New Horizon's

Untitled Part 7

                                                                                  First Impressions

New Horizon was a sealed unit from the day it left Earth till the landing just made. An agreement thirty five years ago made between the leaders of the various skill sets meant that all participants must gaze upon their new home at the same time. With no inclination if it was day or night, Otto Van Brugger asked Hector to raise two of the gigantic shutters put in place to protect from entry and re-entry. Everyone had been issued with protective sun glasses as a precautionary measure. And suddenly there it was, Outreach One in all of its sunshine splendour. They had landed in a deep Valley surrounded by lush green rolling hills, and in the distance Otto was convinced that he could see a River flowing rapidly to the South. But was it safe to leave the Ship? that was the burning question. Terence Cummings and a fellow Scientised Mbeki Omani from Nigeria volunteered to be the first ones to leave and test the Atmosphere. They entered the decompression chamber and gowned up. The outer doors were opened and a large ramp controlled by Hector sipped down onto the new earths surface. The remaining 498 watched with bated breath as the two Scientists made their way to the planets surface. They stepped onto the green grass and began to walk slowly away from the Ship, but there seemed to be no effort required and they suddenly stopped. Mbeki Omani reached up and began to remove his Helmet. There was an orchestrated sigh from the audience as some looked away. It was off and through his radio came the words, "We have oxygen". People began to cry hugging their nearest and dearest. They had made it to the New World, Outreach One.
In the next few days the well polished routine that had been rehearsed on Earth swung into action. A Headquarters and Conference room, Medical facilities and a relaxing area were assembled inside the Ship. Beds were erected and partitioned to the privacy of families. Single men and women were set up in the old dormitory style, this would be the case for the first year. Outside John Blackmore and his building crew were laying metal girders to support the structures neatly stored on-board. They drove four foot piles into the never before disturbed land to grid references mapped out prior to take off and all was moving very quickly. The homes were small and basic with pre-made pods assembled and cased in plywood which were the bathrooms and kitchen facilities. The whole thing resembled a large Lego structure but with humanly functional moving parts. Four months in it had taken on some kind of normality. Children were attending daily lessons at the newlly built school. After school the younger kids played normal children's games, they had a swing-park and a bouncy-castle to occupy their time. The over twelves after lessons helped the adults with any chore assigned to them and when the working day ended at six pm the boys played football with the men while the young girls and women relaxed after a days work. Food, was the main problem, or indeed lack of it. Everyone lived on Pill supplements arranged for each individual by Filipe Cantone the registered Chemist. He had enough dried food if you like, to last for eighteen months and he was obsessed with making sure it lasted. On the plus side seeds had been planted and fresh vegetables would be available very soon. The river that appeared in the distance was in fact a lot closer than first thought, and John Blackmore and his team had assembled a make-shift pipeline bringing water to four large vats where it was stored prior to being boiled for drinking and bathing water. The days were long and the nights were short leading to an assessment from the scientific department that they were in the month of August, and a decision was made after six months on Outreach One, that it was time to spread their wings. Small discovery parties had ventured for a distance of around five miles, but only through the Valleys never at this early stage crossing to the other side of the mountains. No life forms, human, animal or insect could be found, and the river was devoid of fish. This to all concerned was the strangest feeling, the feeling of silence apart from the voices around you and the sound of banning from Billy Smarts labour force who had in fact assembled what appeared to be a small town. "There has to be life on this Planet" said Mbeki Omani. "It just doesn't feel right" "I recognise what you mean" answered his Nigerian counterpart Robert Ambati. "All of the elements for a full, healthy lifestyle are here in abundance but there seems to be no takers" The nights were getting longer as the cold air moved in. The abundance of fresh vegetables grown both internally and externally secured the everlasting supply of vegetable soup which had become the go to meal for the majority of the group. A decision was made to stay close to New Horizons for the Winter and when the weather broke an expedition to beyond the mountains would be arranged. A rough calculation told them that Christmas was near and arrangements were ongoing for a huge first Outreach One Christmas party. Otto Van Brugger already had the long flowing beard making it a no brainer for the position of Santa Claus. Soup and freshly cooked vegetables were laid out on make-shift tables, no gifts only hugs and handshakes were the order of the day followed by a noisy rendition of Old Lang sine. As the Party was comming to an end Lara Cummings, as usual with the children, called for silence. "Did you hear that? she said, "Hear what" asked her husband John. "It sounded like a mans voice from outside" she answered. "Everyone be quiet" For a few moments there was nothing. "It must have been the wind" said John. And then, "Hello, can you hear me" It came from outside of the ship.