JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN (Part 1)

1. Message at the Wrong Time

My gaze wandered over the shelf filled with reports I hadn’t yet read. Although the shelf was perfectly clean, not a speck of dust, to me it looked neglected and worn. The clock in the middle of the shelf showed the wrong time. I was too preoccupied with other things to fix it.

A strange feeling kept nagging at me. The workday was nearing its end, and I could tell by my colleagues, sitting on edge and eager to leave the office. I hadn’t read the reports, there was no time, and it wasn’t urgent anyway. Yet I felt the day was far from over. Far from it.

In the distance, a scream echoed, frantic shouting. The office door burst open with such force that we all jumped.

“Urgent, everyone to the main square! The Supreme Council has a message for us. Transport is waiting for you in the parking lot. Hurry!” – said Erind, breathless but commanding.

Erind Solen, our shift supervisor, was strict and fair, but also warm and gentle. She could scold you when you made a mistake, yet console you in the hardest moments. Taking my coat, I hurried to the parking lot. The Supreme Council rarely sent messages this late. Early in the week, it was common, but never in the afternoons midweek. Clearly, something very important had happened.

Chaos reigned in the parking lot, but I remained calm. My colleagues were on the verge of panic. Across the street, I spotted my friend Elit waving his hands, trying to calm the gathering crowd. I couldn’t reach him, security led me to the transport.

In the vehicle were Erind, Toren Vox, Talem Oris, and I. An awkward silence. Each lost in thought. Toren nervously tapped his feet. Always tense, anxious, a pessimist, but in crucial, crisis moments, unusually calm and precise in every task. Someone who could give you headaches and transfer nervous energy, but also someone you could trust with your life when it mattered, a point between life and death. Talem gazed out the window, pensive. I couldn’t read his face or guess his thoughts. I was too excited myself to focus on others.

Erind held a finger to her earpiece, receiving some information. A slight horror showed on her face, but her posture remained calm. I had to break the silence.

“What do you think this is? Another meteor nearby?” – I asked.

“I don’t think so. You know last time, when a meteor passed by the orbit, the message arrived on time.” – Talem replied.
Toren just smiled and shrugged.
“Alright, transmission starts in ten minutes. We’ll be there in five.” – Erind assured someone over her communicator. The next five minutes crawled by. Each of us trapped in our own thoughts. Long five minutes.

2. An Expedition Awaits

The main square was packed. Everyone took their positions as they arrived. We were among the first, having organized ourselves quickly. A huge screen, fifty by thirty meters, was turned off. The Supreme Council would appear on it. The anticipation was almost unbearable.

Even for me, calm Rion Viel, who had been on countless expeditions, traveled the universe far and wide, and had been clinically dead twice, once for more than five minutes, nervousness shook me.

The screen turned on, with minor interference. The council of five members was ready to deliver important news. Their names and faces were unknown to us for security reasons, and to focus on results rather than personalities. But where was the fifth member?

“Dear inhabitants of planet Virteleon, we, the members of the Supreme Council, today at 15:58 hours received information from a distant, completely unknown galaxy. It consisted of a short text which we are still decoding, with our best translators working on it. The information was received in audio and text format. At first glance, it does not appear threatening, the tone was calm, friendly.”

The fifth member entered the frame, holding a slip of paper and handing it to the others.
“The message has been translated. I will read it to you. Greetings, Universe. Can you hear us? End of message.”
A silence fell over the crowd. Erind, standing beside me, placed a hand on my shoulder, signaling that we should step aside.

“Are you ready?” – she asked.

“Always. Just tell me for what.”

“For the expedition, of course. The exact location of the planet from which the message was sent will be determined in a day or two. Be ready. You know you’ll be the main team member. Once the location is confirmed, report to Lior, who will brief you on all mission details. Go home and get some rest. You’ll need it.”

I lay on the bed, unable to sleep. What a dull day at work, and this at the end. Greetings, Universe. Can you hear us? The words echoed in my head from the moment I took off my shoes, realizing I was about to enter the greatest unknown yet. Preparing for every expedition I had participated in, and not only me but many before me, had taken weeks, months. This time, for the first time in my life, I was unprepared. My mind kept asking a simple yet terrifying question – How had we not known there was something else? Another planet we had missed locating on our endless travels through space. We thought we knew everything. But we had no idea.

3. The Meeting

Leafon woke me. Lior. As I raised the device to my ear, I saw I had a missed call.

“Are you asleep?” – Lior’s voice was half a whisper, half a quiet apology.

“Not anymore.” – I mumbled, half-awake. I had no idea what day it was, or the time.

“You need to come to me, urgently. I sent a vehicle, it’s probably waiting for you downstairs.”

Lior’s office was on the 67th floor of the main intelligence headquarters of New Virteleon which was the 67th enclave of planet Virteleon, but the first among equals, as it concentrated the entire political establishment, all key buildings necessary for the functioning of a planet. Each floor represented a separate enclave.

Entering Lior’s office, I thought of Auren, my best friend. That missed call was from him. I’d have to call him after the meeting Lior sat pensively at his desk, staring at the machine screen, not noticing my arrival.

“Good day.”

“What, how… Ah, it’s you, Rion. Take the folder, read the briefing. I need to check something.”

Briefing

Crew:

1. Erind Solen pilot, 22 Virteleon rotations

2. Rion Viel captain, 21 Virteleon rotations

3. Toren Vox chief engineer, 20 Virteleon rotations

4. Talem Oris assistant engineer, 20 Virteleon rotations

Mission Summary: Message received from unknown planet. Location established. Determine whether life exists there. If not, determine if it existed in the past. Identify the sender. If the above conditions are positive, establish contact with the planet’s main command. If life is primitive, the goal is to scan as much information as possible. Under no circumstances endanger the planet’s inhabitants or crew members. Return with all possible information and report to superiors. End.

“Any questions?”

“Just one. When do we leave?”

“Immediately. In the locker room, you have a suit, drink pack, and communication engineering tools.”

“How long will it take to reach that planet?”

“I’ll be getting ready to sleep tomorrow night when you arrive there, to give you a visual answer. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“Good luck.”

4. Beware the Setting Ball

Excitement was palpable. You could cut it with a knife, or make a sandwich with a spread of tension and nerves. This was my 434th expedition into space. The first 178 had been unsuccessful, either due to lack of anything significant in the search, or due to inaccessible planets. From 179 to 321, we made significant, almost historic breakthroughs in exploring other systems, planets, and galaxies, yet still found no signs of life. From mission 322 to 433, we discovered very primitive life forms on faraway planets, a measurable breakthrough. But never had we encountered a form of life that could communicate a meaningful, logical, rational message.

You can imagine the atmosphere in the cabin of the spacecraft VIR77, the most modern, adapted to all known atmospheric forms. Not a large ship; space for a maximum of six crew, ideally four: pilot, captain-tactical decision-maker, chief engineer handling all support systems, from life support to ship defenses, assistant engineer needed for more complex missions with unpredictable situations, often multiple bad situations at once.

“Ready?” – Erind asked.

“Ready!” – we shouted in unison.

“Fasten your seatbelts. We’re taking off.”

A brief jerk, minor turbulence, and departure from Virteleon orbit. Considering the expected travel time of one and a half Virteleon days, during which nothing significant was likely to happen in the first half, I had a choice: sleep or read. Sleep won, I didn’t need fatigue now.

As I drifted off, I remembered Auren’s message. Since I hadn’t had time to contact him, we exchanged short messages, which I now recount letter by letter.

Rion: Sorry, I was asleep when you called. Chaos here, we’re heading on an expedition. You’ve probably heard everything already.

Auren: No problem. I heard. What could it be? We’re ready to go if needed. _{(He meant the support team, always ready for emergencies).}

Rion: Just hope we don’t run into any intergalactic violations, or endanger lives.

Auren: Don’t worry. If it’s risky, you’ll return, and then probably we’ll all go on the new mission together.

Rion: Any advice?

Auren: Beware the setting ball.

“Beware the setting ball”. An inside joke between us, one from the void. But we hadn’t used it in a long time. It’s a wish for a safe journey, where any unseen danger won’t harm you. And the setting balls were one of the greatest dangers I encountered on the 179th expedition. But that’s a story for another time.