First Contact

Prison Planet (Poles Apart)

<<INDEED, IT WAS GRUESOME. The Balronians wanted an isolated but habitable candidate, preferably inside another civilization's prime enclave, so as to avoid undue attention, and maintain plausible deniability. They decided to purchase Tungarra Four, then an M-class entity with promising plant and animal ecosystems, but no sign of any intelligent life. Light colonization was authorized, and on the 28th of June, 979 (Galactic Reckoning), the first fleet of convicts, administrators and correctional officers landed on Tungarra Four: six thousand souls in all. They proceeded to construct several villages to form the nucleus of an initial settlement, but the inmates were not kept in cells and could wander around wherever they wanted, and indeed do as they pleased (so long as they didn't harm the officials, of course); many ran off into the bush, forming bands of ruffians that marauded the villagers for a while, before realizing that they needed them for mutual survival. Where could they go, anyway??? they were captives of the gulag, exiles in a remote corner of the universe. There were no teleportation links to the planet, and its airspace was tightly controlled by the Balronian Space Force.

<<Over the next 50 years, 200,000 convicts came to live and die on Prison Planet Tungarra, among them 60,000 women, who were given their own continent to roam, for rather predictable reasons: none of the authorities governing the project wanted children born there against their will - that was an ethical bridge too far it seemed. This marked a departure in the original goal of paving the way for free settlement, and increasingly, the prisoners sent there were more violent and barbarous. Protests, gang wars and even the massacres of administrative staff were commonplace. Finally, after a mass break-out attempt involving hostages and smuggler ships left 13,000 people dead, the administrators decided to pull the plug. All correctional officers were withdrawn, and the convicts were left to fend for themselves.

<<A new epoch dawned on Tungarra Four. The Balronians continued sending prisoners, but dropped them from the air wearing parachutes with basic food rations and other essentials as they were now too afraid to venture landside. Eventually this too stopped, and the planet was slowly forgotten. Radical changes were sweeping Balrone, indeed the whole of the Human Empire; in such turbulent times, who cared about a quarter of a million thugs stranded on a distant world. Few now remember Prison Planet Tungarra.>>

<<How fascinating!>> Lela gushed. <<Professor, do you think that any of the convicts survived?>>

<<Indubitably>> the Professor assured.

<<Oh Ral, can we go there?>>

<<Well, that's what I am here to ask you>> the Professor said.

<<I'm sorry Professor, but we are on our way to a party>> Ral interjected, not liking the idea of inspecting yet another godforsaken relic. <<How about the day after tomorrow?>>

<<There are no teleportation links to Tungarra Four, no star-cruisers tour its surface>> the Professor replied. <<In fact, it's not even listed in modern star charts. The only way to visit is by private charter. That's all I will say here. Who knows who - or what - is listening.>>

<<You want us to go on a search for Tungarra Four?>> Lela blurted. <<Well, of course we'll come!>>

<<Hey, wait a minute here>> Ral said, desperately trying to reassert some authority. <<Remember that party, and all the others coming up. Our schedule is fully booked. Now Pro, you said yourself this place is a hellhole, and a violent one at that... so why do you want to go there so much?>>

<<I can't tell you here, but the journey is one of the utmost importance. It might well be a turning point in your life; it will most certainly be one of its highlights. All I want is an hour or two of your precious time, to talk in private, minus these cosplay freaks. How about my abode on Venus? I am sure that once you know the full story, you'll agree to accompany me. Please...>>