Artemis: Shattered Sanctuary

Operation Stargate #7

by Herbert Grosshans

On every planet there are some species of animals that are becoming extinct for many different reasons. One of the biggest reasons is the destruction of their habitat and from overhunting. To save these animals it was decided to create a Sanctuary reserved only for animals. There would be no colonists and no hunting. They called the planet Artemis. The humans were chosen to be the custodians of Artemis. The Guild of Game Wardens was created and they set up Observation Post all over Artemis, not only to watch over the animals but also to prevent illegal hunting. Everything was going well for decades until the day it was suspected that a star-gate existed on Artemis. That was the day when the peace and tranquility of an animal paradise came under threat of coming to an end.

Excerpt

Prologue

In many ways, Artemis would have been an ideal planet for colonization, but the decision had been made decades ago to use it as a sanctuary for animals on the verge of extinction. Humans or members of any other race were not allowed to settle there.

The animals came from different worlds. On Artemis they could flourish and live without interference.

Humans were voted in as the custodians of Artemis. It was the job of the Game Warden Guild to secure the safety of all the animals on the planet.

They set up observation posts on all five continents and on most of the larger islands. Not all game wardens stationed on these posts were humans. The survival of animals in danger of becoming extinct was the responsibility of all races.

In addition to the observation posts there were also conservation breeding centers on all the continents and islands.

In order for the predators to survive they needed to hunt; prey was provided by introducing animals that were not on the danger list. Prey animals have the tendency to breed at a rate faster than their hunters. To limit their numbers, the game wardens allowed controlled hunting. It was the only hunting allowed on Artemis. However, sometimes poachers decided to go on an illegal hunting spree.

It was the job of the game wardens to prevent that from happening.

Chapter One

The weather on Artemis was quite similar to weather on Earth and many other Earthlike planets. That didn’t mean it couldn’t get downright nasty and unpleasant.

Captain Cameron Finnegan should have been comfortable and cozy inside his sleeping bag, but he wasn’t. The material of the tent he and his partner had managed to erect just before the storm hit rippled like tiny waves on a body of water as the tent was battered by the fierce wind. He worried it might rip and expose them to the harsh elements.

Deep down he knew that wasn’t going to happen. The tent was made of indestructible material a sharp knife could not cut. Outside, the storm was roaring like an enraged tiger. The canopy of the trees above them could not filter out the howling wind. The drumming of the raindrops only added to the noise.

Even with that noise he still heard the snoring of the other game warden in the tent. ‘How can anyone sleep with this?’

The snoring stopped as the man changed to a different position.

“Are you sleeping, Whitlock?”

“What…what?”

“Are you sleeping?”

“I was until you woke me,” Whitlock growled sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just can’t sleep. Sorry I woke you.”

“Just close your eyes and think of pleasant things, Finnegan. Damn it all!” Whitlock cursed. “This can’t be the first time you’ve run into severe weather. You’re a seasoned game warden and not some greenhorn, even though you’ve been here only a short time.”

“This one seems worse than the last one we’ve experienced. I’m worried about those young chimps we released.”

“I wouldn’t worry. They have an adult male and a female with them. Chimps are smart. All of them were taught how to find shelter and how to forage. They’ll be fine.”

“None of them are older than ten or eleven. In a sense they are still children. Dr. Hamsley would be devastated if even just one of them got hurt. She put those tiny embryos into the incubators and raised them after they were born. She was like a mother to them. Originally, there were twelve, but when two died she was overcome with grief.”

“I understand, but we can’t get too attached to the animals. After all, they are just animals. Wild animals. Our job is to protect them as well as we can, but not to babysit or nurture them. Once released into the wild, they are on their own. We can’t interfere. Nature takes over. Only the strong will survive, not only as individuals but as a species. Unlike us humans. We nurture the sick and the weak and try to keep them alive as long as possible, even if they suffer from an incurable disease.”

“You are talking about people on planets with advanced technology. It is different with those societies that reverted back to the so-called Middle Ages where people die of diseases that can be easily cured.”

Whitlock yawned loudly. “Those. Yes. Have you ever heard of a planet called Valhalla?”

“I have. It is far from being a paradise. It was originally colonized by a bunch of people that called themselves Vikings. Their society sank back into savagery, but it flourished. Not much has changed in the last five hundred years. They let their sick die. Mentally and physically handy-capped people are not allowed to marry or have children. In fact, they also get killed. That is not a desirable society.”

“Not for us civilized people, but for them it works. I don’t know much about them. From what I’ve heard, everyone works, and there are no freeloaders. Everybody contributes something to society. Something that can’t be said for most of the civilized planets. Each one has vagrants, homeless people, unteachable ones, and just plain lazy ones that have developed the fine art of living for free. Parasites and leeches.”  Whitlock yawned again. “I’m going to sleep, Finnegan. I suggest you try to do the same. We have a strenuous day ahead of us.”

Finnegan lay there for a long time still, listening to the howling of the wind and the flapping of the tent material. He couldn’t get those little chimps out of his mind.

Normally, he wouldn’t even be here. He could have gone back to central base with the team after releasing the group of chimps. As an officer of security his job did not require him to check out trails and the welfare and status of animals. At the same time, he couldn’t let Whitlock go on alone. There were plenty of dangers lurking everywhere and two pairs of eyes and ears were almost necessary to walk the trails safely. The other reason was the fact that he hadn’t had much of a chance to get familiar with the surrounding countryside.

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Sci-Fi

Erotica