The Winter Pendulum

By David Craddock and Eric J. Sexton

Final log of the Winter Pendulum
“Its an ugly world but at least the long range scans look promising.” The first officer of the Winter Pendulum was looking at a display screen on the command deck. He turned to address Commander Vanseren. “Should we investigate?”

Vanseren looked over the reports nodding. “Set the course. If the world is half as good as the reports look, we will be heading home early.”  Vanseren watched the starfield shimmy, then blur as the Winter Pendulum’s Hawking Drive came online.''' '''

Scanning from the orbit, the world was found to be primarily harsh rocky deserts at the equator that cut abruptly with massive red plant tropical jungles. Viscous green brown oceans cover nearly 60% of the world. The world does not rotate so one whole side are endless ice fields that are always in darkness. The atmosphere, while breathable, was a thick and red with yellow clouds that drip heavy streaks of ribbon-like mist across the sky. And lastly, scattered over large sections of the world are what appear to be non-organic structures of rock and metal. This raised red flags with the scientists who double checked their readings to confirm the finding. It was the ruins and signs of a previous civilization. Vanseren smiled. The promise of alien knowledge and a habitable world would earn him considerable sway and improved station back home.

The Winter Pendulum landed just to the north of a massive city built of large stone slabs with crude metal supports. Scans showed the ruins were nothing more than rubble now but had once been a monolithic city that could have housed millions. The world was teaming with life, but they all scattered when the Pendulum landed. Whatever race had been here had obviously gone extinct. Research parties were sent out with heavily armed patrols, some of the bio scans showed very large lifeforms.

Vanseren and his officers were celebrating on the bridge when the reports started coming in. Everywhere massive creatures stalk the land. Horrific and extremely hostile plants would snap up anything that got too close. Most common reports tell of savage primitives ambushing the patrols from the jungles. The patrols returned with severe losses and some did not return at all. Commander Vanseren was not concerned. The loses were well within expected losses for a planet as rich and as lucrative as this.

As the sun began to set, the last of the patrols were making their way back, the clearing erupted with a wave of savage humanoids. They poured from the shadowy darkness of the overgrowth. Massive humanoids dressed in primitive armor and wielding crude swords and spears. Vanseren chucked to himself. “Savages. We will show them true strength”. He ordered an open attack. His forces moved out of the Winter Pendulum staging area and began opening fire. As the first volley landed and hundreds of the savages fell. Again the atmosphere in the command deck turned to triumph. But as the smoke cleared the waves of attackers blacked out the treeline and overwhelmed the soldiers on the ground. The savages killed everyone that stood between them and the Winter Pendulum.

From the bridge, the commander barked orders to fire the ships weapons on the treelines. Explosions detonated in the clearing vaporizing hundreds of the creatures with each blast. It wasn’t enough. As the creatures reached the ship, the commander heard someone yell that the ship’s vehicle and cargo bays were still open. Dread swept over Commander Varesen as he turned to the monitors to see the marauders killing his men in the halls of his ship. His last order was to send a distress signal and to quarantine the planet.

No one would ever know that he took out his service pistol and shot himself as the savages smashed the door down and rushed onto the bridge.