Planet Kepler-442b

By J W KELLEY

Dawn had barely touched the horizon when the rocket stood ready, its white body steaming in the cool air at StarshipSpace Center. The launch tower clung to it like a skeletal guardian, its umbilical cord feeding the great machine its last breaths of fuel and power. Far below, waves from the ocean rolled in, indifferent to the trembling anticipation gathering on the coast.
Inside the capsule, strapped shoulder to shoulder, sat Dr. Kathy Moore and Colonel Peter Jackson.
Kathy's gloved fingers floated just above the checklist tablet, steady, but alive with electricity. Years of simulations, equations, sleepless research nights, now distilled into this heartbeat of waiting. Beside her, Colonel Peter Jackson whose posture was military straight, but his eyes were soft, focused, absorbing every vibration through the hull. He had flown combat missions, weathered turbulence that snapped nerves like brittle twigs. But this, this was gravity itself daring them to defy it.
"Comm check," came the calm voice from Mission Control.
Peter answered first, voice clipped and confident. "Loud and clear."
Kathy followed, her tone measured, almost serene. "Systems nominal."
Outside, the countdown slipped into its final minute.
At T-minus ten seconds, the world seemed to inhale.
Then ignition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GQGWX1X7
• ISBN13: 9798248963843
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"