Your ship – one of the many luxurious spaceliners operated by Pan Colonial – emerges from hyperspace a million kilometers from Oceania. From this distance, it has about one and a half times the apparent size of Luna as seen from the surface of Terra. The planet looks like a white and blue marble against the black velvet backdrop of space; even with the aid of the ship's powerful telescopes you can't make out any actual surface features – just water and clouds.

By now, the Ship's Captain has completed all checks required after the re-emergence into Einsteinian space. He announces the arrival and gives information on the last leg of the journey: At a leisurely 1g of acceleration, travel time to the planet will be just over five and a half hours. Even assuming you have a bad spot in the queues for disembarkation you'll be on the planet in time for dinner. Before and after the meal, the purser uses the ship's PA system to tell the passengers information about Oceania.

You spend the next hours packing your belongings before having one last meal aboard ship. Finally, you wait in your cabin for the orbital insertion – a routine maneuver, but still one of the few moments in space travel where a grave mistake could spell potential doom. Of course the moment passes without you really noticing: The ship enters its parking orbit and the purser announces the wait times for the shuttles. Ninety minutes later, you are in a small spaceship no larger than an ancient aircraft, and no more comfortable, and the blue sphere is approaching quickly. Within minutes it fills your entire field of view, and your only reference points against the endless ocean are the clouds above it. You spot the first islands only a minute or so before touching down at the planet's only spaceport. The shuttle's deceleration presses you against your seat for an awful moment that seems to last forever. But then it's over – the shuttle has touched down. As the sun shines through the window and warms you, you realize that your vacation has finally begun.

Welcome to the Paradise Planet.

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WIP Thread is here.