Planet Kepler

by Arianna Gutierrez

It was the year 2030. It was a dark, humid, rainy day and inside the NASA facility it was dim with computers everywhere. There were sketches of planets on the walls and miniature spaceship models on display. Sara, Mike, and James were called out to the meeting room. Sara was the first to enter. She was tall and thin with a high, slicked back bun. She had big hazel eyes that were covered with her brown glasses. She had many freckles all over her face. She was wearing black and white striped slacks with a white shirt that had puffy sleeves. 

Mike quietly walked in next. Mike was a tall, muscular man with golden brown hair styled neatly with a well maintained cut. He had a sharp jawline with a small mustache. He was wearing khaki pants with a navy collared shirt. 

“What do you think this meeting’s about?” asked Mike.

Sara jumped up startled, not knowing Mike was there.

“I'm not sure. Maybe it's about our new idea,” said Sara. 

James was the last to walk in. James was very outgoing and smart. He was not very tall, but not considered short either. He was light skinned with a small, mostly shaved beard and he had a clean fade. James was wearing black trousers with a white collared long sleeved shirt and a black tie. 

Mr. Nelson walked in. He was the chief of NASA. Mr. Nelson intimidated a lot of people because he was so tall and strong. He had a gray mustache and white hair covering his head. He wore his black suit with pins that represented all of his achievements. 

“Let's begin the meeting,” Mr. Nelson shrugged. Everyone quickly sat down and began the meeting. 

“I have been thinking about your ideas and I like them,” Mr. Nelson said proudly.

“My team and I have decided that all three of you will be going into space next week to see if Planet Kepler is able to sustain life,” Mr. Nelson said. 

Everyone sat quietly, not knowing what to do or say. Mr. Nelson excused himself and then left. Everyone was in shock. They all went back to their homes and began packing their bags. They were hesitant, not knowing if this was the right job for them. But on the other hand, they had done all the research and knew the most about the planet. 

James, Sara and Mike all met up at a local coffee place where they talked for about an hour, deciding if they should take the opportunity. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and they didn't want to miss out on it, but this planet had never been visited before. There could be a lot of dangers. After about twenty more minutes of talking, they decided that they were going to space! 

A week later Sara, James and Mike were suited up and ready to go. They had triple checked that they had everything, but they were still incredibly nervous. The spaceship was not very spacious and the control room had buttons and levers on every blank spot on the wall. The sleeping quarters were clean, with beds that looked like sleeping bags with straps across to keep you on the ground while you slept. And in the final room there were computers, books, and files everywhere. This was the room where they would do all their research. 

James, Mike and Sara all sat in their seats and buckled their seat belts. Sara did a quick prayer before starting the spaceship. Everyone mentally prepared themselves for the flight. The spaceship started shaking and before they knew it, the spaceship had taken off. They were going 25,000 miles per hour. Mike was starting to feel nauseous and got the throw up bag and vomited in it. Sara was forcing her mouth closed with her hand so that she wouldn't be the next to throw up, James had passed out five seconds after the spaceship took off. 

After a long time, they finally arrived on Planet Kepler. The ground had grass that was four feet tall and there were tons of mountains everywhere. The sky was bright blue with not a cloud in sight. There was a long river about a mile away, and they could hear birds chirping and see tons of butterflies and birds flying around. All three decided to explore a bit, so they got a backpack with some necessities and took off. About two miles away from their camp they spotted people. They walked up to them and introduced themselves. 

The people said they were astronauts from a different planet called Caprica. Their names were Dyon and Cinthia. Dyon was dark skinned and very muscular. He had a buzz cut and a long beard. Cinthia was very pale with ginger hair. She had freckles covering her whole face and was petite. Sara, Mike, and James shared their names and said that they were on the planet to see if it was able to sustain life. If it was, then they would start to plan life on it. 

Dyon and Cinthia looked at each other with a shocked look. “We were planning on doing the same thing,” said Dyon. 

They then began to argue and tried to convince the other astronauts to leave but there was no point. On the walk back to the spaceship they started brainstorming ideas to make Cinthia and Dyon leave. After about 15 minutes Sara came up with a plan. 

“What we are going to do is pretend like this planet is infested with poisonous creatures and tell them they need to leave immediately,” Sara said.

“That's a great idea!” replied Mike.

When they finally arrived at their spaceship, they began planning out their lines and making up the evidence to show that the planet was actually infested. James went out and quickly brought in the first bug he found. He put it in a small container. 

The next day, Mr.Nelson called to check up on Sara, James and Mike to see how they were doing. 

TO BE CONTINUED…