Kyle West - Origins

So far, Anna had only agreed to help train me to use the katana. I wanted a backup, in case I somehow couldn’t use my gun, but I think we both knew that I was just using training as an excuse to get to know her. I had learned a lot, but I was still a long way from being even semi-competent. All the same, I appreciated everything I was learning, and it was nice to see her.

Still, after two months, I was hoping that things could have progressed a little more with Anna. And I wasn’t just crazy. After all, it was my hand she decided to grab down there on Earth, when the crawlers had been coming for us on the runway, and it was me she had snuggled with on the plane. And the way she looked at me sometimes, when she thought I wasn’t looking…well, let’s just say there had to be something there.

Hopefully, the right opportunity would present itself.

Back in my hab, I practiced the meditation Anna taught me. I was failing miserably. No matter how much I tried, my thoughts kept spinning out of control. I’ve always been a sufferer of the disease known as “thinking too much.”

I was grateful when a knock came at the door. Hoping it was Anna, I went to answer. I pressed the exit button, causing the metal door to slide open. I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed when it was Samuel, standing in his characteristic muscle shirt and camo pants. His head, as usual, was shaved bald, and his facial features were sharp and toned. Even after all the R&R, he had been working out. That was Samuel’s way — everything he did was for the purpose of succeeding in our mission.

“We’re all meeting in Ashton’s office to go over the final phase of the mission at 19:30.”

“Alright. I need to eat still.”

“Make it quick. You have fifteen. Anna and Makara are already waiting.”

“What are we going over?”

“We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I asked. “I thought we still had a couple weeks.”

“It’s go time, kid,” he said. “My arm’s healed, and if we stay up here any longer, we’ll go soft. Besides, the xenovirus isn’t taking any breaks.”

I guessed that much was true. “Alright. I’ll head over.”

As Samuel walked away, a surge of energy rushed through me. Tomorrow, we’d be back on the planet, doing something that mattered. I was already starting to feel more alive. Makara had been training to pilot the Odin . Ashton himself had been teaching her, in the mornings, and they had run some test atmosphere re-entries, and even some landings. Basically, anything she’d have to do during the mission, Ashton had taught her. He had told me that she was a natural. That made sense, because she drove the Recon like a pro on our way to Bunker One. It didn’t surprise me that she also had an affinity for piloting the Odin .

I left my hab, entering the main corridor of the Mid Ring. It was time to head to the commons for a bite.

The Mid Ring’s main corridor was hard to get used to. It curved slightly upward along its entire length. The whole thing made a circle, and was always spinning to supply Skyhome with artificial gravity. The Mid Ring was divided into four Quadrants — Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. Charlie Quadrant contained the commons, the clinic, and an archive, where there were computers. In Charlie was a rec room with a large screen used for movies. The rest of the Quadrants were dedicated to habs, mostly. My hab, along with Anna’s, was in Delta Quadrant. Makara’s and Samuel’s were each in Alpha.

Then there were the two other Rings — the Outer Ring and the Inner Ring. The Outer was where all food was grown hydroponically. The Outer also contained recycling tanks and water reclamation units, or WRUs. Most of the water was dedicated to watering crops in the Outer Ring, but every molecule of it was saved and recycled with near 100 percent efficiency. Any time there was a shortfall, which only happened once every few years, Gilgamesh returned to Earth, filled up, and made up the difference.

For power, solar collectors were attached to the outside of the Outer Ring. Altogether, they took in more energy than the station would ever need. There was also a backup fusion generator, the same kind that ran the spaceships, in Skyhome’s central nexus. In the event of a massive solar flare, the solar collectors would probably be blown out, rendering them useless until they could be replaced.

The crops of the Outer Ring provided oxygen, and Skyhome’s citizens provided carbon dioxide. State-of-the-art filtration and monitoring technology made sure the air composition maintained a proper balance. In addition to the food grown in the Ring, chickens were also raised. They provided eggs and the occasional meat. Most Skyhome citizens had a full-time job growing crops and raising chickens. There were also specialized technicians and engineers who kept the orbiting city maintained and made repairs when needed. Dr. Ashton doubled as the station’s medical practitioner, even if biological research was his main field of expertise.

Of the three Rings, the Inner was the smallest. It contained administrative offices, including Ashton’s, and the inner workings of Skyhome, called the Central Nexus. The Nexus turned all three rings of the station, and consumed the most energy. It was where the backup fusion generator was located, complete with supply of deuterium and tritium to create the Helium-4 necessary to power the station for two months, if solar panels needed to be replaced.

Connecting all of the Rings were the four tunnels (also named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta, depending on what Quadrant they were located in). The tunnels were arranged like the spokes of a wheel. Along Alpha Tunnel, between the Mid and Inner Rings, was the hangar, where both Gilgamesh and Odin were docked.

Skyhome’s construction in the 2020s had pushed experts and engineers to the limits. It was no wonder they had only constructed one Skyhome when the original plan had called for six. All the same, Skyhome’s operations were fascinating. It amazed me that the United States pulled off its construction; it was also amazing that Ashton and others had been able to utilize it following the fall of both Bunker One and Bunker Six.

When I reached the commons, I grabbed a bowl of vegetable stew from one of the kitchen staff and sat down to eat. Once done, I headed over to Ashton’s office in the Inner Ring. I stood before the metal blast door before pressing the entrance button. The door hissed open, allowing me to walk in.

I had only been in Ashton’s office a few times. Rather large, the office contained his built-in metal desk, lines of file cabinets along one wall, and a large workbench on the opposite wall. The workbench was filled with tools and objects of Ashton’s mechanical tinkering. The office was rectangular in shape, and at the end of it, three large ports looked out onto the surface of Earth, a vibrant green and violet and red.

Ashton sat behind his desk, regarding me with sharp blue eyes as I walked forward. The others were already here. I went to stand between Anna and Makara, as Samuel stood to the right of Ashton’s desk, arms folded. On Ashton’s desk rested a thin monitor, and on a corner several binders were neatly stacked. The surface of the planet spun slowly beyond the port, due to the Inner Ring’s rotation.

“Let’s get started,” Ashton said brusquely.

Ashton’s accent was hard to pin down. He had been born before Ragnarok; his voice carried a hint of southeastern regionalism that was most likely all but gone from the world. My only way of determining his accent was from movies I had seen back in Bunker 108 — which, admittedly, wasn’t a perfect measure.