Who's There?! (Chapter 1)

Tiago DaGama had just left the briefing room when the message appeared on his wrist. The exploratory mission to the abandoned TSS Curiosity had been upgraded to priority 1 and was moved to today. Tiago wasn’t really bothered all that much, he knew quite a lot about the ships in the H.O.P.E. program—after all he was one of the youngest engineers on the design team. His mind was elsewhere. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off and that the crew with him on the TSS Geisel were not going to last much longer. Since the discovery of this abandoned ship, everyone had been on edge. There were rampant rumors that they had time traveled hundreds of years into the future and lost all contact with Earth. The lump in Tiago’s throat grew. He was only a handful of crew members who knew these weren’t rumors.
As he briskly walked along the stark white paneled hallway, Tiago passed the window section looking into the terrarium. It was lunchtime for shift B and the line was already out the door. The rationing has only been getting tighter as the two-year supply of condensed food packets had now started to run out. Tiago looked up just in time to see the first punch fly. He stopped for a moment to watch through window. “People must be getting sick of the vegetables” he thought. Then he took a deep breath in before continuing towards the armory. He loved how the corridors around the terrarium smelled like dirt, it reminded him of Earth.
Isaac and the other engineers were already waiting for him when he arrived. The four security guards exchanged looks and then opened the door. Tiago felt his jaw hit the floor when he saw what was inside. He knew the weapons rooms aboard the ships were never fully stocked but this was frightening.
“I thought there were 10, where are the rest of them?” he said
“Looks like this room isn’t quite as Fort Knox as they promised.” Isaac jeered
A security guard informed the group that some of the laser guns had been checked out by patrols to help maintain order on the ship in the rapidly deteriorating situation but assured them they were all accounted for and there was nothing to worry about.
“That’s okay. Jesus didn’t need one, neither do I.” Isaac said has he handed the last one to Tiago and firmly clutched his bible.
The plastic handle felt cold in his hand and he was surprised at the daintiness of such a dangerous thing. Tiago held it up like he had seen Sean Connery do so many times in James Bond. That was one of his favorite movies to watch from the ship’s archive.
The expedition ship seemed much smaller in person than Tiago remembered it being in the plans. Perhaps that was because they were packed in like sardines. The Capitan of the TSS Geisel ordered two ships be prepped but in a last-minute update they were now strictly limited to one. A nervous feeling crept into Tiago’s stomach as they strapped in. The spacesuit was quite uncomfortable too and the metal rings left a funny taste on his lips. The hatch thunked closed with a solid metallic bang and the ship powered on.
The launch and short journey over to the TSS Curiosity was uneventful and only lasted half an hour. Because the TSS Curiosity was completely powered down, they had to manually dock the expedition ship. Tiago felt the latch engage as the ship jolted and became one with the TSS Curiosity. He looked over at Isaac whose head was bowed in prayer and took one last deep breath of the stuffy cabin air before he donned his helmet and gave the go ahead to open the hatch.
The security officers were the first to board the ship, the lights on their helmets piercing into the inky stillness of the launch bay. The rest of the engineers followed, their metallic footsteps echoing in the silent emptiness of the long hallway.
“Oxygen levels are zero!” a voice buzzed in Tiago’s ear. He looked over and it became painfully obvious why. Every single expedition ship and escape pod was gone, and the airlocks were wide open. Tiago stood looking out at the TSS Geisel surrounded by the emptiness of space.
“Someone didn’t know what they were doing.”
The team made their way to the end of the launch bay and was greeted with a locked bulkhead door. Tiago knew the ship automatically sealed damaged sections to preserve the wellbeing of the crew. The doors were mechanically sealed from the pressure difference and could only be opened if it was equalized. Tiago pointed to the bleed valve and one of the security officers spun it open with the override key. Isaac jumped and they were greeted with a jet blast of icy vapor as the cabin vented into space, the moisture in the air freezing instantly. The door swung open into the ship with ease as the team filed through. Tiago went last and was sure to close it behind him to save some atmosphere at the next door in hopes someone was still here.
At the next door Tiago went first and led the team straight for the terrarium, anyone left alive would be taking care of it. Due to the angle of the ship, its condition could not be told from the TSS Geisel. Rounding the corner Tiago was nearly blinded. The dome was pointed at a nearby star which filled the room with light. The environment meter on his wrist blinked green. As he slipped the unwieldy metal ringed helmet over his head Tiago’s nose was filled with the rich smell of dirt and plants. Then his eyes adjusted. Greenery filled the room, covering the walls, floor, and snaking their way up the dome. It was like being in a jungle. He heard leaves rustle. The room fell silent as he raised his laser gun just like 007 and called out
“Hello, who’s there?”