Through the Rift 04 edited

Through the Rift tells the story of a space craft's journey into a nebula, 2,000 light years in diameter, to find out what, if anything is inside. They are not the first craft to attempt this: there have been many unmanned probes, and two manned space craft. None ever returned. It is a dangerous mission. These are all instrumentals. 1. The Commission. The crew are given their mission to investigate the nebula. 2. Approaching the nebula, its size and density become obvious and makes clear the difficulty of the crew's task 3. Arrival at the nebula, they are faced with a wall of impenetrable gas and dust which hides all hazards 4. The crew search for an area where the density is less, reducing the hazard of entry. They discount places where previous missions have entered. 5. They've found a less dense region, it appears to go deep into the nebula. 6. Entering the nebula 7. The low-density region is not as large as they thought, but there is a rift, a twisting canyon-like area that goes deeper. If they enter, it is too narrow to turn around, so they will be committed. They enter the rift. 8. The rift gets wider. They now have the option to turn around and return home. They press onward. 9. The rift broadens even more - there are entire star systems here, which probably created the rift. 10. The first signs of alien life - abandoned worlds. 11. The discovery of huge automated space stations situated between star systems. 12. The detection of alien space craft. They approach each other warily, and send greetings. Are they friendly? 13. The aliens welcome them. The rift opens into a massive void encompassing a cluster of stars. 14. They pass an alien megastructure, a flotilla of small alien craft come to look at them, creating an escort of hundred of ships. 15. They reach another megastructure, the size of a planet. Officials from this world come to greet them, pleased to find they are not alone in the universe.