15 years ago...
Lots of chatter in a small room. People from every news group from around the country waiting for an announcement. Cameras rolled, and waited for the President to walk in at any moment. The reporters asking questions to each other, confused, wondering what this announcement could be about. Some had dire of ideas, others just politically correct idiocy.
Suddenly the Press Secretary stepped in, followed by the President. Flashes from the cameras immediately went wild as a burst of questions bombarded them both. Until the secretary could squeeze in his words" Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States." The room went silent, and waited for the president to speak. The anticipation kept the country on the edge of their seats, wondering for what reason.
' My fellow Americans, I am sure you are all wondering what I am about to say. I have been waiting for sometime to finally come to this moment, and tell you all that our horizons have expanded beyond measure. 50 years ago, President Trump initiated a new military branch as we now know very well as Space Force. Its intention was military, but as the years progressed expanded, and became something far more than that. Space agencies around the world have been working year after year together to break the chains of our limited means of travel through space. But after today, it will be a dawn of a new era.. the era of space exploration. My fellow Americans, my brothers and sisters around the world, we have discovered the means of warp travel through space.
The cameras went wild. Some people in the room gasped, and awed as the words left the President's mouth.
'We are beginning preparations to send the first man through warp using the new X12 space craft. It's great, it's going to be really great!"
That first man was my father... he traveled to all the planets in the solar system. Until that one day... he never came back. Before that, he taught me everything about the stars, the solar system, the constellations. Speculation continues to this day as to what happened. Warp drive malfunction, computer failure, and my least favorite, pilot error. Since he never came back, we'll never know for sure. After he disappeared, I followed his foot steps and joined the the Space Force, and became top explorer. The map of everything we discovered was like knowing my own home address. After years of expanding the maps, and running some space errands, something happened that made me step away from it all. I guess.. Juno is part of that reason, but even the greatest jobs have the worse kind of drama.
2 years ago...
A reddish horizon sits over endless red soil. A ghostly dusty wind passes through carrying a whisper of radio chatter. Through the empty crevasses and valleys the wind passes and the radio chatter becomes louder.
Four human looking figures wearing suits that look like walking marsh mellows traverse through.
-"We got another sample here."
Juno wraps her hand around a stary looking rock off the red soil.
-"This is nothing we have ever seen before."
-"These are definitely not of Martian origin. Most likely a meteor." Marco scientifically spoke.
-"Or it could be our crystallized shit landing from orbit." He joked and the few laughed
-"It is more to it than that Marco. Don't be a smartass. We'll do a scan back at base and see if it's full of shit like you." Michael chuckled to himself.
Among the 4 astronoauts, one stood away and starred at the sky.
-"The stars... they're all so different except Orion's Belt... how can that be? Gali starred endlessly.
-"You're right that is strange." Marco looked up along with Juno as she took a breath.
Micheal looked at them and sighed.
-"Hey, hey, Gali, moron... Hey Asshole! Stop staring at nothing and get to work. The sooner we end this, the sooner we go home."
Gali turned his head and looked angrily.
