The S.L.E.U.T.H. ejected from the Illume, an old scanning ship sent to complete a mineral survey of Polydeuces, a small moon orbiting Saturn. A cataclysmic reactor failure gave the crew only minutes to abandon ship. 

A blur of pushing people out of her way and jumping into the transport replayed in her head. She could still smell the thick smoke and hear people screaming, no chance of escape. It all happened in seconds, no time to think, just run. As the unit sealed, she felt the gel's pressure harden on her skin; only her face left uncovered. Sealed inside, the S.L.E.U.T.H., short for Single Life Escape Unit Transport – Human, lovingly referred to as a coffin tube escaped. She was alive, and that was enough.

Hurtling into space, she gathered her wits about her and gave a voice command, waking the unit. "personal status check," she said. The unit stayed dark. Remembering her training, she reworded the command, "Computer, personal status check."

Low light filled the coffin, a screen only inches from her face, lit up. "Okay, no injuries.  Computer, SLEUTH status check." The screen changed, showing the pod systems were operational. "Alright, two for two. Computer Navigation program." She waited; a map appeared, identifying a path to a planet. She choked on a breath when she saw the ETA block. Large block letters flashed.

ESTIMATED DATE OF ARRIVAL 20490122. 

"Six Years! That can't be right. Computer, report the final destination, and distance."

EARTH 983.8 MILLION MILES. 

She would never survive. "Computer - change final location to Dione, recompute date of arrival." the screen blinked.

AUTHORIZATION CODE REQUIRED 

"Computer, 629-423-7950478," hoping her employee identification number would work.

INVALID AUTHORIZATION CODE 

"Computer, Engineer Hauley authorization code 6294237950478," she tried again.

INVALID AUTHORIZATION CODE

"Computer, biometric scan for authorization code," she said, actual passcodes had been disbanded for biometrics shortly after she had joined the science team ten years ago. 

400 - BAD REQUEST - ERROR

"Computer, when was the last destination update to this SLEUTH completed," growing more nervous watching the in-process icon.

20310127 PERFORMED BY A STELAN

"A Stelan, 2031! That was 12 years ago! I went to Stelan's mandatory retirement celebration. Really, they never assigned the task to anyone after he left! No one on the Safety Team considered where the pods would go? Great, I'm going to die because A Stelan retired, and no one picked up the slack." She was talking to herself, the sound of her own voice better than the silence. Her eyes roamed around. The gel packing holding her head and body secure. No windows, nothing to look at. She understood why people called them coffins. A thought popped into her head and out her mouth. "It's a computer, a stupid computer, but a computer." She paused a minute, "Computer, who has the authorization to change the Sleuths destination."

CAPTAIN OLSARON AND A STELAN

"Computer, Captain Olsaron is dead. A Stelan is dead. The ship is destroyed. How do I obtain authorization?"

NOTIFY CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS HUMAN RESOURCES EARTH FOR AUTHORIZATION

"Computer, how long will a message to earth take? This SLEUTH requires a new trajectory, occupant in place."

88 MINUTES

"Good, we are getting somewhere." She wrinkled her nose, hoping that would scratch an itch,  impossible to reach. "Computer, Message to Corporate Headquarters Human Resource Division. Subject: Emergency request for immediate authorization access for Engineer Leslie Hauley Employee Identification 629-423-7950478, SLEUTH identification Illume 27. Message: Scanning ship Illume destroyed near Saturn moon Polydeuces. SLEUTH programmed to return to earth. Occupant survival estimated at one week. Current ETA Six Years. Send, high priority," she waited as the computer completed formatting.

NATURE OF THE EMERGENCY

"Occupant will die, send the message!" the in-process icon continued glowing.

SELECT MESSAGE CODE FOR CATEGORY DEATH - COLLISION- MALFUNCTION - OTHER (BRIEF EXPLANATION REQUIRED)

"They left off incompetence. Computer, other - unit cannot sustain occupant for the length of time required."

MESSAGE CATEGORY- DEATH; CODE- OTHER; LEVEL TWO EMERGENCY - MESSAGE SENT

"Level Two! I should have picked collision. Hmmm, eighty-eight minutes plus eighty-eight minutes, that's one-hundred-seventy-six minutes, divided by sixty, that's almost three hours. At five miles a second, plus gravitational pulls. Arrgh! I have no idea where I will end up! I have no idea where I am. I'm going to die in here, all because someone retired!" Calming herself, she looked at the blank screen. 

"Computer set a countdown clock for three hours," She watched the time tick down. Letting out a cheer at the one-hour mark. "Not long now!"  At thirty minutes, her mind started running through all the possibilities, all failing, resulting in death. At five minutes, her heart started pounding, and she forced her breathing to slow down. The countdown clock shrank into a corner as letters appeared. 

NEW MESSAGE

"Computer, open message," she said, excitedly.

AUTO REPLY- RECEIPT OF REQUEST HUMAN RESOURCES, CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, EARTH 

TO ENGINEER LESLIE HAULEY EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION 629-423-7950478

YOUR MESSAGE IS IMPORTANT TO US. WE STRIVE TO ADDRESS ALL ISSUES IN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS AND WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR REQUEST HAS BEEN PROCESSED.

THANK YOU

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY BE FOUND AT FAQ/HR, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

"Damn It, I'll be dead by the time I hear back!" she screamed. Tears ran, snot ran from her nose, which still itched, unable to move, the last shred of hope gone. She would be so far away by the time they answered. Incapable of recalculating the route. Despair, grief, and hopelessness overwhelmed her. She cried herself to sleep, wishing she had opted for coma meds.

She woke up to the screen flashing. 

NEW MESSAGE. 

"Computer, Open Message," she said hopelessly, expecting another auto-reply reminding her how important she wasn't.

TO ENGINEER LESLIE HAULEY EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION 629-423-7950478

SLEUTH 27 HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY REROUTED TO TITAN

ETA APPROXIMATELY 28 HOURS

SILVER LINING RESCUE AND RECOVERY TITAN

"Computer, verify route and eta," a smile stretched across her face. Twenty-seven hours, forty-two minutes, seventeen seconds. "Even in the darkest place, there is a silver lining."