A dangerous mission

Ian was my teacher, a scientist who was chosen by the central government as leader of the exploration of a discovered planet. I had offered to volunteer for the expedition, I had just finished my basic training in science, I had almost no experience, and it was he who practically adopted me. There was no time to lose, the mission was too risky, the few energy resources of the planet were used to send the four ships of the fleet, and they were the last hope. So Ian did not resist, instead, he supported and always guided me. We had to travel to another system, one younger, a world full of life had been discovered, a world that could give us hope. A reconnaissance expedition travelled six cycles ago and sent the necessary information to us, that little planet could give us the material that our world needed, a material that could help restore our atmosphere. A sacrifice was to be done for the survival of our species. Upon arrival, Ian would be responsible for providing the energy needed for the ships to return. He was the key.

The farewell was very painful, it would be long before we could see our relatives and our friends again, but the mission and its objective were worth it. Upon returning, we would not see sad faces, but faces full of hope. We hugged them all and then went to the main platform, Ian watched me at the door, his eyes conveyed me peace, he was a good Kai. I hurried, I smiled and together we entered the ship, behind us many volunteers, soldiers, scientists and workers were joining an unknown adventure, practically on the other side of the group of stars.

The fleet set off without difficulty, the first ships to jump into the space-time wormhole were the military ones, before we could get to the planet they should inspect the surface to avoid any inconvenient for our crew. We saw the three military ships vanish before our eyes, we should wait for one planetary rotation to make the jump, so they could pave the way for our arrival. I saw one of the observation panels, our planet was beautiful, but it had become a desert. Wars and abuse of resources had led us to the edge of extinction. Scientists like Ian were who managed to prevent Kai disappear, but without resources the end was near, our atmosphere declined, soon, our world, our beautiful Ariz would die.

Ian woke me up, we should prepare for the jump, I was excited, we soon would enter the new system and would see the new planet, the one who would save us. The crew entered their incubation chambers. The captain announced the jump, I went to my chamber and began to feel sleepy, the ship suddenly started to shake, a blinding light surrounded us, I could not move, I did not feel my body, we had been explained what would happen in theory, but it was a unique experience, I felt one with the universe. However, shortly after the ship stopped, warning lights turned on, the chamber doors opened, I saw Ian get up and go immediately to the control room. Something had gone wrong.

We were ordered to remain in the incubation chambers, nobody gave us answers, I decided to talk to Ian, he would know how to explain what was happening. I went to the control room but two guards prevented me from going in, I could see the Captain and my mentor discussing, I waited until he came out, he got surprised when he saw me, his face looked very sad, his eyes did not shine, and despair possessed him. He took my arm and led me to his station. There he told me that the engine had failed pulling the ship out of the wormhole, which just meant we were in the middle of nowhere, far from our world and away from the mission. I did not know how much it would take to repair it, I was not sure we could do it, so he asked me to come into my chamber incubation. I looked at him and told him I would help him. that was the reason why I was there.

Time passed and we found no way to repair the engine, Ian realized that one of the main batteries lost power, so the engine did not survive the jump. Now the ship did not have enough energy to start again. We were stranded in space, without provisions we did not have much time. He decided to talk to the captain, he explained what happened, the mission had failed, Ariz and we were doomed to extinction. Then Ian had an idea, he could divert energy from a percentage of the incubation chambers, the engine may work, but that meant one thing, those whose cameras were to remain disabled would not reach the destination. Making a decision was devastating for Ian and the captain, they should sacrifice the lives of the crew in order to save our planet.