Tri System's Edge: Paradise Unraveled Read online

  Tri System’s Edge:

  Paradise Unraveled

  By Ron Schrader

  Tri System’s Edge Series Vol. 1, First Edition

  Copyright ©2012 Keep What You Make, LLC

  Cover Design by Ron Schrader

  http://writtenbyron.com

  Prologue

  Forced to abandon their home world, the remaining survivors of Cremzen take refuge on the planet Paradise, where they’re given the opportunity to start over and rebuild their civilization. But Paradise is not meant to last in this science fiction adventure that will suck you in and leave you wanting more!

  Paradise Unraveled is the first book in a series of short fiction that shares some of the back story to the novel Kalla Zar (planned for release in mid/late 2013). As the first book in this short story series, Paradise Unraveled begins to set the stage, introducing the first planets and people that make up the Tri System, a group of three neighboring solar systems governed by a single political faction struggling to maintain power and control. Paradise Unraveled also introduces a key element that plays an important and pivotal role in the entire story, the Vie.

  Paradise Unraveled

  Dr. Terry Staves searched frantically through his numerous belongings piled randomly in the large rectangular trunk. Resting in the corner of the bedroom he had called his own for years now since settling on Paradise, a newly inhabited planet in the Tri System, the trunk had safely guarded many of his most prized possessions.

  “Where is it!” he demanded over and over again to himself as he rummaged through the cluttered mess, throwing items over his shoulders as quickly as they entered his grasp. “Where is her picture?” Finally, the room a ravaged mess, he reached down with his now deformed hands to finally hold the picture for what was sure to be one of the final moments he would even care about anything material again. He gazed into the eyes of the woman beautifully displayed in the photograph while slowly sitting as best he could among the pile of belongings scattered all around him. He would sit and wait now, staring at her beautiful smile, with the hopes that he might never forget his wife’s face in spite of the transformation taking place in his body and mind, all thanks to the organisms that had infected him and the others just a short time ago. He’d hoped to be able to fix this, but there was just not enough time, it all happened far too quickly. Hours passed as he held the picture, staring intently at the image, burning it into his subconscious mind. A day had finally passed before his mind inevitably lost the battle and the picture floated softly to the floor of the room, the Dr. bolting out of the room and the house, running into the darkness of the mist covered valley where he would join the others.

  Fifteen Years Ago

  The last of the transport ships from Cremzen slowly descended from the sky toward the designated area of the field where the other nine vessels, already lined up in two rows, left an open spot for one more. As the pilot maneuvered the final ship in the direction of the planet’s surface, the large thrusters rotated toward the ground, providing the necessary resistance to land the massive vessel that carried the remaining survivors. Only feet away from the earth below, the ship slowly touched down in a billowing cloud of smoke coming from the engine thrusts, until at last, it stood still, having finally reached its destination. As the gaseous smoke quickly dispersed into the otherwise clear sky, a ramp soon appeared on both sides of the large rectangular shaped mass, followed by the remaining settlers who began exiting the ship in an orderly, side by side fashion. Among them, Dr. Staves, accompanied by his fifteen year old son Seth, stepped off the ship’s loading platform to set foot on his new home at last, Paradise.

  “Do you think our home’s already gone?” asked Seth as the two men started their walk across the grassy surface of the planet, following the crowd that had already exited the ship.

  “This is our home now.” was the reply given with a slight tone of remorse and a false look of joy on his face. It had only been a short time ago, weeks in fact, since their home planet had been struck by the asteroid, sending it on a new and destructive trajectory toward the sun. The impact had wiped out most of the population, including Dr. Stave’s wife Marith, who had been visiting a friend half way around the globe when it happened. They didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. “We can start over now.” he said, looking out across the lush valley field of their new home.

  Unbeknownst to the new settlers, the valley where they now walked spanned a distance of over 6,000 kilometers from the eastern cliff face to the western seas. The valley itself was almost entirely flat, without so much as a small hill, instead containing lush forests & waterways that emptied into a massive lake toward the center regions. This lake, in turn, had veins of waterways that shot off in several directions, ending finally where the sea began. In the northern regions, the valley again ran into cliffs that spanned the entire length of the landmass running east to west. The cliff walls all around contained an uneven appearance across the landscape, as a maze of waterways jetted out, all running into the center lake. To the south of the valley was another large sea where several waterways emptied once more from the large lake inland. Other smaller lakes and ponds, secluded from one another, could be found sporadically through the valley as well, adding to the many natural resources available here that also provided the visual appearance of a true paradise, which is where the planets name was derived.

  The two men followed the crowd being ushered by a single soldier in full military garb, his desert camouflage uniform worn from obvious long term use and wear and tear. Due to the rapid damage caused by the asteroid, none of the survivors had enough time to gather all of their belongings, only being able to bring the little they could carry to the ships before the departure deadline. Even Dr. Staves, a renowned scientist who had previously been to Paradise on expedition only a few years ago, was not given special preference. This was simply a matter of survival, saving as many people as could be saved. He and his son Seth both exited the transport ship wearing large backpacks stuffed to the seams while carrying between them a large trunk that the Dr. refused to leave behind, in spite of its awkward size and weight. Rather than argue with him, Seth simply played the part of the good son and helped his father during this difficult time. Because of the short time they’d been given to leave their home, Seth knew his father never had the opportunity to mourn, leaving Seth with the burden of bending to his father’s needs for now.

  “Finally!” exclaimed Seth as he quickly set his end of the heavy trunk on the ground. The crowd of about 275 people now stood in front of a large military tent where the soldier had led them. Slightly behind the tent, off to the right and left, stood dozens and dozens of smaller tents lined up in several rows that led off into the distance, ending next to what appeared to be a rock wall shooting straight up into the sky. Seth ignored the people walking about between the tents and instead stared up toward the tops of the cliffs only to be blinded by the bright sunlight. As he turned slightly to the left, his hand now shading his eyes from the bright sun, he stopped to focus on a man standing in a tower to the left of the large tent.

  “Welcome!” bellowed the voice of the large framed man standing high above the crowd. “Welcome to Paradise!” The crowd, although exhausted from the long journey began to clap and cheer in recognition of their survival and their safe journey to the new planet, a journey that had finally ended. As the noise from the crowd settled, the man in the tower spoke once more. “I’m Commander Tarin and it’s my duty to make sure we keep order here.” The people in the crowd, Dr. Staves and Seth included, listened intently as the Commander continued his welcome and orientation speech. “With your group, we have almost 3000 survivors to begin an
ew.” Pointing to the large tent next to the tower, he went on. “Behind this tent you’ll notice that we’ve already set up many more, but we don’t have enough for all of you individually. You’ll be assigned to share a tent with 3 other people for now. We’ve already started construction on some buildings however, so we are quickly trying to remedy the unpleasant situation. I expect each of you to volunteer your time, skills and hard work to help us build a city we can all benefit from. Thank you!” With that, the Commander made the short descent down the ladder of the tower and disappeared inside the large tent, leaving one of his officers to begin making tent assignments.

  Ten Years Ago

  Seth opened the door of the small cabin-like dwelling, entering the recently finished home he and his father now lived in, happy to be done with the tent and camping environment they had drudged through since landing here. It had almost been five years since they arrived on Paradise. With plenty of hard work and effort from all of the settlers, the people had managed to build a home for everyone in the valley, along with a small medical center, research facility and two large farms which were just outside the large wall that surrounded the slowly developing city. Although much less technologically advanced than their home world Cremzen, the new city was coming along nicely, even in spite of the shortage of skilled workers on the new planet. Because of the technology available to them on Cremzen, there were very few who knew how to build, farm and for that matter, even survive without technology, so it was up to those who did have the skills, to educate the rest. It had been a rough few years, but as Seth and Dr. Staves entered their new home, a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction filled their minds as they moved the handful of belongings they had into the residence.

  “Help me with the trunk Seth.” said the Dr. “It’s just too heavy for me to lift myself.” The two lifted the heavy trunk and carried it into his new bedroom, placing it gently in the corner opposite the doorway. “Thank you Son.” he said with a smile of gratitude. “You’ve been a great help to me here, a blessing really!”

  “With Mom gone, you needed me.” Seth replied, shifting his glance toward the floor slightly. “I miss her.”

  “I know Son, me too. Still, thank you. I don’t know if I’d have survived this without you.” Seth smiled and left the room, leaving Dr. Staves to his own thoughts and memories as he sat down next to the trunk, opened it, and left reality for a time as he reminisced with the items the trunk contained.

  After he finished bringing the remaining belongings in the house, Seth shouted a goodbye as he rushed out the door to meet up with some friends to do some more exploring of the planet.

  “Hurry up man! Tav is going to beat us to the top!” yelled Davis, one of Seth’s best friends that he also happened to work with.

  “Chill Davis!” Seth responded in a relaxed tone as he rushed out the door of the small home that sat right up against the wall of the cliffs. “He needs the head start! We’ll catch him!”

  The two ran alongside the wall of the cliff, where approximately seventy meters from Seth’s home, hung several large cables that shot up the side of the fairly smooth rocky face, clear to the top where they had been bolted into the solid rock plateau above. Commander Tarin had ordered it done, shortly after arriving on Paradise, for the very purpose of exploring the vast cliffs that spanned much of the planet’s surface. And with a nudge from his Father, Seth had volunteered to help with the mapping process, having inherited some of his Father’s love of exploration in the name of science. Davis and Tav were both rookie soldiers at the time of the assignment, and had been given no choice but to take their new job duties without complaint. The three couldn’t have possibly known how quickly they would bond, becoming very close friends that worked and played very well together.

  “Dude! Get your gear on! Tav’s got to be fifteen meters up the cable by now!” said Davis, clearly irritated that they were losing the imaginary race to the top.

  “Just go without me you big baby!” Seth replied, a big smile on his face. “I bet I still beat you!”

  With that, Davis did one final check of his harness and attached his pulley to the cable, beginning his ascent to the top. Seth took his time, making sure his harness was secure before finally latching onto a neighboring cable. He looked up at his two friends, confident that he’d still be the first to finish the climb as Tav was the large ox of the three, while Davis had the smaller, more muscular frame. Seth on the other hand had a very wiry, tone build, making him the fastest climber of the three. He pushed off from the ground and began pumping the pulley bars quickly with both hands, moving his small frame rapidly up the cable. At a massive 1500 meters high, he had plenty of time to catch up to and easily pass his two friends.

  Almost 3 hours later, Tav reached the top, quite exhausted from the workout of the climb. Seth and Davis, having reached the top long ago, both walked over to help their tired friend pull himself and his pack up over the edge of the cliff.

  “It’s just not fair!” Tav grumbled as he shook his head and started to laugh. “You’re both too dang fast!”

  The three laughed and joked with each other while they rested from the tiring climb, preparing to start their hike atop the cliff face. The three had been working this job together for almost a year now, exploring the tops of the cliff in search of resources as well as mapping the land. Since this was now their home, they wanted to know as much about it as possible, and the cliffs made up a pretty large portion of the landscape.

  “I still don’t get why Commander Tarin won’t just let us use the Ghost up here.” complained Tav. “I’m sure they’ll have the energy station built before we run out of power.”

  “Well…” said Davis, “orders are orders, so we’ll just have to wait till the energy station’s done.”

  The Ghost Tav referred to was a small, rectangular shaped, ten man craft, named for its whisper quiet engine. Its smooth rounded edges tapered off toward the front, where the rounded nose sat slightly downward below the windshield. On each side were short, triangular shaped wings that slanted toward the back of the ship. Thrusters on both sides of the wings, hanging just below the base of the craft, rotated in for every necessary flight maneuver, including takeoffs and landings. The thrusters also served as landing gear, making it the perfect vessel for quick travel. While not built for long-term space flight or high speeds, it maneuvered well and was perfect for travel on a planet, having actually been designed specifically for that purpose. Its’ one big drawback was the power needed to run the thing, which wasn’t an issue with even a single energy station on the planet broadcasting power, but without that, the ships’ own battery would eventually run dry as it was not infinite like some of the newer crafts that once existed on Cremzen. Still, it was fortunate that long before the asteroid ever hit Cremzen, about a half a dozen Ghosts had been loaded onto one of the transport ships. No one here knew who had made that call or why, but it did give the settlers a form of transportation that would have otherwise been missing. Of course the problem at hand was the need for more energy. With no power station functional on the planet, the Commander had decided it best to use the Ghosts for emergencies only, fearing that too much use would drain what remaining power they had, leaving them stranded in the valley.

  The three men began their long hike across the flat surface of the plateau, headed today in the direction of what appeared to be a large forest growing far off in the distance, and surprisingly from the rocky surface where they walked.

  “Just another grand day in Paradise!” Seth exclaimed happily as the three walked in the mid day sun.

  One Year Ago

  The two large farms just outside the city employed close to one hundred people each and had become two of the more valuable assets to the settlers, providing a much needed resource for survival...food! The two farms were separated by a smaller, but still decent sized lake that was fed by a single stream of water originating from higher up in the cliff face. Aside from it being the only lake fed by a w
aterfall that had been discovered thus far, the stream and lake made the perfect source of irrigation water for both farms.

  Dr. Staves, being a scientist, had been working with the farms to ensure the best possible methods were used in growing and harvesting such an important resource. Although Seth was involved more heavily in mapping and exploring the planet, the Dr. would often bring his son out to the farm to help with his research and to get his help in bringing supplies back, food and sometimes water from the lake.

  “I still don’t get why you like this water more than the stuff from the rivers near town.” said Seth once more as he loaded several large jugs into the bed of the 6 wheel solar powered ATV his Father had managed to talk the Commander into giving them. The military unit had managed to bring a couple dozen, and since Dr. Staves’s research had been such an asset, he had been able to make this arrangement happen in spite of the strict attitude the Commander held.

  “I just…” the Dr. hesitated for a brief moment before finally finishing his thought. “It just tastes better to me.” He wasn’t ready to share his discovery just yet, but something in the lake had affected the properties of the water making it a more vitamin rich liquid. It seemed to help the crops from the farms grow faster and contain more nutrients than they normally would. Although very little research had been done thus far by the Dr., the water appeared to exponentially magnify the properties of living cells. He just didn’t yet know how or why, and so had chosen not to inform the Commander or anyone else until he did. He just needed a little more time to sort things out, then he’d let everyone know about the amazing find!

  Seth just shook his head at the crazy old man and his obsession with this water as they drove the six wheeled vehicle back into the city, and eventually home.