Name: Johanson
Date: 2057 AD
FIRST ENTRY
Looking back it's hard to imagine how I ever got into this position, I mean who would have believed that a simple military soldier `qualified in defence` would eventually become a pioneering space explorer looking for a new Earth! Still, we've all got to adapt and do our bit for an alternative future.
I keep remembering how much hope we had placed in the success of all the previous space missions, from Apollo right up to the ExplorerFX, but I now fear that our time is running out.
Unfortunately the Multi-national companies, `we all once believed in`, now own and manage over 80% of Earth's resources and have corrupted our natural evolution for personal gain, this leaves 90% of Earth's population in poverty and now that toxic pollution and crime levels are increasing way out of control we simply have to find a new `refuge`. If we have any hope for the `survival of the human race` then allot of us need to abandon our over populated home and move to a new oasis somewhere amongst the stars.
So here I am, incredible as it may seem, but I'm part of the ExplorerFX12 mission, the reasons why I am on board is pretty straight forward `and somewhat ironic` but to cut a long story short, we simply ran out of qualified scientific explorers, so the military intervened and put together our outfit as a last resort replacement.
Harper, myself and roughly another 500 crew members are all set for take off, ready to venture forth into the unknown, ready to find a new home.
9 MONTHS LATER
Moral was low, and we had all had enough of travelling trough the deepest darkest parts of space. Just when all the hope in our hearts were about to vanish and when the entire mission seemed to be just another wasted dream we came across a distant and remote `class 4` planet in the Geminorum system, we christened it Agillera,
First scans of the planets surface had determined that it was suitable for living on, moreover, there were many edible plants and various simplistic animal forms. We soon landed and quickly established base camp and initiated our basic survival apparatus, it didn't take long before we began to explore our potential new home.
6 MONTHS LATER
Our base camp has now grown into a fully functioning settlement that Earth would be proud of, so far we have operational military, supply, medicine, research, storage and control zones and our community is emerging as stable, however I'm amazed that after 6 months I am still meeting new crew members `for the first time`.
The exploration of this planet has proven it to be a remarkable find, as well as being geographically stable it has its own established food chain that could feed the remaining human race for decades.
To my disappointment we have all deduced that there is no form of intelligent life on this planet, although there were some remote signs of its existence from a bygone era somewhere on the West side. This discovery has seemed to affect some of the crew as they seem to be more distant than normal, but I suspect all the hard work we have endured is really to blame.
ORGANISATION MEETING
After an organisation meeting we all decided it was time to tell mother Earth of our findings and that the Earth's surplus population has finally found a new home. As inter-stellar communications are impossible we new that some of us would have to make the long homeward journey back to Earth to relay the news, still this gave us a chance to pay one last visit to our old home and also help plan the evacuation.
After a mass vote, 20% of the crew opted to board the ExplorerFX12 and be the bearers of good news, myself and Harper included.
1 DAY LATER
Sitting comfortably in my chair, I'm watching the rest of the crew board the ship, all those faces showing excitement and happiness. In a way I feel sorry for people who will be staying behind on Agillera but oddly many of them did not want to make this 9 month return journey. On my left I can see Harper, he's already in a deep sleep, I start to feel the same drowsiness..
SOME TIME LATER
The horrific explosion wakes me abruptly, the ship is shaking violently, people are running around in a panic. The next thing I remember is Harper pulling me by the arm, I'm following him through flames and smoke trying to understand what's going on... I can hear his voice shouting, 'Press the red button!! Press the damn red button.'
Through a mist I can see my hand pressing the button, then all of a sudden, all I could see was the infinite emptiness of space directly in front of me.
Another explosion blankets the flashing lights, the next thing I remember is trying to control the escape shuttle, we are diving deeper and deeper, the gravity of Agillera is pulling us down, Harper is shouting something I can't understand, the noise is unbearable, I press the bu...
I get up and look around, broken trees, smoke and a smashed shuttle. I begin to recall what happened, pieces of the puzzle are coming together now, I remember the destruction of ExplorerFX12, I remember our escape in the shuttle!
LAST ENTRY
I can see him lying on the ground......what the hell happened? Something must have gone wrong at launch, none of the crew could have survived that explosion and by a miracle I have survived and crash landed back onto Agillera.