Olaf City

“I hate landings. We haven’t lost a ship during decent in thousands of years, but I still worry. Legs locked, Lars?”

“Yeah. Locked and stable. We’re solid.”

Our landing legs are force-fields and locks the ship so solidly in place we become a rock outcropping that can’t be moved. It surrounds the ship too and protects it.

“How much more light?”

“Another 7 hours.”

“Let’s go take a look at it. It’s incredible.”

“We’ve waited for this for a long time.”
*****
“Look at it. It must be 100 square kilometers...and the number buildings, thousands, some over a kilometer tall. The biggest question now is, who built it?”

“Don’t think I’d want ta meet ‘em.”

“I would. Those curved structures lying across the lower buildings are 50 meter diameter tubes, a transport system? Maybe a vacuum channel for high speed. They fell from the tops of those buildings. I want to talk to their engineers.”

“When are we headin’ home?”

“We just found the first signs of alien civilization and you want to leave? We can’t leave now!”

“Olaf, I’m tired. We’ve been out over a year and I’m for home.”

“Where are we?”

“About 70,000 light years, 21 days from home.”

“Another 2 weeks and we’ll head back. I have to look.”

“Okay.”

It was a stunning view from a kilometer and a half up where our anti-G harness held us. Half the city had collapsed but there were multitudes of buildings still standing. Who had built this? Why was it abandoned? Was it abandoned? Disease? No signs of destruction so not a war. What would we find in those buildings? A Library? A whole civilization to study.

I found it so I get to name it. ‘Olaf City?’ That has a good sound. I like it.