Arynthe's Story

Arrival at New Ashiria

0 ar (Rebirth Day)

I wasn't the first to set foot on the new planet. Tir was, closely followed by the twins, then a very enthusiastic Mitor and finally me. I looked around at the sea on the left, the silvery beach I was walking on and the forest that started almost unnaturally sudden on the right. Some metallic green bugs hovered over the water. 

From behind me, exactly 97 other Ashirians stepped out of the spaceship, walked around and admired their first view on our new, beautiful planet. I gave them some time to look around, but after a few minutes I really had to get things started. 

"Ashirians!" I called. 

The people gathered up around me. My group was one of men, women and children, just like the other groups. I wasn't planning to keep them separate for long, but even for this short time I didn't want to tear families apart. 

"The other groups have probably arrived on their spots on the planet," I said. "If you walk along the beach that way (I gestured to my front) you will find a big rock. On the scans I detected a cave under there. That'll be the home base of our group for now. You go ahead, I'll send a message to the others that we've arrived."

The message was quickly sent and a minute later I followed the group to the rock. It wasn't easy to miss; the forest leaped back and the sun reflected on the grey, shimmering surface of the rock. From here it looked more like a stone hill.

The ones that arrived before me were trying to find the entrance to the cave. Even though from the scans I knew where it was, it took me a few minutes to find it. I led the way into the dark, cold, wet cave. It wasn't exactly heavenly, but compared to what we'd come from, homey enough for us. 

"Now," I spoke when everyone had entered the cave, "There are three things that have to be done. Thing one: Find food. Thing two: Make this cave a place we can live in comfortably. Thing three: Find the other groups. I myself will be taking the ship to the other groups. You choose a new group leader from among yourself and get the other two things done. Understood?" 
I heard some voices reply with a soft "yes", and assumed the others were nodding in the dark. 
"Alright. I will return to you later, then."

I walked out of the cave, back onto the beach, and overthought my plan. To make it easier to coordinate the people, I had divided them into eight groups. Each group chose a leader from among them. It was my task to keep track of these groups through their leaders and that way make sure we'd build this world as quickly as possible. I had it all thought out. Eventually, once we established contact between all groups, me and the group leaders would form more of a team. This way I could make the shift to democracy as smooth as possible: instead of sole leaders the Team of Nine, elected by the people. The leader of the team would be called the Mara. I choose my mother's name for this title. Of my parents, my father got most honour because my mother had died too early to become a hero. This way I would put her in history and everyday life forever. I felt good about it. 

I stepped into the spaceship and lifted it into the sky. There, I scanned for the other groups. The seven other groups were relatively near, but yet far apart enough to not bother the others in case they'd run out of material. This too had been thought out. After all, I had to do something in the evenings while I was waiting for sleep to get to me. I'd rather be too prepared than unprepared for possible nasty situations. 

While flying to the second group, I looked out of the window. Our planet, our new home. I still couldn't really believe it, and that while I had been given the most time to get used to the idea.