[ WP ] You 're an astronaut who volunteered to take the first manned solo mission to explore regions past our solar system . You 've been alone for decades ... until you stumble upon a derelict ship that looks exactly like yours .

It had been 27 years. 27 years since the last messages from his family came in. 27 years since the last mission reports from mission control came in. 27 years since he spoke to the President of the United States. 
 
 `` You're taking the greatest journey any man has ever taken. You'll be remembered for ages to come!'' 
 
 27 years since he last saw her. Lisa was the most amazing woman John had ever known. Voice as sweet as honey, long brown hair that flowed for miles, and dark brown eyes to match. He clutched a picture of her tightly. Sometimes he wished that he had never left Earth. Never left her. 
 
 Roughly 30 years ago, John had managed to make it through all of the extensive physical and psychological training to prepare him for this mission. Not long after the training was complete, he had one last week to spend with his family before he would board the Interstellar One and be blasted into space. At the time, he knew it would be hard to part with them. It was only supposed to be a 10 year mission. However, the mission was extended. Not by those back on Earth and certainly not by John himself. It was extended by World War 3 which broke out a few months after John had left Earth. The war lasted for 3 years. There were no winners, only losers. Because of the use of nuclear weapons by all those involved, the entire planet was scorched. Everyone, including her, had died. When it was happening, John had tied into a few different satellites and watched in horror as the Earth went from a blue and green ball into a black and red hell. It was over, no one to go back to. No one to talk to. He may as well keep the mission going as long as possible. 
 
 After a few moments of reminiscing and sulking, John decided that it was time to get on with his daily routine. He made his breakfast and read through the overnight ship function reports. Everything was the same as it has been for the last 27 years; give or take a few minor power fluctuations with a couple of non-essential systems. He made his way to the main deck of his ship with coffee in hand. As he walked in, the lights automatically came up while all of the consoles and systems hummed to life. The temperature automatically adjusted to John's preferred temperature of 72 degrees fahrenheit. 
 
 John placed his coffee down beside the main console he typically sat at. After logging into the system, he checked the current location of his ship, sensor readouts of the space around the ship and if anything pressing came up. Nothing ever does. 
 
 `` Frank, what's on our agenda today?'' John yelled out to the shipboard AI. He had long forgot what it's actual `` name'' ( if you could call it that ) was. Some long acronym he was sure. 
 
 `` I've asked you repeatedly not to call me that. My name is....'' 
 
 `` Whatever, Sally. What's going on today?'' 
 
 The AI scuffed, `` Well, as I'm sure that you have seen on the overnight logs, there were some minor power fluctuations with the exterior lighting sub system and the auxiliary aft sensor array. Just some minor repairs, sir.'' 
 
 With a nod that he knew the AI could n't really see, John acknowledged the days tasks and dove in. He spent just only a few hours bouncing between the main deck and the engine room where the power relays were housed. He could have done everything remotely from the main deck, but John preferred to do it by hand. It made the days go by faster when there was nothing else going on. 
 
 It was midday by the time he had finished the repairs. Everything read nominal on the console. John looked at the navigation readout. It appeared his ship was entering the an unknown star system. He looked closer at the readout: 1 main sequence star and three planets. Of the three planets, one was roughly the same size and as rocky as Mercury, another rocky world that had an atmosphere comprised of mostly nitrogen and methane, and the final planet appeared to look like Earth but much much larger. 
 
 He tapped on the display of the earth like planet. The screen changed to a large image of the planet and sensor readouts began appearing at either side of the image. The atmosphere composition was similar to Earth's minus a little bit of oxygen. There was plant life, microbial life and bacterial life, but no other life to speak of. Could be a good candidate for colonization. But that job would be left to someone back at Earth in the future. 
 
 After moving closer to the planet and getting a good look at it with his own eyes, John moved the ship into a new direction towards another uncharted system a few hundred light years away. With the speed of the ship, he would likely make it there in a few months. 
 
 Not long after he set course, the AI chimed in, `` John, I'm detecting a metallic object nearby that may be of interest.'' 
 
 `` Sure, go ahead and correct course to bring us to the object,'' John ordered. 
 
 After a while, he arrived at the object. John looked at the sensor read out. 
 
 `` This ca n't be right. Steve, are you able to scan deeper into that object?'' 
 
 `` Scanning.'' A moment went by, `` Sir, if my scans are correct, it's a human ship. However, what's puzzling is that it appears to be our ship,'' the AI responded. 
 
 *Our ship* John thought to himself. *How could it be our ship? * 
 
 `` Are there any life forms aboard? Any systems that are operational?'' John asked the AI. 
 
 `` Indeterminate. However, I can detect breathable air.'' 
 
 John quickly typed on his console and began to move the ship closer to the other. It was a good thing I repaired the power issue with the exterior lighting this morning he though to himself as he powered on the spotlight. The ship appeared clean and not damaged. No signs of any air leaks on the outside. He took a few passes around the ship searching for some clue as to how this ship got here or if it was an illusion. The light from the spot lamp shined on the side of the hull. The name Interstellar One appeared. There was no question; it was his ship. Or at least a damn good copy.
