Space, 2863 AD

Onboard the Black Star

Captain Harold Denfield into the black expanse of the cosmos. The Black Star had been sending out the same message every hour, hoping that someone, something, would hear its’ call.

SOS…SOS…We are the last remaining survivors of planet Earth. We have run out of power and are almost out of food…repeat, we are out of power…please help…SOS…

But help was not coming. The Black Star hung there in space, propelled forward only by momentum. If a black hole or supernova was in their path, then that was that. The mighty race of humanity would be destroyed. 

In the end, it seemed fitting. Asteroids the size of cities were smashing into Earth, destroying it. Five hundred survivors, along with smaller animals like dogs, cats, and mice, were packed into the Black Star, the height of human technology. The people in the spaceship flew away from their planet, knowing that they had abandoned millions of their own kind to a horrific fate, but it had to be done. Better some than all. That was the motto that the survivors had adopted, and they’d rather kill themselves than forget it.

But if no one heard their plead, they would all die anyway.

As the Black Star flew from Earth, the captain had plotted a course through space to several different planets. Most of them had no life. Some had environments toxic to humans. Several had hostile aliens on them. All were not suitable, so the Black Star had moved on. After twenty-seven Earth weeks, they were out of power, and low on supplies. 

A sudden beeping interrupted the Captain’s daydreaming. A planet had been detected.

“Give me a readout,” he said to the young operator. She looked at a screen.

“One hundred and fifty kilometers from a sun, magnetic field forty-five thousand gauss, atmosphere four hundred ninety kilometers thick, vital chemicals include carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and sulfur in abundance….” Her voice trailed off as she looked up at the Captain.

“Captain, it’s…it’s just like home.”

It took him less than no time to make a decision. “We’re landing.” He spoke into the intercom.

Hello all passengers and personnel. Please follow the proper protocol for landing. We have found a suitable planet for humanity. Could all officers please report to the bridge? Thank you.

The intercom clicked off. All over the ship, people were talking, wondering if they could settle or were just stopping for supplies. None of them knew that soon, they would be in grave danger.

***

“It’s our engines, sir,” said Colonel Marshall Banks. “They can’t backfire fast enough to resist the gravitational pull. We’ll have to attempt an emergency landing.” The Captain nodded and reported the message through the intercom.

“Should we start the procedure?” asked the Colonel. The Captain raised his hand.

“Wait.”

There was a tense moment as the Captain stared out of the viewport. Then he turned and walked to the telescope and peered down.

“Captain,” said Banks. “We really should-”

He was cut off with the Captain shoving the telescope to him. “Take a look at that Colonel.”

“My word,” breathed Banks. “There’s something…moving down there…”

He looked back up at the Captain, fear in his eyes. “Captain, if that’s what it looks like-” The Captain cut him off with a wave of one gloved hand.

“We can’t stop now. Begin the landing.” 

A warning siren began to sound, echoing through the ship. The Captain took in multiple pieces of information, digesting it all in a matter of seconds.

“All engines full reverse!”

“Guns at maximum.”

“Shields fifty percent.”

“Our stabilizers are down!”

“It’s too late! Prepare for impact!”

The Black Star hit the ground, bounced, and flipped over onto its underbelly. Flames erupted across the ship’s side and bottom. Emergency doors blew open, and Earthlings poured onto the ground, running as fast as they could. About five kilometers away, the ship exploded, throwing shards of flaming glass and metal into the stratosphere. The passengers ducked as an enormous part of the engine flew overhead. There was a crash and the sound of shrieking metal. Slowly, they stood and looked about them. One small child looked at his father. “What is this place?” he wondered aloud. “It’s…” His voice trailed off. 

Hills that changed into mountains sloped up to the west. An earsplitting roar echoed from them and a winged reptile with yellow scales circled a peak before diving back down. The north ended in deep cliffs and fjords that fell straight down to the sea. They could see old crumbling ruins of castles and stone cities. The east consisted of flat rolling plains and bogs. Twisted black trees grew in the distant swamps and marshes. Southwards, a few dozen kilometers away from the wreck, were deep, endless forests.

“It’s beautiful. Beautiful and terrible. I don’t think we’ll be safe here!” the child finished. His father scooped him up and put him on his shoulders.

“Well, child, like it or not, it’s our home now.”