Chapter 1:

Awakening

War... War never changes. Since the dawn of time, man has sought ways of ending eachothers lives. For gold, for grain and for gods. The rivers have ran with blood for nearly every reason imaginable. Despite the bloodshed and carnage that has persisted for nearly four thousand year, mankind still prospers. That is, until now.

In the year 1976, the forces of the South Vietnamese and United States army crushed the communist North Vietnamese. Tensions rose between the USSR and the UN and in 1984, things finally boiled over. The third world war began and would be fought for nearly eighty years.

The outcome of such a war was obvious and in 2053, the first and last nuclear bombs fell on human civilization. The world was bathed in atomic flames and nuclear radiation. Our oceans, tainted with radioactive fallout, our fields scorched to stone and our cities shaken to rubble.

Though this was not the end of the world as many had predicted, it was instead just another bloody chapter in human history. The broken governments quareled over the last drinkable water and arable fields for decades to come, millions would succumb to starvation and tribal conflicts. It was not until 2140, that humanity had finally healed. This is where we begin our journey, this is humanities last redemption

Diary of 1st Sg. RET. Frank Owlson, 33rd Anti-Radiation Squad 'Rooks', 2154

They've taken me to some kind of underground hangar. Apparently they want me to fly what they call "the most important mission in human history". I call bullshit on that. What they really want me to do is fly some kind of experimental space plane or something. I'm supposed to take it up into orbit and meet up with some kind of ship. They say from there I'll be up in space for two weeks when they fly out to Mars where I will attempt to survey the landscape and return. To my knowledge, the damn thing hasn't been tested. They told me the simulators showed "promising results". I don't trust computers. Now I assume this space ship has some kind of new engine considering they told me the trip was only was only gonna take three weeks at most. I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure it takes for than a few weeks to get to Mars. They are withholding all of the information until I agree. Honestly, I've got nothing to lose at this point, so why not. You only live once.

END LOG...

Diary of Capt. RET. Johnson Frakes, AFS 'Potemkin' Pacific Class Nuclear Submarine, 2151

I've been contacted by spacemen, who want me to fly their magic spaceship to some star lightyears away. These lunatics have been hounding me for the past month and a half, begging me to pilot their space machine. Apparently they want me because of my "experience commanding a crew and surviving in confined spaces for months at a time". So you know what I told them? "Beam me up scotty! Cause I'm not leaving my house for you people!" Hah! I had a good laugh afterwards. But you know what else? They kept calling, and calling, and calling! It was driving me to insanity! So you want to know what told them then? "Fine."

END LOG...

Diary of Robert Lutess, Quantum Physicist, University of Dunkirk, 2116

A while back, I went ahead and watched an old film called 'Interstellar'. And you know what? It struck a spark in my mind. "What is the feasibility of creating a worm hole?" I pondered this question. Of course, the answer was in quantum mechanics if no place else. Given my experience with said topic, I went ahead and created a hypothesis, which was later promoted to a theory and now, as I record this, I am peering through a small device, watching myself make a recording whilst peering through a small device.

END LOG...

Diary of Julian Kintober, Mechanical Engineer, University of Dunkirk, 2116

The old man is a fool! The ESA called last month and wanted a working prototype of Dr. Lutess' 'wormhole generator'. They offered fifty billion Euros for it! And you want to know what he said? "No". I've decided to take matters into my own hands. I built his prototype, the design is mine, he theory, his. Design trumps theory in a patent. In layman's terms, I'm selling the design. He was a fool, and he will get nothing.

END LOG...

2155, Present day

"What have I gotten myself into?" is what I thought to myself after mission control told me "frank, you have left the stratosphere, proceed with standard orbital insertion". The Earth is beautiful from up here, the ruined cities aren't visible from this altitude, the ocean is a gorgeous blue, and the clouds swirl like one big giant whirlpool. The corruption and slander from our governments cannot be felt through the black coldness of space. It's like a shield, nothing can get you up here, no vulture of the law can reach through to me, no judge can lay justice, no gallows hang high enough to reach this place of bleak serenity. It is a place of pure peace, a place of absolute freedom. Not even gravity can hold me down! But I must focus on the task at hand. I am two minutes away from the Colombia.

"Atlantis, you are clear for docking" said the flight controller

"Copy that."

I moved closer to the large ship, with every meter the vessel appeared larger and larger, truly an awe inspiring sight. The docking clamps were in sight, I moved in closer. "Thud" went the large magnetic clamps as they attached to the docking ports on the top of the plane and pulled it into the hanger in the belly of the ship.

"All clamps attached, closing hangar doors"

"Alright, the crew tunnel is in place you are clear to open the airlock, be careful, you will experience a sudden gravitational change so keep your body in the correct position."

As I exited the shuttle I suddenly felt very heavy, I was unprepared and fell flat on my face. Greeting me at the other end was Captain Frakes.

"Evening sir!" I regained my posture and saluted him.

"At ease Sergeant" said Frakes with a calm voice.

"Now I was under strict orders not to brief you until we are under way. I'm certain you've studied the layout of this vessel well. But incase you've forgotten, here is a map. Head on down to your quarters and make yourself at home, dinner is at 1700 hours. We will be underway at around 0100 hours. Meet me on the bridge for briefing at 0500"

"Odd" I thought to myself. Wasn't I already briefed on the ground before I took off? Something seemed fishy.

"Yes sir" I said to the captain.

"Dismissed"

The mess hall was certainly something of luxury. Wooden paneling, a bar, a pool table, television and even a high ranking chef preparing the food! They certainly had a blank check for the commodities of this vessel. I had a chance to meet my fellow crewmates, there were twenty of them in total, not counting myself, security, the staff and the officers. Most of them have are of naval origins, specifically the captain, who had commanded a nuclear submarine during the resource wars. In fact, at least a third of the crew served on that same submarine. Most of them had been up here for nearly a year as they were slowly ferried from the surface. Indeed, the atmosphere of the ship was calm. It felt less like a mission and more like a vacation.

At around 2200 hours I decided to set unpack my things in my quarters. I was pleasantly surprised to see I would not be bunking with the other crewmen. I had my own room. In it were a double bed, a television, a private bathroom, mini refrigerator, adjustable lighting and environmental controls, and a digital porthole to look into space. The bed felt just like the ones I would find in hotels. Everything about it was perfect. Too perfect, but who cares? I fell into a deep sleep, dreaming about flying over the martian surface, making history. Along with it came an anxiety, a natural response to a daring experience.

It was 0400 hours, when my alarm clock began blaring at me. I got up and washed myself, grabbed a small snack from the fridge and proceeded to the bridge for briefing. When I arrived we appeared be slowing down.

"Reporting for duty sir!" I said, while saluting the captain.

"At ease sergeant"

"Alright" said the captain. "I'm sure most of you have been weary of the mission. Some of you have even had your doubts, and rightfully so. I have been ordered to brief you on the true nature of the mission after we have reached the safe zone."

"Safe zone?" I thought to myself.

"First and foremost is the destination of this mission. We are not going to mars. We are traveling to a distant star system known as Kepler 682. There is a planet there that the Federation and Republic have been interested in. According to astronomers, it is very similar to earth. Our mission is to scout the planet and collect as much data as we can. That is where you come in sergeant, you will be the first one to survey and possibly land on this planet."

A surge of sharp anxiety and overwhelming joy passed through my body. I would be the first human to land on an exoplanet. I would be in the history books!

"Now I know what you are thinking, how do we get there? Kepler 682 is 40 light years from here. Getting there with convention rockets would take tens of thousands of years. Well, we are not using conventional thrusters; this ship was designed around an experimental 'jump drive'. It works by creating a passage through a higher dimension to the intended target. Any number of things could wrong, which is why we needed to get a safe distance away from earth. We will be making history, this is the most important space mission in the history of mankind. Hopefully, this will pave way to a brighter future."

"Engage jump drive" said the captain, pointing at the navigator

"Aye sir" said the navigator.

A bright flash of light appeared in front of the ship as two brilliant beams converged. Suddenly, the light of the stars began to swirl around some kind of hole. The hole wasn't black; you could see a stars and nebulae on the middle of this hole. It's peculiar yet astounding appearance was novel. The ship began to approach the hole. It grew in size as we got closer, allowing me to see the inside of it much more clearly. Finally we entered the wormhole.

The stars became streaks of light as we entered the hole. The sight was horrifyingly magnificent. Stars, galaxies and nebulae appeared stretched and warped on the walls of the tunnel. Everything was rushing past us like traffic on a motorway. Suddenly, the tunnel walls began to become wider. An exit became visible, of the stars looked normal again, we had reached the end.

"Alright, everyone return to your posts, Bergman, check the distance between us and the planet."

"Approximately 0.8 astronomical units. A one week journey."

"Very good, plot a course for Kepler 682-f, and establish a geocentric orbit once we arrive."

"Aye sir." Said the navigator.

I returned to my quarters, awaiting further instructions as ordered. I kept thinking about home, specifically, how far away it was. If we were to get stranded and sent a signal, nobody would know for decades. The implications of space travel sank in. I couldn't stop thinking about what was out there, or rather, what isn't out there. But I have to keep calm. I can't let anything; especially not my emotions interfere with my duties.

We had finally arrived at the planet, the final preparations were being made, the last of the fuel and cargo had been loading into the storage bay on the shuttle. I was sitting in the cockpit. My heart began racing as the hangar doors opened and the shuttle was lowered away from the ship. The magnetic clamps detached. Once again, I was on my own.

"Alright Colombia, I am clear, proceeding to initiate de-orbiting procedures."

"Roger that Frank, good luck down there." Said the flight controller

"Colombia, you wouldn't mind running another telemetry check would you?"

"Sure thing frank, all systems check out. You are clear to proceed." Said the flight controller

"Roger that, thank you"

The surface of the planet was not unlike earths. It was green in some areas, sandy in others and contained a vast blue ocean. There was no sign of civilization; the planet seemed to me in some kind of Permian period.

As I approached the atmosphere the shuttle began to shake. Flames began to form around the bottom of the shuttle. After a minute, I began o slow down to about 800 kilometers per hour, a calm cruising speed. The landscapes were vast and covered in vegetation. If one looked close enough, they could see small avian creatures flying about.

Everything was fine until the mission controllers and I made a shocking discovery.

"Frank, do you have a visual on the structures east of your current position?"

"Structures!?" I thought to myself. I turned my gaze to the east and to my surprise, there was a city.

"Colombia, should I take a closer look?"

"Yes, but proceed with extreme caution." Said the flight controller

I changed course so that I would be flying over the city. I looked down into the camera and saw ruins of what may have been a once great city. Roads and blocks covered at least 2 square kilometers of land. I zoomed in to see vehicles, sidewalks and even benches lining the streets.

"Colombia, do you see what I see?"

"Confirm, we have a visual on the city, over."

Not only am I the first person to fly on an alien world, I am the first person to confirm the existence of other life in this universe. But then it hit me. Why was this city in ruins? War? Natural disasters? Any number of things could've leveled this city. Perhaps these creatures are a lot like us. Could they have destroyed themselves? And if so, could we suffer a similar fate as well?

I left the city behind and began following what appeared to be some kind of carriageway. Everything was fine until mission control began frantically calling me.

"Frank, get the hell out of there now! Proceed to standard orbit and await further instructions!"

"Colombia what the hell is going on? What's wrong?"

"You have an unidentified aircraft approaching you fast, at 211.6, 6.3km out"

I looked and saw a black fixed wing aircraft moving towards me at high speeds.

"Roger that I have visual on the aircraft, over"

"Frank, take evasive action and proceed to orbit!"

I pushed the engines as hard as they would go, I was approaching Mach 7, but the aircraft did not break off.

"This guys not letting up! Approaching Mach 8!"

"Pull up and leave the atmosphere! Proceed to orbit! Frank, get the hell outa there!"

Suddenly, alarms began blaring in the cockpit, I looked down and saw a warning 'MISSILE'.

"Frank! You've got a missile on your tail!" yelled the frantic flight controller.

"Deploying countermeasures! Shit, they're not working. It's still on my ass!"

I banked hard and pulled up. All of my blood began rushing to my feet. My vision began to decay, sound was starting to fade. The only sound I could hear was the computer screaming "OVER G! OVER G! OVER G!" The last thing I remember hearing at that point was a loud bang and blaring alarms followed by the piercing sound of tearing metal and then… silence.