Project Gaia : The arrival of humanity

Chapter 5 : Strange new world

"Being brave isn't the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it."

- Bear Grylls

===============================

Gaia, "New Pangaea" Ground-Zero, March 27, 2038

With a sudden jolt, reality snapped back into place. The blinding light gave way to a strange, blue sky. The ground beneath the Stryker's wheels was not Earth's familiar dirt but an alien soil. Around them, the landscape stretched out in rolling grassy hills and snowy peaks, unlike anything Snowden had ever seen. The air had a different quality-cleaner, thinner and colder, almost the same as the earth during the pre-industrial era.

Snowden unbuckled his seatbelt and swung open the hatch, squinting as he peered out. "Jesus... It's-"

"Otherworldly," Jimmy finished for him, stepping out and scanning the horizon.

The land stretched before them, a sea of grassy hills and scattered peaks, rolling away like the waves of a calm ocean. Snowden squinted against the sunlight, adjusting to the sight of alien foliage-plants and trees that were familiar in form but subtly different, as if this world had evolved with its own rules. The soil beneath the vehicle's tires wasn't the familiar brown of Earth but a grayish-brown, a mixture of mud and dust that crumbled underfoot. It was the kind of landscape that belonged in ancient fables, a place where the world was young and anything was possible.

Snowden's earpiece crackled with static before Hill's voice came through. "Squad, secure the perimeter. Construction teams will be arriving in ten. We need to set up a defensive perimeter and start scouting the immediate area. Make sure nothing can sneak up on us."

Snowden nodded, gripping his rifle tighter. "Let's get to work," he said to Jimmy as they stepped forward.With a sudden jolt, reality snapped back into place. The transition from the blinding white light of the portal was like emerging from a dream, waking up to a world both strange and familiar. The sky above was a deep, endless blue, untouched by pollution, stretching out like a flawless canvas. Snowden felt a sense of disorientation as he peered out from the hatch of the Stryker. The air was different-cleaner, yes, but with a chill that seemed to whisper of ancient things, a coldness that crawled into his bones. It reminded him of descriptions from history books: the crisp air of Earth's medieval times, untainted by the hands of industry.

Within minutes, the area around the portal buzzed with activity. The Forward Base of Operations (FBO) began to take shape as construction crews emerged from the shimmering portal, their machines rumbling to life. Rows of sandbags lined the perimeter, hastily erected by the soldiers to form a makeshift barrier. Barricades and concertina wire were unspooled, while watchtowers sprouted like metal trees at key points around the encampment.

Not far from the military operations, construction workers swarmed like ants, leveling ground, clearing trees, and smashing boulders into dust. The sounds of chainsaws and excavators tore through the tranquility, transforming the idyllic setting into a chaotic frontier. Snowden watched them from a distance, feeling the first pangs of doubt creep into his mind. They were colonizing this place, reshaping it before they even understood it. He wondered what sort of consequences would follow.

The first signs of dusk were creeping across the horizon when Snowden received his orders. "Snowden, you and your team will take two Humvees and the Stryker for a five-kilometer patrol," Lieutenant Colonel Hill's voice commanded over the radio. "I want a full sweep of the area, no surprises. Drones will provide overwatch."

"Roger that," Snowden replied. He assembled his squad, briefing them quickly. They moved out, the convoy's engines rumbling as they left the relative safety of the FBO. As they drove, long-range surveillance drones hovered in the skies above, their cameras sweeping across the landscape in wide arcs.