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Terraforming

Tucker gave a friendly salute as he passed by Tess, his hand stopping only as it touched the rounded visor of his atmospheric suit. She smiled back. She always smiled back. He couldn't help but smile himself as he bounded on, the thrusters in his suit coasting him along the rough terrain of the planet easily. Tucker was carrying a least half a tonne of equipment on his back today, but the low gravity of the planet, and the suit's exo-skeleton was more then enough compensation to carry the wait. Magog was a class C planet, basically meaning that there was too little gravity for a permanent colony, until the Terraforming team could get its job done. Tucker was part of that team, along with Tess, and roughly two hundred other terra-engineers. Slow work, but paid well, and allowed for Tucker's inner artist to create a landscape of his dreams.

His only previous job had been on Terra-Hydra, and he had only been an assistant to the late, great, Dr. Henrik, the man who had pioneered Terraforming. Dr. Henrik had died shortly after Terra-Hydra, but not before being widely recognized, winning the Millennium Sphere, an award given to the galaxy's most influential and ingenious people. He got it for Terraforming. The process was a remarkable one that would turn a dead rock into a livable planet, full of lush forests, rolling hills, and cool breezes, much like Terra, itself. It was with this homage in mind, that every Terraforming project completed, the planets surname be 'Terra'. Human sentimentality, Tucker figured, never really bothering to ask why.

He glanced briefly to the counter display at the corner of his visor; the distance to his station. Five hundred metres. Hardly any distance left, considering the barracks was over twenty kilometers away. The suits were able to move swiftly, and he had already left Tess over a kilometer behind him. He already could see the rest of his team, setting up their equipment. Pieces that, when combined with the equipment on his back, would create an intense radiation field used to stimulate growth in the surface. As he closed in, he began to prep his own gear to be set up. He glanced away from his station for a second.

"H-hey! Watch out, buddy!" Tucker snapped his vision forward again, just in time to see a man in a suit like his speed towards him, and then past, almost colliding. Tucker could swear he heard the guy mutter something obscene into the comm. as he passed.

He shook it off, and gave his thrusters one last burst, bringing him the final distance to his station, where he was met with silent, but friendly, salutes. He slid the equipment from his back, and began to set up with the rest, making sure each piece was placed precisely with the corresponding one. It didn't take him long; couple minutes tops, when something caught his attention. A tiny blue 'blip'. He leaned in close to the assembled device, peering towards the blinking blue light.

"Kurt." Tucker said quietly into the comm., still looking at the blue light. "Any idea what this is? I haven't seen it on this model before…"

Kurt came bounding over, and glanced at the device himself. "Some guy just came and attached it. Said it was from the Company. Supposed to increased efficiency." Tucker gave an incredulous glance. "Relax, Tucker. He showed us the forms and everything. He's legit."

"Alright then…" Tucker took one last glance at the light, his worries subsiding. "Then let's power it up. I want to try and get back to the barracks in time to beat the other Boomer's to lunch." He grinned slightly, and a couple chuckles were shared amongst the group.

He gave a light tap on his thrusters, and angled around the assembled device to its control panel. Within moments, he was typing in the commands to activate it. As he typed in the last command, a sudden, shrill noise started up. Tucker cringed slightly, looking around. The others seemed just as uncomfortable with it. The noise wasn't normal, and his first thoughts were on that of the upgrade. Something must've been malfunctioning. He moved himself around the machine, and towards the upgrade. As he came closer, he noticed the blue flashing picking up in speed.

"Hey Kurt, something ain't right here…" Kurt came bounding over.

Suddenly, the blue flash stopped, leaving Tucker and Kurt looking confused at the device. Within moments, all they saw was white.

*****

The man removed his visor from his suit, and took a deep breath. He had made it safely onto his craft, and was leaving orbit of Magog. He heard a loud rumble, followed by a bright flash. A satisfied smile came to his face. He did his job, and did it well. He looked to the screen in front of him, bright green text flashing before him, reading:

"Terrans for the Natural Order. Magog is a lost cause, how many more must be?"

He tapped the send command, and glanced out the window as pieces of was once Magog came soaring past his ship. The message was a clear one. They would listen this time.

Originally posted by CM
Look its never good if it hurts

Originally posted by Aegis
Well, here's my piece. About 100 words under limit, but I think it's a good one.

Originally posted by Monolith
Ideed it is. Was fun reading it!

Originally posted by Aegis
@Georgi: So, have we agreed to disagree, then?