter head. she wasn't much help when it came to daily routine tasks nor was she needed.

"Sir, you got a minute?"

I bite my tongue; she was also the sensitive type so I had to rein in my sarcastic humor.

I smiled slightly before nodding.

"Yes of course."

"There's a problem."

I fought against rolling my eyes, usually the problems she brought forth weren't actual problems just inconveniences.

"I know comms went down again, Sanchez briefed me at 0600."

"No," she stated loudly causing Steve to adjust his glasses. After a brief silence he returned to his breakfast.

She smiled awkwardly, I could tell she was nervous; I was beginning to worry.

"Not comms," she stepped closer, "heat signatures." She breathed deep, "we detected heat signatures at 0100 hours in Region 3."

I was angry. Region 3 was on the far side which only meant one thing but I wanted her to say it.

"How?"

"We went out after everyone had bunked down for the night."

She stared at the floor her shoulders slumped forward. I wanted to grab her by the collar; I wanted to let loose.

In my younger years, when I didn't have my children or a pension to consider old me would have sent her and this other person home regardless that her father was the sole benefactor of the mission.

I sighed, "we?"

She looked up at me eyes watery, "it was me and Nic."

I ground my teeth keeping my voice even and my shoulders back.

"Do you know how reckless, how dangerous an unsupervisored exploration expedition could have been?"

Christine took a deep breath and I could tell she was preparing to offer up an explanation; her only problem I wasn't interested in hearing them.

"Captain Burch, I know but you have to think about science here."

I cut her off.

I had been on too many missions with these scientists; it was always the same with them. They had no regard for safety it was starting to feel like Hermes all over again.

I got an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"I have to think about the crew not science."

"Sir, we have to think about both. We know the purpose of this mission."

The others had stopped eating some of them looked solemn others only stared at the metal tray in front of them.

We all knew why we needed to expand beyond the bounds of our planet. We had pushed our natural resources to their limits and humanity was running out of time.

We weren't the only ones out in the void; the battle of the billionaires and Earth's only trillionaire had intensified as the population climbed and mines of rare Earth metals that fueled our sky cities began to dry up.

The aerospace one percenters had gone left desperately wanting to establish bases on the Moon and Mars. Venus would strictly serve as a scientific outpost. It being ground zero what happens when your planet heats up uncontrollibly.

The eccentric William Ashley Brandon believed we should go further out. He had funneled 350 billion dollars of his personal wealth into his vision of ice colonies and harvesting hydrogen from Jupiter's atmosphere; he was deemed a madman.

Currently, there was a crew on the Moon, fifteen or so in the upper atmosphere of Venus and another of about thirty on Mars a second attempt at colonization of the red planet.

Then there was us, the Trillionaire's Outcast, that's what CNN named us and the profile they ran on me didn't exactly do me any favors. They compared me to Captain William Stewart of the Mary Russell infamy.

It didn't take much but a few stray thoughts to bring me down.

I focus my attention back onto Christine.

"We have to survive the mission first," I whispered absentmindedly.

Steve approached the hard biscuit in his left-hand.

"Excuse me, but you said heat signatures, right? From the core, correct?"

Christine turned looking at him.

"Not the core, this moved." She looked afraid and glancing over at Nic he was shaking slightly. He's an ex marine that has tasted conflict; he was a hero. A real life Captain America until he wasn't.

If the tall 6' 5" soldier was spooked then I was terrified.

"What do you mean it moved?" Sanchez stood coming closer.

"Maybe it was a plume warm water pushed from the bottom."

"I'm with Sanchez, we surveyed the whole moon-nothing. Even the drill samples turned up empty. We've done the whole search for life thing and we wasted two years, instead we should have been scouting locations for a base." Zoe mumbled the last part under her breath as she nibbled on a piece of bacon.

"Look Zoe, I know what I saw." Christine approached the table. The blonde was fiery and I could tell she was angry at not being taken at her word.

Zoe scoffed before taking a big sip of coffee rolling her eyes.

"Sure."

"What's your problem?"

The red head put her cup down with a thud. Zoe was on her feet now. Sanchez went over to the two ready to put herself between them if things heated further.

"You're my problem. If Daddy wasn't paying for this you wouldn't be here."

"Zoe, that's a low blow." Sanchez whispered placing her hand on the red head's shoulder.

She wouldn't let up, "it's true, everybody's thinking it."

Christine turned looking at each one of us, "is that true? You don't think I belong here?"

I could tell she was upset and although I agreed I wasn't about to let on that I did.

"Enough. Keep your personal feelings to yourself. We got a job to do. Christine, Nic tell us and if you have recorded data show us. NOW!" I shouted the command causing Claire to jump slightly.

She had been on the peripheral watching jotting down notes in the little spiral notebook she kept at her side. One of the few psychiatrists that didn't note take digitally.

Five minutes later, we were huddled around Nic's work station they went through the numbers. Then Steve checked them and Zoe verified him.

It was twenty minutes after the fourth verification before anyone spoke.

It was Zoe as she whispered, "I'm sorry; this means..."

A pregnant pause then everyone erupted into cheers and applause.

They grabbed Christine and Nic hugging them.

"We did it we found life on another world." Nic screamed at the top of his lungs.

I sat in the nearest chair my head in my hands.

"Not here. Not again. Can't be."

I didn't realize I was saying those words out loud. Claire placed her hand on my shoulder, "what was that Rich?"

I stood up, "we have to go."

I begin heading for the flight deck we needed to get out of here and fast. I started to panic. It was just like the Hermes mission where I lost everyone. I was determined not to make the same mistake.

"Captain Burch!" Jason shouted after me.

I can hear them they are hot on my heels and I move faster. I'm stopped by the airlock and midway into punching in the access code I feel myself being pulled into a headlock.

I fight pushing, kicking. Next, I feel the cold steel floor on my back as the wind leaves my body. Momentarily, I'm light headed, when Nic straddles my lower half immobilizing me I stop moving.

What follows is a sharp pin prick in my right arm then my vision starts to close in, blackness.

I wake to find Claire next to me. She looks worried and I watch her as she writes.

She has yet to notice that I am awake and I take a moment to study the folder laying on the bed. It's my file; I can't read the name but it has my photo clipped in the upper corner. Old school.

Claire glances over toward me and stops writing when her eyes meet mine. She quickly closes the folder on my legs removing it as she does so. She places everything in her bag on the floor before she focuses on me.

She slides forward reaching out and taking my hand. I try to move and find myself restrained.

"What the hell? Claire?"

Claire releases my hand and stands. She's started pacing.

"You let them restrain me?

"Yes, Rich I told them to restrain you. This is the greatest discovery in mankind and you flip out."

"Claire, release me." My voice sounds defeated and she stares at me for a moment before heading around toward the back of the bed. The woven straps go slack and I can now reach across my stomach. I undo the wrist cuffs and sit up my head is throbbing but I refuse to cradle it when I notice she's still watching me.

"We need to go," my voice came out hoarse I repress a shutter at how weak I sound.

Claire takes a deep breath and sits in the vacated chair.

"Is this about Hermes and your crew?"

I stiffen.

"I told everyone what I saw and what happened." I clear my throat as I try not to get angry but I let my shoulders fall when Claire laid her hand on my knee.

"I heard you Richard, at the hearing and I hear you now."

"Do you believe me?" I had to know.

She looks away, "I believe that you believe what you saw."

"Bullshit Claire. That's a none answer and you know it. It that what they taught you at the psych department at Yale?"

I try to stand but she stops me.

"I'm here now so tell me what happened with Hermes."

I close my eyes I don't know if I want to tread those waters; I just got the screaming to stop.

"It started like this."

"Like what Rich? Honestly, you aren't making any sense."

"Heat signatures, movement at night. Just like Mars before we came there was nothing then the comms were the first to go. The water filters stopped it's like the water became poisoned, our greenhouse vanished. Just like that, gone."

"Rich it was a storm, the storm took everything down."

I shook my head awakening a waning headache.

"No it was something there. A shadow all I saw was a shadow but it moved like fluid like it was without form. I don't know how to describe it but it's just like before. Something doesn't want us out here Claire."

"I was afraid of this." She sighed looking away.

"Afraid of what?" I'm confused and growing agitated.

She stood her back to me.

"I was afraid this would be too much for you and I expressed my concern to William and to the board. But given your record that weren't too concern with whether or a not space mission would be too much for you. If it was left up to me Richard, you would haven't have been chosen."

She turns her blue eyes boring into mine. I am at a loss for words.

Claire sighs and sits, this on the bed.

"Is this because of Emma? You lost her around this time while you were leading the Mars expedition."

"No," it came out harsher than intended.

I didn't want to talk about my wife. She died during the draught riots in Earth's Zone 11. Emma was a pediatrician and had volunteered to help in Chile.

She ignored the evacuation call for all Class 3 citizens. She wanted to stay and help the children that had been left behind to die.

She was taken and killed, took a team a week to find her body.

I stopped my thoughts there before they went further and I started to spiral.

I wrangled in my emotions temporarily subduing them. I couldn't lose my cool not a second time.

If they were so quick to sedate and restrain me I could only speculate that deep sleep would be the next step, and I couldn't afford for that to happen.

I had a gut feeling, and I knew what was coming next. I was determined not to lose this crew not to that thing.

If I wanted her to stop watching me I knew I had to somehow put her at ease.

"Maybe, I just, I don't know what came over me. I'll apologize to the crew. I don't want to let anyone down. That's all."

She looked as if she didn't fully believe me but she accepted my answer and leaned over picking up her bag and stood.

"I'll leave you to get ready. They plan to do a walk at 1700 hours."

I glance at the clock that was in thirty minutes. I needed to move fast.

When I approached they all stood. They all looked concerned and for a brief moment I was touched. The feeling dissipated when I saw Steve pull his medical bag closer.

Sanchez was the first to break the silence.

"Welcome back Captain," she came to me her hand outstretched. I took it gladly shaking and giving a small squeeze.

The others followed suit with Nic pulling me into a hug. I felt that somehow he understood trauma and I appreciated that.

"We are going to survey Region 3 again, to confirm Christine's and Nic's discovery. We're trying to get visuals."

"Understood." I stated watching as Claire's shoulders relaxed.

Everyone seemed satisfied with my response as they began gathering supplies.

We all paused as the first tremor shook the dome.

"Tectonic activity?" Jason whispered.

Zoe ran to her station, "no tectonic activity detected."

"No, this is something else." I stated, I had been here before, "get in your suits, NOW!" I yelled out as a loud bang was heard and the dome shook again.

It was absolute panic as we struggled to get into our suits. The floor of the module rose the steel rising in waves. I could hear screaming this time I wasn't sure if it was real or my imagination.

The lights start flashing red, a breach and the oxygen alarm began blaring drowning out Claire's screams.

The ceiling caves in slightly.

The damaged steel is the only thing keeping us away from the vacuum of space and for a brief moment I can't decide which is more terrifying, the temperature of negative 160 degrees Celsius or the monster that is hell bent on destroying us.

The lights flash one final time before it goes completely black. I get my helmet on and the oxygen valve open in my suit just as the metal encasing parts revealing the tar colored sky of Europa.

Her obsessed and forceful lover in the background looming large guarding her and I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life.

I see a large appendage coming for me and I duck just in time. Sanchez isn't so lucky and I watch in horror as she is picked up by one of the tentacle like arms. The creature brings another around and she is torn in half.

"Captain, MOVE!" the shouted command rings in obnoxiously in my headset and I see Jason frantically waving me over to join him and the remaining others.

I stand the dome shaking again; I feel a tugging at my arm and I am ready to swing when I notice it's Jason, I can feel the firmness of his grip through the suit and I turn away from the creature but not before catching its eye.

It's large iridescent and my heart skips a beat. It's angry, spiteful.

I am being pulled now and we reach the elevator just in time. We are on our way to the sub level deep within the ice but well above the water.

We fall into the sub lab space. Zoe runs confirming the level still has power before ripping her helmet off. Her bangs are plastered to her forehead and her bottom lip is quivering.

Jason, Steve, Christine, Claire and Nic follow suit and they all take deep breaths once the fish bowl is off.

"What was that?" Christine is sobbing now, "it got Sanchez."

I remove my helmet sliding down the wall.

Steve is looking at me know, "what was that?"

I don't register the question and continue to stare at the far wall.

"Captain! What was that?!" I look at him now; I had never heard Steve raise his voice.

"I..." I trail off. I don't know what to say. An 'I told you so' is inappropriate considering we just lost Sanchez.

Claire speaks, "Rich is that what you saw on Mars? Is that what killed the crew?" Her voice is shaking.

I nod slowly in the affirmative. I'm not sure how but in my gut I know that is the shadow. But how did it get here?

"This is how it happened. Something came out of nowhere ripping apart the module. I only got a glimpse of it that time but I saw it. It..." I trailed off not sure of how to continue.

Nic speaks next, "how did you get away from it?"

"I don't know. Luck, I guess." I shrug. He nods but his eyes say that he doesn't believe me but he understands enough not to say it aloud.

I remained silent, I was hesitant to admit I only escaped because Andrew stayed behind sacrificing himself so that I could get into the evacuation pod. Even during the hearing I didn't mention it.

I owed him my life.

"How do we get to the evacuation pod?" Zoe asked I could feel her eyes on me.

I wrangled in my nerves and stood.

Before I can respond, more shaking followed by a thud.

"Get your helmets on!" Claire shouted everyone moved fast. The level was collapsing around us. We needed to get back to the upper level before we were crushed by a half a mile of ice.

We moved toward the evacuation chute just as the floor started to crumble and fold. I manage to grab Christine just in time pushing her forward into the arms of Jason who pushes her toward the ladder.

I frantically reach for Claire grabbing the puffed sleeve of her suit. I couldn't hold her as the monster pulled her down into the icy depths.

For a second time, her voice bounced off the glass of my helmet. The ladder shakes and we barely make it to the upper level crawling out of the chute just as a large arm engulfed Nic snatching from the platform before he could stand up straight.

The five of us could only watch in horror and on our own accord our feet moved.

Another chute, more platforms that only led to more ladders. There was more shaking and screaming.

Finally, the series of halls leading to the second module base and the escape pod.

We moved as a unit but that wasn't enough as the creature came through the wall pulling Jason through the large, jagged hole. His was too large to fit the narrow opening cleanly and was decapitated by a ruptured return pipe.

"FASTER!" I screamed crashing my weight into Steve as he slowed his hand over his chest.

"I can't," he breath out hard, "I...my chest, my heart."

I am pulling him now and he pushes me away.

"Go!"

His eyes are blood shot red and I see he's struggling. I nod at him and turn running at full speed to catch up with the others.

Steve turns in time to witness the bioluminescent arm come down on top of him. Only the bloody steel floor and a mangled suit indicate someone had once stood there.

We reach the decontamination chamber and Zoe punches in the numbers bypassing the sequence. Loud creaking causes us to pause Christine's eyes are wide with fear and Zoe is pale her hand shaking.

I point toward the doors and motion for them to move quietly. Zoe turns slow and takes a step. A sudden explosion of re-enforced steel and Zoe's leg is engulfed and she is pulled down; her body contorts at a weird angle and I can hear the snap of her spine through my headset.

Christine heard it too; I can tell by the way her hands fly up to the side of helmet and she squints her eyes shut.

I grab her arm pulling and pushing her forward as the hall starts to collapse the rings of Jupiter peeking through bulged and ripped steel.

I see the encased axe up ahead and run into it using my body weight to smash the glass. I grab it spinning around with it high over my head before bringing it down on the creature's arm. It disappears and I know the flesh wound has only bought of us sixty seconds at most but it's enough to push Christine into the loading bay of the pod.

She falls onto it hard and I don't care if she's bruised.

I grab the flame thrower from the weapons cabinet and a the small cart of O2 tanks.

"What are you doing?" she cries out coming over her hands on my arm. She's pulling me and I push her hard causing her to stumble.

"I have to stop this thing! It killed my crew on Mars, I won't let it win, not here. GO!"

"How's that possible?"

"I don't know, but something doesn't want us out here."

I grab her by both shoulders shaking her hard.

"Listen! When you get back to Earth at the training facility in my locker 316 combo is 60422 you'll find a leather journal it will tell you all you need to know about what happened."

"What!" more sobs and I shook her again.

"What did I just say? The locker, the combination?"

"316, 60422."

"Good, now GO!"

I gave her shoulders one final squeeze picking up the flame thrower and the handle of the cart. I left heading in the direction toward the monster.

Christine moved into the cockpit and quickly strapped herself into the chair. She flicked switches and keyed in the launch sequence. Her shoulders tense.

It wasn't until the boosters fired up that she released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

Only once off the surface did she dare to look back at the flames and rubble that had been her home for over two years.

They were gone.

Christine stood her spine straight as she placed her right hand on the Global Articles of Allegiance her left hand in the air. She repeated the words her voice strong.

After acknowledging the Global Scientific Council, she sat opening the portfolio that contained her prepared statement. She stared down at it. It was a statement drawn up by legal, reviewed by her dad and signed off by the board.

It put everything that happened on Captain Richard William Burch. Once again he was painted as a psychopath that had sabotaged the comms, and sat up timed explosions to dismantle the module and systematically killed the crew.

On the global news, he was portrayed as an infiltrator for the OEs, Original Earthers, sabotaging the mission on their behalf.

All claimed ignorance of Captain Burch's mental instability and blamed the negligence of the psychiatrist hired to screen all the candidates, Dr. Claire Ann Reynolds, for the oversight.

But her father, suffering from embarrassment for gambling on a fallen hero didn't stop there.

Biologists Dr. Zoe Kern and Dr. Emelia Sanchez had falsified data the pair more concerned with making a discovery than the safety of the crew, ex-Marine and long time PTSD sufferer Nicholas Nathan Gaines had committed suicide removing his helmet during a surface walk and Dr. Steven Edmund Barnes was an acholic and opioid abuser that had over dosed days before his friend's mental breakdown. Dr. Jason Daniel Smith had largely been forgotten and was only mentioned as an incompetent frat boy looking for a good time.

All lies.

Only days after Europa, the installation for the Moon colony disappeared. Barely a week went by, Venus went silent, her sulfuric acid veil hiding more than the ugliness beneath but the truth as well, and unlike Europa there were no survivors.

Mars went dark the morning of Christine's hearing; the world had yet to know that the promise of a new world was just the dream of arrogant old men with a God complex.

As the sole survivor and the daughter of the founder and CEO of Brandon Global, she had the privilege of a spin team. She came out the hero that managed to fight off a deranged killer, an unstable, selfish crew, and lived to tell the tale.

It was up to her to tell their story.

She closed the portfolio hiding the lies within and replaced it what the leather dog eared journal. She would tell Richard and the Hermes crew's story and she would tell theirs.

No one wanted to consider the possibility that there was something or someone that didn't want us out there.

She took a deep breath and began.

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About the Creator

Hayley M. Moon

Hello,

I am a poet, writer, and voice actress.

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