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"It is a firm belief that it is our destiny, that we will head out, and explore the stars. To stretch out our hand and point humanity in the direction to all those new worlds we will discover. If we are to survive, then we must expand, explore, and go beyond the boundaries of our own solar system. But, remember that Earth is always our home, it will be the centre of our universe, and wherever we plant our flag––all are bound to it forever." - From the Sixth United Earth Core President, Joanna Rose Jermienko.
Earth Core United––the central planetary ruling government for nearly two decades; It was the byproduct of global warfares, ranging from: terrorism, corporate interference and numerous uprisings from various nations. Out of the carnage came an agreement by all the surviving rulers, to create a unified government of Earth that would benefit all of humanity.
From out of this curious time came great advancements in technology, genetics, and a need to expand out into space. Corporations merged and combined their wealth into giving the government a 'new era' in space. But it came at a cost. The Mars colony became an independent state and unrestricted by any Earth taxation.
War was the last thing on anyone's mind. Having managed to collectively return from the brink of extinction, the two powers agreed to unite (for now). With great reluctance (and the goal of space exploration at stake) Earth had no choice but to agree to it.
Mars and Earth were now in a 'Cold War' of greedy practices. To be born on Mars, means to be raised with privilege and wealth, but if you were from Earth, it meant living on a set income they defined for you. A typical scenario of 'the have(s) and the 'have not(s)', and yet, somehow it all worked out for either side.
During this upheaval of change, a group of intellectually enhanced youth (created by sub-sections within the governments of both worlds), formed their own governing body, of a sort. They called themselves, the Omega Group, a think tank under the banner of the ECU.
These hyper-intelligent adolescent humans helped to design the ships, the engines that drove them, and became the intermediary force that kept the balance of the fragile alliance between Earth and Mars. The shared technology and advancements fuelled the space endeavour by leaps and bounds.
Deep Contact, the first deep space explorer class vessel, resulted from this combined union of all three branches. It was the most publicized launch of the ECU. They wanted to make it a symbol of a new beginning, the pride of Earth, Mars and Omega Group. It was a way to show that humanity was finally ready to take the step into the unknown.
They chose Captain Christopher Riley to take command of the vessel, having recently returned to active duty after taking time for personal leave (because of the death of his wife and dealing with sobriety issues). The ECU Space Fleet Command bestowed on him of a secretive mission, one known only to him and the admiralty, and proceeded immediately without informing his hand-picked crew of the true nature of their voyage.
Publicly, they were on a ten-year mission to explore space and catalog new planets for further expansion of the ECU, which is what any of them wanted originally, but as to the actual nature of the mission? Well, that would be something to only burden the Captain. Even though he chose his crew, he wasn't sure who he could really trust or even share the information with. Many had heard of the rumours of his absence, quietly gossiping about it amongst themselves, and left wondering if he was truly worthy of the job.
Despite all that, nothing more about his prior history hindered the excitement of the crew to embark on the journey. The mission was on. And the ship launched successfully with all the pomp and circumstance Earth provided. The media glorified their endeavor and marked the event as, "The most significant achievement in Earth Core United's history"; The dawn of interplanetary colonization had begun.
It took two years for them to travel out of the SOL system. Alone and in the infinite dark of space, they would finally come face to face with what truly lies out beyond the boundaries. This would become an adventure no one could imagine. With Earth far out of reach, the mission was squarely all on the shoulders of its captain, and of the brave, intrepid crew of Deep Contact.
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The Massive Planet : The Adventures Of Deep Contact
Science Fiction(Sample chapters only -get the full book @ online stores today!) Deep Contact, Earth's first deep space vessel, is helplessly pulled into a massive gas giant world that appeared out of nowhere. It's up to the crew to figure out a way to break out o...
