Arriving at Aphios 21b.
Such a strange name for a planet. Especially given the archive of recently-discovered planets hadn't lead to a discovery as fascinating as this one in years. The planet, Aphios, a lush forest planet seemed to be piquing the interest of the brightest minds across the Human Continuum due to an unsual discovery. The discovery; being a energy field surrounding the celestial body -- emitted a type of energy no scientific instrument could properly attempt to understand.
Captain Castilla of The Montevado was taken aback by the simplicity of the mission. Land, observe and collect possibly any usable information for the scientists back on Morden to properly analyse. In addition; there also appeared to be life-signs on the surface. Intelligent? Civilised? Wild? Other humans? The confusing nature of the energy barrier prevented a complete scan of all life on the surface of the planet. As silly as it was -- there was single life-sign coming back and identifying as human amongst others which couldn't be properly pin pointed.
The discussion to enter the planet's atmosphere was long and arduous. The risks of lowering the Montevado into an atmosphere with an unknown energy field was simply too dangerous, or perhaps, completely harmless. A great deal of equipment and supplies would be needed; including that of a fabricator to remotely spawn in materials and other types of supplies for an extended ground mission.
"A single human?" Head Scientist Frobisher had analysed what little information there was on the crew room's monitor. "How unlikely. It's just a malfuction, right? This planet, according to our archives, hasn't been touched by humans or any other civilization."
"We need to be prepared." Captain Castilla replied, she slowly leaned forward against the desk and rubbed her chin. "All scenario's need to be taken into account. If there is life down there; including human, we need to move ahead and prepare for a possible friendly, hostile or neutral advancement. Diplomacy is currently our best strategy and I want to keep 'violence' as a last-chance."
"What about the ship, Captain?" The ship's Engineer, Ella, inquired, "The energy field is made of strange particles. If we run the ship through; who knows what's going to happen? We can't risk damaging the engines or any of our equipment. What if we're stranded? If our communications equipment is damaged then we'll be stranded."
"Good point," Castilla nodded, "We can probably take a small shuttle. Boost the shields to one-hundred and ten percent and that should grant us safe passage to a landing zone near the human signature."
"This is a bad idea." Ashton, the Head of Security shook his head. His lips curled, grey beard twitching, "We can't lose our Captain to a basic exploration mission. Rules and regulations are set in place for a reason -- there must be a Captain on the ship at all times when crew are present. How are the rest going to react when you're gallavanting on that planet below?"
"I volunteer to go, Captain." Frobisher raised his hand, his eyes sunk to the surface of the table. "In the name of knowledge itself, and the ensured survival of the human species."
"Me too." Ella added, also raising her hand. Her face began to burn a slight red as Frobisher soon glanced surprisingly in her direction. "For the name of... Knowledge and stuff."
Aston grumbled, "Oh for heaven's sake. You two can't just go, the rest of us need to stick together."
The debating and ebb towards bickering in the quarters left Captain Castilla to silently ponder on her own personal decision. She nodded, vision soon glancing to the table, and stood up; leaving the room silent. "I've come to a decision. Ashton's worries are genuine and I acknowledge his concerns about my safety -- but I'm agreeing with Ella and Frobisher. A small shuttle should be of minimal loss instead of the Montevado itself."
"Oh, Claire-Arden Castilla..." Ashton groaned.
---
The preparations and goodbyes were done. For Captain Castilla, Frobisher and Ella, the three crew members completed their final requirements and prepared to leave in the shuttle ship. The shields were boosted, thanks to Ella's technical expertise, and the scientific equipmenta and supplies were sorted by Frobisher's list's -- list's which he read four times in a row.
"Preperations complete." Frobisher announced, "We leave in two minutes. Strap in to harnesses; brace for impact as we collide with the energy field."
"Brace for impact?" Ella felt her cheeks puff, "That sounds so serious! My work done to the shields should be more than enough to keep us safe."
"As I was saying," Frobisher rolled his eyes, smiling, "Brace for impact. Stuff that's been said before, any other words, Captain Castilla?"
"You've done well," Castilla nodded, she took a nearby seat and tightened her belts.
"I should be stopping this shuttle, y'know." Ashton's voice came through the communication's link, "Goes against every rule and regulation we've set up to ensure health and safety, Captain."
"Need to break a few eggs to make an omelette, Ashton." Captain Castilla replied, inhaling as the ship began to ignite its engines. "We're leaving for three deca-cycles. We'll attempt to make communication once we land on terra firma. If we fail to initiate communication, send help."
"Better come back in one piece, Claire."
"We will. We've got enough supplies to last us for several ecta-cycles."
"What about us?" Frobisher adjusted his glasses, frowning.
"You're replacable. The Captain isn't."
"Ha-ha, Ashton." Frobisher rolled his eyes, further drifting his gaze away from Ella as she giggled.
The ship slowly left the docking bay. The engines ignited further and slowly descended towards the planet's atmosphere -- a show of strange colours and lights soon flickered through the shuttle's windows as the shields began to take the brunt of the strange energy field. The on-board navigational system locked onto the life-signs below and began tracking.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author