A rock flew through the pitch black emptiness of space. Its smooth, crystalline surface reflected the light in a bluish hue, scattering the rays into its surroundings. With no destination defined, it would simply fly until something stood in its way.

As it were, that something was a planet. A giant mass of darkness rotating in the vastness of the universe, multiple stars observing it – possibly since aeons past. Only a few years ago had its journey begun. Now it would already come to an end, its purpose soon fulfilled: to find a new home.

With the full excitement a non-sentient rock was capable of, it approached the planet, unable to halt its advancement by itself in the first place. The planet’s atmosphere began to have an impact on its descent, the heat rising slowly but continuously, while slowing it down at the same time. It was unfazed by the planets attempts to keep it away, its structure designed to be able to withstand much worse. The atmospheric composition, however, excited it – literally. The air around it began rushing towards it, absorbed by the rock, now pulsing with a splendid orange shine in regular intervals, almost as if breathing. With the time between each pulse shortening, the light intensified. After releasing one last, magnificient, all-encompassing pulse of bright – now azure – light, it calmed down.

It had sent the first signal. Its reason d‘être was thus accomplished. This planet was habitable... mostly. They would be able to breath, and that would have to be sufficient. Finding out more information about the planet than that would be luxury; welcome, but not imperative. Be that as it may, it would give its very best to find out more, to analyse the planet in its entirety and uncover every secret hidden in the deepest recesses of this unknown world.

Approaching the inner layers of the atmosphere with increasing speed, it would soon impact the surface, hard. Its rock-hard shell, however, would protect it against any damage, because it was much, much harder than rock. That was why the prospect didn’t faze it in the slightest. Also, non-sentient rock – remember?

Having long since reached the culmination of its velocity, it struck the surface with tremendous force. A fountain spewed into the air, the disturbed matter creating a veritable veil around the site, blocking all vision – well, all except mine, obviously. Its body halted by the impact it began to slowly sink into the depths. The waves that had been created by its arrival were spreading out in all directions and would continue to do so for a long while still.

It had landed in an ocean. Not the most ideal place; quite the opposite, actually. The water would act as its tomb, shielding all future signals, to and fro.

An instant before it had made contact with the surface, it seemed as though the water had imperceptibly bulged, as if trying to evade the rapidly approaching construct.

#####

The spaceship crackled from the energy. Golden panels at the front flared up in a blue shine and emerald flames jetted out, erupting with fervor. It slowed down until finally halting in its tracks. Polygonal shapes above the panels began to lose their color, and slowly became more and more transparent, allowing for a clear view through. What awaited them on the other side was a black sphere, rotating by itself in the vast expanse of space. Multiple stars illuminated it with their intense blaze, seemingly keeping their distance as to not burn it. The surface would be warm, but still bearable.

Liga‘s eyes widened witnessing this spectacle. The planet’s uniformity drew him in, the surface distorting like a fluid. They had been given no information about even the most basic aspects of this planet, like its appearance. Not that anyone would have known in the first place.

Taking a hold of himself, he snapped out of his trance. Turning to the members of his crew, he saw that their expressions were of similar nature to his. Their mental state would worsen, even more so than it had during their trip. It had be a tough task to keep morale at a tolerable level until now, but he‘d have to make sure to maintain it at that. Assuring them that all would work out in the end, that this was a step in the right direction – that would do very little to help them; empty words that he’d been repeating ad nauseam.

His gaze was sweeping over the members present, rehearsing the speech he had been preparing since they had departed. The first to react was Janus. His second in command‘s face revealed a morbid fascination with the sphere. He had been looking at it attentively, a hint of sadness passing over his otherwise chipper visage, leaving as fast as it had come. He was likely thinking about home. Who would not?

He was the only other passenger who had volunteered for this mission. Despite this, his reason to join had been quite different from Liga’s; it could even be said that their reasons were completely opposite in nature. Nevertheless, that was also why he could be certain to be able to rely on Janus under any circumstances.

The others, however, had barely been keeping it together during their journey. Being chosen for a mission like this had already felt like a death sentence to most; staring at this mass of darkness they would have to call their home from now on won‘t have helped with that.

They’d not hold up much longer. He’d have to turn their minds towards something productive, to distract them from their spiraling thoughts. He‘d have to reassure them that the mission was still on track, that this would not be their end, but rather a blessing in disguise.

“Listen up!” he addressed nobody in particular, his gaze fixed on the black planet. His voice reverberated throughout the entire ship, the walls vibrating in response and delivering his words to every last corner. “None of you want to be here. I know that. But you are, you have no choice, and there’s no way back!” Whilst saying so, he turned around and looked at the people present, one by one, as if daring them to contradict him.

He knew that challenging them like this did him no good in the current situation, but old habits were hard to lose. Remnants of harsher times, when he’d only just unlocked his potential, and after, when he had to establish his position in the world. Despite all he had to go through, he was quite fond of those memories.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

He turned back around, focusing onto the topic at hand, their new home. “We either land on this planet, or slowly starve out here over the next decades. At least we would have that choice. Others didn’t.” His voice turned into barely a whisper at the end, yet his words still transmitted into every corner of the ship, crystal clear for everyone to hear.

A certain sense of depression spread amongst the crew upon hearing that. They knew that in reality they had no choice. Everyone had heard the sad stories of lost ships, the macabre speculations of what may have happened to the members every time it happened. Having to survive on a foreign and quite possibly hostile planet was one thing, but out here nothing but death awaited them; a not a peaceful one, either.

„As you all know, the estimated survival rate for missions like ours is abysmal. In this particular case, the Proxy ceased to function almost immediately upon landing; there was almost no information to be had, other than the atmospheric composition being suitable for life. This had pretty much been a suicide mission from the get-go. Stranding outside an uninhabitable planet, slowly starving or suffocating; that had been the likeliest scenario. Now, however, we have a way out!” he turned towards the planet, spreading his arms out. Staring intently at the planet, his voice grew louder, his every word filled with determination. “This planet, despite its uninviting appearance, is our hope for a better future! I know it‘s not ideal, but we‘ll be able to make do.”He turned around on that last part and was greeted by blank faces. He may have overdone it a bit. He felt his cheeks becoming hotter, but before his embarrassment could take a hold of him, he slowly lowered his head, his shoulders lowering, losing their conviction. With a quiet, sad voice, he said, “Others never had that choice.“

Those last words did indeed help guide the passenger’s thoughts towards their own survival, a common goal, and away from the dangers they would still have to deal with.

„Initiate the landing sequence!“ he commanded, the members in charge of the spaceship startled into motion. They made for their stations almost in unison, their movements hastening by the second. Hoping for their tasks to distract them from the inevitably remaining thoughts about that abyss below might be a stretch, but there was no way around it. They would soon land.

Waves of energy washed over the crystalline surface of the ship, vast amounts of bluish light radiating in every which way. Large sections of the outer hull became even harder than they had been, in preparation of them entering the atmosphere. The change also made them smooth like glass, reducing any friction. The large, transparent window shrunk into a thin slit while the wall itself thickened and distorted; smooth sides now reflected the light and guided the image into the interior. Matter was slowly displaced from the interior and absorbed into the walls to provide a more solid barrier between the crew and the enormous temperatures the remaining friction generated when traversing the atmosphere. The golden panels at the front that had been emitting bursts of energy until now stopped, slowly glided into the ship and disappeared in the interior, hidden behind the hardened sections.

Gravity being their ally, they slowly began their descent.

The chaos his order had initially caused had turned into an organised commotion, matters being handled left and right. Everyone was busy, the general mood settling back into the reluctant acceptance he got so used to over the past months of travel. Landing this vessel would keep their minds occupied for the time being. At the very least until they had landed; successfully, one would hope.

They had entered the atmosphere by now. There was no distinct line that separated outer space from the boundary of around the planet. Nevertheless, they could tell by the stark increase in temperature surrounding their blazing ship. The inside was comfortable; the members in charge of maintaining it at a constant temperature doing their utmost to contend with physics knocking at their door. The ship rushed through the sky like a giant projectile and rapidly got closer; they would not have to hold out much longer. On the image projected through the slitted window, they could now see it clearly; the planet was covered in a black fluid, a handful of small, serpentine islands withstanding the incessant waves. They were currently moving towards a random spot in the middle of that ocean. Now, they‘d have to retarget and aim for one of the islands, finding the most ideal one preferably an hour ago.

Liga became more nervous by the second, waiting for the analysts to return with information about each one. The ideal island would not necessarily be close by, but they had to not other option than to choose from the few close enough that they would be able to identify their characteristics. The way their spaceship worked would not allow them to rise back into space; no second chance. The only direction it would go in – after departing from their home planet – was downward. One wrong decision and they would be stuck on the wrong island, or worse, crash in the middle of the ocean, drowning everyone within.

A few seconds later and he held a list of the islands in his hands, staring at it intently. He’s only have to choose one and they would change course immediately. The analyst had already sorted the entries by their suitability; there was a definitive winner. Every last island was completely barren, the sand shining with a golden sheen amidst the dark waters that absorbed all light. Most of the ones still within reach were much too small to provide enough space for the cattle they had brought with them. Of the handful that were large enough, only one seemed to have any sort of elevation; that indicated a higher stability and protection against the surrounding ocean. The lack of any satellites near the planet made tides unlikely, but one could never be too careful. They had little to go by in the first place.

With a clear target in mind, he quickly gave the order, informing the members of his decision. There was not enough time to dilly-dally. The ship flashed bright blue, intense bursts of energy accelerating it towards the chosen island, the land they would soon call their home and that would be the foundation of their colony.

They had reached the surface in barely any time. Their vessel crackled with power, hovering above the ground. A near-imperceptible mist emanated out from somewhere within the ship and laid itself onto the ground, encompassing the entire area below them. Intense sparks jumped from the hull to the ground and back, traversing swathes of sand. It gathered below it, forming dozens of pillars that supported a singluar, solid platform. The creation absorbed more and more sand, slowly solidifying it into rock, and transformed the soft underground into a stable foundation for the ship, the flashes of energy coming to a halt.

The ship lowered itself carefully, approached its spot and landed precisely and with grace on the new formation. Everything came to a sudden halt, a jarring contrast to the chaos that had reigned mere moments prior. Amidst the glaring heat from the many suns reflected by the golden sand, and the sound of the waves fighting amongst themselves in the background, a dark light began to glow from the front of the ship. A hole began to form in the wall, the hull of the ship dissolving and reforming into what would become a slanted platform leading down from the elevated ship and connecting to the ground.

He stood in the center of the new passage, both hands stretched forwards, as if still touching the wall that had been there. He only had half a mind on the pathway he was creating for them to exit the ship. His gaze was focused on a place far away, empty eyes burning a hole through the celeste sky, just above the horizon, and into the vastness of space that lay beyond. He could not tell if he was looking at it, or even in the right direction, but he did not have to. It was enough to know what he was looking at. And what he would not have to see again. His eyes focused downwards, towards his hands, the shimmer from the liquid covering them, and the mist condensing on his palms, being reabsorbed by his body.

Suddenly feeling a palm on his shoulder, a fleeting emotion crossed his visage, suppressed as fast as it came. He spun around with a chipper smile, and, in a display of immaculate manners, motioned with one arm for him to take the first step, both conveying respect and acknowledging his position in the hierarchy in a single gesture.

Liga returned a slight nod, smiled, and proceeded to go down. He had never been fond of nobility’s etiquette. He could, however, appreciated the ornate steps that had been carved into the path to facilitate their descent. He knew that Janus’ control surpassed even his own, but it was always fascinating to see the feats he could achieve, the marvels he could present them with. An old legacy did pay dividends, but... He glanced back at Janus. He was met with a friendly smile and returned same in kind. Shacking off his thoughts, he continued on his way.

Taking one last step, he had finally reached the end. From now on, he would walk on sand, on the ground of a planet nobody had laid feet on before. Looking at the golden dust below his shoes, he felt the relief of having solid ground below him again, mixed with a certain sense of anticipation.

They had finally reached their new home.