New Earth (Aphotic Intentions & I)

[Star Pupil]

Darkness was the first thing she became aware of consciously, but she was already taking shallow, quick breaths as the rest of her senses slowly started reactivating. The hissing sound of machinery filled her ears and a strong earthy scent hit her almost instantly. She opened her eyes, and at first the light was blinding, however it started to subside as she blinked over and over again. As her breathing returned to normal, she moved her hand lazily to find something she could use to lift herself up from her seat. Recovering from a long stasis was always the hardest part of the journey.

It took a while, but she finally started becoming aware of her body, and who she was. Evelynn Blanche was her name. Age twenty seven. She was a researcher, a scientist, and her mission was to study New Earth. New Earth was a planet that they had stumbled upon a little over a decade ago that was the closest thing to their old planet they had come across this far. It's gravity, it's atmosphere, the environment...it was a perfect match. The only problem was...it was a very hostile planet. From the wild life to even the plants...everything seemed to have a self preservation instinct that drove it to kill any threats.

Then there was data on sentient creatures that lived here, but only seemed to come out during the endless night. Judging by the brightness that filled her pod, and the heat, she had arrived before then. That was one thing she didn't have to worry about. As for the other creatures roaming about, she had been sent here with a highly advanced weapon. She could defend herself for now until she found a proper settlement.

She could feel her stomach rumbling faintly, but she at least had rations she had taken with her. She reached for her backpack, which had all her necessities and her weapon. Beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead as she pulled out a tightly packaged nutritional bar. One bar was enough to completely satiate her hunger. A quick swig of water from her canteen helped diminish her thirst, and she closed her backpack and decided to take off her travel suit since it had been so hot.

She should have been more concerned about her surroundings, especially from the sounds of wildlife that were all around her. But she had a goal, and she was determined to accomplish it. She had no idea where she was, but she had enough supplies to figure it out.

 

[Aphotic Intentions]

The pod she arrived in had landed gently in the center of what had been, more recently, a shallow pool of water in the middle of a forest clearing. The water had been all but emptied in recent years, the sight of a long pipe and pump system which was lying nearby was the obvious cause of its drainage. Signs of civilization, humanity, or at least that was what any sane person would hope. There was no other sign of humanity nearby, other than the occasional footprint in the dried up bed of mud that was her pod's landing zone. Behind her the pod's proximity alarm was beeping with a soft but slow rhythm - the display inside however showed no signs of life larger than a dog within a square mile and upon closer inspection it looks like one of the antennas that would be attached to the sensor was snapped off.

The forest nearby sang with the sound of what would be analogous to insect life back on earth and the woods, from what she would be able to see were thick and overgrown. The trees were closer together and the underbrush rustled with small creatures here and there. There was a light wind, almost pleasant - but it was a bit colder than one would appreciate on a day like today, despite the sun which beamed down on the surface of New Earth, their Terra Nova. For all intents and purposes the foliage looked similar to what it would be like on earth with the exception of coloration. The leaves were a dark green but tinted with a hint of violet, likely due to exposure from the suns harmless radiation and its gentle violet hue.

But above the treeline is where the similarities of Earth ended and Terra Nova's obvious extraterrestrial indications began. The amount, coloration, and size of the moons which hung lazily in the daytime sky were stunning. This planet boasted 8 moons, and during the summer months they were rarely able to be seen. But here, near the end of the summer and the beginning with the winter almost all of them hung in the sky, nearly blotting out the light from the sun. It wasn't completely dark yet, but it was certainly dimmer (while still bright) than it should have been when summer was in full swing. This cycle of the moons lasted for nearly the entire winter on this side of the planet.

The winter darkness, while an intimidating factor in the natural cycles of the planet, was not the cause of the chill that was beginning to come on. In a highly elliptical orbit and with a large wobble on its axis, the temperature was quickly lowering and according to her pods readout she had but a week before the winter would begin in full swing.

*****​

Somewhere near, though unknown, machines whirred and beeped as lights began to issue from their cold steel frames. Inside, deeper in the planet's cavernous tunnel system this room with the machines was now fully lit. It was obviously the end of a cavern with only one entrance into the area, though that entrance was covered with a heavy steel door, the metal embedded into stone walls.

In the middle of the room was a machine shaped similar to a casket, with a hiss the lid was pushed upward mere inches and a soft mist issued out from its edges before the lid lifted further and moved over to the side, exposing its contents to the chill air of the cavern. A naked figure of a man lay there, his eyes twitching under his pale lids as he began to stir. After a few more moments, and the sound of more machines and the light from screens coming on, the body stirred and woke with a start.

The man sat up with a groan, and held his head for a moment before standing from his capsule and shaking gently on his feet.

"Goddamnit" he grumbled under his breath to the darkness. He turned to look at one of the screens that had been attached to the capsule, and after saving the readings on the computer it was attached to he ripped the sensors which were attached to his temple and chest from his body. He slumped on over to the other end of the small cavern and reached into a box of syringes. Taking one from the box with his right, he picked up a vial with his left hand and pulled the clear liquid into the needle and hurriedly injected it into himself. He shivered a bit and sat down in the chair nearby, nude and cold.

Nearby another computer hummed to life and he turned his head to look at the screen. The monitor showed the trajectory of a pod that had landed nearby on the surface. He stared for a moment before sighing and pushing his chair back.

"There's work to do..." Isaac said with a sigh.

 

[Star Pupil]

Evelynn grimaced a little when she finished reading the report that her pod had given her. She made sure to keep her suit that she had just peeled out of, because it would be the only thing that would protect her from the harsh cold that they observed from the Colonies. It was to be expected with no sun for weeks upon weeks. It was a wonder how any wildlife survived here in such conditions. She would hopefully find out on her trip here, because it was in the best interest of the colonies for her to gather as much data as she could. Despite her personal mission, she would not ignore this one.

Before she finally left the pod, she pulled the weapon they had given her out of her backpack and studied it. It was one of their standard military beam guns with a prototype attachment that allowed it to also function as a melee weapon. It was meant to be a utility for her in the case that she needed to cut something, because they doubted she'd ever attempt to try to get close to anything that was attacking her. She was a researcher, not a soldier. She was glad she took some lessons on how to use the high tech gun, and her aim was better than average.

She holstered the gun onto her hip and then finally started to move out. She spotted the pipe system right away and realized that she had to be close to a settlement. It was the only explanation as these were man made. She'd just have to guess the right direction to follow. It was...generally safe for now, as there were not larger creatures in the area. So she had some time to look for any disturbances in the area that might lead to where she needed to go. She was strictly going on instincts and smarts alone, as she had never tracked anything before in her life, but she was confident in her abilities.