Chris Philbrook's Blog: Hall E - Posts Tagged "colonization"

Episode 2

Good News Before Dark

16 April 163 GA

Hi Mom & Dad,

Sorry it's taken me so long to write. I've been busier than you can imagine. You're never going to believe it but…

I GOT SELECTED! I'm going to SELVA! A whole new planet! Not just another moon of Ghara, but a whole new exoplanet! Same one we've been looking at for almost 200 years.

I'm in shock. I wish I could've come back home to Pacifica to tell you, but the training regimen and expedition preparation is already overwhelming, and a trip home would be too much to ask. I hope you understand!

But we're leaving soon! They're saying July or August. Obviously security is tight, so they're not saying the date exactly, but that's not far away at all.

I met Margaret (she's amazing, just like I'd hoped) as well as Dr. Rasima, Dr. Eckstein, Dr. Maine and even Dr. Balashov! They're all great. Balashov still maintains a Russian accent which makes me long for home cooking. I'd flap my wings and try to fly all the way to Pacifica for a fresh bowl of borscht. I'm drooling. Not professional at all, especially for an official…. SELVAN EXPEDITION SCIENTIST!!

I hope you're proud of me.

As you can imagine the Marine base here has exploded with activity. Materials, supplies, food, water, more housing has been built, you name it. Not to mention two units of Special Operations marines arrived, and they're hot to trot. Rumor has it they're the same two units of marines that were attacked at White Bay, and hit the bomb making factory on Pacifica.

The regular marines give them the widest birth. You should see it. Normally the rank and file marines act like they're the toughest thing on a moon in the colonies but when one of the six First Expeditionary Marines comes through… You can see the respect, let's just say that.

I guess the brightest thing about the six guys is that they are all very nice, despite having every reason to act like arrogant asses. I got a cup of coffee in the cafeteria beside one of them, a man named Dustin, and we chatted. I kept it very plain, and he seemed excited, and a little scared, which made him seem human.

Anyway, we're going dark here very soon. In fact, this letter might be returned to me unsent if I don't skip out to the post immediately. I hope the shuttle that carries it home to you flies fast and true, and I hope you are all well.

Give Charlotte a hug, and tell her that her big brother loves her very much.

Love and miss you all,

-Anatoly

Episode 4
First Blood
25 August 163 GA

Hi Mom & Dad,

It occurs to me that you aren't going to get my letters until the fleet returns to the colonies. And the fleet only transits every six months, and it'll be another week or two before the ships head back. So, you'll be getting my letters from Selva a bit later than my normal letters, though I think I'll try to write more. Somehow there are fewer distractions here, and I feel the need to talk with my family greater here.

We lost a marine a few days ago. He was killed by an indigenous creature the size of a bear. It got him in the middle of the night and dragged his body almost a kilometer into the jungle. At dawn the First Expeditionary Marines went into the jungle, following the trail of blood. The monster attacked them, and it took all five of the marines shooting to take the monster down. It's covered in a hide that's almost as tough as stone. In fact, when the insect-thing drops down to the ground, it's indistinguishable from a mundane boulder, and guess what…? Boulders are everywhere around here.

The picture above I drew a picture of one based off what I saw in Balashov's lab. I don't know if I got its legs right (it's dead on a table), but it's close. Size of a bear. Think about that. I guess the good news is that they don't appear to be intelligent or organized. Just wild animals.

They're calling them 'rock bugs.' Clever.

Now no one wants to go outside without armed marines nearby. My fellow scientists feel quite exposed and in jeopardy, but… the marines are protecting us, and no one has been hurt since. The expeditionary marines are now carrying their rifles and pistols all the time, and I think the other marines will be issued their weapons soon. I hope so. I know a lot of us will feel safer.

I've dived into research. I haven’t left the lab here in… too long. Margaret told me earlier I should get out and get some sun, and she's right. I should. But I've got a few ferns to look at in depth, and the results on some soil samples are just a few hours away. I'll go out after all that's done.

Feeling a little depressed, but I suppose that's normal. Talking with Sarah helps. Mom, you'll be glad to know she and I kissed the other night. I guess you could say it's going well.

Stahl. The kid who was killed. His name was Stahl. Hopefully we don't see anything else bizarre.

Tell Charlotte I'm debating the idea of a mansion here…. I think any world where there are bugs the size of sofas might not be the ideal place to retire. Although we're getting a massive land grant bonus if we settle here. Double normal. Tell her I miss her, and to take care of herself.

I'll watch out for massive insects covered in stones.

Love and miss you all,

-Anatoly

Episode 6

Bury Me Deep

I don't know the date anymore.

Every time one of these things walks within 50 meters of our habitat, the ground shakes. The floor thrums against our feet, and our weary backs are jolted.

It hurts.

Not as much as my empty belly, but it hurts.

Sarah died from her wounds two days ago. Her body is in the airlock where we can't smell her rotting. Two of the others opened the airlock door yesterday and bolted out into the night. They wanted food and water more than safety. I don't think they made it twenty meters before one of the spitters got them.

Their screams stopped when the change hit their brains. Then they went silent, and became obedient little monsters with too many teeth, too many arms, and no sense of who they were, like all the others outside.

If the last of us are silent, I can hear them fighting over scraps.

How long until they remember how to open a door?

I got a good look at the one who came close to the airlock. I'll draw it. Here's my nightmare;

I won't be coming home. I don't see how. I'll never survive until the fleet returns and there aren't enough marines remaining or bullets for them to turn the tide.

No mansion, no Sarah, no mom and dad, and no little sister Charlotte. Just hunger, and thirst for something other than our own piss, and this metal coffin we've locked ourselves inside.

If anyone finds these letters and drawings, I hope they find me too.

If I'm not alive, please bury me deep enough that the monsters won't find me. I don't want to be a meal like everyone else.

Love and miss you all,

-Anatoly



COLONY LOST releases in print and ebook format tomorrow, July 10th, 2017.

COLONY LOST has arrived.

Seven hundred fifty years ago, human colonists left Earth and settled on the moons of the distant gas giant Ghara.

Civilization has flourished on Ghara’s fertile moons, but humanity’s drive to colonize and explore is still strong. Detecting plentiful mineral resources and a rich abundance of alien life on the nearby planet of Selva, the Gharian Colonists mount a dangerous expedition. Young newlywed marines Dustin and Melody will find themselves put to the ultimate test as they forge a way through fierce magnetic storms into an unknown and utterly alien world.

Tensions mount at home, as not all of the colonists support this mission and its high cost of resources, and many are outright hostile towards the Marines and scientists who are setting out to colonize the new world.

As the peace the four colonies have shared for almost 200 years starts to fracture, what the expedition finds on Selva might very well be the worst thing humanity has ever dealt with.

If you are one of the first 25 reviewers on Amazon, you will be entered into a random drawing for a signed proof copy of the novel.

Colony Lost

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TQBMWH/...

Print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1548449733/...