She could see the Earth in the distance. It grew in size as the pod propelled itself away from the dying station and back towards its home. Ellie's consciousness returned to normal and she relaxed into her seat, the minutes ticking by. She turned and made sure that the still-unconscious Gabriel was carefully strapped in his seat.

     Ellie gazed back out the window and saw the remnants of the space station. Everything was gone, and she reckoned that it would take years to salvage--if they even tried at all. Billions of dollars had been invested into the station to make it the most advanced scientific research facility in history. But there was nothing left.

     They were all back at square one.

     She closed her eyes and relished in the fact that she was still alive. Everything that had happened after the accident was still a blur. No sense could be drawn from it, and Ellie just had to accept that whatever happened...happened. She opened her eyes and and concentrated on her breathing while Earth steadily got closer.

     It gleamed in the sunlight, and the continents glowed with life as the planet rotated. Oceans stretched for thousands of miles, forests densely populated the tropical regions of South America, and the ice caps were a brilliant light when compared to the infinite void of blackness. Billions of humans lived on the delicate planet. All of their history, their scientific advancements, their wars, and their lives had all stemmed from that hunk of rock. Ellie's nerves calmed somewhat; she stared in silence.

     Suddenly, a light beeped indicating an incoming transmission from Mission Control. Ellie eagerly switched on the interface and heard the static roll in.

**

Earth

     "Is she within contact?" Daniel Peters asked, munching on a candy bar in the main control room. Dozens of Flight Controllers furiously typed away at their computer terminals trying to establish contact with the astronauts.

     "I believe we have," Tracey Reed responded, simultaneously double-checking mathematical calculations on her tablet. "What's her status?"

     "We are sending messages to them as we speak," a red-haired technician responded.

     Daniel Peters crumbled up his candy bar wrapper and tossed it in the waste basket, "What's her trajectory?"

     "She's going to land in the South Pacific if she keeps her current rate of descent," Howard Greyson responded, sipping his coffee. "Shall we dispatch a team?"

     Daniel Peters nodded, "Send a retrieval team immediately. Be prepared for post-weightlessness sickness as well. Any response?"

     The red-haired technician's eyebrows went up, "I believe we've got something..."

**

The Capsule

     Ellie adjusted her transceiver and desperately spoke into the microphone, "This is Astronaut Elysia Jobs of the Above Orbital Space Station. I am alive, I repeat, I am alive. Astronaut Gabriel Monroe is in critical condition, but I have reason to believe that he is alive as well," she paused. "Does anybody read me?"

     There was a prolonged burst of static before voices could be heard, "This is Mission Control do you copy? What is your status?"

     Ellie laughed in numbing relief, a tear of happiness rolled down her face, "Yes! I'm alive!"

     She could hear cheers through the static as Mission Control received the transmission.

     "What happened?" Ellie asked. "Do you know what happened to the station?"

     There was a moment of silence before someone answered, "Don't worry about the station right now. Our number one priority is to get you home. Follow our instructions and you should have a safe landing."

     Ellie nodded to herself, her heart beating with exhilaration, "Alright."

**

1 Month Previously

     Ellie lowered her head, a cumbersome helmet was lowered over her. Her suit felt thick, clumsy, and made her feel extremely fat. She looked over to her partner, Gabriel, and could see that he didn't look any better. A note of excitement was in the air because the two astronauts had been training for months to work aboard the prestigious space station.

     "Are you ready?" Gabriel asked, while they prepared themselves to board the shuttle.

     Ellie nodded her head, her body tingling with excitement, "I was born ready for this."

     "Ms. Jobs?" an assistant asked. "There's an emergency call for you. Would you like to accept it?"

     Ellie hesitated, knowing that direct contact to loved ones before a mission was discouraged.

     "Go on, get it," said Gabriel. "It's probably your sister. Try to set her nerves at ease, okay?"

     Ellie nodded before moving toward the sterilized phone and answering, "Hello?"

     "Ellie," someone whispered, on the other side, "you have to rethink this!"

     "Sarah, stop it," Ellie ordered. "I'm going to be fine! Why can't you just accept that?"

     "You can't go up there!" Sarah angrily hissed. "You are going to regret your decision!"

     Ellie opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it. Slowly, she stepped away from the receiver and followed Gabriel down the hallway.

     "Elysia?" Sarah asked, still on the other line. "Elysia, come back! It's too dangerous! Come back!"

     Ellie walked out of the building and towards the rocket that would transport them off of Earth. They boarded the elevator, got into the hatch, and sat in their respective seats. Their bodies faced upwards while the countdown sequence began. Number by number, the seconds ticked down towards the moment of truth. As the rocket rumbled, and their bodies were pressed into their seats, Sarah was the last thing on Ellie's mind. After all, she was going into space.

     She was meeting her destiny.

**

Present Day In the Capsule

     "I've made the necessary modifications, and I'm preparing for reentry into the atmosphere," said Ellie, flipping the last couple of switches.

     The Earth took up her entire range of vision, and the windows began to glow red as their reentry proceeded.

     "We're going to break up, but we'll see you on the ground," the man on the other end of the line reassured before the transmission went dead.

     The windows continued to glow hotter, acquiring an orange tint, and their speed picked up. Ellie could feel the weight beginning to add to her body while the pod raced down towards the surface. Seconds passed and the glowing got brighter. She could hear the atmosphere pelting the fragile exterior of the small shuttle.

     Then the pod began to shake. It vibrated slowly at first, but it picked up in intensity as they travelled downward. Ellie closed her eyes as the thunderous shaking, the white-hot glow of the windows, and the clouds streamed by at thousands of miles per hour. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that Gabriel was going to be okay.

     He was going to be okay.

     She was going to be okay.

     They were going to be okay.

**

     The pod's parachutes expanded themselves into the billowing wind as they fell into the South Pacific ocean. Ellie opened her eyes and gaped in awe at the miraculous view around them.

     "Whoa," she breathed, their descent into the ocean lessening in velocity.

     They crashed into the churning blue waves and flotation devices inflated around the pod. Inside, Ellie and Gabriel were shook back and forth with each wave. Quickly, Ellie unbuckled herself and motioned to get Gabriel undone as well. He was still unconscious, unaware of the adventure the two had taken together.

     "We made it," Ellie whispered, undoing his straps. "And you owe me one."

     For about an hour she sat in silence before, above her, the faint chopping sounds of helicopters could be heard through the hatch. Ellie, for the first time in quite awhile, stood with the effects of the Earth's gravity. It felt startlingly uneasy, and the shaking "floor" of the capsule didn't help much either. With shaky limbs, Ellie undid the thick hatch on the top of the capsule and heard it hiss as it opened.

     Warm ocean air billowed into the cramped chamber and a glorious sun beamed down on Ellie's face. She smiled, the wind tossing her hair and brushing against her skin. A shadow, however, blocked out the sun while two jet-black helicopters hovered into view. A rope dropped out of one and doctors scaled them towards the water's surface.

     Ellie reached out her hands before the doctors, each dressed in a bright-orange life preserver, grabbed her and gently saddled her up into a harness. Carefully, she was raised up towards one of the machines while Gabriel was saddled into a secondary harness. In the midst of being pulled up, feeling the wind rush around her from the spinning blades, Ellie's stomach began to not feel well.

     "Oh no," she whispered, remembering that prolonged weightlessness had some adverse effects on the human body.

     Ellie was pulled into a helicopter and, immediately, surrounded by doctors. A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, her vitals were taken, and Ellie was asked a series of questions as the helicopter pulled away. Down below, Gabriel Monroe was hoisted up into the second helicopter which promptly flew him in another direction.

     "Where's Gabriel going?" Ellie asked, clutching her aching stomach.

     "To a secure facility," a doctor vaguely answered. "Don't worry about him. How do you feel?"

     Ellie shook her head before vomiting all over the doctor in front of her. She was quickly pushed towards a bucket where she finished her business. After the retching stopped, she looked up with a tired expression.

     "I've never felt better," she sarcastically responded.

     One of the doctors took out a shot, "This is a small sedative that will make the journey back to the mainland easier for you."

     Ellie, too tired to resist,  allowed the needle to be pushed into her arm.

     "There you go," the doctor said, withdrawing the needle and rolling down Ellie's sleeve. 

     Her vision began to fade, and she lost consciousness. Gabriel was the last thing Ellie thought of before she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

**

Mission Control

     "Congratulations Peters," a co-worker complimented as the two shook hands.

     Peters shook his head, packing up for the day, "It was all in the team, you know? The astronauts handled their predicament in a very professional fashion."

     "Actually, I'm hearing reports that Mr. Monroe was unconscious for most of the events," the coworker responded. "It looks like Elysia Jobs is the hero of today."

     Peters nodded his head, sipping the last bit of his coffee, "It looks as if she is. I'm going to go check on her and Gabriel when I get a chance."

     The co-worker nodded, slipping her identification tag away, "It's good to see a Flight Director taking the safety of his astronauts on a personal level. Have a good day."

     Daniel Peters raised his eyebrows, "I don't think that I caught your name."

     The co-worker turned, "The name's Olivia Smith."

     "I'll be seeing you Ms. Smith," called Daniel Peters.

     "We will," Olivia responded, turning away. "I'll be sure to keep in touch."