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Athens (Chapters 1-3)
Posted By: QuickTactical<quicktactical@hotmail.com>
Date: 22 February 2008, 11:55 pm
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Corporal Michael Hawkins is a terraforming engineer with the UNSC Colonization Program. In 2520, he was on the colonization ship Columbus heading to the planet Athens, one of humanity's newest colonies. For the next five years, he and the other thousands of terraformers made Athens more habitable for human life, and in 2525 Athens' population exceeds 100,000 people. Hawkins lives a modest life and comes to marry a beautiful fellow engineer, Sarah Howell, and together they have one child, John.
All is going well for humanity, with over 800 colonized worlds and a population of over 50 billion, until 2525. News reaches the public that aliens, technologically superior and hostile, have been discovered. The loss of Harvest frightens and angers the human population. Millions volunteer for the UNSC Marine Corps. Hawkins is one of them. He leaves his home and his family, against protest from Sarah, to report to basic training on Reach.
This is his story.
Part One
Chapter 1
6.10.2520, 08:00 (Athens Time)
Aboard Terraforming Vessel Columbus
Michael Hawkins woke with a start as the hull shuddered. He sat up in bed and listened closely. The ship continued to moan, but eventually the noise faded out. Realizing the ship was descending through atmosphere, he stretched and got out of bed.
The corporal was of average build, with brown eyes, brown hair, and a face with soft yet hardened features. At twenty-eight years old, he was in good shape. He walked to the shower and expressed what could be described as anticipation.
He undressed and turned on a jet of steaming hot water. As he stepped in he remembered how cold it was coming out of cryosleep a week ago; he was in it for six months. They all were.
Mike was aboard the UNSC Columbus, a mammoth of a vessel that was the spear point of space colonization. The Columbus was a terraforming ship – that is, it carried the people, the machines, and the materials needed to make a planet habitable for human life. Right now it was landing on the surface of Athens, the fourth planet in the Marata solar system. Mike was twenty light-years from home.
Athens had been studied before, of course, otherwise the Columbus wouldn't have taken a six-month long jump through Slipspace to get there. It was a relatively small world, about 3,000 miles in diameter. It had freshwater oceans and lush grasslands, making it an ideal human habitat. It had only two continents, and the Columbus would be landing on the larger one, Pertrene. It had been decided that the smaller continent on the other side of the planet, Prinlor, would remain barren of human life.
With over 800 colonies already established throughout UNSC controlled space, it was just another planet on a long list. But with 50 billion human beings inhabiting the galaxy, a little more space wouldn't hurt.
After a preemptive survey from orbit in 2510, Athens was confirmed to have a suitable climate, although its soil was not quite ready to support large-scale farming. Back on Earth, the UNSC Colonization Program put together a plan to make the planet support a large population. One of several colonization ships, the Columbus disembarked with a workforce of two thousand men and women and millions of tons of machinery and material.
The crew was put in cryosleep for the journey, and when the ship was a week from its destination they were aroused from their deep slumber.
Mike stepped out of the shower, toweled off, and suited up in his uniform. It was a standard issue outfit for UNSC crewmembers, with his name and rank imprinted over the left breast. He grabbed his compad and rucksack and left the room, heading for the lift.
The interior of the Columbus was well kept. The shiny metallic floor was swept clean, and the halogen lights set in the corners of the walls and ceilings brightly illuminated the corridors.
He maneuvered through several hallways until he reached the main corridor. The residence sector of the Columbus was four decks tall and located above the bridge. With so many people on board it often got a bit disorienting to move around. But signs helped Mike along the way, pointing to the lifts. There were six lifts lined along the forward bulkhead of the ship, each capable of carrying five tons. They led to the other decks and the storage hangers.
As he walked the hull shuddered again, and then abruptly stopped with a thump. He powered up his compad and confirmed his thoughts when he found a message from the captain addressed to all aboard: WELCOME TO ATHENS, EVERYONE. PLEASE PREP FOR UNLOADING AND REPORT TO YOUR STATIONS. LET'S GET TO WORK. – CAPTAIN PEARCE.
Waiting for the lift among a crowd of fellow engineers, he found Sam Langley. Sam was a good friend of Mike since they went through college together.
"Morning, Mike", Sam said.
"Actually", said Mike, checking the time on his compad, "It's about midnight".
"Oh, yeah, back on Earth it is. Here the sun should be rising any minute. How'd it feel to wake up in something warm?"
"A lot better than waking up like a frozen Popsicle" Mike replied. He chuckled to himself, remembering the freezing chill he had felt when waking up in the cryo-chamber.
The lift arrived, which essentially was a large elevator. The crowd shuffled onboard, and when there was no more room someone hit the switch and the lift descended rapidly. Michael felt his gut rise in his throat; he hadn't experienced true gravity in quite a while. The ship spun during spaceflight to create centrifugal force, a mimic of gravity.
"So", Mike started again, "how long do you think this will take?"
"What, terraforming Athens?" Sam asked.
"Yeah".
"Probably a good five years at least. It'll take a long time to make the soil more fertile". Sam was one of the crew's soil specialists, who figured out how to make the soil nutritious for human crops.
"Well, for us, knowing the size of the planet, it probably won't take long to lay out". Mike was referring to him and the other Planet Surface Design Team members; they were responsible for deciding where roads would go, laying out cities, and designing buildings best suited to the planet's climate.
When the lift stopped and the door opened, Mike was greeted with a blast of cold air. But his breath was taken with an awe-inspiring site, the main cargo hanger. It was the center of activity this morning. The hanger was absolutely huge, measuring at least one thousand feet long and four hundred feet wide. Mike craned his neck to look up at the ceiling at least three stories above him. The space was filled with the hustle and bustle of hundreds of people – all terraforming engineers checking equipment or heading to their workstations there on the main deck.
The hanger was dark. Most of the light fixtures were set on the gray walls lining the hanger. The ten hanger doors, once opened, would provide natural lighting.
Lined along the walls and in aisles were the terraforming machines themselves; massive earthmovers, which were essentially giant bulldozers. JOTUS farming equipment, ground vehicles, and everything else that would be needed to shape the planet was on the ship.
The main hanger made up the bulk of the Columbus. There were other storage hangers on the upper decks that weren't nearly as large but were just as important, holding food and water for the crew, and seeds for the future farms.
The confusion separated Michael and Sam, but he didn't worry; they would meet up later in the day.
Michael moved forward, his attention suddenly fastened on one of the hanger doors. As it opened, the dawn light filtered in, adding natural light to the cavernous space.
He was so fascinated by the fact that he was on a new planet that he didn't look where he was going, and he bumped into someone overlooking an earthmover. He dropped his compad and bent over to pick up. As he was doing so he noticed the slim legs in uniform next to him. Mike realized it was a woman he had bumped into and stood up. She turned to face him, and he blushed as he thought of an apology.
"Uh, sorry about that", he said, gesturing over his shoulder at the organized chaos going on in the hanger, "It's a bit crowded in here".
She smiled and Michael felt his face get warmer. "No problem, happens to me all the time," she said in a soft voice. "Although it's not always an accident when you're on a six month long trip with men all around you".
It took Mike a moment to realize she was talking about herself; she was very attractive. Her smooth, wavy blond hair came down just past her ears, and her sparkling blue eyes and soft face added her beauty. Being an engineer, her smarts and looks were enough for any man to die for.
"Oh, yeah, right", he stuttered. He looked down at his feet as he thought of a better response. Michael was shy, and the last relationship he had with a woman had been years ago. "Well, uh, my name's Michael. Michael Hawkins". He extended his hand.
She looked at him slyly for a moment and then took his hand. She had a firm grip.
"Sarah Howell. Nice to meet you," she said.
Mike smiled awkwardly and then noticed the surging mass of people around him. By this time all of the elevators coming from the quarters were running full loads as everyone prepared for the first day on Athens.
"I gotta go", said Mike. "Maybe I'll see you around?"
She smiled again and brushed aside some hair that had fallen in front of her eye. "Yes, that would be nice. To be honest I hardly know anyone aboard". She said this exasperatingly, as if it had been bothering her the entire trip.
"Well, maybe I can call you sometime", he said, indicating his compad. "Nice meeting you, bye". He forced a smile as the blood in his face boiled.
"Good-bye, Michael". She gave a short little wave and turned back to the equipment.
Mike stood there for a second, staring at the back of her lovely head, her hair done up in a bun. He thought for a moment, she's the one, and then he turned and moved with the flow.
Chapter 2
6.10.2520, 08:30 (Athens Time)
Aboard Terraforming Vessel Columbus
Ten minutes later, Michael arrived at his team's station. It was located in a forward corner of the hanger that wasn't surrounded by towering equipment. The other team members were already there. He put some extra supplies in his pack as he prepared to move out.
Sergeant Kurt Stromsfield threw him a glance and nodded, glad he was on time. Stromsfield was the team leader of the architects, or more officially, the Planet Surface Design Team. There were twenty of the designers that would work together on creating the infrastructure for the new world, but Michael Hawkins was probably the best man on the team below Kurt.
The team members were gathered around a squadron of Warthogs. These tough, jeep-like vehicles were usually the forward fighting units for Marines. But unlike the Marine Corps variant, which sported a .50 caliber machine gun, these ones had a bench seat in the rear. They were also unarmored. This was because the Warthogs were used mainly for scouting rough terrain and getting around once local settlements were established, and the colonization engineers did not expect to be fighting anyone on barren planets.
But just in case, each Warthog had an MA5B Assault Rifle with five extra clips stored in the rear. Everyone in the UNSC went through basic training and knew how to use a weapon.
The team had five Warthogs out of the fifty or so the ship stored. They were chosen as the first scouts because they needed to see the terrain for themselves. The ship also had a fleet of civilian vehicles stored on board, but those would be used in a few years when the work of the terraformers was done and civilians started living on the planet.
Mike climbed up into the driver seat of the lead Warthog and Kurt hopped in the side seat next to him. In the back Harold Westing and Carl Bonning made themselves comfortable.
He powered up the Warthog and the engine growled. Mike looked over at Kurt.
"What's up, Sarge?" he asked.
Sergeant Stromsfield rechecked his compad. "We're to proceed north of the landing zone to scope out the terrain and find a nice flat spot for the first settlement. Says here it's recommended that the vehicles spread out with a half mile between them to cover more ground".
"Say, Carl, let's see if we can borrow a 'Hog later so we can scout out the land ourselves", joked Harold.
"For a joyride on the biggest field in the Universe", said Carl.
Kurt sighed. "Not on my watch".
Mike turned around in his seat and saw the rest of the Warthogs were loaded up. Two of the five hanger doors on the south side were already down and the heavy equipment was being readied to move outside. Almost everything was planned, so work would start immediately. The hanger looked somewhat more organized now that there wasn't a mass of people everywhere.
Stromsfield gave the order to move out and Mike throttled up the big machine. The other Warthogs followed suit. The nearest open hanger door was at the other end of the hanger, near the lifts. The door was hinged from the bottom, so when it opened it made a giant ramp that angled down to the ground outside.
Mike turned down the ramp and the Warthog's tires thudded onto the earth.
The beauty of the place stunned him. He, like everyone else, had seen photos of the planet from orbit, but he didn't expect it to be so serene, even if it was the first planet he would be terraforming. The Columbus had landed in the northern region of the planet's largest continent, which was mostly hilly grassland. The yellow grass was at least waist-high, and was the only thing to see for hundreds of miles. A light, constant breeze from the ocean ruffled Mike's hair. The blue sky was dotted with clouds, and the medium-sized sun had just risen in the east, bathing the whole scene in yellow light. The sun's rays warmed Michael's cheeks, and as he glanced west, he squinted at the untainted light.
Michael looked at the dashboard's compass and turned north towards the shoreline about five miles away. Doing so took him around Columbus, and the view showed him just how large the ship was.
The exterior of the ship was a fifth of a mile long, slightly longer than the main hanger, and because of its mission, it wasn't built for looks. The ship was essentially a giant container filled with supplies, along with quarters and a mess hall to accommodate the two thousand people on board. The ship had landed on its flat bottom, which, like the rest of the hull, was three feet thick and made out of extremely strong steel colored a dark shade of gray. Mike also got a good look at the bridge, which was positioned in the lower forward area of the ship. The large windows provided a spectacular view during spaceflight.
As they moved away from the ship, Mike got a better sense of just how big the grassy plain was. There seemed no end in sight, and nothing but grass covered the wind-swept landscape. The Warthogs tore through the grass, flattening the thick stalks and leaving a trail in their wake. Surprisingly, Mike saw no animals of any kind.
"To all scout units, this is Scout One", said the sergeant. "Spread out so we're all separated from each other by half a mile. Look for a flat area where we can set up the first outdoor settlement. I'm sure it won't be hard to find a good spot". Stromsfield waited for the person in charge of each Warthog to respond.
"Scout Two, roger". That was Charlie Finch; another good man that Michael had gone through school with. He reminded himself to talk about old times with him when they got back.
"This is Scout Three. Anyone feel like a campfire on the beach tonight?" Mike recognized the voice of Jennifer Olney, the only woman on the design team.
Next over the frequency came James Keller, someone who Michael wasn't acquainted with. "Hell, it's only five miles away. Sarge, why don't we check out that area and skip the rest? I imagine it's pretty flat around there. This is Scout Five, over".
Stromsfield replied, "Negative everyone, just stick to the plan. Follow your orders and get the job done". He looked over at Mike, who just rolled his eyes. "But I'm sure we could take a swim if you all insist", he added good-heartedly.
"See, the Sarge ain't half bad!", replied Nate McKlosky. "Oh, Scout Four, over".
There was laughter and joking on the radio until Stromsfield shut them up. Mike was glad they were off to a good start.
It was early morning, and the day was only beginning as the sun rose higher in the sky. They had ten hours to scout the area around the landing site before the building, planting, and earthmoving began. They had a long job ahead of them.
Chapter 3
7.5.2520, 13:00 (Athens Time)
Aboard Terraforming Vessel Columbus
The table erupted in laughter as Sam said the punch line to a joke they had all heard a thousand times. Mike Hawkins, Sam Langley, Charlie Finn, and several others sat around a table in the ship's mess hall, enjoying lunch.
"So I hear this is the last planet to be colonized", Andy Hansen, one of the earthmoving engineers, said after the laughter died down.
"Really? Where'd you hear that one?" asked Michael.
"I overheard it before we left, from one of the officers".
"Just a rumor, I'll bet", said Charlie.
"Eight hundred colonies can be a hassle to manage, I imagine", replied Michael.
"Yeah, but that means we'll be out of work. Or forced to enlist", Sam said solemnly.
The group went quiet.
They were, of course, already enlisted in the UNSC, who headed the colonization effort and governed the human population. They were thinking about the Marines Corps; once they were no more use in starting human habitats on planets, they might be required to begin serving in the armed forces. It was an ugly situation for the UNSC at the moment; rebels and insurrectionists were in almost every system, and the Marines were stretched to the limit to hold them down.
Michael considered this and decided that no matter what it came to, he could never shoot another person.
The group resumed conversation on a different subject, and Mike and Sam got up together to put away their lunch trays.
As they walked toward a refuse bin, Sam said, "Man, you think that's true about us being drafted?"
They cleared off their trays in a refuse bin, and then put the trays on top.
"I don't know. Hard to say", Mike replied. "But if comes to it I'll never join the Marines. I'll hide if I have to".
Sam stared at his best friend for a moment, thinking he was joking. He was dead serious. Sam had never known Mike to defy orders; he always did what he had to do.
Well, maybe avoiding enlistment was just that.
"I'm with you, Mike. I always will be. But I'm not going to jail for this if it's too risky".
"Sam, don't even worry about it", Mike replied. "You said yourself it'll take at least five years to colonize this planet. And even then we have no idea if it's really the last one. Just go on living".
Sam grinned, and they started toward the lifts. "I'm glad you're here, Mike. Those other guys are okay, but you're the only one I can fall back on".
Mike was about to say something similar about Sam when the door to one of the lifts opening, revealing Sarah Howell.
Michael had called her only once since their first meeting three weeks ago, but she had been busy and couldn't talk very long. But she looked just as pretty as that first day, her slim figure outlined in the gray uniform.
"Oh, hi, Ms. Howell", he managed to get out. "Remember me?"
"Of course, Michael", she said as she stepped out, the doors closing behind her.
They were silent for a moment as she glanced between Michael and Sam, who was staring a little too much at her in the wrong places. Mike was embarrassed for his friend and tried to break the ice.
"Sam, this is Sarah Howell. We met onboard a few weeks ago".
Sam came to his senses and extended his hand. "Sam Langley, a pleasure to meet you". He looked at Mike and Sarah. "So, uh, are you two…together or something?"
Mike blushed at Sam's ridiculous question and felt like breaking his nose.
Sarah seemed not to be offended. "Oh, no, we're just acquaintances, for now".
Michael tried not to smile at the last two words she had said. Something more seemed to be in store. Mike decided now was a good opportunity to spend some time with her.
"Sam, I'll catch up with you later", he said.
Sam took the hint. "Alright, just come upstairs when you're finished", he said. He pushed the button for the lift and the doors opened again. As he stepped inside and turned around, he winked at Mike. Mike shrugged and turned to follow Sarah, who had already headed toward the serving counter.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?", he asked, catching up with her. "I just had lunch though".
"Sure thing. And you can call me Sarah, Mike". Mike grinned. Things were already warming up. He glanced at the table he had been sitting at and saw that his friends were starting in amazement, as if there was no way Mike was with her.
Mike smiled at them and continued toward the kitchen. When she got a sandwich and he a bottle of water, they sat at an unoccupied table in the corner of the room.
"Sorry about Sam", Mike started. "He's a little…unaware at times".
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "I didn't notice anything wrong. Maybe I'm just used to it", she added with a bit of humor.
"Uh, yeah, I'll bet", he said. She smiled at him as she unwrapped her ham-and-cheese. Mike wasn't sure where to start.
"So, what do you do?", he finally asked.
"I'm a soil engineer", she replied between bites. "Probably the most boring job out of everyone here".
"Oh, no, I'm sure it's interesting. My friend Sam is one too, but he never talks about it. What does it involve?"
"Well", she started to say, "I work with the other engineers to check the content of the soil, and plan the new composition that will work best for crop growth".
"See, that's important. Without you, we wouldn't be able to make this a farming colony".
She sighed. "If you say so. What do you do, Michael?"
He explained for a few minutes what his job entailed, taking so long because she seemed genuinely interested in his work. They talked about where they had gone to school before joining the UNSC Colonization Program; as it turned out, they were both from the United States on Earth. This was surprising considering how many colonies existed.
Mike was already thinking ahead about what a relationship might mean onboard; it would probably be better to move into an outdoor settlement. Luckily, the surface designers were supposed to move into the settlement that was going to be established at the beach next week.
"Wow", she said when he was done explaining. "You pretty much shape the planet". Mike grinned and took a sip of his water. He had to report back to his workstation on the hanger floor soon, but he remembered something she had said the first day.
"You said when we first met that you hardly know anyone aboard. That true?"
Sighing, she said, "Yes. None of my friends wanted to work for the UNSC, so we didn't go through school together. I didn't make many friends there, either. So here I am, working on my first planet far away from home, all alone".
Mike paused for a moment, thinking it impossible that she hadn't met a guy in college. He decided that was too personal to ask about.
"Well, it was nice talking to you", he said. "Can we can meet for lunch here again?"
She thought for a moment, tilting her head back. Finally she looked back at Mike and said, "Yes, I can do that. Thanks for sitting with me".
She moved her loose hair to behind her ears. Mike looked at her, admiring her pretty face, and then realized he had looked at her too long and blushed and looked down at the table.
"Yeah, that's great", he said when he looked back at her. "We can get to know each other and you'll have a friend on board".
"Perfect", she replied. She stood up and Michael did too. Together they walked over to a refuse bin to dispose of their trash. They lightly shook hands and departed, each headed their separate ways.
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