The mission

Part 7

It has been five hours since the message arrived. Morgan did nothing. She read the text at least fifty times. She thought that her head would crack.

She laid her elbows on the table and with her fingers she started massaging the top of her head. Her eyes closed, she was thirsty and hungry, but she didn't want to give up. The thought of Mark kept her awake. She also struggled with emotions ranging from sadness, nervousness, shock, fear to anger, confusion, suspicion, and relief and happiness. It was like a boiled soup of feelings.

In time, she lost the battle and fell asleep on the table. She sank into a deep sleep from mental exhaustion.

The lieutenant was on the main deck watching the situation with the telescopes and scanners while also trying to alleviate the pain of the burns. She cooled the burnt areas with a wet cloth. Even though she massacred the holograms a million times, they still managed to get her. First of all because they were unpredictable.

She waited for Degea to say something about the state of the telescope, the preparation coming to an end. She will be able to get the data soon.

Reading Reyes' notes, she could conclude that most of the evidence was accompanied by a calculation, which clearly indicated accurate information. But that didn't prove anything out of the ordinary. Noah recorded in her notebook what deviated the most from these monotonous calculations. ˝Water. 71% oceans, atmosphere with nitrogen and oxygen, living geological activity... ˝ she read quietly. She then went to check to see if they had turned on the atmosphere scanner, the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere. She wanted to study the geographical map in more detail.

Morgan seemed to intend to do the same thing, she was the one who turned on those scanners. The lieutenant was pleased that the engineer was thinking the same way.

When Morgan opened her eyes she saw that she was in her sleeping chamber. Noah must have carried her to bed.

She showed her presence by gently tapping with the shoes she wore. Sobs and exhales told Noah that she wasn't sleeping very well. She grabbed her head and headed for the computer she was working on before. "Something new?" She asked the lieutenant in a hoarse voice, who was sitting a few seats away. She was well aware of Noah's performance, but she didn't want to mention it. Noah's concern must now remain buried. After all, neither had the need to discuss it.

˝Nothing. I think Degea has a radiation problem." Morgan didn't like the information, she wanted something to work with, so that her thoughts wouldn't go back to Mark. "Although there may be radiation involved, I think the problem is the dense atmosphere of Planet E3," the lieutenant continued. "Why this planet!?" Morgan said suddenly, raising her voice. Noah looked at her for a split second wondering why this outburst. She thought hard before speaking. "Because it's special," was her reply, she wanted to calm Morgan down in a softer voice, but it made her even angrier. ˝Special? What the hell, Noah? How special?!˝ The lieutenant was stunned by Reyes's behavior, she raised her eyebrows when she met her gaze. When she regained her composure and considered the answer, she quietly told her, "I have hope." The lieutenant knew that Morgan was emotionally shaken after the general's message and unable to think normally and it would be really stupid to start arguing. Noah turned to the screen and began to ignore the engineer who had a few more outbursts. The lieutenant stopped her with the threat of entering Cryo. There Reyes stopped, realizing how stupid she had been to Stelvio, which made the situation even worse.

Reyes was curled up in bed facing the wall. At that moment, she wanted her head to be empty.

Stelvio hesitated. To enter Morgan's room or not? She also prepared soup for her, thinking that a hot meal might improve her mood a little. She didn't know why she had to make sure she was okay. She was confused, very confused.

She opened the door slowly with a gentle knock. She was carrying a tray of hot soup. "Morgan?" she called softly. She planned to give her some kind of comfort. But as she was confused, she did not know how.

She sat on the bed, put the tray on her feet, and ran a hand gently over Reyes's shoulder. She didn't flinch. "Come on, Morgan, this is pretty hard for me. Please cooperate. ˝ She laughed nervously at her joke, which was also a true statement. This startled Morgan in a way, who smiled slightly but soon, when she turned to Noah, she regained a serious expression. "You shouldn't have. I'm fine," she said, not meeting her gaze. "Well, I got that impression." Noah used sarcasm, but also a joking tone to get the reaction out of her. A smile. That's what she was aiming for. "Thank you." Stelvio got the expected smile, short, but it worked out, she thought. She nodded and stood up, heading for the door.