Rules of Engagement

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A Strange, New World...

We knew we never should've launched.
We knew the risks were just too high.
But we never imagined just what we'd find.
Let alone who'd live or die...

Images graciously provided by: "The Approach" by EnsedaKimri, "Beauty" by JohnnyRed777 (zoomed).

We were supposed to be the best of the best.
For three generations they’d refined us, perfected us.
And then they threw us into the deep end of the pool.

The deep-space probe sent back hope, if not promise.
For years they designed and built a ship to get us there.
Innovative, cutting-edge technology.
But the public still called it a suicide mission.
We were the solution to the inquiry.

But we didn’t know what was waiting in the shadows.
We weren’t ready for the deaths.
We weren’t ready for the disappearances.
And we certainly weren’t ready for the natives.

1) FREEFALL

Survey 1 - The Antefores

Lost, marooned, with no way back,
No lifeline binding crew to home.
But, oh, do others ever await -
If only we'd left well-enough alone...

Image graciously provided by: "Shield of the Gods" by Svet the Fallen, "Overpass Patrol-Charlie Platoon-Delta 7-16" by Seconds Past 12, ""Where It Fell" by Zalmunna.

2) MAELSTROM

We were the pride of Earth, the promise of our generation.
Given the best schools, the best food, the best cozy little safe haven you could hope for.
Idiots. What were they preparing us for - dinner parties with alien dignitaries?
Now we'd been scattered across the deep end of the cosmic pool - at night, during a sandstorm.

By the time I came to, alone in those ruins, I didn't know which way was up.
By the time I finally escaped, I didn't even recognize myself.
My first attempt at first contact won a full-scale attack.
My first plea for help chased me into a cage I'd never escape.

But sometimes kindling just needs a little fire to wake it up.
Sometimes that fire gets hungry, and spreads.
And unless I can find a way to contain the fury inside -
This storm might burn the whole forest to ashes.

Book 3

Survey 2 - The Almacrans

From highest heights to deepest depths
They tried to run, to hide.
But the darkest truths to wary meet
Are those left kept inside...
.

Image graciously provided by: "Jungle04" by hz-designs, "Jaina Proudmoore" by Mathias Judias, "Banewulfe Hollow, Drokkanshire" by EnsedaKimri.

3) DISTANT SHORES

I’d survived the crash. I’d survived the cave.
But by the time I surfaced I had no idea where I was.
They call this world Wernomin – and I couldn’t agree more –
This is a planet where no man should’ve landed.

Its lands are lush. Its seas are wild.
Cut off from anything familiar or safe.
It’s all I can do to survive a day.
But life has a spark that blooms bright in darkness.

Its tribes are primitive. Its sunken cities boast a lost age.
I couldn’t help but follow the clues.
I had no idea the story they’d tell –
Or how the answers would change my fate.
.

Book 4

Survey 3 - The Sushirs

From deep roots grow the strongest trees,
Beneath their shadows the screams we hear,
Never knowing when we'll meet our end,
By tooth or claw, by net or spear...
.

Image graciously provided by: "Enigmatic Structures" by VRStylish, "Leonardo Diffusion XL Generate A Photoreal Medieval" by BlueSiriusRising, https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/c3/02/b9/c302b9ce18670da964842f1e89a030b5.jpg by Taoshiyun on Pinterest.
Background: "Atrium" by Bingus 503.

4) NEVERVENTURE

Our first trip to the stars – our first colony in space.
Our chances were slim – we lost half our crew to get there.
But when I crash-landed on a miry desert shore,
How could I wake up on a tropical island?

Eager for friends and shelter, I set out through the howling wilds.
But the locals are as friendly as the wildlife – and just as eager for my death.
Exiled to the land of savages, now I’ve got to prove myself.
By fighting with their soldiers, against rumors, creatures, and horrors.

Our hunt just unearthed ruins.
And the ruins have chosen me.
To search out secrets buried in a forgotten past.
For a mission and future beyond my wildest dreams...
.

Book 5
Survey 4 - The Hashefs

Tis said they once lived in shadowed caves,
Tis said they once hunted for meat,
A meal's a meal for a hungry jaw,
Far less a matter where it finds its treats...

Image graciously provided by: "Of Earth & Stone" by EnsedaKimri, banner courtesy of Seripha Begum.

Book 6
Survey 5 - The Tirogens

All life springs from a seed or two,
But not all seeds follow predicted paths
Sometimes life disagrees with life
And subdues both with grafts...

Image graciously provided by: "Of Earth & Stone" by EnsedaKimri, "78f45070_7bcd_4ef4_bd58_a47146f39210" by Konimotsinui, banner courtesy of Seripha Begum.

Book 7
Judgment Day...

When a star first bursts and accretion churns,
Who can tell what stories have just begun?
What worlds will form, what life could emerge,
What wars might be fought - and whose hearts might be won?...

Images graciously provided by: "Plumes of Rebirth" by EnsedaKimri, banner courtesy of Seripha Begum.