FOOTSTEPS ON THE MOO N
Prompt - Footsteps on the Moon : Write bout the possibility of life in outer space.
Chan spotted them first. "Look". He pointed at the small figures moving from bush to bush further down the hill. The others let their vis systems focus in on the spot he was indicating and, one by one, let out their own words of amazement. Silently smiling, each processed their own thoughts on the moment.
"What? What is it?" Simone had to know immediately what the various gasps had meant.
"We've actually seen something moving. From this distance they look a bit like hares, but less upright and with what might be horns instead of ears sticking up. I'm uploading footage now." Bimbe wanted the two left on board ship to be a part of this. The six of them had spent half a lifetime readying themselves for that first glimpse of alien life that had evolved well beyond single cell level.
"We've got it. Amazing. Just amazing" responded Garrett, partnering Simone in an orbit four hundred kilometres above the surface where Bimbe, Chan, Greta and Husam were witnessing a sight that no other human had ever seen. The sight that said mission accomplished.
Thirty two years and seven months. Nineteen light years. Five solar systems. Twelve planet surveys. That was the short version of the journey from Earth to here. A here that didn't even have a proper name yet and was simply referred to as Omicron C.
Of course for most of those years, the interstellar periods where the ship reached NLS - Near Light Speed - the group had spent in stasis. Not the deep frozen state that the other hundred and fifty eight bodies on board remained in for now, but a lighter regime that allowed them to be wakened more quickly by the ship's emergency systems if necessary (it hadn't been) and making it easier of them to reanimate for the approaches to the systems and the survey work which followed. Physically they'd all aged around five years.
Ten of the first eleven planets which they'd investigated were easily dismissed. The probes found no evidence of life, the atmospheres and topographies unsuitable. They'd spent a lot longer looking at Zera B. Just-about-breathable atmosphere, plenty of water, some signs of bacteria and other low level organisms, but they'd eventually concluded that if multicell life were to evolve it was still millennia away, and the habitation possibilities for colonisation too few. They never went down to the surface themselves, despite the obvious temptations.
But here they were now. They'd been in orbit around the planet for nearly seven months. It was a bit smaller that Earth, but had a similar mix of land and water surface ratios. The atmosphere was more oxygen rich, the gravity about seventy five per cent of what they knew from home (what used to be home...), but still more than the artificial grav level they had become used to during their conscious periods on board the ship. The surface was hotter, with desert across all tropical regions, but more temperate, and lush, terrain on the huge land masses at either pole.
But the clincher was evidence of life. Not just vegetable, but animal too. Sensors showed bird like creatures in the air, a huge variety of different sizes and shapes of creatures on land, and evidence of plentiful sea life.
Testing could tell them so much, but the moment finally came when humans would descend to the surface of a plant in another solar system. There was no argument about who went and who stayed, they all knew their roles. And the two who remained behind knew that, unlike Michael Collins, their moment would come soon after.
The landing craft had targeted a hilly region not far from the south pole, where there were few trees and several plateaus that offered a good solid landing ground. The descent went smoothly, the landing without incident. The four got into their exosuits and set out for their first walk in this new world, Bimbe allowing Chan the honour of being first to step out. They'd been walking for only twenty minutes when Chan made the spot, the small creatures running away from these strange machine-like interlopers.
There was much to do. More exploration, yet more sampling. Only when they were fully convinced, when the algorithms and formulae provided all the evidence needed, would they beginning the reawakening of the other colonists. It would take more than ten years for a signal to reach Earth, another twenty or so before anyone would join them. They all knew this, but Greta couldn't stop herself saying the sentence that were all wanting to utter.
"I think we've found our home."
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