Planet Quartz

Chapter One

Many years in the future...

(Archivist's note: this log is one of many retrieved from both physical and digital files on the research vessel Sphinx after the disappearance of her crew. Hopefully this log and others like it will help put together a picture of what truly happened. I have attempted to organize these documents in chronological order, in order to create a timeline that can shed light on what really happened.

The Sphinx was equipped for a three year mission exploring the oceans of a nearby planet, which was classified as 'Planet C' [Planet 'A' being Earth and Planet 'B' being Vesta, I suppose] in order to see if it was capable of supporting human life. This planet was also speculated to contain the wreck of the starship Gumption, and searching for descendants of survivors of that crash was rumored to be another cause for the mission.

I will continue to add my comments as I read these documents, in order to give classification to both myself and any future readers of this report.)

Log of Captain Joanna Shackleton, August 16: We landed on Planet C today. The crew is still readjusting to being out of cryosleep, and I don't blame them. They've put the boat in the water, and we loaded it up with all of our supplies. I'm feeling hopeful about this mission.

Only as the deckhands began to load crates onto the boat did Joanna realize how vast this undertaking was going to be. Every time she thought that maybe this box would be the last one to

take in from the transport, and they would be able to board the ship to escape the cold, it seemed that ten new crates materialized from thin air and had to be moved as well.The frigid air bit at every square inch of exposed skin, and Joanna wrapped her coat tighter around her body to savor any warmth she could. This whole planet's surface was covered in ice and snow, only breaking from fields of glaciers and tundra to give way to icy ocean water, so getting used to the low temperatures was crucial.

The boat itself was a beautiful machine. She was two hundred feet long, and constructed around a sloping icebreaker hull that could plow through anything in its path. "Don't worry cap'n, we should be done with this soon," barked the boatswain, as he shuffled through the snow holding a large box of rations. The boatswain was a sturdy looking man in his middle forties, with a coarse beard and a face to match, and this was around the third time he'd promised this. Joanna was beginning to lose faith in his promises.

"Thank you, Mr. Keaty." Joanna said, after a moment's delay as she registered that when Keaty said 'captain', he really did mean her. The word was on her uniform and on all her paperwork, but hearing it in others' mouths was still a shock. "I'll let the transport know that they can get ready for departure." Keaty glanced back at the gaggle of deckhands who were now attempting to carry a large rectangular box that resisted every attempt to be lifted, gauging their progress with a disdainful eye. After a moment, he nodded and made a gruff noise of acknowledgment, and then continued towards the ship's gangplank through the path of cleared snow to drop off the rations.

Joanna watched as the seamen began to get a grasp on their cargo and began to stumble forth into the snow. They were all wrapped from head to foot in assorted hats, scarves and jackets- all piled on top of their Nation-issued snow gear, and the few exposed inches of their faces that Joanna could see were red with cold.

A young woman with hair as orange as her uniform jacket smiled at Joanna as she stopped briefly to readjust her hold on the large crate she was helping to carry. She was young, nearly half Joanna's age, and looked as though she'd barely made it over the age requirement for signing up for a Nation sea vessel.

"Nice work, Crewman...Vega," Joanna said, craning her neck to check the nameplate on the woman's jacket.

"Thank you," Vega grunted as she hoisted up the box and began to continue stumbling forth. The scrawny man opposite her was clearly struggling with the weight, but Vega managed it with ease.