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BullfrogFuzzy932 t1_j0f5xki wrote

This is sorta like a prequel to this although not directly

LOCATION REACHED. LANDING SOON.

ENGAGING AWAKENING PROTOCOL.

The voice of the AI echoed throughout the halls of the ship. Joshua slowly opening his eyes, as his pod opened with a slight hiss. The perfect temperature air of the ship embracing his skin. This had happened four times during the journey, it was necessary to get out of the stasis pods after a certain amount of time. Otherwise some ill effects could happen, nonetheless the feeling still felt great to Joshua.

Joshua stepped out of his pod and took a deep breath, he couldn't help but smile as he looked out the large bay window into the vacuum of space. Unlike the previous times, where it was just stars and nebulas. He saw a planet, likely Earth sized, in full view it had a large amount of green water on the surface. He strained his eyes, but he could've sworn he saw another ark descending to the surface.

Four more hisses caught his attention from the other pods. Devin, Gavin, Noah, and Cole. When they were still on Earth together, they managed to repair a defective ark that had never left the Earth's surface. A special device was found on board that acted as an advanced observatory, the one tasked with it to find where other arks were going was one of their friends, Abel.

"We...We finally reached WASP!" Gavin loudly exclaimed pumping his fist into the air. A big smile across his face as he looked at the others. He was the debatably second tallest of the group, only beaten out by Abel although only by an inch or two. Devin was about the same height.

"Guess our old chum was right after all." Cole contently smiled looking out the window. Noah had his face close against the window. To believe that the ark HE found would end up being a ticket to a new planet.

Devin was looking out the window with a smile, then turned to look at a pod beside his own. The last pod of six that was reserved for Abel. He quickly rushed over to a black screen that had white text showing when the pods were used.

"Let's see...500,000 years!? Holy crap!" Devin yelled, before noticing a line of text at the very bottom. His heart sank as dread began to set in.

Stasis Pod 6 - Vacant

There was no record of it ever having been used. Unlike the others in which it recorded each use without fail.

"Abel...Never used his pod..." Devin choked out.

"So he must still be in the Observer then?" Joshua asked turning his head to look at his friend.

"Maybe he just wiped the use of it and woke up before us?" Gavin suggested, no longer looking out the window. They all began crowding around the terminal.

"He'd be fine if he stayed in the Observer...I think. Isn't it sorta like a pocket dimension?" Noah said starting to walk to another part of the ship. To where the Observer was, the rest starting to follow him. There was only one way to make sure.

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BullfrogFuzzy932 t1_j0f86y2 wrote

They entered a room full of terminals, switches, and wires covered with some thin plating. The lights were glowing orange.

Currently Active

A terminal next to the entrance to the pocket dimension of the Observer typed in an orange font against a black display. The entrance being bronze in color resembling a vault door with a large lever a few meters in front of it. It was easy enough to enter, and to exit as all had demonstrated the first time they entered it.

"Holy crap. Still in there? We gotta get him a cake for going 500,000 years of constant observing." Gavin blinking his eyes several times to see if he wasn't delusional.

"His fault for never leaving it." Cole shrugged moving next to the lever and rubbing his hands. Ready to pull the thing open.

"It likely has a stasis mode? We never saw him in all our previous awakenings either." Joshua said starting to worry facing the entrance.

"I still don't know how this thing works." Noah sighed looking at a lifeless display.

"It projects space into a bubble within it, creating a pocket reality, and can use that to observe stars. Or am I missing something?" Devin asked approaching the lever, which Cole was already grabbing.

"No, no. That's all there is to it...ARRGGGHHH!!!" Cole began pulling the lever, but it didn't budge. Even with all his strength it refused to move. 500,000 years had made the joints of the lever harder to move.

"Stupid...Defective...Piece of shit!" Cole yelled continuing to pull on it. Noah signaling him to stand back, as Joshua and Devin both grabbed in. With one synced and powerful pull, they made the lever flip. Causing Joshua to nearly fall over from the sudden shift.

The entrance groaning and letting out a hiss, as the vault door separated into two halves emitting a green light from what was beyond.

Gavin quickly rushing into it, followed by Noah, then the others.

"What the fuuuccckkk..?" Noah muttered. What once was a vibrant tree in the middle of a meadow beside a lake, then went into a breathtaking forest. Was instead a bare tree, the grass having wilted into a yellow color resembling more so hay than vibrant grass, and dead leaves scattered at the base of the now bare trees in the forest.

At the base of the centermost tree, was Abel. Slouched over beside a palm sized yellow orb with some kind of wave recorded inside of it. He was dead, yet hadn't decayed perfectly preserved by the pocket dimension.

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BullfrogFuzzy932 t1_j0faakr wrote

They were speechless, with Devin rushing to the body and checking for a pulse. "The body's warm, but he's long gone. I can guess when..." He said, somberly looking at the body of his friend. They were all supposed to arrive at this planet together, as a group of friends that had escaped certain doom.

Noah grabbed the orb, and through the tears in his eyes attempted to make sense of it. It was an audio recording.

Upon playing it, a set of mysterious sounds played at once while they weren't anything musical there was an odd sense of melody to them, but what was once a band slowly tempered out into a quartet, then a trio, a duo, a solo, and then nothing.

"We...We need to have a proper burial for him on the planet!" Joshua yelled gesturing at the body with tears streaming down his face. Devin taking a quick glance at the orb and then sighing.

"No. The body stays here." Devin said, with Gavin clutching his fists upon hearing it. But easing up, he knew his friend, and knew that there had to be a good reason.

"Cole...Upload this to a hard drive outside the Observer." Noah said giving him the orb, without a word Cole snatched it and went to the lake. Placing the orb into the water, and a display popped up before fading away.

"I'm torn. I don't know if it was a suicide or if his body gave out naturally." Devin sighed finally exiting the Observer, silently grieving for his fallen comrade.

They all left out of the Observer, and on a display read what the orb really was. A recording of the Solar System destroyed by its own star. And a final message from Abel in its description.

I won't be making it to the end of this journey. Take care of yourselves.

It seemed in the end, his body just gave out naturally.

"Lockdown the Observer, make sure no one can enter it ever again." Noah commanded, and Gavin with a few swift movements locked the only way into the Observer. All the lights of the Observer's external control systems going dark. Cole removing the hard drive that had been connected to it. The small device being dropped into his pocket.

Silently, they all went to the canteen and awaited for the ship to land at a table.

"I can't believe...That he's gone." Noah looked at down at the table.

"Died with the Earth. So it's slightly better." Cole replied, looking out the window by the table as the planet rapidly approached.

"We have the sounds of Earth and the entire Solar System! So we have a piece of it with us!" Gavin triumphally yelled.

And then silence fell, the loss of Earth now weighing heavily on them. A home they'd never see again and loved ones that they would never hear anymore. 500,000 years had passed, they were now nothing but a long gone echo.

ATMOSPHERE REACHED

ACTIVIATING LANDING GEAR

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