Forrester's Flight

I was flying over the town I grew up in, Logan’s Crossing. I am sure I remember who Logan was, and where he crossed to, but that didn’t matter. I was soaring in the olive sky, just under the life bubble. I looked over the town, trying to find my home, just loving how the wind buffets my skin. I dived down, speeding through the skies and plummeting towards the treeline, only to shoot upwards and levitating a thermal. I looked over the town, and then saw a woman coming towards me.

Like me, she was nude, her bright red hair flowing as she approached me. I stopped and watched as she approached, becoming more distinct. Soon, I could see her pale skin was mottled with burns, her body having pressure slices from vacuum exposure, and when she got close enough to see her face...

I awoke with a start. I got out of my bunk, head reeling. I looked around my current home. Like many spacers, my quarters were a separate lifepod. I just never thought that I would need to use it for its true purpose.

I walked to the bathroom alcove. The system allows for a 5 minute shower. I revelled this feeling, until the system automatically shut down. I went to dry off and went to the status display, trying to keep the Chair out of my sight. I checked the spin. My thrusters were trying to keep a spinning trajectory, giving me an approximate grav of 6 m/s. Not as much as the standard 9 m/s on Jackson 2, but still better in the long run for my bones.

I stretched out, and went to the copia, carrying my towels. I dumped them as well as some leftover bioscrap from last night’s meal into the processor. The matter will be harvested, and used to feed the artificial biome keeping me alive. I checked my clothing, my jumpsuit seems to be in good enough shape to keep. I contemplated going nude, but if I did it would mean abandoning one more part of daily life

I checked the menu of the copia. An all in one 3d printer, when connected to a ship it would have the resources to duplicate virtually any meal or most tools that would be useful for my job. In my current emergency mode, it was severely limited. The meals were all made from the bio engineered krill and algae in my artificial biome. The resultant protein paste was nourishing, but without a ship’s systems I had no real way to get different flavors. I created a caffeinated broth, as well as some fibrous crackers to help fill my belly.

As I waited for my meal to print, I found myself looking at the Chair. It was in the middle of the pod, attached to the floor directly. Unlike my bunk, table and most other furniture in my lifepod, it wouldn’t collapse into the walls. And unlike my clothes, blankets, or towels, it wasn’t made of fibrous plastic. I approached the Chair, feeling the interface under the leather. I stroked the belts that would cradle my body, protecting me from a variety of gravities. I could feel the button-like sensors; they would react to the nanotech in my own body, giving me a mental connection to the pod. With that connection, I would access the computer directly, and while it would pilot the ship under normal circumstances, it was a simple conversion to run the thrusters. It also had the only thing keeping me sane.

Behind me, the copia chimed, and I pulled out the food. I drank and chewed slowly, knowing this would be my only meal rationed for today. The combinations of proteins, sugars and artificial lipids all added up to 1000 calories. However, if I could keep at this rate I wouldn’t tax my biome too badly. It needed to last me several more months before I could get help.

I checked my system logs while I ate. The biomass was at a stable rate, and I still had a decent supply of water that could be processed for consumption. If I needed to, I could try to harvest some water from the biome, but the contamination could actually damage it. I checked the kitchenette, where I was growing some shipweed. Another genetic species created by my ancestors as a method to keep spacers alive, shipweed had the dietary value of cabbage with the hardiness and growth rate of kudzu. However, I had been cleaning too fastidiously before the accident. I only had a few vines, and it would be some time before I could harvest more than a mouthful. Push comes to shove, I could see if I could snag another lifepod…

I hated that thought. I was the only survivor of my 7 man crew. They were my family, some closer. But I needed to survive. I choked down my broth, knowing I needed every calorie. Somehow, the bland crackers turned bitter. I focussed on the logs, and my other systems. My thrusters were powered by microwave thrust, but I need to make sure that I have a good angle for my solar panels. The filtration systems also worked using power, and I would prefer that my urine be filtered out of my drinking water.

I kept staring at the Chair. It was inevitable that I would need to sit in the Chair again, but I need to take care of myself first. I would be able to directly access the sensors on my lifepod, allowing me to see more than just my surrounding walls. But while I was connected, I would not be able to access my senses or motor functions. Those would be replaced with the vast number of sensors of the Crusoe, giving me the feeling of flying through the cosmos.

I did some stretching, trying to delay myself. Now that I had fed myself, I knew the only other thing I could do besides sleeping was exercise. 100 sit ups, 100 pushups, and 100 pull ups. Even with the lower gravity, my mass would still provide the same weight. Still, I had lost a few kilos. As I tried to jog in the 12 meter by 3 meter space I had, I soon collapsed when the memories caught up with me.

I was resting at the time, but the alarm woke me up right away. I didn’t even get a chance to get to my door before my lifepod sealed it. I had gotten into my chair, and tried to pilot the ship to safety. A micrometeoroid had cracked open the Jim’s lifepod, and because he was the pilot at the time, a nasty chain reaction had occurred. My lifepod was on the opposite side of the ship, so when the emergency systems activated it sealed my door. I then woke up, watching as my ship detonated, and had to listen to the screams.

I walked to the copia and had it create a half liter bottle of water. I guzzled it, thirsty from my exercise and through the bottle back into the copia for recycling. Before I realized it, I was sitting in the Chair. I realized that there were some things I could do at the time. I repressed the thoughts of being found as a mummy in my chair, and activated the interface.

My lifepod disappeared around me, fading into black. It was replaced with my desktop, a view of the stars surrounding me. I checked my messages, obviously nothing new. I could see the icon in the corner of my eye. But I needed to check my other systems first. I verified that my trajectory would maintain itself, as I went towards the nearest possible base that could help me. Present course would take me almost a full standard year. I went back into the messenger system, and prepared a new message.

“Mayday, Mayday, this is Titus Forrester, of the cargo ship Crusoe. The Crusoe was destroyed in an accident 53 standard days ago, and I am apparently the only survivor. I am currently heading to Gleise C, planet 4. It is the only base in this system that I can reach reasonably on thruster power alone. This will take me 214 standard days at the current rate. Please I need immediate assistance.”

I set the message to run continuously. I then checked the sensors. I could see the planet in the distance. In my hopes, it was growing larger, but I knew it would be several months before I would see a notable difference. I checked the rear sensor, and could see the wreck of the Crusoe. The wreckage was creating a cloud of debris, and if I zoom I think I could see Carol…

I deactivated zoom quickly. My body probably was covered in a cold sweat, but I couldn’t feel it at this time. When I deactivate my interface, it will return my senses. Just when I was about to, I noted my game. NeoRonoake. It was a massive simulation of a fictional 21st century city in the United States of America, with superheroes and villains. My favorite game, with a dozen mods to customize my experience.

I was done with what I needed to do today. Maybe I could spend some time there to relax…