By Andra Marquardt
For three days, they orbited the unnamed volcanic moon. Searching.
From the pilot’s seat of his ship, Sedulous, Kavis watched the yellow sun drift from behind the moon’s parent planet, also unnamed. Not that their names would have mattered. He cared only for the voice that emanated from the moon. A woman’s voice. Ghostly. He could hear it when the moon hid from the sun. Somehow the sun interfered with the signal. His ship’s sensors couldn’t pinpoint the voice’s exact location because of all the ash in the air. Who was she, and what was she saying? His computer’s translation program couldn’t decipher anything, but to him it sounded desperate… and familiar.
“You’re wasting your time. It’s not her,” Steth, his brother, said from the copilot’s seat.
Kavis sighed. He’d heard it all before. Even from himself. He had tried to convince himself all the searching was a waste of time. But how could he give up? His wife wouldn’t give up on him, no matter what. She was also smarter than anyone else he knew, so if anyone could survive that moon, she could. That, and her survey ship had disappeared near this system.
“There’s no life down there,” Steth said. “It’s Hell. Whatever’s ghosting our comms is nothing but noise. Maybe an anomaly from one of those spewing volcanoes. Plus, the electromagnetism is off the charts.”
The chair squeaked as Kavis sat up. He really needed to fix that. “We’ll give it one more rotation. After that, we’ll leave.”
“Good. I don’t think those crates will last another day. They’re starting to stink, and I’m not mopping up the mess. Go get some sleep. And yes, I’ll let you know if anything happens.”
“Thanks.”
Steth waved him off.
Kavis checked the cargo to make sure Steth wasn’t exaggerating. They would make a lot of money on this trip, but only if the food arrived in good shape. After checking a few random crates, Kavis relaxed. Everything looked and smelled fine, although they couldn’t hang around more than another day. Steth was right about that.
He stopped in the middle of the hallway. Steth might kill him later, but he had to go down there.
Sedulous was quiet except for the soft whisper of air through the vents. Every footfall on the steel floor echoed throughout the corridor. Kavis always loved the quietness when they drifted in space like this. As if his problems couldn’t find him in such vast emptiness.
He shook the thoughts away as he entered the shuttle bay and donned one of the environmental suits hanging by the door. Although the moon had an atmosphere, the air was toxic with methane and sulfur.
Once he switched on the shuttle, Steth’s strained voice crackled through the comms. “What are you doing?”
“I have to go down there,” Kavis said. “I have to know.”
“It’s a wasteland, and there’s a massive electrical storm brewing. Once you enter that atmosphere, your electronics will fail. You’ll be trapped.”
“I’m not going to land, just get close so I can get a clearer signal. Trust me. I’ll be back soon.”
Kavis switched off the comms before Steth could argue. He flew out of the bay, his ears itching with the imagined profanity Steth was screaming at him.
In minutes, he entered the atmosphere.
As Steth had predicted, the shuttle’s electronics went haywire. Kavis set the manual controls right before all the systems blinked out.
With no engines, he had to glide the shuttle down.
Five harrowing minutes later, after slamming through volcanic ash, nasty turbulence, and lightning storms, he found a flat place to land.
A dome appeared once the dust dissipated. Too symmetrical to be natural. And ancient, judging by the rusted structural beams.
Kavis leaned forward and stared at the horizon. The setting sun glowed a burnt orange, making the landscape look almost bloody. The dome, by contrast, shimmered white in the heatwaves.
What if the signal didn’t come from the dome, and whoever lived there was long gone? What if he couldn’t restart the shuttle, and he was stuck here?
Only one way to find out.
He stepped out of the shuttle and trudged across the rocky terrain. He reminded himself to exercise more, because he had sucked up most of his oxygen supply by the time he reached the dome. It stood at least twenty meters high and about a hundred meters across. He approached a small door. The adjacent control panel glowed green. He hoped opening the dome didn’t fill it with toxic gases. With a deep breath, he pressed his hand to the blinking access screen.
The outer door hissed open just long enough for him to step into the airlock. Air swished around him, and the inner door slid open. A courtyard stretched across the center of the dome, filled with overgrown trees and other plants, and bordered with round houses. All dark. Kavis looked up. The translucent dome revealed a purple twilit sky.
He shivered, sensing someone approach him. He turned. He knew that gait. Intimately.
A light switched on over her head, revealing her long, curly black hair.
“Sharie?” He removed his helmet and took a deep breath of cool, fresh air.
Her eyes widened. “Kavis? You… you found me!”
His throat constricted. He’d known that voice since the moment it came over the comms.
Before his legs failed him, he ran up and held her close.
He didn’t care if he could never leave, as long as they never again parted, and her voice never left his ears.
Can you guess which song from the 1950's inspired this story? Share in the comments!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
That ending <33333 No idea what song this is, but I LOOOOOVE this story!!!!
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it!
Nicely told story, with some evocative imagery and a classic sci-fi feel. I’m not certain about the song – maybe “Fly Me to the Moon”, although there’s nothing in the lyrics about voices, and her voice seems like such a pivotal element in your story.
Thanks, Yorick. The song is a tough one, and you’re right about the voice.
Interesting setting and well portrayed.
Thank you, Alex!
Super ending. True love.
Thank you, SC!
Very touching. I really enjoyed the steady build to the end after Kavis decides to head down.
Thank you, Michael!
Loved this, so touching! Reading the beginning, I dind’t expect it to turn into a love story. So much emotion at the end, well done! Maybe the inspiration came from “Twilight Time” by The Platters?
I’m so glad you liked it, Dalia, and that the ending surprised you (it honestly surprised me, too). Thanks!
You’re correct, Dalia! If you’re a member of the Havok Horde, you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card.
Aww, the feels!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kaitlin!
I didn’t get the song, till I read the comments below, very cleaver.
My apologies for not seeing your comment sooner! Thanks for the comment and compliment!
Sweet. <3
All of the Tuesday stories this month were stellar! Nice job, Andra!!!
Thank you!
What a lovely ending to a gripping scifi tale! Really enjoyed this, Andra!
Thank you!