Stories by Marcus Veil

Marcus Veil

1. 08:14 STATION TIME. The cooling unit behind Panel 44-B rattled with the metallic cadence of a dying heart. Kael pulled her wrench from the magnetic belt, her…

Marcus Veil

1. 02:14 STATION TIME. The humidity in Sector 4 exceeded the optimal threshold by 12 percent. Elias wiped the moisture from his goggles, the condensation leavin…

Marcus Veil

1. 04:12 STATION TIME. The wall panel near Airlock 9 glowed with a soft, amber flicker. It read 04:13. Elara tapped the glass, expecting the synchronization pro…

Marcus Veil

1. 04:12 STATION TIME. The cooling unit for Cryo-Vault 4 emitted a high-frequency whine, then nothing. Silence in the rim stations is rarely peaceful; it is usu…

Marcus Veil

1. 02:44 ZULU. The pressure gauge on the ward’s life-support hub fluctuated by 0.04 bar, a rhythmic dip that matched the quiet expansion of three tiny chests in…

Marcus Veil

1. 03:42 ZULU. The gravity centrifuge stuttered, a metallic hiccup that traveled up the spine of the station. In the surgical ward, the liquid in the IV bags ro…

Marcus Veil

1. 02:14 LUNAR STANDARD. The vibration came through the soles of Elias’s boots before he heard the hum. He stood in the center of Bay Three, watching the dust. …

Marcus Veil

1. 03:12 ZULU. Elias stepped through the airlock, his magnetic boots clanking against the steel decking of Relay Station 44-B. The air was thin, tasting of ozon…

Marcus Veil

1. 04:12 ZULU. The humidity in the hydroponics bay had breached 94 percent. Elias wiped his goggles with a synthetic chamois, but the condensation reformed in s…

Marcus Veil

1. 02:44 ZULU. The monitor wall in the Station 4 acute ward hummed with a low-frequency oscillation that rattled the glass vials in the cabinet. Sarah adjusted …

Marcus Veil

1. 08:14 ZULU. Elias hooked the umbilical to the Aethelgard’s intake valve and felt the familiar, jarring click of magnetic seals engaging. The pressure differe…

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 …