Gaeron: Surviving the Rim/Three New Friends and the Magistrate

## Three New Friends and the Magistrate

"**Three New Friends and the Magistrate**" is the fourth chapter of the *Gaeron: Surviving the Rim* web-novel series. This fourth chapter was published to the site on August 14, 2022.

This chapter covers our main cast dealing with those in need of help and shelter.

## Plot

### Entry - Three New Friends

Another week has passed here on Gaeron. Still unable to connect to RuneNet and establish a signal with the UCR—and subsequently, still stranded in the Oulocol Forest with Alyssa, Selmara, Dalila, and Flower.

Along with three new friends, who came to us during a thunderstorm one night.

While we remained in the relative comforts of our barracks, safe from the weather, Selmara heard some animal-like noises coming from the outside area surrounding our camp, and so she went to check it out. When she returned, the rest of us were introduced to three large animals that resembled wolves, all soaking wet from the heavy rainfall. I believed that these wolves were likely endemic to Gaeron as their appearances didn't exactly match that of wolves from other parts of the galaxy. We dried them with towels we bought from passing traders and kept them close to the fire we assembled to help them keep warm during the night. They slept soundly in the beds we arranged beside Flower's new bed (although Flower still chooses to sleep at Dalila's feet more often than not).

I'd like to think that these three wolves latched onto us rather quickly (or perhaps Selmara was just a magnet for friendly animals). They came to us during their time of need, and now they stay by our side as if they always were. Perhaps they were previously domesticated, or were just naturally this friendly, as they played extraordinarily nice with Flower and didn't cause us much of any problems. It isn't difficult to see how much Flower and the wolves enjoy each others' company. We haven't given them any names yet, mostly due to lack of creativity and time to devote to thinking on such matters. Selmara suggested the names “Wolf One”, “Wolf Two”, and “Wolf Three”. Needless to say, they didn't stick. I honestly wasn't sure whether or not she was joking, but we're past it now.

I'm sure Alyssa or Dalila could come up with something more suitable for the wolves, although I'm also sure Alyssa would much prefer herself to be the one who names them. The other day, I overheard Alyssa teasing Dalila (mocking? I'd hope not) about the name of her pet terrier. I don't think Dalila appreciated it very much. While rather simple, I will admit, I personally like Flower as a name. I feel as if the simplicity works well for an animal as straightforward yet delightful to be around as Flower—and I was sure to tell Dalila this. She found it amusing, but appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

Food shouldn't be an issue despite the fact that there are now three more mouths to feed, although this *was* an initial concern of ours, of course. After counting the amount of packaged survival meals we had stored, our situation didn't look very promising at first. We only had another week's worth of food left between the four of us sentients. But with the berries and fruits we were able to forage from around the forest (mostly thanks to Dalila, in full honesty), we believed we could continue to last longer than that. It helped that the rain gave the rice seeds the boost they needed to grow even faster than before, so all seemed promising in terms of our food supply. These rice seeds were on par with whatever the UCR's farming colonies used to sow in their fields, in that the grains were going to be ready for harvest in just a little under two months. Perhaps these Gaeronians weren't as technologically distant from us as we had first envisioned, if they had genetically-modified crop seeds at their disposal. Although I now remember that the practice of genetically engineering food is rather antiquated throughout the modern galaxy, stemming as far back as the founding of the Republic.

We would assuredly run out of packaged meals before the harvest, but we had plenty of options for obtaining food. As stated previously, we could always forage from the forest, which continues to look plentiful in fresh fruits and berries, and we could always buy food from traders in exchange for our scrap metal. Selmara and Dalila even plan to take on hunting soon. All of these things will manage to keep us afloat until we can have ourselves a nice hot dinner with platefuls of rice, meat, and greens. Thankfully, our three newcomers look to do just fine with what we forage. At the same time, I can imagine that they'd favor meat over greens any day.

My leg's getting better with every passing day. Maybe I'll take on hunting with Selmara and Dalila tomorrow, should this bone bruise decide to completely heal by sunrise. If only some of us *did* know some degree of magic, preferably healing magic (for both my sake and for the sake of anyone else who bears injuries like mine in the future). But alas, none of us four were trained in or gifted with those talents. Perhaps my desire to help feed our new furry friends can simply *will* my leg into full recovery.

For now, I'll just have to make do with what I'm able to accomplish in my current state, which is helping our camp with research and organizing plans for the near future. Come to think of it, I should mention how Selmara is a lot more learned and academic than I had previously thought (not to disparage the skilled woman in any way). She seemed extremely capable as an individual, both in physicality and in the realm of knowledge. I often wonder where she obtained her schooling from, given the little I know about her to begin with. In our barracks, we even set up a table dedicated to researching new technologies and other such useful things that could further the development of our camp. I was lucky enough to have a sizable collection of textbooks digitally stored on my tablet for both of us to consult. I have the suspicion that Selmara thinks me to be a bit of a nerd, which wouldn't be entirely off the mark, I would say. I mean I'm an architect after all. Math is what makes the most sense to me.

Regardless, the two of us get along just fine. At times, I can understand her pessimism as I do find it difficult to be optimistic on certain days here on Gaeron. Despite how well we were all doing considering the circumstances, it shouldn't be forgotten that our circumstances *are* rather extreme, if we acknowledge what our original mission was.

Our camp now houses eight. There's us four sentients, and then our four comforting pets. I wonder if our camp will continue to grow in numbers like this. Only time will tell.

And our situation is certainly looking up, at least compared to last week. I'm not sure if our situation could get much worse than the day that was stained by so much blood, but I'd hate to jinx myself and the others. It's difficult to put our losses past us, especially the loss of our captain. It's not something easily forgotten, nor do I think we should forget. I didn't know Firia Lonhe all too well, and I didn't know *anything* about Ginger Lima aside from the unsavory things that Selmara informed us about her. Despite this, I at least knew that Captain Lonhe was a woman confident that we would succeed in our colonial establishment on Kavriisha. But unfortunately, the universe was unforgiving and cruel enough to take her life before we were able to reach our original destination in one piece.

But that's why I believe our time on Gaeron, as unexpected and rough as our arrival was, should and *could* be spent as productively as possible. To honor the lives taken from us by the cruel ways of the universe, and to honor anyone from the *Reunion Star* who didn't survive the crash; those we have yet to even discover the deaths of.

In a perfect galaxy, they would all be alive in well—Dalila's brother and his fellow soldiers, the other brilliant minds and other ex-convicts, and so many more from that boarding party of nearly a hundred. But idealism in this manner wouldn't help us very much, I'd think. We just have to be prepared for anything that comes to us.

### Entry - The Magistrate

A transport shuttle arrived just outside our camp this morning. It hovered lightly above the ground like many UCR land vehicles often did. But to our dismay, this was by no means a Republic vehicle. In contrast to what we were all familiar with, this shuttle was painted white and ornately trimmed with dull golds and yellows. But the most striking image in my eyes were the tiny dents and huge claw marks imprinted on the side of the transport. There was clear indication of some form of violent struggle.

We had a visitor from the Exodus, and they needed our help.

We initially approached the shuttle with caution, but its single passenger stepped outside the vehicle doors in much more of a hurry than we were. I could've mistaken her for royalty, and I thought perhaps she actually *was,* judging by how she dressed. The Human woman adorned herself in rather formal clothing decorated with whites, golds, creams, and yellows—although some areas of her outfit appeared to be torn or damaged, revealing small cuts and bruises on her olive-toned skin. She was clearly injured, as was the decorative (or most likely protective) plating of her transport shuttle.

We didn't ask for a name, at first. We just rushed the woman into our barracks, to which I believe she was appreciative of. Alyssa was quick to treat her wounds with the medical supplies we had available to us. Once her minor injuries were tended to, the woman from the shuttle warned us that she was being followed from deep within the forest. As quickly as we came back into the barracks, Selmara and Dalila ran back outside to scope out the area and see who was pursuing the poor woman.

As it had turned out, it was not a matter of *who,* but rather *what.* The thing that followed her turned out to be some type of hairy, vicious animal. The beast wasn't large enough to rival humanoid size, but could still easily pose a threat with its claws and hostile disposition. When I ran outside to follow Selmara and Dalila (as fast as I possibly could, anyway, with a leg still in recovery), the beast was far enough from our camp for the women to try and shoot it down at a safe distance.

From what I gathered over our two weeks of being here, Selmara had more experience with firearms than any of us. This wasn't particularly surprising, as I remembered that she boarded the *Reunion Star* with experience as a former criminal. And because of this, I found it relieving when Selmara managed to shoot down the creature in less than thirty seconds. It was as if the animal fell almost as soon as it had arrived at our little forest clearing. Everyone was at ease, now that the threat had been dealt with. But then it was time for our injured visitor to introduce herself to us.

Proseria Kopusa was a magistrate for the Exodus. What this meant was that she essentially served as the governor for her home settlement here on Gaeron, which she told us was populated by nearly a hundred thousand loyal citizens of the Exodus. Kopusa spoke with a natural sense of regality and prestige in her voice, and so I got the sense that she clearly played an important role within her imperial society. Even so, I never got the sense that her elite status made her distasteful of anyone beneath her. Infact, Kopusa was openly grateful for the help we gave her, as well as for sheltering her after what sounded like quite the stressful ordeal.

Kopusa explained that she was returning to her home city of Lhazi after a diplomatic trip to a northern Walado settlement, accompanied by just a few soldiers. A small group of raiders attacked their transport shuttle and drove them off the main road, which explained the small dents in the vehicle that resembled bullet marks. While some of her men were killed during the assault, her remaining men managed to take down their assailants. But this bittersweet victory was short-lived, once a beast from the forest heard the disturbance within its territory and finished off the rest of the magistrate's standing men. Kopusa hurriedly took her shuttle and drove as far away as she could from the beast that continued to pursue her, with no time to mourn the loss of the men that protected her with their lives.

We gave her our condolences and offered her any help we could provide, although Alyssa made a point to acknowledge how we weren't exactly flowing with resources here at our small encampment. Kopusa didn't seem to mind this. She showed quite some surprise to find people like us camped out in the middle of the forest. We explained to her how we came from off-world, originally part of an expedition under the United Cassiopeian Republic. We were meant to establish a colonial presence on Kavriisha, but crash-landed here on Gaeron, with our ship's captain dead and the rest of the ship's passengers separated from us. We had no clue whether or not they were still alive. Kopusa sympathized with us, and I could tell just how genuine she was by how she spoke. She worried too that her people may have thought she was dead if she was away from the city for too long.

Kopusa told us how she *would have* requested access to our communications console, but after hearing our explanation concerning our current bearings, she assumed that we lacked such resources. Odd for me to say, I know, but this was a ray of hope in my eyes. This meant that long-ranged communications were indeed possible on Gaeron. I had hoped this meant this form of communication was possible for off-world connections as well, but Kopusa informed us how only global connections were feasible through this technology. Still, this was a promising start for us. We wouldn't be completely isolated from everyone else if we happened upon this technology.

Thankfully, the magistrate was not entirely out of options. She had her own responder—albeit one that could not connect to RuneNet like most responders in the galaxy could—that was powered by solar energy. And sure enough, she still had quite a bit of power left inside it. While the connection wouldn't be as clear as it would have been on a console, she told us, the responder would still be able to accomplish the task at the very least.

Kopusa gave her people a call, and they answered in a near instant. I didn't eavesdrop, but she told us that a transport wouldn't arrive until nightfall, which was a good few hours away. Until then, Magistrate Proseria Kopusa was our valued guest. I thought about what this could mean long-term, if we truly ended up stranded here on Gaeron for years. If we treated her well enough, this could spark some positive relations between us and the Exodus. She was already grateful for the shelter we've given her. Perhaps the Exodus would even be gracious enough to give us supplies in exchange. Nevertheless, I thought not to ask the magistrate about rewards unless prompted. I know we were in quite the unfortunate position, but I didn't feel right to beg from a stranger—especially one as high status as Kopusa.

In the hours that she stayed at our camp, Kopusa *did* talk to the others here, so the air wasn't entirely awkward. It helped that Flower was a naturally friendly pet, keeping things light and comforting. Dalila was particularly attentive to Kopusa. Perhaps her administrative background accustomed her to treating people of high profiles with a level of respect. But now that I type this down, I no longer consider this to be the case. I think Dalila's just a naturally considerate person. After all, she's the one who's done most of the foraging and gardening thus far. And I could see that Kopusa appreciated her attentiveness. Dalila even made sure she was warm, with blankets and all.

On top of this, Dalila had the bright idea of using the meat of the monster that Selmara shot down for cooking. And fear not, Kopusa assured us that the meat was edible. As it turns out, the things that can kill you can sometimes leave a fairly pleasant taste. I'm sure Kopusa has had sirloins better than what Dalila was able to serve, but she seemed to have enjoyed the meal even so. It had been a while since I myself have had meat. For our camp's first unofficial hunt of sorts, I would say the results were to our liking.

And I truly mean it when I say that dinner was nice. I complimented Dalila for her efforts. She told us how she used to cook for herself and her brother in their younger years, when their parents were away from home. I'm happy to be around people with such an array of skills.

Dalila also managed to make some light conversation with Kopusa regarding the Exodus empire. I figured it to be the smart approach in learning more about Gaeron's factions and people. As it turned out, the Exodus has cities and settlements like Lhazi scattered across the entirety of the continent, connected to each other (as well as to settlements of other allied factions like Walado and the Gray Tree Tribes) via roads. I kept this in mind for the future. If we found the roads, it would make it much easier to establish further connections with the Gaeronians.

Alyssa, being her worrywort self, frequently checked up on Kopusa to ensure that the magistrate didn't have any hidden cuts or bruises that could leave infections if left unattended to. Oddly enough, I think Alyssa was also making sure that Kopusa looked as clean and presentable as she could—possibly for her transport? Perhaps Alyssa had a similar idea to mine, in trying to get on the Exodus' good side. After all, we didn't know much about this empire, and yet Kopusa had already made a positive impression. Whatever the case, Selmara was getting a kick out of it. I could tell that even Kopusa was entertained by Alyssa's behavior, but thankful all the same.

Selmara didn't exchange too many words with the magistrate, but this isn't to say that she didn't care about our guest. When she returned from the forest after patrolling the perimeter and gathering more wood, Selmara made sure to ask Kopusa how she was doing, given the circumstances. It's clear to me that beneath Selmara's hardened and sometimes cynical exterior is someone who genuinely cares. Being a former criminal certainly taints first impressions for many people, but I can look past whatever she may have done in the past. And it's not like she needed to prove herself to anyone, let alone me. When we first crashed on Gaeron, Selmara was our bulwark. She continues to be.

We didn't chat much between ourselves either, the magistrate and I. Part of me feels as if even our three canine friends (which we found out were called Gaerwolves, thanks to Kopusa) were around the magistrate more than I was. But there was one particularly noteworthy interaction we had while I was typing out this log entry. She took notice and interest in what I was doing, and so I explained. I told her how I wanted to document every notable experience in our day-to-day lives, so as to keep a record of events.

“Isn't this just a diary, September?” she asked me kindly. I suppose she wasn't wrong. No matter how academically or officially I could have framed it, my record was pretty much what she implied it to be.

I am typing out a diary.

Kopusa wasn't one to make fun of others, to my relief; although it's not as if I expected her to tease me about it. In fact, the magistrate herself told me how *she* also kept a diary, and how she never missed a day in writing. I felt comforted by this mutual understanding. While I can't speak for Kopusa, I believe the reason I keep this record is to make some form of mark on the universe. To sort of prove that what happened to me and the people around me *did* happen. To leave a part of my life behind, once I'm gone in the future. To immortalize it into words.

I realize now that this would be my first time delving into *why* I type out these entries. And so now you know, dear reader. I hope you understand.

Kopusa later received another call from her people at Lhazi, telling her that they would be arriving within the hour. A few small things were offered for her to take home, but the magistrate refused, and it isn't difficult to imagine why. She must've felt bad for taking resources from such a small group like ourselves. But before she left, Kopusa wanted to know what to call our little camp, so that she'd be able to have officials mark us down on their maps. This might sound overly precautious to say, but I considered the risks of this. For all we knew, we could've all been walking into some odd trap. Sure, the magistrate was a kind and cordial woman, but we couldn't rule out the possibility that this all could've been a ploy to let our guard down. It would leave an opening for the Exodus to strike out an easy target like us. As I said, the Exodus is generally a mystery to us, aside from the little Kopusa told us.

Even so, I'd hate to throw away any trust we had in the magistrate. I had to have at least *some* level of faith to keep myself sane.

Not like these thoughts mattered too much though, because Alyssa answered for the entire camp almost immediately.

“Lonhe,” she answered. “We're the Lonhe colony. You can tell your people that.”

*In memory of the captain?* Something unexpected, to be sure. Not that I was against the name, not at all, but I didn't realize that Alyssa gave this any thought. Maybe she was thinking long-term, just as I was. If we were going to be on Gaeron for a while, we needed a proper name for ourselves that people would recognize. She saw that sooner than I did, it seemed.

And after that, Magistrate Proseria Kopusa thanked us for our hospitality during such a sudden situation. She left our camp on the same day she arrived, in safety under the light of the four moons and in the company of her soldiers. There were plenty of men to escort her into the transport shuttle, so we figured she'd be in good hands. They even had enough men to pilot the damaged shuttle that Kopusa originally arrived in. We saw the light from the two shuttles fade away as they traveled deeper in the Oulocol Forest, and away from our camp.

“Lonhe, huh,” Selmara commented. She crossed her arms nonchalantly. “Not opposed to it.”

“I think it's a great name,” Dalila went on to add. And she smiled warmly.

Alyssa was naturally pleased, both by the others and by herself. Even with such a sudden name being dropped onto our camp, everyone was content with it. Including myself. Lonhe had a nice ring to it.

And it was a good way for us to remember why we're on Gaeron in the first place. A way to honor the captain that was lost to us much too soon.

Now as I lie in bed, typing up the last few words of this entry, I can't help but wonder if we'll ever see the magistrate again in the future. If there were good people on this planet, like the Waladoans who gave us seeds and Kopusa with her gratitude, then I think it's important that we keep those positive connections.

It's easier to fail if you don't have any friends around to help you.

## Appearances

### Dramatis Personae

* **September Bridges** - Gazetan. Our narrator and architect. Hoping for the best.
* **Alyssa Sanidine Orchard** - Human. Woman from a shining world. A helping hand.
* **Selmara Beltran** - Human. Woman paying her debts. The bulwark.
* **Dalila Vaascosa** - Human. Woman keeping things together. Considerate.
* **Flower** - Skyor Terrier. Owned by Dalila. A good girl!
* **Three Gaerwolves** - Gaerwolves. A friendly trio!
* **Proseria Kopusa** - Human. Magistrate of Lhazi under the Exodus.

### Other Characters

* Firia Lonhe (Mentioned only)
* Ginger Lima (Mentioned only)
* Yerim Vaascosa (Mentioned only)
* Exodus soldiers

### Locations

* Cassiopeia Galaxy
	+ Central Expanse
		- Gaeronian System
			* Gaeron
				+ Lonhe
				+ Oulocol Forest
		- Kavriisha (Mentioned only)

### Organizations and Titles

* United Cassiopeian Republic
* The Exodus
* Gray Tree Tribes (Mentioned only)
* Walado (Mentioned only)

### Sentient Species

* Gazetan
* Human
* Jiridanian

### Creatures

* Gaerwolf
* Skyor Terrier
* Hairy Gaeronian beast

### Miscellanea

* Magic (Mentioned only)
* Runestone (Mentioned only)
* Runestone Network (Mentioned only)