Introduction
"The galaxy is open before us at last. After millenia of development - of labor and learning, of wars and chaos - we have learned at last to obviate our wars, labored hard enough to push back the chaos, and with all of Sol united behind the RBO-28, completed the means of reaching beyond our home and toward the stars."
"Even now, our new-built starcraft take flight toward the heart of the galaxy, with millions of colonists hurrying toward our nearest star, and more scout ships - our new, high-efficiency Discoveries - under construction even as I speak to you tonight. In spite of the conservative estimates displayed in official planetary reports, there is no doubt in my mind, so long as we work together, that our growing labor pool will complete three by the end of the year."
2306
Escalon and Romulas have both proven lifeless, empty of planetary bodies larger than asteroids, forming belts as thick, as surprising in composition, and as dangerously radioactive as the Stalaz asteroid field at Nemesis, our nearest star. Of the planets surveyed thus far, only the Helos star system in the Core Nebula, and Primodius itself, appear capable of ever supporting life.
"I stand before you this day, passengers and crew, to stand for the promise at last fulfilled, of new hope - of new life! For today you are passengers no more, nor crew, and I am not your captain: Henceforth, we are the citizens of Primodius 2 - the first people among all humankind to set foot on an a world beyond Sol! Henceforth this pristine world, its winding island beaches, its glistening waves, its deep seafloors, its moons and very core, are ours to call home: We are the planet's caretakers, for its fruits shall sustain us as our labors make it strong! Join me in walking the island shores; join me in swimming the ocean waves! Soon, we shall start work on our young world's factories, and millions from Sol will set out next year to join us here, but today, after six long years cramped aboard our colony ship, after the disappointment of Stalaz, we have earned a ... aw, forget it; you know what I mean! Let's go, guys! Last one in the water's a six-year-old carton of SPAM!"
2308
"Discovery Beta reporting from the Talas system. We are about to achieve first contact with an alien species! A small starship belonging to something apparently called the 'Bulrathi' is now entering the orbit of the jungle world we just discovered here last year. Ensign Roberts is attempting to decode its callsign now, and Lieutenant Kerr is doing her best to find means of communicating with - hold - the starship is closing rapidly and charging some variety of forward array. And Roberts reports the ship's call sign is Fighter! Kerr is having no success, and she believes the forward array is a high-energy laser turret! The Bulrathi appear armed and committed to battle! Now initiating evasive maneuvers - request permission to depart the system via hyperspace portal at once!"
2311
"I regret that it is my duty to report yet another setback. I am well aware that the discovery, concurrent with the Collassa desert, of another empty star system at Moro two years ago - empty but for another tumbling field of asteroids that seemed to burn with their own radioactive heat - was the impetus to begin a fact-finding study on the feasibility of using Deuterium as a fuel source. I am too well aware of the study's results, which led to the Hydrogen fuel project currently underway, and that this very failure was what led to the pilot project assigned to me - to seek out means of improving our ecological restoration techniques, with no unexplored star systems within hydrogen-fueled colony range of any habitable world we've yet found. And I fear that my report must be as disappointing as that of the propulsion laboratory."
"If an improvement to our ecological restoration techniques can be accomplished with current technology, we have not been able to find it. Our best hope, such as it is, is to develop terraforming techniques in hopes of learning more about the environments of all our worlds, and therefore perhaps someday learning how better to restore them. That said, if you prefer to execute me and my research team for incompetence, along with the propulsion team from last year, I will fully understand your ire."
...
"Wait, you say you're increasing our funding? You say nine-fold?! Well, then. All right!"
2313
"Discovery Beta reporting from orbit at the Primodius research colony. We've got an incoming Bulrathi starship of as-yet unknown design. If they remain threatening, the colony may be in danger, as attempts to retrofit our hull with a laser and deflector shield proved ineffective; the glue just got all over everything, and it took us a week to clean it up. Ensign Roberts is puzzling through the Bulrathi call sign now, but they are slowing, and sensors indicate ... they seem to be charging a forward array as wide as their entire hull! Lieutenant Kerr reports no response to her transmissions, and we may have to ... no, stand down. Stand down. Kerr has worked out the energy signature of the array, and it appears to be a warp actuator. Roberts is reporting the ship's call sign as Scout. The Bulrathi are departing the system. We'll watch for the direction of their departure, and be ready to proceed on our mission of exploration within thirty-six hours."
2317
"More bad news from the labs, I'm afraid. Before I tell you just how bad it is, please bear in mind that our terraforming project, just completed, is in well ahead of schedule! Remember that just last year, we were looking at only 2% odds of success!"
...
"Um, yes, er, true, yeah, we do report only half our actual chances because of ... ummmmmumblemumbleprotocolsomethingmumumble ... but it's still quite impressive, right? So hopefully when I tell you that the only research project my team can come up with now is Death Spore development, I ... um ... won't have to be taken outside and shot."
...
"(Whew) Yes. I agree that wouldn't be appropriate. I'm sure you're right that the best way to proceed is to cut off ... EEK! ... Oh. (Ahem) Um. Yes, well. My funding. Cutting off my funding for a time. Yes, that does seem like the only logical response after all. I'll just go someplace dark and hide my face where no one will have to look at me for a while ... nor have to cut my something-other-than-funding off."
2320
"As our newest Discovery maps the jungles of Firma and sends back data for scientific analysis, perhaps suggesting some connection between the tropical environment there and the depleted state of the world's mineral resources, we find ourselves at a crossroads: No new stars can be explored until our new fuel cells are developed, and so our knowledge of the galaxy is as complete as it can yet be for years to come. Investigations of the burning asteroid phenomenon are ongoing in four different star systems, and here at old Sol, we seek knowledge as well, of a less esoteric variety: A pilot project in the field of Construction shall begin this year, in the hope that it shall someday improve the livlihoods of human beings throughout the galaxy!"
2327
"Loyal pilots and crews, I salute you. For twenty-seven years, you have explored our galaxy aboard your outmoded Scout ships, making do with what you had even as our new, high-efficiency Discoveries flooded the stars around you. You have done well, and earned your retirement and honorable discharges, all of you. For just this year, our propulsion engineers have finished developing hydrogen fuel, and as they start work on Nuclear Engines that will someday make even our present Discovery fleet obsolete, we find it wiser to recycle the old Scouts' hulls than to attempt to refit them for the new fuel, especially as ample Disoveries have finally arrived to take the place of each of your elderly ships. Those who wish to remain in the navy will be reassigned to Sol to crew the starship already planned there; those who wish to enter civillian life will receive training in factory assembly, hopefully soon to include technological improvements in our industrial construction techniques. For those who wish to simply retire, property is still available along the Primodius beaches. Good luck and good health to all of you; you have been an inspiration!"
2331
"With our home system's factory infrastructure finally fully up to date, and Primodius carrying the research burden, Sol's new factories can now turn all their efforts to construction of a Horizon colony ship. The need for hurry was only emphasized by Discovery Epsilon's encounter last year, with the Klackon Scout just beyond the coreward nebula. In spite of the allure of worlds like Dunatis, just discovered at the outer rim, so rich in radioactive elements that life cannot survive on its surface, we must move forward now to claim those stars on which we can build colonies."
2336
"Thanks to line items in last year's budget snuck through by Science Minister Ref Wutsiznose, we managed to run feasibility studies in three new scientific fields: A deep space scanner should quickly advance our knowledge of computer science while extending the range at which our Hubble XV interstellar observatory can pinpoint ships in space - a more peaceful option than doubling the capabilities of our ships' battle computers - while double-strength deflector shields and miniaturized laser weapons for use by surface troops should help quiet those who fear that the Bulrathi and Klackons we've encountered may prove hostile. For those who do, it should be noted that in spite of the aggressive tactics of the Bulrathi Fighter first seen at Talas, all our few encounters with either race since then have been with Scouts, which departed even as our Discoveries approached. Surely this is a sign that we shall be able to live with them in peace!"
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Next: Surely!
