The voice echoed throughout Station 3, a broadcast put out by the Government-Owned and Operated Radio for the People meant to calm the frayed nerves of the restless passengers. The final notes closed on Home as Kasimir Rigel was tightening the final bolt under the sink and stood up to test his handiwork. As a plumber, his job was one of the most important aboard the station. He assured that water ran cleanly throughout all of the bunks and reached all of the citizens without fail in time for every scheduled depositing. He turned the tap one final time, eyed the flow, and turned it off with a slight but satisfied grin.

Back in his own bunk, he listened to the final newscast of the night. Two red signals flashed on the wall signaling the beginning of the voice that spoke to everyone through speakers that lined every wall. A monotone voice announced the date, time, temperature of the simulated environment, and then proceeded to talk about the coming events that residents could participate in during the coming days. However, it was the final announcement that Kasimir had been waiting for. A squad was being dropped onto the planet below them in the morning. After years of unmanned surveillance, this was to be the first time that anyone left Station 3 since departing Earth.

In the morning, a crowd had gathered in the hangar to send the brave voyagers off on their journey. Among them, Kasimir weaved through the crowd in a vain effort to get a good view of the shuttle that they would ride. Peering through gaps in the crowd, he could barely make out the spherical craft. There was a wide window in the front, and tubes connected at the back of the body made their way to a switching station high above them. The shuttle was operated mechanically by people within the station in case of crisis. It served as the lifeline and base form of communication between the ground and space crews until it would be disconnected once the planet’s atmosphere was breached.

The shuttle, The Otis B. Planosphere, was so named in honour of the late inventor back on Earth. Suddenly, cheering erupted from the crowd as the Planosphere crew emerged from a big set of doors, waving at the massive crowd that had come to greet them. The crew had been rigorously selected to helm the first mission. After a bout of celebration, the crowd was ushered out of the hangar and the crew boarded the Planosphere.

Kasimir quickly made his way back to his bunk to witness the live televised event that the entire station had been waiting for. Along the way, he couldn’t help but run his fingers along the wall. When he looked at them, they were covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. Station 3 had slowly been falling into a state of disrepair. If this mission didn’t pan out, he estimated that with the current rate of water usage, they would last at the most four more years. Already, the water was a green murk. The voice in the speakers began counting, and Kasimir rushed to his bunk.

“Five minutes, folks, and the first humans to ever touch the surface of a planet since our forefathers left their own behind will drop down. This is absolutely a once in a lifetime event, so be ready with that television, and prepare to watch history unfold. I certainly hope you’ve all taken the day off work. Now, in the slightest of chances that any one of you needs a refresher, the name of the shuttle is the Otis B.—”

Even the reporter had a hint of excitement in his voice. The plumber settled into his chair and locked his eyes on the monitor before him, taking a quick sip of tea before the big event. The claw holding the Planosphere in place let go as the floor below it retracted, sending the sphere tumbling through space toward the planet. He quickly turned his head to the window behind him, but couldn’t make anything out.

\\\ \\\ \|/ /// ///

An airbag exploded around the circumference of the Planosphere causing the vessel to bounce around the surface of the planet before coming to a rolling stop. Sound in the station had gone completely silent. The radio quickly shut off Simple Math and people held their breaths waiting for figures to emerge. The airbag deflated, and thrusters moved the sphere into an upright position. The station was ablaze with roaring and clapping emerging from every direction, Kasimir’s bunk included, as he hollered along with the rest of Station 3.

The cables that connected the station and the Planosphere strained instantly, as the thrusters misfired and pulled the vessel further along the surface of the planet. In a bid to correct, the vessel was then pushed too far in the other direction, causing the station to rock from side to side. Kasimir tried to steady himself in his seat as the rocking slowly became more intense, dropping his tea and shattering the china on the floor. Passengers in the halls rolled back and forth with the station, tripping over themselves as they tried to find their footing. The announcer cut in over the loudspeaker announcing something of a problem, but he was inaudible over the shouts and crashing of equipment.

Stumbling to the window, the plumber noticed as the cable that connected the vessel and station was detached. If the lifeline landed incorrectly, it would crush the voyagers under its weight. He forced his way out of the room through a barrage of stationary. Out in the halls, he did his best to avoid fallen passengers, mumbling apologies quickly under his breath when he felt something squirm under his boot. Slowly, he tried to make his way to the bottom floor of the station.

||| ||| ||| ||| |||

Harita.

His father’s words.

The Blue Dreamscape. Supplies were dwindling. There wasn’t enough room for all of us. They may still be there, dying in the heat of the desert.

He’d heard the story many times, hope filling his father’s voice. One day they’d come across a planet just as beautiful. Settle once more under a blue sky.

“1,526,085th in line. A wonder we made it in. So low on the rung, we didn’t get the chance at cold storage. They’re up there, you know. Above us now, sleeping until we find a home while we live drinking grime.”

He’d become cynical before his death, cursing those who’d know a home.

The smell of grass.

\\\ \\\ \|/ /// ///

In the chaos, a switch in the radio room must have been flipped. Space Colony played, but Kasimir couldn’t make out the language of music that had been put on. The woman’s voice echoed across the metallic halls as he made his way down the emergency stairs, his knuckles white with pressure as he gripped the railing. Once he’d reached the bottom, he was met with a door to the engineering room. A man with a long scraggly beard and orange jumpsuit sat in a corner, his arms around his leg nursing a gash. Kasimir could make out the faint outline of a name on his left shirt pocket. Smith. Blood pooled around him.

“What’s going on?” Kasimir attempted to yell over the rattling of metal.

“Fucking lifeline didn’t disconnect in time. We’re gonna fall into orbit!”

“Anything I can do?”

“There’s no contingency plan for this scenario,” the engineer said. “The only thing we can do is get as many people onto Lifesphere’s as possible. They should be directing passengers to them now. You need to get back up there if you want a chance to get out in time!”

Kasimir resigned himself, and began his trek back up the stairs when the power cut out and gravity dissipated, pushing both men into the ceiling.

“You want a job?” Smith yelled. “Turns out you’ve got one after all. I can’t move, and the artificial gravity must have been knocked out of place. You’re gonna have to place it back so everyone can get into the Lifesphere’s safely.”

Smith passed him a light.

“Just follow those blue dotted arrows on the wall. You’re looking for a big steel ball. You need to place that back into the receptacle. Hold on to something once you’ve put it in. It’s going to hit hard.”

Before he’d managed to find the steel ball, the metal around them began to heat up. The room began to smell of burnt hair. Screams could be heard from above. The station had entered the planet’s atmosphere.

\\\ \\\ \|/ /// ///

Radio static travelled long into Kasimir, who felt something under him. Wet, sticky, and soft. His eyes began to open slowly, adjusting to a bright light he’d never seen before. Around him, charred debris. He attempted to crawl out from the mound he found himself in, but saw the source of the liquid and realized that his leg had been pinned to the ground.

Under him, Smith had been pierced, torn to pieces by shards of metal. Kasimir threw his head to the side and heaved at the sight of what remained of the man. He pulled his arm forward to find something to grip and drag him out of the mess, only to be shocked at the sight of a stump. Blood escaped him at an alarming rate.

With his other hand, he turned himself over, catching sight of the sky above him. Purple, unlike the stories his father had told him of home. He let out a weak scream, and the cries of people around him suddenly came to his attention. Circular pods shot through the sky. The lifesphere’s. Presumably, that meant that people had made it out alive. With his last remaining strength, he reached his hand below him and touched the ground, bringing a handful of dirt up to his face. Gasping now for breath, his arm succumbed under its own weight, burying his face in the dirt.