Contact

This is a work of fiction. Any semblance between original characters and real persons, living or dead, is coincidental. The author in no way represents the companies, corporations, or brands mentioned in this book. The likeness of historical/famous figures have been used fictitiously; the author does not speak for or represent these people. All opinions expressed in this book are the author's, or fictional.

Is the Super Alien System based on a real system? Who knows.

This book has depictions of violence and it may be troubling for some readers. Discretion is advised.

----------

Polina brushed a strand of blonde hair from the front of her face and grabbed a handrail and stared out the window at the dark shadow of the Earth below. The International Space Station was currently traveling over the Arctic at 27,000 km/h and would be leaving Earth's shadow at any second.

In a flash the ISS left Earth's shadow and was illuminated in a dazzling golden light. Polina's pupils shrunk and she raised a hand to shield her eyes but even though it hurt she didn't look away.

Earth's parent star seemed to rise from the horizon like a glorious ball of fire but she knew that was just an illusion caused by the ISS' orbital trajectory.

She tapped the headset on her ear and spoke in English with a heavy Russian accent, "Mike, you got it?"

Some static buzzed through the headset and then a cocky American voice came through, "Of course! Who do you think I am? It'll be fantastic, guaranteed. Just remember your promise."

Polina shook her head and replied tiredly, "Yeah, sure."

The color of the ISS' wall nearby suddenly changed to blue and Polina looked up in surprise. She had never seen this happen before. She looked back inside the station module but didn't see anything different, her eyes widened and she quickly looked out the window.

The golden star on Earth's horizon had changed color and was now the color of a light blue flame. The star was pulsing, its diameter increasing visibly with every pulse.

A small red circle appeared on the window and Polina jolted, she quickly tapped her headset and spoke urgently, "Commander, there is some kind of solar event. Request orders."

She rubbed her nose and stared when her fingers came away dark red. After staring for a second, she turned around and jumped toward the inner section towards the command module. She floated the length of the module and slammed her hand into a button on the wall and an alarm started blaring loudly throughout the station.

Polina couldn't stop her body from shaking and her teeth were shattering. She hugged herself in an attempt to stop the tremors and tapped her intercom, "Mike? Come in, Mike. Anybody, come in."

'Where are they?' she thought, 'maybe the solar flare's interfering with comms.'

The alarm had caused red lights to start flashing on and off at both ends of the module, and throughout the station.

She looked back towards a station window. 'There's no obvious damage. I should move to a shielded area, but first I need to send command a message.'

Protocol dictated that all major events were to be reported. The station would transmit its telemetry automatically, but there was always the possibility of an electronics failure.

Polina floated to a communication station and quickly flipped a couple of switches and picked up the connected mic. The comm station was connected to the station's main transmitter and any message would be picked up by a constellation of relay satellites.

This transmission should then be relayed directly to Russian Space Command. She didn't have time to encrypt the signal, she needed to inform ground control immediately.

"Command, this is Polina, ISS. There has been a solar event. Condition of crew unknown. Possible radio interference. Possible elevated radiation levels."

The speakers burst with static for a few seconds and then fell silent.

She frowned, 'is the satellite comm network down?'

A shadow appeared behind her and she gasped and spun around but when she saw a tall Russian man floating nearby in a spacesuit she sighed in relief. She held her side, panting. "Commander, I can't get through to Space Command."

The commander spoke in a concerned voice, "Are you alright, Polina?" He floated closer and gently tilted her head from side to side.

Polina stubbornly pulled her head away, "I'm fine, Dmitri. It's just a nose bleed."

Dmitri glanced at the comm console and then back at Polina. "Here, clean your face." The man produced a cloth from somewhere.

Polina numbly took the cloth and wiped her face. She blinked when the tissue came back dark red and tapped her face but didn't feel any pain.

The man sighed and his eyes became unfocused, "Possible radiation sickness. Here put this on." He pushed a spacesuit towards her. "You must have been standing at the edge when the flare hit," he said but too quietly for her to hear.

Polina grabbed the spacesuit, it had already been made ready for use but as she was stepping into it, she paused. "What about the others? ... Commander?"

The man looked troubled and after a moment shook his head. "We're evacuating! The others are already prepping the Soyuz."

Polina quickly finished strapping herself into the spacesuit. "Quick, check it," Polina said and floated in front of Dmitri. He quickly moved his hands over her spacesuit and checked it in a professional manner. After he finished his check, he gave her a thumb's up.

"The suit's good, Polina. We need get to the Soyuz."

Polina shook her head and said "give me a minute, I need to grab something important." She turned and jumped towards the crew's habitation module.

Commander Dmitri watched her scramble away with an exasperated expression.

Polina pulled herself along the station wall into the habitation module and quickly moved to her bed. She opened a storage closet next to the bed but stopped. It was empty!

'How can it be empty? I put it right here, I'm sure of it!'

She frantically looked around and even pulled the sleeping bag out but there was nothing underneath.

'No, I can't lose it!'

Her shadow stretched out against the wall as a light flashed by the station window. She bit her lip, forcibly suppressed her trepidation and continued to look around the habitation module.

The station alarm suddenly fell silent and the screen of a computer terminal nearby flashed. She paused for a second. 'Could Space Command have contacted us?'

The moved to the terminal screen. It many command windows open and was executing dozens of operations. When she closed one console window, a new window immediately opened.

She looked closer at the screen but then noticed a strap floating out from behind the terminal. She laughed and pulled the strap that was connected to a small backpack. She immediately checked the contents and then hooked the strap over her shoulder and moved back towards the Soyuz escape module.

As Polina floated through the station, she grimaced and slowed down. An acrid odor of burning plastic had filled the air.

'Had there been a short circuit?'

She didn't wait and unhooked her helmet from her suit and attached it. She turned a dial on the side of the suit and there was a hissing sound as clean air was released.

In a moment the air was cleared inside the suit and she took a couple of deep breaths. She activated the suit's intercom but winced as static blared through the helmet speakers. She tapped a few buttons on the suit's arm control panel and squelched the static.

Just then the led lights in the module flickered and went out plunging the station into deep shadows in the areas not illuminated by the eerie blue light. Polina thanked the commander in her heart. It felt safer to be wearing the suit.

The module was filled with hard black shadows and the only thing she could hear inside was the sound of her breathing.

In the shadows she noticed terminal screens that had active command windows open like the one in the habitation module. Polina turned on the helmet light chasing many of the shadows away and began to move forward again.

Suddenly an arc of electricity was discharged from the terminals that ionized the air ahead and some of these arcs snapped towards her suit like small lightning bolts.

Polina grabbed a plastic handrail to stop herself and watched the arcing discharges nervously. She should be insulated inside the suit, but that would not necessarily protect her from fire or plasma.

She froze.

The ionized air ahead was glowing slightly and started to coalesce in the center of the module.

'Is that a person?' she thought in shock.

The glowing cloud had formed a torso, limbs and head. After a while it even formed distinct facial features. Its eyes turned toward Polina.

Polina grabbed the handrail again and retreated a short distance back the way she had come but when the cloud-like creature did not move, she stopped.

She activated her radio, "Commander, I am witnessing something abnormal. There is some kind of electrical phenomenon on station. It looks alive."

Her suit's radio emitted some static and Polina's calm voice sounded back through the speaker, "Non.. hostile..?"

Polina mind went blank. This thing was communicating through her radio with her own voice.

'How do I talk with such a creature? Training didn't cover this!'

She heard her calm robotic voice through the suit's speaker again, "Confirm. Non-hostile."

Polina shuddered and half turned to look over her shoulder.

'Are there more of these things onboard?'

She looked back at the partially glowing creature and after a pause activated her radio and spoke with a trembling voice, "Confirmed. Non-hostile."

The glowing cloud had formed into the figure of a young woman. Even though it was not a solid object, wind seemed to be blowing the woman's hair.

The calm, robotic voice sounded in her suit's speakers again, "Confirmed.. hostile entities. Confirmed.. non-hostile entities."

The glowing young woman cocked her head to the side as if listening to something, then suddenly looked back at Polina and moved toward the cosmonaut. Its hand reached forward and penetrated the spacesuit's helmet.

Polina cried out as fear gripped her heart when the creature moved close but it was washed away with an overwhelming feeling of calm.

She thought in bewilderment, 'What are you?'

This time she heard a response directly in her own mind, "Object 32089176."

Then everything went dark.