Chapter One

"Overlord! This is echo-five-one! Five-one! We're hit! Five-one is going down! Five one is-" Another explosion rocked the shuttle. John forced his head up, strained by the sudden shifting gravity of the spinning craft. He held onto his harness as he peered across, what was once a row filled with friends and comrades next to him was now a gaping hole. On the other side of it he saw the body of a comrade still strapped in. His unresponsive limbs dangled away from his body, telling him he was either unconscious or dead. Looking out at the hole, he watched as the view kept changing with the rotation. From an empty black void blanketed with stars, whose warmth and light were impossibly too far, to a large ring of dust and stellar objects orbiting a large gas giant. The view quickly changed to a glistening icy surface before it showed the same empty void. For a split second, he could have sworn he saw the geysers spewing from the icy surface he read about as a young boy. Forcing his neck and body to the right he grabbed the man next to him. The top piece of the harness was severed, causing his body to list to the side, his arms lifelessly moving up and down. He shouted the man's name in desperation. The back of his mind kept creeping the same thought. Just how did he know this man? "Rodriguez!" He cried out. "Rodriguez wake up!" reaching his other hand forward he grabbed the man by his chest piece and pulled him closer. "Come on man wake up! Your harness is-" his words were cut short as the man's head came into view. A large shard of metal cracked his visor open and was sticking out of his skull. A cold emptiness greater than the void outside the tumbling shuttle threatened to overwhelm him. Shaking his head and pushing away the grief, he activated the magnets in his boots and released his harness. Using the railings above he balanced himself and forced his body to move towards the cockpit. The sudden faint tang of overheated metal and burning equipment filling his nostrils was not a welcome one. Somewhere in his suit there was a puncture. If the crash didn't kill him the lack of oxygen would. The door separating the cockpit from the crew compartment was torn open. Carefully wrapping one gloved hand around it, he pulled himself inside. The co-pilot was a mess. The last impact struck on the right-hand side of the nose, spewing molten machinery, electronics and metal into his body. His death was instant. The pilot, however, was not so lucky. The large control stick was blown out of its cradle and driven straight through his chest. His hands rigidly fixed to the piece indicated that he was well aware of the situation in his final moments.

The shuttle's uncontrolled spin suddenly leveled off as they rapidly descended to lunar body's surface. Before he could even question the sudden change, John watched in fear as the surface opened in a massive mouth. Its maw containing thousands of razor-sharp teeth. What is this!? This uniform, this crew, that moon? Why does this seem familiar? Where am I? …Who am I? "NO JOHN!" He felt a hand grab his shoulder, breaking his chain of thought. Whirling around in panic, his eyes grew wide in horror as the man he somehow knew as Rodriguez was standing before him. The shard of metal that split his face was still lodged into his skull as he spoke. "YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE!?! WHY ARE YOU HERE!?!" He felt more hands grab him. Turning around, both pilots looked up at him, still strapped in their chairs. Only this time they each had his face. "Why are you here?" they said in deathly unison. His throat felt like it was swollen shut at the horrid sight. Before he could reply, Rodriguez spun him around. His face also substituted now with his own. "YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE JOHN!?!" It repeated in the same broken scream. Breaking away from its grip, he spun around searching for a way out, but more hands grabbed him. Looking back in terror, his dead comrades he left behind in the crew compartment were now crowding the small area. Every hand he swatted and grip he broke was replaced with more, fervently holding him in place, facing his body forward. One particular set of hands held his head in place, forcing him to watch as the craft plummeted into the nightmare below. "YOU SHOULD BE DEAD LIKE THE REST OF US!" It screamed in his ear. The shuttle crashed into the maw of the beast. Sparks erupted all over as sharp fangs punctured the haul and sank into him. He let out a final desperate cry of defiance and agony as the crushing pain enveloped him.

***

"Hibernation stasis suspended…" John's eyes bolted open in sheer panic. "…beginning re-animation sequence." A loud hissing sound perforated his ear drums. "Vital signs normal." A distant voice proclaimed. His hands lashed out and attempted to grab onto something but all he felt was smooth solid metal. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. Trying his best to control his rapid breathing, he sucked in lung full of air. Exhaling slowly, he did it again. Rubbing his eyes, he tried looking around. "Where…where am I?" He reached out again but only felt more smooth metal around him. "We have arrived at Sol Nova." A female voice announced. His head began spinning around at the sudden voice coming from inside. Groaning at the disorientation, he rubbed his eyes once more. Blinking rapidly, he realized the space he was in was pitch black. Sol Nova…Sol…Nova…Athena, have we arrived? God I can't think. His mind raced as he collected his bearings. "Athena, turn the lights on." He managed to ask.

"I fear the sudden illumination may cause your headache to worsen. Allow me to alleviate the situation for you." There was a soft glow around him that gradually grew in intensity. The void around him slowly disappeared and was replaced with what appeared to be a small chamber. "All subjects of long-term hibernation experience drowsiness and confusion for the first few moments. Your brain activity flared up earlier and you awoke in a short panic. Another nightmare?" She asked. "Ya…same one. But this one was a bit different." "How so?" "There was a man next to me… I can't remember his name now, but I knew him? The pilots faces were mine somehow and so was his, and the crew they…grabbed me? Then I was eaten by…something? Whatever this dream is, it feels as if someone is trying to tell me something." The A.I didn't respond. The lights grew brighter as John rolled his head around. Looking up, a small camera placed above him visibly zoomed in on his face. Raising one eyebrow, he stared back into it. "Sir, he's awake!" Came a muffled yell from outside. "Finally! Inform Dr. Hanson, everyone else out. Don't let anyone one bother us." "Of course, Mr. Harlyn."

"Your friend has been waiting for you, shall I inform him that you are not ready to deal with him?" Athena said sardonically. "Huh? Friend? Friend…Harlyn…Mike!" He wandered out loud at the realization. There was a knock on the other end. "Wakey wakey sunshine! Come on, you're the last one! Everyone is waiting!" There was a brief pause followed by another set of knocks. "Hello!? I know you're awake in there. Let's go!" The chamber suddenly echoed loudly as what sounded like a heavy strike struck the door. "WAKE UP!" John brought his hands up and rubbed his forehead. "I'm up I'm up!" He slurred. "God just…just give me a minute will ya? I can't think straight." "Take all the time you need John." Athena said in a soothing tone. "Oh no you don't! Don't you listen to her!? You listen to me, remember! Now get your ass out of bed."

"Go away." He grumbled out. "Okay that's it! Athena? You either open this up or I'll break it open. Going once…going twice?" "If you break it, so help you, I will eject the atmosphere out of your room with you in it." She said hotly. Mike stuck his hands in his pocket and blew a raspberry. "Why you insist on your childish tendencies is beyond me. My poor John just woke from hibernation and needs to recuperate his mind. Not dealing with your wild antics."

"No, what he needs is some tough love, you yanked everyone else out abruptly and immediately had them report to their stations. You can be so damn mean sometimes you know? Why, just before we left you had me-" "Enough!" John yelled. "Athena, open door please." "Are you sure you don't need more time?" Somehow by her tone, John imagined a worried mother looking over her child. Ever since he came of age the A.I had started treating him with great care and affection, which was abnormal to him. He knew that thought wasn't completely fair, she had always cared for him but was extremely tough on him at a young age. Now she practically babied him, it was almost bewildering sometimes. The door slid open, and John's slab rolled out of the chamber. Sitting up, he repressed the urge to vomit. "God you two fight over the dumbest shit sometimes." He said choking down. "What the hell has got you so worked up?" he asked Mike.

Mike walked over and sat next to him, placing one arm around his shoulders. "We made it! Come on stand up! Everyone is waiting." John rubbed his forehead once more, his eyes straining from the light. "Okay, just give me a sec. I need to get dressed." Mike stood up and reached his hand out. "Who needs clothes? It's not like anyone will say anything? Wait…now that I think about it…ya, the girls might scream their heads off and faint but then again, that will totally be worth it." he said with a sly grin on his face. John shook his head and laughed at his friends strange sense of humor. "Mr. Cartwright will do no such thing!" a booming voice announced. William Patson, the chief administrator for John briskly walked into the room with two women trailing behind him. "I thought I told everyone to stay out?" Mike said, rolling his eyes, still offering his hand to John. Ignoring the man, William walked right up to John and bowed slightly. John nodded his head in return and took Mike's hand. "Hello William, I heard everyone has been waiting on me." He said smiling. "For you sir. Everyone has been waiting for you." He gestured at the two others to come forward. Each one held something for their supreme ruler. The first held out a small tray of medications and a glass of water to help with the fatigue. "Thank you" he said, tilting his back and swallowing the pills. He took the glass of water and took a sip from it. His body reacted suddenly to the influx of much needed fluids and immediately found himself chugging it down. The second held out his skin suit and the separate pair of undergarments for him to wear. He raised one eyebrow. "Am I going somewhere?" He said, eyeing the suit suspiciously.

The black skintight suit was a multi-layered system that acted as a base thermal layer and armored protection for the wearer and was standard issue for all Terran soldiers. A synthetic weave of moisture absorbing fibers surrounded the inner layer with the outer layer being made up of a crystalline structure of carbon tubes on a molecular level, offering the wearer superb protection along with comfort. Putting on the suit, however, was a process in of itself. In order to get a good seal, the use of something such as separate coiled lines that could interlock (what people on old earth referred to as zippers) was deemed insufficient. Instead, the wearer needed to use a device that, to the human eye, resembled a sort of wielding process in order to line the carbon crystals together seamlessly. The only real weak point however was the groin area. Since developing a device that could unseal the area in order to allow the wearer to alleviate oneself was considered impractical, especially in the field. It was decided that the area would remain exposed and that a separate piece be wielded around the hips and upper thighs that could open would suffice.

"Most likely" Mike replied. "After the briefing we had yesterday and intel from the probes we sent out earlier, we decided to send down a team immediately." John looked to the others who nodded in agreement. "Okay? You want to send a recon team to the surface. That seams pretty logical regardless of the situation, but that still didn't answer my question on why I would need to suit up?" He said quizzically. "It's not that you need to suit up, it's that you'll want to suit up after the briefing. Trust me." Mike had a suspicious look on his face when he told him that. He wasn't sure if his friend was being sarcastic or if there was some truly spectacular news he was hiding. Looking at everyone else, there was a sense of great expectation written on them. "Okay?" He eyed the woman still holding the tray. "What has got everyone here so damn excited?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Cartwright but it would be out of place for me to say." The first woman said regretfully. "Colonel Rogers was dead set on being the one to tell you." "Then let's call him up. He's on the Thermopylae still, correct?" "Yes Mr. Cartwright, but he wants to brief you in person." In person? Well, he probably wants me to personally see the team off. That's fine, it seems like something I should do if I'm being honest with myself. Did they discover life on the planet? I'll admit that is something I'll want to see for myself, but I should let the recon team do their job first. "Well, alright then, let me get dressed. Have they sent a shuttle for me yet?" "It's already in the hanger, we're just waiting on you." Mike said, placing his hands on his hip. Williams cleared his throat. "For you, Mr. Cartwright." He said seriously. "Of course." Mike said sarcastically.

***

"You going to tell me what's going on?" John asked sitting down in the chair. "Patience is a virtue. Just sit back and relax. We'll be there shortly." Mike said leaning back as he sat next to him. John crossed his arms and tucked in his hands trying to drive away an inner cold that never seemed to leave him. "Is the temperature okay?" Mike asked with a touch of worry in his voice. John simply shook his head slowly. "No, the temperature is fine. It just feels like…" "like your bones are made of ice?" Mike finished. He pondered at the comment. "Yes, actually it does feel like that." "It'll pass soon. We all felt the same for the first few days, but it eventually passed." Johns faced twisted in confusion at his statement. "A few days? How long has been since we got here?" Mike looked up at the ceiling, wordlessly counting to himself. "About…two weeks? Yeah, two weeks sounds about right."

"Two weeks? Why wait so long to wake me?" He studied Mike's face which had an odd expression. "When I woke up, I assumed you had as well. After about an hour I realized that I hadn't seen anyone else yet. Then Athena informed me that I was in fact the first one. The rest of the crew was just starting to thaw out. She told me that you needed more time. I asked her why and she wouldn't answer me. She said it wasn't my place. I politely informed her that you chose me as your second and that it was my duty to watch out for your wellbeing." He said haughtily. John chuckled at his friend's line of thought. "It wasn't exactly a choice. You were the first one to be born after me. The first human face I'd seen that wasn't my own reflection."

He looked back on the time that had passed since he first opened his eyes. After spending his first years alone as the only soul within the mighty fleet controlled by the A.I Athena his parents had built, John spent his earlier formative years aimlessly wondering around the main habitat ship as a child in his spare time. Learning everything he could about it and what it had to offer. Until one day, Athena had told him that another was to be born. The perfect friend, she had told him. Perfect in every way just like him. Perfect like all the others that would come after. She had told him that his parents number one wish was that humanity must be perfected if they were to survive. He knew they were different. Their looks, their stature, everything was enhanced in some way. But even with their enhanced bodies and sharper minds he quickly discovered that he wasn't in fact perfect nor was anyone else for that matter. Yet the A.I's insistence on perfection always brought humor to him. Seeing Mike now showed that no matter what Athena did, the one thing she couldn't edit out was the soul.

"You would have chosen me anyway." He mused. "Face it, even had I been born amongst the rest of the crowd, I would have stuck out like the brightest star in the galaxy." "More like a black hole." John said, suppressing his laughter. "Ha! Or that." He said smiling. Something about Mike's humor and outlook on life had always put some people off, but always managed to make him feel at ease. If John was pillar that held up the future of humanity, then Mike was the foundation he could rely upon.

Placing a comforting hand on John's shoulder, Mike gestured to the starscape outside. "Beautiful isn't it." He said gazing into the void. "What? The stars?" John said quizzically. "Well, yeah? To look at them like this. I can only imagine what it will look like once we're down there." "Wouldn't be like before? We've seen it from other planets and stellar bodies." He said staring out as well. "No, this time it'll be different. Before you might as well have been staring into purgatory. An empty never-ending void that threatened to consume you. But now we can gaze upon it like our ancestors once did. What it must feel like to have the wind blow by that's not artificial as you look up. Don't get me wrong. Your parent's built wonderful ships and Athena has made wonderful improvements. But there was always something missing. A place to call home."

"Home…" John said, pondering the thought. Could this be our home? Would it truly feel like that? I suppose time will tell. "I suppose it would be different. But there will be one major difference." He said sternly. "What's that?" Mike said raising an eyebrow.

"This time, we'll be ready."