"Wait there's really intelligent life down there" I asked still in shock over what I'd just heard.

"It would seem so" Will affirmed.

"But he hasn't seen any yet? Just their homes?" I followed up.

He nodded.

"Could they be extinct?" I asked.

"Possibly. Or they could have simply migrated somewhere else on the planet. We can't possibly know now?" Will answered.

I took a seat in my usual chair then thought aloud "I wonder if they're friendly"

"Would we be? If otherworldly beings suddenly showed up on earth and wanted to move in" Robert asked us.

"Maybe they'll treat us like Gods" John offered "I mean we are coming from the sky riding a great beast if you think about it".

"Or it could just be another North Sentinel situation. Nearly 300 years later and they still want nothing to do with us. Even as we try to warn them of the planet's coming demise" Robert argued.

"Speaking of that island, there was a secret mission a few years ago actually" Will started "Two children, a male and a female, were captured and were being transported to Mars to preserve their culture."

"What happened?" I asked.

"They killed themselves"

"Jesus" I heard Robert say.

"I guess what I'm saying is we don't know what kind of culture we'll meet here. We need to extremely careful."

=^..^=

After John and Robert had left to get back to their different jobs, Will and I sat alone in the bridge going over landing procedure again and again.

I'd be a shame if we came all this way just to crash and burn. One after another, we reiterated each step we would take to get the massive ship on the ground.

The most crucial portion of our descent was aerobraking. We'd enter the atmosphere at a calculated angle to generate enough atmospheric drag to slow down.

Soon though we had gone through all the steps enough times to be confident that we could land the Pathfinder safely. All we had to do was wait for Cillian's landing beacon.

"How are you feeling?" Will asked me as soon as we were done practicing.

"I'm alright" I shrugged.

"You can go get some rest if you want"

"I'm fine" I replied as I adjusted the skirt of my dress.

"You know, this could be the last time we ever see space like this. Wanna head up to the observation deck? See the actual thing, not through a screen?"

"Sure, that sounds nice".

=^..^=

We quietly walked through the halls of the Pathfinder together, neither of us saying a thing. Occasionally I'd glance at him and so would he.

We took the elevator at the end of the hall up to the very top and we were greeted by the most beautiful angle of the planet below.

Cillian was down there somewhere. Maybe alone on the entire planet, and maybe not.

"How many people can say they've seen a sight like this?" He asked rhetorically.

"It's so beautiful" I admitted. Pola was always taking high resolution photographs so we'd get a chance to see it again, even in virtual reality but never again in person.

"Yeah it is" I heard him say. "Dany I want you to pick me."

That caught me by surprise. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"To be the baby's father. Pick me".

A lot was going through my mind. I had forgotten about that decision I had to make. And since we were landing soon, time was running out to decide.

And what was he saying? He wanted me to pick him? Why? Did I want it to be him?

'I don't want it to be anyone' I corrected myself mentally.

But if it had to be someone, who did I want?

Absolutely not John that was certain. Robert? He could be very intense at times and I didn't want my baby to inherit his paranoia. Plus I didn't exactly consider him handsome.

That shouldn't have been important to me but it was. I rationalized it that I wanted my kid to be good looking as well.

Cillian was a good choice as well. A good physique and surprisingly kind and protective.

"Why do you want me to choose you?" I asked him curious about his reasoning.

He goes to say something but doesn't. After a long pause, he finally spoke:

"I want my child to be the first born of our new planet".

No.

"I'm sorry but I actually already decided to choose Cillian" I turned to leave.

"Wait..." he voiced urgently. I turned back to him and he turned his gaze to the space outside "I was chosen for this mission because I didn't have a family on earth. Both my parents died when I was only a boy and I was raised in foster care."

If he was pouring his heart out, the least I could do was listen so I did.

"I was recruited by NASA when I was 17. Less than a year until I was to be moved to a worker facility in the middle zone. Apparently I had excellent marks in both leadership and loyalty"

I nodded occasionally to show him he had my full attention.

"Since then, I've always wanted to start a family. I had the money, all I had to do was find a nice girl to settle down with and adopt one of the kids from Foster care like I'd always planned"

He pushed off the railing he'd been resting on that was right before the curved glass of the observation deck.

He turned to face me directly with Gaia in the background.

"I tried but all my relationships ended quickly either because I was too absorbed in my work or I just couldn't see myself spending the rest of my life with any of them"

He walked forward towards me, "I've never felt that way with you"

I stepped backwards, "But I'm not a girl or a woman or whatever"

"Dany you are. You're more woman than anyone I've ever met. Certainly more beautiful."

I took another step back "Stop, stop, I don't want to be a woman and I certainly don't want to be your woman"

He stopped his advance, "Okay. I won't ask you to be. I know it isn't fair to ask but atleast grant me my wish of being a father. And even more so, the father of the first born."

"I'll..." I paused and turned and walked away "I'll think about it".

=^..^=

Cillian's beacon came almost 2 hours later and it was back to business for Will and I on the bridge. He didn't act like anything was different between us and so neither did I.

"We've just passed the exosphere, prepare heat shields" Will ordered.

"Heat shields primed" I responded still closely watching the readings "Atmospheric drag looks good, approaching 900,000 ft" I read out to him.

"Okay, activate heat shields"

"Heat shields activated" I said after pushing the button "Total power output increased to 45%"

I studied the viewport which was displaying crucial information, my eyes remained glued to the gauge that calculated how high we were in the air. The numbers dropped rapidly.

"600 thousand feet, 500 thousand, 400 thousand..." Will read out.

"Shield capacity at 80%" I told him. So far everything was going perfectly.

"Approaching 200 thousand feet, exiting thermosphere"

I watched the viewport which was also displaying real-time views from the cameras outside changed from distorted red flames typical of reentry to a brilliant white that I hadn't seen since leaving earth. This alternated from white to blue and back and told me we were passing through the mezophere.

"Begin stage 1 burn" Will told me.

I followed my training and engaged the engines. This caused the ship to shake drastically as the thrusters fired on command. As a result, our velocity reduced.

"Deploy stage 1 chutes" He told me. I already had my hands on the button awaiting the order so I simply pushed.

"80,000 feet" I called out to him

"We're about to reach the troposphere. Prepare stage 2 chutes"

"Ready" I confirmed.

"Deploy".

I pressed the button which caused the whole ship to jerk again and our speed to reduce.

"Prepare stage 2 burn, everything we've got."

This was it. We were approaching the beacon. Hopefully Cillian had long since cleared the area.

I maxed out the engine's power output and pushed the button as soon as we crossed 40,000 feet. One last time, the whole ship shook violently. I pitied anyone that wasn't strapped in.

Our speed dropped until we entered controlled descent and Will gently guided Pathfinder to its final resting place.

With one last jerk, Pathfinder came to a complete stop and I squealed uncontrollable.

"Yes! Yes! We did it" I unhooked my seat straps and ran up to hug Will who has equally as ecstatic.

When we separated and I had finally managed to calm down, he was smiling at me.

"You did great" he told me.

"Thanks, you too"

=^..^=

The viewport's cameras showed us our surroundings. We had landed on what looked to be a sand beach with a lush forest on the horizon. I wondered what secrets it held.

"Cillian, come in" I heard Will say on the radio and so I turned my attention there.

The bridge doors slid open after which John and Robert both walked through smiling. I smiled at them. We'd actually done it.

"Cillian, if you can hear me, acknowledge" Will repeated.

"Hello" Cillian's crisp voice came through the radio.

"Oh thank God" I said as we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where are you?" Will asked.

"Uh about 2 clicks out on a ridge. Beautiful landing".

"We're waiting for you, can't wait to see you again" Will said.

"Yeah buddy" Robert added.

=^..^=

"My scans show there are numerous life forms within the specified 500km radius. A remarkedly high population density compared to Earth" Pola announced.

"Any intelligent life?" I asked.

"Impossible for me to say" She replied.

We were all standing just in front of the airlock waiting for Cillian who we'd seen approaching on the cameras.

The outer door opened and we saw him walk into the airlock. He looked disheveled and malnourished. He seemed happy enough and full of smiles as the airlock door released and he proceeded into the decontamination chamber.

"No foreign antigens detected" Pola announced but even still he was decontaminated before the door opened.

"Good to see you again, Cillian" Will spoke.

"You too, Captain"

Robert went in for a hug but was stopped by John, "Let me make sure he's alright before anyone touches him. Let's get you checked out" John finalized as he headed for the med bay.

I waved to Cillian as he passed and he smiled and said, "You look good, Dany. The new outfit suits you".

I realised he hadn't seen me since I'd started wearing dresses.

"Thanks" I blushed.

=^..^=

"Yeah I ran into a lot of wildlife but the strange thing is they never attacked me" Cillian told us while John ran his tests.

"No predators?" John asked.

"No there were, I witnessed the larger animals hunting their prey but they just didn't consider me one" He explained "In fact they disregarded me and let me kill them without putting up a fight".

"That doesn't make any sense" Robert decided. We all agreed.

"And you don't recognise them?" Will asked.

"None" Cillian answered "They had a lot of the same features and structure as those on Earth but they all looked different"

"We'll need to get out there soon" Will decided "Looks like we still have a good amount of daylight so we can appraise the island and turn on the beacon today"

We all nodded.

"Dani, a moment?" Will asked while walking out of the medbay. I followed.

=^..^=

"It's time for you to decide" he told me "I want John to perform the insemination while we're out exploring. Who is it going to be?"

I'd already decided to give him what he wanted. Cillian didn't care any way so it seemed cruel to deny Will. It's not like we were getting married. It didn't mean anything.

"I choose you to be the father" I told him.

He nodded simply. I wondered what emotion he was hiding.

"I'll go meet John now to get started."

As Will walked off, I thought to myself 'Oh boy'.

=^..^=

"Are you ready?" John asked as I lay on the autodoc table wearing the robe he had provided.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked him.

He laughed. "No. But don't worry, it'll be over quickly. The hormones I injected earlier should have induced your ovulation so soon you'll be pregnant with the Captain's kid within the next few days".

"Ugh don't remind me" I groaned.

Will had left with Robert and Cillian a few hours ago so it was just the two of us in the ship. Cillian surprisingly seemed excited to get back out there.

"Okay can you just bring your soles up on the table?... Perfect, thank you. Spread a bit more..."

I obeyed his instructions because I just wanted this to be over and wanted my humiliation to end. Why was this happening to me? Why was I here in this position?

"I'm going to insert this catheter directly into your uterus so you may feel a slight discomfort"

He didn't wait for my acknowledgement however and immediately after, I felt the long narror tube go in.

I closed my eyes and clenched my fists resisting the urge to kick him.

True to his word though, it didn't take long and soon it was over.

"Done. You'll need to come back regularly so I can check if you're pregnant" He instructed "We might need to do this again if it fails but there's very little chance of that."

'Hope it works then' I thought to myself.

=^..^=

Will kept looking at me as we all ate dinner together in the mess hall. It had taken 14 hours more for night to fall.

Pola estimated each day to last about 33 hours. That was going to take some getting used to.

I caught Will staring at me again as I took another bite of my artificial mashed potatoes.

What was his problem?

"How'd it go?" I asked them.

"Cillian was correct" Robert began "The animals on this planet aren't aggressive to us. They're also quite big and terrifying so if they suddenly took a liking to us, we'll be in big trouble"

"And we still don't know why they don't attack us?" John asked.

"No clue" Will answered. "Anyway, the beacon is active so that part of our mission is complete. We still have to get to the bottom of the wildlife's behavior so we can activate that beacon or not. We also need to start planting tomorrow to understand the soil's viability. Lots of work still to do"

Thankfully nobody mentioned the insemination the rest of dinner although I did keep catching Will looking my direction.

=^..^=

For such long days, the nights here were remarkably short I thought.

Not long after I went to bed, it was already morning and the men all went out for their various tasks and I was told to stay in the ship "for my safety"

I'd spent the entire day in the bridge performing scans of the planet almost dying of boredom.

The guys were out there wading through the forests of a new world and I hadn't even stepped on it yet.

I'd been in space for who knows how long. I should have been out there stretching my legs not cooped up in here.

When I thought things couldn't get any worse, my ears were suddenly pierced with a horrible ringing sound.

"Ah!" I screamed and fell to the floor.

"Are you alright?" Pola asked.

"Whats that sound?" I forced through my gritted teeth.

"I do not pick up any audio signals"

"Ah!" I screamed again while squirming on the floor "Insulate the bridge" I instructed.

"Bridge insulated".

I could still hear it. Although it felt like it was coming from inside my head, my mind could pinpoint where the source was coming from in the distance.

"AH!" I screamed loudly.

"I'm contacting the captain" Pola alerted me.

I had to make it stop or I feared my head would split open. I followed the sound out the bridge and through the halls.

There was only one singular thought in my mind. Get to the source and destroy it.

I came up to the airlock to exit the ship but the door beeped red whenever I tried to open it.

"Open the door" I said in a pained voice.

"The captain's orders were that you should remain on the ship".

"Open the fucking door!" I screamed while dropping to one knee.

I heard the lock beep once more and open. I pulled myself out the door and out the ship.

=^..^=

The sun was blinding when I took the first steps outside. The discomfort of my eyes and ears almost made me pass out.

And then there was the heat. I noticed the four stars in the sky although only 1 at most was providing all this heat due to the distance and mild temperatures of the others. The others must still have something to do with the long days I reasoned.

I forced myself to focus. I had to stop the sound before it killed me so I pushed forward.

I don't know how long I walked and eventually I even lost track of my direction but I kept going. Through it all, there was a sense that I was getting closer and weirdly enough the sound got more bearable the closer I got and worse when I stopped.

Eventually, I came up to a massive, perfectly cut cube made of a black stone and I knew in every fibre of my being that it was the source.

I stood in front of it considering my options. It didn't give me time to think however as the excruciating ringing was back and louder than ever.

I raised my hand and the ringing stopped. I took too long and it started again. It wanted me to touch it.

That seemed like an astronomically bad idea but it wasn't giving me any choice. I feared if I walked away at that point, my head would have exploded. And so I did. I put my hand forward and placed it on the black stone cube. I blinked and I was inside it and the ringing had stopped entirely.

Endless black night except the glass walkway I was standing on. It didn't seem connected to anything, just floating. At the end of the walkway, a simple screen.

I heard cracking and breaking glass behind me. I turned to see more of the glass was falling apart leading up to where I was currently standing.

It was forcing me forward and so I obeyed. Reluctantly I walked until I was standing in front of the screen.

The screen came on to reveal a man. He looked human but different. Uncanny. Thin, frail, bulging eyes, skin hanging of his face like there was no muscle behind it.

He started speaking in a language I didn't recognise and paused.

"Okay" I heard come from the video as he spoke again. "Hello, if you are watching this, it means humankind is gone."

"450 years ago, our home planet died. After millenia of abusing her gifts, she gave up. And just like we always do, we abandoned her as well as 95% of our population and moved to Mars."

"For a while, we thrived. A new space faring civilization was born out of the ashes as we colonized all the planets in our solar system one after the other.

"However 120 years ago, an interplanetary war broke out which promised our extinction. In the end, hubris and pride would not allow us to come together."

"I speak to you from an outpost on Triton where my team and I have been working in secret for the past 22 years. Unbelievably, we conquered space-time 10 years ago and have been secretly preparing a planet we call Earth-2 for us to start over"

The man in the video paused almost like he was gathering himself.

"We do not deserve that chance. Our sins are too great and too many. To prepare the planet, we wiped out it's local population, a beautiful race of beings that simply stood between us and what we wanted. Like you would destroy a krothar nest to build a settlement"

"We genetically altered all remaining species on the planet to serve us as their masters. We do not deserve to inherit this world. So I am sending the gate entrance back in time, to a time before we lost our humanity."

"If you are watching this, you have made it to Earth-2 and Overlord has chosen you. I wish to ask for your help. I ask you to build a new species of humankind. Kind and loving with all the best qualities of us. Lead them away from self destruction.

"When you touched Overlord, you took its place. Over time you will come to understand what this means. Be better than we were."

I blinked and I was outside, standing in the sun again and my dress blowing in the wind.

What just happened? I turned around and watched the black cube crumble into dust.

I was so confused. Was any of that true? We go extinct? And what was all this Overlord talk?

Did they really wipe out the intelligent life on this planet? If they did that 500 years from now, why are they already gone now?

I needed to get back to the Pathfinder immediately.

=^..^=

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment, thanks.