Gaian Headquarters

[GeneralTacticus]

You are aware that Jamski is a mere recruiting sergeant, right? He's most certainly not the Spartan leader (not that anyone is at the moment)... and if anyone was assigned to deal with the rest of the Unity mission, it would most likely be me (Given that I'm the only one who expressed any interest in diplomacy).

[Illuminatus]

Goran looked out through the transparent wall panels of Hydroponics Module One, tracing their path as they curved down to join the ship's hull. Beyond them he could see the vast sweep of space, the stars swimming around the ship as the Unity hurled forward. From this vantage, at the edge of Mod One, he could also see the surface of the ship stretching away from him, weirdly shaped scraps of metal rising up across a burnt and twisted landscape, the remnants of their collision.
Across the damaged surface he could see the dark edge of cryobay seven and its associated living facilities. The edge of the cylinder had caved in, but beyond that it looked intact. Still, they had no contact with bay seven, no signs of life. It was this burnt landscape outside his very windows that had led Goran to caution the Captain about Zakharov's rush to trigger the pulse test.

"Goran."

He turned to see the Captain walking toward him, pushing through the branches of some dwarf avocado trees. Nearby two of his staff, Laurentius and Cosmic, were packing the rough green fruits into lightweight foam coolers.

"Captain." .

"How do the gardens look?"

"Quite well, actually. The plants have been on artificially lengthened growing cycles for the duration of our trip, blooming and dropping their fruits into compost bins, then continuing the cycle again. We forget they can do that without human interference. They have since the dawn of time."

"And now that we're interfering again?"

"I've shortened the growing cycles and increased fertilizers. Any plants currently blooming are being harvested and stored." He paused. "About a third of the plants perished in transit, actually a little less than I expected. The rest seem to be holding up, better than our crew, it seems."

Garland cracked a grim smile. "I'm on my way to the Weapons Bay now to see the damage for myself. Two crew have died, and one is in medical. Zakharov..."

He stopped, seemed to reconsider his words. "Zakharov's men will be back to do the final testing in here. They seem to feel we can put a tension seal on the most vulnerable panels and then this Mod will be all right.We don't have much time...there will be some calculated risks."

Goran nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, and turned back to focus on the night outside.
"And as I mentioned, be careful. Jamski's people seem to be isolated to Bay Two, but we're unsure. Watch the door carefully, and we'll have some weapons delivered here. We're still going to try for a peaceful resolution."

Goran nodded. The Captain turned and headed for the exit, on his way to the Weapons Bay. Goran watched his reflection in the panels, noted idly how the stars seemed to swallow him. He also noted the shredder pistol at his hip, and the uneasy tension in his stride. He hoped that Captain will find a peaceful solution, but arming themselves was a neccesary precaution. He sensed worry in Laurentius and Cosmic, as they packed fruit. Captain however seemed confident and selfassured, even in this time of crisis. This was why he was chosen to be Captain of the mankind`s greatest feat – Unity.

Goran looked through transparent wall panels again, but strange sensation filled him again. But this time it wasn`t like someone is looking through him from inside, it was more like he was looking through someone. He chilled again. It seemed colder, but the temperature reading remained the same. If this continues he will have to go to see Lal, and he didn`t want for anyone to discover his secret.



He stood in front of the monitor, events on ship being far away from him. A live video footage of Chiron was in front of him, coming directly from Unity`s sensors. It was just a tiny dot on screen, but preliminary analysis showed that it had water, oxygen, nitrogen, suitable temperatures and probably, life. It was a dream for every scientist: virgin world. But there was something mysterious about it, it seemed somehow… alive, even from this distance. He felt presence, and turned to see Laurentius entering. “We have finished harvesting the fruits, sir.” “You can call me Goran, Laurentius. You could have told me over the commlink, you know.”

" I know that sir, I mean Goran. But, after so many time in cryocell, I feel isolated. I needed to see someone in person. It is like I spent an eternity inside a bottle.” said Laurentius, his eyes looking somewhere far away, beyond ship`s walls.

“I know what you mean Laurentius, this was a stressful experience for all of us. But we were warned of this. Tell me, have you experienced something else?”

“Like what? Headaches at first, but they stopped.”

“I thought on strange feelings, like someone is watching you, or that alike.”

“Huh? I felt that at first but this is probably due to anxiety. Insurgents are running around the ship, and we will probably overshoot the system if we do not repair the ship.”

“Yes, you are right Laurentius. Take a hour or two to rest, you have just awakened form 40 year sleep and yet you worked for hours.”

“But Goran…”

“This is a direct order. Dismissed lieutenant.”- Goran said it with a smile. They all needed rest, but they couldn`t afford it. Goran continued to gaze at little blue dot on screen. Maybe Laurentius was right. These sensations may be due to anxiety and stress. But they seemed so real…..



In the Greenhouse, Goran could hear the two-beat warning siren and the hiss of the metal hatchway as it began to close.

"They are sealing the hatch!" he shouted, dropping a set of pneumatic clipping shears to the ground and rising to his feet. "Move inside everyone, quickly!" A flurry of movement, and then the great metal door slammed shut with a sound like thunder.

He rushed out to find a group of people standing in a stunned semicircle around the entrance hatch. Sylvia caught his eyes first, her slender body a study in frozen shock.

"Sylvia, are you OK? They must have sealed it from command…"

"Indeed," said an unfamiliar voice, cold and strong with a Redneck accent beneath. "And I hope you have the code to unseal it, Officer."

There, in front of the great door, stood a man in the red jumpsuit of a security officer, chewing a cigar in his mouth. Black eyes flared at Goran with it`s lunatic look; a shredder pistol was leveled in his direction. Next to the man stood a short man with a shaved head, the same jumpsuit with the ripped shoulder, the same kind of pistol, the same look of anger blended with impassiveness.

There were two of them, no more. As they approached, Goran could see that their ripped uniforms revealed a tattoo, newly administered from the look of it; an arrow in a hexagon, pointing downwards, burned in by a laser drill, perhaps.

"I am Jamski," said the man, and then he smiled. "I hope you know how to open that door." He continued to chew the cigar in corners of his mouth.

Goran held his ground, watched wide-eyed as the man moved forward like a mongoose moving on a snake. Goran tried the read the man's face; he moved cautiously.. He also sensed not a single trace of fear in him. Goran lifted his hand smoothly to punch in a link to his Captain.

"Captain, it is Officer Goran. I have two of the insurgents," he saw Jamski tense at the word, "inside the Greenhouse. One is Jamski. Other reads as Method. Please advise."

Jamski watched him, and continued to chew his cigar.
"Goran, acknowledge. Are you in danger? Is Jamski within earshot?" –Garland sounded worried. This was not good, as Goran hoped that he will show strength now. After all, he was with Jamski, not the captain.

"I am within earshot and he could be in great danger, Captain," Jamski answered. "Your botanists don’t appear ready to hold off an armed force." His voice was full of anger. "I would like it very much if you unsealed this door."

"Difficult to do," said Garland calmly. "We have ordered the door sealed under duress. It will take some time to de-encrypt the access code."

"I don't believe you. Regardless, I suggest you find a way to open this door. I have members of your crew under guard."

"Why, Jamski?" Yang’s voice, clear and soft, floated into the room like a wisp of smoke. A silence followed, then finally…

"Dr. Yang."

"Yes. Your bargaining chip."

"You were never a bargaining chip. More of a worthy opponent, a threat I took seriously." Yang’s face remained impassive, calculating. "But I am sorry to see you have escaped. You could have been one of us."

"One of whom?"

"One of those who believe humanity will continue on its path to destruction unless guided by people with discipline and an unshakable will to survive. One who believes drastic measures must be taken to ensure the survival of the human race."

"That’s enough," cut in Garland. "Jamski, can we bring you here to the command center so that we can talk further? We all seek a safe ending to this journey."

"Open the door and I will come to you."

"Give your weapons to Officer Goran and I will open the door."

"I can’t. Open the hatch, Captain. I don't want this to go any farther. You have my word on that."

"The word of a traitor," hissed Yang, his anger breaking forth for the first time.

"Perhaps a traitor to you, but I only seek to guarantee the safety of those who follow me. If the entire ship doesn’t make it, and I believe it won't…we, who have proven our will to live, want to be in the part of the ship that reaches planetside."

"Wait by the hatch," Garland said, and closed the connection.

Damn – thought Goran. What was Captain planning! Are we going to be left here closed with Jamski? He threatened with an attack, and my botanist can`t hold against such a well trained force. Will we have to die for the sake of this mission?

Goran stood quietly, positioning himself at the front of his small group of staff, trying to hold Jamski's gaze.

“What are your goals Jamski, why have you mutinied? I thought we left horrors of fascism on Earth?”

“We are not fascist, as you know them from Earth. Our belief is survival of the fittest.” – said Jamski, still chewing a cigar.

“How can you smoke, or rather chew that cigar? You are both physically and mentally rotten. History has shown that dictatorships ultimately fail. Stalin, Hitler, Bush, their empires desintegrated at the end. Only the democracy survives. People like you have polluted and destroyed Earth, seeking only their own personal glory.”

Jamski smiled, not stoping to chew his cigar
“People like us built this ship. We only want to be ready for anything. And weak, they deserve to be crushed. It is a shame if someone weak wastes resources for the strong. I despise even air they breathe.”

“I see, we weak should make place for you strong ones. But who were the ones that invented the wheel, the plow, electricity and even the gun you are proudly waving with? You should have realised that if evolution followed the path of you brutes we would still be on trees.” – Goran started to circle around Jamski.

Jamski paused for a moment, since he obviously didn`t have a reply to this.

“But who has protected you while you were still inventing the wheel? Who defended you, provided you with food and clothing while you were making imprints on cave walls?” – came the Jamskis answer.

“That time is gone, Jamski. Democracy is the
way of the man now. I doubt you will get your own colony pod. Captain is not crazy enough to go with your demands. People like you destroyed Earth.” Goran was clearly angry now. “Warmongerers, you have caused three world wars, you turned North America into nuclear wasteland, you destroyed Amazon forest. You melted polar caps, you annihilated ozone layer, you killed over 1.5 billion people in last 200 years. Haven`t you learned anything?”

“Yes, stronger survives.”

“No you fool! If we do not respect ourselves, and planet on which we live on, we are nothing better than viruses. Like Adam and Eve were thrown out from Garden of Eden, so have we been expelled from dying Earth. We must maintain ecological balance or we won`t get a third chance.”

“And how do you propose to colonise planet? You would rather have us float around planet, admiring it`s beauty? Who will protect us from dangerous predators that lurk below?”

“How do you know that there are any predators there? Ecology of this planet may be evolved as symbiotic rather than competetive one? I doubt nature can make the same mistake two times. If we do not harm tha nature, it won`t harm us either. This is why we have to maintain ecological balance. Your armed band will once again fail, as history tends to repeat itself. What will you do, faced alone, on surface of an alien world? Litter the planet again? I can assure you, that will not happen again. I will make sure of it.”

Goran now sensed he was winning. Jamski has started to feel uncomfortable. He even stopped chewing his cigar. If he could crack his beliefs….

Abruptly a metallic shunting sound split the silence of the chamber. Red lights began to pulse around the perimeter of the Greenhouse. Heedless of the threat from the insurgents, one of Goran's botanists, named Ouro, crossed to a nearby terminal. Jamski had not moved, but his posture was wired with tension.

"What's happening?" he snapped at Ouro. Ouro directed his answer towards Goran instead.

"The oxygen supply has been cut off to this room, and the seal, of course, is airtight. It appears they are actually draining oxygen from the room. We have...ten minutes at most, before we become impaired. Unconsciousness and death will follow..."

How can they be doing this? This must be some kind of trick – thought Goran.
Jamski slid off the box and onto his feet. He punched a code into his quicklink. "Maniac, this is Jamski. Move your people away from the door and watch for any activity. Set guards..."

He abruptly trailed off, his eyes snapping to Goran, whose eyes had flickered, just for a moment, to the screen on his wearable computer.
Jamski closed the distance between them in an instant, grabbing for Goran's arm. Goran slid back with surprising speed, avoiding the grab.

"What was that?" Jamski demanded.

"Nothing," said Goran. "The homeostasis is off because of the oxygen...the Greenhouse computers are sending me their alarms."

"Show me." His tone remained imperious. Goran extended his arm and tapped a scroll code into the tiny flat screen.

"Meaningless," said Jamski, thoughtfully. The screen contained flashing codes representing chemical atmospheric balances. "Do you have any oxygen in here? Where is your emergency supply?"

"Beneath that support beam..." Goran motioned to an arc on the far side of the Greenhouse. "Unless they've somehow been sealed from us as well."

"You," Jamski pointed to Ouro. "Check the panels. Verify there is no oxygen." Back to Goran again. "Think quickly, Officer. There are chemicals here...can you manufacture oxygen somehow?"

"I...don't think so," Goran considered. Carefully... "Let me check the supplies. We might be able to..."

"Check quickly. Method, watch him," Santiago motioned to his companion, the shorter bald man, who followed Method as he headed for a stack of storage canisters behind a small stand of olive trees. As they moved off Jamski activated a link to the command center, emergency band. "Captain Garland, this is Jamski. I find your actions indefensible. Don't you fear for your crew, under guard here?" He looked at the quicklink angrily. "They are not listening."

And then he looked up. Like trees bending under a forest wind, all of Goran's people had bent to their quicklinks at the same moment, reading a message. At once they all began to fall, throwing themselves onto the ground.
Jamski sprung back, instinctively seeking shelter by the wall. His cigar fell out from his mouth.

The ship surged and rocked beneath everyone's feet. Jamski immediately fell to the ground, unable to maintain balance. Goran's staff, already in mid fall, covered their heads and rolled, tumbling into one another. Goran fell forward into a stack of plastic cylinders containing fertilizers and chemicals, then immediately twisted around as Method fell forward into him..
He slipped his fingers under the release valve of one canister and ripped it off. A stream of liquid nitrate rolled forth, pouring across Method`s face. He screamed, more from surprise then pain.
Goran rolled away. The trees around him rocked and swayed, their branches scraping the sky like scarecrows in a tempest. As he watched a web of cracks bloomed across one of the glass panels above, like horizontal lightning.

Oh God...the ship...

A metallic groan traveled down the length of the ship and through his feet. Outside the panels he caught a wild sight of landing pods shaking, more structural supports bending.
There was a pock pock pock and three holes appeared near his feet. He looked up, his heart pounding in alarm...
Jamski's second. The little Method. He had one hand clutching his own face, his own eyes, as the other hand swung wildly, sending shredder pellets in crazy arcs around the Greenhouse.

"Goran!"

Goran looked to see Laurentius, holding one of the tension rigs the engineers had used to shore up the synthglass panels. He lunged forward across the wildly tilting terrain and aimed the contraption in Method's direction.

He pulled the trigger.

Out of the front of the rig shot a clear shimmering transparent sheet, about three meters square, rippling in the light. The sheet should have been fired into a synthglass panel, where it would have spread out to grip the surface with high levels of tension, reinforcing it.

Instead it now slapped into the lunging Spartan, wrapping around him. Laurentius flipped a switch on the gun, triggering a signal pulse along a slim optical fiber. The Spartan's eyes grew wide and he opened his mouth to scream as the tension sheet pulled tight around him, tearing layers from his skin in different directions. His eyes widened in horror and his skin rip as the clear sheet tightened around his body. His scream sounded faint, as if heard through walls.
The ship steadied. The floor became firm again. People started to stand slowly. Leaves scattered across the metal floor of the Greenhouse, and a dark stream of water, spilled from a hydration tank, snaked around it.
"Is everyone all right? Ouro? Cosmic? Laurentius?" He looked around. "Where is Jamski?"
"Here," said a voice, husky with fear. Goran looked over.
Hydro kneeled near Jamski, who lay splayed out against a compost bin near one wall of the Greenhouse.

He delicately pulled the shredder pistol from Jamski's fingers. "He's unconscious. Was that the plan?"

Hydro looked so puzzled. Goran smiled in spite of himself, and then began to laugh, releasing tension. "Tie him up, quickly, with anything you can find. I'll contact the Captain. It looks like we got him."

[Illuminatus]

"The ship is falling apart."

Zakharov’s words blanketed the command center, shadowing the faces of the assembled staff.

"We are not far from Planet, but the stress on the Unity’s structure is reaching critical levels."

"Implication?" asked Garland tersely.

"We should prepare for the worst. The whole structure may shake apart before one of us touches the new world."

"We’ve come all this way," said Hercules. "Why now?"

"Physics," retorted Zakharov.

"Perhaps it is better this way," murmured Goran, present in the command center to debrief after Jamski’s capture. He felt Captain ignoring him.

"Should we break away now?" he asked, rising to his feet. "Are we close enough to pilot down the landing pods.?"

"Too soon," said Zakharov. "But we should begin our preparations. Awaken everyone, move people to their destination pods, redistribute supplies. Accept that only one pod, or none, may make planetfall."

"Or all of them? Is that even a possibility?" asked Lal.

"Yes, of course," said Zakharov, his voice neutral.

"Captain, we have assembled a report from the first wave of landing pods," broke in Ensign Cotter, the ensign on duty.

"Excellent," said Captain Garland. Behind him Goran tensed. "Send the next wave. Seed the surface…we don’t know who will need them or when."

"Captain," said Goran, rising to his feet. "I must object to this. Are we now interstellar litterbugs…is this our welcome to Planet?"

"This is not the time," he said simply, coldly. Goran took another breath but saw anger in Garland’s eyes, and he suddenly could smell a new sense of desperation in the command center. Now the mission was about survival, not philosophy… Zakharov must had talked with him.
"Very well," he said, and headed for the observation bay.

While walking towards observation bay, he was suddenly met up by Zakharov.

“You can now see that you can`t manipulate people so easily. I talked some sense into Captain. We didn`t travel all this way just to look at planet from orbit. This is our new home Goran.” – Zakharov said arrogantly.

“I just hope that we will not burn our new home to ground like the old one, Officer Zakharov.” – Goran stopped.

“What made you think I was manipulating Captain? He just followed his sense of logic.”

“I know what you are Goran. I looked upon your dossier. Your place should be in research lab, so we can study you.”

Goran`s heart started to pound. He knew! Devilish Zakharov realised!

“I do not know what are you talking about. Have you drank too much of your precious Russian vodka tonight?”

“You are, what is called an empath. Phenomenon studied too little on Earth. You see Goran, I am open to new ideas, and this planet is perfect opportunity to finaly solve some of Earth`s greatest mysteries. In a contained environment, like future colonies will be, we shall finally study your kind. I know you can sense emotions in another, but you obviously can`t read minds, like some people claim to be able to do so. One of my engineers, confirmed today that you are an empath. You see Natalya is an empath too.”

Goran was frozen. He realised it all.

“You should know best, as one of mankinds greatest scientific minds that empaths do not exist. Why have you turned to pseudoscience?”

“You know as I do that this is true. Tell me, what are you feeling now in me? Happiness and hatred, correct? Happiness because I realised what you are, and hatred, because you continue to cloud other`s judgement.
He was right. He felt that in him, along with something else, like he felt in Jamski`s mind. There was something alike – mutinous! Zakharov is planning a mutiny too!

“I sense that you are going the way of Jamski, Zak.” – said Goran with self-confidence. “Should I inform Captain of your mutinous plans?”

“You have no evidence.” – responded Zakharov angry.

“Not, I do not. Except my empathic abilities. Do you have evidence that I am empath? If you do, and you prove so, I can then prove that you are planning a mutiny too.” –Goran sensed a tiny spot of fear in Zakharov now.

“Take a good look of your Greenhouse Goran, since you will be comdemned to it. It was a great mistake to appoint you for Chief Xenobiologist, and I am stating it again, Natalya would be a much better choice.”
Zakharov left.



Goran stood in the observation room off of the command center and watched the great jewel of Planet pulse against the darkness. Alpha Centauri A, the system’s primary star, backlit Planet beautifully now, creating a halo around it, and Alpha Centauri B, the system’s second of three suns, cast another quality of light across the surface.
He stared, mesmerized, at the new world. Without thinking he lifted one hand to touch the thick synthglass of the observation windows, brushing his fingers slowly along it. Its beauty…the swirls of colors…clouds, not unlike Earth clouds, and the jagged shape of land beneath, peeking out here and there.
Behind him the door hissed open, but he did not look up. He felt and unknow presence, someone unfamiliar.

"Each sight more beautiful than the last," came a rich baritone behind him. He snapped around quickly…Chaunk, the stowaway, stood in the doorway, staring at him and the shimmer of Planet behind him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked tersely. "You should be under guard."

He chuckled as if at a good joke. "Not now. Some crewmembers have interceded on my behalf, and the Captain has called me to consult about the ship. I know things that could prove useful, during this time of crisis."

He nodded at Planet. "So that is the new world?"

"Officer Goran, please" he said absently, turning away from him, inexplicably drawn to the sight of Planet again. "It is beautiful, yes?"

"As beautiful as my finest diamonds." He stepped forward and lifted one hand, sweeping it expansively across the vista. "It is like a…coin, catching the light on a field of black velvet."

His eyes flickered to him. "It is what Earth used to be. Not for hundreds of thousands of years have Earth people been privileged with what we are seeing today. A world unspoiled."

"A world rich with promise." He said, lifting his chin.

"No." The word came out clipped.

He looked over at him, smiling in puzzlement. "You do not find promise here?" But his eyes searched his face rapidly. "It is your new world, a perfect world for your experiments. You have seen the preliminary scans…rich in nitrate, perfect for your hybrids."

"Yes, I know. I meant…. Your goals are transparently obvious." One of his eyebrows shot up. "You see a world of natural resources, ready to be…exploited. Correct?"

"Exploit." He turned the word over, considering it as if tasting a new wine. He looked at him appraisingly. "I wondered who would first use that word. We all…all life forms exploit, Officer. Your plants exploit the very air we exhale. We exploit them for food. But even the simplest of your hybrids would gladly kill us if they could, to stop from being torn from the earth and consumed."

"Perhaps. But there is a balance. I do not have to tell you something so patently obvious. We did not come to ‘exploit.’"

"Didn’t we? Sustained growth is a form of balance, and an inevitable one. The economic Holy Grail."

"Your wealth means nothing here."

"Wealth is the exchange of value. It is a way of representing energy traded. I don’t need to tell you this." He chuckled. "We will get along well on this new world, I can see. I will be sure to sell you the tie-dyes."

"You seem to think your place in this world is preordained." He turned toward him, feeling the heat of the Centauri suns on the side of her face.

"No, not at all. But I am here. I am a leader, and a manager. Morgan himself chose me to continue the mission of Morgan Industries on Chiron. I’m sure Captain Garland can appreciate using any available talents to the fullest on this harsh new world."

He shook his head. "It is a beautiful world. Why can’t you just appreciate its beauty?"

"I can. I appreciate things of beauty. They are of high value. Planet…I value it, or I would not be here."

"But your kind of thinking will destroy it," he shot back. He laughed at that, and he grew angry. "Why do you laugh like this?" Goran could not sense anything except arrogance.

"I see now your famous intensity, tending your hybrids night and day. I imagine you making a new breed of plants, one that can defend itself readily...Goran and his flame-throwing corn stalks, advancing on my trader’s outpost." He chuckled again. "We need traders, how else to turn worms into silk?"

"Adam and Eve needed nothing, except their garden."

"Now you sound like Godwinson," Chaunk said quietly. He let out a deep breath and turned to leave, then stopped. "Perhaps humankind will taint Planet, or perhaps we have all learned something of value from Earth’s tragedy. But," he said, and he turned to look at him with a flicker of annoyance. "If you wanted Planet to remain truly pure, you would not have come at all."

“Pure not, but to finally create harmonius society on a virgin world, which will be not consume by yet another blind trader like you.”

“And who has built this ship? Morgan has paid more than one third of it! Greed is what has led us to stars, and rewards of wealth await those who are ready to grab it!”

“Would we ever need to build this ship if your kind hasn`t destroyed our Mother? Are we destiend to move from planet to planet like grasshopers, consuming everything on our`s way? Are we nothing better than viruses?”

“Viruses do not wear silk, they do not play chess and they do not build spaceships.”

“They do not? Then why are we travelling here?”

“To find new riches to be exploited, since old ones are depleted.”

“The main thing humans have in common with viruses is that they ultiamtely kill their host. But viruses can be beneficial to it`s host, as I proved several times, and I am going to make sure that sense fro ecology must be above all laws. We must not make the same mistake twice. Think of it Chaunk, when you realise that Earth is dead because of you.”

Chaunk paused and exited. Goran felt that he at least started something in him. Who knows will this result in something.

[Illuminatus]

Goran felt the gravity of the Unity lessen, just slightly, and could see the lights of the ship dim down it’s length. "Nightfall," he murmured, referring to a mode the ship moved into at regular intervals to help maintain the crew’s circadian rhythms.

He stretched and stared out the tinted panels of the Greenhouse. He felt languid, mesmerized by the startling beauty of Planet, its breathtaking presence against the lonely infinite. They were so close now, and Planet seemed to sparkle with mystery, calling to him. He had to pull his eyes away as they grew heavy with the need for sleep.

"Laurentius, I am retiring for now," he alerted his second in command, and walked back through his gardens and tiny forests, his green worlds, toward a series of light partitions he had set up next to a grouping of white pine.

He passed by a small white bunk where Ouro, now slept, and then went behind the shaded partitions. He didn`t even bother to take the uniform off, he just laid on soil.

His eyes crossed the bright sphere of a thermal lamp and he closed them and watched the afterimage burn against his eyelids, mirroring the bright sphere of Planet. The afterimage fragmented and wavered and then took shape again…Planet…and she heard a roaring in his ears, and it sounded like wind and sea, but not quite like Earth wind or Earth sea.

And somewhere beneath it all, beneath the roaring, …a voice, harmonic and faint, but rich with age…"earth". And then… "being"

"earthbeing."

His eyes snapped open. His heart pounded in his chest, and a chill run across him. He started to sweat. He stood up. What was this? Am I getting mad?

"Goran." He turned. Ouro stood at the partition, looking concerned. "Is everything OK here?"

Goran nodded and stood. "I’m just retiring. I am all right."

"Shall I turn off the thermal lamp there, Officer?"

"No, leave it."

"Very well." He heard Ouro pad away.

Goran stared at the light and then closed her eyes again, as a planet dream took shape against the darkness of his sleep.

And somewhere deep in his dream, the voice came again: earthbeing… earthgoran



"Where is the Captain?" asked Goran, growing restless.

"I have sent him a wakeup," said Lal quietly. "He is timing his emergency stim use carefully. Soon there won't be very much time to sleep."

"I have just looked at Planet again," said Goran, and Lal could too see, reflections of Planet’s beauty mirroring out to infinity. "We are so close."

"Yes," said Zakharov sharply, and the others turned to look at him. "Very close. It is time for final preparations. We have a window to land, but it is a small one. Still, I believe we can make it." Chaunk nodded; Hercules closed his eyes for a brief and silent moment of thinking.

"Are we all clear on our duties?" asked Yang, sweeping the assembled staff with a dark gaze. "Is there anything left undone?"

"Our duties are to follow the Captain’s orders," Lal said quietly. Zakharov ignored the comment and spoke again.

"We have decelerated almost enough, but we will need to increase the fusion drive output in the last hour of our journey or we will not be able to land on Planet. We may need to split off in the landing pods at a moment's notice, and hope we are close enough to Planet to make it."

'What is the danger then?" asked Lal. "Will there be loss of life?"

"Almost certainly," Zakharov answered. "Possibly all of us, in the worst case."

"There could not be a worse case than that," murmured Goran.

"But we have no choice. Unless we want to remain on the ship, sailing through the cosmos. That would guarantee our lives, but I assume we all want to make it to Planet, regardless of the risk. Correct?"

He looked around. Several heads nodded.

"Then these risks must be taken. They are our only chance to reach Planet. My proposal: each of us in a separate bay, with a full complement of supplies, weapons and staff. We will increase our chances that any one will survive."

The room locked into a shocked silence as emotions swirled in currents through the assembled staff. Their own pod, each of them...

"Ah," said Yang, finally.

"A prudent plan," said Chaunk.

"A moment," said Lal to Chaunk. "You seek only the raw materials for a new empire. And you are not even an officer!" He turned to Zakharov. "Who are you to advance such a proposal without the Captain present?"

"I am bringing it up because the issue is foremost in our minds. We must assure the survival of the human race."

"The people admire me," said Chaunk quietly. "I am a leader. I also own part of the ship."

"Enough!" said Lal. "We are talking of redistributing supplies. The ship has been designed with enough redundancy that if two or three pods don't make it the mission will still not be jeopardized."

"True," said Zakharov calmly. "I say take it farther. We must accept that perhaps only one pod will make it. Each must be ready to restart the human race from scratch."

"As Director Chaunk said, a prudent plan," said Yang.

"It seems extreme," said Hercules. "What exactly are we proposing here?"

"Each pod, a self-contained world," said Zakharov.
Lal shot to his feet, his normally soft voice trembling with anger. "This is mutiny."

"No!" shouted Zakharov, and they all turned to look at him. He lowered his voice. "There is no mutiny here. We are waiting for the Captain. We are discussing our future, our lives! If we all present a reasonable proposal, he must acknowledge it."

"Agreed," said Chaunk hastily. "The pods already are self-contained, in theory. Although they don’t all have weapons."

"Or the best lab equipment," said Goran.

"Of course, the 'best' is relative," said Zakharov. "Only one can have the best lab equipment and that must be mine."

"Why?" asked Chaunk. "Because you are the science officer? With your expertise you should be able to do more with less."

"Surely you are proposing that we all reach Planet and reassemble there if humanly possible," said Lal. "Correct?"

"Of course!" laughed Chaunk.

"One pod, one leader," cut in Zakharov. "It is the only guarantee against the chaos approaching."

"What chaos?" persisted Lal. "We have a chain of command."

"We must prepare for that chain to be decimated," said Yang. "Any or all of us may die before reaching Planet."

"That is why we have a Charter," said Lal.

"Did Jamski follow your Charter?" asked Zakharov, staring at Lal. He turned to the rest of the core staff. "The Captain will arrive shortly. Will we present a unified front?"

Yang lifted a hand. "Why not vote? We have a say in this mission as much as anyone."

"I must register my objections to this secret meeting," said Lal.

"Look around," said Yang quietly. "This is not the court of a king. We are alone. The Charter is what we make of it."

"I motion that each of us become acting captain of a cryocell until Planetfall, and resources be carefully divided between them," said Zakharov.

"Second," said Yang.

"Second," said Chaunk.

"You are not an officer," said Goran.

"I am an owner," said Chaunk simply. "I am part of you now."

"Against," said Lal.

"Against," said Hercules. All heads turned to Goran, who seemed to stare off into space, seeking counsel from something beyond their vision. When he spoke his voice was clear and measured, his eyes wide, as if enchanted. For the planet, for liberty, and for mankind.

"In favor," he said.

"Then we will inform the Captain," said Zakharov quickly. Lal, stunned, looked around the command center, watching different scenarios play behind eyes alive with possibility.



“So what will you do now Hercules, gain control of your own colony pod? Or join some of the others. I know Chaunk has a vision of a capitalist utopia, and Zakharov of a scientific one. Why don`t you join me and pursue a quest for world of tolerance ecoblance and freedom?”

“I plan to build a free world too, but unbinded by any type of government. Everyone can do what it wants, and is not binded by any laws.”

“Free flow of information is still the most important goal. But, lack of any government? Why don`t you try conventional democracy of Earth?”

“All democracies are binding at last. I want a completely free society.”

“You want an anarchistic society. How will you live in a society of chaos? You are planning a society which is a direct opposite from Yang`s.”

“That is true. But why do you perceive anarchy as wrong?”

“Because chaos leads to death, suffer, destruction. It is just as bad as dictatorships. Free flow of information and freedom –that is what makes us live.”

“I do not like control or even war too, but why don`t you reconsider? How will your people live in a society without control? I plan to build a free and peaceloving society too. Why don`t we join forces in doing so?”

“Any kind of central rule is binding. I prefer doing what I want. And franky, your environmental initiatives give me the creeps. We will not put interest of freedom below interests of planet. But we are willing to learn on our mistakes. I hope we will be friends, not enemies, when we meet again in decades from now.”

Goran sensed that his words were true. But who knows what can happen in all that time.

Lieutenant HongHu interrupted them, entering the room.

“Ah, as you can see,” started Hercules, “HongHu has chosen too to build a truly free society with me on this planet. You can see that many are already taking the right path.”

Goran sensed something in HongHu. She had something to say to both of them.

“Officer Hercules, Officer Goran, I have something to say.”

Both of them looked at her with interest.

“As you know Hercules, I plan to build a free and peaceloving society. But my place is not with you. As much as I admire your goals, your anarchist views seem to extreme to me. My place is with Goran, and I feel his vision is correct.”

Hercules was surprised, as was Goran.

“Of course HongHu, everyone is free to pursue it`s own path. I wish luck to both of you. Now, if you will excuse me.” Hercules exited in a hury.

Goran looked at HongHu and thought, is this the beginning? Is this how we will finally build a utopian society? Others have already reconsidered their allegiances. Is this just the beginning?

[Illuminatus]

"The chance to begin again," said Goran, looking over her assembled followers, meeting the eyes of her most trusted advisors as they watched him intensely. Laurentius, Hydro, Cosmic, Net Warrior, Ouro, HongHu. A lot of other colonists assembled here as well."Planet is a waiting, living being, pure and unsullied, such as Earth was at one time. We have a chance to purge ourselves of the unspeakable crimes we have committed against our home Planet. We will never have such a chance again.

"It is like the Garden of Eden… untouched by human kind. I intend to redeem the crimes of humanity, build a bastion of democracy and peace, maintain ecological balance at all costs and follow the ways of Planet. Who is with me?"

[Snowflake]

A very nice write up obstructor. Perhaps we could actually start an IC story in the public forum after all.

A couple comments on general IC threads. Normally the way it goes is that we set up two threads, one for the story, another for comments. This way the story can be contineous. Second, you can maniputate yourself and characters that you created. If you want to use other people, you need to obtain their agreement. Usually we PM the draft to invovled parties before we post it.

Couple comments for your story.
First, some of the names in original that you intended to be replaced have not been edited out. For example, there are a few places when you intended to use Jamski you still have Santiago in place. This is also why you are confused in using the "he" and "she".
Second, I'm not sure after you are able to see the planet so clearly, clouds and all, you would still have time to do all the talking and planning and stuff?

But overall a very nice writeup.

[Snowflake]

Oh and you should change Xenobiologist to biologist. We haven't reached the planet and haven't known anything "xeno" related yet.

[Ouro_827]

Hmm.... I've should see if I can find my write up papers... I did a landing story at one point.... Sounds good though...

[Illuminatus]

Originally posted by HongHu
A very nice write up obstructor. Perhaps we could actually start an IC story in the public forum after all.

A couple comments on general IC threads. Normally the way it goes is that we set up two threads, one for the story, another for comments. This way the story can be contineous. Second, you can maniputate yourself and characters that you created. If you want to use other people, you need to obtain their agreement. Usually we PM the draft to invovled parties before we post it.

Hmm, I wrote that as an introduction. I believe no character has been harmed. It is however to other factions to build IC. We should make internal IC stories.

Couple comments for your story.
First, some of the names in original that you intended to be replaced have not been edited out. For example, there are a few places when you intended to use Jamski you still have Santiago in place. This is also why you are confused in using the "he" and "she".
Second, I'm not sure after you are able to see the planet so clearly, clouds and all, you would still have time to do all the talking and planning and stuff?

Found 11 mistakes and edited them out, thanks. I posted this and went out, didn`t have time to run through it. About the second remark, ship is decelleratig, so it`s approach is decreasing rapidly.

[Illuminatus]

Originally posted by HongHu
Oh and you should change Xenobiologist to biologist. We haven't reached the planet and haven't known anything "xeno" related yet.

look at this It seems that they suspected at least low level of life forms, since Deidre`s official position on Unity is Chief Botanist/Xenobiologist.

This remains, since it has sense.

And GT (haven`t noticed your post earlier), I chose faction founders. No faction has an official leader yet.

[Hydro]

Obstructor,

Nice bit of work. HongHu is correct that this text, if it is to stand for this Democracy game, will have to receive comments from all the factions. They may object, for instance, in having it from a Gaian point of view. I suspect that multiple edits will be needed.

There seem to be a couple of anomalies, through:

* The planet is ‘Chiron’. Calling it ‘Planet’ would come much later, and certainly after landfall. I also suspect that only Gaians call Chiron ‘Planet’, in any case.

* I’m not sure I’m comfortable having Zak and the Gaians forming their own mutiny after decrying that of the Spartans. Of the factions, the Gaians and PKs keep closest to the original agenda of the Unity mission, and Zak was apparently devoted to the mission. Abandoning the mission this early would seem out of character to me, especially when this is counter to the leadership of Garland (it makes his sacrifice rather pointless, too), who was admired by everyone. [Plus, I like the idea of the Spartans being the only Bad Guy (er – Girl) in the original story]

* At this point the colonists wouldn’t know Chiron is super rich in nitrates, and other details about its ecology. That comes later (per the faction leader quotes from Datalinks)

There is another possibility: keep the original story, but have the Democracy team emerge as part of the story during or after landing, taking over from the original leaders. Planet is a dangerous place, after all. For instance, Dee could perish during or shortly after landing; Santiago could die valiantly fighting hostile native life forms from overwhelming her pod, and her loyal operative take over; the Data Angles emerge as the ascendant power due to chaos at Zak’s pod. You get the drift. This simpler entrance to the game clears any debris that locks any faction to a particular set of representatives, or even agenda. This also lets the factions set their own history, and then let it evolve as the Democracy game unfolds.

Just a suggestion!

Hydro

P.S. – HongHu – there probably would be a planetary biologist (or xenobiologist, which derives from the Greek ‘xeno’ as meaning ‘foreign’) on Unity since this was a mission to colonize an alien planet. I suspect that this discipline would be very high on the list of needed expertise.

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by obstructor


look at this It seems that they suspected at least low level of life forms, since Deidre`s official position on Unity is Chief Botanist/Xenobiologist.

This remains, since it has sense.

Hmmm you are right.

[Snowflake]

Back in the starting time of the current ACDG, the Hive members each wrote brief introduction of self history, how he ended up in the Unity and what he is seeking from the mission etc. It was quite fun. The back story about Jamski's sabortaging Yang started from there too.

[Illuminatus]

Originally posted by Hydro
Obstructor,

Nice bit of work. HongHu is correct that this text, if it is to stand for this Democracy game, will have to receive comments from all the factions. They may object, for instance, in having it from a Gaian point of view. I suspect that multiple edits will be needed.

If there is one thing I hate, that is repeating myself. This is not to be offical for Democracy game, this is Gaian point of view. Nothing shall be edited.

There seem to be a couple of anomalies, through:


* The planet is ‘Chiron’. Calling it ‘Planet’ would come much later, and certainly after landfall. I also suspect that only Gaians call Chiron ‘Planet’, in any case.

Nope. In canon story, of which this is a rewrite, colonists still use planet more often

* I’m not sure I’m comfortable having Zak and the Gaians forming their own mutiny after decrying that of the Spartans. Of the factions, the Gaians and PKs keep closest to the original agenda of the Unity mission, and Zak was apparently devoted to the mission. Abandoning the mission this early would seem out of character to me, especially when this is counter to the leadership of Garland (it makes his sacrifice rather pointless, too), who was admired by everyone. [Plus, I like the idea of the Spartans being the only Bad Guy (er – Girl) in the original story]

Once, again, have you read the original canon story? Both Zak and Dee voted for, thus inciting mutiny. Only Miriam and Lal were against. And Spartans are not much of bad guys, Yang is much more evil.

* At this point the colonists wouldn’t know Chiron is super rich in nitrates, and other details about its ecology. That comes later (per the faction leader quotes from Datalinks)

Once again, have you read the original canon story? They launched probes (even mentioned here), and preliminary scans (also mentioned here) show that there are nitrates. This is also in the original version.

There is another possibility: keep the original story, but have the Democracy team emerge as part of the story during or after landing, taking over from the original leaders. Planet is a dangerous place, after all. For instance, Dee could perish during or shortly after landing; Santiago could die valiantly fighting hostile native life forms from overwhelming her pod, and her loyal operative take over; the Data Angles emerge as the ascendant power due to chaos at Zak’s pod. You get the drift. This simpler entrance to the game clears any debris that locks any faction to a particular set of representatives, or even agenda. This also lets the factions set their own history, and then let it evolve as the Democracy game unfolds.

This is story for recruting reasons. It would not have any sense if it is unchanged. Also it is highly unlikely that all leaders perished. This helps building inner character.

P.S. – HongHu – there probably would be a planetary biologist (or xenobiologist, which derives from the Greek ‘xeno’ as meaning ‘foreign’) on Unity since this was a mission to colonize an alien planet. I suspect that this discipline would be very high on the list of needed expertise.

I already explained why there is a title of xenobiologist.


Hydro, have you worked out your problems?

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by obstructor

If there is one thing I hate, that is repeating myself. This is not to be offical for Democracy game, this is Gaian point of view. Nothing shall be edited.

Obstructor, I think the reason I and Hydro mentioned this point is that you did use other people's names in your story. They should have a say in what you want them to say and how you want them to act. Like you presented how they are easily to be angry or nervous or cannot answer your questions etc. I suspect not everybody feels that they have already started to suspect their own ideology because of your influences and so on. If the story starts from when we are already departed as Hydro suggested, then there is less risk that you would need to refer to other players in other factions.

And Spartans are not much of bad guys, Yang is much more evil.

What are you talking about?!