Loren Li Cloes

Eris Flash Fiction

(From The Underground to Eris)
I dont remember how it happened. One day it was a beautiful day on earth and
the next thing I know we are in a code black situation. Within 3 days, our government
desperately started sending anyone with enough courage to explore planets to inhabit
as soon as possible. Who would have thought a crew of 10 teenagers would adventure
on the Millennium Falcon to Eris, a dwarf planet outside of all the other planets. I was
one of the first out of my fellow peers to volunteer from The Underground, a secret
black ops academy so aloof that we dont even know which agency started it. I was one
of the eldest, age 19, and I was there because I was a troublemaker for my adopted
parents. A month into The Underground, I picked up the nickname Red due to my red
hair and how short my temper was. Of course, being one of the eldest, I had to set an
example for my fellow peers and I did that by having the strongest courage out of all of
them. Now, just because I volunteered doesnt mean I dont agree with this whole
endeavor, in fact, I find it pointless. Why dont we just give up and let everyone on
earth go extinct? See what I mean, quick to judge and angry. As to having a short fuse, I
tend to black out once Ive reached a point of anger. That's probably why I dont
remember what happened on earth. It's every person for themselves out here, so this
will be interesting trying to be a unit of soldiers. Im just hoping my unique qualities
will be recorded and appreciated on this extremely long expedition to Eris. I guess the
hardest person to get along with on this endless ride would be Ava, also known as A for
her abilities to hide in plain sight and still cause trouble. She and I always competed to
be top of the class. Considering I was top of the class last time I checked, I thought it
was my job to be the rebel but also the leader until she came along. The only way I'll be
able to survive this ridiculous trip is if I become captain and that means knowing more
than A.
Its the day before we are supposed to launch and the only thing someone forgot
to account for is the escape velocity. Talk about being in a rush to go. Well, in order for
us to actually, go we need to account for the universal gravity of 6.67x10-11
, the mass of
the ship, and the radius of the planet. After all that headache, we end with with
1.118x1010
as our amount of velocity we need to escape the code black situation here
on earth. Ha! Take that A! Looks like Im taking over as captain. Now she may have
calculated the travel distance which is 6615138.126 kilometers but I calculated the
travel time, which is 557 years by the way, so when I say endless I mean endless.
There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, we have to do something to
entertain ourselves on this endeavor to Eris. Lets just hope for As sake this trip
doesnt turn into a murder case. Haha just kidding, everyone is gonna live, probably.
Well, I take that back it depends on Rays cooking. Ray is more of a botanist, so we are
just hoping he knows how to cook just as well as he knows plants. Now if I thought
being a student in The Underground was tough with the strict instructors, try traveling

through space with no instructions. I rather instructors than no instructions even if

following orders is not in my repertoire.
***
Its been years since the launch of the Aries Ember and the launch went fine
thanks to my calculations and not As. So far so good, until we hit 300 years of travel,
that's when all hell broke lose. Now I bet you're wondering how we are all still young
after traveling for 300 years. Well I cant tell you that, it's a government secret. Lets just
say it gives us the ability to be somewhat immortal. Now just because we are stuck
youthful doesnt mean we still dont need oxygen. The reason I bring that up is because
all hell broke lose when someone in particular mistook the oxygen recycling system for
the water recycling system. Now a normal person takes in about 500 liters of oxygen in
a day while us Underground guinea pigs take in roughly 250 - 300 liters a day. The
Millennium Falcon should give us plenty of oxygen. While Ray and I attempt to dry out
the oxygen recycler, thankfully the other 7 crew dont know what's going on. I dont
think I'll be able to handle everyone panicking. Traveling 300 years feels endless. I
cant help but wonder what other disaster might happen once we get to Eris.
***
557 years is way too long to travel to Eris or to travel in space in general. I was
prepared for that, but what happened these past 24 hours I wasnt prepared for. Ava,
Ray and I went out on Eris surface, unprepared for its gravity of 0.827 but we were too
excited to wait, the others not so much. We put our gear on oxygen level 100%,
meaning 300 liters of oxygen in our packs, and we were off. The sound of my own
voice through my space suit was muffled but the howling winds of the nitrogen-rich ice
mixed with frozen methane atmosphere was not. Ava and Ray got scared and too cold
so they ran back to the ship within the hour. I, on the other hand, was loving this and
didnt want to return to the ship yet. But once I did I came to find that Ray was there
but Ava was not. I rushed back out to see if I could find her but all I heard was the
beeping of her intercom and the wind howling with faint scream of my name Red.