Chapter 4: Surprise- Dream Sequence

Cooper was in a daze, thinking of the time when he first met Brand. She was cocky, arrogant and a bit hard to converse with. Sure, when she set her mind to something, she could get it done... But she wasn't one of those people you just let on their own, they needed help, or rather someone with the "muscle".

The Ranger approached the surface, kicking up some dust. And I thought I got away from the dust... When Cooper and TARS landed, they saw a human figure on the ground, unconscious. There was an ATV by the figure. In just a few seconds, he surmised that the figure had fallen off and hit their head. Well, I know what I am getting Brand for her birthday.

Cooper jumped out of the Ranger and ran as fast as his suit would let him. The suits were heavy, of course, to help you from getting killed by space and its many hazards. But the newer ones were lighter and were much more mobile than the last ones. Cooper shook his head. Focus on the mission. His fears came true. It was Dr. Brand laying there, her head bleeding a little. He checked her pulse. Still breathing and alive.

"TARS! Go contact CASE and get the coordinates for the ba-" TARS was already starting the Ranger up again, calculating the course to the base.

"I already have them, Coop. Get in, I'll drive."

Cooper almost started to laugh, and would have if the given state was not so grim. As soon as Cooper got in, TARS closed the hatch and sped off. They could see the Endurance's outer modules come into view. Cooper could feel his heart rate rising as they approached the grounded ship. TARS could feel Cooper's anxiety, once again, thanks to the updates.

"It's going to be fine Cooper. I scanned her as well as I could. She only has a minor concussion."

Cooper made a grunting noise. TARS just took it as a 'thank you'. As they landed, a familiar shape came running out of the base.

"Go with CASE. I'll park the Ranger."

Cooper grunted again and jumped out with Brand. TARS watched as CASE rolled away with Cooper into the base. What is with him and grunting.

"Hey dad." A man with a silvering hair line looked over towards the voice.

"Yes, Amelia?"

The voice belonged to a younger looking Amelia Brand, about 12. She has a spark in her eye, waiting to be fanned into a flame. "Are there other planets out there like ours?"

The professor stopped to think. He was a man of science and truth, with an aging face."I certainly hope so. Our planet has been telling us to leave her for a long time..."

She stopped to think what a planet like theirs might look like."I think it might look like a desert... I don't think Earth plants and animals will exist there if there is one. Maybe lots of rocks..."

He looked over at her."Amelia. Would you like to go see a planet like ours? Be the first human to set foot there?"

Her eyes lit up.

"Would you be there with me?"

He laughed. His eyes softened and he grabbed Amelia close to hug her.

"I will."

A now older Amelia Brand stood waiting for her name to be called, dressed in a gown. This ceremony was much different than usual. There were only a handful of graduates there. Amelia clenched her hands together, trying to calm down.

"... Next up is Amelia Brand. Graduating with a Doctorates degree in biology."

Amelia took a deep breath and let her shoulders fall. Then she straightened up, and walked up to the stage. She shook the professors hands and looked out into the crowd, spotting her father. He gave a thumbs-up.

Her father sat down with a heavy sigh.

"Amelia. It's about time I tell you the truth."

Dr. Brand looked at her father, trying to figure out what he was saying."What do you mean?"

Her father's brow wrinkled, trying to find the right words."I... The world is... We have been told that the Earth is dying."

Amelia nodded slowly. What was he getting at? She knew all of this already.

"The Earth is actually adapting to what we have done to it. And soon we will not be able to live here. We need to find another planet, and in the very near future. However, there is one thing that we have discovered. After seeing an anomaly near Saturn, we have figured out that it is a wormhole."

Her eyebrows raised. "A wormhole?"

He nodded, his eyes looking distant."We can see that there are multiple systems that the wormhole takes us to. And... We need to send people there. To tell us if any of them are habitable. We have a team ready to go once we get the Rangers assembled. And in that group is Wolf."

Amelia twitched. "Why Wolf?"

"Because he volunteered. We know he does not like what the people are doing to the Earth. When I confronted him about it, he said he would rather be alone and alive than dead because of the human race."

Her face tightened up. Rather be alone? She felt a bit hurt.

"We will have them send us a 'thumbs up' if their planet is habitable."

She stopped him. "When will they be back?"

That's when he held her hands. "We have named the mission... The Lazarus mission. I assume you already know the story of Lazarus. He came back to life after he died... And we have calculated that the Rangers cannot hold enough fuel to come back..."

She clenched her fists, trying not to think too hard about what he was going to say next.

"... And, the candidates we picked are perfect for that reason. They do not have any family or friends to leave behind."

She nodded slowly, knowing that that was true. Her father held her hands tighter."... Newtons third law... In order to move on, something must be left behind."

"Amelia. We are sending you, Doyle, Romilly, and Cooper up to the wormhole."

She stopped fiddling with the fertilized eggs. "Why Cooper? Didn't he just get here? And what about his family? He has kids dad!"

He nods. "I asked him about it and he agreed to go. He was the only pilot who left the simulator. He knows the Rangers in and out. He is the best man to put on this project. Of course, we will send TARS up there with you all."

Brand turned around to face her father. There was a sense of anxiety and fear.

"Wait... But what if we don't make it back? What about plan A and plan B? I won't get to see you again!"

She started to tear up.

"It is going to be okay. You will make it back, and I promise you that I will have the equation solved by that time."

He hugged her close, petting her head to calm her down. "It's going to be okay Amelia..."

She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. He kept holding her, telling her that it would be okay.

"Now Amelia... It's time to wake up and face the stars. Start a new Earth... Wake up..."

She could feel someone petting her head, their hands warm and calloused from work. She just kept her eyes closed, enjoying the darkness...

Suddenly, it all flowed back to her. Edmund's planet, the Endurance, Gargantua- She was all alone on his planet, no one else should be here.

With a start, she bolted up, flinging her eyes open. It was dark, she couldn't see anything. Brand could feel an IV in her arm. How long was I out- Then she remembered. Flying off the ATV and hitting her head. She winced. So... To put on the need list, Helmet. Ironically, Her head then started to throb with pain.

"Hey, take it easy."

She stopped. Brand tried to look around the dark room, but with no luck.

"CASE? Is that you? Your voice sounds different..."

The voice chuckled.

"Last time I checked, CASE doesn't have hands."

Brand was confused, her mind still in a haze. Am I still dreaming? Brand could hear two familiar electronic voices outside of the room.

"... I don't know. He has been in there since you arrived."

"It has been 3 days. I would go check, but my intuition is that he would have come out to tell us if anything was wrong."

"Since when did you ever have 'Intuition'?"

"Since they tuned me up. You are an old computer CASE. Get with the program."

"... Shut up TARS."

TARS?! How? I have to be asleep still. Brand shook her head gingerly, trying to wake herself up.

"This is no dream, Dr. Brand."

She stopped. Her head had cleared up a bit more. This voice... No... It really can't be... They went into Gargantua... How are they still alive-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a strong embrace. They smelled very familiar, and the voice sounded just like him.

"... C-cooper?"

As if that wasn't really obvious... I am terrible at this stuff, forgive me. CASE is an old fart. Hehe.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A GREAT SPOT FOR A CLIFF HANGER! FLASHBACK TIME.