Beginning of a story? Maybe?

[Floyd Looney]

I have no ideas for the plot to tell you the truth. Based on an idea of a world where the colonists were issued shares in the venture and the Board of Directors is their government.

Some children won't inherit shares but can get a share through certain work for the corporation.

---

working title: Claim


The trip to the claim took more than two months aboard the transit ship. The Team Leader used that time to make us perform countless pointless drills and tests. Yes, we know how to use an emergency respirator and yes we knew perfectly well where all of the escape pods were and how to get into them. Timing us to see how fast we could pull on an air bag suit and connect the helmet is probably the most useless thing, if there was really a decompression we’d all be dead before we even knew what happened.

“We are to arrive at the claim within the day” Team Leader Joseph Welles told us at breakfast. Okay, he stood there and yelled it while half of us were still getting out of our bunks. I was sort of half out since my hands were on the floor but my bottom half was still trying to sleep. Breakfast consisted of a nutrition bar and a glass of some kind of powdered drink.

Team Leader waited until we were all trying to swallow the bland offerings before he continued. “Okay, time for slacking is over. Now that we are here it means we will be studying and cataloging everything on the planet. Every new type of vegetation, animal, bug, rock and whatever must be recorded and reported.”

As if we didn’t know any of this.

Team Leader Welles noticed, belatedly, the lack of enthusiasm and energy from his troops and focused down on one of us for a more personal evaluation. Of course he picked on me, the slight, waifish female who was an easy target.

“Goosey Genera” he called out, using that awful nickname that had stuck. “Looks like you and the others don’t seem too interested in doing the work you are being paid to do. Do you think the Terra Alpha Corporation is a welfare program?”

“No sir” I answered and took a sip of the flavored water. I still could not decipher what awful flavor they had been aiming for.

Actually I joined the exploration program because I was a fourth child, my oldest siblings were to inherit shares and the third child was set to inherit the family business. I wasn’t going to get squat. The poor Geneva Genera, such a pity she was born last. Five years of this and I would be issued an earned share for my hard work in service to the TAC, the Terra Alpha Corporation.

“The exploration program was not created to serve you. It was created to study new worlds, especially proto-worlds that can be easily terra-formed. This claim seems to fit that description very nicely. The atmosphere is the right pressure, the air is almost breathable and there is very little life above molds and fungus. If this is what it turns out to be, this planet could become a major part of the future TAC Empire and maybe they’ll name a mountain after you or something.” Team Leader Welles told us, trying to gin up some enthusiasm.

After he left Roger Freiburg mimicked Team Leader “Buck up soldiers, sure you’ll be asked to sit around for months before you are sent to die as cannon fodder, but on the bright side you will be heroes!”

A few laughed, a little. “Seriously guys, you are all depressed today or what?”

Roger honed in on James Watt “Did Goosey reject your advances again?”

“I even rejected my own advances” I said, getting more laughs than his lame attempts did. “That’s the mood I’m in. Two months in this thing, the air is stale, the food is horrible and I think we’re all getting cabin fever. So we’ll be on the ground in a day or so, but it’s not like that’s going to be a huge improvement”

“At least it will be new and interesting” James piped up “For a week or so at least”

“It’ll be a break at least, might even put Goosey in the mood again” Roger said with a sigh.

“Keep dreaming Roger, you won’t trick me with those fake “oxygen” pills. Did you really think that’d work more than once and that we girls wouldn’t share our intel?” I told him, the other guys were laughing now. This faux argument was lightening the mood considerably’

“Well, to be honest, it did work twice. Della in the Engine Room on E-Day+3 since I’m kissing and telling”

“Wait. You did her in the engine room, really?” Thom asked incredulously before the punch line “One wrong move and you might have killed us all”

“That did add an element of excitement, and we didn’t get caught which was a miracle. It’s usually more crowded than that”

“Best 3 minutes of the trip, huh?” I asked, generating more laughter.

“Not like we have a lot else to do. The vids and games get old after a while. We’re all clean of disease and temporarily sterile due to the regulations, so it’s not like the TAC cares” Thom noted

“We could be making our own vids” Roger said with a grin “Would be an interesting addition to the library”

“If you did that, I’ll find a nice place down there to bury you” I told him.

“No, I haven’t made any vids. I probably should have, considering everything” he answered

“It’s not our fault the ladies think your scum Roger” James told him “Maybe you shouldn’t try to trick girls into it when honesty is actually an easier route”

“But tricking them into it is so much more fun” he said and laughed.

“Roger, the girls are all willing and you still found a way to mess up” Thom said and we all laughed “That might find a way into the record books; the perv being the least successful of the bunch”

“Once we’re on the claim the number of available females drops considerably. Besides Goosey only Vera and Bara are being dropped off. I don’t know how many there might be at the outpost, but it is very small” James said.

“I heard there was a greenhouse. I could use some fresh food for once” I said, breaking a lull in the conversation.

The little morning meeting broke up. Some headed for the showers, others to the observation deck or whatever. Thom stuck around and tried to get my attention.

“What is it Thom?”

“After all this time, you still want to shower alone?” he asked “Aren’t you used to us by now?”

“I’m not a group person”

“I’ve noticed. For the past week you haven’t even flirted with any of us, did something happen? You aren’t menstruating?”

“No, and I won’t ever again until the sterility is reversed. Guess I just got tired of it, it’s not really part of my character to just sleep around, okay?”

“Well, I miss you. Or does that just make you feel worse?” Thom asked getting up. “I bet the shower is free by now, guess I’ll get some of the grime off”

After he left I sat on my bunk. Five years of this crap? What I wouldn’t give to be rich, rich enough to buy my own ship. Going where and when I wanted, with whom I choose. I wasn’t proud of how I behaved, even if others thought it was no big deal. It was like being someone else; pretending, because my life stunk so bad it was easy for a while. I also didn’t ask Thom to fall in love with that version of me, damn.

…..

The airbag suit was like putting on a big rubber glove and then attaching the helmet to the seal, it was ungainly but it was simple and cheap. We would wear it aboard the shuttle on the way down and probably on the surface of the claim. They all smelled like their owners already just from the drills, I hated to think of the smell after some long-term wear and tear.

[Attero Dominatus]

Great job doing a woman's point of view. That is a challenge to do.

The story reminds me of Rocheworld, but with better characters.

[Floyd Looney]

Thanks

[Floyd Looney]

Since the Netflix account lapsed, I may write more.

..............

As we strapped ourselves into the shuttle planes this time we could see the yellow-green world below us with grayish clouds that obscured much of the terrain below. We knew that it was mostly flat but there were significant divergences from this norm in some places. Those geological loners would be interesting places to look for different kinds of the rare life forms here.
First though we had to get to the small outpost that was established a decade ago. We also knew the shuttle planes would be bringing most of the old crew back up to this ship. I bet they were glad to be getting out of this dump.

I felt the jolt in my abdomen when the clamps holding the shuttle plane disengaged and we began moving away from the ship. In a minute I spotted the small speck of light that reflected back from the other shuttle plane, already miles away.

“I still have a minor fear of heights” said Eric Branson, the resident cowboy biologist.

“Then this shouldn’t be a problem because we’ll be going down not up” Thom answered him.

“I hope my gut agrees”

Soon we were in the clouds and I spotted lightening in the distance. Looking down I saw a depression northeast of the outpost that I remembered was sulfur covered. The outpost team called it a sulfur-swamp but it could also be described as a sulfur desert. South of the outpost was a line of low hills, not that interesting, but since larger hills and mountains were on the other side of the continent it was unsure whether we’d venture that far.

To the west it gently sloped downward until it reached a large body of water covering 10,000 kilometers. It could be described as a very large lake that reached depths of more than a kilometer, and the life in this “inland sea” had mostly been ignored. After two deep submersibles were sent down on weeks-long missions the devices had found nothing more than small crustaceans and meager amounts of plant life. They decided to leave investigating the “fresh water bodies” to future missions.

The Terra Alpha Corporation had originally planned to set down a dozen outposts with more than a thousand personnel to study the world as a possible colony site. That plan fizzled with the approval of the Board of Directors of another world to become Terra Beta. Terra Beta “would be the next frontier” for the foreseeable future according to the CEO after the permit was approved. Other worlds would have low priority for at least two generations it was said.

That is why we service fodder noobs got sent here. Nothing we did or found would likely matter one bit and by the time the mountains got names, we’d be long forgotten.

The noise of the reverse thrust brake shook me from my thoughts as I felt the shuttle plane slow down and looking at the view screen in front of me I could see we were just fifty feet off the ground. Seeing a shuttle plane hover in mid-air and slowly lower to the surface had always interested me. The gravitic device that allowed this was responsible for most space travel in the last century, getting large and heavy objects off a planet (or onto one) would be impossible without it.

After we were on the surface we checked each others’ airbag suits and then waited for the pressure to change and the hatch to open. We climbed out of the shuttle plane and stepped foot in the brown-yellow dust.

“This way” someone in a blue airbag suit said with a wave “better hurry so we can beat the storm”

We were hustled toward the big airlock, it opened and a dozen suited figures emerged heading for the shuttle planes. I guess we wouldn’t be meeting those who were leaving. Suits in red were checking the shuttle planes and prepping them for immediate flight. I glanced to the horizon and saw that a quarter of the sky was nearly black, flashes of lightening were evident. The storm was close.

“Shouldn’t they wait out the storm?” I asked

The white suited figure inside the airlock was making sure the hatch was closed looked at me and answered “The storm could last for days. Time is money for the TAC and those people want to go home you know”

After the pressure was restored we started taking off the helmets and looking around at each other. Why did we always look around at each other when we were finished with a suited excursion? Habit I guess.

When we were out of the air lock a couple of “locals” showed up to greet us, Team Leader Welles stepped forward to speak for the group. They shook hands.

“Welcome to the Last Chance Outpost” the man said

“Last Chance?” Welles asked humorlessly.

The man pointed to a wall monitor showing the two shuttle planes hovering and then moving off at high speed. “We call it that because you just missed your last chance to change your mind”

[Attero Dominatus]

That is very interesting. As far as a plot goes, the best thing I can suggest is go into more detail about Genera's past, and tie it to how she turns herself around and wins.

[Floyd Looney]

I do need to come up with some sort of plot too. heh

[Attero Dominatus]

Not much is expected of her and she does not expect much to come of her mission or life. Maybe she turns out to be the success story for both the claim and the company.

[Floyd Looney]

I also need to think of a story for the contest. The top prize is only $180 but the deadline in September something, I have a while. lol