PROLOGUE PART 2

Genesis Science Ship, flight bay…

Brody checked the straps of his harness, assuring they were tight and secure. He then began flipping the necessary switches in the cockpit to prepare for his flight. “It’s all a go from our end,” Winston said over the com-link. Brody smiled at his friend’s worried face over the video link-up.

“I’m good on this end too.”

“Now, when you enter the wormhole, we may lose communication for a moment or two, but we will still be tracking your signal.”

“I know you got my back,” Brody said with an eager smile. “I can’t wait to get in there.”

“Now, no hot-dogging it, son,” Commander Wicker said, appearing on the screen. “Don’t take risks. Let’s just get the data and get you back here if at all possible.”

“Yes, Sir. I’m ready to go,” he said, firing up the engines as the bay door opened.

“The hopes and prayers of us all go with you,” Commander Wicker said, saluting him.

“Here is hoping it was all worth it,” Brody muttered to himself as his shuttle left the bay and entered open space. He headed toward the wormhole, which was closing and would reopen in a moment’s time.

Brody flew closer, holding his position, waiting for the wormhole to reopen. Suddenly static came over the com, and Winston’s voice sounded alarmed. “Brody, turn back. Come back to the ship.”

“What? No!” He snapped, unsure why they would want him to do so.

“Brody… danger… storm,” the signal broke up. Brody glanced at his radar screen and noticed it tracking a solar radiation storm ripping across space from a nearby star. He looked out his window and saw the intense blues and greens as they came his way. It would hit his ship in a matter of seconds and screw up all his equipment. He would have to turn back and fix everything before making another attempt.

That was as if it reached him before he entered the wormhole. Brody watched as the hole was slowly beginning to open once more. He was so close, too close to turn back now. He could make it. He was sure he could. “I’m going in,” he announced.

“Brody… do not… fool….” It was all Brody could make out over the com-link. He pushed the lever to his right all the way forward, and his shuttle lunged forward, rushing the hole. The storm grew closer as Brody reached the mouth of the wormhole. He was going to make it.

Suddenly the storm rocked his shuttle. Sparks flew up from his controls, and the shuttle was sent spiralling out of control. The wormhole closed around him, and Brody became disoriented as he ripped through the blinding white and blue light that made up the inner wormhole. The shuttle shook violently, and all he could do was hold on for dear life. His five-point harness held him in his seat and prevented him from being tossed around the cabin. The sheer force and speed pinned Brody back against the pilot’s seat so hard he could barely breathe, and moving was not even an option.

The whole experience lasted a grand total of two minutes but felt like forever before he was shot out the other end like a bullet from a high-powered rifle. Able to move and catch his breath once more, Brody started checking his controls. Everything was fried and damaged, and he was ripping across space at a terrific rate, unable to regain control of his shuttle.

In front of him was an unknown planet, and before he knew it, Brody was sucked into its gravitational pull, falling to earth like a flaming rock. His heart was beating so loud in his ears; Brody could not even hear the sound of the hull while it creaked and moaned as the atmosphere superheated the metal. He was going to die. He knew it, and Brody closed his eyes, saying a short prayer for a quick and painless death.

The shuttle struck the planet’s service with a violent crash and skipped along the ground, top over bottom, for a few minutes before coming to a slow stop. Brody opened his eyes and took a breath. He was alive, how, he did not know, but he was. Shaken by the experience, but no worse for wear, Brody released his harness and fell out of his seat, which unfortunately was now upside down.

Staggering to his feet on the roof, he looked at his controls, flipping switches and pressing buttons, trying to get something to work. A few things flickered and then sparked. He cussed and then leaned against the side of the hull. He was not sure he could fix any of it, but he would try. His tools were in the back of the shuttle.

Brody turned around and headed to the back only to realize the back of his shuttle was missing. It had been torn off in the crash.

He was amazed that he could breathe so easily. The atmosphere must have been made up of similar compounds as those back on his home planet. He could breathe. He had accidentally found a compatible planet, as far as the oxygen levels went. Brody carefully stumbled out the back of his shuttle and into the sun. The sky was pale pink with undertones of violet. Beneath his feet was soil, dark and rich. He bent down and touched it. It felt strange, moist, but still dry.

Brody took a few more steps and looked around. He was surrounded by lush, thriving vegetation — various shades of green and so many other brilliant colours he could not even name. Everything grew so big and vibrant, as if untouched for centuries, perhaps millennia. He saw no signs of progress or civilization.

Brody clumsily climbed up on top of the shuttle wreckage to get a better view. As far as the eye could see in any direction was plant life and sky. He was smack dab in the middle of a vast lush valley. To his right in the distance were enormous mountains, and to his left lay a thick, dense jungle. He was alone. He would need to find the other half of his shuttle to recover his tools, so he could fix the controls and send a distress signal to the Genesis. He may have found humanity a new home.