The Final Expedition

Day Ninety

“You mark my words, Wes.” Flynn fumed. “It will be Karpov, Varennikova and probably Takako leaving in that capsule and us left up here to die. They’ll be laughing at us all the way to Earth.” Morrison was running on a treadmill, the bungee harness around his waist holding him in position, while Flynn was floating nearby. I was also halfway through my daily exercise routine nearby, watching an old movie on one of the laptops fixed in place opposite the apparatus.

“I’m not having this conversation again.” Morrison replied wearily. “I understand why it’s on your mind, but you need to get past this ‘Us versus them’ mind-set. It’s not healthy! The Russians haven’t been our enemies since we were both in junior high.”

“How can you be so naïve?” Flynn replied exasperated. “The cold war might have thawed, but only a fool would truly believe it was ever over!”

“Watch your tone Major.” Morrison growled, stressing his subordinate’s rank. Flynn’s eyes blazed and his mouth opened for a moment, as if to retort before thinking better of it. He caught me staring over at the altercation before I could return my gaze to the film.

“You’re not so naïve are you, Carter?” Flynn growled, pulling himself towards me. “No, you’ve seen the writing on the wall and you figured you’d get cosy with Varennikova and slide into the third spot in the capsule.” I glanced briefly in Flynn’s direction before biting my tongue, not wishing to provoke him. “You’re a traitor, Carter, siding with the Russians.” Flynn continued, pulling himself closer, his eyes boring into mine.

“Flynn!” Morrison called out, his tone firm. He had stopped running and was in the process of releasing himself from the harness.

“Is it really worth it?” Flynn continued, ignoring Morrison’s warning. “Is she worth selling out your country?” He pulled himself right over to me, his eyes bulging and his teeth bared. “Is that Russian whore really that good a screw?” My initial shock instantly turned to anger and I balled my fist and threw it into Flynn’s face with all the force I could muster. This time it was Flynn who was thrown across the module, crashing into the wall opposite. He reeled around preparing to lunge back at me, his face contorted in fury. Before he could do so, Morrison reached out and grabbed hold of him.

“Easy Chuck.” He told him. “You deserved that. You can’t talk that way about a man’s girl and not expect a reaction.” Flynn angrily pulled himself free of Morrison’s grasp and propelled himself towards the hatch into the next module, muttering darkly under his breath.

“Sorry about that.” Morrison glanced back at me after watching Flynn retreat through the hatch. “We all know Flynn is having increasing difficulty with the situation we’re in up here.”

“That’s an understatement!” I replied. Morrison sighed deeply.

“Maybe, but he’s still a part of the crew and I’m asking you to cut him some slack.”

“We’ve all been cutting him some slack since all this began.” I retorted. “I’ve got the scars to prove it.”

“Look Carter,” Morrison snapped. “Do you think I’m happy having to make excuses for his bullshit?! Like it or not, we’re all stuck in this tin can together and we’ve just got to try to rise above it.” I nodded resignedly. The same old argument. I remembered the saying ‘You can choose your friends but not your family’. I mused that you could now apply the same sentiment to who you survived the apocalypse with.

“I know, Wes. He just makes it pretty hard when he’s all up in my face like that.”

“Well, think of it as an exercise in patience and self control.” Morrison replied. “It should come in handy if you ever get married…” Morrison flashed me a smile and moved off in the direction of the Kibo module.