Chapter Ten

The new planet

    It was only a matter of hours until they reached an unknown galaxy. The it felt like the shuttle was in an invisible ocean. The shuttle didn’t land anywhere, but the sensation of the craft bobbing up and down woke the human crew. Gjetta walked sleepily into the cabin.

    She peered at the monitor over Cinco’s shoulder. More passengers entered to see if they landed on a planet. All they saw were lines of white light and darkness.

     Rolph looked at the monitor in dismay, “Where are we?”

     “A planet was detected this way,” Uno responded.

     “You didn’t notify us?” asked Gjetta.

     “Due to the state of urgency we had to quickly find a planet and land,” said Uno.

     Rolph uttered and groaned. As he attempted to exit, Gjetta grabbed his arm. He winced from her grip.

     “What is Uno talking about?” Gjetta asked.

     “I’m not sure,” Rolph shrugged. “They have data on how much food we have.”

     She cleared her throat, “Because of how much food we have? You’re either sure or not sure. What is going on?”

     Andrew stepped between them, “He’s right, we are low on supplies.”

     “We have enough to last for three more years,” she said. “What is the urgency, Uno?”

     “The government cut funds to our mission,” Rolph interrupted Uno.

     “What? While we are out here?” Gjetta asked. “When did this happen?”

     Rolph sighed and shook his head, “I’m not sure. The messages that we have received are distorted.”

    “Oh my God!” Gjetta screamed. “We had been out here for how long? We could have returned! Why didn’t we do anything about the distorted messages?”

    “Calm down, Gjetta,” Andrew reached out to touch her shoulder and she slapped his hand away. “We tried to notify them. We are not sure if they received our messages.”

    “Calm down? Our government gave up on us and we have traveled beyond the point of no return!” she yelled at him. “Now we are God knows where.”

     “I detected an inhabitable planet,” said Uno.

     “I don’t care,Uno!” Gjetta shouted at him.

     The craft jerked back and forth. Everyone reached for anything to prevent them from falling. It was like a boat slamming against waves of water.

     “We’re all going to die out here,” Gjetta grumbled. “All of this is because of you.”

    The craft continued to shake them as they traveled to whatever planet was detected. A blue glow appeared on the monitors. The shaking stopped and the craft moved closer to the blue light.

     “God, I hope that is not a sun,” Rolph uttered.

     “Rolph, shut up!” Gjetta screamed at him.

     Everyone sat down in the seats in the control station. They began to do maintenance check. The craft shuddered and made everybody freeze.

     “What was that?” Andrew looked around as the light as the lights flickered.

     “One of the engines overheated,” said Gjetta

     Rolph muttered and flipped a couple switches. The craft accelerated toward the blue light. The crew looked at Cinco. Andrew sat down at one of the computers and attempted to override the system.

     The craft continued despite the efforts of the crew. They entered the blue light. The lush green planet appeared before them and they were going to crash on it.

     “Cinco, get the ship under control!” Andrew shouted.

     They dived into a lake. The craft rose from under the water and began to float. The alarms began blaring. The robots remained alert and checked each crewmember to see if they were okay. Uno kneeled by Gjetta and checked her pulse.

     She had a weak pulse. The other passengers were unconscious. The robots rushed to the control panel.

     Cinco pulled his cord from his hand and plugged into the USB of the craft, “Gathering data of the environment on the planet.”

     Uno plugged into another USB, “Gaining access of the visual of our position.”

     Cinco said, “Similar to the earth. Oxygen detected and no unknown toxins.”

     The monitors lit up with a picture of the beach ahead of them. Uno pushed a couple of commands. The craft creaked and groaned.

     “I am going to move the shuttle toward the shore,” Uno told the crew.

     Dos scanned the room for vitals of the crew, “We have one survivor. The remaining crew has died from the landing.”

     “Gjetta has a weak pulse,” Uno pointed out.

     Dos stood over Gjetta. She was lying still on the floor. Her breathing was weak and her eyes fluttered.

     “She might not make it to the shore,” said Dos.

     The shuttle made it to the shore. Uno turned the engines off and went over to Gjetta. He kneeled next to her limp body and picked her up. The door of the shuttle opened and a warm breeze from the outside blew in.

    Cinco held his hand up and lights blinked inside his palm, “The temperature is 85°.”

     Uno stepped outside and into the sand. He placed Gjetta gently onto the sand. He checked her pulse. Her eyes open and she looked up at him.

     A tear rolled down her cheek, “This was a lost cause.”

     Uno held her hand, “This is not a lost cause. We will complete this mission.”

     “What about your controller? You can’t survive without them,” Gjetta’s voice was weak.

     Cinco looked through the data displayed in his palm, “One of the crew members for one of us has died. We can be functional on our own.”

     Uno looked into her eyes, “We are free from the controllers. We will be able to save our cargo.”

     Dos stood in the doorway of the shuttle, “The DNA samples survived. Seeds for plants are beginning to thaw and we must begin our project here now.”

     Gjetta grabbed and pulled Uno’s arm and then let go. She appeared to go to sleep and then was very still. The robots could no longer detect the pulse. Uno looked back at the shuttle where human life remained in vials.

     Cinco held his hand in the air, “This environment is perfect. We must settle and set up the lab.”

     “We need to move quickly,” said the Uno.