Short subject: Solitude

This is the first in a new series I've been toying about with in relation to an earlier sci-fi horror story I abandoned. While unrelated to the prior story in any sort of narrative sense, I think it preserves the same sort of presentation, at least for a while, before moving into a more straightforward narrative style after some time. Let me know what you think, and whether or not I should just go ahead and get a different blog for my political rambling so I can just keep my stories here. Enjoy!

ARMSTRONG STATION
Cmdr. Gary Howard, USN Station Commander
Mission Control: Specialist Jorge Santiago, NASA

21.10.2077
031 ZULU

AS: Mission Control, do you read? Confirming slingshot of 2067ER, I say again Houston, this is Armstrong Station, object 2067 Echo Romeo has slingshotted lunar gravity well as per JPL's projections.

HOUSTON: Roger that, Armstrong Station. Received.

AS: Is everything alright down there, Houston?

HOUSTON: Negative, Armstrong Station. We're all taking news of the impending impact about as well as we can be expected to. President Clarke has declared martial law as of 2200 last night. Armstrong, can you give us a more precise trajectory on object 2067 Echo Romeo?

AS: Affirmative on that request, Houston. Object is closing at 22.652 km per second and is closing. It appears to have fragmented somewhat upon hitting our grav-well, and we have no way of projecting who's going to get the worst of it. And-

AS (A): Houston, this is Armstrong Actual, Commander Howard. Sorry to interrupt you there, Jorge.

AS: That's no problem, Commander.

AS (A) Houston, we're all praying for you up here, Houston.

Houston: * Unintelligible* We just can't believe it's finally happening, you know? No one down here can. We study this sort of thing all our lives and we never really expect to have to live it.

AS (A): Understood, Houston. We're so sorry.

Houston: NASA Command is relocating to Montgomery Westland. Transmissions will now cease. Forward your telemetry and guidance data to our redundant channels as well as parallel channels for JPL and Kennedy. You men and women are the last assured survivors we can count on. With any luck... Just, persevere. 10,000 years of civilization absolutely cannot end here. Do it right this time. Don't kill each other and just... Survive.

AS (A): Understood, Houston. Here's hoping you all live to see another day.

Houston: We can only hope. This is Houston, signing off. May God help us all, and may Humanity live to see another day.

END TRANSMISSION:
HOUSTON://// DISCONNECT. STATUS !!!RED!!!
TELEMETRY, RADIO, DOWNLINK LOST
HOST DISCONNECT.

On the 21st of October, 2077, a large asteroid impacted with our planet, fragmenting and destroying major cities on every inhabited continent, decimating humanity.

The last, best hope for the species rests with just under 250 men and women of a joint NASA, RusCosmos, commercial and CNSA team which had been dispatched to humanity's first permanent lunar settlement in a desperate last bid to save the species. Their precious cargo is over 20,000 frozen embryos and the genetic samples of humanity's best and brightest. Their only directive: enter hibernation and survive until such a time as humanity can be re-established on Earth.

However, they have a problem...