Humankind has found the stars - and forgotten the coordinates of their home planet. Then Hana does the impossible and gets pregnant. Her mother's predictions ringing in her ears, she sets out to find humanity's lost cradle. She only has a myth to gu...
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Picture credit pixabay, cordi_vahle.
A blue ball, mottled with cloud systems, grew in the distance until it filled the view screens.
"Hey, Captain, we've achieved Earth orbit," ALI said.
Hana groped for something to say, but found herself to be plain out of words. They'd done it. They found the lost cradle.
For quite a while, no one said anything, not even ALI.
"Shall we go down?" Sanju was shifting in xeir seat as if it harbored a pile of Mushorhavian fire bugs.
Hana cleared her throat. "Yes. Yes, please."
"Let's do this in style, shall we, Captain?" ALI said. Seconds later, a metallic klaxon filled the bridge, whooping louder than a drunk Hiwjshi.
"Initializing shuttle separation. Starting descent." ALI's voice projected the charm of an empty cargo container. It also echoed like one.
A tremor traveled through the lander, followed by an odd squeaking noise.
"Oops," ALI said, still in her container persona. "Looks like the clasps need a bit of TLC. Oh, well. Shit happens."
The squeaking grew in volume until it shut off with a jerk, only to segue into a lurching motion that pushed little Phili uncomfortably close to Hana's bladder.
She squeezed her legs together as the shuttle bucked again, slamming Hana into her harness. Distant stars drifted along the forward view screen like pale embers lost in the dark. The lander was in its final descent.
"Doesn't sound like proper landing protocol to me." Hana dug her fingers into the padding of her captain's seat. It didn't help one bit with the bucking. Instead, she dug a hole into the cracked cover. Discolored foam poured out.
