Annika

Annika

Abandoned

MikeC

No-one can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. I have just woken and it is dark. I mean dark dark as in no light. Something is wrong. I climb out of my sleeping bag. I should be able to see my computer screen’s standby light but I can’t see a thing. I fumble for the door to my sleeping compartment and slide it open. Everything is dark and its cold. It shouldn’t be cold.

I guide along the passage with my hands out making sure I don’t bump into anything. I can’t see a thing so I’m going on memory toward the centre. I can see light along the passage and I hurry to the central space, the control module. This is the first module to be brought up from the surface. Here I can at least I can see as light is reflecting off Earth through the windows of the observation deck. All of the control panels are dead. I try to boot up the computers but nothing is happening. The space station is dead it has no power. I find a torch velcroed to the bulkhead. It does work so I make my way back to the sleeping quarters. I open one of the bays and it is empty Dr. Marie is not there. I try Commander Thomas and then Dr Fred. All of the sleeping pods are empty. I make my way through all of the research labs but find none of my companions. It is as though I‘m alone.

I guide through our space cross the control room and enter the Russian side. Checking each lab and then the sleeping area to find it is deserted as well. I can feel panic starting to rise in my throat and my heartbeat is rising. Where have they all gone. Then I remembered that today is the day we are going to fly back to Earth. I scramble back along the passage to the control module from there I can slide into the observation deck see if the Soyuz modules are still attached.

I peer out of the window they have gone has gone. The hairs raise all over my body. I am so scared now as I realise I might have been left behind. I race back to the American side of the station, I can see that the lock is closed and the nose cone has gone which means the return vehicle is no longer attached. I’ve been left behind and with the power off I can’t even raise the alarm. I race back to the control module. I look outside. In my initial panic and hadn’t noticed but this time I can see that one of the solar arrays is bent. I can’t see the rest. Perhaps that’s why there is no power and why everyone has left. I just can’t figure out how come I was left behind.

I’m sure that once the two craft have landed back on Earth that I was left on the space station would be realised. The problem is that it will take at least a week to prepare a rescue mission and that assumes that there was one being prepared now. If the next mission is some months away, even rushing, it will take weeks to fast track a launch.

I know there is plenty of food stored so I won’t starve. The real problem for me will be the huge variation of temperature. The exterior of station experiences temperatures of over 120C and drops to minus 150C when the station is in Earth’s shadow. This occurs every forty five minutes and so I need to find a way to keep cool when it’s hot and stay warm when it’s cold unless I can get the power back on.

I make my way back to the lock to the outside. My thought being I’ll need to check if my space suit is ready. It is going to be difficult to put it on without help and I will need to conserve its battery energy if I need to make more than one trip outside. I find my suit is where it should be and a quick check shows it in perfect condition with a fully charged battery. I have about twenty hours of charge.

The other four suits are in storage so that’s another eighty hours. We each get issued with two space suits. One the ones left behind are for making trips outside of the station, The other suit is for the transfers to and from the space station. I realise I will be able to space walk and check the solar array and see if I can find the problem. I decide that I need to really look at the array to identify what has gone wrong and what I might need to take with me so I climb back toward the control module. I swing down into the observation area to get a better look at the problem. Suddenly I hear. “Oh Dr Matthew I’m so glad I’ve found you. I thought I was all alone.” I turn so quickly that I start to spin and have to reach out to steady myself. It is the Russian cosmonaut Dr. Annika. She is a specialist genealogist studying the effects of solar radiation.

“Oh am I glad to see you.” I reply. We’ve lost power and I am going to need your help getting into my space suit so I can check the array.” If it wasn’t for our desperate situation I’d have to say Annika would be my pick for a female companion to be stranded with. She was drop dead gorgeous, long blond hair that fans out from her head like a biblical halo. Her beautiful piercing blue eyes seemed to rest so gently when she looked at you. Her figure is perfect with fabulous long legs.

She slides down into observation area next to me to look. In the back of my mind I know she smells wonderful but we are both concerned about our situation. She notices the array. “So that’s why we have no power.” Her voice is so sensual even in this predicament. “Look see that cable is loose.” she observes. “We should have power even with the array pushed over like that. If you can reconnect the cable we should get some power.”

I can see what she is pointing out. “Yes I think you are correct. And look at that strut it is badly bent. Something must have struck it. Maybe I can straighten it and get the array back where it should be and reconnect the cable.” We go back into the control module and discuss the options and plan how to proceed. This is standard within the space station community. All problems are discussed and options considered until we have a plan of action. Annika is so calm, her wonderful eyes stare straight into mine as we talk. It is both disturbing and alluring.

We then make our way to the American section so Annika can help me into my suit. Once on, we check for its full operation. I take up the tools we had agreed I needed and I enter the air lock. The lock cycles and I’m outside. I move carefully away from the lock and attach my safety line. Moving toward the cable that had detached I pull it forward as the end brushes against a strut it sparks. I see this as a good sign it means the array is producing power. I turn my head toward the other side of the station where the second solar array was supposed to be. It is gone, there is no sign of it. Even the array I am moving toward has only half of itself and that half is turned mostly away from the sun. I check for the other end of the cable. It is wrapped around one of the struts further in. I realise I am going to have to retrieve it, and that means I need to let go of this end. I wrap some tape over each of the wires to insulate and use a cable tie to attach it to the strut. I then work my way to the tangled other end and start to unwind it. I can see that when the cable was cut and the tension released it had sprung back into the structure wrapping itself around anything that got in its way. In the end I have to unravel over forty metres of cable. I use cable ties to keep it together as I work until finally I am able to carefully lay the cable back along tying it into place as I go.

Eventually I am back at the other end of the break. It is now about five metres short and I realise that is because the array is bent out of position. The problem is getting enough leverage to pull it straight without damaging the panels. We thought about this and I had a rope and a bar. I tie the rope around the strut then glide to the main carriage and loop the top through bringing back to the strut to tie it off again. I move along the rope to a position where I can get some purchase and using the bar start to wind up the tension. At first not much happens but I keep winding and slowly the strut straightens. I keep at it as I can feel myself starting to sweat with effort. I just need to move it enough that I can rejoin the ends of the cable. I decide that I have moved it enough. The panel is not pointing directly at the sun but I hope its enough to get our life-support and communications working. I may need to come out again if the array needs further straightening.

I move back to the cut ends of the cable and making sure I’m not earthed to any part of the structure so I can join the wires. The first task is to take the tension I use cable ties about thirty centimetres from the end so I can pull the ends together. This means I can now work on joining the wires without tension. It is very slow work with my fingers enclosed in the suit gloves making me clumsy. I get the first completed and move on to the rest. As I complete the task I look across to the observation area Annika has just glided into it and holds her thumb up telling me that power is now surging into the station. We are going to survive.

Twenty minutes later I back though the airlock and into Annika arms. She kisses me tenderly in thanks. Man she really is a turn on. We make our way to the control module and begin to see what we can bring back on line. We succeed in getting the air-conditioning going and the toilets and cooking area. To save power we decide to shut down most of the modules leaving only the living and control modules. Annika tries but we just can’t get communication with ground control going.

“Matthew.” Annika voice is pure honey with her strong Russian accent. It is sending shivers of joy down my spine. “I think you are going to need to do another space walk to check the outside antenna system, perhaps whatever damaged the arrays has also damaged that system.”

I am mesmerised and it takes some effort to reply. “I think that’s a great idea Annika.” My brain come back on line. “The thing is that we should be able to survive for several weeks now maybe even months. After all it’s only the two of us eating. I’m sure that ground control has noticed us especially that the solar array has been straightened. Even now they must be planning a rescue mission so even without communication we should be OK.” She nods then smiles. My god she is so beautiful.

“Well Matthew. We are going to need to find something to do to occupy ourselves while we are alone up here.” I can see an irresistible look in her eye. There is a hungry look almost as those she wants to devour me. It is intoxicating.

“What did you have in mind?” I ask as though I didn’t know.

She reaches out and takes my hand pulling me toward the sleeping quarters. We start to undress. Man if you have to be stranded in space what better companion than a gorgeous and willing partner.

I turn to see her fully naked. Oh my god she is not a woman. I scream.

I have just woken and it is dark. I mean dark dark, as in no light. Something is wrong. I climb out of my sleeping bag. I should be able to see my computer screen’s standby light but I can’t see a thing. I fumble for the door to my sleeping compartment and slide it open. Everything is dark and its cold. It shouldn’t be cold…………