Chapter 1: Silique

Trat sat in the command chair, if you could call it that. There was not much to command, at least not any longer. Trat had just disconnected his module from the main transportation pod train, directing the transport pods into a collision course with a nearby sun. The mission was to plant a colony on a distant world. The cargo was a complete colony complete with over five thousand inhabitants. Something went wrong in deep space and the life support systems had failed. The food rations were mostly ok, but without a population, they also became expendable.

Trat was the last of his/her/its species anywhere within several hundred light years.

The Golan's were an intelligent species that evolved on a geologically violent planet. Their history was littered with both political and geological upheaval. There were numerous points in the species history where the Golan were nearly extinct. This is actually the case for many sizable species on Golan.

This regular devastation was compensated for by evolution. The Golan and many of the main evolutionary branches of plants and animals had learned to collect genetic diversity within a single organism. This was done through the storage of eggs from various individuals.

In the plant life, seeds were transported across a complicated root system. In the mobile life, a series of tentacle straws could be extended from just below the belly. In many ways, the Golan looked a lot like Earth species; they just leaned toward the robust. The skin was noticeably thicker. Of course, the colors were very different. The small differences in the atmosphere on Golan and Earth made for a very different visible and invisible spectrum of solar radiation.

Trat's mission was now clear.

With the primary goal unachievable, Trat had the sole responsibility for establishing an outpost on Earth. Trat was alone, but carried the genetic identities of over fifty of his species.

Getting to Earth without being noticed would be difficult. Flying in like a fireball would surely not work. Gliding in with other interstellar objects seemed a more reasonable approach. Human had developed a way to track and monitor those objects, but it appeared they could not watch so closely as to see Trat's small ship.

On a relatively clear night in August Trat found his opportunity to glide in with the Perseid Meteor Storms.

All indications said Trat had landed without the notice of anything more substantial than a bison.

The plan from the beginning was to establish a colony. The Golan had no plans toward conquest or even trade. The Golan were driven to survival by eons of being wiped out and having to pop up somewhere else with little more than the skin on their backs. The Golan were a practical people who did what they could with what their planet and local environment handed them.

Upon landing, the action began. This was exciting for Trat as the approach into Earth from the solar systems edge was long, slow and uneventful. The remote ship lifted silently from the top of the command module. It headed off in a westerly direction towards the small town, which the computers had selected as a potentially viable colony source.

This was central Montana. Population was sparse and the roads were often empty. Not much went into an out of this area until the cattle ranged through.