As they were waiting to reestablish the connection with ISS, Andrew began to get lost in his thoughts.
The ISS and PADRE. I don't remember them being in the show.
If I knew I would end up in the Walking Dead universe, maybe I wouldn't have stopped watching it. But then again, maybe those exist because the Call of Duty universe is mixed in as well.
He sighed quietly. His thoughts drifting in a different direction.
The astronauts aboard the station had already been in orbit for months before the virus began spreading through the air.
If we somehow manage to bring them back to Earth...
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
Maybe we could create a vaccine.
He let out a quiet laugh.
Wishful thinking. Maybe even foolish.
Still, who knows?
Up until now, things had gone surprisingly well.
"Lieutenant?"
Andrew blinked.
He looked up from his thoughts.
Major Griggs was watching him from across the room.
"You've been staring at that wall for the past five minutes."
A few of the communication operators smiled.
"What has you so focused?"
Andrew remained quiet for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"I was thinking about the astronauts."
That immediately got Griggs' attention.
"The ISS crew?"
Andrew nodded.
"They may not be carrying the virus."
The room became noticeably quieter.
Several of the operators stopped what they were doing.
One of them slowly turned in his chair.
Griggs frowned slightly.
"What makes you think that?"
Andrew leaned back slightly.
"Astronauts usually stay aboard the station for around six months.Sometimes longer."
He looked toward the radio equipment.
"The outbreak started over three months ago."
Nobody interrupted him.
"The number of people who die every day—accidents, illnesses, heart attacks—it's enormous. If everyone was already infected six months ago , we would've seen the dead coming back much earlier."
One of the operators quietly nodded.
Andrew continued.
"The astronauts were already in orbit before everything started."
He paused.
"Maybe they aren't infected."
The room had gone completely silent.
He hesitated.
"If we can get them back to Earth... There might be a chance for a vaccine."
Nobody said anything.
The idea itself seemed almost unbelievable.
Griggs finally spoke.
"That's a hell of a long shot."
Andrew nodded.
"I know. But so was restoring power to Atlanta."
Andrew expected him to dismiss the idea entirely.
Instead, the Major folded his arms.
"You're not wrong."
Several of the operators looked surprised.
Griggs glanced toward the silent radio equipment.
"When we reestablish contact, we'll discuss it with them."
He looked back toward Andrew.
"Get a better understanding of their situation. What they know."
Andrew nodded.
"Fair enough."
Griggs remained quiet for several seconds before his expression became more serious.
"There's another matter we need to think about."
Andrew immediately noticed the change in tone.
"The safe zone near Savannah?"
The Major nodded.
"PADRE."
He leaned slightly against the table.
"I'm glad to hear there are still organized people out there. Especially military."
He paused.
"But the truth is we've spent the last three months building something here."
His eyes moved around the communications room.
"A fragile system. But a stable one."
Griggs continued.
"If more military commands begin appearing, problems are going to follow."
The room grew quieter.
"Introducing changes to the leadership structure now could create problems."
After a brief pause, he continued.
"Which is why a restructuring is necessary."
Andrew frowned slightly.
Griggs nodded.
"We'll need to start discussing it with Colonel Tarchick and Colonel Hale. Make sure everything is done properly and smoothly."
The Major's voice remained calm.
"We cannot afford confusion."
Andrew considered the idea and was difficult to argue with it.
After a moment, Andrew nodded.
"I agree."
Before either of them could continue, one of the operators suddenly looked up from his equipment.
"Sir."
Griggs turned toward him.
The operator adjusted his headset.
"I'm picking up the station again."
Several heads immediately turned.
"The ISS is coming back into range."
The room instantly became more active.
Operators returned to their consoles.
Headsets were adjusted.
Switches were checked.
The quiet discussion about military restructuring was immediately pushed aside.
There would be time for that later.
Griggs straightened his uniform slightly.
"We'll continue this conversation another time."
Andrew nodded.
"Agreed."
Both men approached the communications equipment.
The speakers crackled softly.
Static filled the room.
Somewhere hundreds of kilometers above them, the International Space Station was once again passing over North America.
One of the operators looked toward the Major.
"Signal strength is increasing."
Another nodded.
"We should have them any second now."
Andrew took his position beside the radio.
Griggs stood next to him.
Around them, the operators waited quietly.
The static grew stronger.
One of the operators adjusted a dial.
"Signal's coming in."
Andrew and Griggs exchanged a brief look.
For several seconds, only bursts of interference filled the room.
Then a familiar female voice broke through the noise.
"Atlanta, this is the International Space Station."
The transmission crackled.
"Do you copy?"
Another voice followed immediately, this one male and carrying a Russian accent.
"Atlanta, this is Valery Vashchenko. Do you hear us?"
Several of the operators smiled.
"They're back."
Andrew reached for the microphone.
"This is Lieutenant Andrew Mercer, Fort Ironwood. We hear you loud and clear."
The response came instantly.
"Oh, thank God."
The relief in Elena's voice was obvious.
"We weren't sure how much interference we'd have this pass."
A faint voice could be heard somewhere in the background.
"I told you they'd answer."
Another voice answered.
"You say that every time."
That drew a few quiet smiles from the communications room.
Elena spoke again.
"Commander Elena Keller speaking. We have good signal strength at the moment."
Andrew glanced toward Major Griggs.
The Major nodded.
Andrew keyed the microphone once more.
"Commander, before we continue, there are a few things we'd like to ask."
"Understood," Elena replied.
"We have questions as well."
Andrew looked toward Griggs for a moment before speaking.
"Commander, how long have your crew been aboard the station?"
There was a brief pause before Elena answered.
"Nine months."
The words hung in the air, Major Griggs slowly turned toward Andrew.
The Major said quietly,
"You might be right."
Several of the operators looked between the two men.
Over the radio, another voice came through.
It was Valery's.
"What might the lieutenant be right about?"
Andrew took a breath.
This was not an easy thing to explain.
He reached for the microphone.
"There is something you need to understand."
The room became quiet.
"Everyone on Earth is infected."
He continued without being interrupted.
"We believe the virus spread through the air."
The silence continued.
"When a person dies, regardless of the cause, they come back."
"Doesn't matter if it's a heart attack, an accident, disease or anything else. It doesn't matter, they reanimate nonetheless."
A faint crackle came from the speakers.
Andrew continued.
"The only way to stop them is severe trauma to the brain. Either being a gunshot, a knife it anything that destroys the head."
Nobody aboard the station spoke.
Andrew looked briefly toward Griggs before continuing.
"My theory is that you may not carry the virus."
He heard someone inhale sharply over the radio.
"You were already in orbit when the outbreak began."
"You've had no physical contact with Earth. No exposure to whatever spread through the atmosphere."
He paused.
"If we're right..."
Andrew glanced toward the operators around him.
"...then you may be the only uninfected humans left."
The statement seemed to drain the room of sound.
He continued quietly.
"We have the necessary facilities and the medical personnel along several researchers."
"If you truly aren't infected... There may be a possibility of developing a vaccine."
Nothing answered him.
Only static. Several seconds passing without an answer.
The operators had stopped working entirely.
Even Griggs remained silent.
Inside the International Space Station the six astronaut's were trying to process what they had just heard.
The dead returned after death. Everyone on Earth was infected. And they themselves might be the only people alive who weren't.
Finally, Elena's voice returned.
But for the first time since contact had been established, the commander of the station sounded completely speechless.
"My God."
Nobody aboard the ISS spoke after that.
The silence stretched on. Even the static seemed louder.
Then a faint sound came through the speakers.
Someone clearing his throat.
The transmission crackled, followed by male voice speaking.
"This is General Krennick."
Every head in the communications room immediately turned toward the radio.
Aboard the station, several of the astronauts exchanged surprised glances.
The voice continued.
"I apologize for listening in."
There was a brief pause.
"We were attempting to reestablish contact with the ISS when we intercepted your conversation."
Andrew and Griggs exchanged glances.
The General continued.
"My name is General William Krennick. I am currently operating from a survivor safe zone near Savannah."
Another short silence followed.
"And I must admit, Lieutenant..."
His voice carried a mixture of disbelief and curiosity.
"That is one hell of a theory."
Nobody immediately answered.
Then Elena finally found her voice.
"General Krennick?"
"Good to hear from you again, Commander."
The tension aboard the station seemed to ease slightly.
At least one familiar voice had returned.
Krennick continued.
"It appears we've all chosen the same orbit to hold a meeting."
That finally earned a quiet laugh from one of the operators.
For several moments after Krennick's interruption, nobody spoke.
Elena finally broke the silence.
"Lieutenant, General... there is something you should understand."
Her voice had regained some of its composure.
"The station is still functioning."
She glanced toward Dmitry, who sat near one of the life support consoles.
"We have oxygen, water recycling and food supplies."
Valery spoke next.
"We've been careful."
Dmitry added.
"We can remain aboard for several more months."
Marcus, however, spoke quietly.
"But not forever."
The words hung in the air.
"The station requires constant maintenance," Elena continued.
"Filters will eventually fail. Systems and equipment will begin to wear down and break."
Sarah's voice came over the channel.
"And eventually we will run out of consumables."
Another brief silence followed.
General Krennick finally spoke.
"Can you return on your own?"
This time it was Elena who hesitated.
"Technically, yes."
Several people in the command room along Andrew and Griggs exchanged glances.
"The Soyuz capsule are still docked."
Valery answered next.
"We spent the last two months making calculations. In case we had to attempt reentry ourselves."
Andrew frowned.
"But?"
Elena sighed.
"We can bring ourselves down. Whether we survive afterward is another question."
Griggs folded his arms.
"What would you need?"
Marcus answered.
"Recovery teams. Weather information. Tracking. Medical personnel."
Sarah added.
"If we land in the ocean, there won't be any rescue."
"If we land in the wrong area..."
Nobody needed her to finish.
The dead.
Elena continued.
"Mission Control normally guides every step. We no longer have that."
Andrew remained quiet for several moments.
Then he spoke.
"There are facilities in Florida."
Andrew leaned slightly toward the microphone.
"Kennedy Space Center. Cape Canaveral."
He looked toward Griggs.
"NASA facilities. There we should find the tracking equipment and the recovery infrastructure that we might need."
Krennick was silent for several seconds.
Then he spoke.
"Assuming any of it is still operationa. Or intact."
Andrew nodded.
"I know."
Griggs finally spoke.
"It's a long way from Atlanta."
Valery's voice returned.
"We are not asking you to do this tomorrow."
"No," Elena agreed quietly.
"But eventually we will have to come down."
The room became silent again.
Krennick finally broke it.
"There is another problem."
Everyone waited.
"The winter."
The word itself seemed to lower the temperature of the conversation.
Krennick continued.
" Well need fuel, food, heating and transportation."
He paused.
"Every community still standing is going to face the same problem in a few months."
Griggs slowly nodded.
"Our supplies are improving, but we're not prepared for everything."
Elena's voice came again through the speaker.
"Then perhaps we can delay it until after the winter."
After a moment of silence Andrew picked up the microphone.
"Agreed. But now with that out of the way, let's continue with our discussion before we lose the connection."