The Cosmic Assassins

CHAPTER ONE

I woke up with a start to the blaring sound of my alarm. I slowly rolled around, keeping my arm spread out so that I could hit the button that would finally end my misery. My hand instead landed on my bedside table and after a while I finally realised that I had purposely put my alarm at the opposite end of the room, forcing me to get up. Ugh! I seriously hate mornings!

After some sulking I rolled out of bed, got dressed and headed to the kitchen. It was only six o'clock in the morning and I had to be quiet so that I didn't wake up my flatmate. Gently walking around the creaky floorboards I swiftly prepared myself some toast and started brewing some cheap coffee which was disgusting, but did the job of keeping me alive... More or less. Sometimes I really regretted training for a job that got me up so early in the morning. I had always been more of a night owl and had suffered from mild insomnia my entire life but if it meant doing my dream job, it was all worth it. It had barely been two years since I had finished my training as an astronaut, yet I hadn't gotten the chance to go up to space yet. Space! The mere thought of it excited me tremendously. I probably would have to complete at least another year of lab work on earth before I ever got the chance to be sent on a mission, yet I was already dreaming of what it would be like.

I slurped the last of my coffee, finished my dry toast and made myself ready to head to work. I had been lucky to find a flat that was only 20 minutes away from the european space agency headquarters in Paris. Paris was a lively but densely packed city, so it was hard to find available flats close to the city centre that were more or less affordable. I suppose that explained the flatmate.

I had moved to Paris from England to complete my astronaut training and after that, I was directly offered a job which confirmed my permanent stay in this beautiful city. Living in such a busy city had many perks, but the uncomfortable tube rides were definitely not a part of them. Of course, in such a metropolis you couldn't get anywhere if not by an underground train. Walking would consume too much of my time and getting my own car was unimaginable in such a densely packed city. Even though having to stand like canned tuna in a carriage with around 60 other people made me uncomfortable, it was my only viable option. At about half six in the morning this usually wasn't the case though.

After the stuffy ride, I arrived at the massive building holding the european space agency and I entered with music blaring in my ears and a smile plastered on my face. Going to work made me unreasonably happy, even if it was just lab work at headquarters instead of a station in space. Unfortunately my smile didn't last for very long because just as I had entered, the tall head secretary approached me with hasty steps and a stern look. In her elegant french accent she said: "Come with me, Mr. Aubert needs to have a word with you". Without a question I followed her, struggling to keep up. I was starting to panic. Oh goodness. What could I have done? There hadn't been a day in the past two years in which my boss had asked to see me this early. I checked my watch: 6:45. Work started at 7:00 sharp, so tardiness couldn't have been a reason for this meeting. Helplessly racking my brain I followed the secretary directly to Mr. Aubert's office. She sharply spun around to me, clasping her hands and forcing a smile. "He is already waiting. After you Ms. Ray."

Just as quickly as the secretary had approached me, she sped off, leaving me alone in front of the large oak door. I could already feel the stares of my coworkers piercing me in the back and before anyone could come and ask me about the situation I was in, I knocked on the door. "Please enter!" Mr. Aubert's voice rang. I walked in, swiftly closing the door behind me so that I wouldn't make an even larger fool of myself. "Ahh, Ms. Ray, please take a seat", he pointed to the chair across from him. "Good morning Mr. Aubert" I forced out, trying to calm my nerves. In this situation, caffeine really wasn't on my side. "What can I do for you?"

"Good question, good question" he smiled. "Now, you have been working with us for about two years, correct?"

"Yes sir"

"And you have enjoyed it so far?"

I startled. I had expected him to tell me off for something or even go as far as to fire me, but I had not been prepared to give a review of my workplace. I collected myself again. "Yes, very much so" I replied.

"Well, that is always good to hear. I hope you don't mind me saying this Ms. Ray, but you seem a little nervous. Maybe you'd find it calming if I tell you that I am not here to fire you or anything of the sort. Actually, I called you for quite the opposite. I have a mission for you."

My jaw dropped. "What kind of mission?" I asked hesitantly. Mission could mean many things depending on context - I could either be examining a new collected sample, or maybe it could mean something larger, maybe I was finally going to space...

"What kind of mission? But Ms. Ray, you know it yourself! What else than a mission to space! You know, a spaceship flying you out to conduct research on specific topics we need information on. Does that answer your question?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "But Mr. Aubert, I'm sorry for all of the questions I'm asking, but aren't I supposed to work in the office for at least another nine months before I get an opportunity like this? I mean, I don't have enough lab experience, do I?"

"First of all, you do not have to apologise" he said calmly. "And secondly, this is an exception. Although I thought you would have seen this coming. I mean, you had a perfect score in all of your final exams and training and you've been working hard ever since. You always come in early, you stay late even if unnecessary and you have been a great help to everyone in the office. You have shown that you are mature and ready to take on such a challenge. I would even go as far as saying that for the moment you are our best available astronaut".

"Wow, I can't believe this" I whispered, trying to contain the explosion of emotions spreading in my chest.

"You are going to have to, because the mission is launched in no less than four months. You have every right to celebrate this but I am afraid that we have to move on to the serious stuff immediately. We have a very limited time and we must use it wisely for everything to run smoothly. A space mission is not a stroll in the park, neither is it an interstellar vacation, so you will have to excuse me for the amount of information I am about to give you"

"Of course sir, I apologise"

"Again, not needed. Your mission - named the mission Nephthys I - will be the first ever spaceship to fly to Mars. It will be a seven month and 4 day trip which you will spend with 9 other of the best astronauts in the world. Each of you have a specific experiment that you need to conduct while you're there. As a chemistry specialist, your job is to collect probes of the terrain and analyse the chemical compounds. You will only have two weeks time to conduct this research properly and thoroughly, so you need to be prepared. I suggest that you go over your astronaut preparation again so that you feel confident when the time comes. Now, there's lots more that you need to know and that we need to discuss, but this is the highly condensed principle of the Nephthys I mission".

Mr. Aubert leaned forward, looking me directly in the eye. "I trust you with this job as you are by far our hardest worker".

He moved in closer, a grin stretching his mouth. "The question is, are you ready to take on this task?"

I cleared my voice, trying to avoid any type of quiver or shake before saying: "Yes, I am ready".