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 ^{(it's beta!)}

The latch clicked as Vin closed the space shuttle's door. Intense beams burned to life, the light so white it seemed to be sterile. Vin ran his nervous fingers through his shaggy brown hair, reflecting on his mission.

My first one-man mission, he thought, pacing around the ship's interior. He threw his head up and stared at the drab white ceiling. I am going to be so bored. Tugging on his suit, he felt stuck. Stuck in something he really didn't want to do. Vin was so deep in thought; he didn't realize that the radio was buzzing. He pressed the receiver button, dropping himself into a cushioned swivel chair that was welded to the floor. A voice crackled on the other end.

"Base 60754 to Vin, is everything in order?"

"You can bet your a--"

"Technical speak, Vin. We're recording this for future generations."

"Aye, than. Everything is in order."

"Good. Base just finished fueling the tanks; are you sure you're ready?"

"I am." There wasn't the slightest shade of a lie in Vin's voice; it did sound like he knew what he was doing. Although...

"Excellent. You'll be taking off soon. Get your gear on and get ready to go to Mars!" The cheers of the other people monitoring Vin's mission hummed up in the small room of the ship's communication dock. A smile appeared on Vin's face as he replied smugly,

"You make this sound like some kind of science fiction flick."

With those words, he cut the communication line and stretched out with a sigh. Vin squeezed his eyes shut, silencing the doubtful voices in his head. They bugged him to no extent, but he had to deal. To help himself concentrate, he began to time how long it took for him to reach the closet with his specially made suit, especially designed for the take-offs and landings of his shuttle. It had about twenty hours worth of oxygen stored in the emergency reserves, enough strength to resist the outstanding G-forces the shuttle can exert on the occupant, and was comfortable enough to sleep in if one so chose to do so.

As soon as it was strapped on and such, Vin went to the shuttle's deck and strapped himself in another chair not unlike the one he was sitting in while inside the communication dock. The crackle of the speaker came on; Vin flicked on the communication switch.

"Vin speaking. What are my orders?"

"Everything is in order, correct, Vin?"

"Yes, sir."

At that point, the base had started his shuttle's main thrusters. Vin was pushed back into his seat, teeth grit. The com link cracked and fizzed, the voice speaking through it barely audible. Struggling to reach out and flick off the switch, Vin could feel the shuttle beginning to break the atmosphere. Clouds were left behind; all he could see now was the vastness of what seemed to be infinite. The very size made Vin close his eyes, wishing for the moment to end quickly.

The shuttle shuddered, reminding Vin that he had to activate the secondary thrusters himself. He clicked a few switches and buttons, and felt the first thrusters drop off and to be lost to whomever. The atmosphere, brilliant and air-filled as it was, was now behind him and Vin was in the oblivion of space. He felt weightless, popping off his helmet and letting it float about in the air.

The ship had pushed itself several hundred miles away from Earth already, and Vin smiled, looking at the blotched marble before him. It looks so much better from far away. He unbuckled himself from the seat and let himself hover into the air. The com link crackled slightly, once again, producing Vin's usual reaction.

"All systems are all right?"

"Yessir!"

A chuckle buzzed through, cheers once again resonating into the shuttle. A wide grin spread itself across Vin's face.

"All right," the base supervisor said, "The easy part is done. Now, the actual trip to Mars. Although we have accelerated the thrusters on your ship to go a few thousand miles per hour, it should still take slightly less than a month to reach your destination."

"How long we talkin', doc?"

"Slightly over twenty days."

"That's pretty good time...how fast did you say I'm going?"

"About five thousand, give or take one hundred miles either way."

"Oh. Well, I'll speak to you again soon, doc."

The com link died and Vin propelled himself out of the shuttle's deck and into his cabin. He drifted slightly as he put his arms under his head and fell into a peaceful sleep.

[comment] Obviously, I don't know what it's like in space...sue me.[/comment]

Beep.

Beep.

Vin pushed himself onto the shuttle's deck to check out the problem. The radar had picked up on something that seemed to be heading in his direction. He hooked up the com link and inquired as to what the object could be.

"...Check the radar again, Vin. We can't seem to--" White noise interrupted them slightly. "--Is it?"

Vin checked the radar as he pieced together what was being told to him. "The object has become...objects, sir."

"Check out the--" Too much interference on the com link, possibly from the objects. Vin looked out the windshield of the shuttle and his eyes widened. Close to being swallowed up by the blackness of space were barely visible meteors hurtling towards the shuttle. Panic struck Vin as he prayed that the extremely fast shuttle would be able to move out of the way of the path of the meteors before any real danger befell him.

He checked the radar again. There were more...the meteors seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, as if to prove a point. Vin began to shake. The com link wasn't working anymore; he was either too far away or the meteors were messing with it. Vin's throat tightened, and he began to pace. The meteors were gaining fast. In frustration, Vin grabbed the seat and dug his nails into it, biting his lip, trying to will the ship faster. It didn't work.

One of the meteors rushed past, catching Vin by surprise. The shuttle shuddered, the force of the meteor's passing pushing the ship aside slightly. Vin strapped himself into the above mentioned seat, his eyes bugged out. He punched some controls and a manual steering wheel was revealed under a sliding panel. Another meteor passed by, turning the shuttle slightly again. Vin pushed a switch, pushing the thrusters to their max speed.

He didn't feel the acceleration, but the meteors seemed to be left far behind in a matter of minutes. A light came on above the acceleration switch, letting him know the thrusters were overheating. Vin pushed the switch back into its normal position, sighing.

He tried to reconnect the com link. It buzzed slightly, than ceased operating. Vin panicked once again. If he couldn't connect to the station, he would never know if he was on the correct path to Mars. It suddenly occurred to Vin how alone he really was, and as he unbuckled his seat belt, he drifted in silence.

No noise seemed to exist in the shuttle as he pushed himself into his cabin. It was the loudest silence Vin had ever heard, and the air seemed to press against him in a threatening fashion. Vin shook his head and turned out the lights to allow himself perhaps the only peaceful sleep he would get for a long time.

Vin was shaking. Out the window of the cabin, he couldn't see anything but millions of specks of light. He hadn't spoken to anyone but himself in the past few months, and he was overdue for a shave. A calendar was gliding about the dark cabin, a page sticking up into the air. In the month of July, a day was scratched out and barely recognizable. Underneath the scratches was the day Vin was supposed to get to Mars, a supposedly happy day for him. That day, though, was long past, and it was well into the next month.

Vin sucked on a tube of dried food. It had the taste of chicken, but Vin wasn't quite sure if that was what he was eating. He missed Earth, the marble that's beautiful on the outside and corrupted on the inside. He missed looking out and seeing a blue sky, seeing birds, seeing other human beings...

[comment] A few pieces of the Space series will be unnervingly short...Forgive me![/comment]

Voices hissed at Vin, breaking the untidy silence of the shuttle. The isolation of space broke the man's will, and his mind. He saw things on the ship that weren't really there, rationing out his food unnecessarily and panicking at every little thing. Shadows teased him, voices taunted him, monsters stalked him, and it seemed that the Devil himself was coming after Vin.

Vin stared out the window, chewing on a pen that had long run out of ink. He drifted aimlessly, his eye twitching slightly. A rugged beard had grown out of the stubble of the previous four months, and several scabs festered upon his arm, Lord knows where they came from. There was a defined absence of well being, and the once clean and almost sterile shuttle had deteriorated into a nest of dirt and dust.

Vin's eyes panned across the vacuum of space, looking for something, anything. There was nothing to behold, nothing to excite, just the same thing he had been seeing for the past few months. A chill ran down his spine, frightening him. He whirled, hissing and baring his teeth.

"Y-you shan't capture me yet...!" With those words, Vin clutched at the blanket hovering near him, brushing past the dusty calendar that had been neglected for the scratches in the wall. Forgetting the demons that lived in his own mind, Vin snatched it out, checking the date. It was nearly Christmas, and the holiday season was just starting to pick up. Vin pushed it away, trying to remember his companions from Earth. His thoughts wandered back to the woman he had left behind, the fact he had told her I'll be back soon, you'll see...

But now he could barely picture her face. His fiancé must be sick with worry for him, perhaps even worse. Vin couldn't bear to think any further as he cowered in the corner of the ceiling, sobbing.