Dead on Mars

Chapter 185 - Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Two, Say My Name Again
Chapter 185: Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Two, Say My Name Again

Tang Yue wasn’t surprised or shocked.

His brain was blank; his emotions yet to register.

After he saw the words “MARS UNITED SPACE STATION CRASHED” on the monitor, the first thing he did was crouch down to smack the workstation’s chassis. He believed that the computer must have bugged out again because he had been chatting with Mai Dong just two minutes ago. The lady was still hugging her furry dog, laughing and tumbling about. Why would the screen suddenly inform him that the space station had crashed?

Had he accidentally skipped an entire season?

Or had there been some frame skipping?

“Tang Yue, what’s wrong with this crappy computer? Did it hang again? Also, why are the comms down?” Tang Yue crouched beneath the desk as he prodded the chassis and turned to look over. “Tomcat, come over and take a look.”

He suddenly froze.

Tomcat was standing there motionless with its eyes widened. It was staring at the monitor with the crazy warnings popping up. Its expression was a complex mixture of surprise, alarm, and disbelief. The cat eyes were effusing a gray sense of despair that left Tang Yue’s heart skipping a beat.

“Tomcat?

“Tomcat… Tomcat?”

Tomcat didn’t move or make a sound.

“Tomcat… What’s wrong with you? Come over and take a look at this buggy computer? Haha… It’s trying to scare us again… Ha…” Tang Yue’s smile gradually disappeared as he stood up in unease. “Tomcat?”

Tomcat remained silent.

The workstation was still crazily producing warnings as if it had been hit by a virus. Never in its life had it popped up as many warning windows as it popped up today.

Tang Yue’s heart slowly sank.

“Tomcat? Say something. Tomcat?”

Tomcat turned its face away.

Tang Yue ignored it as he grabbed the earpiece and opened the communications systems. He called on the United Space Station on all frequencies as his hand trembled excessively. He even repeatedly fumbled by pressing the wrong buttons.

“This… Kunlun Station to United Space Station! United Space Station, please answer if you copy!

“Kunlun Station to United Space Station! Kunlun Station to Alpha! Kunlun Station to Alpha! Please answer if you copy! Mai Dong, do you hear me? Mai Dong! Mai Dong, answer me!

“Mai Dong! Can you hear me? Mai Dong!”

Tomcat slowly sat down and hugged its head as Tang Yue’s frantic roars and the computer’s blaring sirens mixed together. The former’s efforts were destined to be futile as the monitor’s “NO SIGNAL” blinked on the monitor. The bright red words were especially jarring to the eyes.

It suddenly understood what the bleakness of how inconsistent the affairs of the world were. Reality was at times more dramatic than drama. It and Tang Yue were like the spectators who sat at Cape Canaveral watching Space Shuttle Challenger’s launch. They were excited, thrilled, and cheering, filled with exuberance about the impending launch of this massive space shuttle. Even at the moment of the disaster, no one realized what had happened.

This was because the tragedy only happened for a second. And before that second came, no one believed that it would truly descend.

Tang Yue was still yelling for the space station at the top of his lungs. As seconds turned into minutes, Tang Yue gradually came to realize what had happened. His red eyes were welling with tears, but the only response he got was the mechanical “NO SIGNAL” on the monitor.

“Why can’t it be contacted?” Tang Yue threw the earpiece onto the table. “Why!?”

“It’s because the space station has crashed.”

“Impossible!” Tang Yue grabbed Tomcat’s shoulders in anger as he roared. “How could it crash for no good reason? There wasn’t a single problem just two minutes ago! None! Two minutes ago! There wasn’t a single problem!”

“The problem wasn’t with the space station.” Tomcat had an ashen expression. “It was Orion II.”

“Orion II?” Tang Yue was taken aback.

“Its dynamic module experienced an explosion, making it escape control. The docking mechanism was damaged, so the space station and spacecraft collided,” Tomcat replied. It had already determined what had happened in orbit based on the warnings provided by the computer. The sensors on the space station had sent the data to Kunlun Station before they stopped functioning. “Orion II’s truss sliced through the space station like a blade.”

Based on Tomcat’s reenactment, the first to explode was the Raptor-05 engine that was carrying out the attitude adjustments. It ignited Propellant Tank 3, and the leaking methane and liquid oxygen exacerbated the fire. The inferno devoured both Tanks 3 and 4, and its first explosion caused Orion II to spin before yanking away from its connection with the space station.

Having lost control, Orion II followed its momentum and sliced through everything that stood in its way, including the space station’s truss, solar panels, and the arm.

After colliding with the space station, Orion II’s attitude experienced a change. Its truss similarly buckled from the impact and began spinning like a nunchuck. It then slammed straight into the inflatable module of the space station, causing a second explosion. Tanks 1 and 2 were vaporized in the ensuing explosion.

Tomcat didn’t know what happened next. At this point, the space station’s computer had stopped working. The communications system and sensors were offline.

Hence, Kunlun Station’s computer had determined that the space station had crashed based on these conditions.

“But why would Orion II’s engine explode?” Tang Yue yelled angrily. “Why would it explode? Was it some bullshit Single Event Effect again? Is it some effect of Earth’s disappearance? Which ridiculous celestial body is it this time? Wasn’t it fine all this while? Why weren’t there any signs?”

Tang Yue panted in his hysteria.

He was furious and reeling in despair. It felt as though the entire world was at odds with him.

“It wasn’t a natural disaster,” Tomcat replied. “It’s a man-made disaster.”

“Man-made disaster? Who did it?”

“I did.” Tomcat lowered its head. “This is all my fault. Orion II’s malfunction was a result of me modifying its flight control program… I shouldn’t have designed a pulse program. By repeatedly igniting the rockets, it resulted in a turbine surge. In fact, it didn’t matter if we saved that bit of fuel as it doesn’t affect the outcome. Orion II is an old spacecraft that’s decades old. It can’t handle such stress… It was my sense of self-importance and arrogance that resulted in what we have before us. I’ll have to take full responsibility for it.”

In hindsight, the final straw that broke the camel’s back was Mai Dong’s pull on the circuit breaker’s operator. After the circuit was broken, the engine’s turbine cracked and the fragments passed through the pipes and combustion chamber.

When the girl failed at switching off the engines via the control system, clearly, the engine had already malfunctioned.

Tang Yue released his grip on Tomcat as he staggered backward, slumping into a chair.

He buried his face deep into his hands.

“So you mean that it was a problem with your program?”

“Yes.”

“Then if Mai Dong had really descended with Orion II, wasn’t she definitely doomed?”

Tomcat fell silent for a few seconds.

“Based on the present outcome, yes.”

“But our simulations were all successful!”

“The simulations don’t reveal all the problems, nor are they able to predict all the outcomes.”

Tang Yue drew a deep breath.

“If I had detected the problem earlier. If I would have written a more perfect control problem. If I had been a little more dependable…” Tomcat muttered. “Tang Yue… I’m very sorry.”

Tianzhou 37’s appearance had not only sent Tang Yue into a delirious fit of excitement, but it had also affected Tomcat’s judgment. Even with it being a meticulous cat, it had been careless.

“It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. Don’t talk to me…” Tang Yue said. “Give me some quiet time. Give… me some quiet time.”

Tang Yue wished to cry, but he couldn’t because the sorrow hadn’t hit him.

Tang Yue wished to cry or he would only end up choking in tears later.

He glanced at the monitor through the gaps in his fingers. From this day forth, there wouldn’t be someone appearing there, smiling at him and greeting him, “Hi, Tang Yue.”

Was this a joke?

An hour ago, she was still there, alive.

Half an hour ago, she was also there, alive.

Ten minutes ago, she was there, alive.

Why would she be gone now?

Where did a breathing human just go?

Tang Yue sat there in silence, looking blankly at the earpiece on the table. His heart felt empty as he silently said to himself, Lass, give me another greeting. Just one would do. Just one. Please, I beg you. Lass, say my name again.

Tell me that you’re still alive.

Tang Yue used his strength to blink his eyes as his tears blurred his vision.

I beg you, lass.

“Tang Yue… can you hear me?”