CHAPTER 1 - Arrival
The immensity of space spread out before his eyes as he stood under the crystal clear dome shaped window at the top of his ship. The ship was in synchronous orbit around the newly discovered planet known currently as Planet Zero.
When the planners decided that it was time to venture out into space, to determine if life on other planets was possible, they decided to utilize a very simple numbering system. This was the first planet discovered and so it was called Zero.
Benjamin Gates thought that was ironic. Usually, an explorer like himself would be thrilled to be the first person to step foot on a newly discovered planet. This just felt kind of strange, but he supposed Zero was better than Ten because he and his crew got to be the very first people to lay eyes on and, hopefully, be the first to walk on this newly discovered planet.
The domed window above him displayed the incredible blue and pink atmosphere of the planet below in what earthlings of the past might have referred to as “Technicolor.” Earthlings after that would have referred to the term “HD.” Whatever the case, he was in awe of the incredible planet and its majestic beauty.
Benjamin was an average height guy, about five feet ten inches tall, with blonde hair and a fairly muscular build. His Earth Fleet uniform was the standard white and grey with black trim and a bright red Space Fleet emblem on the right side of his chest. His name was also embroidered in red on the other side.
From where he was standing, he could see the top hull of the ship. The viewing window he was standing under was amid ship and the forward section of the ship came to a sharp point at the bow. On his port and starboard sides, the ship sprung out about a hundred feet and began to slop downward and to a point below not unlike ancient sailing ships from earth’s past. The hull of the aft section also came to a sharp point at the stern with an engine on both sides extending like wings.
The ship, Earth’s Redemption, boasted five levels of all the best Earth Exploration Sciences had to offer. Its hull was a dark green color similar to the greens found in the dark forests on earth. The idea was that this color might act as a type of camouflage while in the dark of space effectively hiding it from unfriendly space flying civilizations.
Benjamin had argued with the planners that this color looked ominous and threatening. Newly discovered lifeforms on other planets or space faring civilizations might mistake them for being hostile and make it harder to convince them that they were a friendly variety of space explorers.
Its crew referred to the ship only as Redemption. The planners had named it such as a symbol of lessons learned from the past as earthlings had come close to destroying earth’s atmosphere while it pursued industry and profit over longevity and conservation. Thankfully, after almost coming to the literal end of themselves, they came to want to continue existing more than they wanted to focus on profit margins and retaining political power.
Redemption was humanity’s hope for the future and embodied a renewed dedication to the sciences and exploration.
The Artemus program had rejuvenated the excitement and fascination the world once had for getting to the moon. It successfully planted a base on the moon, launched rockets to Mars and, eventually, after twenty years of progress, landed the first crew safely on the surface of the red giant. This was considered earth’s greatest accomplishment until Redemption.
It was the first of its kind and had made several voyages beyond earth’s solar system. The third voyage was the most historic as an electronic signal was heard and was excitedly interpreted as being created. It appeared to be more than some random bit of space noise.
Benjamin had commanded Redemption on all three prior missions and pushed hard to be allowed to command it once more for this exciting and taxing mission. Everything was being pushed to the limit, including their wits. This was all new stuff, and they faced the unknown with each lightyear traveled.
No one knew exactly how far Redemption could go or how long it’s systems would operate at peak performance. All the experts had guesses but Benjamin believed the craft’s capabilities would far exceed all expectations.
He took another look at the swirling blue and pink atmosphere. He wondered what the surface would look like. Then an electric chirp woke him from his daydreaming. It was the unmistakable sound of his personal communicator device (PCD) that was a part of a very sophisticated watch on his left wrist. This device could be used for any number of calculations, computations, analysis, and it could also tell time.
Benjamin brought the watch up to his mouth and said, “Commander Gates, here.”
The deep voice of the chief science officer, J.T. Brooks, came through the intercom. It was crisp and very clear for such a low tone. His voice often reminded Gates of the beautiful tones of a cello.
Brooks’ voice boomed, “Commander, I’m receiving some interesting data from my scans of the planet’s surface. It’s indicating scattered signs of humanoid life, but very few structures and obvious signs of industry.”
Commander Gates pondered this information carefully. A lack of industry would suggest the lack of nuclear fusion and made it very likely that the inhabitants of this planet were not yet sending ships and people into space.
He responded, “That interesting. Any thoughts?”
“I suspect there is more here than we can see with our scanners,” Brooks replied.
Gates curiosity was now growing as he said, “Do you suspect some sort of cloaking field is limiting our ability to see clearly?”
The science officer let out a deep and sliding sigh as he answered, “Uhm…inconclusive at this time, sir. I need to run more scans and, honestly, being down there in person would be optimal. If there is some kind of shielding, we might not get much more from orbit.”
Commander Gates shook his head emphatically, “I understand, but I’m hesitant to set foot on a planet we just parked next to without some kind of invitation or assurance that the situation is safe for a team. First contact is my priority, even over retrieving more data. I don’t want whoever is down there to see us as a threat.”
Brooks responded quickly and sharply, “Copy that. I’ll keep scanning just in case.”
The PCD beeped signaling that Brooks ended transmission on his end. The commander gazed down at the planet again and softly said to himself, “What secrets are you hiding from us?”
He smiled as his adrenaline peaked at the prospect of first contact. What would these aliens look like? Were they friendly? Were they the source of the signals received on his previous mission?
Whatever the case, he and his crew were making history just by being there.
