Chapter 1

You will never believe this, hell, I don't believe it myself. I don't even know why I am writing it, except it helps me keep me thinking in normal patterns, and convinces me I am not totally crazy.

I am James Alfred Hunter, my mother called me Fred and it stuck through most of my life. I lived a normal (what I considered normal, most city girls would think I am a macho pig, I guess) life. I married my last year in college, and my wife, Suzie, and I had three children in fairly quick order. We got them through school and married off in the normal manner.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my family, but we did normal family stuff, little league, cheerleading, and prom. Dad worked long hours and Mom stayed home with the children until the baby got into high school. She got a job then.

In a few years, she was making more money than I was. Suzie's income allowed us to move to a better house and allowed me to purchase a few additional guns for my collection and allowed her to do things that she wanted.

My hobbies were the usual for someone in my line of work. I hunted and fished, shot targets competitively with shotguns and pistols at one time or another, and collected guns. Along with those hobbies, I also took up reloading so I could afford to shoot more.

As I got older, I got to the place that my failing eyesight (a result of my family's diabetic tendencies that I inherited) fixed it where I couldn't compete anymore, so I kind of gave up on competitive shooting, and began fishing more.

Suzie and I had a great sex life for twenty-seven of our thirty years of marriage. I couldn't have asked for a better spouse in that vein. When I got to age fifty, my diabetes also finished off my ability to perform in that theater. I think that was the final blow to our relationship.

I wasn't the best husband there ever was, and after I couldn't "finish what I started", Suzie became somewhat dissatisfied with our marriage.

I came in one Tuesday afternoon after work and Suzie asked, "Why are we staying together, Fred?"

I thought a few minutes and answered, "Sugar, I have loved you all of my adult life. I love our children and grandchildren, but I currently am just moving along from day to day. Since my body has quit on me, there isn't any fire in our love affair. I guess I'm staying with you because it's what I've always done."

"That's how I feel about it, too," she replied. "I am getting more and more unhappy with "us". The kids are grown, we can afford to live separately, and that is what I want to do."

I agreed to give Suzie my share of the equity in the house as a one-time alimony payment. She was going to stay in the house, the payment was cheaper than rent.

I packed up my things, which consisted of my clothes, my gun collection, my fishing tackle, my reloading tools and supplies, my camping stuff, the bed from the spare bedroom, and my chest of drawers. We only had one television, so I left that, and the computer. We divvied up the credit cards, and agreed to pay the bills of those we kept. I got the 7-year-old mini-van.

I found a mobile home to rent, near my office. I rented a U-haul trailer, and packed my things into it and the van. It all fit for a 1 trip move.

I left home Friday night and drove through the county to my new home. I was enveloped by a bright red light. Blinded, I slammed on the brakes.

Just outside the orbit of the moon...

"Hey Rookie, how are you enjoying your first assignment?" The sergeant sent.

"Is it always this exciting?" The patrolman replied.

"That's why they send you rookies out here. Nothing ever happens, and you get to stay alive long enough to learn to handle yourselves," the sergeant explained.

"These backward planets are under the protection of the confederation, and nobody ever comes here.

The sensors started pinging. "What's this?" The sergeant sent.

"It is identified as a ship stolen by an escaping felon from the Centauri system," the patrolman answered.

"Scan for life forms," the sergeant ordered.

"Scanning... one life form present," rookie answered.

The ship opened fire on the police cruiser. The first volley missed.

"Deploy transporter beam. Transport to the nearest penal colony," the sergeant ordered.

"Transporting to KP779-4. He might like it there it is almost identical to this planet, wet and cold."

The beam carried from the police ship, passed through the offending ship and impacted the planet's surface.

On KP779-4...

"What the hell" I thought. The van stopped and my vision cleared. I knew something was definitely wrong.

First — when the light hit me it was night, now it was noon.

Second — I'd left Florida in the middle of the forest and now I was in the middle of a prairie, like Kansas.

The van was still running, but there wasn't a road. I switched it off and got out to look around. I slid the paddle holster that held my 9mm pistol into my waistband.

I opened up the side door of the van and rummaged around until I found my binoculars. I climbed up on top of the trailer and looked around.

I could see a strip of trees in one direction. I figured that meant a stream, and I didn't have anything to drink, so I started the van and slowly drove toward the stream. The ground was not terribly rough if I watched where I was going. It was like riding across a pasture.

I eventually got to the strip of trees, and "lo and behold" it was a fair sized creek. The trees weren't any species I could recognize, and the grass also wasn't one that I knew.

I went down to the water and smelled and tasted it. It was cold and good. I decided to set up a camp here and reconnoiter the area before I moved anywhere else. I thought I could fish up something or kill some small game to keep myself alive while I checked out the area.

I set up a camp using my big tent and folding furniture. I got my water cooler full from the creek and decided I would try to find something to eat.

I got out my 12 gauge shotgun and loaded it with number 6 birdshot. I got my most powerful pistol, a Glock 32 in .357 SIG, and belted it on. I also got out my hunting knife and hatchet. I filled my "canteen", an empty 2 liter bottle, and set off to find supper.