Snippet #1603000

223 days later.

The seven and a half month trip was more enduring and challenging than all aboard the L&C imagined. Not only was the trip mentally draining but there were a few unexpected complications that the crew was forced to successfully handle.

Varek Demidov, the ship's doctor, was one of the only on-board and first to recognize a potential problem with Jared Jones. Most would have overlooked the minor symptoms but Demidov's superb training and background allowed him to come to believe Jones was not handling the long journey well. He assessed Jared was becoming increasingly claustrophobic, anxious and incapable of handling the stress of space. The good doctor kept a close eye on the astrophysicist and treated him when needed with mild sedatives and other medication.

The other member of the Lewis and Clark to notice something was amiss with Jones was the security specialist, Jericho Yaegers. While not knowing the extent of the problem as the doctor, he was a little suspicious and concerned of him possibly having an episode and kept a close eye on him during the journey, although the past month Jones seemed to be doing much better.

The Lewis and Clark was very close to its holding destination to wait for the mysterious object to appear. Commander Styles and Pilot Suarez carefully maneuvered the ship on the plotted course. Slowly a minute amount of dust and gas began to form in the L&C's path. Styles and Suarez at first were not concerned. But after several hours the amount and intensity of the space particles became more abundant. By the eighth hour the dust and gas began to obscure visibility. The confident commander remained calm and ordered everyone to strap in as a precaution.

By the tenth hour visibility was sporadic at best. Occasionally the gas and space dust would clear just long enough to see far away for a few moments only to cloud the ship quickly again. One by one instrument warning lights would go off. And one by one the warnings and failures became more severe. Styles and Suarez frantically worked in unison to fix the Lewis and Clark. Styles attempted to contact control back on earth but was unsuccessful. The propulsion, sensors, power and array of other systems were failing faster than the commander and pilot could fix them.

Suarez was dealing with the warning lights when she noticed Styles fixated on something straight ahead. The pilot moved her head to see what the commander was staring at but saw nothing but thick dust. After fifteen seconds she saw it as the dust dissipated for a few seconds. At first it was just a brief blur but then she saw it. And Suarez had never seen anything like it. The pilot looked back at the crew and noticed everyone was seeing the same thing.

The object filled the crews visibility and was quite large. It was circular in nature with a gaseous cloud that appeared to spiral toward the outer-edge with the center displaying a dim glow. And the Lewis and Clark was headed straight for it.

Styles announced her intentions to Suarez to change course. As the pair went through the checklist the object once again disappeared from view from the dust, only appearing every few minutes and only then for a few seconds. After Suarez and Styles completed their checklist they attempted to shift the ship away from the immediate area. Once they commenced the procedures they quickly realized the craft was suffering propulsion and power failures and were unable to navigate away.

They also discovered they were being drawn toward the object and every hour the pull on the ship became more powerful as the Lewis and Clark slowly headed straight for it.

Both Suarez and Stylez took turns attempting to contact NASA and steer the medium-sized ship away but were unable to accomplish either. Stylez briefed the crew on the situation and informed everyone there was nothing that could be done. So the crew watched helplessly as the mysterious object grew larger and larger as it briefly appeared for a few seconds every couple minutes.

Less than an hour later the object was so massive and close it was the only thing visible when it appeared intermittently. Suddenly the Lewis and Clark began to shake, increasing in intensity every minute. The crew became worried and concerned the ship may disintegrate from the violent trembles. In a flash, the dust and gas rapidly disappeared in a matter of mere minutes. The only thing visible was the dim-glowing center. The crew watched helplessly as they slowly entered the center of the object. After ten minutes the entire ship was covered in a dim light. The shaking had ceased as an eerie calm set over the craft.

Without warning the ship leaped forward, pinning the crew of the Lewis and Clark hard against their seats. Their faces were glued back tight as their heads felt like they may explode. Streams of light flew across the ship as it warped forward. The crew struggled to stay conscious as their bodies were exposed to more speed and force than they had ever experienced. The light was now just a faint blur as the ship rocketed to an unknown destination.

And then darkness.

The crew of the L&C was jolted awake by a massive noise that violently shook the ship, bringing them back from unconsciousness. Styles and Suarez quickly scanned their instruments attempting to find out where they were and what hit the ship. Styles saw they were experiencing structural failure and slowly losing oxygen and power. She did some quick math in her head and estimated they had about an hour left before they were completely out of both. But more importantly she noticed the propulsion was back to working properly.

Suarez was trying to figure out where they were. As she looked over the instrument panel she noticed something extremely odd. None of the navigation equipment working. In fact the section where it was supposed to display their location was oddly blank. For some reason the ship's computer had no idea where they were. The calm pilot immediately saw a small, blue planet extremely close to their location. Along with Stylez and the rest of the crew they quickly began analyzing everything about the planet they could, attempting to determine if it was suitable for an emergency landing. It appeared to consist mainly of water which was a good sign. Unfortunately they were unable to determine if had an atmosphere capable of supporting life. But the crew of the Lewis and Clark were out of options. Stylez and Suarez began a checklist to attempt to land on the strange planet.

After thirty minutes of frantic preparation the crew was ready to attempt the daring landing on the unknown planet. Stylez put the ship on the appropriate trajectory as the crew sat in fearful anticipation. The planet grew larger by the second as the L&C slowly entered the atmosphere. The crew looked on in great worry as they wondered if the damaged ship would survive entry. Flames appeared as the craft rocketed into the blue planet. The cabin became very hot and began to once again shake violently. Just as the L&C appeared certain to break apart the flames disappeared and the shaking stopped. The ship instantly emerged from the clouds and the crew saw the faint curve of the planet from its extreme height. Stylez and Suarez instantly saw three land masses. Two appeared to be approximately the size of Cuba with the other being just a tiny blip in the water. After a quick discussion with her pilot, Stylez picked one of the larger land areas and made a course for it.

The ship began shaking uncontrollably yet again as the propulsion began to fail. Stylez began to doubt if they would survive. She blocked those thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on the land mass. As the ship closed in on their destination the crew saw something that slightly relieved them; objects that appeared to resemble birds flying over the ocean. They then knew the planet could sustain life.

Stylez and Suarez struggled with the failing craft as they were now close enough to see details of the island. Most of it looked like it was mostly of a tropical nature. Tall trees littered the land as the pilot and commander struggled to locate an appropriate emergency landing site. Suddenly a small explosion rocked the ship as even more warning lights lit up the instrument panels. The crew simultaneously looked back and saw a fire erupting in the rear of the ship.

The Lewis and Clark was approximately 30,000 feet above the mysterious island. Smoke began to fill the ship as it raced toward land. Stylez suddenly noticed a small clearing a few miles ahead. Her and Suarez struggled with all their might to control the doomed ship as the fire and smoke began to spread. The clearing was now straight ahead. Stylez dipped the Lewis and Clark as low to the tree line as she could. The landing area was small and they were unsure if they had enough room to set the ship down. As soon as the craft cleared the last tree the commander quickly dropped it toward the ground.

The L&C hit the land extremely hard. The entire crew was jolted around in what seemed like multiple directions at once as the ship's nose crashed into the island. Massive amounts of dirt was tossed into the air as the craft grinded forward. The forest ahead was approaching at a rapid pace. Stylez and Suarez grunted as they used every last ounce of strength to control the ship. They suddenly lost their battle. Without warning the Lewis and Clark turned sideways, causing the ship to roll uncontrollably. Flashes of land and sky appeared through the cockpit as the crew was tossed around violently. Large chunks of the craft began to break away and fly off as the ship skid and rolled toward the trees. Eventually room ran out and the Lewis and Clark smashed against the tree line. The majority of the ship broke apart as the main cabin miraculously remained intact before it came to a complete stop against two large, thick trees. The entire crew was knocked unconscious.

As the crews' eyes flickered open the smoke and smell of fuel assaulted their senses. The main fire was extinguished and just two minor ones remained and did not appear to be spreading. There are several large holes in the cabin and visibility is low. You can barely make out one another from a few feet away through the smoke. Moans and groans appear to be coming from all over as the crew slowly begins to awaken and move.