A YOU choose adventure: Raj, Graves, and Kelly on Altair XIII ->CHAPTER 6

[Vaporisor]

Table of Contents
(Are links, click to go to post)

PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE:  PLANETFALL
CHAPTER TWO:  DIGGING IN
CHAPTER THREE:  HELL'S KITCHEN
CHAPTER FOUR:  FIRST BLOOD
CHAPTER FIVE:  TALL TAILS
CHAPTER SIX: HOW NOT TO WIN FRIENDS

I have been having a good bit of fun on my one journal playthrough when I got the inspiration for something a bit fun.  I am thinking of doing something more general.  What I am going to do is let you guys message me ideas on what to do and what the colonists are thinking.  Do we want farms and walls, dig into the mountains?  If need be, cannibalism or no? 

Essentially I will post and make a milestone posing the question and you folks can instant message me with what you think the colonists will do, then I will roleplay that according to what has happened in past and according to the map. 

To start, I am going to want you guys to give me backstory on the three starting colonists.  Are they familiar with eachother or strangers?  Why are they on the ship?  Could be they are travellers from glitterworld looking for luxuries or are they from a slave ship?  Your call!!! 

Since backstory exists before they land on the planet, that is all you get.  Once I choose a backstory, I will open with the user's name that inspired me and random land on the planet.  Your backstory affects their initial actions!

Here are the three victims!

Rajel 'Raj' Valjurai

Raj Grew up with a laundry list of phobias and neuroses.  She feared, among other things, doctors and foodborn pathogens.  As a result, she learned to cook and care for herself but many of her fears dog her in adulthood.

Raj was an internal spymaster in an Imperial army battalion.  She made sure that the men were loyal, and did not fall back unless ordered.  This made her unpopular but she gained great skill at detecting the slightest dishonesty.



Valentin Graves

Graves was born into a powerful cult which shunned advanced technology and believed that all illness could be cured by cleansing the sould through sacred art.  After his first glimpse of the outside world, he decided to run away.

Graves was the only survivor of a ship crash on an unhabited animal world.  For many years until his rescue he scrounged and existence out of whatever he could find.  His survival skills became razor-sharp, but spending so long alone severely dampened his conversatial abilities.



Kelly Valdez

Kelly's mother was often ill, and it fell to her to run the store which was their only source of income.  She learned a little about the exotic artifacts which she sold, and a lot about the art of the deal.

Kelly owned and operated a successful ranch where she raised animals for meat and woo.  She refused to do any dumb labour she could pay someone else to do.



So there we have them.  The backstories will be worked into how they react around your choice.  Once we have a story how they are all connected, then will have planetfall and get started there!  The goal is to keep it simple. 

This first one, what would be looking for is getting the idea of who is in charge so to speak or will they each be doing their own thing.  Lay the framework for me to really roleplay what they do ^.^

Remember, lets try the message system to see how that works for now, keep up some surprises!  I will try to get to one milestone per day, so the updates will be small with my other colony in stories being my main.

[Daman453]

Kelly has the most social, so she should lead building efforts.

[Vaporisor]

((As the only reply, will start here and see if others get in on it with some examples on how this will work.))

Question:  What is origin of the party?
Decision:

Kelly has the most social, so she should lead building efforts.

PROLOGUE

Valentin Graves was tired...  His entire life has been spent in this little ribbon of land.  It was a valley of pure black soil as long as the eye can see nestled between two massive mountain ranges that pierce the sky.  It was a harsh environment, but the soil was good and the trees were strong.  The vegetables have been coming along nicely.  The corn growing in the rich soil was looking especially bountiful.  Enough to easily last the year for him and his livestock.

And it was all going to die.

It started seventeen years ago.  Fire streaked over the sky.  Not like the meteors that fall on occasion.  Those are beautiful and inspiring.  Makes him glad to be all alone on this clean planet.  No, this fire was slowing down.  That can only mean a ship.

Turns out not just any ship, but a mega conglomerate colonial ship.  It was a ship of massive proportions whose sole purpose was to harvest the life on this planet.  A machine of destruction.  He had talked with scouts when they came upon his small hut and learned that this garden planet had been purchased a decade ago.  The rich hard woods, and unique delicacies worth a fortune in the urbworld elite circles.

Every year, the horizon grew brighter, and the stars grew dimmer.  This year, he now can see the machines of death on the horizon.  By next year, the soil will be stripped and shipped offworld to be used in developments closer to the core.  The animals converted to meat or locked into farms.  The beautiful and living wood becoming objects of decadence for the rich and ignorant.

'Oh great, here they come to threaten or remove me' he thought as the sound of a steam truck could be heard approaching.  The trail of smoke and steam billowing into the air.  Of all the things that angered him, these steam machines were the worst.  They did not just take the biggest and strongest trees, but they took the unique and different to become nothing more than soot belching fuel.  From what he gathered, it was 'cheaper' to use locally supplied fuel sources than it was to ship fuel for more advanced and clean power systems here.

As expected, the heavy tracked vehicle rolled right up to his fence.  Graves sighed looking at the compacted ground.  Another track of ground where nothing will grow....  Then something puzzling.  New faces.  One was familiar.  The soft hands of a decadence who has never seen hard labour.  The other was more interesting though.  A person of solid stature and clearly seen what life is actually like.

The latter approached him.

"Are you Valentin Graves?"

"Yes I am, and anything needing to be said will be said.  There is no point in my leaving.  I can feel it in my chest.  I will be dead by the time your machines reach here.  I am tied to this planet.  Your killing it is like you are killing me.  If I am not dead, then I will make sure I take you before you take this sacred earth"

The stern one looks back at the other lady.  Who then comes forward to meet him.

"Good day Mr.  Graves.  I am Kelly Valdez and this is Rajel Valjurai, my bodyguard.  I first want to let you know that we are not part of the company who is processing the planet.  I actually am part of a family who seeks to preserve lands like this.  My parents tried to gain ownership of this valley, but were unable to succeed.  For that, we are sorry."

"The obvious question, what does that have to do with me?"

"Eight years ago, the first shipments and reports from here arrived.  With it was a report about you.  The core worlds are all developed and these planets on the border of the rim are no longer isolated.  Ships are faster and safer.  Some businesses like these seek to exploit and bring nature to the masses.  My family has a different mission.  For hundreds of years, starting on our own planet, we sought to preserve areas of nature.  Now we do so in the stars.  We bring people to nature where nature is supposed to be."

Rajel then takes over "...and we want to hire you.  I have read the reports on you.  You are strong, and resourceful.  There is a new planet on the border to the rim that the family has acquired the rights for.  A planet of greenery that has never before been found.  The miss spent her entire fortune to gain the rights to it and will personally be overseeing it.  We want you to work with us.  To help us establish this preserve.  Your experiences here make you uniquely suited..."

Rajel pauses and stares directly into Grave's eyes.

"... or you can stay here and wait for them to reach your walls.  Make no mistake.  There is no actual law here.  They can shoot you and say you pulled that little knife you have strapped to your belt out.  None will argue or even investigate.  The only reason you are not dead now is that it is more hassle then to wait until the operation is here."

The trowel Graves was holding slips from his hand and drops to the ground.  Without a word, he walks away towards a small building.

A look of disappointment comes across Kelly's face.  Vajel though speaks first, "Don't worry, he is going to come.  Just wait.

Graves reaches the small building opens the door then steps inside.  Moments later, strange birds fly out.  From there he walks over to his house and comes out carrying just a single bag a few minutes later.  He proceeds to walk towards them.  Walking past he heads towards the steam truck.

No words are spoken during the ride to the shuttle.  For near a hundred planetary cycles he has lived on this planet.  But this would be his first true trial.  Returning to space....

[Vaporisor]

((I am not much of a redditor or other forums, but if you enjoy this, feel free to share the link elsewhere.  The more ideas we get, the more interesting it can run I feel))

CHAPTER 1:  PLANETFALL

The three travelers awake in there cryptosleep sarcophagi to the sound of sirens and ripping metal.

Kelly emerges and tries to take stock of what is happening.  The sudden emergency eject from the sarcophagi causes a wave of nausea and she vomits all over the floor.  Quickly she realizes that Rajel is already out of her casket and at a console.

"Raj, status report!"

"We are in the process of re-entry of an unknown planet.  It looks like we have overshot our destination by twelve years.  Nothing is functioning.  The ship is receiving control instructions, but they are not executing."

"I should have stayed home!" Graves stuttered spitting out more vomit "I could have died fighting for what I lived for!"

"Shut up Graves, we aren't dead yet."  Raj walks over to one of the windows and tries to see where they are crashing.  The thick polymer shield is so clouded nothing can be seen. 

"Micrometeors, we must have gone right through a cloud of em.  Probably jammed up every control and eroded away every sensor.  Damn, that is why we never woke up when the system failed.  It never knew it failed.  It was stuck in a loop of constant course correction for years!"

Kelly takes control of the situation, "Then there is no choice.  If this ship cannot fly in space, it certainly cannot land here on the ground.  Lets get to the escape pods.  Graves, we are going to be down there with minimal supplies and no support.  Show us you were worth us saving you."

Suddenly gravity starts exerting itself more.  The three lurch and are thrown as the ship suddenly bucks sideways and starts decelerating.  A groan reverberated through the hull and their bones.

Raj grabs Graves and pulls him to his feet.  "Die in a ship or die with your feet on the ground, your call.  This thing is starting to tumble, we have to get out now!"

They barely get to the escape pods before the ship is torn apart.  Guided down by the pods auto-navigation system they find themselves on this unknown rimworld.

The trio finds themselves on a desert coastline.  Judging by the position of the sun, it is quickly determined that it is probably spring.  The temperature feels a cool 10 degrees celsius.



Raj with her military background quickly takes stock of the situation.  "This planet is definitely uninhabited.  While navigational controls were non-functional, cartography was still operating since it's hardware was on the other side of the ship.  This system was known as the Altair system.  A large star with many orbiting planets.  Looks like we got caught in it's gravity and ended up crashing into the thirteenth planet.  Nobody will find us here and we definitely cannot expect a search party.  After this many years, we are dead."

"Then it is settled," Kelly speaks while looking at the artificial limestone walls, "Raj, you go look for signs of inhabitants and are in charge of security.  Graves, we have limited food.  we need you to do your thing.  Raj and I don't have the skills to make it long term out here... What is that thing?"

Grave walks over to the small, white feline. "Oh?  This is is my good buddy, Gaiety.  I knew you wouldn't let me take her, so I snuck her along in my backpack.  These cute things lived wild on the planet but this gal seemed to enjoy my company.  And I, hers!"  Graves then turned and began walking towards some hills.

Kelly shrugs, "It is your responsibility to look after her then.  But for now, lets split up and see if we can find a good place to set up camp.  I think we lucked out and it is still morning so that gives us time to set up some shelter.  Look around for an hour then we can meet up here again and decide what we are going to do."

An hour later, the trio met up and begin to discuss where to set up camp.

Raj starts the discussion.  "I went out to the coast to see if there was any more signs of life or anything to eat along there.  The coast was sandy and barren though.  But I could see more structures.  Ruined walls and large buildings line the coast both north and south.  If there is any survivors, we can only assume they will be hostile.  No civilization that falls like this would be able to maintain it's moral code."

"That said, I think defenses and security should be our primary goal.  There is what remains of a small steel building with plenty of materials nearby.  I think it would be an excellent spot to set up.  The coast and peninsula makes it easy to defend and having a solid roof over our head to start will allow us to focus on other things.  For food, we can always hunt those tall animals that are walking all over."



Kelly counters, "It might be secure, but we will have to work harder to get what we need.  I really don't want to walk that far just to plant our potato seeds.  No, I think the area over the hill just south of here is a better location.  You can dig a shelter in the side of the cave while I see if we can make use of that steam geyser nearby.  Perhaps in the future we can make our lives that much more comfortable with it."



"Really?  Was everything you told me just a lie?  You said you are about being part of the nature and protecting it.  But when it gets a little tough you just want to build all sorts of machinery right away?  Chew up the ground and disturbing what lives there?  All for some paranoia that there might be somebody here that is hostile?"

"I looked at the ground around these hills.  It is either crumbling slate or heavy marble.  That ground is barely good for gravel.  Things won't grow on what little ground there is.  I would never build in a place like that.  No, up to the north is a much better area.  In the midst of a sand is a lower spot.  Moisture from the ocean is creeping through the ground.  The geology leeching the salt from the water.  The result is a nice and big patch of fertile ground which will easily feed us all without worry."



The three began to argue which spot to build at.  Kelly exerting that she was in charge still.  Graves saying that staying alive was all that mattered and command had no place.  Raj arguing that good ground was pointless if raiders surrounded them in the night leading the bleeding and dying.

Graves begins to cough with a bit of a wheeze, "Sorry... is a breathing issue I have had since I was a kid.  This dry sand seems to have agrivated it...."

MILESTONE

((Please keep in mind that there is more than gameplay at stake with a call.  Sometimes a decision I might have roleplay negatives in how they go about the choice.  Sometimes there are hints in dialogue...  Since this isn't a minmax play, story is key.  So debate your points of what you think they will choose.  If it is more open ended, bring up a different choice or logic.  The open ended ones, have no limitations.  If it is a good idea, bring it up!))

Decision 1.  Where do they set up their shelter?
a) coast
b) hillside
c) field

Decision 2.  Medicine is limited.  How do they approach limited medical supplies and health issues?

Decision 3.  A side discussion came up on what they would even call this place.  What will they name their new home?

I will give this first chapter a few days depending on response and interest in the community.  Else is something I would think would be fun to daily.

[Mr.Cross]

Decision 1: I'd say that the hillside mainly because in any survival situation, cover is the first priority.

Decision 2: Unless the person is bleeding more than 50% a day or has some life threatening disease, don't bother with the meds until xerigium is grown.

Decision 3: I leave that up to other people for i'm downright horrible with names.

[anthraxus]

1) hillside
2) Use medicine as needed.  If people are sick and weak it will prevent easy progress
3) Gaiety Glen

[Vaporisor]

Update for peeps.  I have to head out of town tomorrow, so Tuesday is when I will do next chapter else will be daily/feedback dependent.

[ModernGib]

1) Coast because it's pretty.
2) Set medicinal needs to heal without medicine, and hold the medicine reserves for plague or other diseases.
3) Altair Militia

[Realjuan]

Nice to see something like this, wish I could write properly myself.

1) I say hill side, sure the coast is a nice defensive position but they going to have to build outside so whats the points?
2) Considering they are only 3 and they probably need each other, I would say any bleeding wound should be treated with the best available.  Bruises and the flue can be let to bed rest.
3) I am also terrible with names, so I will leave it to others.

Looking forward to reading more

[Vaporisor]

Decision 1: I'd say that the hillside mainly because in any survival situation, cover is the first priority.

Decision 2: Unless the person is bleeding more than 50% a day or has some life threatening disease, don't bother with the meds until xerigium is grown.

2) Set medicinal needs to heal without medicine, and hold the medicine reserves for plague or other diseases.

3) Gaiety Glen

CHAPTER 2:  DIGGING IN

"All right!  Everybody be quiet and listen!" Kelly's sudden and loud outburst gathers the attention of the other two.  Until this time she has remained calm and collected, "Raj, I understand your decision for security, but survival does come first.  The hillside offers reasonable shelter and there is some ruined walls we can use for cover if needed.  Once we dig in, it will be as good, if not better than the coast."

"Graves, the ground around the hill may not be perfect, but neither is this planet.  If we want to live, we need to change how we live.  The desert is not a hospitable place.  We have the blueprints and componentry to make the necessary equipment to survive.  Any other place, logs and dirt would be enough, but not here.  We are going to the hillside, and we will be digging in."

"Fine then, but it is going to be more work to get the food we need there.  You two can set about digging holes and building machines.  I am going to focus on seeing what we got and getting the crops going.  Once that is done, and the place is neat and organized, I will help you with the luxuries you wish for."

Raj speaks up next, "Before any of that, we need to make sure we don't use up what we have right now.  Medicine most importantly.  We cannot use it for minor cuts and bruises then be out if somebody falls ill or gets a more serious injury.  Until Graves gets some Xerigum built, the medpacks are off limits unless told otherwise.  Graves, we cannot have any health problems getting worse, let me take a look at you."

Raj opens the emergency medical kit.  Contained within are basic diagnostic tools.  For the next few minutes, she gives graves a basic checkup measuring blood pressure and checking the respiration.  "Sounds like you have some asthma, and your blood pressure is a bit high.  Is minor, but should be able to be kept under control without any medicines for now."

Kelly closes the meeting, "With that settled, we have our priorities.  Raj and I will focus on getting shelter and equipment constructed and Graves, you are going to start up some agriculture.  Once all that is done, we can then focus on building security to protect us from potential wildlife and if there hostile inhabitants of this planet."

The three colonists then break off to the south.  Raj and Kelly begin making use of the survival tools to excavate some shelter while Graves plants a crop of potatoes in the gravelly ground.  East of the hill, he finds a small patch of soil which he uses to plant some Xerigum healroot.  With that completed, he decides to make use of the small strip of soil near the steam vent to plant some corn.

Later in the evening, Kelly and Raj put up some temporary steel doors for the rooms they were digging out and build some beds out of some of the usable steel they find out in the desert.

Late in the evening, they meet back up to discuss the day.  Kelly addresses the group, "Well, not bad for one day, is good the days are long so we can get a good night's sleep.  Is fortunate that the raw metals around here are malleable.  With some development, we probably can make some more advanced components using the portable forge.  Graves, I have extra space in my room, would you like us to build you a bed for the night as well?"

"No, I would rather sleep outside under the stars than under the ground.  Tomorrow I can build myself a hut.  The cactus plants here seem very sturdy and should do quite well for building a roof."

The trip end the night with more casual discussions before finally heading off to sleep.



Refreshed from a good rest, they awaken to get a good start.  It is looking to shape up to be another good day and spirits are high.  The mood is short lived however.

The short wave communicators begin to crackle.  The three meet back up and Raj explains the situation, "It seems to be a low frequency radio broadcast.  A machine collector named Mayumi Tanner is calling from nearby.  She says she is being chased by pirates from a group called Cruelparty.  She is begging for safety here and is willing to join us and can pull her weight, is in her thirties."

Kelly replies, "We have a knife, a hunting rifle and a pistol.  If we had more defenses set up, I would say we could help.  As it stands, we do not have the protection to fight off some unknown pirates of unknown numbers."

"I agree," Graves nods, "She is an unknown.  We do not know if she has what it takes.  Our growable land is limited as is the space.  We cannot risk the additional burden on our supplies.  On top of that fighting pirates means any one of us could get hurt or killed.  Is that worth one life?"

"I am glad we are in agreement then.  I would have made that call at this time regardless.  If we were more secure, I would never leave a person in distress but to give our position away now and antagonize local pirates would probably kill us all."  Tanner's voice screams through the radio as Raj turns off the transmission.

The group works in silence through the day until Raj spots what appears to be pods coming down from the sky.  "Graves, those look to have come down close to where you are working, you want to check it out?"

"Can do."

Half an hour later, an excited voice shouts over the radio!  "You won't believe what it is!  Looks to be some cargo pods crashed down!  Full of Xerigum!  Talk about good fortunes!  I will haul it back for the stockpile!"



"There we go guys, talk about some stress off the mind.  We have medical supplies and things are looking good.  I even found a nice patch of soil east of here.  Got some cotton planted so if we need new apparel we are set and been setting up a windbreak around it so we can get lumber in time as well... Is that an escape pod coming down to the south?"

"If it is, somebody could be needing medical help.  I will go check it out."



Fifteen minutes later, as the sun is setting, the Raj comes over the radio, "We have a survivor here.  Looks to be an elderly lady.  Name is Sonja 'Shonja' Baker.  Probably in her seventies.  ID has her as a veterinarian.  Is cut and bruised up pretty bad and bleeding.  With the healroot we got, those would be no problems to treat though."

Kelly asks, "How does she look otherwise? even if we treat her wounds, an old lady out here even able to survive?  Might it not be better to just let her die?  It is cold, but starvation is a terrible way to go"

"Overall isn't too bad.  Some scarring on her neck, and appears to have some cataracts forming in her eyes.  What should I do?"

MILESTONE

Reason the request wasn't a milestone simply comes down to cannot save with that holding the screen waiting for a decision.  As such, That call was made based on the other decisions and their reasons.  Hillside was develop first then security and medicines to keep on an emergency usage only.  With the coast however, they would have had some security and defense early so would have offered shelter. 

In the future, similar situations might come up where there is a potential milestone, but if it would make the chapter short or is related to decisions in the past, then it will be roleplay written into part of the chapter.

In regards to people and introducing them for decisions, the metagame info won't be there.  So in this case, is a person unable to really give a personality since is in shock.  As such, profession and health are the only available info to base a decision on.  The traits, well nobody knows...

Also remember, these are not set in stone decisions.  If you got a better idea, and sometimes I leave those out purposefully, then be sure to give an option not listed.  That is the fun!

Decision 1.  What should they do with Shonja?

a)  Leave her
b)  Have Raj end her suffering
c)  Treat her and let her go
d)  Treat her and try to bring her into the colony


Decision 2.  It is confirmed that there are hostile factions on this planet.  What is going to be the policy in regards to them?

a)Defensive.  Protecting themselves above all else
b)Steadfast.  Don't give ground, but don't go out looking for a fight
c)Offensive.  This is their colony, and nobody will be allowed to take it from them

[Realjuan]

1) I want a humanitarian Colony, so I say save her.
2) Plan should be to survive, until able to get out of this planet so no need to start any conflict. Be defensive.

Hows the temperature of the planet, because it seems they should be getting a kitchen going and refrigerator as first use of components/metals.

[ModernGib]

1) Intrigue is of top priority, considering the fact that they just crashed on an unknown planet. Treat her, and interrogate her finding out about her past, her present, what lead to the crash, and if she has useful skills then attempt to recruit her.

2) Offensive, there needs to be strict militarian rules and security in order to survive. We cannot sit there an ignore the oncoming pirates/tribals, if they come upon our colony armed it is no doubt they have malicious intent. Kill all who do not state their arrival beforehand.

[Mr.Cross]

1) save her since you have the xerigium and recruit her, even if her skills are horrible you could still have a dedicated hauler/cleaner maybe even a money maker

2) I'd say steadfeast. This is deffiantely their colony, they shouldnt give it up even if there is a way off that rock.

[Vaporisor]

1) Intrigue is of top priority, considering the fact that they just crashed on an unknown planet. Treat her, and interrogate her finding out about her past, her present, what lead to the crash, and if she has useful skills then attempt to recruit her.

2) I'd say steadfeast. This is deffiantely their colony, they shouldnt give it up even if there is a way off that rock.

Hows the temperature of the planet, because it seems they should be getting a kitchen going and refrigerator as first use of components/metals.

CHAPTER 3:  HELL'S KITCHEN

"Bring her in.  We are not monsters.  Yes, it pained me to refuse to assist when we had that distress call, but we had no choice.  We have more than enough medicinal herbs for the short while and Graves already has more growing.  There is no harm in bringing her in.  Best case we get more help, worst case we get some information and she is on her way.  Her choice."

"Where will we treat her?"

"Graves and I will set up your room to house her.  We will move your bed into where I am.  My walls aren't completely sealed in case you are wondering why.  It is getting late.  Lets patch her up and then can talk in the morning about how she got here as well."

The next morning Raj heads out to finish treating and interrogate her.



"So... What can you tell us?"

"Well, I crashed into this sandbox and now am stuck in a cave?" Shonja slumps back into the shoddy bed, "Sorry.  Thanks for saving me.  Nerves are a bit frayed and am short on temper at the moment.  What are you asking?"

"Who are you?  How did you get here as well.  This dustball is so far off the beaten track that I doubted we would ever see anybody else, let alone a day after we crashed."

"Aaah... you got hit by it too then...."

"Hit by what?"

"The mass cloud.  Didn't you get the emergency notification?"

"No we came out of cyro as our ship crashed into the planet."

"Aaah, then you were one of the first folks to get here.  All I know is what I read from the initial emergency wake transmission.  The report warned for all ships to do emergency course correction due to an undetected mass stream that had intersected the Kuiper route, right at the point where it makes the turn to navigate around the super black hole."

"A mass stream?  Never heard of it."

"Never existed before.  That is what they called it.  From somewhere out in deep space, a stream of fine dust came in at what previously was considered impossible velocity.  would just erode through external components.  By the time I got the notification, it was already too late and I was being hit by it.  Transmitter and navigational controls knocked out, I was adrift.  Solo in my ship, I had nothing I could do except go back to sleep and wait until notification of a habitable planet."

"Sounds like what happened to us as well.  We had some navigation info so we know where we are.  This place is out in the rim, but is a straight line from the point you say this event was to here if you extend out the path before the bend.  That is a pretty heavily traveled route  both for tourism to see the black hole and traders to avoid it.  I expect we are not the only ones who will be ending up here if others got caught."

"So now a choice.  You can stay and help us out, or if you want you can leave.  We can let you stay here to heal up if you want but will be confined to this room until you choose.  Supplies are far too limited and we cannot just trust anybody.  If you wish to stay, any skills you can offer?  This is an inhospitable place so we all have to pull our weight."

"I am a skilled animal tender.  Been that way my whole life.  Though growing up  I only had animals.  Didn't even want to talk to other people.  But if that is no good, I am fairly adept at making things when needed.  As for staying here..." Shonja looks around the decrepit room and scoffs, "I will need to think about it." before lying back in bed.

Raj's theory proved more than correct.  Later that day, and the following day, two more escape pods crash down. 

The first is carrying a man by the name of Night Winterbourne.  A Commisar in the military who was coming back from an outer training camp on a shuttle.  Good with a gun and with some survival skills, the colonists hope to convince him to stay to help keep their new home secure.  He asks to be called Capn'.



The second is Nelson Shelton.  A  construction engineer returning from a new development project on one of the more recent colonization projects and is a skilled first responder as well.  He is insisting he can make it on his own but agreed to wait a few days to hear them out.



"Raj, Graves, I don't know if I can keep up.  Three of us and three boarders.  We need their skills, and they seem like they want to join us, but holding reservations.  We cannot keep looking after them forever, but they are getting irritable locked in that room.  I don't know how they can keep their sanity... Graves, what happened to you, you are all beaten up?"

"Oh took down one of those dromedary things.  We were out of meals and still going to be a couple days until the potatoes are done at the least."

"And patching you up afterwards uses up medical supplies." Raj scolds,"  Just hunt those reptiles that are running around.  It all gets processed into paste so what does it matter."

"Sounds like you two are just as irritable as me.  Going by the sun, looks like we are going to be hitting summer so we have to get this work done.  We are spending too much time on them, but we also will need their help long term.  Lets get some sleep and thing about it in the morning."

During the night, the sounds of combat wake the group up.  Graves and Raj meet up first.

"Raj, it sounds like there those guys are fighting!  We gotta break em up before they wreck something"

After a serious scuffle, the two colonists are beaten and the three survivors are on the floor bloody and bruised.  Capn's nose is a bloody mess after taking a hard strike on the limestone walls.  Kelly comes in as the fight is ending.



"We cannot keep em in here.  Raj, we will move them into the new rooms.  You and I can sleep in the dispenser room.  Graves, first thing in the morning, you focus on getting this mess cleaned up.  We cannot have another fight, and living in all this rubble is just stressing everybody out."

For the next two days, the trio works hard to get everything in order.  Eating disgusting nutrient paste on the floor, dealing with helping the survivors recover.  Even with spending more time relaxing, tensions are running high.  Their luck does turns however.

"Morning Raj!"

"Morning Kelly, fine day!"

"It is.  I don't know what it is, but I am just feeling so relaxed today.  Is like somebody reached into my skull and giving my brain a nice relaxing massage..."

The two start to giggle.... "Women..." Graves mumbles...

"Well Graves, if it cheers you up, Nelson decided to join us.  That will help take some stress off and allow us to start work on securing this place again.  Oh here he comes now; Nelson, come and join us for some green breakfast!"

"Good morning ladies!!!... Graves...." Nelson looks at him with distain, "Kelly, you said somebody came through yesterday with some travelers from another settlement that knew me?"

"Yes.  You were still stressed out so we were hoping you would be willing to come out an talk with us.  We respect others so we wanted to make sure you knew what we knew, but in a clearer state of mind.  Turns out you were not the only one from your ship to survive and land down here.  Your wife survived.  She was saved by a nearby outlander town called "Smalltown at the Forest.  Reason we didn't tell you why they were here is they don't trust us yet and their supplies are extremely limited.  They rescued her, but said they wouldn't have supplies if you came as well."

"And everybody, looks like we wound up in one of heck of a hotzone.  Raj, you were right.  There are hostiles here.  The township told us why they are so tight with supplies.  There is a local tribe called 'Ambras Busto' that is quite territorial though over time potentially reasoned with.  But it gets worse."  Kelly goes silent for a minute...

"They informed me that there are three separate pirate groups that still fight for control of what is left of this planet.  We already know of 'Cruelparty', but 'The Loyal Crushers' and 'Murderfaction' are just as ruthless.  We will be needing Capn's shooting skill more than ever.  Security is our main concern but we cannot just turtle up and hope they leave us alone.  Once they notice us, they will come for us.  We need to ally those who are able to be allied, but take the fight to those that bring it to us."

The next few days is spent recovering from the days of hard labour expanding to sustain the new members of the group.  The task made worse by the onset of a heat wave and dry thunderstorms.  The weather is hot, but tolerable most of the time however.  If it does rain here, there is no signs of it yet.  Eventually, Capn' joins the colony.  With double the people and the land harsher than originally expected, they decide have a meeting the next morning and re-evaluate their plans.

MILESTONE

Three new faces came while the colonists were still just trying to survive for themselves.  But the three all had usable skills which could change everything.


Decision 1.  With skilled crafters and builders, more energy can be devoted to construction.  The potential threats they face are unknown but real.  At the same time, life is rough and stresses the colonists out.  Do they:

a) focus on making the location more comfortable so they can focus on work more
b) focus on getting heavy defenses instead of basic walls in case of attack
c) focus on expansion and productivity objectives and then building constructions


Decision 2.  Food at this time should be sustainable with hunting and crops, but potentially not reliable.  There is a range of needs, but limited arable land.  What should agriculture be focused on?

a)  Increasing food production
b)  Increasing material production
c)  Attempt to train raise local animals
d)  They need to do more than just one

This chapter was a bit of a toughie.  I was having a trouble getting to what I felt was a good milestone point, and that was recruiting the persons.  With three falling, it made a fair bit more to get there. You will also see that there is some hay.  That was an oops on my part.  When I started this chapter, I was just going to do animals as that is (as a vet and stated) one of shonja's skillsets.  I then decided to cancel that and keep it to planting the windbreak so animals could be one of the milestone choices.


[attachment deleted by admin - too old]

[ModernGib]

1)  So far, we've found no reasonable answer as to if we are ever gonna leave any time soon, so i'd say we focus on making the location more comfortable for a morale boosts. Colonists aren't having a blast constantly bruising their feet on rubble and staining their clothes with the vomit and blood of others, this place is a bacteria lovefest. Focus on cleaning the area up, moving out chunks of rubble, maybe place down some wooden floorboards or two, and THEN we can get down to business.

2)  We should clearly set down a stockpile, and count our materials. If we're ever going to progress we need to increase material production.


(this feels like im a civilization V advisor)