Moon

March 8, 2031.

The international lunar base located in the Mare Crisium, in the dark side of the moon is living its last moments. The mission, which has lasted 6 years, has reached much more than expected in this time. Bioengineering has allowed to grow some fruits and vegetables on a sustainable way. The privileged location helped observing astronomical phenomenas and to understand them. And much more experiments and geological research has been developed throughout the years. The crew is scheduled to depart in 36 hours, leaving the base for the next mission.

-Do you know what day is today? -asked Cooper, the cargo ship engineer, to Doctor Brand, while they where having the morning coffee in the relaxation room.

-Our last day in this giant rock? -said the woman. I'm really willing to feel gravity again. I need some holiday man. Being locked here with you for so long has been exhausting.

Cooper laughed, catching the prank. In the adjacent room, Romilly and Doyle, the two scientists of the mission, were packing some material and also smiled. Cooper could be sometimes very annoying with is behaviour, and everybody felt like that punchline was well deserved.

-There's something else going on today darling -replied the engineer. The LHC is going to start over the MOEDAL testings with exotic particles.

-Wow, that's fascinating Cooper -said Brand ironically.

-They had to stop them, because something rare happened in the last experiments, but it seems now they're ready to start them again.

Nobody was really listening to his explanations, since everybody had their mind in the return trip.
Dallas, the commander of the mission, entered the room, and convene them all to the final briefing before departure, scheduled for the next morning. He was a tall man, not the oldest of the crew, but everybody respected him. The rest of the day passed by without interruptions.
But when everybody was about to sleep, a sudden tremor shaked the entire lunar base.
-What's going on? -asked Doyle. He was the youngest of the mission, but a brilliant scientist, devoted to his career.
-I don't know, we've never experienced tremors on the moon in this years, besides some meteor impacts, but this one felt different -replied Doctor Brand. She was a very calm and analytical person, always seeking for the reasonable answers.
Dallas jumped into the communications room since there were some red lights on the panels.
-We are receiving confusing data from the earth - said in a tense voice - something is happening down there.
But communication channels were not available, or nobody was answering. The computer displayed nonsense data about the orbit and relative position of the moon and the earth. And all of a sudden, tremors began again, more frequently and intense than the previous one. A dust cloud came up from the horizon and approached the lunar base very fast.

-Put on your suits and helmets, quick! -shouted Romilly.
Those were the last words heard before the impact.

To be continued...(tomorrow, promised)


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