The L.S.C. Project

Not Granite

Days flew by as they approached the small moon, (H A), and they were able to examine the environment more closely than they could on earth. The scary thing was, they couldn't see anything on the surface. When you look at earth from above, you can make out the land, the seas, the clouds, everything. 

All they could see was the faded mint green color they were told was the ground. 

They could see no weather system, no liquid of any kind, no vegetation. Nothing.

Just the green pigmented gas.

It was a disappointing sight to the weary travellers. This was definitely not what they were expecting.

"Well, what now?" Jayden inquired hopefully.

"What can we do?" Alexi grunted.

Preston silently stared out the window.

Eva glanced over to Josi. She shrugged.

"Desert like, dunes and salt- no granite flats. A few hills and craters."

That was the first they'd heard out of Preston in a good while.

"So that is what moon is like, euh?" Alexi said, "no 'mountain' after all." 

Another short silence settled upon the crew as they started to infer about their new home. Was there really a native species inhabiting this seemingly lifeless moon? They all seriously started to doubt it. 

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Today was the day. The biggest leap for mankind yet. The event people will talk about for decades. 

Landing day. 

Crew 18 began to prep the landing gear while the other colonists slowly woke from hypersleep. You can imagine it became quite crowded in the ship with the hustle and bustle equivalent to NYC. Once they had the green light for departure, the still waking men and women got ready for a smooth landing. 

And of course it was anything but that.

At first it only a whistle. Then there was a rumble that came from deep within the ship. Strange blood orange flames licked the sides of the craft as they entered the atmosphere. That's when all hell broke loose.

Bolts started to undo themselves. The exterior was all but burned to ashes. Lights flickered and the ship tilted on its side. Sirens blared from overhead while the main computer told them on replay that they were off their normal gravity programming. Whatever the heck that meant.

Then all of the sudden, it stopped.

They seemed to almost float down to the surface, the green mist surrounding the large craft.

With three final clicks, they were home.

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The A.C.A.H.M was set up before the base was. The intricate giant started pounding away, creating a soft breeze on the surface. The gravity there was a quarter of what it was on earth, so the heavy lifting wasn't so heavy. Within three hours, the seventy colonists began to move into the base, which also acted as a living area for them. Machines were whirring and buzzing trying to get all the new information back to earth.

It was honestly a lot to take in.

It was a historic moment for humanity that would be talked about for centuries. And them, being mostly young adults, wasted no time screwing around with their new environment. This involved flipping off walls with no trouble, playing catch with 140 lb machines and of course stupid dares. 

Crew fourteen was the first to start. One of their members, a short Germanic guy was their current daredevil. 

"C'mon, just a few seconds!" 

"There's some air out there."

"I don't even have my shoes on!" The boy said.

"Y'don't need shoes t' go an a l'ttle walk mate."

He slowly approached the door. With a deep breath, he emerged himself to the alien atmosphere. The door shut immediately behind him.

One second. Nothing happened.

Two.

Three.

F-

Then he started banging on the door screaming, "OPEN THE DAMN DOOR" 

They opened the door and pulled him back in. He was shaking.

"What the hell happened out there?" One of the members asked almost frantically.

He looked down at his feet.

They were completely singed. Not black or red scorch marks, but dark green burns covered his feet, stretching all the way to his calves.

Josi turned to Preston. "Granite doesn't do that."

And with that she walked away.