[ WP ] [ X-Post from /r/futurewhatif ] We send a small group of diverse people with supplies to a planet similar enough to Earth to allow them to colonize it . Soon after they land , Solar flares ( or whatever ) stop us from contacting them for 100+ years . After that time we are able to speak with them again .

“ Odyssey Station, Odyssey Station. ” 
 
 The transmission leapt from the broadcast terminal at Ithaca Base, down a convoluted network of cables and out through a huge satellite dish, idly swivelling over the desert sand like a flower following the sun. 
 
 It jumped from the dish to one of the million communication satellites hanging over Europe in geosynchronous orbit. The satellite dipped its wings, pointing a forest of antenna out towards the shadowy outer reaches of the solar system. Inside, the caesium clock ticked over, blasting the transmission ’ s fragmented bits towards Pluto. 
 
 Above Pluto, the UEC ansible flared with light as once-dormant systems sprang to life. Retro-thrusters burned the last of their solid fuel to align the small station with a distant star. Inside, the interred intelligence processed the outgoing message and hurled it into the abyss between stars. 
 
 One hundred and fifty one parsecs away, another ansible switched itself on. The machine was much smaller than the dedicated station above Pluto, battered by celestial forces and half-destroyed by a passing comet. A desperate burst from it ’ s last remaining retro-thruster spun in the direction of the distant planet. 
 
 The transmission that had travelled across light-years in a matter of minutes hurtled onwards into the alien system. A rusting hulk drifted lazily above the outermost planet, slowly breaking apart under it ’ s own mass. Aboard the ship, another interred intelligence awoke for the first time in a century. It fumbled for the linkages between long-dead systems, breathing life into the damaged communications systems. 
 
 On the surface, a skeletal dish sat like a diseased plant in a weeded bed. The panelling supposed to focus communications towards the central antenna had been stripped away, revealing the metal bones beneath. Beside it squatted a lonely pre-fabricated building, nestled under the wing of a planetary shuttle. 
 
 Inside the hut, a broadcast terminal coughed and spluttered. 
 
 “ Odyssey Station, this is Ithaca calling! ” 
 
 The corroded wiring inside the speaker distorted the voice, swinging the pitch back and forth. The voice boomed one second and whispered the next. 
 
 “ Come in Odyssey Station! ” 
 
 A solitary bird hung over the dilapidated dish, coasting on a thermal. Four-legged reptiles basked in the weak sunlight, serrated jaws snapping at the air. The only sound came from the blaring terminal. 
 
 “... Is anyone there? ”
