First contact

Venus. Year 2335. Population: 25 million. Twenty years after the Intelligence Wars, in which humanity fought tooth and nail against it's own technology, strides have been made for the stars. Using calculations and recent experimentation notes created by the brain of the artificial intelligence, known as Sentient Artificial Intelligence (or SAI), humankind created the first two interstellar bases that have existed since 2079, and the first Lunar exo-settlement, known as "Apollo Eleven", in memory of the first lunar landing. From there, humanity hopped to Mars to take back the long lost base, "Spear-head-5", which had been taken by it's robotic slaves, and re-established their grip on the solar system. From there, humankind made a break for the neighboring planet: Venus. There, despite the extreme circumstances, and the hostility of the planet, the bio-dome base known as "Cupid-1" was established. Each planet served a different purpose: Earth was recognized as humanities birthplace, and served as the home base for all other bio-domes. Mars was humanities military facility, designed to train soldiers and develop new robotics and laser technology, and was recognized as such to honor the ancient Roman God of War. Venus was a scientific installation, being that it was the farthest from Earth, and was the forefront of exploration. On Venus, a very ambitious goal was set: explore a planet outside the solar system that was inhabitable. In pre-war times, humanity had seen and documented a total of 564 exoplanets, which were the most earth-like planets. However, one planet in particular, that was almost 30, 581 light years away, is easily the most earth-like, and most possible for life thus far. However, there was a very extreme problem: it would take over 1 billion years to reach it. However, scientists have been studying wormholes and comparing their studies with the expunged data from SAI, and are now very confident that they can create a wormhole device. The device took over twenty years to develop, and it is now ready to be tested. A ship had been created especially for this voyage, known as the V.S.S (Venus Ship Shape) Newfoundhome. The Newfoundhome had been created for extensive study, stay, and data storage, and was created with comfort in mind. The ship was constructed with a 100 feet long by 20 feet wide hallway in the middle, four 50 foot by 50 foot out-cropping spheres, a cockpit, and a massive engine in the back. The rooms were designed for specific purposes, one being a field laboratory, one being the crews barracks, one being a kitchen/farming module, and one being storage for heavy-duty tools and gear. The engines were only designed for ten hours of flight, but that much time was all that is needed. All that is needed now is for the final preparations to be set in place, and the crew to say goodbye to Venus, and any other human, for the next few years, if not the rest of their lives.

A man, African in race, leaned on the safety railing of biodome G-8, looking out onto the rocky landscape of Venus. He was tall and thin, almost skin and bones, and stood at six feet and seven inches. His face was gaunt, almost like he had seen a ghost, but his blue-green eyes are deep, calm, and thoughtful. His hair was crew cut, and a deep brown. His bright blue jumpsuit fitted him very well, never sagging in any fashion. On his chest, he wore a patch, which was sewn into his shirt, and read the name "Peter Crowney". His name was Peter, and he was the Newfoundhome's main engineer, who was trained to handle any sort of mechanical or computerized programming problem. He had graduated top of his class, and was one of the best engineers on Venus. He was, however, a very existential man, who often thought about existence, faith, and was very afraid of what he does not know. Space was also a deep fear of his, as his father fell casualty to a football-sized meteorite, which struck his air hose and dislodged the hose from both his helmet and his pack, sending it hurtling into the inky darkness. His father suffered asphyxiation, and died in the depths of space. Peter sighed as he thought about the mission. Today was the day, and there was no turning back. The door leading to the observation deck behind Peter opened, and revealed a short, red haired man. He sported a finely combed goatee, his eyes were blue, wide and curious, like a child's. He had a large gut, which hung over his belt, despite his energetic and athletic lifestyle. He was, in general, large. His jumpsuit was incredibly baggy for the dwarf-like man. His name was Franklin MacTandeller, but everyone just calls him Frank.

"Hey, Peter! How ya doin'?" Frank said in his booming voice. He spoke in an American accent, and tended to use short-hand words. Peter warmly chuckled.

"Oh, I'm fine, Frank, and you?" Peter responded. Peter had a deep and mellow voice. You could easily think he's a jazz player, just by his voice, and not an astronaut. Frank walked over beside Peter.

"I'm real excited! Aren't you?" Frank said, smiling wide. Frank, while he wasn't really a dwarf, looked like a toddler compared to Peter, Frank only being 5 feet and 4 inches. Peter sighed and looked back out at the horizon. "Ah, now, don't be scared, this ship is designed for this. We're as safe as can be!" Frank said.

"Yeah, I know... it's just that the wormhole device... it's so unstable..." Peter said, thinking of the device. It was serving as the ships centrifuge as well as being the wormhole creator, and it wrapped around the ship like a large ring. It was stated that it may potentially rip the crew members apart on a molecular level, but that's only a 2.75% chance. That is to say, Peter was terrified of the device.

"Just don't worry about it! We could be squashed down into bloody stamps and explode into a human fire heap, if this artificial atmosphere gives out, and you don't worry about it. Just think: we'll be the first humans to set foot on that exo-planet! Isn't that exciting?" Frank said.

'Well, great.' Peter thought. 'Another senseless thing to worry about. But... Frank does have a point. This exo-planet is of highest priority at the moment. It is confirmed to have water and an atmosphere, thanks to the ice caps and the clouds that migrate. I've already seen photo's of the planet, and I could easily confuse it with Earth. This expedition could provide some substantial evidence to the intelligent life study, which has been hitting a few dead ends, and this planet is calculated to have a 94.8% chance of life.' Peter smiled, but only a little. No matter what happens to them on this day, they would make history. Frank saw Peter's little smile, and he grinned.

"There he is! See? Thing's are gonna be okay." Frank said, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder and gazing out on the horizon. They had a little bit more small talk, hypothesizing what they might find on the planets surface, when the intercom buzzed to life.

"*Members of the V.S.S Newfoundhome, please report to General Delvont Cummings office.*" The loud speaker boomed.

"Ooo! That's our call! C'mon, let's go!" Frank said, racing down the hall of biodome G-8 to Delvont's office, which was adjacent to both the hangar and the final preparations area. Peter sighed, and raced after him. This was a habit of Frank's, where he'd attempt to create silly games out of mundane tasks. It was an odd part of his childish demeanor, and his childish demeanor kept the crew sane and hopeful. They raced through the sterile halls of G-8, and Frank had beaten Peter to Delvont's door. Frank jogged in place, placing a finger to his jugular to check his heart rate, while Peter placed his hands on his knees and panted, tired. "Tsk tsk tsk, Peter, how will you fix our computers if you can't outrun a Scottish dwarf-man?" Frank said, sarcastically.

"Well... to be fair, our computers... won't have legs..." Peter said, straightening his stature. Frank opened the door, smiling.

"Fair enough. Ladies first." Frank said, jokingly. Peter waved him off and walked into the room. Delvont's office was dark, the only source of light being the projection hologram in his desk. On the left side of the desk, closest to Peter, sat a tall, tan woman. Her hair was blonde and long, her eyes a deep shade of brown. She carried herself with a noticeable air of confidence, which alerted everyone that she was the boss. She was a tough, hearty individual, and would have been able to fool anybody with her softer looks. Her name was Stacy Hoffman, and she was the captain of the Newfoundhome. Beside her, sat a small, fair skinned girl, with emerald green eyes that contrasted her body like green marbles in almost white snow. She looked to be about sixteen, but was the same age as Peter, at 22. Her name was Sean Harvey, and she was the assistant engineer, who assisted in technological support and repair. Across from them were two chairs, one for Frank, and beside that chair was a chair that held a beast of a man. Almost six feet, eight inches, with bushy hair and a bushy beard that were the same colors of Frank's hair, was Hughe Mactendeller, the brother of Frank and the lead botanist, as well as the head of communications. As Frank sat beside Hughe, Hughe gave him a quick little shoulder nudge, which was met with a shoulder nudge fight. As Peter sat down and looked down the table, he noticed a very intimidating figure at the end of the table. The man was six foot five, had a square jaw, cold eyes that were the color of toxic green sludge, and very broad shoulders. His chest was puffed in pride, and displayed decorations of all sorts on his military uniform. His name was General Delvont Cummings, and he was the curator of this project.

"Gentlemen." He said, sternly, halting the shoulder fight. His gaze, but not his disposition, shifted from cold and hard to warm and joyful, as a little half grin formed on his lips. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your debriefing. As you know, this mission is of highest importance, as we are not only attempting to colonize an exoplanet, but we are also testing our wormhole device. You have read the files, you know what to expect from this mission. Whatever happens to you on your journey, you are going to make it into the history books. This will be a full fledged chapter in the history books. Are there any questions?" Delvont said. Frank raised his hand. "Yes, Franklin?" Delvont asked.

"What should we do if we encounter alien life on the planet?" He asked. Delvont blinked in confusion, hie eyebrow raised. He chuckled.

"Why, that's why you are along, of course. You are the team's biologist, and you are an excelling zoologist. Your reason for being on this mission is to study the potential life on the planet." Delvont informed.

"No, I mean life like us. Intelligent life. Extraterrestrials." Frank said. Delvont shook his head, chuckling a little louder. Stacy stared at Frank with a questioning look, while Peter sighed.

"Mr. Delvont, this is no laughing matter. I feel that my brother has a very good question. The planet has a 94-point-something chance of life, and are we not to expect that there is a high potential for-"

"Stop spouting such childish nonsense. You won't find any intelligent life." Delvont said. Frank stood up and leaned on the desk.

"Mind if I ask how you know that?" He said. Delvont's upper lip curled in a snarl.

"Fine... if you are to... somehow find intelligent life, communicate. Attempt integration."

"Are you telling me the Earth Government has no real plan for extraterrest-"

"Of course we have a plan!" Delvont shouted. The room grew silent, and Delvont took in a deep breath. "Now... if there are no further questions..."

"*Members of the V.S.S Newfoundhome, prepare for takeoff. Head to final preparations to suit up.*' The intercom said.

"Ah! That's your call. Good luck, my friends. God speed." Delvont hissed. The crew stood up, saluting the general, and marched out to final preparations, where they began suiting up.

"What a load of crap! We don't even have a plan if we find aliens!" Frank yelled, pulling his atmosphere suit up. The atmosphere suit was painted a deep blue, and the helmet was a kind of fishbowl. The atmosphere suits were solely designed for comfort and to maintain atmosphere once they exited the craft and moved about on the potentially hostile planet's surface. Frank pulled his boots up to his shins.

"Frank, you can't expect us to actually have a plan for aliens, do you?" Peter asked, pulling his gloves to his forearms. Frank stopped on his left glove, and stared at Peter, angrily.

"I do. We need a plan for something like aliens, or the visiting of an interstellar species. Without it, we'd be flying blind." Frank said, angrily. Sean pulled her whole suit back on, clicking her fishbowl helmet on. Stacy, fully outfitted, walked in.

"Until that happens, we need to get ready. Now, hurry up, we gotta go." Stacy said. Frank stopped his bickering, and the crew pulled their suits together, and walked out to the bay doors, just outside of the final preparations room. Inside, engineers scrambled to finish up the final details with the wormhole device, pumping in the last drops of fuel, and calculating trajectories. The crew walked up the cockpit ramp, at the front of the ship, and took their seats inside. They fastened the belts that went around their waist, over their shoulders, even around their chest.

"*NFH, this is Houston, come in, please.*" Home base said, the voice crackling through their helmet intercoms. Stacy closed the cockpit ramp, and watched as the engineers outside scattered back into the biodome, leaving the hangar completely empty, save for their ship.

"This is NFH, Houston, reading you loud and clear. We are prepared for takeoff when we are given the all clear." Stacy said. She looked to Sean, whom she was most worried for. Sean was... timid, to say the least. Sean gave Stacy a half-hearten smile and a thumbs up, although her brow was wet with sweat. The hangar outside depressurized as the far hanger door opened.

"*Warning: No breathable atmosphere detected. Hazard suits are required.*" The ship's internal sensors proclaimed.

"*Alrighty, NFH, we are ready to launch you. Just give us the all clear signal, and you'll be sky high.*" Houston said. Stacy looked to her crew to make sure everyone was strapped in.

"Ready." She said. No turning back now. The track under the ship grabbed the launching legs, which were fitted for this ship alone.

"*Launching in five...*" The tension inside the cockpit was a tension that could break even the strongest willed people. Peter made a quick, hasty sign of the cross, tracing the Cross over his upper torso, in hopes that the God which he had believed in would grant him safety. "*...Four...*" The countdown felt like it was ticking by in minutes, rather than seconds. Sean held back tears as she tried her best to keep her composure, which often resulted in tiny, quiet sobs. "*...Three...*" They bit their lips and closed their eyes, prepared to face the Infinite of space, and the possible grip of Death. "*...Two...*" The author has run out of things to say about the suspense of this current situation. "*...One... launch.*" Houston said. Suddenly, the entire ship was pushed forward at almost breakneck speeds, as the ship was launched out of the biodome hangar into the hostile outside, through the atmosphere. The crew had clenched their eyes closed by now, almost certain they were going to die. Sean openly sobbed now. Stacy reacted with cat-like reflexes, grabbing hold of the controls and applying force to the thrusters. The ship was pushed up through the atmosphere, into the recesses of space. The crew, save for Stacy, hadn't even noticed that they had reached space. "*Alright, come in NFH.*" Houston said, giving a sense of peace to the crew.

"This is NFH, we have pushed past, awaiting wormhole." Stacy said. Slowly, the crew looked out onto the great expanse of space. Frank and Hughe stared out with big grins, as they saw a big, inky blackness, dotted with lights that represented hundreds of new places to explore. Peter, however, stared out, and felt tiny, insignificant. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry as he stared out, into what seemed like a dotted nothingness. As Sean stared out, she felt both a great, immense feeling of adventure and hope, but also felt as Peter did, and simply sank into her chair, staring out with hope and fear. Stacy stared out, defiantly, as a hero would stare at their oncoming challenge.

"*Alright, give us a few minutes. First, we have to boot up the system. The ship's gonna shake around a bit, so prepare for a bit of turbulence.*" Houston informed them. The crew looked to each other with grins going from ear to ear, except for Sean, who simply stared out at Space.

"Hey Peter, you doin' alright?" Frank called.

"Think I peed myself a bit, but I'm okay. How's everybody else?" Peter called out.

"Fantastic! Woo!" Hughe said, throwing his hands in the air, excitedly.

"I've been better, but I'm okay now." Stacy said, leaning back in her chair.

"... I want to go home..." Sean said, gripping her armrests as she felt the void of Space seem to seep into her soul, the vastness, the darkness, finally getting to her.

"Don't worry, we're gonna be okay." Stacy said. She felt, as she said those words, that she had lied to Sean. She couldn't really explain why, but she felt that the future held something dreadful for them that would prove her wrong.

"*Okay, crew, folding space in three...*" The ring around the ship began to slowly rotate and hum. "*...Two...*" The ship began to shake with a violent rumbling. "*...One... Wormhole opened.*" Suddenly, what could only be described as a huge orb, with hundreds of nebulae, galaxies, and stars hung before them. The crew stared at it, astonished. They had just survived the ship's wormhole device either by luck, or because the device was fully functioning (Or maybe by Peter's silent prayer). The wormhole felt... inviting, in a strange way.  Like it was beckoning them, begging them to walk in. If they could see the future, they would have done it in a heartbeat. Or, maybe not. "*Alright, NFH, this is where we part ways. Best of luck in your future endeavors. Gods speed.*" Houston said. The crew took a collective breath, and the ship slowly drifted in. Suddenly, as the wormhole enveloped them, the ship was cast into a tunnel, streaks of light all around them, and the ship began shaking violently. The ship was flying through the tunnel, and it was flying fast.

"AH! HOLD ON!" Stacy shouted, grabbing onto her shoulder straps and squeezing her eyes shut. The flying lights were spectacular, a beautiful flying splatter painting. The ship, however, interrupted the moment. The ship was designed to survive the wormhole, be it's immense heat or it's immense gravitational tearing. Alarms began to blare, stating that the ship was going to be ripped apart, and that the ship was being baked.

"AH! NO GOD! I'M GONNA TO DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Sean screamed, kicking her legs about in an attempt to free herself.

"THEN IT'S AN AWESOME WAY TO GO!" Frank shouted. Peter looked up, placed his palms together, closed his eyes, and silently prayed. Prayed for them to survive. Tears streaked down his face, as his life flashed before his eyes: His parents, his home on Venus, his pet dog, Rex, his first crush, everything he had experienced in his life, had paraded past his eyes. The rest of the crew's heart's sunk with realization, and closed their eyes, prepared to die. Suddenly, the ship stopped rumbling, the alarms died, and a high pitched *ding* noise emanated from the console, like a tiny bell, alerting them to the end. Peter slowly opened his eyes, and gasped at the view. The planet before them was akin to Earth, looking like a majestic blue marble in the darkness of space. Not very far away, at optimal distance, a grand, orange sun burned brightly. Not too far off in the distance, a grand nebula of swarming purple dust glowed. The planet after the exoplanet was a deep shade of red, akin to red clay.

"Oh my god..." Sean exclaimed, staring at the magnificent planet. It was an almost perfect replica of Earth, save for the massive super-continent on the face of the planet. Masses of clouds drifted across the planet, indicating an atmosphere. The top and bottom of the planet were frozen white, indicating ice caps. The super-continent was a lush, vibrant green, the northern top was a bright white and the west was an arid brown. The crew looked around, making sure they were still alive.

"WE'RE ALIVE!" Frank shouted, clapping in joy. The crew, their spirits once again lifted, responded with whoops and cheers. Even Sean was shouting and clapping. They couldn't believe it! They were the first people to have crossed a wormhole and survive! Stacy's eyes poured tears of relief, but she quickly regained her composure, and cleared her throat.

"Alright, crew! We're halfway there! Let's not lose sight of the goal! Now comes the tough part. Release the ring." Stacy said. Frank typed into his console, commanding the device to break off from the ship. The ship was ridden of the device, and the ship propelled forward without a sound.

"Ring released." Frank updated.

"Alright. Everybody ready? We'll be taking things slow, since re-entry may tear the craft apart. Ready the landing engines." Stacy said. Hughe nodded, and began typing in the codes. On the bottom of the ship, the landing engine hatches opened, revealing the engines which were to keep the ship from breaking apart in re-entry. The ship began drifting to the planet, the main engines firing to propel the ship faster. "Peter, Hughe, you two control the front engines, Sean and Frank control the rear engines. When I call out what side, I want both of you to fire those engines, and to stop when I tell you, okay?" Stacy said, giving everyone a stern look. Everyone nodded in response. "Alright..." Stacy mumbled as they began to enter the atmosphere. Stacy's eyes narrowed on the environmental speedometer, to ensure they never entered the red, and the ship's status holograph, to ensure no damage has been done. The needle drifted up to the red, and the rear end of the ship's status holograph flashed red. "Rear engines!" Stacy shouted. Suddenly, the ship's radar flashed with a signature.

"*Warning: outside forces detected. Avoid collision.*" The ship's intercom warned.

"What the Hell was that!?" Frank shouted, astonished.

"We'll find out, just hit those engines!" Stacy commanded. The ship's rear engines fired up, and the holograph returned to normal, as the speedometer's needle drifted back into normal range. "Release!" Stacy shouted. They continued their decent, slowly, unstably. As they continued, they peered out the the main window to the world they have now become a part of. The sky was a vibrant blue, like on Earth. As they continued to drift, however, more and more startling finds became prevalent: Snow-capped mountains began popping, as did tall, grassy mountains in the far off distance. The crew was safe from potential oxygen deprivation, and the gravity levels appeared normal, as well. Everything was going absolutely perfect. Then, as they drifted just thirty feet above the surface, another radar blip fired up. This time, it was bellow them.

"There's something down there!" Hughe exclaimed.

"Listen, we gotta land this thing, fuel's running low!" Stacy commanded. The blip ran away, out of the radar's range, and into what appeared to be a dense forest. "Alright, landing gear!" Stacy shouted. Sean typed in her codes, and the landing gear slowly extended. The ship slowly settled on the alien planet, and the whole world grew silent as the planet itself appeared to marvel at the craft. That very second, the exact instant the engines died and the ship lay motionless in the field, history for both mankind and any unidentified species that lived on the planet had changed forever. This was only the beginning.