Stars of Charon (Legacy of the Thar'esh Book 1) Read Online Free

and
names that I’d heard since coming here.
    I said
Lee’s name and it showed me his picture. The photo was some time ago, Lee was a
young man, uniformed and unsmiling. Enlisted in the Earthborn Protectorate
in 2409. Assigned to Alpha Centauri regional garrison in 2414, decorated for
bravery at the battle of Alpha Centauri in 2419, demoted to Lieutenant
Commander 2426. Retired 2427. 2432, contracted to be Governor of MineWorks
Corporation’s Eridani III colony .
    “Eridani
III colony,” I said quietly.
    As I did,
Lee’s picture disintegrated and reformed into the shape of a planet. There were
nine large and irregularly shaped green and brown landforms surrounded by a
deep blue-green ocean. I slid my finger over the screen and the planet spun on
its axis. I tapped again and the image came to an abrupt halt. As I did, an
additional window expanded and hovered above the image:
     
    Eridani III: Class M
planet, 23 EH/D, 432 ED/Y, gravity near Earth normal. Initial environmental
scans indicated atmosphere breathable, native vegetation minimal and protein
structure uncertain. Biological scan and observational protocols were bypassed
by approval of MineWorks Senior Vice Presidential of Advanced Projects and
Analysis group, Mr. Hoonan Growd.
     
    Notes: Upon initial
survey, Eridani III met all requirements of a Stage 3 terraformed world, and
was determined to be an optimal target for terraforming at minimal cost.
Technicians instituted Stage 4 terraforming procedures to ensure maximum
success of colonization. Biochemical terraforming operations executed to
replace native flora with Earth-standard vegetation, and seed Earth-standard
fauna using an accelerated 15-year growth cycle condensed into a two week
treatment.
     
    Terraforming completed
4.3.2432 and Authorized for immediate colonization to support refugees from the
sixth planet of the Lagrange system, which was deemed unsafe for continued
habitation resulting from unintentional industrial pollutants being released
into the atmosphere.
     
    Terraformed.
I’d heard that word before, something Lee had said. My hands shook as the
realization slowly began took hold. I closed my eyes again and saw flashes of
blue-green fields, the strange alien faces, the quiet city settled on the
delta.
    “Terraforming,”
I spoke, this time my voice was barely more than a whisper.
    The
Slate’s screen changed again, illustrating the scientific process of
terraforming:
     
    Earthborn
Terraforming is
achieve through the execution of four discrete stages (Note: full four-stage
terraforming is prohibitively expensive and rarely executed, most terraforming
occurs on uninhabited worlds that already meet the base-environmental
requirements for later terraforming stages to reduce associated costs and time
delays.)
     
    Stage 1 Magnetic
Shielding: An
expensive and difficult process of charging the planetary core to create a
magnetic shield which protects the planet from solar winds and other
interstellar phenomena.  A variety of methods are used involving large scale
orbital operations and intensive sonic manipulation to optimize the planetary
core environment. Prohibitively expensive and rarely employed. Process may take
up to ten years.
     
    Stage 2 Atmospheric
Balancing and Acclimatization: Terraformers use large-scale deployable and reusable surface factory modules to
process existing gasses and generate carbon, nitrogen and oxygen to build an
earth-standard breathable atmosphere. During this stage robotic workers may be
used to locate and unlock (thaw when frozen, or chemically create when
necessary) liquid water for the planet. In some extreme circumstances,
asteroids containing vital minerals and/or frozen water are diverted to the
planet to provide a rich source for liquid water. Process typically takes
between four and twelve years.
     
    Stage 3 Carbon
Seeding: An Earth-Standard
terraformed world requires an abundant source of carbon, often in the form of
biomass. When a terraformed world