The Chronicles of Ashley Munroy: Chapter 1

9 years ago
Lights flashed and alarms buzzed, wailed and blipped at the cockpits sole occupant who furiously worked the plethora of controls. From somewhere in the cockpit a tinny voice rang out. "Calling all units. Calling all units. Mission target has been deemed unattainable. Maintain a safe distance from mission target. Repeat. Stay away from mission target."

In the busy cockpit the voice went unanswered and moments later the radio crackled into life again to address the occupant directly. "Unit 23 change your course immediately. Your present course places you at risk of meteor strike." The voice said with more than a hint of disapproval in its tone. 

At this point the pilot reached up and took the microphone to reply. Despite the relatively low ceiling of the cockpit she had difficulty reaching although, with a little effort, she eventually managed to claw it down in order to facilitate a reply. In a childishly indignant tone the girl said "No can do control. I can see the station from here I can sure as hell make it there and back in time." 

In the seconds after the radios agitated reply was drowned out by a mighty shout from the gurney-room behind the cockpit. "What the frak Ashley! You will turn us around right now!"

A pair of scrabbling hands appeared in the cockpit followed by a scrawny, sweaty and generally nervous looking fellow in a white spacesuit. Emblazoned on the suits front and back were the distinctive crimson symbols human medical care used almost universally. Frenziedly he attempted to snatch the microphone but mere seconds a second figure reached into the cockpit and pulled him out.

"Calm down Darren. Ashley can make this and besides. The objective is time critical. If we don't make it onto Cloud 9 soon a lot of people are going to die." The man said in an urgent and authoritative tone as he pinned Darren's scrawny frame against the wall.

Darren wasn't keen to just lie down and shoved the person off him, an impressive feat considering his belligerents physique. "You heard control. Cloud 9 is unattainable! If we go there we die Sam."

At this point Sam took a deep breath and, stepping between Darren and the cockpit, said with a calm sincerity "She can make it." 

"Shes 14!"

"She can make it." Sam repeated.

Sam wore an identical outfit to Darren with the exception of his surgeons badge. Many would have considered him handsome and he was certainly physically fit to say the least. If one were to look past his physical appearance one would have found Sam was not merely pleasant to look at but pleasant on the inside too. He was a warm, caring person who, far from harming anyone, went out of his way to aid those in need. He was also Ashley's last stable rock in the universe. Darren gave up and walked into the back of the shuttle muttering "You place too much faith in your sister." As he went.

And so Ashley continued to fly the shuttle towards Cloud 9. Cloud 9 was a tourist satellite orbiting earth and a choice destination for wealthy families. Several hours ago the satellite had been hit by a meteor shower and, whilst engineers were doing what they could, the satellites life support was failing. To complicate matters further the strike had scattered debris around the satellite and a second meteor shower was expected any minute. Survivors who hadn't made it to the lifeboats in the initial rush were trapped aboard the doomed structure.

Needless to say Ashley was nervous. It was rare that she got to fly and this was a first for flying under such extreme conditions. The shuttles layout was new to her and, had the crafts normal pilot not been on sick leave, she wouldn't have flown at all. As it was she flew using a strange intuition that came to her regarding technology. Usually, if she touched an item of technology or saw a switch, she'd almost instinctively know what each switch did and how to control it. The shuttles solid, bulky frame was more than sufficient to survive the minor bumps and scratches she gave it as she negotiated the debris and arrived at the ships hangar. The radio crackled back into life. "Last chance Miss Munroy. Turn back. It's been confirmed there will be several meteor hits with the station."

This time it was Sam who responded. He picked up the microphone and said with a bold confidence. "We'll be quick. There's no cause for concern." Before patting Ashley on the shoulder reassuringly. Ashley flew the small medical shuttle into the stations hangar with terrified focus as two large, shrapnel-like pieces of metal scraped slowly over the cockpit window. 

Inside the satellite the true chaos broke out. A chorus of shouts started up the moment the little shuttle entered the hangar and as the shuttles door opened the stations security did a heroic job of holding back the crowds that attempted to swarm aboard. There was an additional clamour as an official looking group forced their way on board in spite of the crews insistence that children be evacuated first. The lead member and his two children sat in the back before his security detail joined the space stations security keeping the rabble out of the shuttle. 

Sam worked furiously behind the security seeking out the children in the crowd for evacuation and prying them from sometimes weeping mothers in order that they might be saved from the stations likely fate. He had just retrieved a sobbing three year old and placed him aboard the ship when the stations sirens started blaring faster and more urgently than the slow, wailing alarm they had been putting out before. Immediately the crowd surged forwards only just held back by the struggling lines of security. Darren stated the obvious for the shuttles crew along with an angrily toned demand. "Meteorite strikes imminent. Get us the hell out of here Ashley!"

Sam turned from his work with the crowd to return from the shuttle and had just reached the doorways when a cry reached his ears. This cry was easily distinguishable from the yells and anger of the panicked crowd. Sam was certain he'd heard it right and, in the moments hesitation he hear it again and became certain. Somewhere in the crowd was a young girl, likely no older than twelve, begging for her mother. Sam turned around and hunted along the edge of the crowd for the little girl he was certain was in there. 

"SAM! Get the frak on the shuttle right frakking now!" Darren yelled at him from just inside the shuttle. His eager trigger finger sat over the door controls waiting for his chance to close them. Sam yelled his reply back over his shoulder.

"I can't just leave her!" He shouted fear evident in his tone. As Sam turned to yell desperate fingers wrapped in his clothes and he was pulled into the crowd as though gravity itself had switched direction. Sam clawed, pushed and pulled through the at the crowd as he attempted to force his way back into the shuttle. The sirens shrill wail became a singular monotone whine and for a moment the room seemed still and peaceful. Darren had just enough time to see Sam's expression turn to shock as he realised what was about to happen before pressing the button on the door controls.

...

...

There was a tremendous boom that for the brief duration of its existence was the singular and only sound around. The more fortunate amongst the crowd were reduced to vapour as the meteorite passed through the hangar with the ease of a bullet through paper splattering the side of Ashley's medical shuttle with blood as it went. The rest of the crowd were suddenly subjected to freezing temperatures and an intense vacuum that sucked most of the bodies through the hull puncture in seconds. Darren's furious yelling prompted Ashley forwards and out the hangar in a blind panic and it was pure luck she did not collide with dangerous pieces of debris as the shuttle fled the station. It was perhaps a blessing that she had escaped the station before the bruised, battered and empty corpse of her brother Sam could pass into sight.

...

Hours passed and Ashley sat in her room alone. Sam had been all she had. She knew nothing of her mother and father who presumably had not seen fit to care for the two children they had left behind. Sam had had all the traits Ashley had lacked and been her role model. Trustworthy, strong, caring and dependable had all been words that had described Sam but there was nothing left of that now. It was unlikely a funeral would even be held for the orphan child in spite of all the people he had helped in life and even if there were nobody would attend and so Ashley was left to weep in solitude.

A knock came at the door and Ashley looked up from where she sat slumped against the bed. 

"Go away!" She cried tearfully.

The knock came again and this time Ashley stood, opened the door, and braced to yell at he who would dare disturb her mourning.

Outside stood a man in full military uniform. His hat bore the symbol of the United Nations and his jacket the many badges and insignias of an Admiral. The man looked far more official and far more solemn than he had in the back of the medical shuttle. Ashley vaguely remembered him from what she had seen of the scrabble and her tantrum was temporarily averted. Instead she opted to stare at him in blank confusion. The man stepped inside and took off his hat not bothering to ask permission before sitting down.

"I came to thank you for saving my children and I and to offer my deepest sympathies for the loss of your brother." He said his tone matching the solemn expression on his face. In spite of the sincerity in his voice his small speech came across rehearsed as though perhaps he had done it before and Ashley's anger sparked up again.

"Well maybe I don't want your sympathy." She snapped back at him. Slamming the door closed angrily and crossing her arms. 

The Admiral leaned forwards and fidgeted nervously with the tag on his uniform. "Admiral J. Adams." The tag read and, after a moments hesitation, he spoke once more.

"I had hoped to offer you more than sympathy." He said watching Ashley carefully so as to better phrase his next sentence. "Your flying saved the lives of my family, myself and many others who would have otherwise died aboard that station and I learnt of your situation shortly after arriving here. As things stand you have no home to go to and no family or other relations to support you. Prospects look dim. I'd like to offer you a place at the UN military academy. I'd be honoured if you were to accept my offer."

Ashley frowned and looked the admiral over checking hard for some hint of deceit or deception. 

"I'll think about it." She said and showed him where the door was.