There were no birds in the sky. The pebbles on the ground trembled. The smell of diesel choked the air. Warm flesh pressed against cold, unfeeling metal. Grass crushed under rubber. Jaws clenched. Fingers on the triggers. Missiles primed. Chapped lips were licked by dry tongues. Sweaty patches grew around the armpits. All their eyes were locked onto one thing. One man. Chase.

He stood like a pillar of unstoppable might. The world government’s worst kept secret. Soldiers gossiped about him; civilians spoke about him like a myth. A living bogeyman that was as old as the ground of Terra. The only man to be personally appointed by the royal family. The only citizen above the military. The personal hand of the elite. The soldier one turned to when the job was too sensitive for any ordinary soldier to undertake, when the propaganda was ineffective or when the scalpel was preferable to the hammer. With his hand in the air, he commanded the might of Paradise.

They all rushed to their seats. Mwene was in the captain’s chair in the middle of the cockpit, Ayla was in the communications station to the right, Anan was in navigators chair next to Inyanga in the engineer’s chair in the front and Nike was in the weapon’s chair to the left. A console popped up from the floor just in front of Mwene’s feet. They all activated their respective consoles trying to make sense of the new readings and user interfaces. Mwene brought up the holographic blueprint of the ship, the engine glowed clover green. He zoomed out to reveal the ship in a butte.

“You think we’ll break out of the rock?” worried Nike. “We have to. No other way.” Mwene replied. “Aye. One wouldn’t hide a ship here if it couldn’t break out when push came to shove.” Affirmed Inyanga. “I can’t make sense of this” Anan spurted while haphazardly pressing all keys within reach. “Same.” Echoed Ayla. “Assistant” Mwene called out. “Yes, captain.” The A.I. answered.

“Can you simplify the U.I of the consoles and pick up on the miscellaneous duties we don’t attend to?”

“Yes. One moment please.” The lights on the console blinked for a few times before they completely reset. They all got back to work. “This is more like it” remarked Inyanga after a couple of keystrokes. “I’ll try to see if I can listen to their communications.” stated Ayla who put on a pair of headphones. “Okay, I’m bringing up the sonar now. We need to know what’s out there.” Anan reported. “The engine is indeed operational. It’ll need about 2 minutes.” reported Inyanga.

“Bringing it up now”.

The edgeless screen came alive and filled the entire wall front of the cockpit. A white light pulsed outwards into the sea of black. It pulsed again until silhouettes of people, rocket artillery and tanks with a white outline began to form and fill the screen. They were more than the eye could see. Dozens of helicopters hovered like vultures around them. “They’re definitely bringing the hammer down.” Anan noted. Sonar footage zoomed to the closest soldiers near them walking away from them whilst laying wire behind them. “They are placing explosives at the foot of the butte.” noted the A.I. “They’re all waiting.” Ayla pointed out. “For what?” Mwene asked.

“For Chase to give the order.”

Mwene clenched his jaw and made a fist. That rage that was buried in him started to bubble up in his veins again and made his face hot. He snapped out of it when he felt his medallion getting warm again. He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers and took a deep breath. This wasn’t a time for anger.“I thought he was dead.” Nike’s sweaty eyebrows rose as far up as they could. “He can’t die. He’s been around longer than any working soldier.” Inyanga recounted.

“What?

“An Idris.” Suggested Anan.

“Ziusudra?” Ayla pondered.

“What is that?” Mwene probed. “They’re mythological figures known for their immortality. The type of stories that my mum would tell Anan and I when we were young.” Ayla reminded them. “Take off is now possible.” The A.I. announced. “Fuck it. I’m not waitin’ here to find out.” Blurted out Inyanga as he placed his hands on the thrust lever. He looked around the room and nodded to everyone. They all nodded back. It was time.

“Wait, what’s her name?”

Thoughts of his Mwene’s mother filled his mind. It would only seem right but just as he opened his mouth a song popped up. A song she sung to him whenever he was in pain, alone or unsure. A song that always reminded him that tomorrow was his for the taking. “New Genesis” answered Mwene. They all smiled in agreement.

The soldiers backed away from the butte. They hid behind the tanks and trees and rocks around them. They held their helmets and breath. Only Chase stood indifferent. He swiftly brought his arm down to his chest and made his fist into an open palm that pointed towards the lonely hill. The explosion shot pieces of debris flying everywhere like shotgun pellets. All except one narrowly missed Chase, whose jacket was the only thing that was moved on him. A small cut just below his left eye had a thin stream of red flowed down to his chin. Mountains of dust and smoke rose into the air.

Chase smirked briefly before it vanished as quickly as it appeared. From the dust rose something that had been buried deep in the recesses of his ancient mind. A forgotten memory brought back to life by sheer audacity and ambition. A passion that he had only seen one man had: Ranulph. The ship rose like a phoenix from its ashes. Rocks, dust and smoke rolled off its side like water off the edge of a waterfall. Its engines whirred as it kicked up dust.

“Now!” commanded Chase as tanks and rocket batteries fired ceaselessly at the ship. It floated defiantly. Unmoved by the flames of destruction that it was being showered with. Chase ran through the crowd of men shooting their rifles at the metallic behemoth. He found a jeep with a soldier in the driver’s seat shouting into the radio away from the commotion.

“Get me to the closest airfield. Now!”

The dull explosions were nothing but dull thuds in the cockpit. The ship rose through the air. A marvel of engineering. It moved through the air effortlessly as if it weren’t there.

“First stage is complete.” announced the A.I. Her voice was crisp and clear now.

“Moving towards the hole” declared Inyanga as he pushed the thrust lever further forward. The ship sailed through the air like an eagle in its natural element.

“The weapon’s system is now operational. Same with the defensive measures.” reported Nike.

“Implement the defensive measures. “Ordered Mwene.

The ship glowed a spectacular lime green as a force field covered the whole ship before disappearing. It only reappeared briefly whenever a tank shell or missile landed against it on the point of impact before vanishing. A swarm of helicopters appeared but their missiles were just as ineffective as everything else on the ground. They arrived at the hole where they were greeted by even more futile resistance from the air and land.

“Hang on, I’ve got an idea.” Inyanga shut off the lower parts of the engine and the ship began to rotate a full ninety degrees until its nose was pointed upwards to a blinding light at the end of the hole. The entire engine activated again and hovered. They all buckled on their seat belts.

“What’s that?” Mwene shielded his eyes with his hands before a tint activated over the front monitors.

“That is the sun.” the A.I. revealed.

“The actual sun?”

“Yes. Zuva suns are a fact simile of that one.”

“The sun is 152 million kilometres from Paradise.”

“Wow”

“What’s the distance from us to space and how long will it take?” inquired Mwene as he set the course to Arda and beyond.

“185km and 5 minutes.”

“E would you please do us the honour?” happily asked Ayla.

“Since ya asked kindly I will.” Smiled Inyanga as he pushed the thruster lever halfway. The force of the acceleration pushed them all back in their chairs. A deep rubble filled everyone’s ears. The whole ship shook to no end. The ship was the tower of babel on its way to meet it’s makers. They made it through the first layer where nothing but bent steel surrounded them to emerge to a desert. Oceans of sand for as far as the eye could see. There was no life to be seen on the blanket of gold.

“This is the Kalahari. The second layer.” announced the A.I.

They crashed through a thin layer of construction metal and continued to ascend. They emerged through a mountain to a world completely covered in ice, rocks and trees. Forests with the occasional mountain range here and there which added variety to the scenery. To the distance Mwene could see dull neon lights of a small city but the snow obscured.

“This is Himadri. The third layer.”

Mwene struggled to move his head to the right. He saw Ayla passed out. Her eyes partially opened but only her whites were visible. The ship continued and once again found itself in the darkness briefly before emerging to a jungle of concrete and skyscrapers. A blanket of toxic steel grey smothered the industrial megacity. The further up he went towards the light the more he saw the city surrounded by nothing but black and grey gravel and a forest of decrepit, decayed trees.

“This is Sumer. The fourth layer. We are two minutes away from our destination.”

Mwene, with great discomfort glanced to his left, to Nike. The sheer force of the acceleration had knocked him out. Darkness shrouded the ship, only the never-ending sunlight lit the cockpit. They emerged through the hole to be greeted by a utopian sight. Skyscrapers covered with luscious vegetation from head to toe all sat at the foot at a magnificent waterfall. A rainbow was painted in the distance. It was a perfect blend of society and nature.

“This is Edene. The fifth layer.”

Mwene looked forward towards Anan whose arm was hanging off the arm rest. It was lifeless. He shifted his attention towards Inyanga. His hand was still gripping his seat. He was hanging on but just.

“Incoming.”

A hyper jet, with it’s knife-like edges pierced through the sky and caught up with the New Genesis. It flew side by side matching its speed. Its cockpit was tinted. They both travelled through the final layer before they emerged from the hole to be greeted by a multitude of mini floating cities in giant bubbles. Small ships floated around from one hub to another.

“This is Arda. The final layer.”

A giant floating castle was in the distance on the horizon. It was surrounded by seemingly endless fields of green. It’s smooth walls were pearl white and held up five dome roofs. Four of them were of equal size but were completely dwarfed by a golden dome that shone almost as brightly as the sun. It was as ancient as it was grand and portentous. It was almost as large as the moon despite the fact it was further away from him.

The tint melted away from the cockpit of the jet. Mwene fixed his eyes on it. Deep down he knew who it was. An open palm plastered itself into the window, in it a photo. It was Pablo’s son and wife. Dried blood and soot obscured most of the photo, but their smile was instantly recognisable. From the shadows, a partial face surfaced. Chase’s eye surfaced from the sea of shadows and locked right on the Mwene.

“Let me help.” Whispered his father in his ear.

The floodgates of rage burst in Mwene; despite the immense G force, he managed to lift his arm like it was nothing trying to reach out. His medallion smoked profusely, and his eyes melted away into white smokeless flames eyes. His fingertips became engulfed in black smokeless flames. He made a fist and slowly began to twist it to his right. The jet engine began to sputter, and a sheet of ice began to grow around the jet. Mwene could make out his Chase smile just before the sheet of ice covered the cockpit. Mwene fully twisted his hand and the engine died instantly and the icy jet tumbled away back to Paradise.

One by one they all woke and gathered themselves. Nike checked on everyone and gave anti vomit pills and water. Ayla admired the thousands of craters on the dark side of the moon on the observation deck with Mwene as Inyanga did a system’s check. Anan was scanning through the thousands of newly accessible files. Her eyes taking in every letter, every pixel.

“It’s one thing reading about it in my uncle claiming he had seen it, but this is something else. I wish he were here.” Pondered Ayla.

“In a way he is. Through you.” Consoled Mwene.

“We are the universe, and the universe is I. As much as you may see it as leaving home into the unknown, I’d like to think this is us exploring, leaving our own heads and discovering our body.”

“In other words, we’re out of the garage and into the living room?” Mwene teased.

“Not sure about the word choice but I agree with the sentiment.” Ayla rolled her eyes and tucked in her hair behind her ear.

“I’m not all nuts and bolts up there. I do think of other stuff.”

“Is it now?”

“Obviously.”

They sat in silence side by side. Their hands on the bench. Side by side. They were a hair’s width away from each other but in Ayla’s mind they might as well be in other universes.

“Listen, I don’t know what might happen. I don’t know what if we’ll see your father but…”

“Guys. You might want to see this.” Anan announced through the PA system.

“Let’s go.” Mwene dashed out of the observation room leaving Ayla alone with nothing but her unspoken feelings and the shadow of the moon.

Mwene walked into the cockpit and found himself standing in front of the hologram of the galaxy. The sun in the middle and a third planet with the text “Earth” orbiting it. Overall, there were 18 planets highlighted with an asteroid belt between the ninth and tenth planet. 7 planets were highlighted. 3 before the belt and 4 after it. At the edge of the galaxy was a black sun with white solar flares dancing on its surface.

“So, I was going through your old man’s research files, and I found this. The map of the galaxy. It’s called the Milky Way but here’s the interesting thing.” With a couple of keystrokes a line appeared connecting all the highlighted planets. Ayla joined them. “Apparently the computer of this ship and your dad’s was linked. Whatever was logged onto his ship was also logged onto this one. We’re talking EVERYTHING from minor crew incidents and fuel consumption logs to his personal diary entries and GPS locations.” “So, we can retrace his steps?” Nike asked. “Bingo.” Inyanga answered.

“A lot of the files aren’t accessible right now but I’m working on it with Patience.”

“Patience?” Mwene raised his eyebrow. “That’s the name he gave the A.I.”

“That’s not it though. In the records there’s a supercomputer that your dad assembled and the highlighted planets he landed on are where he either got knowledge or resources to assemble it. We have 8 pieces.” Explained Anan.

“The True Cross, The Eternal Light, Crown of Thorns, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Padma, Srivatsa and Al-Battar.”

“The eighth piece is yet to be identified. “Added Patience. “They add up to ‘The Holy Grail’. A quantum computer that will help us navigate through the orb.”

“What is the orb?” asked Ayla. “Insufficient data to formulate an answer.” replied Patience.

“We’re working on it.”

“Anything on what’s happening to Mwene?” Nike asked.

“Insufficient data.”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

“We now have a map, a path and a destination. It’s all fallen in place. Time to make our destiny our own.” They all smiled at each other as they headed out into the vast expanse with nothing but each other their dreams to fuel them.