IMPACT
1396 Words
To them the universe exploded.
The two metallic spheres struck the Apollo X2 with devastating force.
For a fraction of a second, there was only blinding white light.
Then came chaos.
Captain Noah O'Connell was thrown out of his chair as the bridge lurched violently. Sparks rained from the ceiling. Consoles burst apart in showers of electricity.
"Brace for impact!" someone screamed.
The artificial gravity failed.
For one terrifying second, everyone floated helplessly before gravity slammed back online, sending bodies crashing against steel.
Warning alarms echoed throughout the ship.
"Critical damage detected."
"Hull breach on decks twelve through seventeen."
"Primary engines offline."
"Emergency systems activated."
Noah struggled to his feet.
Blood trickled down his forehead.
"Aveiro!"
The helmsman wrestled desperately with the controls.
"We've lost stabilization!"
Another explosion ripped through the ship.
Commander Norris Lake disappeared behind a wall of fire.
Noah froze.
"Norris!"
Ryan grabbed his shoulder.
"Captain!"
Noah looked at him.
"He's gone."
The words felt like knives.
Another violent tremor shook the ship.
Steel screamed.
Thiago Santos vanished beneath a collapsing section of ceiling.
The scream lasted only a moment.
Then silence.
The bridge became a nightmare.
Their engines were dead.
And they were falling.
"Aveiro!" he screamed again.
"I'm trying, sir!"
The helmsman's hands flew across the controls.
"Thrusters are gone!"
"No engines!"
"No stabilization!"
"We're entering the atmosphere!"
Mars filled the viewscreen.
The planet that humanity had dreamed of for centuries.
The planet that was supposed to secure Earth's future.
Now it looked like a giant executioner waiting below.
Flames engulfed the hull.
The entire bridge shook violently.
"Altitude?" Noah shouted.
"Forty kilometers!"
Another explosion.
"Thirty-five!"
The lights failed again.
Screams echoed throughout the ship.
Somewhere deep inside the vessel, steel tore apart like paper.
Noah closed his eyes.
This was it.
This was how they died.
Not old.
Not peacefully.
Not remembered.
Just another tragedy in space.
Strangely, Clara entered his thoughts.
Not the woman who had left him.
But the woman standing beneath the frozen trees in Hamsterville Park.
The woman who had said yes.
He smiled sadly.
Then Ryan's voice cut through the madness.
"You planning on dying, sir?"
Noah opened his eyes.
Ryan was strapped into his chair, bleeding from his cheek.
"Not today."
"That's what I thought."
Another violent shake.
"Altitude twenty kilometers!"
The heat alarms screamed.
The atmosphere outside had become an inferno as they descended.
...
Several minutes later—
The Apollo X2 struck the surface of Mars.
Steel screamed.
The world became a blur of fire and destruction.
The ship skipped across the red wasteland like a stone over water.
Entire sections tore away.
The left wing exploded.
Bulkheads collapsed.
People screamed.
Then—
Darkness.
***
Captain Noah O'Connell awoke to silence.
Not complete silence.
The silence of death.
His vision blurred.
Everything hurt.
He tasted blood.
Smoke lingered in the air.
Red emergency lights flickered weakly.
For several seconds, he couldn't remember where he was.
Then reality returned.
Mars.
The attack.
The crash.
Noah sat up.
Pain shot through his ribs.
"Ryan?" he whispered.
No answer.
Panic gripped him.
"Ryan!"
A groan came from nearby.
"Still ugly, Captain."
Noah exhaled.
Across the bridge, Ryan slowly sat up.
Blood covered one side of his face.
But he was alive.
"Good gracious, you look like s**t," Noah muttered smiling.
"Glad you're alive, I'd hate to train another first officer."
Ryan coughed.
"And I'd hate to train another captain. You people are exhausting."
Noah smiled weakly.
Then his eyes drifted around the room.
Bodies.
Everywhere.
His smile disappeared.
Ryan's expression darkened.
"Don't count them yet."
Noah nodded silently.
One disaster at a time.
---
The corridors looked like a war zone.
Fires burned throughout the ship.
Some sections had collapsed entirely.
Emergency lights painted everything red.
Ryan held a flashlight while Noah called out.
"Anyone alive?"
Nothing.
Only silence.
Then—
Coughing.
"Did you hear that?" Noah asked.
Ryan nodded.
"Medical bay."
Together they forced open the twisted doors.
Inside, Lieutenant Doctor Camille Dubois lay trapped beneath a fallen cabinet.
Her face was streaked with tears.
"Captain?" she croaked.
Noah rushed forward.
"Camille!"
"Am I dead?" she asked weakly.
Ryan glanced around.
"Well unfortunately, no."
Camille blinked.
"Oh thank God."
She burst into tears.
" I thought I would die!"
Noah and Ryan exchanged looks.
Ryan sighed.
"Yep."
"Still alive."
"Tragic, I know."
Despite herself, Camille laughed.
Noah smiled.
Good.
If she could laugh, she could fight.
Together, they lifted the cabinet and freed her.
The young doctor immediately hugged Noah.
Then Ryan.
Then awkwardly stepped back.
"Sorry."
Ryan raised an eyebrow, then exchanged looks with Noah.
“Yep, already exhausts me” he said as he turned to leave.
---
Engineering looked even worse.
Half the room had been destroyed.
Sparks flew from shattered machinery.
Then came a voice.
"Oh thank heavens!"
Noah blinked.
"Trevor?"
Lieutenant Commander Trevor Gonzalez emerged from beneath a collapsed workstation.
His hair was singed.
His face was covered in soot.
But somehow he was smiling.
"Captain!" he exclaimed.
Noah smiled in relief.
"Trevor."
Trevor shook his head sadly.
"I have terrible news."
Noah's expression fell.
"What?"
Trevor lowered his head.
"The coffee machine."
Ryan sighed.
"No."
Trevor nodded solemnly.
"It's gone."
"Trevor," Ryan said slowly, "over one hundred people are probably dead."
"Exactly!"
Trevor pointed dramatically.
"This is when we need coffee the most!"
Camille burst out laughing.
Even Noah chuckled.
Ryan simply rubbed his temples.
"I hate all of you."
"Love you too, Frosty."
Ryan glared.
"Don't call me that."
"Noted, Frosty."
"Trevor."
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
Trevor grinned.
"Okay, but no promises."
---
They found Hella Marner near Mission Control.
Unlike the others, she had already freed herself.
A cut ran across her forehead, but she stood with remarkable composure.
"Captain."
"Hella."
She looked relieved.
"Thank God."
Her eyes moved across the group.
"How many survivors?"
"We're still searching," Noah answered.
Hella nodded.
"Communications are dead."
"No signal?"
"Nothing."
"What about Mission Control?"
"No response."
Ryan folded his arms.
"Which means we're alone."
Camille's face went pale.
"Please don't say that."
Trevor forced a smile.
"Come on. We're humanity."
"We landed on Mars."
"Surely this isn't the worst thing we've done."
Ryan looked at him.
"We crashed."
Trevor shrugged.
“ Huh, just details Frost, we landed, we crashed, either way we're on Mars."
Ryan scoffed.
"Outstanding observation, Trevor. We've officially reached Mars."
"Only problem is we forgot the part where we leave.” he said then walked away right after.
Trevor exchanged glances with everyone then shrugs.
---
Three hours later, they stood outside the wreckage.
The Apollo X2 lay broken across the red landscape.
Smoke rose into the alien sky.
Mars stretched endlessly in every direction.
Red dunes.
Jagged rocks.
Silence.
No cities.
No signs of life.
Just emptiness.
Camille stared in disbelief.
"We actually made it."
Trevor whistled.
"Well."
"This isn't exactly how I imagined retirement."
Camille burst into tears again.
Ryan sighed.
"She's doing that a lot."
"I'm traumatized!" she snapped.
"Fair."
Hella stood quietly.
But Noah noticed something strange.
She wasn't looking at the wreck.
She wasn't looking at the horizon.
She was staring at the mineral scanners attached to her wrist.
Only for a second.
Then she noticed Noah watching and quickly lowered her hand.
But Noah thought nothing of it.
He turned back toward the wreckage.
Toward the shattered remains of humanity's greatest achievement.
Toward the graves of one hundred and twenty-one souls.
His people.
His responsibility.
His failure.
Noah swallowed hard.
"Roll call."
The others looked at him.
"Captain Noah O'Connell."
"Present," Ryan answered dryly.
Noah rolled his eyes.
"Commander Ryan Frost."
"Still unfortunately alive."
"Lieutenant Doctor Camille Dubois."
Camille wiped her eyes.
"Present."
"Lieutenant Commander Trevor Gonzalez."
Trevor raised his hand enthusiastically.
"Happy to be here."
Ryan stared at him.
"No you're not."
"True, but still alive."
Noah continued.
"Lieutenant Commander Hella Marner."
"Present, Captain."
Silence followed.
Five names.
Out of one hundred and twenty-six.
Five survivors.
Noah looked up at the sky.
"All right."
His voice became firm.
"We mourn later."
"We survive first."
No one argued.
The sun was beginning to set.
Long shadows stretched across the desert.
And beneath the crimson sands of Mars—
Something moved.
None of them saw the ripple in the ground.
None of them heard the low vibration beneath their feet.
And none of them knew...
That they had already been discovered.
- Writer
