New World Chapter 1 She had drifted through the depths of space for eons, apparently devoid of life. Now, though, there were unmistakable signs, all pointing at the fact that the ship Intrepid was inhabited once more. Her engines, cold for thousands of years, now glowed softly. The Intrepid’s cryogenic tubes, once full, were now empty. Their occupants had been awoken by pre-programmed instructions, which, though written nine thousand, seven hundred, and forty two years ago, functioned exactly as designed. The passengers and crew, numbering in the hundreds, gathered in the bridge. In a few moments, they would receive the first word from their mother planet, Earth that they would have heard for almost ten millenia. A single thought was on the minds of many: How has our old home changed? The holograph flickered to life. There were multiple messages from Earth; the captain selected the latest one. However something was wrong; the message was sent almost three thousand years ago. Everyone’s attention shifted to the old man that appeared. Markings on his uniform indicated that he was a colonel in the Space Corps. There was silence as the colonel began. “Ladies and gentlemen, I come with grave news. A nuclear holocaust has wiped out most of Earth’s population, and also has irradiated the crust. The government has established underground shelters, but there are no radiation free food sources. As such, life will die out on Earth within the century,” said the colonel. “Following established protocol, 42 more advanced ships have been sent after you, the Intrepid, in order to maximize the chance of the human species’ survival.” “You are to follow your original mission parameters of establishing a sustainable colony on the planet NW3-LF13, in orbit around the star NW3. The planet has been shown to have a breathable atmosphere similar in content to Earth’s, and also has liquid oceans of water. The star is a G-type yellow dwarf, not unlike that of our own sun. Once your colony has been established, you should make attempts to initiate communications with your fellow colonists. Good luck, Intrepid,” said the colonel, giving a salute and turning away. The captain turned off the holograph. A tense silence ensued, broken when the captain announced, “We will be arriving at NW3-LF13 in around two hours. Crew, please make preparations for entering orbit, and prime the landing craft and exploration vehicles.” ... Some of the passengers returned to their quarters. Alexander, one of the passengers, was well familiar with the crew, and had noticed several of them missing. He approached the captain with the question. The captain replied, “Yes, I noticed too. There are nine crew members missing. They are not in any of the freezers, either. The interesting thing is, they had all been diagnosed with terminal illness on Earth, but the cryogenic freezers should have halted their diseases’ progression until they were defrosted.” The captain dismissed him, and Alexander busied himself in the days that followed studying agriculture. One day, rummaging through the books in the library, Alexander discovered a ragged book with no title. Curious, he looked inside. It was a diary, the first entry dated to eight thousand, seven hundred, and forty two years ago - exactly 1000 years after their voyage had begun. The author was one of the missing crew members! His interest piqued, Alexander brought it to his cubicle, and began reading. What he found shocked him to the core. (Slightly over 500 words)

Gold! yay.