Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Skies of Venus

I checked the ship’s systems one last time as I began the descent towards the surface of Venus. Anticipation gripped me as the ship slid through the stormy clouds that covered the planet, part of the terraforming process begun centuries ago. I watched out the viewport as I passed one of the automated orbital stations that kept the surface cool by venting excess heat into space. It was a wonder that the stations had worked for so long with little to no maintenance.

The engineer part of my brain was intrigued and I struggled to not get lost in tangents about drone repair systems and the effects of the void on mechanical systems. Thankfully, the ship itself was capable of handling the descent on autopilot and the inertial dampening systems meant I could get up and stretch. A few months in cryosleep was not so bad, at least compared to a few centuries.

Dark clouds flashing with lightning slipped by as the ship made its final approach. I checked the system again to ensure we were on course to the former colony. Assuming the data was good, I would arrive there in an hour or so. I paced throughout the ship to bleed off my nervous energy and excitement. Getting to see another world had been a dream of mine since childhood and now I was actually going to do it! I was eager to get to work, already envisioning what the others would think when they arrived.

I had three months in which to prepare the colony. The rest of the commune was gathering supplies and complicated equipment we couldn’t fabricate on our own and waiting for my signal to set out from Terra. The others, especially my partner, Selene, had been worried about sending me on my own but I assured them that it was fine. I liked working on my own. No expectations, no interruptions, just me and the task at hand. Well, me and a small army of construction drones.

Still, this project wouldn’t be so bad. Venus had been inhabited before, after all. The colony I was headed towards had been built during the last ill-fated space race, before climatefall. Billionaires had snatched up the world’s best and brightest in their desire to rule kingdoms on other worlds, free from limitations on their power and greed. None of the colonies had survived, but the groundwork they’d laid meant that even a small group like mine could live on another world.

I sat back down and had the ship run a set of scans to compare to the archival data we had on Venus. Atmosphere was looking good; the terraformers had improved on the previously recorded conditions over the years. Temperatures were well within human comfort levels, with the storms and orbital stations keeping Venus from returning to its greenhouse days. The scans could only pick up on nearby conditions, but there were definitely signs of flora and fauna flourishing, at least in this area.

Trees with pale white bark and beautiful blue leaves, bright red grasses, and golden stalks of wheat all swayed in the wind while lavender waves crashed against the nearby shore. A truly beautiful place. The billionaires had been monstrous, but the people they brought with them had done fantastic things in the short time they had. I took a moment to mourn them as the colony itself came into view. My ship descended to the large basin that contained it.

Crumbling towers and shattered domes greeted me, the infrastructure worn away by time and neglect. Reports had stated the colony had lasted only a few decades before running out of supplies. The would-be monarch had swapped out necessary long-term survival equipment for gaudy baubles and decorations for his palace. The people had done what they could, but their supplies could only stretch so far.

Time, however, had taken the seeds of their work and gone wild. Verdant fields and lush forests filled the wreckage of the colony. Celica, our botanist, would have a field day with cataloguing all the new varieties. As for myself, I couldn’t wait to see what drones and automation systems could be salvaged. Reports from the colonies had been sparse and it was unclear what they had built across the Sol System. The disasters of Terra’s climate shift had meant much of our knowledge was lost before the Great Sleep, and these colonies might hold secrets otherwise forgotten.

I caught myself pacing again, my mind refusing to ponder any more as my excitement became unbearable. I was not a patient man, something my partner had teased me about often. The ship landed in a clearing near the center of the colony with a whisper of a jolt, and that was it. I had arrived. Time to get to work!