“Captain Ellington?”
“Yes?”
“If you have a moment, Sir, the LAR is seventy-five percent complete, and I have some preliminary reports for you.”
“Let me guess, another losing hand, yes?”
“Actually, Sir, with the exception of a few anomalies, we may have hit the jackpot this time.”
Captain Horatio Ellington looked up from the pile of paperwork he’d been skimming over, one brow arching in surprise. Four years and twenty-seven systems with nothing to show for their work other than a few iron-rich asteroid belts had started to wear on the crew of the
CFS Canopus. It had started to wear on him as well. They’d set a new record for failure, and Horatio had taken it upon himself to extend their mission despite orders to return home from the Division of Colonization. Motioning his First Lieutenant into the stateroom, Horatio pushed the paperwork aside. “Let’s see what you have, Lieutenant Reese.”
“Of course, Sir.” Lieutenant Reese made his way to the wall display and called up the reports. “As you know, sir, we found one terrestrial planet in the third orbital slot. Long Range surveys suggested that it might be worth our time to take a closer look at it. As it turns out, those surveys were correct. The atmosphere is a bit on the thin side, but breathable. Gravity and temperature is within reason. Short days, a long year. All in all, Sir, it’s workable in terms of colonization.”
Horatio studied the read-out for a moment, nodding in agreement with the Lieutenant’s conclusion. “Tell me about these anomalies.”
May/June 2011 Lite Challenge Entry - Luyten 7002 Survey Report
