Lore:Donald Spalding Personal Log File

 is an origins lore piece. It was released on the 3rd of July, 2012.

A pair of log files from a civilian, Donald Spalding, this piece describes life under military lockdown, and the scarcity of food across the fleet due to the destruction of the majority of the fleet's hydroponics vessels during the collapse of the wormhole. It also describes the day that Auraxis, then called New Earth, was discovered.

The piece describes events between March 15th, 2642 and April 10th, 2642, and is dated for 2641-03-02.

March 15th, 2642
To say that food has been scarce since we made it through the wormhole would be an understatement. If we didn’t have so many provisions already stored outside of the hydroponic ships, the fleet would have run out of food months ago. With only three of the original twenty-three hydroponics making it through in one piece, everyone has had to go hungry. It’s been well over a year since I’ve had a full meal.

The military has been put on an even higher alert after the vote went through a couple months back. I didn’t know a higher level of security was possible until I saw them start locking people up for being outside of their rooms passed eight.

Everyone is still in shock over the destruction of the Discovery-7 and Tom Connery’s death. I can see Councilman Miller doing his best to keep positive, to give people hope and inspiration, but given the provisions we have left, I honestly have no idea how we’re going to make it. It’s getting harder and harder to shake the feeling that we’re all going to starve to death long before we can find a new home.

April 10th, 2642
The excitement throughout the fleet is palpable – we’ve picked up signs of a world that could support human life on the other side of this system! From this distance we’ve got no idea what sort of shape the atmosphere is in, but our terraforming equipment should be able to handle whatever the planet throws at us, so long as there’s oxygen and a nearby star.

The journey will be long, and we still have challenges to overcome, but the fleet has real hope again! We’re slated to arrive on “New Earth” by January of next year.

Councilman Miller requested that the military suspend, or at least extend, tonight’s curfew. After all these months, he felt the people needed to be able to enjoy this moment with their friends and families. To his credit, Commander Waterson has agreed to extend the curfew to midnight for tonight.

It’s been a good day.

I must admit these last few months have troubled me deeply. I know how much Connery hated the idea of military control over the fleet, but had Waterson been given the authority he has now earlier, Tom and the rest of Discovery-7 would still be here today.

Since the military clamped down after the attack, there have been no additional outbreaks of violence. If only we had done more, sooner…  I can only hope their continued diligence deters any more fighting in the future.

Speaking of the future - now that we seem to have one, I’ve followed up with Adam about what Waterson intends to do about the government when we arrive on New Earth. The councilman has assured me that the military intends to return control to civilian authorities as soon as we’ve landed. He says he’s already reviewed the paperwork himself, but still, I’m grateful that the Terran Republic has laws that prevent any of their worlds from falling under military rule.

I, like many, may question the actions of the military, but those laws allow us to never have to question their motives. Peace and the rule of law, but never at the expense of their citizens. The democracy we’ve created on Earth is to extend to all of our colonies.

Now I’m off to celebrate! If I can dig anything up tonight, I think I’ll have a drink for Mr. Connery. He should have been here for this.