James Heleno was an Australian astronaut. He had dark blue eyes and a short beard. He was heading towards the launch bay, as he lived in the space study facility. He made a right and then a left, and then he was in the launch bay.
“Good morning Captain Heleno, you ready for launch?” an engineer said as James walked onto the balcony.
“Yep Bill,” James replied happily.
He came down the metal steps and onto the platform in the centre of the room. There were gaps in the balcony with glass covering them; these housed the engineers, military captains and scientists. There was a loud applause from the men as James stepped onto the platform.
“Launch in ten captain!” one of the engineers yelled as the countdown started.
“Perfect timing,” a voice said from behind James.
It was Tim Alias, James’s co-pilot.
“How are you Tim,” James said lifting his arm over Tim’s shoulder.
“Good, and you,” he replied.
“Fairly well Tim, the sleep was good,” James said going up the metal ramp into the spacecraft.
There was steam coming from underneath the ramp as the jet engines were charging up.
The two men climbed into the cockpit and sat in their seats. The cockpit was set up in usual manner two seats at the front, one for the co-pilot and one for the pilot. The pilot was James. They buckled up and set their now gloved hands on the controls.
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”
There was a long rumble as the spacecraft flew up into the bright sky.
They flew past the clouds, out of the Earth’s atmosphere and into the endless space. They both relaxed and glided slowly through the open space.
“This is amazing Tim, all my training was for this moment in the discovery of man,” James said in a relaxed voice. “I have waited all my life for this moment.”
There was Venus the planet closest to Earth, 60 000miles away. Their mission was to set foot on Venus and plant the Australian flag in its rich green soil. Then suddenly there was a rattling sound from the back of the ship. James then put the ship on autopilot and unbuckled his seatbelt, then got up and slowly floated through the air due to no gravity. He floated down the centre corridor. There was a tunnel on either side of the corridor leading to a small docking bay on one side and storage on the other. He went down the left, to the storage.
There he found that there was some loose cargo floating around the room bumping into the walls and rattling. James quickly floated over to the cargo and buckled it to the wall.
“There safe and sound,” he muttered.
Then he quietly turned around and headed for the door. He left the storage room and returned to the cockpit.
“Just loose cargo, James?” Tim asked as he entered.
“Yeah, just the fuel for the journey floating about. Not to much to worry about,” James replied, quickly.
Then suddenly there was a huge thump and the whole craft shook violently.
“Whoa! Something’s hit us. Mayday! Mayday! We’re hit, take evasive action!” Tim yelled as he struggled to bring the ship back on course. He was always cautious.
Then suddenly the shaking stopped and there was a loud hissing sound. They both got out of their seats and floated to the door. Then they looked down the corridor to the docking bay. The sight was astonishing. There were two humongous green lizards at the bay, licking their grotty lips and chattering in their own language.
