The comms tower floated across from him, lit around its edge by Jupiter, and the distance between him and it now seemed infinite. Rising panic had him standing and staring, fingers aching as he clung to the handle with all his strength.
"Outside and to your left you will see a reel of cable with a fastener on the end. Secure the fastener to your suit."
Ben's breathing had become light and fast. His head swam. He could see his vision fading.
"You can do it, Ben. I know you can."
"I can't," Ben wheezed.
"I know you can."
With a snatch of breath and a firm hold, Ben leaned out of the doorway and entered space fully. It appeared even more dominating than ever. It felt somehow so close, like it was pressing against him, suffocating him, yet so far, all at the same time.
His eyes searched for the reel and found it. He grabbed at the fastener and took it quickly back into the tug again. The rampage of his heart in his chest had him feeling close to fainting. Everything about this felt stupid and reckless, but he knew he had to do it.
"The fastener clips to the eyelet on the left side of your suit."
Ben lifted his elbow and saw the eyelet, a small metal hoop protruding from the suit. He snapped the fastener on and screwed it to the locked position.
"Now—"
Ben knew what he had to do. Every part of him hummed with electricity.
"—you must jump."
Chapter 11
There was no way he could do it. It was too far.
"You need to get to the lower section first, below the ridge,' Tom told him.
"Will the cable reach?"
"Yes."
There must be another way, surely? Ben thought. This couldn't be the only option. Jupiter was so bright out there that he could almost feel heat radiating from it. It was most likely his imagination, but that didn't stop him from sweating. It ran into his eyes, down his cheeks. He could taste the salt.
And then, with a snap burst of speed, he took two running steps and hurled himself out of the tug. He felt the safety cable pull taut and its resistance slow him as it unwound, but he continued to soar. He was flying, unaided, alone.
With his arms outstretched he reached for the oncoming comms tower. He'd aimed for a large flat section so he didn't get tangled and damage his suit on impact. Getting closer, he saw small fragments of metal and composite flaking away from where the tower had been torn from its mount.
Ben then realised that he was travelling at quite a pace, and as the tower got really close it occurred to him that he was going to hit it at speed. Before he had much more time to think about it, he slammed into the side, curling up right at the last minute. As he rebounded, he unfurled and scrabbled at the surface for something to hold onto before he drifted too far. His hand caught a rail and he pulled himself towards it, looping his arm around and clutching tight as he caught his breath.
"Are you okay?" Tom asked.
Ben's left side hurt from the top of his arm, through his ribs and down his leg, but he seemed alright, if winded. "Yeah," he wheezed.
"When you're ready, climb up and to your left to the first junction box."
Ben looked up and to the left. He saw an access point protruding from the tower's side. "I see it," he said, air returning to his lungs.
"Make your way to it."
"Okay."
Reaching up to grab the next rail—which Ben noticed were all over the exterior, presumably to aid construction and maintenance—a sharp pain ripped down his side. He recoiled and let out a yell of pain.
"What's wrong?" Tom asked.
"Nothing, nothing," Ben said through gritted teeth. "Just a bit of pain, that's all. I can go on."
"Take your time," Tom said. "Don't rush."
More gingerly this time, Ben pulled himself up to the next rail, and across to the next. The pain with each new movement shot hot sparks into his chest, but he bit down and did his best to ignore them. By the time he got to the box, he was soaked with sweat and feeling lightheaded.
"I just need to rest a minute," he said.
"You're doing well. When you are able, please open the box."
Pulling the handle on the box, Ben swung the door open. Inside was a junction, with a thick cable coming in from the top and three thinner cables exiting the bottom and sides.
"Reach in and twist the thicker cable anti-clockwise," Tom said. "It should come free."
It did. "Now what?" Ben asked.
"You need to go to the junction box up top. It's directly above you, about fifty metres away."
Ben looked up, but a ridge circling the tower blocked his view. "I can't see it," he said.
"It's beyond the ridge. You will need to negotiate it."
Ben's whole left side felt like it was on fire. Going forwards seemed like hell, and going back wasn't an option. Staying put only delayed the inevitable. "Okay, here I go."
"Whenever you're ready. Keep one hand on a handrail at all times."
"Understood."
Ben slowly made his way up to the ridge. As he approached it, he realised it protruded more than he'd thought. It jutted out from the tower by about a metre, with handrails going around it. As Ben took hold of one, it became apparent that he'd no longer be able to use his feet as well as he swung around the lip. Hand over hand he pulled himself over, great, tearing stabs of pain ripping down his side with every lunge. His legs hung weightless beneath him, useless appendages being dragged along.
It was the first time he'd seen the tug from the outside. Against the impossible scale of space, it was simply a grain of sand, floating without purpose. How fragile it looked.
Ben turned his back to the tug to reach over the edge. He kicked his legs against the station to swing himself up, and unobstructed, he sailed all the way around, holding onto the handrail for dear life. His feet were behind him, then above him, then in front of him. He hit the top of the ridge back first and with excruciating agony, but he managed to maintain his grip.
"Up above you, about thirty metres, is the junction box. Do you see it?"
Ben let his vision return and the ringing bell in his head subside. The air in his suit felt harder to breathe as he drew great lungfuls of it. Ahead, protruding from the nest of cables and girders, the junction box stood proud. "I see it."
"Go to it. I will explain further when you get there."
"Okay—" Ben started, but he was interrupted by a flash of light and a shudder than rumbled through the comms tower. "What was that?"
Tom took a moment to respond. "I'm uncertain. The light seemed to emanate from the fragment of station still attached to the comms tower. It could be a capacitor surge. Be quick."
"A capacitor surge?" Ben repeated. "What does that mean? Am I safe?"
"Just be quick," Tom urged.
Ignoring the pain, which had been dulled by a fresh kick of adrenaline, Ben scaled the tower. He moved quickly, a bit too quickly perhaps, his fingers narrowly missing the handrail above him. With a great lunge he caught hold of the rail and drew himself back to the tower, chest heaving.
"Please be careful," Tom said.
"Uh huh," Ben said between gasps.
Another rumble shuddered through the tower, stronger than before. Ben felt sure he could feel a tingle of electricity in his hands and feet. He ushered along to clear the last ten metres as quickly as he'd scaled the previous twenty, arriving at the junction box alert and edgy.
"I'm here," he said breathlessly.
"Good. First, open the junction box."
The box was just like the first. He pulled the handle, but the door didn't budge. "Is this one locked?"
"No, no lock."
Ben pulled again. Stuck. "I can't get the door open." He looked closely, saw the sparkling shimmer of frost on it. "I think it's frozen shut."
"Try a firm impact to the side of the box."
With a fist, Ben hit the side of box. He pulled the handle again, but still it was stuck. "Nothing."
&nbs
p; Another flash of light, this time brighter, made Ben scrunch his eyes shut. When he opened them again, flecks of yellow flickered in front of them.
"Be quick," he added.
"Try this," Tom suggested. "Wrap your safety line around the handle with about a metre of slack."
Ben did as asked.
"Then, stand on the side of the tower holding the line taught and use your legs to pull against the door."
The idea immediately sounded risky. "Are you sure?"
"It's the best I can think of. Try to apply gradual increases in pressure."
With the cable wrapped tight around the handle, Ben placed his feet firmly on either side of the junction box, and against the cable's tension, carefully stood up, now protruding from the side of the tower. Even though he was weightless, it felt very strange, his sense of direction and balance losing their references, leaving him feeling a little dizzy and nauseous.
Once he was steady, he took the strain and pushed through his heels. Increasing the pressure gradually as Tom asked, he heaved against the frozen door, quickly feeling agonising pain rushing up his side and exhaustion filling his bones and muscles. The slippery frost coating was causing his feet to slide against the pressure, and still the door did not budge.
"It's—not—working," he said, straining.
"Increase the pressure slowly."
Ben did so, his feet slipping more. Soon he was at the peak of his strength, buckling against the taut cable. All he felt was pain, and his vision blurred.
In a split second, the tension went slack as his feet slipped from under him. The door had given and the rigidity holding him down was gone, leaving him free to float away from the tower. Ben grabbed at the cable, still loosely wrapped around the handle, and snatched at it to reel himself in. He could see it loosening further as he pulled; it would have come free before he could get himself close enough.
There was only one thing for it: with a great heave he pulled hard on the cable, which slipped completely from the door handle. Arms outstretched, he floated still, the world quiet. Then, he saw that the tower was coming towards him, and he grabbed at whatever he could to secure himself to its surface.
He didn't know how much more adrenaline his body could take.
"It's open," he said.
"Good. Inside should be a cable junction with several thin cables entering the top and one thick one leaving out of the bottom."
"I see them."
"It's the thick cable we want. Now it is unfastened from the box below, you should be able to pull it all the way out."
Ben shielded his eyes as another flash of light erupted from somewhere on the tower. He definitely felt a charge across his skin this time, leaving a fuzzy tingling behind. Quickly he wedged a foot into a handrail and pulled hand over hand at the cable. It didn't slide out freely, but it was coming, one yank at a time. Another flash shone through his eyelids as he shut them quickly, but with no free hands to cover them, he was left blinking back bright flashing spots.
"How much longer have I got?" he asked Tom.
"I don't know."
Arms now burning and side hot with pain, Ben drew the cable through. He could feel the friction lessening as it spooled metre by metre into space, curling slowly out behind him.
"Not—much—more," he said, encouraging himself through the numbing cramp building in his shoulders. He was more careful when the last few metres emerged, holding on to the tower with one hand and pulling it out with the other. When the last of it came free, he held onto its end. The rest of it unfurled slowly, a great bionic tentacle.
"Good job, Ben," Tom said. "Now—"
"Now I need to bring it back to the tug," Ben said. It looked so small, so far away. The jump to the tower seemed easy by comparison.
"You can feed yourself along your safety line—" Tom began, but as he did an almighty whip crack of light and electricity sent Ben shooting from the tower. Everything was tumbling—tower, tug, tower, tug, over and over. He managed to keep hold of the cable as blood rushed into his head, his vision turning scarlet. The safety line went taught, jerking against him, and the spinning slowed.
"Ben!" Tom said. "Pull yourself in on your safety line!"
Ben was ridged, just wanted to pass out. He may have stopped, but his head was still spinning. Electricity still buzzed in his bones.
"Ben!" Tom repeated.
Ben shook his head to try and clear it, and with one hand clinging onto the cable, he used the other to feel down his torso to the mounting point on his side. He found it and then the line, which he pulled on. The momentum helped ease the spinning in his head, and he could see the tug getting larger. More sparks cascaded into space from the tower.
"Keep going!" Tom told him.
Feeling out along the cable, Ben gave himself another yank, speeding up his momentum towards the tug. His body was beyond pain at this point, on the edge of consciousness. All sensation was dulled and distant.
"Nearly there!"
With a thud, Ben hit the side of the tug. He hadn't even realised he was near it. Gripping hold of the edge of the hatch, he pulled himself in.
"There's a panel ahead of you two down and three across with 'CM103' written on it. Pull that panel off."
It came off easily. Below it were cable strips streaming from a central board. There was also a plug that looked identical to the ones on the junction boxes.
"Plug the cable in there," Tom told him. "Twist clockwise to secure."
The inside of the tug lit up with another flash, Ben's silhouette casting a shadow on the panel in front of him. His fingers had seized against the cable because he'd held it so tightly, and he pried them off with his free hand and plugged the cable in.
"Now what?" he asked.
"The message is sent," Tom said. "Now we wait."
Chapter 12
"In thirty-eight minutes," Tom said, "Helios will receive our signal. Thirty-eight minutes after they broadcast, we will receive their reply."
"Then what do we do?"
Ben had the sickening sense that he already knew the answer.
"Then …" Tom said slowly, as if trying to be delicate with his answer, "then we wait for rescue."
"How long will that take?" Ben asked, voice cracking into a whisper.
"Five and a half months."
Ben nodded. His eyes unfocussed as he allowed himself to absorb what he'd just heard. Five and a half months. It didn’t seem real. It didn't seem possible.
Another flash cracked through the open hatch, but Ben only noticed it in passing. His mind was stuck in a loop, trying to bring some kind of sense to the possibility of being out here on his own for so long.
"We'll get through it," Tom said reassuringly.
Ben snapped from his daze and nodded. Then the heat came from behind his eyes, his face crinkling up against his will, tears starting to flow. He tried to wipe them away, to hide them, but glove and visor prevented him from doing so. He felt stupid for even trying, which made the tears flow faster.
"It's okay," Tom said. "You're allowed to be upset."
Sniffing, Ben nodded again. He could feel composure returning. Then, another wave of emotion crested, and he had to support himself against the tug.
"I want my mum and dad …" he said quietly.
Tom said nothing.
Ben imagined his room, his bed, the sounds of his parents outside getting ready for work. Those thoughts brought him comfort, relaxed him, and he lingered there, hoping it would become real. He shut his eyes, sensing the sights, the sounds and the smells, how his bed sheet felt over shoulders, how he sunk into the soft mattress, how the background hum of the station helped him drift to sleep …
But none of it was real. It was all gone. Nothing of it existed anymore, except the memory—a memory that would fade over time until it too was gone.
Ben opened his eyes. He felt the hard panel of the tug through his glove, saw the wires and cables that connected his new home. This was the reality he had to fa
ce, to live with for five and a half months. It was a sobering thought, and he suddenly felt cold and emotionless.
He sat on the floor of the tug, turning to lean against the lower panels, and looked out at the comms tower. They'd drifted slightly, and the cable that connected it to them was soon to be pulled taught. Tom hadn’t mentioned it, so Ben assumed it would be fine. Another shower of sparks erupted from the belly of the tower. In this cold light, they looked kind of beautiful.
Almost immediately afterwards, another flash of light pierced Ben's eyes. He shielded them quickly, and in his moment of blindness, he felt the tug shudder.
"What was that?" he said, peeking back over his arm. Another flash of light sent him recoiling behind his arm, which was followed by a stronger shudder. The flash was so bright it gave him a headache even though his eyelids and from behind his arm.
"We need to detach," Tom said. "Quickly."
Ben was on his feet before he knew it, the pain in his side dully coming back to him. He unfastened the cable and held it hesitantly for a moment. It had been hard work to get it, and now he was just about to throw it away.
"Now!" Tom said.
With a flick of his wrist, Ben sent the loose end flailing from the tug.
"Unclip from the safety line and get into the pilot's seat!"
Ben followed the commands with immediacy, landing himself in the pilot's seat with a thump.
"Any direction away from here, full power," Tom told him.
Another flash and shudder made the controls buzz in Ben's hands, but he wasted no time in putting the tower behind them and throttling forwards at maximum attack. He held the craft true as wave after wave of vibration threatened to shake them to pieces, correcting the tug as each one twisted and buckled its frame.
An almighty eruption of light knocked him forwards, his entire vision burning white. And then space fell dark once more. The flashes had stopped, the shudders gone. Ben slowed the tug and turned it to see the aftermath through blotchy vision. Only fragments remained. He recognised some bits, but others had been broken down into such small pieces, melted and deformed, that they were completely unfamiliar to him.
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