Operation Starlight (IC - SCI FI - OPEN)

[Sao Nova Europa]

OPERATION STARLIGHT

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OOC

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Into the Unknown

Space was like a dark curtain. Thousands of bright stars and planets dotted that curtain in an intricate pattern. An elongated, cylindrical shaped starship was was traversing this dark sea. It was Starlight, a UN-commissioned vessel silently making its way towards the Wormhole Gate.

Passing through a long corridor, Takeshi Shinaro made his way to the bridge. Upon seeing their commanding officer, the crew greeted him with a military salute. Takeshi smiled. "Bring up the comns!" he ordered. One of the officers activated shipwide communications, so that Takeshi's voice could be heard across the ship, in every corridor and room.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Takeshi said, his voice firm and authoritative. He hated longwinded speeches, but the occasion called for one. Being a thoughtful person, he had practiced his speech beforehand, ensuring he would give his best performance. “In about an hour, we will be reaching the Wormhole Gate. This will be a step into the unknown. We are at the threshold of possibly the greatest discover in the history of mankind, a discovery unparalleled in its magnitude. It could change forever how we view ourselves and our place in the universe.”

Takeshi paused for a few seconds. “No one knows what lies past the Gate. We may discover lush planets or even new, exciting life. But we may also jump into the middle of an asteroid field or even a warzone between alien species. We may jump to other side of the galaxy, the universe even. Or we could simply all die.” If this was any other vessel, Takeshi wouldn’t have made such a speech in fear of causing a panic. But the crew was well aware of the risks. Everyone knew that this could very well be a one way trip. So Takeshi had no reason to hide the risks involved. “That’s why I ask you to use this one hour we’ve got wisely. If you want to do something, do it now. If you want to speak to someone, do it now. Now, because in an hour we will be stepping into the unknown, with faith as our only guide.”

With that, he finished his speech and terminated shipwide communications. Takeshi turned to the bridge officers. “Not the most inspiring of speeches, eh?” he smiled.

This joke took by surprise the bridge officers. Takeshi was known to be always cold, strictly professional and an ‘old-school’ military man who valued discipline and obedience over fraternization with the crew. Yet, after giving such a gloomy speech, even he felt the need to say something to lighten the mood. After all, for all he knew, this could very well be the end.

[Brusia]

Dr. Luke Bell
Starlight
Sickbay

As the hour of their departure through the Wormhole Gate drew near, Dr. Bell was in the ship's Sickbay with the rest of the vessel's medical staff taking a final count of their supplies to ensure they had everything they'd need for the journey ahead; this was the last chance they'd have to turn back and pick up anything important that was missing so they all knew an accurate inventory was essential. Fortunately, as the count finished it seemed everything they needed was right where it was supposed to be and securely fastened; the Sickbay at least was as well prepared as they could be for the journey ahead.

Shortly after they finished, the Captain's announcement came in over the comms; not the cheeriest speech the physician had ever heard, but given the risks of their mission he supposed it was good advice for the crew to get their affairs in order. To that end, he dismissed his staff to spend their final hour before departure as they wished, then spent the next few minutes in the now eerily silent Sickbay logging their inventory count in the ship's computer. He'd already said his goodbyes to everyone back home that mattered to him the previous day, and now was just eagerly awaiting their arrival at the Wormhole Gate to make their voyage into the unknown.

After finishing his log entry, Luke hung up his white coat, revealing the khaki officer's uniform he wore beneath it, and decided to make his way to the ship's forward observation lounge; when they finally made it to the Wormhole Gate, he wanted to make sure he'd have a front-row seat to witness their journey through the anomaly. Fortunately there were only a handful of crewmembers there when he arrived, and he was able to find an empty table right next to the large observation window. Taking a seat, he gazed out at the stars ahead, wondering just how different the view might look when at last they reached the other side of the wormhole...

[Voxija]

Merilla Katherine Johnson
The Starlight

Our xenobiologist was waiting, waiting for her genetically modified bacterium to replicate itself and waiting for the ship to reach the Wormhole Gate. She knew it was time and was ready. Merilla hoped it would be aliens. Friendly aliens, probably unintelligent, but hopefully intelligent, hopefully just as scientific as Merilla was. But considering the history of humanity—Merilla flashed back a bit to the Third World War—most likely not friendly.

Merilla shook herself out of her flashback when the Captain's announcement came over the comms. It was hopeful and dire at the same time, much like Merilla herself. Merilla knew the risks. She stared at the picture of her parents that hung over her workspace. They knew the risks too. Merilla had no spouse, partner, or children. Very few people to mourn her.

Merilla Johnson glanced at her bacterium and found that it had died. She frowned and wrote it down in her scientific journal. Death was just a fact of life. One more failed experiment. She grabbed a tiny screw and adjusted her Mod. It was a cybernetic eye to help with astigmatism, one of the first Mods ever. It needed constant maintenance.

Our xenobiologist wanted to see the Wormhole Gate open for herself. It was a symbol of the possibilities of science. When Merilla walked towards the observation deck, she pondered the captain's speech. He was a military man, tough, didn't seem one for long speeches. Merilla had caught Captain Takeshi looking dissaprovingly at her. Probably wondering what the heck a black demigirl was doing on the ship. Merilla had heard he had old-fashioned views about race and gender.

Merilla sat next to the Chief Medical Officer at the big front table. Merilla thought he was pretty cool. They might work together in figuring out alien diseases or something. Merilla stared at outer space for a while, and said, "You know, Doc,—". Merilla had a habit of calling everyone in the medical profession Doc, "—What do you think you'll find out there?"

[Caber]

John Marko
UNS Starlight
Crew lounge
John stood around a table in the crew lounge with several of the other crew members, the room was filled with clusters of furniture, game tables, computer stations, book shelves, and even a fully stocked bar that took up a corner of the impressively sized room. The various staff around the table were engaged in excited talk about what could possibly be behind the wormhole and what their journey might expect. Several had high hopes for immediate contact with alien life or exciting new worlds, some of the cooler heads were explaining how it was far more likely they'd just materialize in a dark void with nothing around for hundreds of thousands or millions of kilometres. John stayed in the conversation but just barely, answering questions or responding when asked but never starting his own topics. He tended to hint that he was more on the cautious side of the wormhole, that it was a very real possibility that they might come into space inside a planet or that the first aliens they meet might not have the same peaceful attitude that a lot of the other crew thought they would.

Pretty soon into the conversations the ship wide comms came to life with the voice of their captain, a hopeful but still serious and somewhat grim speech about how they might make the greatest scientific discovery in the history of humanity, but other parts of the speech got John's attention. Specifically the part about how they may come out of the wormhole right in the middle of a war zone or an asteroid field, both relatively unlikely but still the thought persisted. With the captain's final remark about how this might be the last hour the crew has several of the workers around the table left to go about their own business including John.

Walking away from the table John headed out of the room into the grey and white corridors of the ship, an interesting contrast to the brightly colored lounge he had emerged from. Taking a few sharp turn and a small elevator ride to the crew quarters he found his cabin neatly tucked away in a corner of one of the ships many alcoves, Small, out of sight, and completely inconspicuous. Perfect for someone to mess with ship systems without being found. thought John to himself as he thumbed the bio metric scanner on the door's control panel. With a satisfying hiss and the door slid open to the right and exposed the interior of what would be John's home for the foreseeable future. The room was small, as were all cabins. Limited space on the ship meant that every square foot had to be put to use, in his room the furnishing was minimal, a bed, dresser, table with a chair and a terminal on top, storage container for John's personal possessions as well as a closet built into the wall. A small corner of the room was home to his shower, toilet, and sink. The door closed behind him with a satisfying click. It'll have to do I guess, won't be in it long if I can get my job done and get this ship to cancel it's mission. With that John got to work, sitting on his bed he activated his neural implant, a small cluster of cybernetics and other technologies built into his head which ended in a small metal bolt in the side of his forehead. Before Johns eyes a holographic outline of the ship appeared in the middle of the room, visible only to him as it only existed in the cybernetic implant and was reflected directly into his mind giving the illusion of a real sight.

Looking over the ship several snippets of information appeared in small bubbles around the ship, mostly referring to various systems and general ship information, a display light up and he focused on it expanding it to encompass the majority of his vision. It was the ships navigation data, at current speed and heading the ship would reach the wormhole in exactly 51 minutes and 12 seconds. Blinking it away John was back to looking at the imaginary hologram, the next bubble was a system on the lights in John's crew housing sector. A perfect test run thought John A small light malfunction would go unnoticed. digging deeper into his mind John activated the hacking program that his allies in the HPO had implanted in him. The effort of unlocking it made his head hurt and he thought about stopping but pressed on, a half second after beginning the hack the display in his mind flashed red then a calming green as access was granted and every trace of the hack was scrambled, spread throughout a dozen systems on this ship and erased. Where did we get a system this advanced? John thought as he put away the hack sending it back deep into his implant.

With the hack completed John now had total control of the lights in this section of the ship with a thought he deactivated the lights in his room, with a second thought he turned them on again. John walked over and opened his door to the empty hallway and turned off the light, a smile spread across his face as the hall went black and he crept back into his room and turned the hall lights back on before manually closing the door. With his test run complete he thought he might as well go watch as the ship passed through the wormhole, he didn't want to try to sabotage the ship yet, maybe his suspicions of the other residents of the universe would be right and he wouldn't even need to. He checked his storage box where he had hidden his smuggled pistol under several personal items to make sure it was still there and secure. Won't need you just yet he thought to himself. He started for the forward observation lounge where the view would be best, and arrived about half an hour before the ship entered the wormhole. He sat at one of the tables around the lounge and watched as the wormhole came closer and closer.

[Brusia]

Dr. Luke Bell
Starlight
Observation Lounge

Still gazing out the window, Luke had become so lost in thought that he didn't even notice Merilla taking a seat next to him. As a result, when she first spoke to him he was abit startled, though after being brought back to reality, he quickly regained his composure and gave the demigirl a polite smile. Having read through the crew manifest before leaving, he recognized her as the ship's resident xenobiologist; someone he was quite glad to have along given the very real possibility of encountering alien pathogens that would be well beyond his ability to develop treatments for on his own.

Responding to her question, Luke stated with a grin: "Ah, that is the question, isn't it?" Looking back out at the stars for a moment, the doctor quoted an excerpt from a poem that had been going around in his head since their journey began: "'The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks; the long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' A newer world..." he continued "A place of endless possibilities with new life and new discoveries we can't even begin to fathom; that's what I'd like to think we'll find at least." Looking back to Merilla, he asked: "How about you? What do you think, or hope, we'll find on the other side?"

[Voxija]

Merilla Katherine Johnson
Behold the majesty of the unknown

Merilla smiled. That poem was quite pretty. "Thanks for the lovely words," said Merilla. "And for me..."

Merilla grew lost in thought. What did she think she would find out there? "Intelligent life," she murmured. "I hope it will be friendly, but somehow..." Merilla stared down at her lap. She tried to purge the negative worries from her brain, and only expect the best. She almost succeeded, but her attention began to focus on a little speck on the floor. She picked the scrap of dirt up and put it under her chair.

"And that's all," Merilla said. "Most likely an alien war. Hopefully an alien peace. I just know it will be interesting." Merilla sat in her chair again, looking at the stars.

[Illegal Planets]

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The Professor
Once More Unto the Breach

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Theodore nursed his second gin and tonic, standing along the wall near the bar, keeping his own company. Most of the other crew fraternized with one another and he caught bits of conversation here and there. Many seemed excited, but there ran an undercurrent of nervous fear among them. He could smell it in their sweat and hear it in the way they spoke.

He himself was terrified. Theodore certainly wasn't an example of bravery even in the most mundane of circumstances, and here he was speeding towards an interstellar gate on the other end of the solar system, perhaps towards some sort of spectacular death. As a younger man he had been an avid reader of Lovecraft, and images of gargantuan, writhing forms in the cosmic darkness had plagued his sleep.

So he drank. Not too much, though. He had accepted the damned contract, of course, there was certainly no going back now, although a small part of his mind urged him to implore the captain to turn the ship around and take him back.

Theodore sipped his drink and returned the smiles of the crew who passed him as more and more filled the lounge. A fine sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead. He downed the rest of his drink and pushed his way through the crowd, looking for a place to collect himself.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Rikissa Strand

It's the usual nature of politicians, I grumbled in the privacy of my own mind as the speech continued to drone on, to take a long time to say very little.

I was missing my old friends again. They were good people, who knew what they had to do and went ahead to do it. None of this yellow-livered nonsense. It was a privilege of growing up in violence, as all of them did and I did myself. One learns very quickly not to worry about things that one cannot change, because one cannot afford to spend time and effort worrying about such things. One does what one can and may it please Providence to do the rest.

Most people, I learned fairly recently, were not like that. Not even my fellow soldiers in the 20th Armoured. They dithered, they panicked, they needed constant reassurance to simply do what they had to. Ridiculous, but I suppose that people who were raised politely could afford to do that.

Some of my comrades thought me fearless. Nonsense, of course. I'm determined, not insane. Who isn't terrified of losing things that are dear to them, who doesn't desperately want to keep living? Being afraid is good. Being terrified is good. It tells you that you still have things worth losing, still have a life worth living. It's when you're not afraid of anything that you should really be concerned. But breaking down and freezing up won't help you one bit. What will help you make the thing you're terrified of happening not happen, is to simply keep going, keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep solving the little challenges in front of you, and maybe, with a bit of luck, you'll make it out alive.

But then again, it was my friends who were dead or in prison and not those soft people, so maybe that wasn't quite true. Eh.

I kept cleaning my rifle throughout the captain's speech, only keeping one ear vaguely on what he was saying. One good thing I will say about the miserable pit that was the Peacekeepers, they - we, I guess, now that I'm a part of it - are very serious about preparedness. Not all of their regulations were ridiculous power plays designed to keep the common soldier down.

An adequate metaphor for the Peacekeepers, come to think. A lot of intricate parts, each designed to serve one and only one role, all working together in clockwork concert and dependent on the total reliability of every component. I volunteered on this mission, hoping that away from the regulated life of the barracks I will feel less like a cog in a machine, but alas, it seemed that the powers that be were unwilling to let that happen.

Down on the other side of my bed sat my trusty knife, sharpened to an edge and polished to a gleam. It may be of limited use on an open battlefield, but in this age of modern warfare people had a tendency to underestimate knives. It was a simple tool, yes, of limited capability, but in the right hands and in the right situation it could be just the tool that one needs. There was a reason I still haven't thrown it away - it spilled more than a little blood even during my Peacekeeper days.

Simple, brutal, efficient. That was the kind of person I wanted to be.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Dr. Sam van der Veen
Observation Deck

It was quite easy to explain, really. It all had to do with the speed of light.

The wormhole gate was, as it were, a gravitational well, that connected two points in the universe that were far apart in three dimensions, but close together in four. They were an ant on a sheet of paper, and the sheet of paper had been bent slightly to allow them to walk from one position to the other. The tiniest fluctuations in this gravitation field influenced the light that passed through it, the wave/particle duality slightly bent by the presence of such a powerful force. Because the speed of light was so immense, however, tiny fluctuations led to big visual deformations in the…

Sam shook their head. The physical reality of what they was looking at did nothing to undermine the wonder and astounding beauty of what they was looking at. A central, dim light, shining through a rippling surface like the sun reflecting off a pond. The ripples slowly expanded outwards, turning dark blue before vanishing into the black background of space, the gravitational waves only slightly disturbing the stars shining from behind it. It was as if someone had dropped a rock into the fabric of space itself, into the very being of reality. The light shining through the wormhole gate was as close to magic as anything could be, created from processes that by definition existed outside the current understanding of physics; forces and particles emanating from an area of space where physics did not make sense, translated into gravity and light when they entered our own reality.

The very existence of the wormhole, and the artifact that had activated it, had sent ripples of its own through earth. There was no field of study that was unaffected. Universities around the world founded xeno-faculties almost overnight, with a range of studies from xenobiology, xenopaleontology, speculative political sciences, Fermi studies… However, all these new sciences revolved around a single conceit, which no-one had really discussed yet, though everyone knew it: Humanity was certainly not alone. This wormhole gate was not natural, at least the artifact that opened it wasn’t. At some time before the present, some being had existed that could either create or tame wormholes, taking an amount of energy that modern physicists estimated would take the power of a dyson sphere. And if that were the case, then the existence of other species and civilisations throughout the galaxy was nearly a given.

When they signed up for the mission, Sam had imagined the space behind the wormhole to be most likely empty; the vast majority of space was empty, after all; between the stars, between the galaxies, between the galactic clusters that weaved together through gravity, most of it was empty. And had the wormhole been natural, that would have been the most likely end-point. But with every passing day, the idea of a manufactured wormhole made it more and more probably that behind the veil was something more. If it had been constructed with a purpose, then what was behind it was probably far more useful than lightyears of cold, empty space.

Useful…

Useful…

Sam suddenly felt a sense of dread building up in their stomach, as the vast rippling surface continued to close in on them (from a relativistic point of view). Everyone in the crew seemed to understand that, even if they survived the trip through the wormhole, there was no easy going back. Perhaps ever. The starlight was equipped with powerful long-distance transmitters for that very purpose; if they found themselves adrift hundreds of lightyears away from earth, at least they could send their data back, even if they themselves did not return.

Useful…

Sam had never felt smaller than at that moment. The sheer vastness of the wormhole, the very concept, shrunk down the spreadsheets, board meetings and profit margins of Shell and their allies which normally occupied their mind. There had always been a sense that they was helping the world out by exploiting new resources: the human race, in a fight with the universe, ever-expanding their capacity to shape the universe, and to survive against all odds. A fight with entropy and the heat-death of the universe. Operation Starlight was just an extension of that; one more expansion into the empty beyond. Only now… That beyond seemed less and less likely to be empty, and Sam was reminded of those times when resource-hungry foreigners had landed on distant shores they had expected to be empty.

“Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.”

Sam finished the poem dr. Luke Bell had been reciting. The baths of all the western stars… As Sam looked into the rippling pond of impossible light before them, they understood for a moment what this meant.

“It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.”

Sam wondered who their great Achilles might be, and if indeed the people who built the gate were to be called friends.

“I hope we find a waterfall” they said, unthinkingly. It was the first vision that came to their mind when they thought of an alien world.

“It would be nice to see one… At least I hope that, if there is indeed life beyond the gate, that they have grown beyond the need for war”

[Voxija]

Merilla Katherine Johnson
Almost at the Threshold

As the Starlight approached the wormhole, Merilla could feel her mouth growing into a big "O". This was it. They were almost in. There was no going back. The wormhole was beautiful, but also scary. Merilla felt small, which she hated. Merilla tried to grow bigger again, but she couldn't, not before the vastness of the wormhole.

Merilla felt the urge to go straighten her desk, or smooth out her lab coat, which she wore all the time. Merilla pushed back those urges. She wanted to see the journey through the wormhole with her own eyes, for scientific interest, of course. It would be terrible if there was nothing behind it. That would be worse than warmongering aliens.

Sam uttered a statement, about how they hoped the aliens would have outgrown war. Merilla almost laughed. She didn't think anyone would have outgrown war. As technology advanced, so would the reasons for war increase. But she didn't voice that. She couldn't say anything when faced with the gate.

[Brusia]

Dr. Luke Bell
Starlight
Observation Lounge

Luke listened intently to Merilla as the ship quickly neared its destination. Before he could reply however, he heard a different voice nearby recite another familiar line from Tennyson and turned to see the ship's resident Xenogeologist standing nearby. He grinned as the fellow detailed what he hoped they'd find beyond the gate, then with a smile replied: "Let us certainly hope they have, though even if not, I think I could settle for that waterfall." He turned briefly towards Merilla and noticed the look of awe on her face before looking back out the window and realizing just how close they'd now grown to the Wormhole Gate. He began to wring his hands abit as the ship made its final approach, his palms beginning to sweat in a mixture of excitement and trepidation. "At any rate" he continued "I suppose we shall find out soon enough..."

[New Antarcticania]

Tihomir Vukašinović
Crew's quarters

Oh dear, oh dear. What a mess Tihomir has found himself in.
Fresh off of millitary academy, and of all of the assignments he could've volunteered for, boarding a pressurized tube and ramming it into a massive fucking hole in space is the one he chose, he is basically holding on fr sear life agianst the railings of his bunk, sidearm holstered and closing his eyes for the inevitable, He thinks of the places he could've been right now. Handing out bars of candy to poor children in some impoverished region in the middle east, patrolling the streets in some megacity, but no- Tihomir is stuck onto a spaceship that is about to hurl itself into some wormhole, and on top of all of that, he has to babysit scientists when the ship makes it to the other side

IF they make it to the other side

At the last minute, Tihomir grabs a flask in his bag, a stash of alchohol that he has been saving up for days now, for special occasions. He takes a large swig, and hastily stuffs the flask back
into his bag. With a deep breath, Tihomir returns to hugging the steel railing.

[Sao Nova Europa]

Ice

Acting Captain Takeshi Shinaro opened comns. “We are about to enter the wormhole,” he announced to the ship. He then deactivated the comns. He could have said something encouraging or spiritual to the crew as they faced the prospect of heading into the unknown, but he wasn’t one for many words. ‘They have a job to do, and they will do it,’ he thought.

The Starlight reached the edge of the huge Wormhole Gate and dived straight into it. A tremendous shudder went through the whole starship. The crew struggled to remain still, as the ship shook violently. It was like getting sucked down the whirlpool in a draining bathtub. Takeshi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and shouted orders. It seemed as if the worst case scenario was happening; the ship would be destroyed and Operation Starlight would end ingloriously, as a failed expedition.

Then… all of the sudden the ship stabilized and the tremors stopped. The Starlight had made its way out of the Gate, into another solar system. Takeshi ordered the bridge crew to check the instruments and controls for any damage, but they did not find any. “We’ve made it,” Takeshi whispered.

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“Report,” Takeshi demanded from Chief Analyst William.

“Our sensors indicate that this solar system has a yellow dwarf star. It seems that there is only one planet in this solar system; a rock planet with expansive frozen oceans. Our sensors indicate that it has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and monoxide. Breath masks will be necessary to explore the planet. On the edges of the solar system, our sensors detect a large structure, possibly another Wormhole Gate.”

“Another Gate?”

“If that’s the case, then it could confirm the theory that the Gate is artificial.”

“I want you to call our lead scientists to the bridge. Once they come here, brief them on your findings, so we can discuss our next moves. We will be organizing a scientific expedition on that frozen planet, so I want our experts to tell us what we can expect to find down there and how the mission will be organized.” Takeshi was a strict authoritarian, but he was also smart one and knew when he needed to delegate authority to experts on matters he had little knowledge of. "I also want Senior Ensign Rikissa Strand on the bridge. She will be responsible for the security of the expedition."

[New Antarcticania]

Tihomir Vukašinović

"Holy Shit, we've made it out alive!"
Tihomir rolls out of his bunk, stands up, and stares at the ice planet from the window of his quarters, he stranded there and stared blankly at the world, probabaly along with other crewmen, a few moments later, He snapped out of it, almost like a state of hypnosis- And exited the room, Walking to the crew lounge.

[Voxija]

Merilla Katherine Johnson
Worry and Relief

When the captain's announcement came over the comms, Merilla nodded. She was anxious, excited, and apprehensive. All urges to straighten her desk disappeared, and Merilla hooked her eyes onto the window.

When the Starlight dove into the wormhole like a dunked basketball, the lounge shook. Merilla grabbed onto her seat and tried to reassure herself. This is only turbulence. It's like an airplane flight. You're not going to die before you reach your mission goal. But Merilla was on the verge of getting a war flashback.

Suddenly, it all stopped. The Starlight stabilized, and Merilla Katherine Johnson was still alive. Her eyes fixed on the window, amazed at what she saw. Very far away, there was a yellow star, much like the Sun, but not. Nearer was an ice planet. It was hard to see from far away, but Merilla was excited for what might be in there—minerals, water, aliens living in a subsurface ocean.

"Isn't it lovely?" Merilla asked the other crew members, specifically the Slavic-looking fellow who was entering the lounge.

[New Antarcticania]

"Well, travelling through a alien artifact and landing on some unknown planet light years from earth isn't something that UN forces do everyday"

Tihomir ordered a glass of vodka and sat down, his eyes fixed at the window. it wasnt common for him to drink on the job, but a glass of liquid courage every now and then won't hurt.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Another sun…

That was perhaps the most comforting thing Sam could have seen after they had fallen out of the shuddering torment that was gate travel. Like being sucked into a vortex; one of Sam’s recurring nightmares was being stuck on a ship that was slowly being sucked into a maelstrom. No power on earth there to rescue them, certain of destruction, but still with minutes left to spare before it was complete, and then being sucked into the void to drown…

A star shone, and even through the thick plastic-silicone glass that formed the Starlight’s windows, Sam could feel it warm their skin.

“YEEEEES! YEEEEES!” they shouted, releasing the tension they had felt build up through all of it. They jumped up and down, banging their fists against the glass. When captain Shinaro’s voice sounded over the intercom, Sam was almost too encapsulated to notice. They just managed to hear that they were requested on the bridge. It was nigh impossible for Sam to look away from the bright yellow dot staring back at them, but eventually, they managed.

“You coming, dr. Johnson?” they asked Merilla, without waiting for an answer, almost skipping towards the bridge. Sam just managed to straighten themself out before walking onto the bridge, composing themself and putting on a stern look that fitted his corporate reputation more.

“Captain Shinaro” they said, giving a curt nod.

Once William, the analyst, had given them a rundown of the readings, Sam began to ponder, looking out the window again at the star, and the distant shining speck that was supposed to be their target planet. They still lacked even basic knowledge of the planetary makeup, and the basic data that they relied on could really only be gathered by a planet-side excursion. It would not be their first, but Sam had never been so far away, and had never gone in so blind.

“I want a map of the different continents” Sam started, making notes in a small notebook they always carried on their person. They was talking loud enough for everyone to hear, but it was mostly meant for themself.

“See if there is reason to suspect tectonic activity. We should also check for a magnetosphere. How far from the habitable zone is the planet? I want a base line on how deep those oceans are, and how much geological activity we expect there to be at the sea floor”

Their scribblings became faster and faster, and increasingly illegible.

“What’s the density of the atmosphere like? If at all dense, you would expect the carbon dioxide to have a warming effect”

Sam shuddered. They knew all about the effects of carbon dioxide on a planet.

“The presence of large amounts of carbon monoxide puzzles me, though. Monoxide is highly reactive, and supposedly only created from low-oxygen oxidisation under high temperatures. I wonder…” but then Sam trailed off into thought, keeping half an ear trained at the other scientists gathered on the bridge.

[Voxija]

Merilla Katherine Johnson
Certain Possibilities

Merilla almost didn't hear the announcement, she was so engrossed in the view out the window. She saw Sam jump up and down in joy. Merilla could relate. She felt okay with Sam solely because there was a fellow non-binary person on the ship. But Sam still seemed off to Merilla, for reasons she didn't know.

When Sam asked Merilla is she was coming, Merilla slapped her hand against her face. Why didn't she listen the first time? But Merilla still straightened out her lab coat and followed Sam to the bridge.

Merilla Johnson listened to all William said with awe. This little frozen planet might have life in its oceans. Sam's questions and orders made all the sense, especially the question about geothermal activity. That could make all the difference between life and no life. But carbon monoxide? There's no life with carbon monoxide? Maybe extremophiles like tardigrades, but certainly no intelligent life.

"Hmm," hmmed Merilla, adjusting her eye Mod and then tapping her pen to her full lips. She might get ink on her lips, but that wasn't her worry right now. Merilla was pondering about science.

[Caber]

Ensign John Markos
UNS Starlight
Forward observation lounge
Markos grasped the table he was sitting at tighter and tighter, his knuckles turning bone white as his grip strengthened around the steel top of the table corner. A timer shown in his implant's HUD counted down the final seconds until the ship made contact with the wormhole gate.

5
Here it goes, all or nothing this could be the greatest achievement in mankind's history. Travel to somewhere far beyond the outer limits of our solar system and find new worlds for colonization or exploitation by the companies back home.

4
This'll be good. Please be good, we'll find an empty solar system with plenty of habitable worlds and rich resources to push humanities ever growing boundaries and economic drives.

3
This was a mistake! We'll be ripped apart in the wormhole or exit the gate right in the path of a planet or in a field of asteroids or inside of a star and all be burnt into nothing before we even know what happened...

2
No! I can't think like that! Everything will be fine! I'm on a star ship built by the United Nations specifically made for this mission, there's no chance something could go wrong!

1
We're all gonna die!
John Closed his eyes tight and prepared for whatever came next

0
Nothing happened, not a shake or a shudder and he certainly wasn't dead. John felt his body with his hand then cautiously opened his eyes. His timer was off a couple of seconds. The ship crested the lip of the wormhole and shuddered violently under the crushing waves of gravity, space, and time all bending like light around the ship. Colors swam by only to be lost in other colors, a never ending sea of blues, greens, purples, and others he didn't even know what, he swore he saw something swimming in the brightly colored aura around the ship.

Then it stopped, everything went normal and the frightened crew looked out the window at the constant dark void that was space, lit up like a beacon in front of them was a brightly burning yellow star with what appeared to be some sort of mass in steady orbit around the sun. We... we lived. and there's a star just like our own sun out there and... and could that be a planet? Or just a large asteroid or anything else?

Cheers arose around him from various crew members, others embraced each other as the observation lounge for a second became like a party as the various peoples on the ship celebrated a mission success and the fact that they weren't dead. After a few seconds the crew regained their professionalism and many started moving to their workstations around the ship, others stayed by the windows and just watched in awe as they became the first human beings to ever enter another solar system. John stayed sitting for another minute before an announcement for all top scientists to make for the bridge snapped him back to attention. John got up and looked at various scientists around the room, specifically at one group comprised of a heavily augmented scientist he recognized as their xenogeologist and two others he didn't quite know. Ok just so we lived through that doesn't mean there's no danger here. Who knows what could be lurking out there just out of visual range? No there's always danger I'm just glad we haven't found any aliens yet, that would be bad. Now I need to... Another announcement cut off his thought as a voice he recognized as the chief engineer called engineering and repair teams 1 through 4 to the primary engine room for a briefing. John was assigned to team 3 so that mean't his attendance was required, quickly setting a waypoint guide in his implant John started for the engine room.

[Sao Nova Europa]

“I want a map of the different continents” Sam started, making notes in a small notebook they always carried on their person. They was talking loud enough for everyone to hear, but it was mostly meant for themself.

“See if there is reason to suspect tectonic activity. We should also check for a magnetosphere. How far from the habitable zone is the planet? I want a base line on how deep those oceans are, and how much geological activity we expect there to be at the sea floor”

Their scribblings became faster and faster, and increasingly illegible.

“What’s the density of the atmosphere like? If at all dense, you would expect the carbon dioxide to have a warming effect”

Sam shuddered. They knew all about the effects of carbon dioxide on a planet.

“The presence of large amounts of carbon monoxide puzzles me, though. Monoxide is highly reactive, and supposedly only created from low-oxygen oxidisation under high temperatures. I wonder…” but then Sam trailed off into thought, keeping half an ear trained at the other scientists gathered on the bridge.

"Initial reading show that there is only one continent," William replied. "A supercontinent to be exact. It seems to cover more than ninety percent of the planet's landmass. As for your second question, the planet is within the habitable zone, but there doesn't seem to be any intelligent form of life down there. The atmosphere is thick. As for how deep those oceans go, we are unable to tell as of yet. We will need to mount an expedition to the planet and set up equipment to tell. Indeed, we may need to revise some of our data once on the ground if new information comes up. We cannot be a hundred percent sure about our assumptions."

[Talchyon]

Before
Warrant Officer Emerik Medved

Loud music blared out of the speakers of the mobile phone. The screeches of a driving metal band and their shrieking lead vocalist filled the room of the almost unoccupied gym. A toned, muscular soldier was doing pullups with ease, exhaling in short, controlled breaths. Dressed in a green tank top and full-length camo sweatpants, the soldier only listened with half an ear to the familiar song in his set. Concentrating on finishing his set, he heard the loudspeakers of the ship crackle to attention as the captain began speaking. Annoyed, he let go midway through and dropped the two feet to the floor, where he made his way to the phone and hit the screen to pause it. The captain's speech was interesting. Full of the unknown because of the nature of their mission, and encouraging the crew to prepare in their last hour of certainty before heading in.

Warrant officer Emerik Medved wasn't phased.

In fact, while some of the cowards on board this ship might tremble at the thought of jumping into the middle of an alien war, Emerik actually hoped they might. It would give them a chance to prove first off if there was intelligent alien life out there. More importantly, it would show them all what kind of forces said intelligent aliens could muster. They could see their weapons and shields in action. They could get designs of their crafts and begin to analyze it for weaknesses. In short, it would make their task a hell of a lot more interesting than what he had been having to deal with so far. Geeks in lab coats here, cowards in the ranks there, and no one eager to set down and kick some ass. It annoyed this Croatian warrior greatly.

When the captain cut out, Medved snorted and turned his phone back on, and went back to his sets. He wasn't scared at all. Fear was for the weak. So he went back to what he had been doing, honing his physique, this time, starting out from zero on pullups so he could do all of his reps simultaneously.

---

Now

The jump through the portal had been instantaneous. A thick tension among some of the crew was noticeably lowered when the jump was made and they survived. Ready for action after his workout, Emerik stood at his battle stations on board the ship, in case it was needed, and a little disappointed that it had not been. Still, he was sure he'd be deployed planet-side. He was as mean as they came and those geniuses who thought they were running this gig couldn't defend themselves.

They were orbiting what appeared to be an ice world. The crew and other soldiers were trying to learn as much as they could about it and about their next moves by scans, sensors, and just plain old looking out the windows. Rumors were already beginning to circulate among soldiers, as to how much of a threat the unknown planet posed. Whispers of alien life, of creatures, and of hostile conditions were slowly making their rounds. Emerik knew a soldier who went in blind was likely to lose. It's just that so far, they had little and that little amounted to nothing.