The Planet of Eden

The Planet of Eden

Prologue:

December 27th, 2100 C.E.

My work is finally going to pay off tomorrow. My request to accompany the four soldiers assigned to The Eagle has been accepted. I'm not surprised. Hell, they probably would've ordered me to go anyways. They'd be screwed without me. I made the thing, after all.

I just hope that they won't trash the thing within a year of travel. That's the main reason I hate working with the military. Unfortunately, I can't stop now. I'm relying too much on government funds at this point. Hopefully this project is worth the effort…

December 31st, 2100 C.E.

The Eagle launches tomorrow. After getting to know the troops I've been paired up with, they seem to be less destructive than I initially thought. Nevertheless, they could've been better. Two of them smoke cigars and all of them seem to drink a little too much. Too bad I can't be picky. If I were more than just a researcher to the government, then I would have a little more jurisdiction about who goes with me.

Final calibrations were finished less than an hour ago. The cryogen chambers have been tested a billion times under a billion conditions. The clocks have been quadruple checked for perfect accuracy, and the communications system has been examined thoroughly. We don't want any mistakes when it comes to waking us up.

January 1st, 2101 C.E.

I've just experienced my first day of deep-space travel. The solar panels and thrusters are working beyond anyone's expectations. Right now we're a few meters per second shy of hitting the speed of light. We aren't risking any more than that for obvious reasons.

The planet scanners have had less luck. It doesn't sound too serious, though. The main problem is that we haven't traveled close enough to the next closest solar system yet.

While I'm still bored, I'll list off the soldiers. I don't actually know their real names yet, so I'll just use the code-names they were assigned to for this mission.

There's one guy named Hermes, a short fellow with blonde hair and blue eyes on his young face. All he seems to do is sit in a corner. I still haven't figured out what the hell he does all day. I should probably ask him.

Then there's Hades, the most enthusiastic of the bunch. That is, if you can call bloodlust a kind of enthusiasm. He wears full body camo armor all day every day. I still haven't seen his face at all. Come to think of it, I don't think Hades knows the difference between cautious and cowardly. Don't tell him that, though.

Poseidon spends most of his time talking and gambling on the ship. He's excited about exploring a new planet, but not in the same way Hades is. Poseidon is in it for the thrill of discovery. He's a lot like me in that way. I've managed to teach him a few things about The Eagle as well. That is, when he wasn't bouncing off walls with excitement. I can tell that he'll be a huge help to me eventually.

The most experienced veteran among us is Zeus. He's been a leader in the military as long as anybody can remember. In my opinion he's bossing us around too much. Hopefully I can stay on his good side. I'm nervous that he would boot me out the airlock if I stepped out of line for a split second. Speaking of Zeus, he's ordering me to do some useless task right now.

January 2nd, 2101 C.E.

Most of the people here have already gone to bed. They won't be waking up from their cryogen naps until either a message comes from Earth or a planet with multi-cellular organisms shows up.

Before they went to bed, I finally asked them about their real names. Too bad I'm not allowed to mention their names here because of security reasons. Oh well, it's just a journal after all.

Anyways, I'm the only one still awake besides Poseidon. He's been full of surprises ever since I met him. Poseidon knows more about space than some good astronomers I know. He even spotted a flaw in my planet scanner program. It turns out that it would only detect organisms if they were human. We'd be screwed without him.

Poseidon's finally going to bed right now. He must be bored. I guess I'll stare at the cosmos for a while longer before I take my turn. I never thought stars and nebulae could be so amazing when you're looking at them farther away from Earth.

June 16th, 2945 C.E.

I just got woken up by the planet scanner about an hour ago. It was a false alarm, of course. There were only a few complex microscopic organisms. After investigating the planet further, we discovered that it just barely had the required conditions for life. If you give it a few thousand years, there won't be anything living there for an incredibly long time. Perhaps it won't ever have life again. Fuck.

There was also a massive buildup of messages. I hope the goddamn idiots who investigated The Eagle's communications died a painful death. We should've been woken up by every single message.

All of my friends are dead. I know nobody in the universe except these fucking retards who somehow got paired up with me. I'm probably a great grandfather of a great grandfather by now, and I don't even know my grandchildren's names. I won't ever have friends again. I doubt that anybody on this shitty piece of scrap metal gives a damn about me.

Without even being a religious person, I prayed. I prayed to be home. I prayed to be saved from this terrible fate with nobody to actually listen to me.

God, if you exist, spare me from my agony.

June 21st, 1002348 C.E.

I just woke up for the first time in almost a million years. My muscles feel weak, even though they're exactly as strong as before. My bones feel fragile, even though they're as sturdy as ever (hibernation prevents bone degeneration). Even my mind feels powerless. Then, I stared at the main screen.

It took me a very long while to finally realize exactly what it was I saw out of the main screen. I was gazing at the planet that fit all of our criteria. It's inhabited by various types of multi-cellular and unicellular life, it has the perfect environment for humans to survive. It even has a moon! I hereby name this newly discovered planet Eden.

There's only one problem: there are only 2 sentient creatures on the entire planet. Is this how humans started out as well? Were we so few in number before we became more civilized? Was Earth so beautiful before we effectively destroyed it?

My solution to this problem is simple. I've set the cryogen chambers to wake me, Hermes, and Poseidon in intervals of exactly two thousand five hundred years. I excluded Hades because he's an idiot and Zeus because he's the worst boss I've ever had. Just the idea of seeing people besides these four soldiers makes me feel more alive than ever before. I no longer feel so feeble and insignificant. My fears and desperate hopes have been replaced with joy and dreams.

Then I realized that I had gone through an undetectable depression. It should have been obvious to me, but it was almost too late for me. I'm so god damn lucky to have come across this amazing planet.

June 21st, 1003848 C.E.

My goddamn calculations were off. I woke up with the blaring alarms going off. After turning on the main screen, I discovered that we are on the moon. The Eagle is beyond repair, but its parts are salvageable. The escape pod is fully intact and currently facing directly towards Eden.

Thank god the scanner is still fully functional. I'm running it right now to see the current progress of Eden's sentient population. It would probably be a good idea to check if there is anyone else on the moon, too.

For some reason, Hermes and Poseidon aren't getting up. They're probably trying to get some real sleep. I can't blame them, becau

FINAL LOG ENTRY COMPLETE. REPLAY LOG? (Y/N)

"No."

The pocket-sized screen shut off just before Zeus closed the thin, black notebook. After a long pause and a sigh, he spoke remorsefully.

"God, how could this happen? The Eagle's a useless hunk of scrap now, and we can't fix it. Now, where's the security camera footage I asked for? "

"Right here."

After receiving the cartridge from Poseidon, Zeus hastily thrust it into the bottom of the device.

"All right, let's see what this thing's got."

Zeus spoke as he opened the notebook and watched the red, green, and blue colors instantly form an image.

"Play: 17.2 minutes ago."

The device replied by springing the image on the screen to life. Although most of the area was still, there was Apollo sitting at the scanner while typing away at his journal.

The video viewed much of the single-roomed ship. Zeus noticed the cryogen chambers in the back, and the scanner nearer to the camera and on the left. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all colored a solid dark silver.

Apollo wore a serious look of concentration. His pale blue eyes never looked away from the journal. His short, light brown hair was sticking up oddly near the back of his head. Without a doubt, it was a result of thousands of years of sleep.

Suddenly, the wall creaked. Apollo ignored it and continued typing his final journal entry. On Zeus's end, the screen slightly lagged. The creaking swiftly rose to the screaming of triple-layered supersteel. With a final, explosive cry of pain from the wall, the hull split open. However, the hole produced was a quite neat square.

If Apollo hadn't wondered what was going on before, he certainly was now. As he turned towards the gap in The Eagle, his eyes widened simultaneously with the viewer's.

There stood a tall, black and blue winged unicorn. It stood about as high as Apollo, probably higher. Its long mane was dark as the most gloomy night, and its sinister gaze easily penetrated Apollo's already weakened mind.

After a long stare between the two, the unicorn spoke.

"How nice of you to visit me. It's been awfully lonely here on the moon."

She, or at least what sounded like a she, looked around at the immediate area.

"What an uncomfortable looking home. I hope you don't mind me visiting, or else I'll mind your visit."

Apollo took the hint and shrank back while his right arm hid itself under the desk. Wildly shaking, he spoke to direct her attention away from his arm.

"Wh-wh-who are you?"

"You don't know who I am? Pity. I am Nightmare Moon, rightful ruler of Equestria! Its citizens fear me, and even Princess Celestia herself cannot match my power!"

Even though the sheer enormity of the royal Canterlot voice took Apollo by surprise, he still found himself pointing a small but intimidating gun at Nightmare Moon. Even Apollo could only guess how his weapon got there.

She simply laughed.

"You don't want me here? I don't care. I'll stay here as long as I like."

A dark blue glow surrounded Nightmare Moon's long and pointy horn. Moments later, an identical glow trapped the gun as it flew out of Apollo's grip.

"Now, let us take care of this camera in the corner. We don't want anypony eavesdropping on our nice chat."

Both heads turned towards Zeus along with the barrel of the sleek Glock 41. Zeus's pulse rapidly accelerated as he saw the trigger pulled back in slow motion...

*BANG*

Zeus violently jerked backwards as he suddenly realized he was watching a recording. The last of Apollo he saw was a terrified, helpless, and innocent face before static engulfed the screen of the electronic journal.

"What the FUCK was THAT?"

All heads turned towards Zeus. There was a shaken Poseidon, an unaffected Hades, and a slightly frightened Hermes staring at him.

After a short pause, Hermes stepped forward and spoke up for the first time since Apollo's disappearance.

"Why don't we use the escape pod ?"

"The other one has already been activated, right? So you want all four of us cramped in that tiny-ass thing? You gotta be shitting me."

Poseidon yelled from behind the clean cut in The Eagle's hull.

"It's a thousand times better than a permanent vacation on the moon. Just let me finish my quick scan of Eden before we leave."

"Who put you in control, private! It's MY decision, and MY decision ALONE!"

The short lecture had a minimal effect on Poseidon. He simply shrugged and continued supervising his scan.

"Although… I agree that it's better than staying here…"

Zeus took a pause to look at his comrades. He finally realized that he couldn't even see their faces behind their radiation-blocking helmets. In fact, they all looked exactly the same in their bulky blue-colored armor. After a moment, Zeus shook his head and decided that it wasn't worth thinking about.

"All right, let's roll. You done over there, Poseidon?"

"Yep."

"What've we got?"

"Approximately 4.4 million sentient life forms on Eden, sir."

"Excellent. I just hope they're friendly. What about this god-forsaken rock?"

"Nobody here besides us..."

"So Apollo's on Eden?"

"No. You see… n… none of the life forms are human…"

At this, everyone slowly tilted their heads downward. They stared at the ground for about two minutes, thinking about their loss. Apollo, one of Earth's most brilliant minds, had disappeared without a trace.

As they stared, they paid no attention to the powdery white substance more still than even death itself. Instead, they were staring at the void in their mind where Apollo used to be. All of them had experienced death before, but nothing like this. Apollo was the heart and soul of the mission; the one who organized the entire project in the first place. He sacrificed everything to find another planet with sentient life. He sacrificed everything… including his own life.

Hermes finally broke the silence.

"Let us explore Eden… in memory of Apollo."

"Amen."

Yay for my first fanfic!

This chapter was previously uploaded about 5 months ago on fanfiction.net. I'll upload one old chapter every day until I've caught up (believe me, it won't take long).

Constructive criticism is encouraged, even from grammar Nazis! This is my first fic after all, so I won't be surprised if I have some mistakes I overlooked.

Thanks in advance!