Solar Flare by Sharon Lee

Author:Sharon Lee [Palmatier, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction Solarpunk
Publisher: Zombies Need Brains, LLC
Published: 2023-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

THE ASTRONAUT

by Nicole Givens Kurtz

Tiny stabbing burned Mimi Washington’s fingertips. A clear fiberglass door kept her from fully sitting up. The stasis pod reeked of antiseptic and cold. Great. Now her toes experienced the stinging, painful rush of blood flow. Pinpricks blanketed her arms and legs. Her one-piece uniform kept the cold at bay, but now that she’d been revived, her entire nervous system flared awake.

And she wasn’t alone. Her shuttlecraft’s computer erupted in a flurry of blinking lights, whirling, and wheezing. It sounded like a rusty water tap, coughing and spurting to bring itself online.

She pressed her fingertips to the fiberglass and pushed. To her surprise, it gave way and hushed open.

For the first time in thirty years, Mimi inhaled air. She took in a deep breath and let it out. What she breathed in tasted like ash and oil. Greasy.

The shuttle’s air vents blasted out the last of their steam, the constant hiss of escaping smoke now gone. A gentle drip of water fell from the walls into puddles in the floor. The hissing of the smoke, combined with the occasional creak of the shuttle, rocked with each gust of wind. A sharp popping sound accompanied each of the small explosions of glass.

“Finally.” She pushed herself to a sitting position. “Let’s see what NASA has to say. They’re probably all ready to test and take samples, but what happened here?” What she really wanted to do was eat a nice, juicy hamburger, with bacon and cheddar, coupled with French fries and ketchup. Her mouth watered at the mental image. Motivated, Mimi pushed herself to climb out of the pod.

She hit the floor and collapsed.

Groaning, she massaged her legs with both hands. “Wake up, muscles. Come on. You got exercise in the pod. Blood circulated, albeit slowly.”

She glanced around at the empty space shuttle. The shuttle’s interior was coated in a mud of black goo that had soaked into her clothes. The greasy goo smelled like burned plastic and singed wires. Rainbow shards of glass littered the floor. They clung to the wiring and electronics’ remains. The other three pod hatches hung open.

Where is everyone?

“Hey, Lancelot, where is the rest of the crew?”

The computer A.I., Lancelot, answered, “Commander Washington, the crew evacuated.”

The hairs on Mimi’s neck rose. “Evacuated?”

“Yes. Captain Tiffany Morrow, civilians Drs. Aaron Williams, and Natasha James evacuated on June 29, 2060.”

Mimi’s mouth went dry. She pushed herself onto all fours, then gently crawled back to her feet. They burned in protest.

“Lancelot, what triggered the evacuation?” She tried to swallow. All the saliva in her mouth vanished. She choked out a cough instead.

“Space Shuttle Discovery encountered a meteor at 23:00 on June 29, 2060. Critical impact occurred at 23:22. Captain Morrow awoke from stasis. Remaining crew members left their stasis pods at 23:30…”

“Why wasn’t I awakened?” Mimi’s stomach balled into a knot.

“Pod 4168 malfunctioned,” Lancelot answered.

“And the others bailed, leaving me trapped,” she said to no one in particular. Stunned by the betrayal, her eyes burned from the prick of tears.

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