Chapter 7
Under a New Cloudy Sky

Around 212 years have passed aboard the spaceship. Of course, that meant that 384 years have passed on their home planet due to the relativistic time dilation. GODS should be about to cease operations if everything happened as planned. That also meant that their loved ones had all died a long time ago. Perhaps the disappearance of GODS would bring a new hope the home planet inhabitants. If they were even still alive, that is. In any case, the third generation survivors were about to face their own glimpse of hope as well.

The destination planet was now visible with their own eyes and not just in the radars. Only their grandfathers have stepped on a living planet. For two entire generations, the feeling of setting foot on a solid ground was unknown. For them, the idea of leaving the spaceship was terrifying. Having a home as big as a planet was something very foreign for them.

Since the first eye contact, 60 days were left for landing. Each day was spent staring through the windows, unlike the previous centuries in the deep and cold space. As the days passed, the arid terrain and dense clouds in yellowish tones were becoming more evident. It wasn’t exactly what they imagined, but perhaps that was expected since they never before saw a planet this close. The planet’s features seemed like what the mission expected, though: ideal distance from its host star and an atmosphere with the ideal density and pressure - even though its composition was yet unknown. Further measurements had to be taken, but nothing was wrong at this stage.

A very peculiar blend of feelings emerged. The countdown for the landing seemed to be directly connected to their fear. Nonetheless, the feeling of hope and responsibility seemed to always trump that. The burden was too heavy. They had their ancestors, 3 generations and the loss of one ship to carry on their shoulders. It was like a heavenly blessing that was constantly fighting against their inner fear. It all culminated on the 60th day when the landing took place. Such pressure has never before been felt on the ship since the distant days of Plexeus. The deafening noise intensified as they descended through the atmosphere. A few kilometers from the surface, the landing thrusters engaged, spending a considerable amount of precious fuel. The spaceship slowly approached the ground eventually touching it. The engines shut down for the first time in almost 300 years. No sound could be heard, apart from the crew’s galloping heartbeat. The gates opened. Tears of joy streamed down their faces. A new beautiful sun was shining through a new cloudy sky. And there, silent, they stayed for as long as they could.