There was nothing...
...And then, there was something.
Lights danced, screens came up, air hissed into the cabin, and a computer's sweet voice, a whisper of false intimacy to no one, rang out through the empty corridors as it went through its litany.
"Artificial Gravity Restoration Active. Atmospheric repressurisation active. Automatic pilot self-check in progress. Artificial life support system: check. Cryosleep chamber one: Willis, Sheila. Pilot. Neurological activity high. Core temperature normal. Alpha rising point-eight."
Sheila blinked. She felt like she'd overslept. She knew she hadn't, the on-board had woken her first as per its programming. After all, she was the pilot. This was the longest sleep-run she'd ever managed though, and she checked the calendar anyway.
June 30th, 2217.
Damn, but she felt old.
G889 filled the viewscreen as she slid into the pilot's chair, which was cold against the back of her legs and small of her back, reminding her it had been almost a quarter of a century since anyone had sat there. She sat back for a moment, sucking in a breath as she watched the cool blue globe grow larger. It was beautiful. So much more so than the Earth she had left behind over a hundred years ago. She almost envied her charges.
The colony ship was eerily silent as she brought up readouts to scan. She keyed the sequence that would release Dr. Vasquez and his team from cryo-sleep as well as the ship's Ops Crew. By this time next week, the colonists would be safe and sound in their own beds planetside and she would be prepping for departure.
A long way to go just to turn around and go straight back. Sensors beeped as they detected signal from Eden Project's com dish and, straightening her jacket, she keyed visual and audio.
"Eden Advance, this is Eden Colony, do you read?" There was a moment of silence. She repeated the message, wondering if she should panic, and just as she was about to, a familiar face filled her screen.
"Eden Colony, this is Eden Advance. We've been waiting for you." Devon Adair grinned.
"Hey, Sheila," another voice came over the comm, and her jaw dropped as behind Devon Adair a smiling dark haired man appeared.
"Solace? What the hell are you doing there, Ace? I thought--" "It's a long story. Trust me."
Pacifica, as the town was called, was buzzing. All fifteen inhabitants (sixteen, if you counted the 'droid, which no one did. Except for the 'droid.) were up, and scurrying around.
Company was coming.
Devon watched with a trace of a smile from the window of her office. Actually, it wasn't much of a window, since they hadn't quite mastered making glass yet. It was a hole in the wall with shutters to keep out the wind and rain which she'd covered with oilcloth in winter to keep out the cold.
The hospital, even half-finished as it was, seemed ridiculously modern compared to the rustic surroundings. They had used the bulk of the constructions supplies salvaged from the cargo pods, and power was supplied by the Upper Morgan river (the Martins were determined to name as much of the surrounding landscape as they could). Devon had spent much of the journey to New Pacifica pouring over the plans, making modifications here and there, using probe data supplemented now by experience to plan out the town, one foot at a time, right down to irrigation and winter stores.
"Not bad, all things considered." Devon allowed herself a small smile. After all, they had thought they would have two years to set up the colony, not just the eight short months left after the long journey from the crash site.
Her office was on the second floor of a two story wooden building that looked like nothing so much as a gigantic house. It acted as meeting hall, communications centre, dining room, and all around Common, and while functional, she'd tried hard to throw touches into the design that would make it... home. So a covered porch wrapped around two sides, with benches to sit on in the shade, and the beams of the ceiling met each other with carved brackets. A fireplace took up one entire wall, with a brick chimney straight out of a story book, the atmospheric filter hidden in the shaft.
She wanted it to stand a long time, even though she knew wooden buildings didn't last. But they had lost too many supplies when the 3rd cargo pod burned up on re-entry, and they were counting on the materials in colony ships cargo pods to complete the rest of the settlement.
Julia had planted saplings in the grove at the far end of the valley to replace the trees they had taken. It was a little thing, but it helped assuage their guilt. In two generations, those trees would be strong and tall, and no one would ever know what the land had given up for them, because this time around they were going to pay it back leaf for leaf.
The third building to go up was just called the Hotel, although no one actually paid to stay there. And stay there everyone did, even though the Martins had started a frame house a mile out from town, at the edge of the wheat fields.
The rooms on the second floor of the Hotel were basic, and the walls were thin, but it was shelter. Anything was better than the tents they'd called home for almost two years. It had only really been finished three months ago, when it was needed most. Winters in New Pacifica were mild compared to the mountains, but they still got the occasional snowstorm. The first floor housed, quite amazingly, a bar.
It was a small bar, and only served homebrew (although once the orchard matured, Yale wanted to try cider), and had the curious yet distinctive moniker of "The Grinning Grendler" (complete with visual aid in the form of gaily painted sign in the flavour of the old Earth pubs of centuries ago). Yale and Walman had gone in on it together, since Yale had the library program on brewing, and Walman had tended bar in between missions back on the stations.
The dormitories were the last. They were meant to be temporary housing, as the colonists wouldn't want to be far from the hospital at first; though if the Terrians would heal all the Syndrome children as quickly as they healed Uly, then they might be converted to apartments and offices faster than originally anticipated. Right now the town resembled nothing so much as an old Earth university campus, and she hoped that would be more than enough to sustain the thousand-plus.
Devon looked out, and saw the fruits of her efforts, literally. The new crops were planted, and the geodome they'd constructed, based on Mary's Garden, turned out fresh vegetables and fruits daily. More than enough to live on for fifteen, and hopefully with the hydroponics equipment aboard those cargo pods, soon enough for 1500. They couldn't afford to kill any of the three cows they'd salvaged from a downed cargo pod, though every time the bull broke down the fence and went wandering through the fields, Danziger swore he had a taste for steak. But they hadn't lost anyone (else) on the journey there, and had managed to work together long enough to get the colony if not established, then at least well on its way.
And now she wondered if she would have to say good bye to members of her extended family.
Company was coming. The colony ship some had spent two years calling "their ticket home."
Story Notes:
This novella is dedicated to all the people on #earth2 who put up with me during the last 5 weeks. This story was a real obsession, and having people like MAO, Kendall, mestiza, Chazmanb, AdmLucas, and all the other IRC regulars at the Grendler Bar and Grille made it that much more rewarding to finally finish. I'd also like to thank Sharon Bailey and Paula Sanders, for many a phone call :), moral support, and editing. I couldn't have done it without such great sounding boards.