Into the Unknown

"To anyone who picks up this message, my name is Capt. Preston Reily of the shuttle Lliad. I am alive and well, in an uncharted part of the galaxy, which i can not describe. Do not under any circumstances send an recon party or probe to the abnomaly recorded. More details to follow soon, hopefully....signing off."

It was weird when i sent that message back to Space Command, it felt almost as if i was giving them a warning, but for me felt like a goodbye. The situation i was beginning to find myself in now felt now so epic and deadly that i should face everything regardless if i make it back to Earth or not. It's funny how i got here in the first place:

Following NASA's redevelopment of space technology, they splintered off and created Space Command(another word for D.D.E.P.O= Dept of Deep Exploration and Planetary Observation). I always called it Space Command, cause that's how it felt to me. When i was old enough, i trained and was eventually accepted into the space program, following my father's footsteps in becoming an astronaut. Though Dad made sure i learned something practical like electrical wiring, i made sure that i'd at least minor in Astrophysics. After five years, and the creation of the new department, i made captain, and would be able to test out some of the new tech in deep space exploration.

My first ship, the Lliad was a new prototype shuttlecraft intended for deep space travel, mostly for traveling within our own galaxy, but it was to be the first manned craft ever made. The design was typical, but with an onboard computer assistant, Homer, it would relay standard system functions, remind the pilot to do routine checks, and funny enough, has a personality matrix that conforms to the pilot. I get a kick out of how when i would do some of my pre-function checks, Homer would reply back as one of the saturday morning cartoon characters i used to watch as a kid, who fed this program my likes i'll have to have a talk with them, lol.

The day of my launch, i was to launch from Earth, meet up and dock first with the ISS for minor routine checks, then, with temporary boosters, blast off to ISS2; ISS2 was the code name for Earth's moon. The world's nations didn't want to see the International Space Station scraped, so various people got together to save it. They added boosters to it, so now it's almost in an synchronous orbit with the moon, and since there was still some arguments about mineral right exploration, the ISS2 was created on the moon, talk about crazy.

Launch day had come! I did all my pre-standard checks, and gave the thumbs up as later i blasted off leaving the world i called home for the twinkling blackness of space. Once i left orbit on course to ISS, Homer activated:

Homer(in Shaggy voice): "Like hey, man we're in outer space, like isn't that far out?"

"Yes, Homer, that's far out, haha. but we still gotta long ways to go before we start our mission."

Homer(in a anime voice): "Yes, this is true, but it will be a great adventure, so onward captain, onward!"

"Plot a course to ISS, and don't spare the horses!"

The cockpit of the shuttle wasn't too cramped, the space inside was perhaps a little bigger than a commercial airline cockpit, which suited me just fine. While on the way there, i played some of my music from my playlist, and every once in a while, i would ask Homer what was the current news and weather back on Earth. Homer would reply back to me either as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, or Droopy(basically telling me there's a lot of rain).

Finally we docked at the ISS. I depressurized, then came onboard. Got to talk to a lot of the crew there, some excited for me for the mission i was partaking in, some nervous. This would be the first manned deep space exploration, and everything needed to be checked and rechecked before heading to ISS2. I stayed there no more than 24hrs when i headed off to ISS2, equipped with boosters to get to my destination fast. The course i had to take would follow the obit of the moon around Earth, so there would be no way of missing my target destination.

With booster roaring, off we went towards ISS2.

Homer(in Shaggy voice): "Hey Preston, man, do you think what they say about the moon is true?"

"What's that, Homer?"

"That it's made of green cheese man, lol."

"lol, you silly as hell, Homer. No i don't believe that."

"Oh good, cause that would be some funky looking grilled cheese sandwiches though, lol."

Homer was right, they would be funky, but i still couldn't help but laugh.

About four hours later, i reached ISS2, Homer started landing procedures, and landed the shuttle on the landing pad outside the facility. The moving airlock bay connected with the shuttle, depressurized, and i was given the green light to come onboard.

"I'll keep things safe here while you talk with the big wigs", said Homer in his cowboy-like voice.

"Alright, partner", I chimed back.

Once inside the station, i was greeted by the security crew giving me a welcome to the station and escourting me to the briefing room where i would meet the research team and receive my orders. As i walked inside, i was amazed by what i seen.

The room was arranged in semicircle, kinda like a mini planetarium. Split into two circles, the outer edge were various curved screens, some showing different areas of the moon that had been mapped, some showing maintenance crews working on different items, and two screens which looked to me like star charts, with various coordinate names assigned to each dot that showed up. The inner circle was a circular table, and in front of it, the five person research team.

"Welcome to ISS2 Capt. Reily", said the first researcher, "I'm Commander Ada, and these are my teammates, Capt. Rosales, Capt. O'Hara, Capt. Petrov, and Capt. Sara."

"Hi everyone, good to meet ya!" I really didn't have too much to say, i was still a little in awe of the room.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's get you up to speed on why you're here." Ada was straight to the point after our greeting, they looked like a person dedicated and took no bs when it came to the job at hand.

"With the boosters we will provide for you on the Lliad, you are to travel and do some detailed scans around Jupiter and Saturn. On our last couple of satellite scans we detected some unusual readings and caught glimpse of an anomaly."

"What was it?"

"Unknown, but last scan shows it as having a small spiral pattern."

"Well, if it was a black hole, i want no part of it."

Petrov spoke up, "we don't think it's something like that, but something else only in theory: a natural wormhole."

"A What!!" "You gotta be kidding me!"

Sara was the next to chime in, "We did send a small probe to try and get a better look at it, when it got there, the probe was pulled into the anomaly, disappeared, then reappeared 15mins later. we checked the recorder,but got nothing but static."

"We need a better visual to understand if this is what we think it is, or something entirely new, but perhaps dangerous."

"Alright, you got my curiosity running, i'll do it."

After getting further details, one of the crew members showed me around the station and a temporary place to rest while they did maintenance checks and installed the boosters on my shuttle. Roughly four earth days had passed before i was well rested, boosters installed, and i was ready to go. I have to admit, i was excited, but nervous as to what i might find.

The countdown went just as usual as on Earth, and off i went. I didn't have to use the extra boost till i was some miles away from Mars, just in case of emergencies, so no worries as of yet.

As i reached Mars, i was amazed at the different hues of red-brown color i could see from my cockpit. Homer, off and on would talk back to me either as Marvin the Martian, or Duck Dodgers as a joke, making me laugh, before we prepped to use the boosters. 50,000 miles away from Mars, the boosters kick in, and off to our destination we went.

"Warp speed Homer!"

"Ay, ay captain!"

With the boosters on, the shuttle felt like we were going a little faster than the ones i had previously, maybe some higher grade fuel i was using this time, who knows. Five hours in, we reached a safe distance to the coordinates we were given. Homer powered down the boosters, and put the shuttle in orbit cruise mode. Just seeing Jupiter alone was a breathtaking sight, thinking to myself just how amazing it is to be the first out in deep space, or should i had been careful.

From my safe distance, i came across the anomaly. For one thing, the research team was right, it did have a spiral rotation to it. It seemed to phase in and out of view, one minute stationary, next minute nearly invisible. The anomaly had light hues of purple and green, slowly spinning within itself with no particular axis to pinpoint. I told Homer to start dual recording mode.

As the recording continued, this supposed wormhole did its usual, phased in view, phased out of view, back and forward. What i had failed to realize, that without knowing it, it was coming in my direction! One minute the anomaly phased out, the next, it was right in front of me!

Like a whirlpool, the gravity began to pull the shuttle into itself. With no warning, i told Homer to reverse engines to try to pull us away, but to no avail.

"Looks like we're going down the drain partner!" "Thrusters are at max reverse, if we pull too hard, we'll burn through our fuel."

"Homer, if we're gonna go, let go with some style!" "On my signal, forward thrusters right down its throat!"

"In three, two, one, go!!"

I hoped that going full throttle through the anomaly was indeed a wormhole, and one that would suck me in, then spit me back out in the same place, with little damage, or so i thought.

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.....

As we went charging into the anomaly, i screamed so loud, you couldn't tell if i was very excited, or very terrified. Sound around the shuttle seem to distort and muffle as we were flying down this corridor of purples and greens, from hazy hues to streams of light, then silence.

I found myself no longer in the shuttle, but on a blue couch. It was one of those nice soft couches you love to fall asleep on cause they're so relaxing. In front of me were two beings of light, no features, but from their size, they were no taller than kids.

Both spoke in an unknown language to each other, then to me.

"Hello Preston, we've been waiting for you."

"Me?"

"Yes, it's been a while since we have spoke in your language, so forgive us if we don't get everything right."

"Ok." after a while they spoke like twins who finish each others' sentences.

"We need.."

"Your help...."

"On something....."

"Very important...."

Puzzled, i asked, "Like what, and just one of you explain, kinda confused here."

Both answered, "Yes, of course. you mortal beings sometimes have difficulty in certain areas in communication."

Before i knew it, the beings of light had turned into the physical forms of kids. i had been thinking in my head that it would be easier if they had a form i could understand better. Guess they're mind readers too!

"We need an mortal entity that can help in a certain galaxy we assist from time to time. You being a mortal entity, if you would, please help us in this endeavor."

"What about my shuttle?"

"Your craft took some damage, nothing that can't be repaired. But it was bad enough that, if we returned you to it now, the chances of survival would be slim."

Weighting my options, which were next to none, i said, "Well i'm game if you are."

Both lightly clapping, "Oh good! We will take you to where we need you to go, don't worry, should you need help, we won't be too far away."

"Before we go, can i ask if the anomaly is a wormhole?"

Puzzled for a moment, then both smiled, "Yes, and yet our home."

In a flash, I was out of the wormhole. Coming out of a daze, i could hear Homer trying to wake me.

"Homer, i'm ok, where are we?"

"According to my scans, we have left our known solar system. I'm trying to make sense of new info added to my database from where i don't know, but we're in uncharted territory."

"Maintenance check on the shuttle shows some micro fractures, fuel at 50%.

"Any place we can land without blowing up?"

Homer runs a star check, then plots a course. "You're gonna love this, an exoplanet dead ahead. from limited scans shows atmosphere and vegetation similar to Earth."

"Better than nothing."

All of a sudden, my visual screen begins to pick up a fuzzy image, and unknown dialet. I ask Homer to clean up the image if possible. As the picture slowly clears up, the image shows itself. With a communication type device in its ear, covered in fur but with clothes what looked like something from a fantasy novel, a wolf.

Where in the universe am i.......