Now We Are Here, General Transmission 1
>C-link engaged
>PROSPERO network open/general/secpro: null/xprospero < c-link jacobsr
>SUBJECT: Arrival

Attention all crew. Captain Jacobs would like to address you all via c-link.

"My fellow crew, my fellow travellers... now we are here, at the threshold of our new home. We have crossed the yawning gulfs of space, leaving behind a solar system ravaged by war and tyranny, and we have come to this shining jewel, this Eden, this serendipitious discovery.

In a few days, we will begin the aerobraking procedure to bleed off the last of our speed. Engineering is working around the clock to convert the compartments we occupied into a heat shield, and I'm informed that everything is on schedule. In a week's time, the first shuttles will land on Serendipity. As soon as possible after that, the main colony module will be dropped and we will have our first settlement on the surface, and we will be able to awaken the rest of the sleeping crew.

When the Ganymede government and our allies realised that our war with the Aesir* was lost, we conceived this bold plan of striking out for new homes. We will not know for many years whether or not any of the other colony ships made it to their destinations, but it is extremely unlikely that any of them were as fortunate as us. We have been blessed with this second chance, and we must seize it, and build a new and better future for humanity.

As we approach our new home, I would like to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives to get us this far. Not just the soldiers who fought against the Aesir, but also to the five generations of Flight crew who lived and died aboard the St. Andrew, watching over us while we slumbered. The onus is on us to justify their sacrifices and their travails.

Thank you."

(*Alliance of Earth & Satellite Independent Republics – Prospero)


There's one other minor matter that requires a consensus. Several people have expressed concerns at the paucity of data on Serendipity's native flora and fauna. Currently, I've got a network of eight satellite probes orbiting the planet, but the cloud and jungle cover makes it hard for them to get actual images of native life-forms. What I can do is sacrifice one probe by dropping it out of orbit. It'll crash and go boom, but we'll get more data about what's waiting on the planet's surface at the cost of an eighth of my tracking capacity until we build and launch a replacement satellite.

Poll #1066355 Advance Probe Operations
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Should we sacrifice one of the eight probes?