The shuttle shook as Commander Rowan Hale grappled with the helm console, the cloudy upper atmosphere of Astridina V buffeting the craft on all sides. He gritted his teeth, fighting to keep the shuttle on course as it dropped towards landfall. Beside him, strapped into the ops station, was Peter Joura. He gripped the arms of the chair tightly, gasping at every jump, bump, and shake. In the passenger compartment were a collection of science and security officers, all reading PADDs as the shuttle’s jostling didn’t faze them.
Hale kept his eye on the sensor readouts as he adjusted the impulse engines, swerving around the raging jet streams that defied standard behavior. It took another thirty seconds before the shuttle dropped into open air, the expansive forest below them. He tapped the communications channel. “Switching to maneuvering thrusters. Do you read, Perseverance?”
The voice of Lieutenant Hazel Wallaker came through clearly. “We read you, shuttle Engagement. Sensors have a full readout on you, and the probes are picking up your signal as well. Proceed.”
Rowan worked the shuttle towards a clearing near the obelisk they had identified as an entrance. He glanced at Joura. The man’s eyes remained wide open, staring at every detail as if it all were going to vanish. “Don’t worry. It’s real, Mr. Joura.” The shuttle shuddered, and with a last gasp from the thrusters, they had landed. “Let’s see what’s out there.”
The science team took their time to verify the probe’s readings on environmental effects, giving a thumbs up when they’d finished. Rowan tapped at the docking controls, and the rear door hissed open, and opened to reveal the beautiful scenery of Astridina V. Hale turned to Joura. “I think you should be the first.”
Peter gingerly stepped forward and walked down the ramp, cautiously stepping foot onto the grass. His confidence grew, and he took several more steps, looking around in wonder. “It is a beautiful place.”
“Thank you, Perseverance.” Hale closed the channel and handed Joura. “Preliminary report. Plants and rocks on Astridina III are close relatives to what we’ve found here. The probes have been working to locate animal life, but they have detected nothing so far. No birds, no bugs, nothing. We’re not sure what it means.”
Joura scrolled through the device. “We have plenty of stories that speak of the place from which we originated. Some of them make sense, and others…are very confusing, even to our most practiced scholars. Certain stories in some translations say we lived here before finding our way to our current home.” He shook his head, sadness in his voice. “It has become more of an argument in recent years with our declining life expectancy. There’s a theory that they placed the animal life with us after we awoke on Astridina III.” He glanced up, feeling their eyes focused on him, intently listening to his stories, and his face grew warm at the attention. “That’s what they say, at least.”
Hale pointed out the tall, thin stone skyscraper. “Well, let’s see what they really say.” The group approached the base, staring up as it climbed into the sky, dwarfing them.
Joura walked around the base, searching for a doorway, or a console, or anything. “Nothing.” He returned to the others, staring at the stone. “Maybe I should touch it?”
Rowan looked to the science team. They scanned the outside, the ground, and all around several times before stepping back, saying they had found nothing concerning. “Nice and easy, Joura.”
Peter took a deep breath and walked closer to the smooth stone, and reached out his finger gingerly until it made contact. Suddenly, a rumbling shook the ground beneath them. Joura screamed in fear until the ground settled.
“Hello, Peter Joura.”
The Astrid spun, gawking as he saw the glowing figure that stood before him. He fell to his knees and then to the ground, face down hard on the grass where he shouted out a. “It is you, Creator!”
Rowan stared at the figure. In appearance he looked like any Astrid they had met on the previous planet. This one glowed, and his presence exuded something else he couldn’t quantify. Then the ‘Creator’ turned to him.
“Hello, Rowan Hale.”
