Chapter 2

Dear Jim,

I finally feel almost like myself again. I still have a slight headache and feel weak, but I am able to think straight and carry my own weight.

After the doctor was satisfied with my condition I was transferred to a tiny cabin with a bed, tiny desk and fresh clothes in my size on a chair. It is just big enough to turn around, but at least I finally got to change out of my flower gown. We got these flashy white and orange uniforms, you remember? They made a huge show of revealing them and that famous designer who conceived them. Why ever anyone thought that was relevant. . .

I washed in the communal bathroom in the hallway, got changed and then walked down to the mess, because finally I started to get really hungry and felt like my stomach could take it.

Just like my cabin, the mess hall was rather plain, painted in white with just a few grey tables and chairs. Some seats were taken, but the room was mostly empty. I was greeted by a few people wearing the same uniform, having the same shaved hair as I.

I walked over to the insta-meal machine, slotted in a brick of chicken and roast potatoes and waited a few seconds for it to prepare. There was only a small number of different dishes available. After all, we're not supposed to spend much time here.

As I hadn't had the chance to hear anything about what's going on yet, I sat down at a table with two other people – a man and a woman – who were already engaged in a conversation. They introduced themselves as Susana and Tom. Susana was tall and slim with a very fair complexion, while Tom was relatively short and stocky. His face was showing signs of a dark stubble, but on his head hair didn't appear to grow in all places.

I was excited to hear that we are indeed in orbit around a seemingly habitable planet, just like we had hoped at the start of our journey. For a moment a thought crossed my mind: what if things would have been differently? What if we had not found what we were looking for? But I pushed these thoughts away and listened to what they told me.

I learned that cluster one has already left to the surface and established the first outpost – or should I say settlement? They had no other choice than to leave the ship anyway, because as you know there is not enough space here to accommodate all of us. Just like Susana and Tom, I have obviously been assigned to cluster three. We will have to leave before the people of cluster five are woken.

So far the messages received from the ground seem promising. Cluster one was dropped at the shores of the sea. Susana said she had read that all the data and reports so far looked good. Good air quality, appropriate weather, soil to plant crops but just a little too much wind. The sea was wild and cold but the beach was nice and there seemed to be plenty of something like fish and shellfish.

Cluster two is planned to depart in two days to the shores of a large river. It was decided to send all people to the northern hemisphere of the planet as it was calculated that there must be something like late spring there, which is preferable to arriving in autumn and have winter just around the corner.

We people of cluster three wait a little longer because not all people allocated to cluster three have fully recovered yet. On the other hand there are also still things for us to do, preparations to make for our departure and especially for our arrival on-site. We are obviously meant to get a briefing about the features of our landing site and other important information soon.

I am writing this as I sit at my tiny desk in my tiny temporary cabin, having some privacy for the first time since I woke up. The bed doesn't seem to be too bad and I intend to go to sleep soon and not be woken by any nurses or doctors and just sleep until I am done sleeping. Good night – or whatever time of day it may be.

Love,

Sarah

Tavaron

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