Andrew Morgan - Vessel

‘Space? It’s incredible, like nothing you’ve ever seen before. When you’re out there, you feel like you could reach out and touch the hand of god.’

Sally raised her eyebrows.

‘You believe in god?’

‘Yes ma— yes, Sally, yes I do.’

‘Why?’

‘When you’ve seen space with your own eyes — then you’ll know why.’

The fug of cigarette smoke hanging in the air made the dimly lit bar seem even darker. Aleks regarded his companion through stinging eyes, his untouched drink still sitting where the barmaid left it.

‘What are we doing here, Lev? My shift starts in four hours and I’ve not had any sleep from my last double. I’ve got a launch to do.’

‘I’m sorry to bring you out here at this time of night, but I needed to talk to you away from the ears of Star City.’

‘Is this about Bales?’

Lev, his face old and tired under the lank shadows, gave the empty bar a cautious glance. He leaned in a little closer to Aleks, handing him a business card, which Aleks took and slipped into his pocket. Lev spoke in an urgent whisper: ‘A journalist, Sean Jacob, called me and asked for some information.’

Aleks frowned. This didn’t sound good. ‘Information? On what?’

‘On everything. On Bales, on Sally, on… the mission.’ He cast another anxious glance over his shoulder. ‘He was particularly interested in Gardner.’

‘Gardner?’ Aleks said. ‘The American astronaut?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Why?’

‘He didn’t say. But he was very keen to iterate that any information I get on Gardner would be of great value to him.’

Aleks felt uncomfortable, both physically and morally. He knew the walls had ears even a hundred miles out from Star City. ‘You’re not going to do it, are you?

Lev looked distant for a second, before a sudden flash of mischief danced across his shadowy eyes.

‘I’ve got to do something. I can’t let Bales get away with what he’s doing to us.’

‘To you , Lev,’ Aleks said, ‘what he’s doing to you . And what you intend on doing back is tantamount to treason.’

‘Treason? Treason? ’ Lev hissed, his voice raising a register as temper fought control. ‘Getting that interfering American off Russian soil is the complete opposite of treason!’

The flash flickered and died, and he leaned back in his chair, covering his face with his gnarled, working man’s hands. When they retreated back to his lap, the expression they left was one of dismay.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘You’re a good friend to me, as good as any I’ve had, and I know that you’re saying what you’re saying because you want to protect me.’

But… Aleks thought.

‘But this is something I’ve got to do, Aleks. There’s something not right with this picture, I can feel it’ — he thumped his chest with a balled fist — ‘ in here. Jacob knows it too. I need you to help me.’

Aleks sighed. He knew in his heart and in his mind that his friend had beaten his sensibilities. They may have been craggy, emotionless relics on the outside, but deep within both of them beat an unbreakable friendship. It was a friendship that would get the better of him.

‘Alright,’ he said.

Colour washed into Lev’s face as though Aleks had released a vital artery with that one word.

‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’

Aleks said nothing, taking a sip of his drink instead.

Getting the suit on felt like a lifetime ago.

‘T minus sixty seconds and counting,’ Aleks’ voice came over Sally’s radio headset. ‘How are you both feeling?’

‘Good. I’m good,’ Gardner said. Pinned down by the harnesses and with the added restriction of her suit, Sally couldn’t turn to see him even though he was sat right next to her.

‘Fisher?’

‘I’m fine,’ she said, her own voice sounding distant and thin.

‘Good. Launch sequencing start.’

Gardner: ‘Timeline is good.’

‘We have internal separation of the first tower.’

A shudder breached the tiny cylinder; Sally drew a sharp intake of breath. They were blind to the outside world, suspended fifty metres in the air and about to be forced into orbit at over ten thousand miles per hour.

‘Umbilical tower separation in progress.’

‘Copy that. T minus twenty seconds and counting.’

A tremendous roar flooded the capsule, so loud it shook Sally in her seat. From the corner of her eye, Sally could see Gardner pressing buttons using a slender metal rod from his own restricted position. It didn’t fill her with confidence to observe such a primitive tool being used on board such an expensive piece of equipment.

‘Ignition,’ Aleks confirmed, and if the roar had been loud before, it was deafening now. The shaking was so violent that it made Sally’s vision blur.

‘Second tower separated. Reaching maximum thrust. Lift off, we have lift off.’

Sally squeezed her eyes tight shut. Through the shaking and noise, a pressure rose into her back, lifting her off the Earth’s surface. She pictured the gap between the rocket and the ground — first small, growing larger by the second — then her mind took her to a dark place of veering trajectories and screaming voices. She did her best to push those thoughts away, but they hovered with frightening clarity on the backs of her eyelids.

‘Trajectory is nominal, flight speed is nominal, vibration is nominal. Everything’s looking good.’

‘Telemetry nominal, combustion chamber pressure nominal. Stage one ignition successful. We’re one minute into the flight.’

‘Pitch is good, roll is nominal.’

The rocket continued accelerating. It was nothing like the centrifuge, nothing like Sally had ever expected, and with tremendous effort she opened her eyes. Light rushed in, and the horror of her imagination was washed away. It was really happening. She was really going to space . As the rocket rolled, her stomach squeezed into a new corner of her insides and was held fast by the gargantuan thrust that drove them on.

‘Seventy seconds into the flight. Flight is proceeding nominally.’

‘Ninety seconds.’

‘Stage one is continuing to operate nominally. Spacecraft is nominal.’

‘How are you doing, Fisher?’

It took Sally a moment to realise that she had been spoken to, having lost who was talking to who in among the noise and vibration.

‘I’m fine.’ She had to force the words out.

‘Good. Gardner?’

‘I’m feeling great.’

‘Excellent. One hundred and ten seconds. Stage one booster separation. Stage two core booster ignition.’

A deep clunk, a groan, and the rocket unleashed a fresh burst of acceleration, pushing Sally even harder into her seat. She was glad Aleks didn’t ask her how she was now, because she wouldn’t have been able to speak.

‘Vehicle stable. Stage two engines are stable.’

The vibration calmed, and with a small jolt the shroud protecting the crew module was jettisoned. For the first time, through a tiny circular porthole, Sally could see the stars, unencumbered by the blanket of atmosphere cradling the planet. Up here they glowed brighter and sharper.

‘Launch shroud jettison is confirmed.’

‘Copy.’

‘One hundred and ninety seconds. One nine zero. Rocket structure parameters are nominal.’

‘Everything looks nominal. We’re good.’

The shaking had all but gone, but the pressure remained. Despite the excessive forces trying to squash Sally flat, a tiny flutter skipped in her stomach. She couldn’t help but grin. She was in space; she was going to the ISS. It was amazing.