PROLOGUE

Prologue

20th January, 2092

6 million lightyears from earth

ID: Space shuttle 0012, "Lancelot"

Captain Justin Montoyya IV

The ship flew smoothly as we passed through the asteroid field down below and above us. I could make out a few dents where we were massively hit by the large copper asteroids of this specific star system.

The ship was quiet and still for a minute, I quickly absorbed the silence and became part of it. I am used to the silence now, after all it's all I've ever known.

I took a glance around my cabin which was minimally endowed in action figures from earth and paintings of earth things like, cows and large palaces that belonged to the kings and emperors of the planet.

I took off my t-shirt and boots and casually took a rest on my study table, looking at the dozen maps that covered it along with the books that were an arms thick filled with notes taken by the previous captains of the ship, my ancestors…

I could hear the thumping sound of feet approaching and I quickly set myself straight and put on a shirt along with my captain's cap that I was always supposed to wear.

The door to the cabin opened slowly and a looming shadowy figure walked in, the figure was a woman, she had long black hair, ocean green eyes and was buxom and short.

" The left wing, the left high-glider and engines all have minimal to semi-critical damage, I'm sure Giannis and the rest of the mechanics can fix that in a few", she announced as she took off her uniform and lay down on the large bed in the cabin.

Normally I would yell at someone that abruptly came and slept on my bed, but this was not just anyone, this woman was my mate that was chosen for me by the artificial intelligence aboard the ship.

Her name is Ashley Mcneel, she was mostly a combination of things I found very attractive and extremely irritating.

She was three years younger than me and was one of the best engineers aboard the ship, she had excelled in each of the 9 astronomical engineering courses.

Although we had been mates for at least two years, we were yet to expect a child or even form a normal relationship, we had lived with the reality of us being mates and nothing more.

" The pasta from yesterday has gone bad by the way Ashie, you better get something ready for dinner, the chief Pharmacist is coming over to discuss the new plans for treating the asthma patients in the west wing", i yelled.

" Well why dont u cook something up yourself Justin, after all you're just sitting there for the next three hours doing nothing but staring at your damn scribbles"

" These aint scribbles, this is our key to reaching the system we are destined to be in, of course you dont understand, you're just a dumb engineer !"

" The same dumb engineer that is supposed to save this damn ship from falling apart every time you make a wrong turn into an asteroid field because you were off smoking a cigar somewhere below deck !"

" You should understand more than anyone that those were mere accidents !"

" Those accidents nearly caused everyone aboard this ship to lose their lives on more than one occasion, if only you were more like your…..!"

" My what !?"

" Forget it, I'm off to check on my sister !"

" My what, Ashley !?"

" Your father, he was the greatest captain on this ship in history and it's impossible to think a deadbeat of a captain like you is his son !"

" Well it's hard for me to believe I have a deadbeat wife like you !"

" I am not your wife, we are nothing !"

" You useless woman, you should appreciate the fact that you get the privilege to carry the child of the leader of the entire human race, you are ungrateful !"

" You think I want your useless children in me !?"

" Yeah"

" Get over yourself Justin, you are nothing, I'll be back in a few hours !"

" Just get out"

well she did get out and i stood there in the middle of the room, face red with anger and veins popping out of my arms and forehead.

I looked at the room in a sort of haze and distraught way. I was hurt by her words, but I found comfort in knowing I had hurt hers too, she was not a person i loved, i forced myself to love her but we both know its not possible.

I do love her body, and I do love her kisses and her warm embraces, but I absolutely hate the idea of her belonging to me and I belonging to her.

I sat at my table and picked up the oldest looking book there, a book from the year 2024, written by my great grandfather, the first captain of this ship.

The first page was my favorite one, the words sat on the page the way a queen might sit on a throne, they decorated the page in a sort of regal way.

His words said:

The ship left earth a year ago and the solar system entirely, a few days ago.

We left earth because of the virus that was spreading throughout the planet, this was not a medical virus, but a moral virus.

Wars plagued the planet, brother killed brother and mother killed child. The world we once loved and wished to live in for eternity soon turned into the hellish plane that several religious people revere and wish to avoid.

It all started when a nuclear war wiped Africa and Australia off the face of the planet after they retaliated in an attempt to recapture their rightful property from the British and the rest of Europe.

This was followed by the murder of the Prsident of France on national television as he was hanged from the top of the Eiffel tower, his ministers and councillors were soon destined for the same fate, which lead to the downfall of Paris in 2020.

A few months later, the United states of America announced their plan to take over as rulers of the entire North American Continent, as a colonial attempt.

This resulted in the loss of 23,000,000 lives in Canada and Central America

The Governments of other countries feared that the situation was getting catastrophic, so they assembled their powers and created a generational ship; The Lancelot.

A smile spread across my face as I looked out the window of my cabin, a blue and green planet looked back at me through the reinforced glass, at last what my father and his father had spent their lives fighting for had come to fruition, the new home had been found, our own Lancelot.

<<APESHIT-THE CARTERS, playing>>