RP1 Narrative

[Rynn:]

As the name implies, this thread reserved for narrative re the Roleplaying game, RP1

[Hydro]

MY2101
Journal of Lady Deirdre Skye

We are all pretty traumatized with disintegration of Unity and the frightening and unplanned start we have here on Chiron. It was not supposed to be like this. Humanity's last hope has degenerated into chaos, and we are all struggling to pick up the pieces. We have heard nothing from the other seven survival pods, and all of us earnestly hope they made landfall safely. Unfortunately, in the absence of information rumors abound. Some talk of sabotage and terrorism in those frantic final hours, of Security Chief Yang being assassinated, and of Santiago as being the prime saboteur. I earnestly hope that Sheng-Ji Yang is among the living, and that the rumors of Santiago are false. We do know one thing, however: Captain Garland is surely dead. Engineering Technicians Hobkins was monitoring the comm. just before we separated. According to him Captain Garland manually overrode the jammed pod releases as Unity was breaking up, and in doing so he saved us all. He must have stayed with his command like an ancient mariner, guiding Unity to its sad end. We will honor his memory.

Our pod crash-landed near a wide sea on the northeastern slope of a landmass, the size and shape of which no one knows. Our survey team reported back quickly as our hab units went up and breathers were dispersed to those in our Unity pod, and the reports were excellent. We are blessed with rainy and fertile land, with a reasonable amount of easily accessible raw materials near ground surface. A fragment of Unity apparently lies to our southeast, and all of us hope it is a supply pod. We have so little that anything would be a welcomed.

We proceed with care, of course, since this is an alien planet and we have so little information on its flora and fauna. Already we have seen indications of a strange and robust fungal growth in the sea and possibly on land. We have been too busy ensuring our own survival to explore much, but we hope to. The scientist in me wants to see and know, to explore this world and listen to what it has to say to us. In a way this is the grandest adventure of all time, but I just wish it had started under better circumstances. For all I know we are all that's left of humanity, and that is a heavy burden.
[This message has been edited by Hydro (edited November 19, 2000).]

[Googlie]

Freefall

Fellow Colonists.

Allow me to introduce myself to those of you who have found yourselves unwittingly - perhaps even unwillingly - in this Unity escape pod.

My name is Nwabudike Morgan, and yes, I own - or owned - the construction companies that were entrusted with the building ofthe UNS Unity. You may refer to me as CEO Morgan.

In about 12 minutes we shall have emergency landed on this planet's surface. We know little about it. But I and my key executives intend to build a utopia in this alien land. We shall uphold the principles of freedom - of free speech, freedom to worship, a free market economy and the freedom of each individual to accumulate such wealth as he or she deems necessary to provide for life's needs according to their own standards. Also, any who so wishes will have the freedom to leave our group and seek his or her fortunes elsewhere.

We bring little with us by way of infrastructure or technology, except the most basic. But we do have the knowledge and experience in building an industrial base, fuelled initially by small scale manufacturing with primitive assembly lines and simple currency instruments.

When we make landfall, our future will begin - it will be ours to seize and shape. We believe that this planet - Chiron - is resource rich.

Resources exist to be consumed. And consumed they will be, if not by this generation then by some future. By what right does this forgotten future seek to deny us our birthright? None I say! Let us take what is ours, chew and eat our fill.

Now prepare yourselves for entry into the atmosphere and our landing.

Good luck, and I will introduce myself to each of you personally after we have made our landfall.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Lifetimes ago, and lightyears away, I would have been frightened.

Reentry placed a strain upon the colony pod that I am convinced was beyond its meager limits, but somehow we were able to contain the damage. Our challenge was two fold - not only were we fleeing a sinking ship, forsaken due to the sabotage of its reactor, but halfway to Planetfall we discovered that our colony dropship too had suffered fatal damage to the drive thrusters.

The engines were running under the feeble power of liquid fuel, and during freefall we were vulnerable to whichever fickle winds chose to blow us whither. And I hold it as a tribute to Kao Lin that he volunteered his knowledge and his life to save us.

Three hours were all that he had to repair the hydraulics supplying the coolant to the nuclear drive - it was a task he performed well and with devoted professionalism. It was also his magnum opus, knowing he would not live to see its completion.

He worked until the very edge of the time envelope, transmitting reports of his progress to the Chairman, and radioing his happy success with two minutes thirty to spare.

By the time our technicians had fired the thrusters to steer us to a dry Planetfall, Kao Lin had removed his helmet, breathed in the air, and joined the Many. To him we would owe our first successes - without him, we would surely have fetched down at the bottom of an alien sea bed.

* ~ * ~ *

The Chairman Sheng announced his internal committee today. Zhu He Lai, Ren Zhen Fang, Ota Kyi, and Arkady Berzhinev ("Bai Zhi Nei" in Chinese) are to be the administrators. So far, each to his own, and every man for the Many.

The Chairman emphasized in his speech that we were to face many challenges, unknown and alien as well as the familiar and inevitable. He expressed his wish that our society may proceed rationally and without fear - by fear he encompassed the hesitation wrought by religion and morals, as well as the terror causing self-aggrandization that leads to greed, and also the fear to act instantly.

Most importantly he cautioned us against the fear of death. Already he emphasized how important the perished have become to us, serving directly to provide us with future life - both in our planned crop farms, and in recycled nutrients, each joule of which we must grasp in order to maintain life in our bodies.

When asked about the inevitability of meeting with other factions, he answered frankly that there was no need to hold fear. As long as we maintain cohesion and control over ourselves, he asserted, we may expect to be prepared for the best reception by our erstwhile friends and compatriots.

For, in a state of perfect interal governance and self-control there is nothing that an outsider must needs fear. There is no reason why multiple forms of perfect governance need be mutually exclusive, or diametrically opposed.

* ~ * ~ *

Work has begun. The winds are bitterly cold here, and what rain there is is thin and weak. However, hurdles are created to be overcome, and we have made our habitations deep below the surface. In this fashion, the heat we generate needs not fade upon the setting of the sun, and atmospheric control is far easier.

The problems inherent with this have been addressed by the Urban Director - we are to be meticulous in the disposal of our waste materials, both organic and inorganic. We are to be careful to a fault with our water and food, eating and drinking only at the prescribed times. Most importantly, we are to treat each member of our society with equal love and respect, regardless of relation or past.

This is going to be more difficult than I thought.


I may have to go apologize to Hu Man Bing.


I may, in fact, put this off until we have finished work on Corridor B.

[Hobbes_One]

University Science Log: 2101.

Landed at last. Due to our accurate calculations & appropriate use of the drop-pod thrusters we have landed safely on the shore of a large body of water. Its true nature-sea or lake is yet to be determined. We have begun exploring our immediate surroundings- reports have been received that useful supplies from the Unity have landed in supply pods. We hope to recover as much as possible to enhance our research abilities. There has been no sign of animal life yet- though it would be unthinkable that a planet with such a fertile environment has not evolved such. Nature-naturally enough, abhors a vacuum. (If I may be permitted such an anthropomorphic lapse.)

We have decided to split our research team and have sent a team inland under the supervision of exobiologist Ruth Hartwell to establish a research outpost there, this will give us access to a greater range of environmental conditions as well as safeguarding our precious databases should some disaster strike.

There has been likewise, no sign of the other factions from the Unity, odds are that despite their lesser abilities, some have made it safely to planet as we did. Given the size of the planet though, and the challenging terrain, it may be sometime before we meet with them. One can only hope too that some of their more extreme beliefs have been tempered by the drive to survive here in this new world.

Provost Hobbes

[Googlie]

Dear Diary

So we have landed. The descent was a bit frightening, bounced around a lot, but I'd been reading about this Planet's atmosphere and it's gravity is about a quarter more than Earth's so the heatshields must have been working overtime.

The boss talked to us all after we disembarked. Temporary tents which the compressors had a hard time keeping inflated 'cos of the high winds and heavy surface pressure on them, but at least if we stay in them we won't have to wear the breathers - they filter much of the nitrogen from the air we breathe. There aren't enough to go round anyway, so already a small machine shop has been set up to produce them, although the boss says we will need to buy them to start a vibrant economy going.

Oh, the boss, by the way, is Nwabudike Morgan, CEO Morgan as he likes to style himself. And wouldn't you know it, he has already named this cluster of prefabricated kevlar tents and recycled units of the landing pod "Morgan Industries".

It seems a nice enough spot. There are mountains all around except for a small depression to the north that leads to a lake or maybe the sea. There's a river runs past to the south and turns east, but we can't really see where it's heading as it runs through a small defile in the mountain range.

The CEO held a vote to decide what we were going to do next. Professor Kai has identified most of the colonists with any kind of scientific training and has designated them as the research corps, and they are going to study the ecology of this alien world - he says that he will be able to produce definitive findings in eight cycles - whatever they are - earth years? Maybe years of this planet? Months - who knows.

We have divided the rest of us into work parties and tomorrow they are going to get out with the breathers and start scrubbing for food and minerals to jumpstart our small industries. A bunch of the younger, fitter colonists were conscripted into a makeshift garrison battalion, and the CEO has sent them south exploring - looking for the "seed pods" that the Unity dispersed into our atmosphere before she broke apart. I wanted to go on this scouting mission, but at twelve years old I was considered too young.

Oh, and the other thing the executives did was to divide the colonists into two groups - one will be staying here where we landed, and the other will set out first thing tomorrow with the scouting party heading south up the mountain side that we can clearly see when the sun shines. My parents are staying here, so I guess I will too, which is a pity, because Jeneba, the girl I sat next to on the landing shuttle, is in the other party with her parents. She was nice, too.

Ah well.

To bed now. They say the days and nights are only seventeen hours long here, so I'll need to get used to sleeping for just five hours when it's dark. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

Christopher.

[XWaste]

Diary of Sister Miriam Godwinson

Year One

Landing.
I lead the faithful in prayer, as we made the descent. There was much fear in the people, strapped in their harnesses at the mercy of the pilot's skill and an unknown environment...at the mercy of God.

I called for them to place themselves in God's hands, to revel in our fate, not to fear it. We sang hymns as the dropship tumulted through the upper atmosphere, and when the second engine exploded, sending us into a spin which threatened to rip the ship apart, we all held hands, despite the binding straps, and felt such love in the final moments, such comfort to be together, to know our souls where safe in the love of God and Jesus Christ our saviour that it was no surprise to me to feel the spin slow, for the pilot to gain control and land us safely on sacred soil. It was the hand of God that slowed our descent, it was HIS will that we land here...and live here.

The doors of the airlock opened with a hiss and I felt HIS breath wash over me. I opened my eyes and for the first time surveyed the new land we where to make our home. Plains of grass, waist high and bent by the wind stretched far to the north, and I could make out trees in the distance – palm trees, and thick green shrubs with large fan leaves. The plants looked almost blue in the fierce light of the three suns, the sandy soil bleached like bone.

Next I saw what we are now calling the xenofungus. Like a bloodstain it looked like, a seeping blight on the land. It seemed to me at first as if the very devil himself had been gutted, and his viscera discarded and left to rot in the heat. A sense of foreboding filled me as I stared at that tubular mass and I heard a voice inside me call out ‘beware’.

We began unloading the prefabricated walls of the new base. One large building it will be, with thick walls and one airlock to keep in the precious oxygen. It is fitting that we shall all live together, one large family of God. All new facilities will need to be similarly self-contained, even the simplest of structures will require the sturdiest materials and supporting infrastructure to ensure its integrity – building here will be a slow process that will require much planning and forethought.

Until the building is complete we make shelter in the cramped confines of the dropship. We sleep in our seats, the harness the only thing keeping us upright. The workers work tirelessly, only stopping every hour for some water that I bless before passing out. Let no one forget that we are here by HIS grace, and only through HIS generosity are we sustained.

[Hydro]

MY2102
Journal of Lady Deirdre Skye

Well, it's official. Our new home has been transformed from The Landing Pod to Gaia's Landing. Some of our more logical scientific types, notably Marilyn, poo pooed naming our first settlement after the pseudo scientist Lovelock's 'Gaian Hypothesis'. Still, the name struck a chord with most of us, including me. The Gaian Hypothesis suggests that an ecosystem is, in fact, a giant organism. At face value this is partially true since all organisms are interrelated, and the ecosystem itself can adapt to changing conditions, something like an organism. Lovelock went a bit far in suggesting that it was a self-willed organism, however. Biologically directed, or pre-disposed, may be a better term, since 'willed' implies a consciousness. Still, I called for a vote, and the name Gaia's Landing won with a solid 82 percent. New Scotland came in a distant second, and New Austin came in a very distant third with exactly two votes. You have to give the Bushes credit for their persistence, and they did concede gracefully in the end.

Our expeditionary team has been making its way south for these last months with only one goal in mind: retrieve needed materials from the Unity fragment we saw in our initial landing. They contacted us every day, and most of us were thrilled with the discoveries they have made along the way. They have determined that the greenery that covers the steep mountain slope is compatible with our metabolism, and our agricultural specialists have been pestering me to get our first farms started. After a few local surveys the expeditionary team confirmed the abundant mineral deposits extend across a wide area, although some plots seem distressingly barren of minerals or ores, almost like the great plains of North America or the Ukraine. Still, our team pressed on and those of us back Gaia's Landing waited for their frequent calls and occasional excited announcement of another discovery, if for nothing else than to break the monotony of setting up our prefab homes. They got nearer and nearer, and the reports became more frequent as the ETA dropped from weeks to days, and finally to hours. Finally they reached the Unity fragment and our hopes were dashed. What we thought was a Unity pod was nothing more than a highly magnetized mineral anomaly. Shannon broke the news to us and it was clear that she was almost heartbroken, but tried to put as good a face on the situation as was possible. The only member of the exploratory team that was excited was the irrepressible Doctor Booth, and he kept jabbering about how rare a surfacial ore deposit with over 70% titanium, iron, and zinc oxides was. Of course he is a geologist and can be forgiven his bubbly enthusiasm. Shannon mentioned he almost had to be dragged away from his prospecting and sample collection, the weight of which almost gave him a hernia. Still, he brightened our day a little by telling us that with proper development this could be a long-term boon. He explained that it wouldn't even take a mining complex to harvest some of the lode. I am loath to start up a mining complex. The horrors of the strip mines of South America and China are all too acute in my memory. As the Jews said after the Holocaust: never again.

We got continuing good news from our second expeditionary team, who are taking with them the bulk of our extra provisions and material in the hopes of setting up our second outpost. They have held a steady course southwest along what we have named the Northern Chiron Sea. The name isn't very poetic, but it is hopefully accurate! Wouldn't it be a great joke if the 'sea' turned out to be a small landlocked water body? In any case, they have found that the greenery continues for as far as the eye can see, and Wayne has called back to tell us of many promising outpost locations. There is even a river nearby, and Wayne has elected to follow it. Lush, green surroundings and a river are where most of Earth's ancient civilizations started, and maybe it will be the same for us here on Chiron.

One more note. The colonists have started to call our new home 'Planet', and somehow it seems right. I am a little pleased since this means we have started thinking of this alien planet as home. Gwen told me in Council yesterday that she thinks that Planet almost made for humans, except for the gravity, alien ecology, atmosphere and the number of hours in the day. Then she smiled, and we all had a good laugh, lightening our mood after the disappointment from the mineral deposit. So what if we feel tired all the time, can't go outside without a breather, and have a hard time getting a good night's rest because our bodies scream for 24 hours and Planet only gives us 18!!

All in all I have nothing to complain about. Still haven't heard anything of the comm. from any other pods, but I still hope.

[This message has been edited by Hydro (edited November 27, 2000).]

[Hobbes_One]

University Science Log: 2102.

Well it seems that we are situated on an isthmus. This was unexpected and may indicate that there is less surface land on Planet than previously thought. The first scientific exploration team reported back recently of their sighting of what they believed was a fragment of the Unity. We had hoped that it would contain precious data bank chips or perhaps vital communication equipment. Alas, it seems to have contained little of value at all, revealing only a particularly fertile patch of earth when the team finally reached it. Nevertheless, they will continue their explorations; and the records of Planet's geology, meteorology, and ecology obtained should prove invaluable in the future.

We do have hopes that Dr Hartwell's team will discover something of more substance when they finally reach another of these fragments. They have yet to find a suitable spot for our second lab- and they must hurry as we are lagging behind our calculated research program.

Still no word from the other groups that escaped? from the disaster that was the Unity's final moments. Our scanners are watched continuously and still nothing. Could it be we are the only group to survive?

Preliminary investigations into the unique ecosystem of Planet continue and Dr Sun-Kye promises a report soon. I await his finidings with interest.

Provost Hobbes.
[This message has been edited by Hobbes_One (edited November 29, 2000).]

[Alinestra Covelia]

The base is supremely functional - a real pleasure to behold, even though it seems small at first. There is a central shaft, down which sunlight can be seen to varying strengths throughout the daylight hours. Radiating from this are a series of corridors, which form a multilevelled series of planes, perpendicular to the central shaft. Ever reluctant to waste energy, we carved a winding stairwell into the side of the shaft and used it for two months, to climb the tens of meters up and down. Several ladder systems have also been installed equidistant along the circumference, in the unlikely case of structural collapse.

Each floor is sealed by a two meter thick airlock system, ensuring that the warm air we exhale does not surrender its heat upon exchange with outside air. This makes the ozone treatment of naked air much easier and more viable. Safetywise, also the air is isolatable, meaning that a leak can be caught and internal mechanisms activated to preserve atmospheric integrity.

In the worst case scenario, one entire floor might be flooded with normal, high-nitrogen air. Valving certain supply ducts one way, and others oppositely, we can flush out the deadly air within ten minutes, including response times and petty inefficiencies. Each citizen is equipped with a replenishable emergency oxygen source that can supply up to two hours of full-pressure oxygen.

There are dozens of smaller secondary shafts sunk at seemingly arbitrary points, leading between levels, each similarly guarded with airtight systems. Thus, each level has an entrance and an exit, as well as minor access tunnels. Each floor is thus connected to each other floor by some roundabout way that does not require the central shaft.

Redundancy, made practical!

Sleeping three to a bunk was, for a very brief time, uncomfortable and awkward, but now that we have accustomed ourselves to look upon each other as brothers and sisters in the society, we have shed the vain pretence of privacy. Plus, the proximity of bedmates is mutually insulating, and requires less energy to maintain healthy heat levels. Although sometimes this has unforeseen effects...

On the subject of sex and reproduction, the Chairman was frank and forthright. He held the practice of sexual intercourse to be as essential and as blameless any other bodily function - it performs a vital duty to society, and also has the happy result of mutual benefit to both practitioners. It is seen to fortify the spirits, induce an ecstatic intensity, and also (of equal importance) to induce an ecstatic calm. Without calm, one can never appreciate the importance or direction of focus. Without focus, calm is worthless, serving only to stagnate and cloy the spirit.

However, he made clear his condemnation of lust and sexual possessiveness. Both, seen from a social viewpoint, serve no constructive purpose and act to contaminate relations between individuals. The very basis of religious forbiddance of sex, claimed the Chairman, was founded on the social problems attendant with it. We are to strive to clear our minds of all feelings of exclusion in this facet of human existence - let the act be an exercise to strengthen and enrich, not to divide and distress. Let it be similar to the hymns that a faithful mass of yore might sing to their gods - an act common to all men and women, in which one may well experience enrapturement and ecstasy, but which deserves no claim to selfish desires or ungenerous individuality.

A geographical note now. Our base is surrounded by terrain which, though not exceptional, has easily been coaxed into yielding rich crops. Given the abundance of food and thriving crops in the nitrogenous land, the Chairman bade us multiply and strengthen the society.

There is a reason why I dwell on this subject. And it is not entirely philosophical, either.

I believe there is life within me - I feel there is a warm contentedness in my belly, that soon I will be found in two unequal halves in this world. I cannot say for certain who the father could be; there have been a number of men whose seed may have taken to me. But it does not matter. The life is that which is important. Younger hands than mine are coming, to assist me and my people. Hands which will take my tools from me when I am too old and weak to wield them. Eyes which will see days and nights and years which I cannot hope to see with mine. Nimble feet, which will walk this new land with youthful paces, and mark my first step on the ladder of posterity.

I work harder and faster now. I am almost ashamed to say it, but I believe that this little life within my own is what inspires me to do so. Ashamed, because perhaps it is a feeling that this life is mine and no other's... and that my work is for it alone.

[Googlie]

Morgan Industries

"Captain Lockhart?"

"Yes, ensign, what is it?"

"Report from Alpha patrol, Sir. Patching in now…"

….and it seems undamaged - just lying a little bit uneven - badly scorched on entry, but I think the locking mechanisms are still functioning..

Lockhart here - be careful when you open it Carruthers. We haven't the full inventory, but some contain vehicles and others have transferable energy units. Many too had last minute downloads from the Unity's datalinks.

Sir, I can't get it open - the locks don't respond to the access codes you gave us. Am going to flame the lock with my shredder rifle.

Don't destroy anything, Carruthers. It'll be out of your pay if you do ………………………….

Sir - it's a datalink download - the crystal is labeled "Information Networks". Is that good, Sir?

Wonderful, Carruthers. Send a runner back with it and carry on. Where are you exactly?

Sir, just crested the hill to the south. I'm looking at a small rocky valley just before the land rises again to that mountain we could see in the distance from the base. There's another Unity Seed Pod among the rocks - we're going down to investigate. I'll report back in a few hours.

Very good, Carruthers - and well done. Keep us posted.

Will do, Sir. Alpha out …

"Sir?"

"What now, ensign?"

"Report coming in from the Colony convoy, Sir. It's from Junior to his father - I'll connect us………"

……. So we were following the coastline of the sea - or lake, to where it just began to turn north on us - nice rolling and moist land that should be able to support crops or even a forest - when we saw on the horizon one of the seed pods from the spaceship. We had a brief discussion as to whether we should leave if for a patrol to investigate, but of course, as the CEO's son I had the access codes, so we opened it with no trouble.

Contains the complete works of old William Shakespeare. hahaha, just kidding Dad - or do you want me to call you CEO as well? - anyway, it has a Unity datalibrary download that seems to be all our accumulated knowledge on Applied Physics. And if I remember my schooling we will be able to build a prototype of laser weaponry with this knowledge. If we decide to mass produce them, Dad, I want the franchise. Hmmm - Morgan Armaments Corp - that has a certain ring to it, don't you think? I'll cut you in for a small share.

Anyway, we are due west of the base and will follow the shore north until we find a suitable site for a second base. I'll keep you informed.

Junior out. …..

"Ensign. Neither you not I heard that. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!. Erasing our record of it now."




[This message has been edited by Googlie (edited November 28, 2000).]

[Hydro]

MY2103
Journal of Lady Deirdre Skye

Going to have to keep this entry short since I have to get back to the party. Our new terraformer is done! Everyone is so excited, and poor Davin and his team are completely exhausted from their efforts. This is his brainchild, and he isn't likely to get any more rest for a while with all his well wishers pestering him all the time. The trial run reports on the former are pretty impressive, and it should be able to efficiently create arable farmland, install clean solar systems, lay roads, or even plant forests. It might even be able to create land! I challenged him on this one, reminding him of that little problem of the conservation of matter. He just smiled and said it was a secret, and that he'd never tell. I'll make sure to give him a big kiss and a big hug during the dedication ceremony later tonight. I may even dip him! Maybe then he'll spill his guts!

In other news, Shannon and her exploratory team have left the mineral lode and Doctor Booth only grudgingly agreed to continue south. After they left Shannon said that she pointed out to him that even more exiting prospects might be just over the next hill, and that this is an unexplored planet, after all. She reported that Colin straightened up and got a strange look in his eye as she painted a picture for him. Almost before she could blink he was getting ready to head out again, almost like he had forgotten his once-in-a-lifetime find. All I have to say is that we need a lot more Colins here on Planet!

Wayne is doing well, too. He got his party to the river, and will be able to use its clear banks to expedite his travel. He has found an excellent spot for the new outpost in the middle of a wet, marshy area near the river's headwaters. The river and the location's high elevation should mean it has plenty of energy, too, much more than Gaia's Landing. If his ETA is accurate he should be able to set up the settlement next year. I saw the vid squirts he sent me and his proposed site looks very inviting. It even has a Unity fragment within spitting distance. I'm not sure what to do with that, but my gut instinct says to save it for later. We've already seen two Unity pods, and there must be more.

Well, just got buzzed. The Davin Terraformer dedication starts in a half hour and I have to break out some lipstick. A nice vibrant red will be best, I think. That way everyone will be able to see how happy I am with Davin! I'll pry that secret out of him yet!

[Hobbes_One]

University Science Log: 2103.

There is precious little to report at the present despite the excellent efforts of our researchers. It seems that the old saying about research being mostly boredom punctuated by those very rare- and very special "eureka" moments is again proving true.

Dr Hartwell has been unable to locate a suitable site for our outpost, it seems that the terrain is not conducive to our endeavour. I have again reminded her of the urgancy with which we must approach that task. So frustrating. She did however take the time to investigate a fragment of Unity debris- this time, it proved worthwhile as we were able to salvage a data-chip. So much has been lost that every little bit of knowledge is precious above gold.

I wish I could just return to the lab, rather than worry about such mundane tasks, nevertheless I shall do my best in this unfamilier role.

Still our communication scanners hear nothing but silence, though one of our bright young technicians swears that there is a regular pulsed wavelength eminating from the Planet itself- or perhaps from the fungal ecosystem that is so far the only sign of life. Sucvh an hypothesis bears examining, though we have greater priorities at the present time.

Provost Hobbes

[Googlie]

"Careful Mbutu - that Unity seed pod doesn't look too stable," Tony Carruthers called to the older man who could be seen below them gingerly making his way from rock outcrop to outcrop down into the stony valley where the seed pod lay tilted at a crazy angle.

"Carruthers, you fret too much. You forget that Mbutu's a veteran of the Burst Wars - he was defending himself from attackers even before you were born."

"You're right, Kuypers. It's just …well, there are opportunities for advancement here in this fledgling military, and I don't want to be known as the junior officer who lost a key veteran on his first reconnaissance mission."

The commotion from below caught their attention.

"Sir. You have to get down here and see this - bring the whole squad. We'll need to move this pod - it’s broken apart anyway."

The squad picked their way down the incline, and met up with Mbutu at the base of the pod, towering above them.

They looked up in awe.

"What the heck.. ? What on earth is it?"

"That's just it - we're not on earth any more. Either mankind has been here before, or another spacefaring race has. Or maybe there's advanced native life here…"

They looked shiftily around.

"It's massive," Carruthers said. "We'd best report it to base."

Kuypers was running his hands on the exposed surface. "It's a sort of ceramic and metallic type of fabrication - nothing I've come across before. Hang on, here's a seam of sorts. Whoa there. I swear it moved. Here, help me shove this Unity crap out of the way."

They wrestled the damaged Unity seed pod off the structure and dragged it to one side.

Kuypers stood at the base of the monolith and looked up the hundred feet or so to its peak.

It seemed to be pulsing, with some sort of energy, as though handling the exterior had somehow activated some long dormant generator.

With a soft, yet perceptible hiss the seam parted, sending Tony and Mbutu leaping back in readiness, as the seam irised into a portal into the interior of the monolith.

Kuypers had his shredder rifle unslung and motioned to two squadmates to follow him in.

They entered the monolith.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Squad, 'hut."

The twelve trainees snapped to attention.

CEO Nwabudike Morgan looked at them appreciatively. They had done well in their training in a few short weeks since landing. He looked over to the sergeant for guidance as to what to do next.

"Jefferson. At the double," he shouted.

A gangly young man broke ranks and jogged to the sergeant's side.

"Sir!" he said, saluting smartly.

The sergeant looked over to the CEO.

"If you would do the honors, Sir. Here are the pips that will confirm ensign Denzell Jefferson as Platoon Lieutenant of Beta Squad."

Morgan took the two pips from the Sergeant's outstretched hand and gravely pinned them to the collar of the young ensign standing stiffly to attention. Then he stuck out his hand:

"Allow me to congratulate you, Lieutenant Jefferson. You and your men are to be commended in the speed and thoroughness with which you have completed your training. Morgan Industries will sleep safer knowing that you and your squad are on guard for us."

Jefferson saluted again.

"With your permission, Sir?" he began.

"Yes?" queried the CEO.

"Just outside the base perimeter Sir, is a Unity Dispersal Pod. Our squad would like to go and investigate it, and open it if possible, to bring its contents to the base."

"By all means," boomed the CEO. "See to it immediately."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you. Sir!"

Jefferson turned sharply, and summoned his men. Six of you establish a patrol route as we discussed in class - Leonards - I'm putting you in charge. The rest of you, come with me."

They left the base and headed down towards the shoreline where they had been looking at the Pod for several days now.

They grew quiet as they approached it.

"Sir," one of the squad members began. "It looks nothing like what Carruthers talked about the other day when he described the one they opened on the hill. He said that one was like two saucers inverted over each other. This is more like a big black egg. And it's not made of any metal I've seen before," he added, running his hand along the smooth surface of the pod.

Jefferson made a snap decision. "We'll open it anyway. The lockcodes probably won't work if it's not from the Unity, so let's blast it open with the shredders."

It was soon done, and as they peeled the still hot skin of the "egg" apart, they looked with amazement at its contents.

"What the hell is that?" asked a squaddie.

It was vaguely conical, with a blunt, rounded top, about half the height of a man. A bluish green, it too seemed to be manufactured from a material that no-one in the squad was familiar with. It boated a profusion of input ports and outlets, protrusions that were obviously meant to link with something, somewhere, and also accept connections from external sources. Best of all, it seemed to be powered. A slight push sent it rolling noiselessly in the direction pushed - almost frictionless - it rolled until one of the squad ran after it and stopped it.

"Let's take it back to the base," Jefferson said. "We can pass it over to Professor Kai. She'll know what to do."

They circled the strange object and made their way back to base, with the Alien Artifact in tow.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Back at work now, with little Kellie safe at the den. I was a bit dubious of leaving her behind with the others, given that (in all fairness) they're not any actual relation to her, but she is healthy and happy when I see her at the end of the day.

At four months, she was crawling like a little bunny - so energetic! And at nine months she began talking. She could only say "mama", but she said it all the time, and with evident joy. All the aides love her very much, as she is amongst the first of our Planet births.

I only wish that she would play with me sometimes! No matter - it is an inevitable step in the process of freeing the society from the constraints of family and class. Without the first nuclear cell that we know, namely the family, society will never need become a layered system of classes and discrimination.

I still feel a sense of loss and regret at this arrangement, but Kellie is very happy amongst so many mothers, and I have no right to demand her love more than they do. In time, we will discard the fallacious templates of past societies, and live in true universal brotherhood and sisterhood.

* ~ * ~ *

We had discovered a massive object, some thirty meters across, half buried in the soft soil of the eroded hillsides southwest of the base. It took all our equipment two weeks to laser into past the hull.

All fears of having encountered alien handiwork were quickly put to rest - the object was one of many Unity pods, scattered around the planet. Within it, we located a few signature files penned by the Lead Scientist Zakharov whilst still on board the Unity - the findings have allowed us to tentatively propose new additions to our industrial construction list.

Even better, beneath the Unity pod, we discovered a rich deposit of ores and minerals - presumably, this had attracted the survey unit pod in the first place. Either way, there was nobody who did not echo the Chairman's sentiment - we were indeed fortunate to have stumbled upon this valuable trove.