Essar was ready. He and Dominic will board on the most ambitious project witnessed ever by the humankind. Mission Swarthy, an attempt to unravel the mystery of the dark planet. Essar couldn’t help but admit that he was being nervous. After all this was a ‘dream come true’ for him.
Five days before landing
The space ship has come close enough to penetrate the sight of its built in telescope through the dark envelope. Essar takes a look at their landing spot on one of the many screens. At the moment it was bamboozled by a cyclone passing by. The atmosphere is turbulent, it’s a frivolous storm. But such storm gets settled or passes by in a matter of a few hours or a couple of days at max. This too shall pass.
At present
Essar and Dominic returned from a hectic day. It wasn’t just another day at work. They’d seen both hope and disappointment on the same day. The discovery of that forsaken log had given them immense hope. They dug and dug hard, only to find themselves in a deep abyss. They found nothing except dirt beneath. It made no sense. No sign of life or water whatsoever in near proximity. Then where did that log came from and the skull. It seemed completely incongruous to the surroundings. Dominic was still driving and Essar was looking for an explanation. He could find none.
Dominic followed the marker he’d been placing throughout the errand. It was very easy for someone to get lost in such a hazy and dark planet. It was a good idea to put some marker. It was this system in the wagon. It will drop a minuscule of used oil, stored in a special tanker intentionally built for this purpose, every half a kilometer that will keep track of their trail. They were almost there. Tired and exhausted, both wished to have some sleep in the spaceship, their home for last two and a half months, and also for the next.
They’d landed during the daytime. Almost fifteen hours have passed and night is in its full bloom, except that there is no light, apart from the two headlight lamps from their wagon. Dominic could barely make out the spaceship. He’s not sure: is the ship a little tilted. No it can’t be. May be it’s just the darkness or the tiredness taking a toll on him. A closer view might give a better picture. No, may be he’s hallucinating. How a spaceship can be tilted on a dry and arid land. There might be water present but not in this part of the planet. There are no swamps; they’d chosen the landing spot well. Dominic was sure that now he needed some sleep.
Concluded: Apocalypse III- The Revelation
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