"Oh my god."
The voice echoed in Mila's head as her senses stirred. For a heartbeat she wasn't sure if it was a dream — then light pierced her eyes, sharp and blinding after the long dark of deep sleep.
Her pod hissed open. Cold air rushed against her skin, the frost on the glass melting into rivulets. Mila forced her eyes wide, blinking rapidly, her body heavy and stiff as though she'd been underwater for years.
"We did it." James's voice came from the pod beside her, warm and full of awe. His smile cut through the haze. "Mila… we're here."
One by one, the others stirred awake. Groggy movements, slow breaths, trembling legs finding the strength to stand again. Their bodies protested after nearly two years of forced stillness, but the weight of their accomplishment quickly overcame the weakness.
Mila rubbed her arms, still shivering, her voice shaky but rising with excitement. "Let's open the window."
Janet, steadier than the rest, nodded and moved to the controls. A low hum filled the cabin, and then the shutters began to draw back.
The astronauts froze.
Outside stretched a star unlike anything they'd ever seen — ten times larger than their sun, its molten waves of fire spilling across the void in brilliant flares. Around it, planets spun like jewels scattered across a cosmic crown.
The silence in the cabin was broken only by gasps.
System E815.
It wasn't theory anymore. It wasn't charts or simulations. It was real.
"Alright," Janet said softly, almost reverent, "let's take a tour."
She guided the ship forward, its nose gliding past the nearest orbit.
A planet drifted into view — a glowing sphere of soft pink wrapped in swirling white clouds, dotted with faint red storms that looked almost playful, like spun cotton candy in a storm. Its beauty was surreal, almost unreal.
Mila pressed closer to the glass, her breath fogging the window.
Mila pressed closer to the glass, her breath fogging the window.
"So this is Nevora. Woah… it's so much more beautiful than it is in the picture." The voice came from Stacy, one of the six crew members.
Stacy was in her early thirties, sharp-featured with a steady, analytical tone to her words. Where Mila's youth carried excitement, Stacy's experience carried precision. She wasn't one to marvel easily, but even she couldn't hide the awe in her eyes as she studied the pink clouds swirling across Nevora's surface.
"It may look beautiful," James said, leaning on the window beside Mila, "but we all know it's toxic inside."
Janet scanned the instruments, her eyes narrowing. "If that's Nevora… then Primora should be nearby."
The cabin filled with silence again, but this time it was heavy with expectation.
"Alright, everyone, seatbelts. We're gonna be moving a little bit faster now," Janet ordered.
Reluctantly, they pulled away from the glass and buckled in. A voice command pulsed through the ship's system, and the thrusters roared softly, pushing them forward.
"Nevora, Zyra, Primora," David muttered under his breath. He glanced around, realizing everyone else was silent. "Uh… counting from how far they are from the sun. Primora comes right after Zyra."
Janet smirked. "Don't worry, David. We got this."
Minutes passed, the massive planets drifting by as they adjusted course. And then—
"This is it," Janet said, her voice steady but brimming with awe.
"Yes, guys! We did it!" Stacy cheered, clapping once before high-fiving David. Excitement filled the cabin, breaking the tension.
Primora.
The planet filled the viewports, immense and breathtaking. Oceans shimmered green-blue, brighter than Earth's seas, while sprawling continents stretched in swathes of emerald and deep brown. Wisps of white clouds curled over the surface, moving in slow, graceful spirals.
It looked alive.
Mila pressed her hand to the glass. This is it. The world that might hold life.
Janet's voice broke the silence. "Sending down a probe."
On the panel, her fingers danced over the commands. Beneath the ship's hull, a hatch opened with a hydraulic hiss, and a sleek capsule detached — a landing probe. Designed for scouting, it was small and aerodynamic, fitted with cameras, scanners, and atmospheric sensors. The crew watched as the probe angled downward, engines flaring briefly before it dropped into the void, streaking toward the surface of Primora.
"Alright… guys. Let's see what's really down there," Janet said, her voice trembling with barely contained excitement.
All six pairs of eyes locked on the monitors as the probe pierced Primora's atmosphere. Flames licked its surface briefly, then— boom— it stabilized and pushed forward.
"There!" James pointed at the feed. "That's its sea… greener than Earth's, but definitely water."
"Is there a sign of life?" Mila asked, her face glowing in the light of the monitor.
Janet tapped her screen. "Not yet. If there's anything, it'll be underwater. Hold on—"
"Is that land?" David blurted, just as the probe tilted down. A second later— splash— the camera lens sank beneath the waves.
This was the moment of truth. The moment that would decide whether this planet truly harbored alien life. For centuries humanity had wondered. Now, they were about to see.
Boom. The feed steadied underwater.
Gasps filled the cabin.
An ecosystem unfolded across the monitors: strange plants swaying in the current, like seaweed but darker, thicker. Among them drifted pale, pulsing creatures—pink, sponge-like forms, alive and moving with slow, deliberate grace.
"There! What is that?" Mila leaned closer, her voice trembling with awe.
Stacy squinted. "That… that's not like anything we've seen before."
"They don't look anything like Earth life," Mila whispered.
"Well, different environments, different evolutions," Stacy reasoned, though her voice wasn't steady.
"Wait—look! That one kinda moves like a fish," David said, pointing at a darting shadow in the water. "I think we should—"
Thud.
He froze. The sound didn't come from the monitors. It echoed through the ship.
"What's that?" David stammered.
"Is it the probe?" Stacy asked quickly.
Janet checked the feed. "No. It's muted. That sound didn't come from the probe."
Thud.
The sound came again, louder. The astronauts exchanged panicked looks.
"Could it be the ship itself?" David blurted. "Like… compression or something?"
James shook his head. "There's no air in space. That doesn't make sense."
Janet's hands flew over her console. "I'm running diagnostics—no, systems are green. This isn't the ship."
Thud… thud…
The sound repeated, deep and deliberate, like something knocking.
Suddenly, the lights flickered—off, on, off again.
Mila's breath caught. "What's going on?"
Her chest tightened as panic bubbled in her throat.
"Scanning for heat signatures," Janet muttered, fingers flying. The results blinked back: clear. Nothing outside.
"It's like… something is trying to break in," she said grimly. "But I can't tell if it's alive or—"
"Check the windows!" Janet barked suddenly. "Do you see anything?"
Mila shot up, pressing against the viewport. "I'll look!"
"Me too," James added, moving beside her. Their eyes searched the void, but nothing stirred outside the glass.
"Oh my god," David whispered, his voice cracking. "We're all gonna die. Some… some creature that can breathe in space?"
"No," Stacy snapped, though she didn't sound convinced. "That doesn't sound right."
"Well… if anything is trying to break in, we're good, right?" David asked, his voice shaky but grasping for reassurance.
Janet glanced at him, forcing calm into her tone. "I think so. This ship is built strong, reinforced to withstand a force—"
BOOM.
The sound exploded through the hull, louder than before, making every panel in the cabin rattle.
The lights flared and died again, the hum of the engines sputtering with a horrible metallic groan.
Janet swore under her breath. "No, no, no—systems are dropping. If this keeps up, we'll lose power completely."
The cabin plunged into silence, broken only by the groaning hull and the pounding in their chests.
"We need to land. Now," Janet said firmly.
"Land? Seriously?" Mila's voice broke in disbelief.
"I don't care where we land!" David shouted, his panic boiling over. "If it gets us away from that—then do it!"
Janet didn't argue. Her hands slammed the controls. "Hold tight, everyone. This wasn't the plan, but we don't have a choice."
The E-Flash Z719 tilted, engines straining against the void, and for the first time since launch… they descended.
Forced toward the unknown surface of Primora.
Mila's stomach twisted as she pressed against the window. The ship shuddered violently, streaks of fire licking the glass as they tore into the alien atmosphere.
We're really doing this. The thought echoed in her mind, sharp and unreal. We're about to land on this world. But what's waiting down there? Will we survive?