The bus we were in bumped along the ground until it stopped. The unpainted walls were dreary, but it was nothing compared to how packed it was. Eighty of us were on the bus while eighty people were in the bus behind us. Four APCs carried troops while several trucks carried all the prefabs and equipment necessary. Overall, it was sufficient, and we weren’t too far from the capital.

“Welcome to Lake Tranquil,” the bus driver announced as all of us got up. I did a few stretches before grabbing my luggage from the overhead. Grabbing all my baggage took some time and it was very heavy. Scarlett and I trudged out of the bus with a literal weight on our shoulders as we stepped onto the lush blue grass.

Since it was sunset, the sky was cast in a beautiful purple and red color as the blue sun set in the west. The planet’s two moons were visible, with the larger one barely peeking over the horizon while the smaller one was visible in the sky. Yet despite the alienness of the planet, the green trees nearby were similar to Earth trees while some batlike creatures made haunting cries as they flew across the lake. And since there was no rabies on this planet, the bats weren’t nearly as terrifying as they would be back on Earth.

Scarlett and I dropped our baggage and looked at the lake. Lake Tranquil was exactly as the name implied. A tranquil freshwater lake that stretched for miles in width and length. From early satellite imaging of the planet, it was estimated to be the size of one of the Great Lakes. It was a very peaceful sight that made me wonder what the settlers in 18th century America felt when they saw the lakeshores of Ohio or Michigan. Fish jumped out of the lake, their vibrant scales shining in the retreating sunlight.

Despite the beauty around us, there was something important for us to do. I walked over to the disembarking settlers and announced, “Welcome to the site of our new city! There’s still much work to do, but for now, rejoice! This will be the second city of our nation, which shall grow to rival the capital! Fields of flowers will be replaced by fields of houses, parks, and people!”

“But I like nature!” one of the settlers shouted, earning a couple of nods of agreement from others in the crowd.

I scratched the stubble on my chin. “Yes, nature is good. However, there’ll still be plenty of nature once we’re done! Remember, old America still had several patches of wilderness even after we industrialized and sprawled. We have the benefit of hindsight, so we know what to avoid when we expand and develop this planet. And then, perhaps in five hundred years, we’ll be able to head back to space and colonize the galaxy again. Take pride! Humanity has not died, and never will!”

The crowd cheered now, perhaps now understanding that I wasn’t intending on destroying all of nature. With that, I announced, “Let’s have the foundations built!” At the sound of my voice, several robots sped out of their trucks and started digging holes across the settlement site. We got everyone out of the way before the robots started laying pipes and electric lines. Today they didn’t put down much, but it was enough lay the water and power for the prefab buildings.

Once the pipes and electric lines were laid, the power plant and water purification plant prefabs were assembled. The prefabs went up almost instantaneously, filling the pipes with water and streets with electricity. Streetlamps were set up alongside the dirt streets that were hastily built as the barracks and dormitory prefabs were assembled. Finally, the communications tower was assembled, allowing us to communicate with the capital if we needed to. As everything came together, I could only smile. The only depressing part was when the robots started lining the settlement with barbed wire fencing with soldiers taking a night shift to watch for any alien intrusion.

Since everything was ready for the new residents, I announced, “Everyone, go to your assigned dorms! While it’s going to be hard to be crammed into small rooms, this is a temporary measure until we can get some houses up! Alright, head to the cafeteria to pick up your dinner! We’ll be hosting some games to give us some recreation!” With my words, everyone started carrying their baggage into the dorms.

Scarlett walked up to me and asked, “My handsome Captain, how are you going to explain me to the group? Sooner or later, they’ll have to notice that I’m not a normal human being.”

I turned to look at her and scratched her snout. “My love, you may not be normal, but you are still a human being. Only two things truly matter.” I tapped her forehead. “Here,” I said before tapping her chest, “and here. You have the mind and heart of a woman. That’s all that matters! That and the fact that you’re beautiful.”

She laughed before replying, “So as long as I’m not ugly, I’m human.” I joined in the laughter as well. What I said was stupid, but honestly, sometimes it was funny to laugh at your own stupidity. It was a reminder that I wasn’t a genius and that I should take care to be humble. Nothing good came from arrogance. It led people into making catastrophic blunders and generally makes someone unpleasant to hang around.

We caught the elevator and took the opportunity to place our baggage on the ground. The break was brief as the elevator doors opened for us to carry our baggage to our dorm room. As I pulled out my key, I joked, “I feel like I’m going back to college. I just hope the finals won’t be that brutal this semester.” Scarlett chuckled at my joke. She never really had a college experience, with her rushing through classes in order to get a degree within a year. While she earned her Bachelor of Business with a major in Business Administration, she was overworked from it.

As the door to our room opened, I could see two twin beds separated by a dresser in the middle along with two computer desks, two sinks, and two closets. The room was small, but it was to be expected. I looked at the beds and sighed. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to share a bed.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Scarlett smirked as she pushed the dresser towards one of the beds. “These twin beds… can suffice… for a queen bed when… pushed together,” she grunted between breaths as she pushed. I joined along with her and managed to push the dresser next to one of the beds. We then picked up that bed and placed it next to the other twin bed. While it sounded impressive, we literally just took the mattress off and carried the frame separately before putting the mattress back on.

As we were fitting the mattresses with sheets, one question entered my mind. “Who’s going to sleep against the wall? If you don’t want to, I can sleep there so you won’t hit your snout against it.”

Scarlett scoffed. “I know how to navigate my snout, thank you very much. In fact, I’ll take the wall side.”

“But a fine lady such as yourself—”

“I can handle it,” she replied with a wide grin on her face. “Remember, you married a space cowgirl, not a space princess. I’m willing to make some sacrifices for our relationship as well. We’re equals here, and I won’t be pushed around or pampered.” I smiled at her statement. It was one of the reasons I liked her. She was strong and independent, but not to the point of pushing others out of her life. We had common ground and loved each other, so it meant that she could hang around me most of the time while still feeling independent.

Once the beds were set, we held hands as we walked to the cafeteria. While we earned several stares, it was worth it. By normalizing the sight of Scarlett and I acting like a couple, she’d eventually be seen as a normal part of the community. Now, I wasn’t going to start doing public displays of affection because that was too far. Even people with the least controversial romances tended to annoy others with PDA.

When we reached the cafeteria, I noticed several people looking at the nutrient paste with sighs as they swirled their spoons in it. It was disgusting, but I knew that it was what we needed to survive. That would be the case until we could finally get the farms and ranches online and ready to go.

Scarlett and I grabbed our trays of nutrient paste before sitting down at our own individual table. She sighed as she picked up a spoonful of the featureless green slime. “This is almost as bad as the sludge the Qarri forced me to eat in slavery,” she complained as she hesitantly swallowed it down. Immediately afterwards, she grabbed a glass of water to wash down the taste. “And I hate how the mutation didn’t affect my taste buds. I mean, I love the fact that I can still enjoy chocolate and sugary snacks, but at the same times, disgusting ‘food’ still tastes disgusting.”

“I agree that this hardly qualifies as food,” I said as I gagged after swallowing some nutrient paste. “But it’s for our own good. And on the bright side, we’ve solved the obesity epidemic. The food is so disgusting that no one will eat enough to get fat.” Scarlett and I busted out laughing at the joke, which spread to everyone that heard what I said.

After we finished our meals, I grabbed a microphone and announced, “Residents, welcome to the first Town Game Night! We’ll host these until we get the luxuries of life set up, unless you wish to continue this tradition! Starting off, we have a game that’s my favorite! It’s time for a game of Werewolf!”

Immediately as the word left my lips, everyone in the cafeteria stared at Scarlett. My wife scowled and crossed her arms before replying, “I am not a werewolf! I’m a mutant! That includes once the game starts!” she shouted with her voice on the last part becoming a bit more humorous.

While some would’ve said something, the game started. I picked out several people to be werewolves and the remainder to be villagers. With the stage set, I announced the beginning of the night stage. The werewolves walked around, tapping the shoulders of their victims before heading back to their seats. I then announced, “Everyone who was attacked, bow your heads so we know you’re out of the game!” The victims bowed their heads, as the day stage began.

Scarlett took the blindfold off her face as she looked at the victim at the table. She tapped her fingers together. She pointed to one of the people at the table and accused, “I think you’re the werewolf! Think about it! You talked about being friends with him and said you’ll never attack him, but how do I know it was the beast breaking through the human façade to trick us?”

The accused pointed back at her and shouted, “Says the giant talking dog! She’s not even hiding her werewolf nature!” While I would’ve intervened normally, I could see that Scarlett was taking this more as an in-game accusation than a real one.

“That’s because I already look like a fox. Now, let me suppose this. How can a werewolf be a foxwoman if the word ‘were’ has its roots in the Old English term for man? Indeed, not only is the werewolf pretending to be human, but he’s also male!” Scarlett countered as she looked at the men at her table. As they glared at her, she shrugged and explained, “I could hear y’all breathing. The werewolf’s breath was masculine in pitch, so I know it has to be one of you.” With her statement being true, the men stopped glaring at her before turning to accuse each other.

I was also making sure the other games weren’t having their rules broken. Because for some reason, sometimes adults treated party games as if there was a prize. But it wasn’t like I didn’t know that. My college hosted several party games where my fellow students cheated to win just for their own pride.

After another night round, Scarlett managed to root out the werewolf from her table, winning their match. I’d have to think about disqualifying her from future matches.

As the game continued, I noticed a few tables where the werewolves won. Overall, I could say that I felt the game was a great success. It invoked a feeling of comradery on this dangerous frontier. With time, this frontier settlement would be like the great cities of Old America.

As the games ended, Scarlett and I headed back to our rooms. After our showers, we climbed into our beds and prepared for the day ahead. My wife whispered into my ear, “I love you, Quentin. Perhaps some day I’ll give us a worthy home.”

I whispered back in her ear, “Any home is a worthy home if you’re there, Scar.”

“I know, but I want to earn back what I lost. Perhaps we’ll live in the first mansion built on this planet. Think about that,” she replied as she stared at the ceiling.

I smiled. “That’s a nice dream. I just hope you carry your business venture legally and ethically. Making a profit isn’t a crime, but ripping people off certainly is wrong.”

“I know. But the Campbells were known as ethical businessmen, never cheating their clients or investors while having a business model to last for generations,” she replied as she started falling asleep.

“Make your father proud, Scarlett. I know you can do it,” I replied as my eyelids fell. As I drifted to sleep, I knew that the challenges were only beginning.