Chapter 2
On the third day of the journey, her target appeared on the view screen for the first time. Sylvie had seen pictures of the planet, but they hardly did it justice. Captivating clouds of soft lavender whirled around seas that shifted from deep indigo to aquamarine and every color in between. There were darker ridges of maroon that became more apparent the closer the ship came. They were few in number, with great distances between them. Land.
Sylvie stood and walked to the view screen, which took up a large portion of the ship's hull, the game of Go she'd been playing with Magnis forgotten. Magnis always beat her anyway. Like he beat her at holo-checkers. And he'd cleaned her out at tarot poker. It had been a long three days.
But the journey was worth it, just for the chance to see a new world with her own eyes. The first human eyes ever to take in the beauty of JL-398.
That name's got to go.
She would be on the surface for ten days, more than enough time to come up with something fitting, and hopefully enough time to find definitive signs of life.
To be the first to prove that humans were not alone in the universe would surely cement her scholarly legacy for all time. The most important scientific discovery of the twenty-second century. It would justify all the long, lonely hours spent in the library, in the lab, alone in her room reading and writing and running experiments. It would be the pinnacle of her young career. Of her life.
"Sixty seconds until we enter the atmosphere," Magnis informed her.
Sylvie scrambled to her seat and struggled to strap down her protective harness.
"Atmosphere in five seconds." Magnis's calm tone was a strange counterpoint to her own frantic feelings.
This is it.She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as the seconds ticked by.
Suddenly the ship shook with a powerful impact. An alarm began sounding.
"Main power is down. Auxiliary power spent sealing multiple hull breaches and sustaining life support. No residual power for navigation."
"What?" Entering the atmosphere couldn't be responsible for such damage, could it?
Magnis's voice was as tranquil as ever. "We have lost navigation. The ship is about to crash."
The view screen showed their descent. The seas of this unknown planet were getting closer by the second. Then the screen crackled and cut out.
"Impact in ten seconds."
The alarms blared. Lights flickered.
Magnis began to count down. "Impact in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One."
"Impact."
Sylvie's entire world exploded around her, then she knew nothing but darkness.
