5 Chapter 5 :

Earth, 3rd of March 2119.

United Nations Space Fleet Command, Exploration branch.

Time, 03:10

Night Watchmaster David Korgan

"Contact Lost!"

"Damn." cried the watchmaster.

"Sir, their comms are offline. We're attempting hails. No contact." continued the long range radar operator.

The watchmaster remained silent.

He was standing in the exploration branch's long range communications and scan centre. Blinking screens surrounded him and his team. A dozen men and women whose job it was to keep tabs on all their exploration vessels in the galaxy.

"Sir, this is so strange. They were transmitting the all-clear until 10 seconds after they arrived. From what I can detect, no nearby effects could have destroyed the ship, not without warning from the system. And a natural jamming would have taken hold immediatly and caused static rather than outright silence and..."

"Silence." barked the Watchmaster.

Two minutes passed.

"Sir what do I do?" asked the panicking operator.

Still silence.

"Sir I need orders..."

"QUIET!" yelled the watchmaster. "I'm thinking."

Silence.

"Call UNSF Command, Military." he said quietly.

"Sir, are you sure we need to involve them..." began the operator.

"Do it!" he said firmly, then, "Their lives may depend on it. We need to send a rescue mission."

The operator shakily picked up the emergency radio.