UEE Time, May 1st 2938
For those who might still be reading this, I’m feeling much better. After my brief bout of self pity earlier in the week my body has shown signs of getting over the fever. My hands and feet are back to their usual selves and besides the occasional body ache it’s as if nothing ever happened. Though considering I’m still writing, I can’t be quite as confident about the lasting mental effects of my experience. Regardless, looking back to my last entry I realize how helpful this diary has been in recollecting how I got here. It’s weird how some things that were so clear can get so sideways. On that note, let me pick up where I left off.
As the transport began to drop we all began to feel the heat building up inside the rusted bucket called a ship. I grabbed the inside of my harness with my thumbs and squeezed. The fantasy of the journey had solidified, and what once felt like weightlessness was now the sensation of falling into the inevitable. There was definitely no turning back now.
All of a sudden everything was dark and all I could see through my now fogged up facemask was the red plasma glow of our ship. Static began to build up in my headset and sweat in my seat. I now began to hear the captain directly in my headset commlink through all the shaking.
“Final approach - good, hull checks - good, …”
The unending list of checks were obviously not meant for our ears. It was the first of many oversights that would dictate the rest of my stay on Castor. I closed my eyes and counted back from hundred, praying that this wasn’t how it was all going to end.
-
Someone must have nudged me awake when we finally landed. I opened my eyes looked back through my window to the rest of the world and then down at my omni. I couldn’t believe it, it was 0830 planetside time and pitch black. Checking outside again to make sure I hadn’t somehow misread the landscape, my eye caught an illuminated sign. It said
“Welcome to BID Settlement II”.
With one last shudder the cabin floor lights illuminated showing us the way to the front of the cabin. Clearly that was our queue to disembark. As we shuffled our way, elbow to elbow, to the front of the ship the temperature started to drop. That sweat that had pooled before now chilled me to the bone. I gave my jacket and mask one last tug and hopped down the exit ramp.
*Thud* *Thud* *Crunch*
Although I could barely see anything in the whiteout, from the feeling under my boots I realized that was a sound I’d be getting used to quick.
Before I knew it we were gathering around a light beacon that looked like it was dancing off in the distance. I guess animal instinct is something that doesn’t just pick up and go away after millions of years of evolution. Suddenly, something knocked me forward and brushed passed. Blonde tufts of hair jutted out behind the mask that was disappearing into the white in front of us. Reluctantly I jogged forward to follow suit.
"Glad you could join us!" piped directly into my ear - this headset was getting old really fast.
“First of all, let me introduce myself, the name’s Briggs.” said the figure beginning to take shape in front of me with a light wand in his hand. Not missing a step, Briggs continued his unnaturally upbeat tone considering the bleak landscape.
“I’ll be your foreman for the duration of your stay on Castor - look’s like you’re just in time for the first dig. Please follow me to site. Don’t worry we’ll get you settled in the barracks once we’re done.”
Surprisingly there was no hesitation. We started after the somewhat short and stout figure into the unknown. Whatever questions people may have had, they were willing to put off until later. The credits promised had done all the talking they needed in the meantime.
What I hadn’t been able to get my mind off of during this was why was there no sun. Why was it completely dark if they went through the trouble of getting us on a schedule on ship? Then it hit me:
UEE Time, May 2nd 2938
As I lie in my bunk back in the barracks letting the light fall on me and sleep take over, I realize that mornings on this desolate planet are bright as they are beautiful. They have the majestic grace and awe expected of any barren landscape visible for miles on end. When the wind dies down and the sun is allowed to breathe, not only does it match but it surpasses the instinctive dread built into every human being’s soul when faced with the un-inhabitable. In the stillness of it all, those moments were limitless and unparalleled. I’m still debating whether or not it outweighed the hell that is Castor’s night.
That night, we followed Briggs blindly into the grey. Occasionally when instructed we would link up to form a continuous line in the storm. Though the path was obviously well traveled, Briggs lovingly reminded us that if we were to find ourselves separated, we were as good as space toast shot out of airlock. At this point, parts of my face around my mask where really starting to sting and the fur lining of my parka hood had already become soaked with sweat and melted snow. I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with this much longer. With the hard frost being kicked up by everyone in front, the constant pressure on the person’s back in front of me was the only feedback that kept me pointed in the right direction.
Just when I thought I had enough - the pressure disappeared. Everyone in front of me had vanished. While I frantically I began waving my numb hands in front of my face, taking in the reality of my situation, those behind me were starting to get impatient. Limited to muffled shouts dieing in the wind, the line began to push forward whether or not I wanted them to. Suddenly my foot gave in to a slight slope and I found myself sliding forward. With an abrupt stop, I found the shoulder I'd been longer for. Gripping tightly we continued downwards. I was not going to lose it again.
As we descended it didn't take long for the visibility to clear up significantly. Outlines of what appeared to be abandoned machinery covered in a layer of crusted salt dotted the area. We had obviously hit an excavated pit of some kind and began to slow down. Just as I was taking in my surroundings.