
Subj : New Beginning(36)
To   : All
From : SkyHawk #1
Date : Sun Aug 27 1995 14:59:13 PST

                                New Beginnings(36)
                              By Daniel C. Harrison(Skyhawk)

     Candar sat down heavily in the chair, her fatigue growing. Some time soon,
they would have to find some time to sleep. It had been seven hours since they
had rentered the ship and begun repairs to restore power. Outside, the wind had
picked up and, snow was falling in combination with hail. According to the
scanner logs on this planet and the associated limited material they had
managed to scrounge up, they had landed right in the middle of the fall season.
It appeared also the planet had three seasons..fall, winter, and summer. It's
unusual orbit made it so, the winters would be extermely harsh and, the summers
unbearable. She sincerly doubted if any colony would  thrive here. Yet, they
had no choice. The food would last about 6 mo's. After that, whatever food they
found on the planet would have to suffice. Candar kept wishing for Hycenda.
     "You falling asleep?"
     She looked up into Kevin's smiling face. "No, I'm cold and tired. How much
longer before we can try emergency systems?"
     "Give me another half hour. Why don't you go check on the colonists and
Jerry? You'll know when I'm ready." He winked and pulled open an access panel
in the wall. "If you need me, just scream down the vents..I'll hear ya."
     "Sure." She watched him disappear through the hole and forced herself to
her feet. Her back was killing her, probably from working and delayed shock
from the crash. Out of the crew, she and Kevin had fared the best. 
     She walked down the corridor her mind spinning with images.  There had
been a voice..someone she might have heard, maybe while in cryo. She shook her
head pushing away the thought. That was impossible. Stray images continued to
fill her head as, she entered the colony area once more. "Everone ok here?"
     Carnigan came forward again. "As well as can be expected when so many are
dead. When will there he some heat in this tomb, we're freezing!"
     Candar nodded. "I understand that. We're working on the problem now. The
temperature has fallen outside and it's snowing. Once we've established power,
we can work out a plan to set up some structures and at least a temporary base
of operations."
     "Why can't we just build here?" A young woman with a child had said this.
The child looked about four. Her face was dirty and, her mother's dress was
worn. Candar winced. An earlier image came into her mind..of herself, and
Terry.
     "We don't know what the area's like yet." She finally said. "If we set up
the colony here, it would be a risk."
     Carnigan glared at her. "Well, I'm the one in charge here now! We will
begin building in the morning. You hear that everyone?" He raised his voice.
     Candar sighed. "Look, I realize your anxious to get out of here. But,
there is a safety factor to consider here."
     Carnigan laughed harshly. "You sure didn't consider that when you crashed.
A good pilot would have brought us down safely! Safety factor, my ass! We're
here, weve laid claim to thge planet and, that's all there is! As for you, I
think you and your misfits should stay out of our way till we decide what we
want to do about you!"
     "Now, wait a minute." The young woman faced him. "You may have been
elected leader before we left but, she is making sense. Suppose we don't know
really what's out there."
     Carnigan laughed again. "Hycenda was fully checked out before we ever
heard of it. There shouldn't even be much snow, it'll pass soon."
     Candar swallowed hard. Kevin really hadn't told them! God! "Uhmm, there is
something else you should know. This isn't Hycenda. The engines blew out and
forced us to land on Mirinda III."
     The room fell silent. All around her, she could see the stares of accusing
eyes. Carnigan took a step forward. "I don't think I heard that right. Your
telling me, we're not on Hycenda as we contracted for?"
     Candar nodded. "I'm afraid so. Hycenda is light years away. About 10.7"
     For a moment the silence continued. Then, Carnigan exploded!, "You
incompetent, lying, bitch! Your company swindled us! We're stuck on some
godforsaken rock! You'll pay for it. Get us off here!"
     Candar suddenly laughed. It was shocking and unusual in the situation but,
she could no longer hold it in. "Listen to yourselves! You act like we set you
all up for fun! You think I wanted to crash here? You think those that are dead
didn't deserve better? Well, screw you, Carnigan! You don't know half what you
are talking about! And your certainly no leader! We should all be pulling
together. We're on an alien planet. We don't know what it's fully like. Hycenda
was checked out prior to colonization. Mirinda hasn't been, other than a few
scans by us. You may think we're incompetent but the fact remains, other than a
few tech people you have, you got nothing! You need us and we need you! Maybe
not you personally but, it would be awfully hard to survive here on our own. So
what's it gonna be, asshole? Are you gonna lynch us all and doom yourself? Or,
are you going to trust the knowledge we can provide and let us check out this
world before we decide where to put up a city!"
     The young woman smiled. "She makes sense to me. I say we wait. I believe
that the crash was an accident. I can't believe anyone would do it
deliberately."
     "Me too." A man stepped forward. "I'm a planetary engineer. I know
something about ship's as well. Mr. Carnigan, I think an apology is in order.
We can review the logs and confirm their story once power is back up."
     Carnigan glared at him. "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do? I'm
the one in charge here! It's obvious the crew was negligent, and she is most
definitely incompetent. What's your name anyway?"
     "Sorenson. William, Sorenson. And if I may say so, Sir, I think maybe a
recall is in order. If this is the kind of man that is gonna lead the colony, I
think I should change my vote. I didn't know much about you before. But, now I
think I know enough to make a better choice." He looked straight at Candar.
"You make sense, Captain. You've shown good judgement. You should lead!"
