Chapter 1. Day One: Something’s Coming

The six crew members clung to their seats, fingers gripping hard as the shaking ship rose, accelerating upwards into the blue Venusian sky. No one ever spoke during this time- the atmosphere and mood were always too intense, and the volume of sound too extreme. The shaking lasted less than two minutes, but in those two eternal minutes, all thoughts and feelings were focused on 'When will it stop?!' The juddering continued, blurring the faces of the crew members and the big fat dials and levers of the rocket controls. This was only Brian’s second lift-off, the other being when he left Earth six months before. He hadn’t yet gotten used to the fears and thoughts of lift-off and its physical effects. He was beginning to feel sick already- not from the vibrating and shaking but from the horrible thoughts of possible catastrophe that were rocketing around in his head. He tried to avert his thoughts by looking out of the small round window five feet away, but all this showed him was the empty blue sky. He looked at the others, each strapped to their seats, wearing helmetless astronaut suits and ear protectors. Despite the blurry expressions on the others' faces, he recognised that his crewmates shared his feelings. The pounding sounds continued, as did that feeling in everyone's stomachs. Then, the drama began to ease, and the sky slowly darkened. Within five more minutes, they had reached space. Had they all been speeding on the highway at a hundred miles an hour, it would have taken them an hour to travel the same distance.

In orbit, everyone was relaxed- smiles of excitement and relief abounded. The now relative quiet of the engines allowed the chat to begin. Brian chose not to listen. He hadn’t yet got over the lift-off. Leaving Earth just six months before had been his first experience of space flight, and it had been a shock to his body and mind. He was still deciding whether or not this second experience had been any easier. It would be several more minutes before the gravity would be turned on and seat belts could be removed.

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Meanwhile, as his nerves returned to normal, he became aware of a conversation beside him. A lady had just said that as much as she had loved her time on Venus, she couldn't wait to get back to normal everyday life on Earth. She'd missed the food, her friends and family, T.V. and Earth's multitude of possible entertainments, but what had surprised her most was that she had also missed just about everything that she had thought she never liked- commuting, house cleaning, her neighbour's loud dog- even her boss. As Brian sympathised with her, others added their thoughts on the nostalgia they were feeling after only six months away from home.

Then, Brian’s attention went back to the window and the starry vastness outside that he was now witnessing. He tried to lean outwards, stretching his seat belt to its max, and peer through the tiny window at the myriad of tiny twinkling stars. His view wasn't at all panoramic, but it was good enough to show the wonder. He stared in fascination and amazement, as all would generally do when orbiting. As he stared at the stars and the beautiful turquoise hazy surface of Venus, he saw something unexpected. He watched and was puzzled at what he thought he was seeing. At first, he squinted to refocus his eyes. Then, his eyes widened, and his mouth slowly fell open. Finally, in a tone that matched his excited face, he just had to call out, “Look! Look! What is that?"