<blockquote><div><cite>thisistheclincher wrote:</cite>Artemis had grown tired of data analysis for today. Inhaling another breath of his cigarette, he typed in a few digits and pressed enter. Running planet diagnostics took time and many cups of coffee and cigarettes. Frowning, he pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted at the three monitors, filled with grid work, schematics and charts. Results had come up negative, there were no planets within this sector capable of sustaining human life. Exhaling the smoke, his office now was filled with the thin toxic mist. Smoking was prohibited throughout most of the ship but as far as he was concerned, the nature of his work allowed him certain liberties to keep his brain ticking over. He was mildly frustrated but he would have been a fool if he thought that finding a suitable home place for his diminutive human race was going to be a walk in the park.<br/><br/>â€˜Walk in the parkâ€™, he mumbled to himself as the expression amused him now. Thinking back, Artemis tried to remember the green fields of his youth, or were they simply the stories his parents had told him on the way to their new home on the Moon. Trees and plants had become attractions in museums, a tragic nostalgia of the once living, breathing world of his ancestors. For all the advances in technology, humanity could not save their dying world from its greatest enemy, themselves.<br/><br/>The shipâ€™s alarms went off, startling the scientist. Was it the fanatics again? Those mad religious terrorists couldnâ€™t just go quietly and kill themselves in the advent of Earthâ€™s destruction. They felt obligated to take everyone else with them too. Fortunately, the Elyandra had some of the finest pilots in the fleet, and Artemis was confident they could deal with the villains. Shutting down the computer for the time being, Artemis rose from his desk, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray, and decided to head to the bridge to see what the situation was, rather than theorise. Stepping out of his office through his automatic door, he was nearly knocked over as several crewmen passed in alert haste.<br/><br/>Moving down the corridor, the alarm lights flashed red and whirred urgently. Artemis walked through another automatic doorway, which happened to be the lift. Coughing hoarsely as the doors closed, the computer in a digitised female voice, asked him to repeat his previous command. â€˜Bridgeâ€™ he responded, cursing under his breath. In a few moments, the doors opened and Artemis walked onto the bridge. Everyone was at their posts, their eyes showing an underlying sense of fear but prevailed by duty and survival instinct, as they checked communications and weapons systems. He gazed out then at the colossal panoramic window, out to the endless vista of space. Grabbing the arm of a passing ensign, â€˜The Captain?â€™ he politely enquired.</div></blockquote>