Aamus part 1

Captain Khalid Muhammad sat feeling troubled in his ready room sipping his warm cup of tea and contemplated what his communications officer had told him earlier. He had been having a rather pleasant conversation with his first officer Commander Fadel Shaker whom he had served with for over 10 years now and the Sensors Officer Lt. Kathem El-Saher a young go getter from the planet Khalwat, over a dinner of spicy curried beef, rice and lemon grass soup, about the new star system they had just slid into. The crew was excited as the second planet’s surface was 65 per cent covered in oceans and had an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. The sensors had also showed and abundance of plant life and with an average temperature at sea level on the equator of 26c. The sensors had also shown that the planet was teeming with life.

They had been joking about where they were going to build their retirement homes on the planet, which they were currently calling Aamus, with Lt. Kathem El-Saher saying he would want to find where the best ski slopes were on the newly discovered world and build a large home there, when Sub-Commander Amr Diab the communications officer had interrupted saying that he had just picked up some video transmissions coming from the planet.

“Aliens?” asked Lt. El-Saher eagerly his face bright with anticipation.

“No, not Aliens” replied Sub-Commander Amr Diab a no nonsense man in a slightly annoyed tone, looking at Kathem El-Saher he thought if the man had a tale it would be wagging right now. He had then gone on to explain further, it was this further explanation which was bothering the captain.