Suddenly Astronaut by Andrew J. Morgan

Author:Andrew J. Morgan [Morgan, Andrew J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-15T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The feeling of the netting against his fingers was like a rush of ice water through his body, sending him gasping like he'd not breathed in minutes. He drew himself into the container and held on so tight he thought he'd never be able to let go again.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked.

Ben nodded. "I'm okay."

Once Ben had calmed down, Tom guided him to secure the container to the tug properly. Ben also took the opportunity to gather a week's worth of supplies in one of the smaller nets to keep inside the tug. With the tug then safely piloted away from Jupiter's pull, he sealed the hatch, recompressed the cabin and removed the suit. It felt weird not to be wearing it anymore. The first breath in the cabin was a nervous one.

He watched the last remnants of the station tip into Jupiter's atmosphere. It was beautiful in a way, but tragic. All those people he'd never see again. Everything he'd ever known, consumed in the orange glow of fire. Jupiter swallowed years of memories up like they were nothing, and then they were gone.

"I'm tired," he said to Tom.

"I understand," Tom said back.

Ben spent the first night on the tug right there in a high Jupiter orbit. He felt hungry, but couldn't face eating, so he curled up in the corner and tried to sleep. The air was temperate enough and he was very tired, so he fell unconscious almost immediately, but distant dreams of suffocating kept jerking him awake, so he put the space suit back on again and sealed it up. Once he did, despite the dull pain in his side, he slept like a stone.

He awoke early, though he had no idea what the time was. The tug hummed softly. Despite knowing where he was, he somehow felt peaceful.

"Good morning, Ben," Tom said as Ben removed the suit and stretched. The floor was pretty hard and had left his back and limbs stiff. He checked his side and saw a dirty purple and orange bruise forming nicely on his skin.

"Morning," Ben said, pulling his shirt back down and yawning. His stomach rumbled, and he turned to the net filled with supplies hanging from the back of the pilot's seat. It bulged with industrial-looking containers and packages, none of which he recognised. He lifted out a long, white tube, roughly the size of his forearm. It was heavy. The writing on the outside referred to it as Nutritional Base #C-372.

"If you are hungry, that will satisfy your nutritional needs," Tom told him.

Ben turned it over in his hands. On closer inspection it appeared to have a nozzle on one end and a plunger on the other. "Do these go in the food dispensers?"

"That's correct. Combined with Raw Matter A-245, 286 and 291, and Flavour Base B-864 through 994, the food dispensers can replicate virtually any meal."

Ben punctured the seal on the nozzle with his finger and sampled the paste that came out on it. It was smooth and flavourless.

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