Return to Earth: An Adventure to Recolonize

Chapter 6: The Welcoming

Note:  I will post a new chapter every Friday evening EST.

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Due to the limited formatting options available on WattPad, I added square brackets and dashes to show the start and stop of PID messages... like this [- ... -] to differentiate them from inner thoughts. I am sorry for the bad presentation of these important elements to the story.

I posted a Glossary to help with technical terms and concepts… http://www.wattpad.com/29670112-return-to-earth-an-adventure-to-recolonize

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                                                             Chapter 6

                                                        The Welcoming

Our crippled ship hovered for several seconds before it landed with a horrific thud. The abrupt jolt brought more cries and whimpers from the stunned voyagers as they relived their earlier nightmarish ordeal. As their final cries faded, they stumbled from the shuttle dazed and emotionally spent. Hospital orderlies tended to the injured and hustled a few to the infirmary. Thankfully, no one had sustained any serious injuries.

Happy to be standing on solid ground, my mood abruptly changed. I had hoped to see our ancestors’ beautiful earth. Instead, we stood in a colorless, windowless hanger deck surrounded by carbonite plated walls and ribbed traction flooring. Even the massive hanger door had shut behind us, sealing us off from the planet’s allure.

The shuttle’s blackened fuselage heated the hanger’s humid air as the smell of charred metal, and toxic fumes irritated my lungs. Service personnel in biomechanical lifting frames scurried about with heavy loads. Did I make any of those?

“Welcome to Dallas.” A young and much too cheerful female lieutenant greeted us in a singsong, perky style. We ignored her. “Sorry about the bumpy ride.”

Wow, talk about an understatement. I glanced over to Tania as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“As a rule, we would have greeted you outside on the reception pad. Sad to say, we’re in the repair hanger. We need to check this craft’s minor malfunction.”

A passenger behind me exploded at the callous remark. “Minor malfunction? We damn near died up there. Look at this wretched ship. And the injured.” A couple of other passengers joined the rant.

I felt Tania might add to the fray and leaned over to say, “Karla needs us right now. Besides, it’s pointless yelling at this silly woman.” Tania nodded, shrugged her shoulders and knelt to adjust Karla’s clothes and give her a reassuring hug.

The brash lieutenant fidgeted with her handheld digi-panel. Perhaps sensing her inappropriate comment, she moved us along.

She flipped a dismissive hand into the air and said, “Anyway, please follow me; we need to start your orientation. This way please. Follow me.”

Her shoes clattered against the metal floor at a quickened pace and marched toward a rather utilitarian carbonite door. The sign overhead read - Service Corridor.

Great, we damn-near die, and we’re hustled into Dallas through a service passage. This is a dreadful start. Can it get any worse?