Such was the way of the world wasn't it? One minute the waters were a light breeze and the next they howled and darted like a hurricane. What was supposed to be an easy flight turned dangerous as soon as they entered the asteroid belt. Zeke informed Chauhan of the situation, but he couldn't have known how drastic the damage to the ship was. At first, it was minimal, only a few scratches but alarms blared and soon Rajas was running around to alert his fellow soldiers of the situation at hand.

"Seat belts! Air masks! Secure yourselves as soon as possible," he ordered as he flew into his own seat, nearly hitting the window.

For a few seconds panic flooded his senses as the spaceship collided with the Earth's atmosphere but it melted into the disappointment he feared.

Was their mission going to fail so soon?

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Would they not have anyone to report back to their superiors?

BEEP BEEP BEEP

What would he tell his family?

CRASH!

What would he tell his ancestors?

When Raja awoke, he cut his seat belt and crawled from the wreckage, thankful that his body met sand rather than hard concrete.

Where is everybody? he asked, leery of his surroundings. They were just as the history books described them, but they looked nothing like the predicted sketches of Europe. Italy perhaps, but why would that country be so cold at this time of year?

Even so...

This was nature, this was the thing that Emerson described in all of his works. This was at least a sign that they were getting close to what they wanted and what he wanted.

He hesitated to take off his helmet, deciding instead to stand up and survey the remaining soldiers. Not everyone was within his eyesight, which, on its own, was already disconcerting. Sure, Zeke (and Walker) would be able to handle himself (as well as anyone under his wing), but what of those who didn't have a leader? Most of them were ordinary people drafted into the mission rather than volunteers. They were trained yes, but they weren't experienced.

"Walker!" he called into the communication device of his suit. "Collins, Belmont, Underwood, respond!"

No response.

His voice was harsh and raspy from crashing (and being old), but he hoped that it was sufficiently loud enough to catch anyone's attention. The idea of being alone was unfavorable given that he only had a few weeks' supply of freeze-dried food and didn't want to eat any of the flora. Sure, it was living but that did not mean it was at all edible.