Stories by Marcus Veil

Marcus Veil

1. 03:17 ZULU. The pressure differential across the Intake-9 gate was four hundred psi. Elias felt the vibration in his teeth before he saw the obstruction. He …

Marcus Veil

1. 05:22 ZULU. You wake to the sound of the life support rhythm, a heavy, syncopated thump that has begun to skip beats. The air in your quarters is thin, metal…

Marcus Veil

1. 02:14 ZULU. The monitoring screen displayed a flat blue sine wave. The readout for sea level at Intake-4 remained locked at 7.0 centimeters. It had held that…

Marcus Veil

1. 04:12 ZULU. The dust on the keypad was a perfect, translucent fan, undisturbed by the harsh strobe of the inspection light. It was silica—fine, wind-worn par…

Marcus Veil

1. 03:42 ZULU The intake valve 4-G shuddered, a rhythmic protest of rusted steel against the relentless vacuum of the desalination turbines. Elias adjusted the …

Marcus Veil

1. 02:44 ZULU The hydro-suit’s thermal lining hummed against Aris’s skin, a low-frequency vibration that did little to dissipate the mounting dread of the lower…

Marcus Veil

1. 08:00 ZULU The airlock cycle hissed, a wet, pneumatically forced expulsion of stale nitrogen. Elara stepped into Habitat Module 9, the magnetic seals of her …

Marcus Veil

1. 03:12. Kael pulled the magnetic seal from row 42, the hum of the cooling fans dying in a series of sharp, mechanical clicks. The decommissioning bay was a to…

Marcus Veil

04:12 ZULU The red LED on the atmospheric regulator pulsed, a rhythmic strobe against your retinas. Station integrity was at 88 percent. The external telemetry,…

Marcus Veil

1. The pressure at 400 meters is an abstraction until you see the microscopic spider-webbing across the sapphire-glass viewport of the spine. Elias watched the …

Marcus Veil

1. The condensation in Module 4-C existed at a constant 37 degrees Celsius. Elara wiped the metal panel with her sleeve, watching the beads of moisture smear in…

Marcus Veil

1. The harness cinched tight against Aris’s ribs, a rhythmic constriction that matched her breathing. Outside, the station’s outer sensor skin stretched like a …