Ravens of Eternity

181 Working Hard, Pt Planet Tarsus, Veltos System, Federal Colonial Territories

The planet was one of the many planets in the galaxy that was just like Gaea – it was filled with vast blue oceans and verdant lands. Or, at least, it was how Gaea used to be, before nanites rewrote her land and her sea and her air. Tarsus’ equator was especially rich with life, and it enjoyed dense tropical forests alongside deep oceans, both of which were filled with all manner of life.

Its weather was also very much like Gaea – there was moderate, predictable rainfall in certain months. Other times, those same rains could get whipped up into violent storms. Strong enough to uproot trees.

The planet itself was larger and denser than Gaea, had a slightly higher gravitational pull, and had a thicker atmosphere on top of it all. Regardless of those differences, it was still a great planet to live on and develop. In fact, it was home to tens of millions of colonists already, despite only being active for a couple dozen years.

More than that, because the planet itself was bountiful, all manner of flora and fauna developed on it easily. And the humans who had come to settle quickly and easily converted some of the most fertile valleys into highly productive farmlands.

Tens of thousands of settlements dotted the planet, almost all of whom enjoyed rich growth year after year. Not that they didn’t have problems, of course. A planet with such diverse wildlife presented its own dangers and pitfalls.

Wild animals, dangerous weather, and random outlaws certainly took their toll on the planet’s overall development.

The Spirit of Amelia glided over the farmlands of one of the many agricultural settlements on the surface, and headed closer towards the center. Although there were many landing pads scattered all around, it flew towards the closest one, which was a few dozen meters away from the edge of the settlement itself.

Its many thrusters kept it aloft as Eva maneuvered the ship over the pad, and with deft and precise movements, she gently set the ship down. The landing was so soft that Amelia herself hardly let out a whine.

.....

It only took a few moments for the ship to depressurize, power down to idle, and lower its side access ramp. It was a few more moments after that when its airlock opened up, and all four women walked out.

Their eyes were wide with wonder as they looked at the semi-tamed planet around them. Claire even audibly wowed.

“My first real planet!” she said. “I wanna go run around and see everything!”

“We’ll get the chance,” said Eva. “Don’t worry.”

As they looked around, a gruff woman in worn ballistic armor came up to them. She was slightly taller than Eva, and certainly stouter. Despite her overall looks, and the deadly rifle on her back, she greeted the Ravens with a warm smile.

She reminded Eva of Sergeant Elyn, back at the academy.

“Hey there,” said the woman, “welcome to Settlement AGH-154, aka Parnos. I’m Lettie Broward, Sheriff Elect.”

She stuck out her hand, and shook each of theirs in turn. Her grip was strong, and her palm rough. Evidence of a hard life that centered around physical labor and toil, no doubt.

“Hey Sheriff,” said Amal. “We’re the Conspiracy of Ravens: I’m Azrael, and with me are Freya, Raijin, and... uh...”

When she got to Claire, she realized she was at a loss. Not once had she mentioned her callsign, which was absolutely necessary if they were going to work partially in the gray.

“Call me Claire,” she said.

“We need to have a talk about operational anonymity,” said Eva with a chuckle.

“Well, okay, glad to have you Ravens at our settlement!” said the Sheriff.

“Any rules we should be aware of?” asked Claire. “Last thing any of us wanna do is get on your bad side.”

The sheriff laughed heartily.

“Just the basics around here,” she said. “Don’t harm anyone, don’t steal anything, and don’t disrupt the town’s development. Just be nice and cordial and respectful, and there won’t be any problems, honestly.”

“Sounds easy enough,” said Eva. “Outta curiosity though, what would happen if we violated any of these rules? Say, accidentally?”

“Technically, I’m supposed to come get you to stop, by word or by force. Failing that, well, we’ve got ourselves a defense system to help boot you out. But it’s probably best to avoid things getting that far in the first place.”

“Do not worry,” piped in Miko, “we have no plans to do anything terrible while we are here.”

“Good to hear,” said the sheriff. “I take it you’re here to fulfil some contracts? We certainly got plenty – was probably... hmm... three months since the last set of contractors came by.”

All four nodded in response.

“Well great,” she continued. “Follow me.”

The sheriff spun around and led the women into the settlement itself. As they walked, they watched as large harvesting machines floated in the air and picked at the crops below with long tendril-like arms. Various farmers gathered up their harvest, bundled them up, and piled them along the side of the road.

And all along the main road, workers threw the prepared bundles into the back of some open hoppers that were slowly making their way towards the settlement.

From there, they were carted off to different facilities, where the crops were further processed. Grains were stripped down and stored, though some of it was turned straight into flour. Vegetables were quickly refrigerated or dehydrated. Meanwhile, all of the fibrous crops were placed into large machines that separated them into individual strands and dried them out at the same time.

Their EyeCasts caught everything that was happening all around them.

“So who’re you all here for?” asked the sheriff. “Everyone everywhere needs help with just about everything. From the looks of all of you, I’m guessing you’re all technicians or engineers?”

“No,” said Miko, “I’m the only engineer. The others have their own specialty.”

“I... see. Well, alright, let’s drop by Reeve’s place first, then. He’s definitely got quite a lot to deal with, way more than he and his apprentice can handle on their own.”

“What is wrong? The settlement seems to be running rather well, from what I can see.”

“Best he tells you. I’m not qualified enough to say what he needs. Besides, he’s a bit... well, you’ll see.”

They all walked further through the settlement, past the various shops and homes and warehouses. They came to a row which was simply workshop after workshop – metallurgists and toolsmiths and repair pits.

Each of their shops looked overwhelmed with orders and jobs.

The sheriff led them to the end of the street, where an elderly man was tending to an engine just inside his vast, open workshop. He was literally elbow-deep into the huge engine block, and worked at some contraption deep inside.

And although the old man looked like he was well into his 60s, he looked incredibly spry and energetic. In fact, he was whistling and tapping his foot as he worked. It was as though he was a man still in his 20s.

Eva had to actively remind herself that humans in this universe had five times the longevity of the humans back from her old universe. Here, their resilience was utterly astounding.

“Hey Reeve,” said the sheriff.

The old man, however, didn’t seem to notice, and continued working on the engine. Whistling and tapping the entire time. So the sheriff raised her voice and called out again.

“Reeve. REEVE!”

He perked his head up, as though he had heard something in the far distance. When he turned his head and saw the five women standing in his shop door, he jumped back out of surprise.

The old man pulled the earplugs from his ears, and all of them could easily hear the music blaring loudly from them.

“Jeez,” he said, “don’t startle me like that.”

The sheriff hung her hands on her hips, and gave him an exasperated “Mhm.”

“Anyway,” she continued, “I’ve got a contractor for you, so count yourself lucky.”

“Thank the gods,” he said. “Been waiting forever for help! Which one of you is my relief, hm? Don’t be shy now.”

“That would be me,” said Miko. “Call me Raijin.”

She stepped forward with a smile, and gave him a small wave. He scratched the back of his head in response.

“Oh, alright,” he said. “I was expecting someone with a bit more... height. But beggars can’t be choosers. Anyway, I’m Reeve, Parnos’ Chief Engineer. Been so since the settlement started up a couple decades ago. Come on inside.”

The girls waved goodbye to each other as Miko followed Reeve further into his shop and vanished. The sheriff turned to the others once they had the workshop front to themselves.

“Alright, who’s next?” she asked.

“I’m here for Doctor Shan,” said Amal. “Apparently she needs some medical supplies? And also a surgical assistant? I’m qualified for both, so I figured I’d offer my help.”

“Ah, that’s great! Follow me!”

The sheriff led the remaining Ravens further towards the settlement, specifically towards its center.

“We’ve had kind of an issue recently,” she continued. “Bunch of us got up and injured out of the blue.”

“What, you mean out of nowhere?” said Amal. “Wounds don’t just appear, you know.”

“Alright, maybe not nowhere, but definitely a surprise. Hunting trip gone wrong. The doc can tell you more about it. All I know is that the town’s hunters are laid up pretty bad, and hardly anyone can go see them.”

It didn’t take them long to get to the center of town – it was only a block or so away from Machine Row. And there, a number of large buildings circled an open plaza in the middle.

At the northern edge of the plaza was town hall, which Claire quickly headed towards.

“I’d better go talk to the Mayor,” she said. “Gotta let him or her know we’re here. And maybe also get some room and board.”

“Great idea,” said Eva. “All else fails though, we can sleep on the ship. Message me if you need anything at all.”

Claire nodded, then ran off with her EyeCast in tow.

Across town hall was the settlement’s only clinic. Though it was rather plain and far less officious-looking, it was without a doubt the largest building in the plaza. Not only did it occupy the most square-footage, but also had three floors.

Now down to two, Eva and Amal walked through the large clinic doors, led by the sherrif. They all stepped into a relatively calm waiting room, where a nurse receptionist behind a desk greeted them with a smile.

“Hey sheriff,” she said. “Who’re the strangers?”

“I’ve come bearing a gift,” the sheriff replied. “A medical contractor for the doc. Can we go see her?”

“Ah, she’s incredibly busy. But I can take her back to introduce them.”

“That works for me,” said Amal.

“Ping me if you need, alright?” said Eva.

“Don’t worry about me. Now go have fun, okay?”

Eva and Amal waved goodbye to each other, then Amal followed the nurse deeper into the clinic.

“Alright, so now your turn,” the sheriff told Eva. “Who’re you here for?”

“Oh, I’m not here to work,” answered Eva. “All I had to do for this run was fly us all here. Figured I’d get a little well-deserved RnR in while they raked in the creds. About time I took a break, I think.”

.....

“I... I see.”

“So yeah, got any recommendations?”