The First Colony - twelve part series for 2016 by Nathan Hystad

[Glitch]

The First Colony - Arrival

July 8, 2149, Hawking’s orbit

The planet looked beautiful; light clouds covered the massive oceans. Grant had seen many amazing things in his life, but being the first human to see a new world was something special. He made sure the images were transmitted back to Houston. The ansible technology had been explained to him but he was still in awe of the fact they would see the pictures in mere minutes.

From here it was hard for him to tell how much smaller than Earth this planet was. When they first spotted it in the neighbouring solar system, they thought it was too good to be true. As their technology improved, hope grew as they saw green space, and an atmosphere. Then water. Grant glanced to the picture of his daughter on the console. If this place was what they thought it might be, there was hope for humanity after all.

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[ratsy]

Glitch, I'm glad you believed in the idea and I hope everyone enjoys the series this year.

 

[thaddeus6th]

A twelve part sci-fi serial?

It'll never work...

 

[johnnyjet]

Great start, ratsy! Looking forward to reading it throughout the year.

 

[Serendipity]

Nice one, Ratsy... eager to see what comes next.

 

[Gary Compton]

This look interesting guys. Looking forward to it.

 

[Droflet]

Good going, Ratsy. Treat yourself to some cheese.

 

[Glitch]

The First Colony – Seeker (Episode Two)

July 9, 2149, Earth’s Orbit

“Sir, we aren’t ready. There are too many unknowns,” Commander Karen Bilson said to the hologram.

The Union president’s form flickered on her office table. “Commander, we don’t have a choice. You saw the images Grant sent. They are everything we’ve been waiting for. The other’s found nothing even close to a livable planet. People are dying down here. I’m making the call, and you will assist in the transport of the first selected to the Santa Maria. Understood?”

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[Glitch]

The First Colony – First Contact (Episode Three)

July 13, 2149, Hawking

Cold morning air blew inside the cavern opening, throwing drops of rain all the way to where Grant was huddled in the corner. He opened and closed his hands in a vain attempt at warming them up. The storm had raged all night, and judging by the wind and flashes of light, he had a few more hours to go before it would dissipate. The howling had raced through the valley for the first hour, and it ceased as quickly as it began. A harmony of a thousand souls, he’d thought with a shiver at the time.

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[Glitch]

The First Colony – Departure (Episode Four)

July 11, 2149 – Seeker. Earth’s Orbit.

“We are all set to go Commander,” First Officer Penner said, hands hovering over the ship’s controls.

Karen took one last look out the viewport at Earth and said a silent prayer for the people they were leaving behind. “Hail the Santa Maria, please.” She fidgeted with her collar. “In my office please.”

She sat at her desk, empty except for the comp screen. It buzzed and an image of the Union president appeared. “What is it Bilson? You should be gone by now.” President Carne’s face flushed.

“Yes, sir. I just…-” she paused, wondering if she should just keep it to herself, “I want to know if you have a plan to come back and help Earth once we’ve settled?”

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[Juliana]

Just caught up with this month's installment. Nicely creepy!

 

[Glitch]

The First Colony – Tracking (Episode Five)

July 15, 2149, Hawking

Beads of sweat poured down Grant’s back as the sun beat down mercilessly. He’d been travelling all day in the heat, trying to track the creature that had been at his lander. At this point he had no idea if the tracks he sporadically saw were from the same one, but he had nothing else to go by. It was doubtful that help was coming for him: there was no way to contact anyone. He had taken all the supplies he could carry without hindering his movements too much, but they were limited.

Stopping, he pulled the ripped T-shirt off his head and wrung out the sweat. Maybe he should have left it on to stay cool. Nothing was clear to him. The whole mission seemed so absurd now. Here he was stranded on a semi-hospitable planet – by far the best-case scenario Earth had ever hoped to encounter. He had no way to know if they’d gotten his initial messages. He silently prayed they had, and someone was on their way.

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[Glitch]

The First Colony – Lair (Episode Six)

July 14, 2149 – Seeker – Solar System Outer Limits

The Seeker had reached astronomical speeds, but the problem with the technology was it couldn’t just slow down with out ripping the ship apart. The deceleration process took light years, and Karen was told it was much like a speeding car using a parachute to slow itself. Except there was no physical tarp, but rather a force shield that grew incrementally at the front end of the ship. Too much too fast and they would all die, but with the proper calculations they should arrive into Hawking’s orbit.

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[Glitch]

The First Colony – Broadcast (Episode Seven)

July 15, 2149, Hawking

Grant ducked and hoped he’d been fast enough to avoid being spotted. He knew there were dozens of the monstrous beasts in the hollowed out cavern, and he had no idea what direction they would come at him from. His stun-gun sat uneasily in his now sweating palm, but he knew there wasn’t enough juice in it to take all of them down. He would have to be lucky. After a moment of silence, he once again heard an occasional grunt, and the constant humming of the large, blue, glowing power source from the centre of the room.

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[Glitch]

The First Colony – Translation (Episode Eight)

July 15, 2149, Hawking

Karen looked around the decimated lander and searched for any sign of Grant. His supplies were gone, along with the picture of his daughter that she knew he took on every flight. Everything he would need to survive a new world for at least a few weeks was not here. They already knew he hadn’t crashed —he’d shot them information when he’d landed, then the lines had gone silent.

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[Glitch]

The First Colony – Rescue (Episode Nine)

July 15, 2149, Hawking

Grant noticed the lander flying toward him just when he was sure his life was almost over. A massive shot of adrenaline coursed through him as he now had hope of survival. The lander turned and softly settled down two hundred yards ahead of his current path. He took the time to do a quick check over his shoulder, and caught a stone with his foot at the same time. He tumbled to the rocky ground, his pack falling off his shoulder. The imager was in there and he knew it was imperative to translate that data. The creatures’ feet boomed behind him, the echoes cascading around the cliff-like alcove as they got closer and closer.

Read The First Colony – Rescue

 

[Glitch]

July 15, 2149, Hawking (Episode Ten)

The foot of the massive lift was lowering from the skies as night approached, and they could see it from miles away. It seemed Carne was planning on getting the people transported to the surface quickly. At least that meant the Santa Maria, Nina, and Pinta made it safe and sound. The safety of the last remaining humans was really all that mattered to Karen now.

Read The First Colony - Truth

 

[Glitch]

July 15, 2149, Hawking (Episode Eleven)

“Penner, we’re going to drop you off at the lift landing site. O’Sullivan and Cash, you two go with Penner and make sure you secure it as instructed,” Karen said, passing Penner a tablet.

Soon they were lowering in a flat spot, previously decided upon. The massive elevator loomed above them; a dark monolith in the now night sky. Thousands of stars blared down at them from the distance and for a moment Karen forgot where she was. A voice shook her out of her daydream.

Read The First Colony – Plans

 

[Glitch]

July 15, 2149, Hawking (Episode Twelve)

From the air Karen could see the cliff walls opening up to reveal a large weapon. Even a mile away she could hear the noise of the rock grating and hoped the sound wouldn’t impede the incoming transmission.

“Breena, did you send the message?” she asked through the comm.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s currently looping as requested. I’ll patch it through to you.”

Read The First Colony – Survival