The Spider Queen-Novel

[Imperial Log- Star date 4134]

[Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

The crew are slowly becoming restless.

With every day that passes without sight of a Federation outpost, more are succumbing to despair and anger.

Dangerous emotions that make it all the more likely that a mutiny will occur.

Already there have been small arguments between my second in command Lt. Carter and the leader of the Mendolesa security officers.

I fear that it is only a matter of time before these tensions finally come to a head.

Will we ever return home safely?

I put on a brave face in front of my crew but truthfully, I know that it is unlikely that we will survive this deep space exploration.

If we had succeeded in mapping out this unknown region of space, then we could have all become rich beyond our wildest dreams but…

Life is not made of ifs.

The reality is that we were in over our heads and too ambitious to realise our limitations.

I do not believe in any deities.

There is far too much cruelty and needless suffering in the universe to believe that wise and kind gods exist.

If they do, then they must be indifferent to the sufferings of mortals.

Still… if any higher power is somehow watching me and my crew… I will become a devout believer if you manage to get us out of this situation.

Ha… that's how bad the situation has become.

I am now negotiating in my empty cabin room with invisible specters. Well… I suppose I should end the recording here…

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[Imperial Log- Star date 4137]

[Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

It has been three years since my last recording, and I am still alive. Much has changed since the last time that I recorded my thoughts.

My crew and I managed to find a seemingly uninhabited planet that was suitable for life in the nearby galaxy.

A decision was made to land the starship on the planet and spend a few years here to refuel and take a proper rest.

We have named this planet Eden after the famous garden where life begun in the ancient Earth religion of Christianity.

The planet itself is a decent place to life.

The only forms of life are microorganisms and plants. It does not appear as though animals or intelligent life have evolved yet.

The atmosphere is within the range of tolerance and the gravity is about the same as the Earth standard so pressurized suits are not required.

Over the past few months there have been a couple of births. Bringing babies into such a dangerous situation is not a smart idea but I cannot say anything.

People do not expect to survive so if they have children then perhaps, they will not give up on the thin thread of hope.

There are still some tensions between the different species onboard my starship but so far landing on this planet has alleviated some of the conflict.

In fact, there is a part of me that believes that my crew will eventually not want to leave. Already the engineers are constructing cities that resemble the ones on planet Gaia.

There are over three hundred thousand individuals on my starship which is technically more than enough for a genetically viable effort to populate this planet.

Could we stay here?

Should we stay here?

We would give up our efforts to return home and just… settle…

Live out the rest of our lives in peace and perhaps one day our descendants will travel the stars and encounter humanity once more.

These are questions that I fear that we will eventually have to answer. For the day when we are scheduled to depart draws near.

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[Imperial Log- Star date 4138]

[Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

We have decided to stay.

Rather than risk all our lives on a long and perilous journey back to the Federation controlled territories… it is better that we simply remain on this planet.

A vote was taken and over eighty percent of my crew voted to remain.

Engineers will regularly work on the starship's core to ensure that it remains operational but that will simply be for a last resort.

For all intents and purposes… this is our new home.

Planet Eden.

It is the place where we will spend the rest of our lives and our children will be one day born into this world never knowing about the civilisation that they belonged to outside of hologram videos.

Lt. Carter was one of minority who voted to leave this planet and I had to have a frank discussion with him about the reality of the situation.

He has a family and a newborn son back home so I understand his concerns, but I cannot prioritise the desires of the few over the needs of the many.

We have already suffered too many casualties. I refuse to make a decision that would cost the lives of even more of my men.

Lt. Carter called me a coward.

Perhaps he is right.

But I will take on that shameful name if it means that the survivors of my crew will live long and safely.

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[Imperial Log- Star date 4138]

[Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

The fool.

Lt. Carter has killed us all.

This will more than likely be my last and final recording.

I am cowering in an underground bunker like a cornered rat while I can hear the sounds of my crew being sliced apart and devoured by the monsters that landed on this planet.

They are terrifying enemies.

They looked human-like but with golden eyes, sharp pointed ears, tall muscular frames and six blade-like appendages jutting out of their backs.

I don't know what these hideous creatures are but there it is clear that they are nothing more than bloodthirsty monsters.

Lt. Carter without my permission stole a signal booster from the starship's warp core room using his authority as the second in command.

Then the reckless idiot broadcasted a message for help and amplified it so that the sound waves would travel dozens of light years away from our position.

Why? Why? Why would he do that?

There was a reason why starships travelling in unknown regions of space did not broadcast their location.

And that was for one simple reason. If you revealed your location… someone or something would find you.

I… fuck… I can hear them come closer…

Bang! Bang!

Shit… shit… SHIT!

These creatures are slowly walking towards me. I can hear them giggling and sound of something heavy dragging along the floor.

These inhuman monsters devour corpses. They see us as sources of protein. A meal for their insatiable appetites.

I… no…

"GET AWAY!'

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[Imperial Log- Star date 4138]

[Verbal Recording- Captain Jane Losnen]

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