11 Months Previously

     Ellie was sitting in a debriefing in the early days of her training for the A.O.S.S. The speaker in front of her was droning on about solar radiation effects on the exterior of the station. Ellie's eyes drooped closed, the veteran in front of her continuing to talk in his monotone voice. Suddenly, the door on the side of the room abruptly opened.

     "Sorry for being late," a man politely interrupted, entering the room carrying several binders.

     Ellie's eyes opened and she gazed upon the handsome man. He was tall, slender, and his dark hair was neatly combed to one side. His face was slightly obscured by thick-rimmed glasses, but the man's lightning smile made up for it.

     "And you are?" the instructor asked, reaching out to shake the newcomer's hand.

     "Gabriel," the other replied, also reaching out, "Gabriel Monroe."

     "Thank you for coming," the instructor answered. "Take a seat next to Miss. Jobs."

     Gabriel walked toward her and sat next to Ellie, setting his many binders lightly on the table. He glanced sideways at her and his mouth turned upwards into a smile.

     "You're Elysia Jobs, right?" he asked.

     "Y-Yeah," Ellie stuttered, a little shyly, her face blushing a little. "You can call me Ellie."

     "The name's Gabriel Monroe," Gabriel responded, suavely. "If I remember the document report correctly, you're my A.O.S.S. partner."

     Ellie nervously nodded her head, she couldn't take her eyes off of his angular face, "Y-Yeah."

     "Now, as I was saying," the instructor continued, once more droning on to the rest of the room, "we were just about to enter the exciting field of astronomical physics."

     Gabriel rolled his eyes and leaned toward Ellie, quietly whispering "Not as exciting as that comb-over. Do you see that?"

     Ellie chuckled a little, noticing the instructor's hair.

     She side-glanced at him as he began to take notes and couldn't believe that he was going to be her partner. Only two people at a time worked aboard the space station; they switched out every couple of months. It was due to supply shortages; it took a lengthy period of time to get supplies from Earth all the way to the station.

     Her training was only beginning and it was already looking bright. Ellie didn't care about her sister's warnings, because deep down she knew exactly what she was doing.

     She was going to become an astronaut.

**

Present Day

     Ellie was fragmented into a million pieces. She could feel each metallic star glinting around her, and each broken instrument, like a wound. Her eyes closed and she redirected the failing life support systems back onto the grid. A current of fresh air billowed through the vents and filled her ailing lungs.

     The world was a blurred mess of throbbing images. Objects floated in front her field of vision, somewhere a red emergency light was blinking, and her own hand drifted in front of her face. She consciously withdrew from her subconscious connection with the space station.

     "Ah," she whispered, her senses returning to normal.

     Her vision cleared and Ellie could finally make out the decimated interior of the space station. Everything was destroyed, and a sense of panic set into her heart. Then, she remembered her months of training and began to calm down. Her heartbeat slowed, and her focus returned.

     "Gabriel?" she called, into the empty interior. "Gabriel?"

     There was no response, and a ping of emotion hit her when she remembered his death.

     "Gabriel..." Ellie sighed, a lump beginning to form in her throat.

     They had trained side by side for months. She had knew him better than the back of her own hand. Gabriel had grown up in southern California, he had a dog named Whoofy, his birthday was April 21, and his favorite color was blue. Gabriel was more than a friend to Ellie, he was her partner.

     And he was dead.

     The emotion took over her rational thoughts. The lump grew in Ellie's throat and she cringed at the fresh memory of his demise. She remembered him getting sucked out into space, but then...what had happened to her? Ellie's heartbeat quickened, another sense of panic reverberating through her body.

     What had happened after Gabriel's death?

     She couldn't remember. There was the accident, but then there was nothing. It was like a blank space inside her memories. Ellie remembered a connection and it was a feeling that she could not shake.

     Pushing the odd thoughts out of her mind, Ellie focused on what protocol was in a survival situation. She knew that the first step was to try and contact the main headquarters if the communications array wasn't damaged.

     Her body floated over to the control systems. Thousands of dials, switches, and lights covered an expansive panel. Deep scorch-marks blacked out some areas, and most of the lights were dead. Ellie placed her hand on one of the instruments, trying to switch on the backup systems.

     But when her skin made contact with the cold metal her entire body jerked as if from an electric shock.

     Ellie's body disappeared and an intense feeling of cold shot through her body. Within mere moments she could feel every wire, crevice, and electric spark within the main control panel. The system was like a living being, and it was wounded. Fear strangled the connection and Ellie abruptly lifted her hand from the panel. Her feelings faltered, but once again she was in her own body.

     Ellie gasped, in shock, her hand buzzing with a prickly-feeling. There was a moment where she just floated in silence, wondering if something was wrong with her. Could it be neurological? Was her brain damaged? She reminisced on the brief sense of connection and remembered the feeling she had right before returning to consciousness. Her rational mind conflicted with her human instincts, and she told herself it was only a coincidence.

     Ellie flicked a switch in an effort to reboot the main system. Unfortunately everything had been fried due to some systematic overload after the accident.

     The accident...

     What was the accident?

     She heaved herself from the control panel and up through the cabin. Ellie pushed floating debris away, making her way to an emergency window. The window was one of the few without cracks on it, and it would allow her to make a logical assessment of the exterior damage. Ellie gazed out of the window into the distance, seeing the Earth glimmering. Surrounding it were tiny sparkling objects that looked like...the space station.

     External components, solar panels, astronaut equipment, and even tiny pieces of the station itself floated all over in the weightlessness. There were thousands of pieces, and Ellie felt a weighted feeling upon realizing the catastrophic reality before her. Her sister had been right, Ellie was going to die in space.

     Suddenly, a grey hand slapped itself onto the window from the outside.

     Ellie screamed, instinctively pushing herself back from the window. It wasn't until a frozen face pressed itself up against the window that she realized who it was.

     It was Gabriel.