Return?
The sitting mammal looked out the ship's main view port, a circular piece of transparent material that measured almost nine feet in diameter. With the lighting of the compartment off, the view outside would have impressed, even awed, all but the most jaded of mammals. In the near 'foreground', a planet about half again (12,284.6 miles in average diameter) the size of his origin world sat. Around its edges the thicker atmosphere diffused the light of the parent star, light that was broken up into some colors by said layer of gases. Below that layer there was a surface that was 71.43 % water (96.94 making up three great and three 'minor' seas) and the remainder being land. The land, approx. 540 million square miles, was a mix of every type of terrain that his own world had.
"Less desert, more rain and deciduous forest," the male said aloud.
And the whole planet, land and sea, teamed with immense amounts of non-sentient animal life.
His eyes shifted a little to the largest continental land mass, half covered in clouds, and its mountain range that ran the entire north/south length of its 12,000 + mile long western coast.
"Wouldn't the mountain climbing mammals just love to tackle those!" he added to himself.
They'd have to wear special suits to do it from sea level due to the planet's 29.27 psi pressure at that level. Not to mention the additional humidity.
"Stuff would have to be power assisted to be able to move well with the extra gravity," the tod thought.
The thicker atmosphere plus the additional 'greenhouse' effect of all that water vapor were needed to keep the world at 'life temperature' levels it was close to the outer edge of its "Goldilocks" zone. The additional gravity plus a pretty powerful magnetosphere helped the planet in holding on to that atmosphere.
The real eye catcher wasn't on the planet. It was a set of rings that orbited it. They started some 84,000 miles from planet surface and extended out to close to half a million miles. There were three ice/water moons that emitted plumes of water crystals and dust to keep those rings renewing and a few dozen 'shepherding' moons to keep them defined. In many ways, the whole setup matched that of four other ringed planets he'd seen, but none this close in to their star.
"The astrophysics mammals are going to be scratching, and pulling, at their head fur over this one!" the watcher snarked.
That would be over a century from now, seeing that that was how long it would take the transmitted data to reach his origin world and its mammals.
"One-hundred and seven light years from…'home'. Took 344 years to get here. Who'd have thought that putting in for a space assignment would lead to this?" the vulpine mused.
Of course, he hadn't 'lived' all of that time. All but 14 years of it had been spent in a kind of atomic suspended animation.
"We've had test volunteers in 'freeze' for over a decade without any bad effects. Still, being in suspension for up to half a century at a time…plus doing it repeatedly…." the science folks had explained.
He'd noticed that the selectees were all about his size.
"Several reasons for that. The smaller the mammal, the less energy required to hold them in suspension. Also, smaller mammals need less space to live and work in when they are awake. And they require less in the way of supplies to keep them going."
"And the reason for us going?" he'd asked.
"Sir, our supercomputers and programing are good, VERY good. But, there is enough of an…X-factor, that it was decided that there should be a mammal 'on site' to handle possible unforeseen situations that may crop up."
Thus, he became one of 22 mammals to leave the solar system in giant sublight speed probe ships. He had few illusions of his chances of making it to even the first star, some 6.8 light years away. Even with the best sensor systems available and a triple "hard point" set of magnetic "spikes" to deflect gases and debris, there was the very real probability that they would run into something that they couldn't handle. If they did, especially if they were at top speed….
"'You'll be reduced to mostly subatomic particles along with the ship.'," the fox quoted aloud.
Bringing up the squeeze bottle he held in one paw, he took another slow drink from it, savoring the taste of the wine contained within. Wine he had kept with him when he was in suspension. He'd been saving it for a very special time and event, and both had arrived. Pulling it away, he regarded it for a few seconds.
"I'd like to drink this out of a goblet but I prefer this…"
He looked out the port again.
"…view vs the spinning one from the rotating grav pod."
Raising his other paw, he looked at the printout of the most recent transmission from 'home'.
"Greetings surveyor Nicholas Wilde. If you are reading this, then you have become the only original craft to complete exploring your ten assigned systems. Job well done! This is your recall order. Return to us at best speed and course possible."
There it was, end of mission. Time to go home.
"Home," Nick said. "Home to…."
Another slow, savoring draw of that oh so good wine. A thought crossed his mind and he smiled. He reached to the floating bottle that was tethered to his seat and looked it over.
"Wonder what some collector would pay for this, considering its age and travel history," Nick mused. "Cheese, do they even make natural wine anymore?"
"You could find out by returning, as the order says."
The tod smiled at the voice. It was close, very close to sounding…
"Yeah, we could go back. Take about 170 years. Add that to the 344 we've been away, over five centuries gone by."
He paused, lost in thought for nearly a minute.
"Back to a place where everything and everyone I knew is long gone. To be 'retired' with honors. Then what? I'd be a jungle primitive trying to live in the Zootopia I left. Something to be looked upon with…."
Silence. Then he looked around himself, seeing more than just the compartment he was in.
"And what about you, Fluff? After the engineers finish checking you out to see how well you held up, then what? Into a kind of space museum? Have tours going through and the mammals wondering how something so…out of date survived so long. Never to see and move through…"
Wilde waved to the view port.
"…space again. Forever denied the 'element' that you were made for."
He took another draw.
"Be kinder to shoot me and blow you up, considering what's waiting for us," he said.
Fluff, the ship's AI, and the name of the ship as well, detected the bitter irony in his voice, something that it…she had not 'heard' from him before. She had already deduced the same things he had. And found it not to her liking.
"Our energy units are completely recharged and the contra-terrain* separators are fully functional. All systems function and our hull is sound. And we still have plenty of supplies available for your biological needs," Fluff said.
Her cams picked up that odd crafty expression she'd seen before, only this one appeared more…intense.
"Thinking the same thing I am, huh Fluff," he smirked.
"Ignore the order, keep on going."
"That's the one," the fox said.
Getting out of his seat, Nick floated over to the view port. He touched one paw to it, as if to touch that marvelous planet on the other side. Old memories flowed through his mind, remembrances of a soft warm loving gray furred bunny that….
"You are lost to me, Judy love," he whispered so softly. "By now the mammals back…'home' have long forgotten about you. They will have reason to remember as, per my contract, I get to name one world and have it be official."
Closing his eyes, he saw those amethyst eyes looking at him again. Eyes of trust, happiness, and….
"Stow the grav pod and its counter weight," he directed.
"Already done, sir."
"And the suspension pod?"
"Is ready and waiting for you."
Nick snagged that squeeze bottle and, looking at the planet, held it out and up in a toasting gesture.
"Hail planet Judy! May you be known to all!" he stated.
One last pull on the drinking tube emptied the last of its contents. He caught the wine bottle and looked at it. It was still about 90% full.
"You're good for more toasts," Nick said to it. "More traveling, so, no collector's shelf for you, not yet."
It took him only a few minutes to stow away the few items that were loose. Then, wine bottle in paw, the fox tod kicked his feet to one wall and drifted into the chamber that held the stasis pod. It was open, waiting for him. He settled himself into it.
"Nick, where do we go from here?" Fluff asked.
He thought on that. Then….
"How far to the closest edge of the galactic disk?" he asked.
"Five-hundred and nine light years, positive Z-axis," Fluff replied.
"Sounds like as good a place as any to go. Make your calculations and light up the drives."
He tucked the bottle into its place beside him.
"Let's get moving, and see what there is to see," Nick said as the pod closed.
* antimatter