Gravity Never Suited Me

"Okay! Got it." Fighting panic, Zoe yanks the O2 canister from her thermal suit, and peels off the suit entirely.

"Hey, I'm uh, coming in." She says awkwardly. She pulls open the bag to find the woman still asleep inside. Zoe shimmies, pulls, and tugs the bag up and around her, wriggling into the sleeping bag and bumping off the chassis of the ship as she does.

"Shit." She mutters. The woman's body comes in contact with her, and Zoe's heart drops. The other woman is cold to the touch, not a good sign. There is barely room in the sleeping bag. Though large, it is ultimately meant for just one person. Zoe settles in, chilled by her contact with the other woman's body. She wraps her arm around the stranger, trying to warm her. For a time, the only sound is the breathing of the other woman and the hiss of the oxygen tank, the woman's head resting on her chest.

And then, the woman begins to shiver. Zoe's heart jumps.

"Is that a good sign?" she asks out loud.

[I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to answer that.] Zoe rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, thanks." The woman stirs, shifting in Zoe's arms.

"I'm cold," The stranger says. Her voice is quiet and weak. The woman moves around in the sleeping bag, wrapping her arms around Zoe. Zoe feels a warmth in her face.

"Uh, hey. You awake?"

"I unno. For me, it's five. Or like chocolate with something." Replies the stranger. Zoe is silent, turning the sentence over in her head.

"Hey, Ryan, what are the symptoms of hypothermia?" She asks.

[In adults: Shivering, Exhaustion, or feeling very tired, Confusion, Fumbling hands, Memory loss, Slurred speech, Drowsiness-,]

"Okay, that's enough. Thanks." She studies the stranger's face. The young woman is pretty, with long brown hair. While Zoe holds her, she can tell the woman is significantly smaller than her. Both of her arms easily wrap around the young woman with room to spare. Zoe hugs her tightly, willing warmth into her body.

"Don't die on me." she lays her head on the woman's. Slowly, she drifts to sleep.

Zoe awakens to a fierce struggle. The woman is violently kicking and shoving in the confines of the bag they share.

"Who are you? Where am I?" The woman demands, violently attempting to twist free of the bag.

"I'm trying to help you! Stop! Fuck, you'll strangle us both." The woman pauses, and they make eye contact, only inches apart in the bag. Zoe sees that the stranger is terrified, her eyes wide. The stranger continues to breathe through the oxygen mask.

"Hi." Zoe says calmly. "Let's do this together, okay? I'm gonna wriggle out real quick." She grips a nearby handle on the wall, scooting and tugging at the bag until she is free. Her push causes the bag to 'fall' away from her towards the opposite wall. As she adjusts her sweatshirt, the young woman panics.

"Help! Oh god." Still fighting the sleeping bag, the woman tries to push away from the wall of the ship. But it is hopeless. She gently bonks the wall. Zoe watches, trying not to laugh as the woman fights the rest of the way out of the bag. She emerges, her cheeks flushed and long, dark hair in her eyes.

"It's microgravity." The woman explains, panting. "I'm not used to it." She continues to drift, and instinctively kicks her legs out, trying to find solid ground. Zoe reaches a hand out and grabs her, dragging her to the handle on the wall.

"Just hold on." She says. "You'll get used to it." The woman is breathing heavily, tears in her eyes and a stranglehold on the handle. Zoe tries to calm the woman.

"I'm Zoe." She introduces herself. "What's your name?"

"Riley." Says the stranger. "Are my friends okay? Where's everyone else?" Zoe is at a loss for words.

"I could only get you." She says, unsure of how to break the news to Riley.

"What about the other rescuers?" She says. "Did they get anybody?" Her voice is hopeful, and Zoe thinks that she is very naive.

"No one else... responded to the emergency signal." Zoe struggled to find words. "We're in orbit of Saturn, no one's around...I'm the only one here."

"Oh." Riley says. She looks away from Zoe. Tears begin to form around her eyes, collecting into pools and sticking to her face. She blinks furiously and attempts to shake them off.

"You gotta wipe them." Zoe says, offering the hem of her shirt. "They don't fall." Riley wipes her eyes on Zoe's shirt.

"Thanks... for saving me. Why didn't you get Carla and Misha too? They were right next to me." Remembering the two cold corpses in the airlock, Zoe feels as if she might puke. This is not something she has ever expected to have to do. She decides to be direct and honest.

"It was too late when I found them." She says carefully. Riley stares past her, wordless. She looks as if she is trying to say something. Instead, she folds an arm around her legs and shivers. She is wearing only a t-shirt, shorts, and a pair of sneakers. Zoe has no doubt she's still quite cold.

"You should get back in your bag." She advises. Effortlessly, Zoe floats to the loose sleeping bag, collecting it. She pushes off the wall, back to the handle Riley is holding, and hands it to her.

"You're probably still really cold. I can make you some soup." Zoe offers, fastening the loose tie of the sleeping bag to the hand rail. She watches Riley climb into the bag. The younger woman is maybe early twenties, and very pretty, Zoe can't help but notice. She can't be more than 160 cm, maybe twenty centimeters shorter than her.

Once Riley is secured in the bag, Zoe heats some soup. As they wait, Zoe asks:

"What happened? If you're okay to talk about it." Riley's voice comes back from the bag, muffled.

"I don't know. I was in bed asleep, and there was a siren. We were directed into the main shaft, which was also microgravity... I think I got really sick." She pauses for a long time. "I think we hit something in orbit. People were saying the ship would tear apart." She falls silent. Zoe doesn't press her. She snags the soup from the warmer, floating back to Riley, snugly wrapped up in the sleeping bag. Zoe hands it to her through the gap in the top of the sack.

"Anything I can get for you?" She asks.

"I don't think so." Comes her reply. And then, in a frightened, small voice: "Will we go home now?"

"Yeah. As soon as you're feeling better, we'll strap in for some maneuvering and jet out of here." Zoe tries to be reassuring, but Riley doesn't respond, sucking the soup from the bag. "I'm gonna go check on some things. Hang tight." Zoe pushes off toward the center of the ship, climbing the ladder into the cockpit.

"What's our status, Ryan? Any damage other than the fuel tank?"

[No further damage detected, Boss Lady. The primary fuel tank is completely drained.] Zoe studies the readouts on the console, her spirit falling.

"And our fuel in the auxiliary tank..." She trails off, covering her face with her hands.

[Fuel is sufficient for RCS burns. A long distance burn is impossible.]

"Estimate arrival time if we use the RCS for a push to Jupiter." Zoe suggests, palms sweating more as panic begins to set in.

[Arrival estimated on June 9, 2104, Boss Lady.] Zoe sighs deeply. Fear is rising strongly in her.

"Four years." She says. "Just let them know to scrape our dead bodies out of your hull when you arrive."

[Understood, Boss Lady.] Zoe is immensely frustrated. She fights back tears as she realises she might die. That the girl she just saved might die now too, but of starvation instead of cold. She closes her eyes to think. She remembers her approach to the cruise ship, and mentally replays her hand slipping from the yoke several times. Just as the Galileo's Guide comes into view...

Her eyes fly open, and she jumps down the ladder, turning toward Ryan's UI.

"Uh, bad news, kid. We're bingo on fuel." She bumps the display, bringing it to life and accessing the Galileo's Guide's administrative network. She selects the fuel display: four out of six tanks are full to the top, each tank three times the size of her own.

"Bingo?" Asks Riley, peeking out of her sleeping bag.

"Dry. Empty. Out of gas." Zoe grabs up the now depleted oxygen tank, slapping it back into the medical storage locker. She slides back to the cockpit ladder, talking quickly. "When you can, I need you in the cockpit. You'll need a harness on. Bring the bag with you."

Riley fumbles around in her sleeping bag, trying quickly to break free. Zoe flies back to the cockpit and snaps herself into the pilot's chair.

"Give me external camera control."

[Understood, Boss Lady.] replies Ryan, as Riley pokes her head through to the cockpit, struggling to navigate in the microgravity environment.

"Is everything okay? Are we in danger?" She asks, worried.

"Not the immediate kind." Says Zoe, intensely focusing on the display. She pushes the cameras towards the corpse of the cruise ship, zooming in.

"More like the 'starve to death over months' kind. But," She points at the display, indicating the series of fuel tanks surrounding the hull of Galileo's Guide. "There's our salvation." She smiles back at Riley, who is clinging to the back of the copilot's chair, her face green. "Oh, Let me help you," Zoe offers. She unbuckles, reaches to Riley and helps her into the seat. Riley is breathing quickly, thoroughly distressed.

"I shouldn't have had the soup." She says, her eyes large and apologetic. "I'll never get used to this." Zoe snaps the younger woman into her harness, tucking the sleeping bag in front of her.

"If you hurl, do it in the sleeping bag. We don't want that floating around in here." Quickly, Zoe buckles herself in. "Sorry I'm rushing," She continues. "But the longer we're strapped to this deadweight, the lower we go, and the more fuel it takes to get home. Gravity's a bitch. Take us out, Ryan."

[Airlock release.] He replies.

"If you feel like you're going to pass out, tense your legs and abs. Keep air in your lungs like you're trying to force out a burp." Zoe advises.

"The 'Hick Maneuver'." replies Riley. Zoe raises an eyebrow.

"You know it? Good."

A loud thunk echoes through the ship. Riley freezes for a second, breathing hard.

[RCS firing.] the ship heaves to one side, pulling free of Galileo's Guide.

"My body, was not, designed for this." Riley gasps between breaths.

"I wish I could help. I really do." Zoe says, looking back at Riley sympathetically. Riley has her face buried in the sleeping bag. "Oh, sweetheart," Zoe continues. "It gets so much worse." Focusing, she returns her attention to the viewport. "Can you take us in, Ryan?"

[We will need to keep clear of the main hull. The triple ring system has nine total supports, eight of which remain intact and continue to rotate, Boss Lady.]

"That's fine Ryan, take us out farther."

[There is still a significant debris field.] Zoe curses. Her hands begin to sweat reactively as she remembers her last encounter with the debris.

"Okay, you leave that to me. I'll take us through manually, and then you dock us with the fuel tanks."

[The Cruise Ship's altitude is dropping. Fully refueling will take approximately seven minutes. I cannot advise-]

"Mute verbal notifications." Her stomach knots itself up as she prepares to navigate the debris field one more time. The RCS thrusters fire again, pushing them out and away from the ship, clear of the rotating supports surrounding the main pillar of Galileo's Guide. Zoe seizes manual control.

"How's my cheer section doing?" She looks to Riley, who stares back at her with big, terrified eyes. Zoe holds eye contact for a moment, resolving in herself to keep the beautiful young woman alive no matter what.

"I'm scared. Have you done this before?" Asks Riley. Zoe looks back at the viewport.

"Once. About fifteen minutes ago. I dinged the fuel storage on my ship. Tore a hole in it. We got this though. You just be tough, okay? I'm not gonna let you die out here." She nudges forward on the yoke, pushing them gently back into the debris field. She practices breathing, her eyes roving continually over the destroyed space in front of her. In the distance, the arms of the Galileo's Guide spin rhythmically, like a pendulum; she must go between the rows. Below that, the goliath bulk of Saturn looms.

She eases around a drifting passenger compartment, sharply dipping under it and maintaining course towards the destroyed ship. A soft thump resonates through the hull.

"Eep!" squeaks Riley softly.

"Ryan! Status." A green light on the console indicates no breach.

"Almost there." She continues forward, dodging the last bit of debris. As they come closer to the ship, Zoe releases the controls, sitting back. "All you, Ryan." The autopilot light blinks green as they approach the fuel tanks, preparing to dock.

"You named your Artificial Assistant Ryan?" Asks Riley.

"Uh, yeah." Zoe shrugs at the unexpected question.

"Like the actor?"

"Yeah."

"He even sounds like Ryan Reynolds."

"Mhm." Zoe watches as they drift in closer to Galileo's Guide, aligning to dock.

"And you make him call you 'Boss Lady'?" Asks Riley with a giggle. Zoe's face blushes red with embarrassment.

"I guess so." A soft clunk indicates the success of the docking.

"No, that's not a bad thing! It's super cute."

"I can't tell if you're making fun of me." Zoe says. Riley giggles again, and the contagious sound makes Zoe smile too. Riley answers.

"Sorry. I'm not trying to. I just thought it was funny." Zoe looks back at her passenger and winks.

"Glad you're feeling better." As she faces back at the viewport, she continues to sweat, wiping her hands on her shirt repeatedly. "Just one last trip through the garbage, and we're good to go." She says, fighting back her fear. Her breathing is accelerated, and her heart rate matches. Ryan would probably warn her if he was unmuted.

After a few lengthy minutes, the refueling process is complete, and the auxiliary fuel tank is now full. The altimeter continues to pulse red, warning her that she will soon be too low to recover.

"Hope they don't bill me for that." Zoe says, as Ryan undocks the fueling umbilical with another soft clunk. With two short bursts from the RCS they once again face the Debris field, free of the remains of Galileo's Guide. Zoe's nerves are still high. Her hands shake and sweat. She licks her lips repeatedly as she prepares for one last trip. She looks back to Riley, whose eyes are still wide and frightened. The young woman forces a smile. Zoe smiles back.

"Hey, if I kill us... I think you're really pretty." Zoe says.

"Oh... Thank you." Riley responds.

Zoe calls for thrust from Ryan. A red light blinks on the console, a temperature warning. Zoe notices it.

"Uh, Ryan, unmute verbal and give me an update on that temp reading."

[You may experience heating due to friction with Saturn's stratosphere. You may experience maneuvering difficulties due to friction with Saturn's stratosphere.]

"Ah fuck!" Yells Zoe.. "Fire the RCS, no time for caution."

"What does that mean?" Riley asks, obviously concerned.

"We're falling." Zoe replies.

[RCS has been active since undocking. Recommend main engine fire for thrust.]

"I can't navigate that debris field with main engine burns." Says Zoe. "Even the minimum thrust is way too fast." Ryan does not reply. The temperature readout on the console is solid red now, and an alarm begins to blare.

"Is that bad?" Asks Riley, shouting over the blare of the alarm.

"Hold on tight. Shit is about to get scary." Zoe wipes her hands again, breathing rapidly. "Power main engine, low thrust. Take us out of here."

[Main engine firing.] Ryan confirms. Zoe and Riley are pinned to their seats, as if a refrigerator were sitting on their chest. Zoe grips the yoke tightly as the ship begins to shake, pushing through the wisps of particles at the outermost reach of Saturn's atmosphere. Their movement is slow, fighting past the friction at first, but as soon as they are free, the ship accelerates exponentially, lurching straight into the debris field at high speed. Zoe is forced to whip the control column hard to the left, firing the RCS at max power to strafe around what looks like a cafeteria table. Behind her, she hears panicked, shallow breathing as Riley fights to get air. There is more debris in front and below them, and Zoe twists the yoke hard, executing a rapid twist. The centripetal force pushes them into their seats, and for just a moment, it feels like sitting in a chair in normal gravity. They break out of the roll with a hard downward maneuver, ducking beneath a wall of metal, leaving them weightless in their chairs, pressing hard against their restraints. Zoe pushes them onward, accelerating out of the debris field. She sees a gap between fragments of the destroyed ship. It is closing tightly, and she shouts to Ryan, panicking.

"Main engine, full thrust!"

[Increasing thrust.] Ryan answers emotionlessly. Zoe looks back to see Riley unconscious in her seat, her head helplessly lolled to one side.

"Sorry." Zoe whispers as the ship explodes forward, slamming her into her seat with 9G of force. A grey tunnel closes around Zoe's vision, and she sees nothing.

Zoe's eyes open. Her hands fall shaking from the yoke.

"God damn." She exhales loudly. From behind her, Riley whimpers.

"I don't... I thought we were dead."

"Should have been." Zoe twists to look at Riley and winks. "But I got you." Riley stares at her, eyes filling with admiration.

"You're incredible."

"Aww, thanks. I am pretty cool." As they catch their breath, Zoe speaks to Ryan.

"Hey, how long till you can plot a course for Jupiter Orbital?"

[A single burn to the Jupiter Orbital Station will require one half of an orbit for proper alignment.] He replies. [Approximately 67 minutes.] Wordlessly, Zoe unbuckles, and moves to help Riley. She sees Riley in her seat, her messy brown hair floating all over the place, and the sleeping bag locked into the harness with her. Without thinking, Zoe laughs.

"Sorry," She says, "You look great." Riley smiles weakly.

"I do my best." She is tugging at the harness, but can't unclip it. Zoe reaches out, unfastening Riley's harness.

"See, just push in here and down." As soon as Riley breaks free, she grabs the arms of the seat, panicking slightly.

"I hate microgravity." She's tense and shaky, but Zoe reassures her.

"You get used to it. Come on, I'll help you out." Zoe offers a hand, and She accepts. Riley begins to float free of her chair, and Zoe guides her towards the ladder and into the main bay of the ship, pulling her by the hand gently.

"That's it, slowly. Don't bump your head, knocks like that are a million times worse out here." Riley appears intensely focused as they glide to a handrail by Ryan's UI.

"You're getting it." Zoe encourages her.

"I'm so nauseous." Says Riley, gripping the handrail and gasping. "I will never get used to this. It's the worst."

"Well, do your best." Zoe pushes off, gliding to her first aid kit and popping the latch.

"It's like a three month journey back to civilized space. 0-g all the way." She withdraws a bottle, kicking off and coming to a rest by Riley. "And I've only got so much Dramamine." She concludes, opening the cap on the bottle and letting a pill float free. Weakly, Riley attempts to catch the pill, but misses. She closes her eyes and groans. Zoe deftly catches the tiny free floating pill and pushes it into Riley's hand.

"It's okay kid. If you gotta hurl I'll get you a bag. If not, try to keep the pill down." She hands Riley a bag of water. Slowly, Riley pushes the pill into her mouth and swallows it with water.

"Think you can make it an hour?" Zoe asks. "We're gonna get some artificial gravity in an hour." Riley silently clutches the handrail. Zoe begins to gently rub her back, trying to comfort the amatuer space passenger.