Debris

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Rai sometimes contemplated stealing a few minutes in the pitch black, encased in an ancient space suit, staring at the only home she had left. There in the darkness, she would test that theory with all her strength before she re-joined reality, the one where no one really cared about your shitty situation. She was just another person in a crowd, moving toward death.

Rai tried to not think about this impending doom too much, but the thoughts had been with her since she was a child. At night, when she was alone, her mind wandered back into the events that led to this consistently dower mood. Her memories of home were saturated in melancholy and pain. Her last memory was always the darkest. It haunted her life in more ways than she could afford, and it never left her.

"Stop thinking about it." Kon’s voice sliced through Rai’s train of thought, pulling her back to the ship. Rai looked over at her dinner and then at her shipmate, Kon. Here was a man of the sea, a man who had more connection to the earth than to space.

Yet his home planet was two galaxies over and he never spoke of his birthplace or how he came to be on this cargo ship. Kon looked at Rai behind thick glasses, the orbs of light inlaid in his forehead emitting a soft glow. The engine provided a consistent soundtrack to the meal, a low hum someone could feel in the air.

"You need to talk to someone about it, and not me. A professional." Rai shook her head and went back to her own dinner. The crew let her choose food provisions, even if the food was mixed with a ridiculous amount of preservatives. She had hit the jackpot with this tomato soup. The bread, on the other hand. Rai picked up the solid brown lump and submerged it into the centre of her warm bowl.

"Maybe try something else next time." Kon mused as he also eyed the bread.

Rust met rust as the mess doors were forced to open. The captain of this almost sinking vessel walked in. Captain Angus was a tall man with brown hair and tired grey eyes. He was the only one who bothered to wear the company uniform. Its grey-on-grey ensemble looked drab and worn around the elbows.

"Kon, Rai." He acknowledged them both with a head nod before moving to the small kitchen buried in the corner of the room.

"Captain." Kon responded. Rai didn’t bother. She watched as Angus made his own dinner, opting for the steamed fish and powdered mash. Rai picked her piece of bread out of the soup and tentatively bit down. The bread had softened just enough, and Rai chewed it.

Angus sat down at his own table and began shoving the food in. Rai had learned early on that Angus had no drive to savour food and would eat cardboard if it gave him the energy to do his work. Watching him eat was always a little unsettling.

"How long until we reach Marvis?" Kon asked. He already knew the answer, Rai was certain, but it allowed some small talk to occur. Angus slowed down to respond, "Two days as long as we don’t make any detours." They had made a few of those in the past few weeks.

Debris flooded the space they were currently traversing. A history of war hung around in this part of the known universe. The carcasses of dead ships were the only reminder of these dark days. Rai hoped the next two days would go smoothly. Kon finished his own meal and stood up from the table, plate in hand.

"Mclean wants to show me something in the cargo bay. Come hang out if you want." Rai nodded but already knew she wouldn’t be there.

"Kon, before you go, can you look at the ship’s radar before you clock off." Angus asked from his seat, his plate already clean of food.

"Checked it this morning. I need to replace some of the hardware, and we don’t have anything on board."

"Ok. Thanks. We’ll just have to wait until we land." Kon left the room, and Angus slumped back in his chair, fatigue in every line of his face.

"What’s the ship’s radar do?" Rai asked.

"Allows us to navigate through debris and stray rocks. Just means I’ll have to pay more attention until we land."

"So, less sleep then?" Angus smiled a small smile.

"Yes, it means less sleep."

"Well, as the only medical personal on this ship, I do have to advise against that."

"Well, when you find another person who can fly this ship, let me know and I’ll follow your advice."

That was the problem with RHJ Cargo Company. A shoestring budget meant a shoestring crew. Rai wasn’t even a doctor; she was a nurse who had to use a medical robot if bigger injuries occurred onboard.

"Well, please look after yourself." Rai rose and placed her plate in the clean-up area.

It was already stacked full of dishes. It was Mclean’s week to clean, which meant nothing would happen until next week. Rai couldn’t wait for the next altercation between Sofia and McLean about cleaning in general. Rai turned to Angus.

"There’s more food in the freezer."

"Thanks Rai, have a good night." Rai left the mess and zigzagged through the ship's many hallways before ending up back in the medical bay, her sanctuary. It was a small room with a single patient bed, a small plastic desk, and a bookcase overflowing with books Rai had brought with her when she had taken this medical job. On the left wall, a door led to a quarantine room she had yet to use. Over on the other wall was Rai’s storage area.

She had little in the budget for medication and other equipment and had begun to look for alternatives using herbs and plants. She had even gone so far as to set up her own little lab to experiment, sandwiched right in between storage boxes and expired medical supplies.

Rai went to hide in her little lab to carve out some more alone time when she nearly walked into Sofia. Sofia had exited through the door in a hurry, almost jumping out of her skin when she saw Rai. Sofia’s tall frame eclipsed Rai’s average height. Her ice white hair was tied high in a ponytail; her golden gems for eyes stared into Rai’s soul. Her look of surprise quickly melted away, and the stone mask fell back into place.

"Can I help you?"

"I came looking for you actually. I need some assistance." Rai was monetarily thrown. Sofia was asking for her help as if they were equal. The shock must have reached her face because Sofia felt compelled to speak.

"Yes, yes. I know. We haven’t always been on the best of terms, but drastic times call for drastic measures."

"You’re sick?"

"I don’t know. It could be nothing." It wasn’t nothing, Rai could tell. She slipped into nurse mode.

"What’s wrong?"

"I need you to look at something." Sofia didn’t move, and neither did Rai.

"What?" Rai asked. Sofia’s eyes left Rai and darted around, searching for anyone that happened to be wandering the halls. Rai waited, her patience wearing away.

"It’s a private matter." Sofia began.

Rai took a second to catch up to the reality of the situation. One moment she had been staring at Sofia, and then the next moment her body slammed into the wall. The ship shook violently. Rai fell to the floor and rode out the aftereffects. The tremors stopped long enough for Rai to get back on her feet.

"You, ok?" Sofia had also ended up on the floor, the wind knocked out of her. She nodded as she tried to catch her breath. They hit something. On the ceiling of the medical bay, a red light began to flash. An ominous feeling seeped into Rai’s bones. Rai left Sofia and gingerly walked out of the medical bay in search of the rest of the crew.

Her left knee was sore to the touch, and she used the walls to take most of her weight off the leg. She made it to the engine room and found Kon sprinting around with a cool and calm demeanour. He didn’t stop to say hello and looked relatively unharmed from the collision.

Mclean was not so lucky. His right shoulder was most definitely dislocated; the arm hung at his side as he tried to continue some of his duties.

"Mclean, you need to stop."

"Got to help Kon." Rai looked at Kon and then at the injured Mclean.

"I think he going to be fine on his own."

"Has anyone seen Angus?" Sofia’s shout could just be heard over the engine. She was standing in the doorway of the engine room, a long line of blood down her face. Rai had somehow missed that detail.

"He was in the mess last." Rai replied.

"Mess?" Kon stopped in his tracks, suddenly paper white. Sofia saw his face, said something Rai could not hear and then fled from the room.

"What’s wrong?" Rai asked.

"There was a hull breach near the fuel tanks and near the mess." Mclean gravely answered. Rai forced Mclean into a sitting position.

"Don’t move." She left the engine at a full run, weaving through the hallways until she came upon Sofia, curled into a ball on the floor, crying into her clothes. Rai went up to the sealed mess doors and peaked through the small window. There was a large open crack running along the far wall, exposing the inside of the ship to the uninhabitable environment outside. Rai looked up and confirmed her worst fears. Angus’s body was wedged just above the long crack, his hand technically outside the ship. His eyes were glazed over.

Rai was pulled back from the door as Kon descended on the control panel. A second solid door sealed the mess from the rest of the ship.

"Captain dead?" Mclean had ignored Rai’s instructions and was now at the end of the hallway.

"He’s dead." Rai confirmed in a monotone voice.

"He was still in the mess?" Rai simply nodded.

"Shit." Kon whispered. Sofia began to cry loudly now, her sobs shaking her body.

"Are we going to die out here?" Mclean asked. Rai didn’t know the answer and knew any input she made would only bring the mood down.

"Probably." Kon answered truthfully.