Journal of Ehren Tal
Posted on 07/25/2020 @ 8:44am by Captain Cian D'Anvers
Edited on 07/25/2020 @ 9:18am
Excerpts from the journal kept by the colony’s leader, Ehren Tal
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“The kids finished painting the shuttle’s name on its side today. Their teacher called it an art project but our tech guy is complaining that it's downright embarrassing. Both the name and the spray of wobbly daisies. Everyone else tells him to lighten up. Bob is beautiful now and that’s what matters.”
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“The purists among us want to live off the land. Build everything ourselves from locally sourced materials. They are strongly against mining the Pergium even though it would be a huge revenue stream for us. It’s the reason we told the Federation we wanted to wait on that part. Truth is, we wanted to decide our own destinies, that’s why we’re out here, but I’ve begun to realize just how hard it is when you don’t have the funds you need. Last winter was so unbelievably hard. I didn’t think Sarah would survive and she still has that persistent cough.”
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“Fight continues in our meetings. Tempers are running high and the settlement has divided into camps -- those for mining and those against. Will have to put it to a vote.”
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“Vote is over. A committee was formed to seek out contractors. I made the point that while it’s a gamble, the revenue stream will fund needed improvements. We are still basically defenseless and the ion storms are no joke. Jace said that Bob’s turning into an elder and won’t last much longer. No one wanted to hear that. To accommodate those who want to live more in tune with nature, we’ll start a second settlement site in the spring far from the mining initiative. Collaborative effort -- the artisans will live there and some of the older members of the community.”
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“Picked out a site for the settlement, about a four hour walk through some beautiful woods. We made a point of clearing the land and that’s gone a long way toward restoring harmony.”
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“Long days have gotten so much longer. Everyone works from sunrise to well after dusk but we’re learning. The newcomers keep to themselves a lot, and have made themselves a makeshift camp over near the mines. A rougher sort, rowdy. I spoke with the parents and teachers about finding activities that keep the children far away from them. Course, Mia found a way to sneak over there. That girl has the makings of a spy, I swear.”
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“I’ve set up a recording system near the mines. Future meetings will be recorded. I try to be hopeful but the cynical side of me says that there’s going to be trouble and it's best to have the documentation if it happens. Let’s hope it's just me being paranoid and all will be well. 5% of a year’s profit is a considerable payout for the small amount of work they actually do.”
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“The strangers aren’t community people, that’s for sure. Rough sort and I’m talking to all the parents. Make sure they keep watch over their children. Had to. Mia’s Mom says that she’s been sneaking out but here lately, she caught her crying when no one was looking. I’m worried. Maybe I’d better have a talk with the girl.”
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“I’m going to end the arrangement today. Mia still won’t look anyone in the eye and although our doctor says she’s alright, she won’t barely leave her mother’s side anymore. No proof because the camera I hid near their tents was destroyed or or I’d have kicked the lot off world weeks ago.”
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“A man showed up today. Says his name is Galir. He’s Orion. Never saw one before but you can’t miss the green skin and even though I’m no Starfleet officer, I took high school xenobiology the same as everyone else. Says that the team works for him and that the contract terms were unfair as he put it. He wants more than 5 percent of the profit and not for one year -- ten! I told him we’d discuss it and he told me, there’s nothing to discuss. This happens. No matter what.”
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“Mia’s dead. She went berry picking, told her parents that she wanted to make them something special, and they were just so happy to see her smile again. Left the berries in a basket along with the necklace her father gave her for her sixteenth birthday and jumped. We found her body broken on the rocks. And what’s worse, the doctor found fresh bruises.”
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“We told them no.To get out. They laughed but they went. Our world is ours again. Mia’s funeral is tonight. We’ll mourn as a community and start to heal from all of this.”
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“We found a lovely spot to bury Mia. The children planted wildflowers around her grave and Antylla carved a beautiful headstone. We chose to celebrate her life rather than mourn her death so there were lots of stories about her antics growing up. Growing up. As if she wasn’t still a child.”
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“We lost three miners today. The supports gave way. Mia won’t be alone any longer. Four dead. All because we couldn’t wait. I told the colony I would resign from this position and they told me no. It was a decision we all made but I can see the look in some of their eyes. If we had built everything ourselves, taken our time, they’d all be alive. I know it.”
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“To be safe, we’re going to start flying Bob over the settlement. There’s equipment to do scans. This is a necessary step. Jace came to me last night after supper. I can understand why he waited to get me alone. The supports were damaged deliberately. It’s Gallir. I know it.”
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“Bob is overworked but we haven’t caught anything on flyovers. Thing is, we can’t keep the shuttle up there all the time. Things have been quiet for the past few days and we’ve gone back to mining. My feeling is that if we can get a big enough ore shipment, we could do a trade for better defense technology. I feel like we’re living on borrowed time.”
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“There’s been an accident. Explosion at that accursed mine. No one died but it was a near thing and we have some injured people. Jace tells me that it was faulty equipment. Something about the isolinear chip? Could be a legitimate accident and that’s what we’re telling everyone but it's them, I know it. We’ve been looking around. Trying to find some sort of evidence that we could bring to the Federation. If they’ll even help. After all, we violated our agreement with them by going it on our own.”
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“We destroyed the entrance to the mine today. Enough is enough. The others were right. No quick fixes. The pergium can stay there forever.”
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“No luck on finding the Orions. If they’ve got a base here on Skunil, we can’t find it. The mood here has gone from bad to worse. My attempts to reach anyone off world have gone unanswered and that worries me. And now everyone’s getting sick, myself included. Had to set up cots here in the main building to make it easier on the doctor. I’ve been trying to work through it but I’m just getting worse. The doc thinks it could be something we’ve all ingested … food’s been tested. It's not that … I have an idea though ... ”
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(last entry)
“Galir came back. Gave us one last chance. We said no and he smiled. Actually smiled !”
