Time to Orbit: Unknown

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> I lie back and stare at the ceiling, deep in thought. Tinera stops nibbling on my collarbone and pulls herself up onto her hands to glare down at me. “You’re working.” “What? No, I’m here with you.” “You’re working here.” She taps my skull. … Continue reading 041: TARGET

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> The corpse’s kill switch had been successfully destroyed by the electrostatic shield, so we spend a day carefully lowering everyone under the ship and bringing them back up. We’re really careful about it, taking our time and using a lot of tethers, but it … Continue reading 040: RECAP

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “So why zeelite stuff?” I ask Tal over a breakfast of preserved oats and two-day-old bread. Adin has been banned from strenuous activities like kneading dough by the doctors so that his muscles and the skin and synnerves for his new artificial foot can … Continue reading 039: PEOPLE

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> The crew gather in the medbay once more. Only half of us have done much actual physical labour today, but weariness shows on everyone’s faces. It’s clear that we’re all quite sick of random crises blindsiding us. Adin’s eyes are slightly glassy from whatever … Continue reading 038: NERVES

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “We’re in space! I’m not cutting a hole in his space suit!” “He’ll die if you don’t.” “Aspen, please.” The Friend’s voice is gentle. “This plan isn’t great, but we don’t have time to come up with a better one, and we probably don’t … Continue reading 037: MODIFY

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> Beyond the little safety wall, we have about two metres of clearance before the solid floor of the javelin shielding’s end cap gives way to the grid of straight bars that supports the electrostatic shield. When hauling a body in a bulky space suit … Continue reading 036: HEIGHTS

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “Are we sure this’ll work?” Adin asks. I look down at the hospital bed. The seven of us are crammed into the small medbay, and the bulky space suit on the bed makes it feel even smaller than usual. There’s a body in the … Continue reading 035: MORALE

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> “Dear Lord in heaven,” Tinera mumbles around a mouthful of greenhouse beans, “I forgot what eating real food was like.” “I didn’t even know you could sautee with moss oil,” Lina says, stabbing a bean with a fork. “But this came out really well.” … Continue reading 034: COMORBIDITY

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> Four of us – me, the Friend, Lina, and Tal – stroll toward Recreation and Medical Ring 2 at a leisurely pace while Tinera runs off to find the boys. I’m not sure why we need the entire crew for this, but apparently my … Continue reading 033: PREDICAMENT

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Map] .......... Next> .......... Last>> Everything about this situation makes less and less sense. Why would Denish be deconstructing a device from Da-bin’s body? And why would he lie about it? The idea that the device is from her body isn’t hard to accept; lots of people have implants. … Continue reading 032: CONVICTION