[ WP ] A man is lost space . He has no fuel , no food and limited air . There is no one coming to save him . Write his last moments .

I took stock. No food, water or fuel, and about twenty minutes of air left. I ’ d picked up a slight rotation, so I was able to watch as the majestic splendour of the Orion Nebula slowly rose from my right. 
 
 But I wasn ’ t there to sightsee. The jury rigged suit patch on my arm wouldn ’ t hold forever, and when it went, I was in for a nasty case of decompression. That or asphyxia. 
 
 I think it probably said a lot about my life choices so far that my only options were very slow unpleasant death, slow unpleasant death, or fast unpleasant death. I resolved to tear the suit patch out in nineteen minutes. 
 
 Hey, no-one wants to die, even when it ’ s the only option left. 
 
 I brought my arm up, and tapped the control I we had been instructed to avoid using. The radio came online. 
 
 “ This is Thomas Taylor, Major in the Terran Marines. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. Is there anyone on this frequency? ” 
 
 There might be of course. This was Prior space after all – we thought. The *Galactic Explorer* had emerged from FTL and begun sweeping for signs of the enigmatic race. Then something had gone wrong with the fusion cells. I ’ d been in the observation blister watching the emergence, looking in completely the wrong direction. 
 
 The explosion had ripped the *Explorer* open like a knife through butter, and I was the only one able to get to the emergency locker in time. Even then, I was pretty sure some parts of me had gotten frostbite. My left foot was numb and I was hoping it was just a circulation thing. 
 
 “ Repeating, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday ” 
 
 As if any alien race would even understand what that meant. And there weren ’ t any other Terran ships out this way. Who I was calling precisely was an academic question. I supposed it was more a matter of keeping myself sane. 
 If there had been any other survivors, they would have heard my first call and replied by now. I refused to think about what the silence signified. 
 
 Fifteen minutes of air left. The Orion Nebula set to my left, sliding out of sight. 
 
 Hell, I do n't think we'd have even got any signals back from the scan. This system could be deserted. Space is so mind-bogglingly big that there could be a crowded intra-system shipping lane a million kilometers away and I wouldn ’ t even notice it. 
 
 “ This is Major Taylor of the Terran Marines, assigned to Terran Survey Ship *Galaxy Explorer*. Ship in distress. Assistance required. ” 
 
 My ears popped. It was cold in the suit, but that ran a new shudder down my spine. Air pressure was dropping. I brought the arm controls up again and ran some fast mental calculations. *Shit*. 
 
 I didn ’ t have fifteen minutes, I had less than ten. There must be another leak in my suit somewhere. Maybe that explained where this rotation had come from. 
 
 The helmet of a spacesuit isn ’ t designed for looking around, so I couldn ’ t tell where the leak was. 
 
 “ Major Taylor to anyone. I am floating free in space. Assistance required immediately ” 
 
 I began mentally cataloguing all the people I would never see again. Commander Hadley. Captain Schofield. Sarah, still waiting at home with Cally for a father that would never return. I could almost see them, almost hear the stories Cally was telling Sarah about her dad the Space Hero. I was going to disappoint them…and for some reason, that scared me more than the slowly dropping oxygen meter. 
 
 As I lowered the arm control from my tenth check in as many seconds, movement flickered. There! Against the edge of the Orion Nebula, a dark shape seemed to slip silently past. 
 
 “ Emergency! Emergency! This is Major Taylor of the Terran Marines requesting immediate assistance! ” 
 
 The shape slid out of view. Had I really seen anything? Was it a part of the *Galactic Explorer*? An asteroid at just the wrong angle? A Prior ship? 
 
 Conspiracy theories began running through my mind. The Asian Alliance was building its own explorers, as was the European Unity. Maybe it was one of them? Did they sabotage the *Explorer* so they could contact the Priors first? Surely they wouldn ’ t just leave someone out here in space. 
 
 Or would they? The evidence would be conveniently lost for eternity in the abyss. 
 
 Was it the Priors? We knew so little about them – might they have destroyed the ship rather than talk? Had we been attacked? I didn ’ t recall seeing any missile traces, and there hadn ’ t been any alarms. But if they were as advanced as we thought, then would they even use missiles? 
 
 Five minutes of air. 
 
 “ Major Tom to anyone in the system. I surrender. ” 
 
 Long shot, I know. There was only the crackle of the star ’ s fusion. 
 
 “ Major Tom to anyone on this frequency. Respond please. ” 
 
 Nothing. On the bright side, I could feel my left foot again. It was tingling. So were my fingers for that matter. Really, was anything worth it anymore? I was so tired. 
 
 “ I ’ m going to be dead in three minutes. If anyone is there. Please respond! ” 
 
 That one actually sounded a little whiny. But I was happy about it. Too happy. Hypoxia. I tapped the adrenaline booster – a last resort in case of emergencies. It took me three tries to hit the command, and after I did, I immediately regretted it. So much for the ‘ drifting off ’ method of death. I ’ d just narrowed it down to slow and lingering or slower and lingering. Smart move man, smart move. 
 
 The Nebula rotated into view again. Was there a sign of the black shape? Was that it there? No, just a gap in the filaments. Was it? Had I imagined it from the beginning? 
 
 “ Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. ” 
 
 That one was harder to speak. My tongue felt thick and a severe headache was developing. Less than one minute of air. 
 
 Then blessedly - lights. Lights in the shape of a ship, hanging against the dark less than a hundred meters away. Then they faded and turned into stars. Or did they? I struggled to concentrate – was there something there or not!? 
 
 I felt irrationally angry. 
 
 “ Fine you bastards! Fine! Leave me here to die! You ’ ve made an enemy of humanity today! We ’ re going to keep coming and coming and coming! You ’ ll never stop the avalanche as we sweep over your worlds and burn every living thing! You ’ ve awoken the reaper and he is *pissed! * Run! Run till you can ’ t run anymore, because that ’ s when we ’ ll catch you! ” 
 
 The suit indicator was blinking red. There was a buzzing in my ears and the blackness of space was somehow getting blacker. 
 
 “ Mayday. May…day. May….. ” 

