63 years ago.

Nighthawk glided through the blackness of space, shining in sparse star light. The new colony had left their old home less than a day ago.

Most of the people were asleep in the thousands of cabins below the flight deck, after an entire night of partying and celebrating their recent escape. Felix and Gwenta, at the approval of their father, made their way down the ship to celebrate with their friends.

The flight deck, meanwhile, including Samuel and Mayla, hadn't the prolonged time to rejoice. The officials and scientists were working diligently, scanning for nearby planets and ready to launch into one at a moment's notice. Samuel was well aware that they couldn't keep burning fuel in the emptiness of space, and that they'd need to come across a system of planets sooner rather than later.

And so, Nighthawk kept creeping along the galaxy, fast enough to approach new planets but slow enough to not recklessly burn their fuel reserves.

The flight deck all breathed a sigh of relief when one of the officials stood abruptly from his seat around the glimmering lights of the monitors in flight command.

"I've found some," Said the officer. Mayla was over his shoulder instantly, her eyes darting across the screen which detected a system of planets circling a medium sized star. She tapped furiously on the screen as the officer stepped aside.

"The distance of these planets from the star is optimal for life... There, this one," Mayla said, pointing at a large black dot on the red screen as Samuel approached them. "This is our best chance."

Everyone in the flight deck were back to their stations, knowing the instructions that were going to come from Samuel before he uttered them.

"Excellent. Get the Ring system ready. Set our course on that system. Good work, everyone. This might be home."

As everyone settled back to their seats, discussing amongst themselves and reorienting the massive ship, there was an abrupt, large bang. Nighthawk shuttered, not seriously injured, but caused the flight deck to become quiet and their monitors to momentarily glitch.

Samuel looked at Mayla. "What was that?" He asked her, eyes wide. "Ship malfunction?"

Officials began running diagnostic tests, confusion washing over everyone like a black wave. Nighthawk was fine, no signs of system failure, no signs of damage, but the bang that echoed through the hull of Nighthawk echoed through everyone's minds, the shaking was palpable and unforgettable, probably even among the citizens in the rest of the ship.

"Someone, anyone, I need answers," Samuel pleaded to his crew, while Mayla shrugged her shoulders and frantically tapped on her monitor. "I need someone on the intercom ASAP, broadcast to the citizens that everything's okay. Meanwhile, will someone in this room tell me if we are actually okay?"

An officer relayed Samuel's message to the people, the intercom echoing in the hall outside of the flight deck.

"Asteroid?" An officer guessed, to Mayla's dismissive scowl.

"We would have detected it on our periphery scans," Mayla said aloud so everyone on the flight deck could hear.

"Maybe our peripheral scanner is down, and we didn't detect what hit us?"

This time it was Samuel who answered, "Scanner picked up the system of planets we are going towards hundreds of thousands of miles away, but not an asteroid that just hit us? I don't think so. Run diagnostics again, something must have happened internally."

Mayla shrugged her shoulders again, this time speechless. "Samuel, nothing happened on board. Systems are fine. I have no explan..."

As Mayla tried to finish her sentence, a giant white and blue light blotted out the front window of the flight deck in a snap. Every officer was shielding their eyes from the intense glow. Gentle flames began licking the sides of the front windows of the flight deck as Nighthawk began to speed up. All personnel were thrown backwards and were now pressed into the back of their control seats. As everyone's eyes adjusted to the white glow, Samuel's widened with shock.

Before them, nearly filling the entire window of the flight deck, was a massive orb of brilliant blue and swirling white and thick grey and vibrant green. What was pitch black in front of them before was a sphere that they were hurtling towards, like a painter had strewn across a portrait of vibrancy on a once impossibly black canvas. A planet. Out of nothing.

"Report," Samuel yelled to his team, who were now fighting the force that threw them backwards to get back to their monitors and keyboards.

"We're entering it's atmosphere," one officer said, frantically typing and poking on her screen.

"Where the hell did it come from?" Samuel said under his breath, marvelling at the giant that stood before them, arms of gravity grasping them and pulling Nighthawk towards it. The ship kept speeding towards the planet, a single land mass on the globe taking shape in front of them which was thick and green and silver. "Back thrusters 100%, slow us down. Aim for the middle of that land mass. Mayla, get that Ring system ready to fire."

Mayla typed on her screen furiously, like she was a musician and the screen before her was a piano. The back thrusters were fully engaged in an instant in an effort to slow Nighthawk down, this time sending the personnel hurtling forwards into their screens and restraining belts.

The Coalition braced themselves from flying through the front window and over top of their monitors, some were too preoccupied with their work stations to buckle in. Gravity appeared to regain the upper hand, clutching Nighthawk and reeling the ship towards the planet again at breakneck speed.

"What happened? Why aren't we slowing?" Samuel asked, confused.

"Backward thrusters must have been damaged entering the atmosphere," Mayla shrugged, scrambling with her staff and swiping at her monitor. "Ring system ready, but we're too far out," Mayla said, as the ship continued its descent.

Despite the sudden and extreme circumstances, everyone on the flight deck knew this planet was going to now be their new home once the Ring system plunged itself into the planet, for better or for worse.

Some wondered if they were going to be a prisoner to the Ring that was meant to sustain them indefinitely. Others wondered if the ship would even be able to land at its current speed, including Mayla.

"We're coming in too fast, Sam."

Samuel rushed to his command chair and brought up flight options on his monitor. He tapped a button and the map of the incoming planet was now centered on his screen, zooming in on the middle and only land mass which was becoming larger and larger. "We're too heavy. Offload the Ring system and we'll take our chances landing inside it."

Mayla stood from her chair, and said, "We are too high up, Sam. It wasn't designed to launch from this far. We can't even scan for intelligent life forms below, the Ring could destroy an entire population within it."

"It's either we take our chances and hope we avoid something below, or plunge to our certain death. Fire it now, that's an order."

Everyone was now looking at Samuel, and then to Mayla, waiting anxiously for her answer. "Load the firing system. Center the nose of Nighthawk to the middle of that land mass. Fire on my signal," She said, as the officers returned their attention to their screens, changing the flight path and running diagnostics. "Read me out the nose to land gradient," Mayla said to her scientists who were analyzing Nighthawks trajectory.

"87 degrees," one of her scientists said. "If we stay at this speed and angle too long, we'll burn up." Mayla knew the risks and nodded.

The ship began to tip forward, Nighthawks speed increasing as it became more perpendicular with the land mass below. Mayla gripped her seat, knuckles white and sweating.
"88 degrees."

Mayla knew their best shot at the Ring system working, and at their subsequent survival, was if the Ring landed as squarely as possible on the land mass below, and couldn't risk the Ring veering off into the ocean that surrounded the land mass. They could now feel the heat from the windows and the atmosphere burning around them.

"89 degrees."

The flight deck held their breath, the flames licking the sides of the windows now red hot and tinting everyone's skin in an unhealthy orange glow.

Right as the scientist uttered his next word, Mayla pressed her monitor with a slam of her fist. From the periphery of the ship, a giant black circle of metal erupted off the ship towards the land mass below, spreading out like a giant halo. It was like they had hit another atmosphere, with the excess mass gone and the backwards thrusters still fighting the force of gravity, the change in speed made it seem like the ship stopped completely.

This time officers were thrown over their monitors and crashed into the front window of the flight deck. Despite the backward jets kicking in, Nighthawk continued its hasty descent into the land mass below. The officers watched on anxiously after they regained their balance, praying that the Ring would slam into land. They waited for Mayla's indication, who was nervously scanning her monitor.

"Successful hit," Mayla said, the officers sighing in relief. A new panel came on her monitor. "Walls are up. Purification inside the ring complete – no possibility of pathogens."

"Now we have to land in it. That's impossible from this far away and with a ship this big," one of the officers said, fear in his voice, spreading through the cabin like a virus.

Samuel scowled at him. "We haven't made it this far to crash into the dirt. Level off and start spiraling towards the Ring. Take some images of the land mass while we're up here. Mayla, make sure our speed is survivable. Let's skip off the ground like a stone." Officers and Mayla nodded at him, pulling on levers and typing on their keyboards.

Nighthawk started leveling off, spinning towards the Ring system, reducing its deathly fast speed ever so slightly. The blackness of space was now completely removed from the window, only the planet now in view as they approached.

"Speed is optimal, Samuel, but our angle is too shallow now," an officer said to him.

"Get me an angle that can get us into the Ring, but not too steep that we smash to pieces. We'll need to skip along the ground. Mayla, you and your team run your numbers and calculate the best possible parameters. Intercom the citizens, tell them to brace for impact."

Mayla and her team were typing vigorously, writing on their tablets and swiping on their screens. They all appeared to come up with the same solution, giving each other a thumbs up. "Everyone hold on," Mayla said, as the ship selected an appropriate angle and speed. An officer relayed Samuel's message to the intercom and the people as calmly as he could.
Samuel could now see mountain ranges and forests, and then mere moments after, tiny specks of individual trees within the forests. The great walls of the Ring system now coming into view as the ship aimed for the middle of it. Mayla's hand was now hovering over her monitor, waiting for the exact moment of impact to redirect thrusters.

The Ring turned from a giant distant dot to a hollow sphere in an instant. Nighthawk penetrated through the walls, moments from impact.

"Brace!"

Mayla slammed her hand down. Nighthawk leveled off ever so slightly, and then smashed into the ground. The front window filled with dirt and soil and grass, metal screeching as it skipped along the ground, pieces of Nighthawk shattering and spraying outwards. Some officers burst away from their buckled chairs, the impact bucking them like a crazed bull. The ship stopped skipping and was now sliding, sparks and dirt flying into the air.

Nighthawk finally came to a stop. Almost in the very bullseye within the innards of the Ring, ever so slightly north of it.

Samuel looked around the deck, all of his officers intact, some bleeding but not seriously. The crew erupted in a cheer, patting and hugging one another, smiling and laughing unbelievingly that they survived certain death twice.

"Filtration Field up," Mayla shouted, as a blue shimmering field above the now immobile ship glided across the opening of the Ring system, meeting at Nighthawks tail and forming a sealed and protective lid from the unknown outside.

"Successfully deployed. Ship is severely damaged but status reports are flooding in from all the different sectors on board, doesn't look like any casualties," Mayla said, unable to contain a smile.

The officials gave another cheer, this time they playfully pushed Samuel around the flight deck. "How you haven't led us all along, is one of the universe's greatest mysteries, sir," the once doubtful officer said to him, the others echoing his sentiment.

"Alright alright, that's enough. We have work to do."

Nighthawk was outfitted with automated housing, designed to house three quarters of the population. Blocks of buildings were jettisoned off from the perimeter of the ship at Mayla's request, rolling along the ground and fastening themselves deep into the ground when they stopped rolling, rows upon rows upon rows. Many tumbled all the way to the wall of the Ring like dice being rolled on an enclosed table, automated tubes and cables emanating from Nighthawk to provide the cube houses with resources. Soon they would construct buildings in the inner core of the city just outside of Nighthawk.

The other remaining quarter of the population were to remain on Nighthawk, who were going to be entirely governmental officials and employees maintaining the vital sectors on Nighthawk which included the power generating, healthcare, research, and food supply wings.

Samuel sent sector directors and engineers to inspect damage, while he and Mayla and the other highest-ranking officers made their way below the flight deck to the bow of Nighthawk through a series of lifts and shuttles.

Officials began filing people outside of Nighthawk towards the bow from the outside. A make-shift stage was deployed at the bow which served as a boarding dock, which Samuel emerged onto with his officers behind him. Once the last inhabitants of the middle quarters dismounted, Mayla's magnificent machine folded and squeezed outwards, shortening such that the flight deck was now level with the highest edge of the Ring walls.

Mayla and Samuel had discussed how they were going to rebuild. How to govern. How to make sure the people could live in peace and prosperity from now on. And now Samuel was ready to convey this message to the masses. It was perfect.

While Mayla's masterpiece was Nighthawk, Samuel's masterpiece would be the type of government he was moments from instilling. Mayla and his officials had prepared a speech for him to give to the people which they handed to him in a stack of papers before he walked onto the stage.

A chilling eruption of cheer from Samuel's citizens echoed within their new circular colony. Many were injured but smiling, cheering and laughing, marveling at their survival from both their landing and their successful escape from the Jackals. Two hundred thousand shouts of glee and gratitude. He looked back to Mayla, who was smiling at him, reassuring. This is what you deserve, her eyes told him. He believed it, too. He had saved them, him, his people. He felt he deserved this admiration. This grand applause. This love. His children who he protected, along with his actual children. At last, all his work to protect them, was recognized and deserved.

At least, that is what he imagined would happen when he took the stage.

Instead, blank faces looked back at him. Fearful. Silent. Confused. Injured. Scowling. Ungrateful.

Samuel looked out upon the sea of people that he had now saved not once, but twice, regained his composure, and shakily unraveled his clenched speech papers, trying to compose himself.

"This is a time for celebration, yes. We have arrived on a planet which closely resembles the one we once called home."

"What happened? Where are we?" Someone in the crowd interrupted Samuel.

Samuel looked back at Mayla, who shrugged. He continued anyways and said, "We found a planet that looked viable, so we made our landing."

"Lies!" The crowd shouted back. "This was an emergency landing! We want answers! We want answers!"

Samuel again looked back at his officials incredulously as the crowd chanted. How could they yell at him like this? He saved them. Where was the gratitude? Samuel crumpled up his speech paper completely. He would need to improvise to quell the displeasure of the people.

"Our landing may have felt bumpy but no one is dead. We have our Ring up, we can live here indefinitely now. We are safe."

"My husband is crippled from the landing, you call that safe?" Someone from the crowd shouted back.

Again Samuel recoiled. A people who just days previous would apparently follow him anywhere blindly were now hostile. A single crippled husband? Did they not realize the number of lives he probably saved?

"I am sorry about your husband. I am sure our medical staff will attend to him promptly," He shouted back into the crowd at the direction of the person questioning him. "For now, I would like to update you all on pressing matters."

The crowd was silent finally, seemingly calming down. He could see many faces still skeptical. Samuel and his officials had agreed not to tell the people about the mysterious circumstances of the planet. How it had come out of no where. Fear was not something they needed spread through the colony at this time.

"For now, we must all remain in the Ring. We are safe here. Our officials will begin studying the world outside of these walls, and in the meantime, we will settle you into designated housing buildings," Samuel continued, motioning to the blocks of automatic houses and buildings surrounding Nighthawk.

There was a murmur amongst the crowd. They want to go out of there, outside of these walls? Without knowing what's out there? Samuel thought to himself, confused. The Ring was a speck of safety amidst a world of unknowns. Yet Samuel suspected the murmurs were people who wanted to venture out. They appeared discontent with his instructions.

"How long will we be stuck in here? How do you not know if it's safe out there? Didn't you survey the planet before landing?" One citizen shouted, which was followed by other citizens echoing their scepticism.

Samuel was again stunned. The fact Samuel and Mayla and his officials had saved the people and landed safely on a new planet was beyond a miracle. And now people were complaining that their survival wasn't perfect? He again improvised his speech. "It is a miracle we have landed on a planet like the one we just left, and now it will take time to see if outside is safe. But we must be sure outside is totally fine, for everyone's safety, I ask for everyone's patience."

Samuel knew he had to shift the conversation to prevent the citizens from another outburst. "We have a new constitution, which I would like to read to everyone so we never have leadership like the traitors that sold us out to the Jackals. I swear to you that will never happen again."

Samuel expected applause, but was greeted with silence. "From now on, each three years, everyone of you," Samuel said, motioning to the crowd before him, "everyone of you will be