|Viraliv|[20-14]Sliue-Ececs|Ora’s Eye|Tepi|Tepi-3|
11,163,955,738cy
Terraformer Station ‘Favala’, Low Tepi-3 Orbit
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#Five Years Later
In a special part of the colony a crowd of people have gathered. Wearing formal clothes, and steely gazes all pointed towards one spot. All except one, a man on a pedestal, who everyone is directing their gazes to. He’s been talking for quite a while, accompanied by a subtle and sad music that mixes well with the overall mood of the area they are in. It’s a burial ground, where the dead go to rest. The music swells suddenly but is still subtle to avoid taking the focus away from the speaker. The speaker also swells, perhaps nearing the end of their chant-like speech.
“And today we meet to say hello to a new chapter of our lives and to say goodbye to someone who has affected us all throughout our past chapters. Though they are now dead, they will continue to live on in us through our hearts and minds, our values, and our perspectives on life. May they who’ve worked so diligently in life find some rest in death…”
The chanter continues on steadily but every present is now focusing on something else. The sight of four stiffly-dressed officers carrying a coffin down the empty path in the middle oppresses everyone in the room and creates a suffocating silenceness that blots out even the chanter and the music. Slowly, as though through a thick sludge, the coffin bobs its way to an incinerator. The officers wait for some que from the chanter before ceremoniously sliding the coffin into it. Although the technology allows for whatever is put inside to be burnt until nothing remains, in the case of funerals ash is left over for collection. The ash is then collected and given to the family of the dead, or in the case that no family exists it is put into a hall of the dead.
In this specific case, the dead is a member of high esteem and as such they will get their own hall of the dead. Though tiny in comparison to the public one, private ones are more personalized towards the dead. Personal effects of the dead are also present.
A large frame of the dead is hovering above the chanter, instilling those who see it a renewed sense of grief the same as when they first heard the news. The person in the picture is captain Idris, first captain of the terraforming mission and to many an idol of discipline and wisdom solemnly seen. He had died of natural causes at the age of ninety-seven, a moderate amount of time to live and yet he accomplished so much in it. The funeral consisted of his head officers, many of the workers who had worked under him, many of the colonists, and the one he chose to inherit the position of captain. Though High Command would usually choose the next captain, or have one set up already, in a usual military operation. This was a terraforming mission and it’s up to those in the operation to decide.
Many, though ambitious, respected Idris's choice and decided not to create any trouble. At least not so soon after his death. Simiffin, a Tarmon and originally the head officer for communications, was chosen to be the next captain. Many of the current head officers and those under him are still the original ones and have yet to die or retire. Idris was the exception with his more advanced age compared to the others. Still, with his death and with some personnel switching out, fractions might come to interfere in the daily runnings of the station. These factions constitute a potentially lethal challenge to any new authority and one Idris never had to deal with and therefore never wrote about how to deal with in his journal. Even so, this can be seen as a ‘baptism’ of sorts for Simiffin to prove themselves capable. Not to mention, Idris’s journal and the help of the other head officers, whom are used to working with Simiffin, will aid him.
Simiffin, is a rather average Tarmon in terms of appearance but contains within him a strong diligence and willpower. Though sometimes he has trouble understanding what he should be doing, once he does find something he puts all focus into achieving it. Quite a good subordinate if you know how to guide them, but how will he fare without a guide? That is the question on the lips of many, including the colonists. The colonists that now number around ten-thousand, a sizable contingent. The first few pressure valves, or sections, have now developed a high level of infrastructure development. No fancy transportations like rails, the size isn’t large enough to warrant that, but now instead of rock the entirety of it is covered in metal alloys. This will combat any of the radiation from the surface that might’ve leaked in, no matter how small the amount is. Alongside that is many transportation terminals that facilitate vertical and horizontal travel from one facility to another, similar to your Earth subways. Only, not underground and highly advanced.
A small dome was constructed on the surface of the planet, meant for industry and as a logistics hub for future expansion. It currently only houses the basic industry, mainly consumer goods and the industry that allows them to build more infrastructure with more efficiency. That being said, they’ve still got a large amount of room left in the cave to grow. Even after every colonist from the Favala has been woken up they will still have plenty of room. With the construction of the dome, terraforming can finally truly begin. The pollution from the industry is where it all begins. Although slow right now, this is only the beginning. This is the first step of the first phase, creating enough atmospheric pressure to create an atmosphere is necessary for phase 2. Phase 2 would use the terraforming modules aboard the Favala, to inject various gasses into the atmosphere until it’s breathable. This will take a very long time to get to, and by then the industry on the ground might be able to produce terraforming arrays of their own. These ones would be more powerful than the ones equipped on the station, not to mention more numerous.
Another important subject to keep track of is heat, too much heat will cause the terraforming progress to stall. Afterall, even if the air is breathable, if the planet is too hot then it doesn’t matter. For this, water is very important. Not only would water be able to support life, but that life can introduce cycles like converting carbon dioxide into oxygen again. This is very important in the long-run for keeping the terraforming stable. Due to this the Favala is fully equipped with a library of various bacteria and more advanced life forms in a seed or embryo-analog form. That’s all far in the future though, something that Simiffin won’t have to worry about dealing with.
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What Simiffin does have to worry about is proving himself to the people of Tepi-3 and to the crew aboard the Favala. Of course this must be something impressive, something that can be done quickly, and something that he can do without extraordinary help from others. Simiffin was instantly drawn to the idea of the undercavern, the area under where the Grashkillok cavern ends. While the colony still has room to expand, the promise of more and of the chance of water makes it a good goal. While this goal wasn’t possible five years ago, now the manpower can be spared and the resources required can be produced. Of course, this isn’t something that will be finished in a short time. Even so, the civilians will at least see this change and understand that the new captain is a proactive one. Not to mention the creation of jobs and a unified goal which can bring everyone together and give them a sense of belonging.
The common people being unified certainly has its risks, but at this point in time it’s well worth the rewards. Not to mention, if the people really do become rebellious against the captain then even if the captain wins, that would be the end of the terraforming. Though the council will likely support such a plan, this is an easy way to make the colonists happy after all. That being said, this plan isn’t one that would really show the crew that Simiffin is a competent captain. But, now that they see he’s doing something it might buy him some more time to show his competence in a more mundane way. At the end of it, all this decision really does is buy Simiffin some time.
Thinking about time brings Simiffin’s thoughts back to the now memorialized Idris, would he be able to live up to his standing? Simiffin thinks that he probably won’t, he doesn’t even understand why Idris chose him to begin with. Simiffin knows himself, that he doesn't think like a leader, he was always most suited towards following a direction. Even so, Idris chose him. Simiffin looked up to Idris, having much in common personality wise even if Simiffin was a little more laidback. Simiffin inherited the book that Idris had written, perhaps by using that as a guide for where he should direct himself he would be able to at least live in the shadow of the former captain. For now, along with the project Simiffin thinks it best to focus on the colony, going by the book that’s the most important thing right now.
This isn’t what Idris had in mind when he chose Simiffin. He thought that if Simiffin could learn to set goals and objectives himself then he was likely to overcome Idris, at least in terms of administration, which is what the project will need to succeed. Idris was always more oriented to being a battlefield captain than a usually peaceful operation. In that way, someone like Simiffin, who hadn’t seen much combat and was someone who was extremely diligent and focused would be the best bet. Alas, Simiffin lacks the confidence and courage to see his own decisions in the same light as others. A weakness that those who would usurp the captain’s power will flock to exploit. For now, until Simiffin establishes his authority or fails to, it’s a race against time. Already, factions have formed, leaders who can only see the operation succeeding under their guidance, or just people who dwell in chaos. These types of people will be the new captain’s enemies in the struggle for authority.
A different struggle for authority is present in this starcluster though, something larger than the one on the small world of Tepi-3. The cold war, of sorts, between the TFS and the Sekull coalition. In these five years, the conflict hasn’t progressed more than small skirmishes, battles on planets near the outskirts, stations being sabotaged, and proxy wars, not to mention the rebellions. Nothing much has changed, though no big changes were to be expected. Five years isn’t a very long time on the scale of space to begin with. However, some things have changed. For example, the Sekull coalition is the decisive loser of this conflict, and while the conflict isn’t an open one. And therefore there is no peace agreement to be made, they have made considerable efforts to cool the conflict, not to mention focusing on the defense. It was the expected outcome, and the civilians of both nations breathe a sigh of relief that war won’t come to pass. Though millions have already died it’s only an extremely small percentage of the population of the stargroup and isn’t felt much.
The TFS on the other hand seems to want to continue this conflict even if it isn’t hot. Maybe out of pride, or to put down a potential threat while they still can. Regardless of the reason they are keen to get as much as they can from this conflict, but they should know that a cornered prey is a deadly one. Although people are disdainful at the government for continuing the conflict, many of them think that destroying the coalition is worth the negligible sacrifice.
Other things that have changed in the last five years was the exploration of all of the planets in the Tepi system. While these scans aren’t very in depth, only showing the geology of the surface and where resources are, it’s still incredibly valuable for future development. More in depth exploration will take years for even just one planet, not to mention the equipment required is not a priority industry to build. Not that the colony needs in depth analysis on these planets anyway, though it also means they won’t know too much about Tepi-3 either.
On a side note, the first generation of children has been born on this planet, they are the first Tepians, or later Favalaians once the terraforming has reached that stage.
Oh, that’s right I forgot to tell you.
On the last stage of terraforming, once the planet is fully habitable, then the station gets broken down and carried to the planet. Small parts at a time, the station is reconstructed in the shape of a sprawling city. The AI Favala will become the AI that manages the city and this city would become the capital of the world. This is to ensure a heavily fortified and advanced location is embedded into the planet. Plus anyone trying to get data on these terraforming stations wouldn’t ever guess that the city is the station.
If it weren’t for the fact that the TFS magically creates habitable worlds all over the place, even in systems that have been explored before and deemed uninhabitable, then the other nations would treat the terraforming stations as nothing but myths. By the time the planet officially introduces itself to the stargroup everyone who knows that the city was a station would likely be dead, and the TFS ensures that any data on it, personal or otherwise, is completely wiped. So far this has worked, though it has noticeable flaws and eventually people will find out; though it may take hundreds of years to do so.
Anway, while children were being born even five years ago it was only a few. Now it’s enough to call a generation, though small as it is. And with them comes the demand for schools, hospitals, and the like. The more social jobs, providing an opportunity for the people to test the government and at the same time Simiffin. Simiffin will be tested by the government and the people. Not only will this affect how the government, or council, sees Simiffin but it will also affect how they see the position of captain from this moment forth. Furthermore, the people will demand Simiffin to step in if the government goes against the people's wishes. This could set a dangerous precedent where the military becomes further established in the government. However, if the government implements an unpopular social policy then the people will feel disheartened if Simiffin doesn’t step in and demand change. Perhaps enough to give another faction enough power to achieve authority.
Simiffin, on multiple fronts, is in a rather precarious situation, will he stumble and fall, continue on in the shadow of the captain before him, or perhaps prosper more than ever on newfound potential?