Life After VE-2

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say, and even if they could there was nobody here to listen.. Strangly enough, those were my first thoughts as i stood in the open shuttle bay doors staring out into the sparkling but dark vastness of space. The satelite module loomed in the distance, barely glowing in the dim reddish light of Proxima-Centauri, unlike the blinding sunlight where i was previously stationed on VE-2, orbiting venus for the past 12 years.

I double checked the tool bag and the tether and gently pushed myself away from the shuttle towards the module. Not too fast i told myself, not wanting to slam into it like a battering ram. No need dwelling on the past i had to remind myself. It is what it is, you are where you are and thats that. Lets just get this done and get back inside as quickly as possible. Being out here is bad enough without distractions. One tiny mistake could send me floating into space or god knows what else.

Drawing closer to the module, i could see the problem. A spray of what i assumed was hydrolic fluid could be seen coming from the unit, and as i got closer i discovered my original assessment was correct . Upon closer inspection, i found a tiny hole in a hydrolic line. It was losing fluid but not enough yet to shut down the automated arm used for regular maintenence but Just enough to set off the alarm that brought me out here to begin with.

While doing the small repair, i couldnt help but consider the tiny speck of space dust that must have been zipping by fast enough to cause such a hole & the chance that another one could pass by at any given time. I hurried through the task and secured the wrench back into the tool bag, gave a slight tug on the tether and floated back toward the shuttle.

Upon reaching the shuttle i pulled myself into the airlock and closed the door. No matter how many times i had done this, the relief i felt to be back inside was still overwhelming. Waiting for the airlock to pressurize, i realized today marks 43 years i've been doing this... Happy anniversary to me i guess. Yippy, hoorah & whoo-hoo.. I wasnt impressed, just tired. With 2 more years until retirement I was just ready for it to be over so i could get back to earth and relax my life away. Honestly at this point, earth wasn't much to look forward to after wars & climate disasters caused by greedy corporations had taken their toll well over a century ago.

Back in the shuttle i logged in the coordinates to the station back on Proxima-B. The station, "A.S.a.P.", or, Automated Station at Proxima-B, is a one manned station observing the undeveloped life on the planet for anything that might look intelligent or sentient. So far, the only sentient or intelligent life found out here was me and even that is questionable since i was stupid enough to take a post so far away from civilization to begin with. One thing for sure though.. it is peaceful and i really dont have to answer to anyone as long as my job gets done and i send the reports on schedule. Speaking of which, the shuttle is approaching the airlock and I better get my mind back on coupling up and getting back inside.

Settling in for dinner, (if you can call rehydrated meals in a plastic bag dinner) im trying to think of ways to occupy myself tomorrow.. There are always movies to watch or video games to play but it dont take long for that to get boring as well. It takes over 4 days for a message to reach earth and the same to recieve one back, so talking to people is pretty much a moot point. Unless there is a problem, i usually don't even bother anymore. Sure, i send a "Happy Birthday", or a "Merry Christmas" when called for but thats about it. resigning myself to sleep time i take a tranq and head off to dreamland. maybe something exciting will happen in there. Oh well...tomorrow is another day i tell myself as i drift off to sleep.