An idea that came to mind after reading ark by Stephan Baxter. (Awesome book by the way.) It's not going to be very long nor very well written but I hope you can find some enjoyment in it anyway and maybe get someone else's creative juices flowing.
I don't own anything.
Prologue
2042 A.D
"Mission control this is Ark One, everything is green and ready to go. Warp drive is primed, just give the word." Major Thomas Davis said through the radio. It would take the signal forty five minuets to reach Earth and another forty five for them to send one back so he leant back in his seat at the helm of the hundred meter long tube that was Ark One, if only for a few minuets before becoming restless. Straining against his harness he looked through the small window in front of him and looked 'up' at Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. He checked the anti-proton collector had successfully delivered the precious fuel that would make this mission possible.
"Smaller than I thought it'd be," Captain Ellen Walters said as she joined him looking through the window.
"We've been here a year and you only just say that now?" Tom replied, his Welsh accent broadening in his disbelief at his first officer. "Anyway, you know we can't get any closer, too much radiation floating about."
"Yeah, still though, I just thought it'd be... bigger," she replied. He noticed her Texan accent was still noticeable, more so than his own accent.
"It's three hundred times the size of earth, how much bigger do want to get?" he replied rhetorically. She took the hint and shut up. Together they just stared at the massive planet while they waited for the reply from mission control. Eventually it came.
"Ark One you have a go. Good luck out there Ark One, and do us all a favour: survive. Gods speed Ark One," the voice of the mission head, Frederic Peters- the last pre-flood astronaut said. Gunfire and shouting could be heard in the back ground. Had everything gone to hell down there already? Everybody knew this was a one way trip. There was no coming back, earth was drowning and there was no way to stop it. The Ark One crew were the last generation of humans to be born on earth. Sure some would survive on old navy vessels and cruise liners and rafts of some sort but eventually they would all crumble and rot, leaving their passengers to drown in a never ending ocean. But until that happened people would fight and kill over the over the remaining high ground. The only places left were the Rockies in Colorado and parts of central Asia, and it wouldn't be long before the last bit of land was swallowed under the oceans.
"Understood mission control. This Ark One signing off." Tom sent back to their distant homeworld. "Attention all crew prepare for warp jump in five minuets." he said into the ships intercom. Just than four more people floated into the cramped closet that was mockingly called a bridge. They were probably the most important crew members at the moment- the engineers and scientists that had created the warp drive, without them FTL would be impossible.
"You ready for this guys?" Ellen questioned as she turned to look back at the four engineers as they strapped themselves into their seats.
"As we'll ever be. I mean if it doesn't work we wouldn't know- we'd be crushed into something smaller than a neutrino," the head engineer said with a slight laugh.
"Thank you for that lovely piece of information Wilson." Tom mumbled as he began to spin up the particle accelerator for the warp drive. "Everybody either in cryo or strapped down?"
"Your welcome Major and yes, everybody is ready. All non-essential personal are in cryo and all essential personal are in their crash couches." Wilson replied.
"Good, lets do this than." Tom said, he put his hand on the sliding accelerator to power up the drive fully, he felt another hand on top of his, looking across he saw it was Ellen, she gave a tentative smile which he returned. Together they pushed it forward, it was all that was needed to launch the ship into warp. Outside space seemed to crumple up in front of them as the warp drive started to accelerate the ship and its own little micro universe through space roughly at a rate of three light years per day. It would take them twenty years to reach what they believed to be the closest habitable planet. twenty years of floating through space, making sure the ship didn't fall apart beneath them. twenty years before they would feel the pull of gravity beneath their feet again. It would take a miracle for them not to kill each other in that time. Tom tried not to think about it.
"Warp bubble is looking good. Nice and stable. I'm going to have to perform a visual inspection of the hull, make sure there isn't any stress fractures." Wilson said, unbuckling himself from his seat.
"Okay, there shouldn't be but go ahead. Better safe than sorry in this thing." Tom replied. If they were going to live in this heap for twenty years they needed to make sure nothing happened to it that would compromise the hull and it's precious cargo. It was going to be a long twenty years.
2067 A.D
Tom looked around the dark and surprisingly open room that the crew had come to call the cupola, from here the astronomers and other scientists looked at all the information from the surrounding stars, and most importantly their destination. Catherine Jenkins was their lead astrologist and astronomer and the only other person in the room. Until they landed and started to set up a viable colony he was in charge, of course there was a council of sorts where all the different department heads had their say in things but until they were safe on a planet, he was in charge, and ultimately what he said was almost law. He had his council to keep him grounded so to speak. To make sure he was thinking about everyone and not himself. To keep him humble.
"Ah, Major, took your time I see." Catherine said as he pulled himself into a T-stool next her.
"Sorry, I just wanted to finish making sure all of today's jobs were done." Tom replied. Everyone on the ship had a set of jobs to do to keep the ship running. Even though he was the temporary leader he still had menial tasks to complete.
"Yes well, as our illustrious leader you have the privilege of being the first person, other than myself of course, to see our new home?" she said.
"You can see it?" he asked.
"Yep, the sight is six years old but its the first picture we have of it." she said, if he were to guess, this was about as excited as the African-American astrologist got, and that was just a slight shake in her right leg and a slightly higher pitched tone of voice.
"How?" Tom questioned.
"Using the remote telescopes and the ones on the Ark itself, we point them ahead of us and adjust for the crumpling effect by following the original path of the light, we also have to adjust for the blue shift at the edge of the warp bubble." she replied. Of course after so long he should have known that but things like astrology was never his strong suit.
"Okay, go ahead. Show me." The second he said that she tapped a button on her laptop and a slightly blurry picture of a planet popped up on her screen. It was probably the most beautiful thing he'd seen since leaving Earth. The planet was covered in a steel coloured ocean with a brown and red coloured continent visible. A rough looking mountain range stood tall in a diagonal line through the continent.
"Spectrograph analysis shows it has a viable atmosphere, it's seasonal tilt seems stable as well. It's perfect for us. I guess our luck is finally coming through." she said but Tom paid her no mind, he just continued to look at the planet that would be their home in just two more years. Suddenly the future didn't seem so bleak.