As they steadily approached the underside of the disk in the compact shuttle Mwene's thoughts began to wander. Never in their wildest imaginations could they have foreseen something like this. Three weeks in space had left them with ample time to get used to the ship. The slight bleachy smell of the halls, the constant whirl of the engine or the electric stove on board. The ship was several generations ahead of what most of them had been accustomed to but with the help of Patience they got the hang of it. Her knowledge servers, although 60% corrupted, harboured knowledge that made them feel somewhat uncomfortable when they read it. It was weird not looking over their shoulder, not trying to listen for military vehicles when they woke up in the middle of the night. Freedom didn't exactly fit like a new glove, but they were getting used to it. They had made the New Genesis their home and they were willing to fight to the bone to keep it theirs.
"E.T.A, five minutes." Stated Patience. They all sat wearing skin-tight navy blue and white body suits with manageable, globe-like helmets. Mwene and Anan sat across Nike and Ayla, their knees a couple of centimetres apart. There were two free seats on either side of them. The interior lacked any decorations, it was stripped down to its barest essentials. Ceiling straps, hard plastic seats, grey walls. The nuts and bolts of the seats would rattle every so often, much to the embarrassment of Inyanga and concern of everyone else on board. Inyanga was in the pilot's seat with the disk growing with every minute. Anan and Inyanga both had guns holstered on their hips. Hours of training had done well to help Anan get used to it, but it didn't stop her hand from shaking ever so slightly. "What is it even made of?" asked Nike, whose head gestured towards the ship. "Alloy unknown but it is the same material as the New Genesis." Replied Patience. "Gotta be Ardain." Snorted Inyanga. "If that's the case then we can most likely interface with their computers." added Anan.
"Anomaly detected. Brace for turbulence."
The shuttle passed through an invisible forcefield and Mwene felt the blood rush to his head. His medallion which was pressing against his skin was now pressing against the suit. He looked across the shuttle and saw everyone's hair hang up as if attracted to some unseen source of static electricity from above. The hanging straps were now glued to the roof of the shuttle. It felt as though the ceiling of the shuttle was pulling him towards it. The shuttle banked sharply to the left and Mwene could feel the force of gravity move from above him to behind him before stopping at his feet.
"The underside of the ring's gravity is a bit inverted. Had to adjust." Explained Inyanga. "A bit inverted is an understatement." Ayla commented.
"You have entered the ring's atmosphere. Its composition is identical to Terra. E.T.A one minute." Patience announced.
Mwene looked out at the landscape and saw an ocean of green. Trees grew up to be as tall as the New Genesis if not taller. Four of them stood above even the highest of clouds. They briefly went through the blanket of clouds before breaking underneath them. With the help of some quick thinking Inyanga managed to dodge a handful of trees that lingered just underneath the clouds. Slowly they descended until they landed on the thick vegetation. The engine gradually became quieter until they completely shut down. "Sonar says there's not soul to be found in the immediate area. Opening the door now." The doors hissed and they all stood up. Inyanga took the gun off his holster. Finger on the trigger. Nike clenched his fist. Ayla slightly swayed from side to side, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Her hand was on her toolbelt, hovering over a pair of clippers. The door creeped open ever so slowly, Inch by inch. Until eventually it opened.
Before them was a field of white Dracula flowers with black dots. The three long spurs of the flowers hung down and away giving it a fang like appearance. The centre of it vaguely resembled that of a monkey face. They stood at a metre tall and the flowers were the size of a large fist. Surrounding them was dense forestry on all sides. It was quiet. Too quiet. Ayla ran out of the shuttle much to the surprise of everyone except Anan and got close to them. Nike, carrying a cubic container slightly bigger than his head like a briefcase, and Inyanga cautiously followed behind scanning the environment like hawks.
"I've never seen them grow like this. I need a sample." Ayla admired every detail of it. She ran her fingers through the petals, pinched them, flicked them. "Perhaps it's the black hole." Nike suggested, he trailed behind awkwardly as he and Inyanga tried not to step on any of the flowers. She held onto a flower's stem with her thumb and index finger. "Perhaps." Ayla took out a pair of clippers and prepared to cut one of the flowers. Inyanga turned back and gave Mwene and Anan, who both stood at the door, a thumbs up.
"The autopilot will take care of the rest." Inyanga told the two of them. Mwene nodded and shut the door. The engine ignited and they rose upwards, towards the topside of the disk.
They passed through the gravity wave without issue and stood up. Anan took out her handgun from her holster and aimed it at the ground towards the feet.
"Can't shake the feeling that I may have to use this." She pulled the trigger and the gun clicked.
"You did well in your training. Wouldn't want anyone else backing me other than you."
"E.T.A; one minute."
The side of the ring was a solid and consistent silver. There were no blemishes. It was unnaturally smooth. It reflected some distant sunlight brilliant which caught Mwene's eye.
"Approaching destination in 5…"
Mwene gripped the hanging strap that hung from the roof of the shuttle.
"4…."
Anan gripped her gun even tighter.
"3…."
Mwene looked at Anan.
"2…"
Anan met Mwene's gaze.
"1…."
They both look ahead and are greeted by a sight as terrifying as it was brilliant. The entire landscape was just one continuous grey of concrete and metal. The buildings rose far higher than what Mwene had seen on Paradise, far higher than the trees on the underside. They were all identical and in equal measure uninviting. Their uniformity rubbed Mwene the wrong way. Multiple fires were dotted across the scenery with large chunks of concrete falling off the buildings. It looked like a war zone, the type where finding survivors was unlikely.
"I hope your training was useful. Was it?"
Mwene opened his mouth to answer but a high-pitched noise interrupted him. They both writhed in pain. Just as it seemed like it would never end. The sound cut and they were just immersed in the sound of static. In all the chaos a voice spoke to him.
"Death is nirvana. Only through it can we reach God."
The words echoed through his head. It wouldn't cease. He thought he was going mad until a hand on his shoulder grounded him.
"Can you hear me?" Her hand shook his shoulder.
"Yeah I am fine. I think."
"Good. Need someone to witness me being a badass down there."
Mwene rolled his eyes and got onto his feet.
"Interference momentarily cut off my connection with the shuttle, but my connection is now restored and fortified.
"What was it?"
"Anomaly unknown. sonar indicates there are no lifeforms in the immediate vicinity." Replied Patience.
"The plot thickens." Anan said to herself.
"Take us down."
The shuttle slowly and gently landed on the deserted road with nothing but abandoned cars but rubble with the odd fire here and there. Anan took point with her two hands gripping the handgun. Mwene was behind her. Their eyes were like hawks, taking in every detail, noting everything everywhere. Little did they know they were walking into the lion's den, with a beast with only one thing on their mind.