Beyond Light

Alien Earthy Sights.

With his uniform on and having drunk something for his headache, John moved to the bridge on the third deck, where the command crew was already expecting him. According to LIBRA, Mike and Jeffrey were already celebrating, and he had to lock the supply bay so they wouldn’t steal any alcoholic beverages.

John swirled his eyes with a mild grin. He wanted to celebrate with them too, but they still had a mission to do right there.

The web at the entrance of the bridge disinfected him. He crossed the hexagonal center where the captain’s position was, and then entered the black pilotage cabin. Xi Liang was working on his terminals. On the front and left, Jeffrey and Mike had their seats turned back and faced each other, holding soda cans in their hands. Their cup holders had soda bottles on them, and the speakers played ancient rock music from the 20th century.

“Man, I tell you that planet must be awesome to be in. Maybe we could convince John to let us hold a BBQ on—” Mike interrupted himself when he noticed John. “Oh, Commander, here you are! It’s amazing. We arrived at Vita Nova two hours ago.”

“I see you’re cheering it already,” responded John. “What’s our status?”

The distant Xi turned back to speak, but Jeffrey did before he could. “Commander Star? Please see it by yourself first. Don’t listen to anything. Just see it first.”

John bypassed Mike’s seat and moved forwards to see through the elevated window.

“Oh, sorry,” said Mike, lowering the level of the music. “We just closed the windows for a moment because the light didn’t allow us to see through the faint digital screen of an old media player. Hold yourself!”

He pressed a button on his terminal, and the three windows at the front and both sides of the cockpit sliced down and up. White light dazzled for a millisecond, and then the figure they were expecting so much appeared.

With a bluish-green fade of evaporating light, the round object covered the entire panorama from east to west, reflecting litmus and rainbow colors through the refractor glass of the windows. The surface of the planet was a splashed mess of brown and white stains, and up in the horizon, a big landmass appeared, covered by greenish patches through its coasts and dry surfaces. Stamps and patches of white clouds hovered above them and swirled hurricanes took place of the furthest oceans.

Then were the planet’s rings. Wide as half the size of the planet, the four greyish white sets reflected a green tint that shaded the rainbow colors on the glass How would they look from the surface? John wondered. Like Saturn’s rings seen from a floating city or station, but probably bigger due to the planet’s smaller size.

He then gazed around and saw three smaller balls sparsed near the planet: Hawking-616e I, the moon of crimson colors and orange cracks; Hawking-616e II, a blue ball that resembled a miniature Neptune; and Hawking-616e III, which shined in a creamy yellow with colorations of green sparsed across its thick, cloudy atmosphere. How would it be inside? The scientists said it was covered by a thick layer of clouds like Venus, but it actually possessed a surface with habitable temperatures.

John felt dumbstruck. He had seen dozens of times the planets and other objects of the solar system with his own eyes, but seeing an extrasolar planet of such characteristics was something he never imagined he'd do.

It was similar to Earth yet so different at the same time.

“Isn’t it a beauty to look at? Even more good-looking than those Katiya or Bella,” said Mike. John felt uncomfortable just by the mention of the INSU’s supervisor aboard. “Man, I say BLACKCAT was already a success with us arriving here. This is truly humanity’s best achievement!”

John kept admiring the stunning panorama. Mike’s words made sense. Not even the Eternity of Return had achieved what they had done. His parents would be proud of both Blair and him if they were still alive.

But BLACKCAT was not a success yet. They still had a mission to do.

“Oh, Commander, my bad,” said Jeffrey. “I hope you don’t report us for finding us like this, but here, you can have a soda too.”

John turned around and saw the man extending a can to him. He picked it up. He would have rejected it in another moment, but feeling as if he was still under cryohangover, he couldn’t reject the bubbly, cold, and sweet beverage. He opened it and gave it a big gulp.

“Thanks. Where did you get these?”

“LIBRA didn’t allow us to take anything with alcohol from the supplies,” explained Jeffrey. "but he said these were on him as a celebration. Right, LIBRA?”

“Affirmative,” responded the AI. “Commander Star, you must understand that I’m highly curious to study human behavior, such as joy or basic bonding. This is a good opportunity for me to learn.”

“I see….” said John. LIBRA was much more interactive than other AIs he had met before. He took a step to the detached and distant Artillery Chief, who was still working with his terminals. “Chief? What’s our status?” he sipped again from his soda.

“Commander, we arrived at Hawking-616e with no unexpected problems at the 596 hours, and we are now orbiting the planet at a distance of 2992.53 kilometers from its surface.”

“Good. Aren't you having a soda?”

“I’m fine, Commander. You should ask Communications Officer Emmerson for a report of all incoming signals arriving at us.”

John turned around, and the celebrating young man looked down in embarrassment before speaking. “Ah, yes, Commander,” he spun his seat back to his terminals. “It’s all the same white static with some spikes of distorted interference, but the transmission modules correspond to those which were installed on the Eternity of Return. They are coming from near the middle of the main and only continent.”

The sliding doors at the hexagonal center of the bridge spread, and the short figure of Yui Nanoka crossed inside, carrying two red bags. She directed herself towards the cockpit.

“Hey, look at what’s here," said Mike. “Oh, and she brought the chips after all!”

“Where is my soda, Mike?” she raised her voice, but then saw John standing next to him and the window. “Oh… Commander, this dumbo forced me to bring him these! I say you punish him with doing everyone’s laundry for a week.”

“Me?” Mike signaled himself with a frown. “Oh, but you were the one who had the idea of taking these outta the supply room. You even convinced LIBRA to let you take them out!”

“C’mon, you two,” said John. “It’s alright. Yui, I’m glad you arrived. I had some questions for you or Doctor Weiber about the planet.”

“Me?” her eyes shined. She looked at both sides with cheer and then back at him. “What’s it? I’ll be glad to help!”

“We have an incoming operation. I need you to tell us in which part of the planet it is safe enough for us to land a shuttle. We are going down to its surface. To the main continent.”

“Really?” she said. Both approached the window and looked at the Alien Earthian landscape before them, its bluish light reflecting in their skins. “Well, yeah, to put it quickly, we suspect that continent is the safest bet. Fair temperatures, not much volcanic activity, and the winds and UV radiation are optimal. We also suspect that this system is quite young. This planet is probably no less than two billion years old.”

“Interesting. Can you write a report for Navigations Officer Liang about it? It’ll come in handy for us.”

“I will,” she nodded and turned back. “oh, here, you can have the chips,” she passed him a yellow bag with crunchy interiors and left.

“Bring some more, girl!” yelled Mike, but she stuck her tongue out and left. But as she disappeared, another female figure of white uniform and dark skin entered the bridge.

John sighed. When Diaz wanted to see them it was for nothing good. She entered looked at the three men for a second before speaking. “Commander Star? Is this how you manage your crew? Is the military for you just a big party where you can do whatever you want?”

“Supervisor,” John raised his voice and made strong eye contact. “I don’t remember giving you permission to get inside my bridge. State your business.”

“You are not leaving free from a report, Commander. This is a fault to naval discipline and you know it.”

“What’s the problem? My people did their jobs well. Better than you, I must say. Besides, the General Code of conduct of the INSU doesn’t fully apply here. We’re a conjoint project owned and financed by both INSU and PFSR. Remember that.”

She didn’t say anything back, shooting a stare and leaving.

“Man, why’s she always like that?” said Jeffrey once she was gone. “The other day she scolded me just for having my shirt unbuttoned. What did she want?”

“She wanted to write a report about our arrival to the planet,” said XI, not turning around from his terminal. “I’ll send it to her later.”

“Please do,” said John. “Well, we have work to do. Chief, set us the landing coordinatinates for an orbital descension once Yui sends you the extra details. I’ll be going down there personally,” he passed to Mike Yui's chips and walked to the entrance.

“Oh, already leaving?” said Mike “Good luck down there, John. We’ll be ready for anything. Give us a call for your pickup.”

John nodded and went outside. His next destination was the vehicle deposit. He was not only going to step on outer space but on the surface of an extrasolar planet for the first time in human history.

Or not. If the signals from the Eternity of Return couldn't stop arriving, then it was likely someone was on the planet already, either being there kidnaped by those hypothetical monsters of blue blood or sheltering on its habitable atmosphere.

He asked LIBRA to form him a team. Yui was more enthusiastic than a young kid with her work, and would likely finish her report before John could even step on the first deck.