Hey y’all, I threw this guy together in a couple days to try and kickstart my writing brain for some other stuff. I’m pretty happy with this, so I hope y’all enjoy it too :3

Prompt: Distant

Audio Logs

System Message: This is an automated transcript of Audio Log “Olympus_001”.

Project Olympus audio log, zero, zero, one, day one. 

This is Captain Flora Sonnen, on a solo venture to the Delta System in the search of a new habitable zone. I uh… think I found something really promising. 

I’ve been keeping my eye on this star for a while, it seems to be pretty darn similar to ours. From all of my readings, this star seems to be in the middle of its life cycle, approximately the same size, and its goldilocks zone has similar enough readings to our own that it could work as our new home.

Before I ventured up close, I observed Twelve planet sized bodies, with two within this habitable zone. Since I discovered these guys, I uh… technically get to name them, but I haven’t thought of anything good yet. I’ll be investigating both, so I’m going to call these planets simply A and B for now. There are quite a few terrestrial planets here, a few even seem to have signs of liquid. Further tests will need to be conducted. 

…

I’m really excited to see where this goes. 

For now, I’m going to rest up. Tomorrow I’ll attempt to enter A’s orbit.

Captain Sonnen, Signing off.

System Message: This is an automated transcript of Audio Log “Olympus_002”

Project Olympus audio log, zero, zero, two, this is day two!

Captain Flora Sonnen reporting again, today I successfully entered orbit, and… oh my goodness… initial scans are absolutely beautiful! There’s oxygen in the atmosphere, and the planet is larger than Earth by approximately a half, I’d say. Hah, if it were science class, the teacher would say that about one and a half earths could fit inside it. There’s lots of land, lots of liquid, and if there’s oxygen then there’s probably plants, too! 

I’m going to send a lander down tomorrow to run some tests on the liquid on its surface, um… because it looks a lot like water. I’ve been workshopping some names for this gorgeous planet… not many good ones yet heheh… but all of that is to say that this planet has a lot of potential. 

I think the only things I could notice is that the axial tilt is more dramatic than ours, the seasons could be a little more intense, but definitely still survivable in a vacuum. And… um… there appears to be Two satellites in its orbit, and they’re approximately within the size ratio of our Earth and Moon. Two moons may be a learning curve when it comes to the tides, but we have to make sure there’s even water down there first. 

That’s… it looks like that’s all I wrote in my notes. Uh… 

…

I was told that I could also use these logs as a bit of a personal journal… well actually I was… encouraged to. Something, something, try not to go crazy, something, something. I guess I can… try? It feels kind of weird to be just… talking about myself... hm…

…

I had that shitty protein powder oat meal for breakfast today. I’m trying to eat all of it first so all my back up food, aside from the crops I’m growing, is something actually edible. I fucking… HATE that powdery shit. I don’t know if I’m mixing it wrong, or what, but the lingering powder on my tongue is… AUGH…

Lunch and dinner was nothing special, just like… carrot sticks. I’ll have to dig through my stuff to find some of the Terracotta safe recipes I packed.

Uh… thats about it. 

Um… Captain Flora Sonnen, signing off. 

System Message: This is an automated transcript of Audio Log “Olympus_003”.

It’s water, it’s water, IT’S WATER! AH!

Uh… oh my goodness, I’m out of breath… One moment…

…

Uh… oh yeah! Captain Flora Sonnen speaking, this is day three, and… we have water! Liquid water! The atmosphere is breathable, and there are trees! So many trees! The lander has sent back images with signs of wildlife, I’ll have to set up this Macroscope thing so I can get a closer look. This thing BETTER be as innovative as they said, because I… NEED To see this up close. 

Oh, I am in LOVE with this rock! There may be hope for us humans yet! AH! So much beautiful data! 

I also think I’ve weened down a name. I’m thinking something like… Espero.

Uh, beyond that I’ve got some notes on one of these moons, don’t have names for those yet. The one I passed also has an atmosphere, but it’s thin. Reminds me of the Martian atmosphere, and along that same train of thought… it is WILDLY volcanic down there, or at the very least it has been. There are some extreme features on this moon, especially for its size, it’s the smaller of the two. I have lots of these landers, maybe I can send one down there, and on the other moon too, when I pass it eventually.

Outside of that excitement today, I did some sudoku while waiting on test results… yeah. Not much else. 

Anyways, hopefully I can get this damn Macroscope thing up and running before I pass this other planet. I hopped along for the ride at the perfect time, my math has me passing in about two days… well… Earth days. This other planet seems to be closer to Earth’s size specifications, maybe it will be just as hopeful! 

For now… Flora Sonnen, signing off.

System Message: This is an automated transcript of Audio Log “Olympus_004”.

Sonnen speaking, and holy shit… I got this Macroscope up and running. ‘Innovative’ is an understatement, I’m practically looking at this planet like one of those birds eye map things. I can see like… everything. I can see the trees, and the animals, and the goddamn bugs flying around as little specs, and this isn't even its highest setting!

Anyways… lets see… notes…. AH! Notes! 

For day four- The region I’m looking at right now appears to be very promising, and oh… some of these creatures I’ve seen are absolutely majestic. I believe this region is similar to biomes in the Midwestern United States, some of the animals remind me of things I’d see back on Earth, too! 

Uh… lets see… the water is water, there are animals similar to Earth… OH yeah! The plants, they’re like this magenta purple color! On Earth, the uhh… chlorophyl, it makes the plants green, and photosynthesis makes the oxygen from carbon dioxide. I wonder if maybe these purple ones react to a different gas to possibly produce oxygen…

I’m gonna take some more notes and do another log later today, hopefully getting to try this guy out as I pass this other planet. Who knows what goodies I’ll find! 

System Message: This is an automated transcript of Audio Log “Olympus_005”.

 -are people! Oh jeez, wait… uh… ok it’s recording. 

There’s people down there. That other planet… it is…habited. There is an entire world down there of… people! Like… they aren’t humans but they’re humanoid, they are social, they have a society… there are structures, and gatherings, and… it’s beautiful. I can’t see the people in a whole lot of detail being a birds eye view and stuff but… I think I would have a better chance if I… hop in its orbit…

Augh, I know I should be prioritizing Espero, I don’t even have any means to establish contact! But… I want to see this world… even if just at a distance. As big of a sucker as I am for ecological data, and spreadsheets… This is the most exciting discovery yet! I… I’m… going to…

Oh jeez…

…

I’m going to reconvene. I need to think this over. 

System Message: This is an automated transcript of Audio Log “Olympus_006”.

Uh… this is day nine. Sonnen speaking, and I traded planets a couple days ago. I released more probes to gather as much data as possible on Espero, and by all accounts this planet could very much be our… new home….

And as for this planet’s neighbor… I decided to observe the locals. Now… did it take a panic attack or two to make that decision? Yeah. I think I get what those shrinks were saying about like… journalling as to not go insane or something. I don’t typically leave a lot of wiggle room on these plans and… insanity was close.

But uh… science first. This species is very behaviorally similar to our own. I can’t really make out all of the little details, but from what I can see, these are sustainable developments they have. Their atmosphere is incredibly clean. They seem to have some forms of technology, not nearly to the industrialized degree we have, at least from what I’ve seen. I don’t know if some of the moving objects I’ve seen have any sort of emissions or radiation, but I do know that these people seem to utilize them like any car, truck, or bus I’ve ever seen. I’ve also seen bits and pieces of their language by cranking this crazy Macroscope up to the highest setting and looking in any reflections on the ground I could find. 

I… don’t really… know if they like… have the technological capabilities for space travel, or like… telescopes. Who knows if they’ve noticed me. For all I know, this is just a little farm town I’ve seen. I don’t know what to do if they have seen me. 

I’m kind of winging all this, I don’t really have the means to plan anymore and… it’s hard. 

… 

Aside the point. These people are… peaceful. It’s so… 

…

I don’t know… what to…

Well… more logs soon. Sonnen, out.

System Message: This is an automated transcript of Audio Log “Olympus_007”.

Alright… here we go.

I think this may be my final log for a long time… maybe ever. I was hoping these could be like a monthly endeavor since discoveries were slowing down but… yeah. I’m gonna get all this down for the backup records just in case.

…

This is day twenty eight, my name is Captain Flora Sonnen from the planet Earth, on board the Terracotta vessel for Project Olympus. I have found a habitable place for us to go but… I don’t know if I can ethically share any details directly with my superiors at this point in time… I’ll… explain soon.

This morning I found irrepairable damage to my oxygen generator, and not as much oxygen left as I’d like, and so… I needed to make a choice.

One, I die in space. That’s it. Two, attempt to land on Espero, or three… attempt contact.

I made my choice on my borrowed time, I just… hope it was the right one.

…

Um… I volunteered for this solo mission because… I didn’t really… feel like I had anything to lose… sorry. I’m trying to hold myself together… heh.

It’s funny, my entire life I felt like… an alien watching humans from a distance to try and figure out how to be like them, but now… there’s an entirely different species of highly intellegent life in front of me, I observe at a distance and see that they’re simultaneously everything like us, and nothing like us. I guess it was kind of nostalgic at first… looking in at people I don’t understand…reminded me of home in a weird way. But I think the differences changed how I see a lot of things… I guess…

Have I been looking for a new home for my entire world? Or looking to escape the chaos of home myself? I… I don’t really know. 

Either way, I know how us humans are, and it’s the exact reason we sent people to every end of the known universe trying to find a new home. I really don’t think that they would be satisfied with just Espero, and… I don’t think this group of people would be a deterrent to the humans that have the means to get here first. So for now, I’ll hold on to this information… though maybe that in itself is selfishness or… I don’t know.

My survival is uncertain, but maybe this little black box log thing will live. Maybe someone will find all this nonsense useful or… yeah.

I don’t even really know who I’m like… addressing when I talk in these anymore. I don’t know. I’m kind of only recording this one because I didn’t want to go down silently, even if I could just… pretend to be heard. 

So… yeah. This is it. I had some of the really good breakfast today. Pancakes and eggs. If I’m going to die, I don’t want that shitty oatmeal to be the last thing I eat. I’m going to try and conserve the rest of my oxygen to prep for a landing. But… yeah.

This is Flora Sonnen, Over and out.

System Message: End of logs.