Tundra, 51 years ago, Standard Year 352 after founding
Nine year old Jim Hawk was the youngest on his scout team, but he was keeping up. The red, brown, and orange mushrooms of the Tundran forest grew high over his head, interspersed with black trees covered in sharp black needles, blocking out most of the weak light of the distant star overhead. He noticed himself chewing on his lower lip nervously and forced himself to stop, suddenly self-conscious. ‘It’s all right to be nervous’ his father always said, ‘but don’t you ever show it.’ Hiking weather was short on Tundra. The winter was cold enough to kill in a matter of minutes. During a bad storm, death could come within seconds. But during the summer months, when the temperatures often reached well above freezing, young scouts were permitted into the forest. A hundred and fifty two years ago, the summer the first humans arrived on Tundra, they had survived in these forests. It was important to teach their descendants the same lessons the first settlers had learned at such great cost. Today, Jim would have to earn his fire badge.
He trudged on diligently, trying to enjoy the smells and sounds of the forest. It was one of the warmest days of the year and the older scouts were chatting, laughing as they hopped over the bits of black moss scattered across the ground. Of course, they could afford to fail, Jim thought with some annoyance. Failure was not an option for Jim. He had been practicing making fire with his father for weeks, but his success rate was… intermittent. He knew all the right things to do. Gather the dark needles to capture the spark, sharpen a wood stick with your knife and find a dry, flattened log to drill with the stick. But technique wasn’t enough. It took strength to create enough friction and even with all the practice… Jim took a deep breath, wiping his palms, sweaty in the unusually warm weather, against his pants. When the winter came, the first settlers of Tundra retreated into the deepest caves they could find, but even the protection of earth and stone wasn’t enough to keep the cold at bay. Without the ability to make a fire and keep it going throughout the winter, all would have died. Knowing how to make fire, was important.
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“Let’s stop here.” The scout leader said, her voice cheerful as she soaked up the warmth of the day. They were fortunate to have timed their trip so well. She stopped the children under the canopy of a large, cheerfully red mushroom, safely away from any trees that might catch fire. Tundran wood burned easily, and caution was called for. “All right children, gather your kindling and your needles. Remember, find the driest materials you can!” She smiled, watching them scatter.
The scout leader looked up suddenly, startled by an unfamiliar sound echoing across the forest. At first it was reminiscent of a gunshot, but it didn’t fade. Instead, it seemed to build, a vibration running through the ground and shaking every mushroom and tree in the forest, deeper and louder than any thunder she ever heard. The scout leader ran, gathering the children and huddling them down into the questionable protection of another giant red mushroom as the sound rumbled on. If it was a tsunami, they were all dead. But there had been no warning…
As the sound faded, the faint scent of burning ash floated on the air. Jim’s nose flared, terror clenching his chest. His father had been worried that day. Worried about the war. Worried about the Sarayans breaking through the nuclear minefield that surrounded their planet, protecting it from external attacks. “Move!” He shouted, young voice cracking in the air. “We need to move farther from the city!”
“Young Jim is right.” The scout leader said firmly. “Move! I know a cave nearby.”
They all ran, Jim struggling to keep up with the rest. When the scout leader picked him up and kept running, he bit his lip hard, tasting blood. The cave was high above ground and required a climb. The scout leader went first, anchoring a rope and climbing back down to help the children. One of the last to get to the mouth of the cave over the forest, Jim turned once to look back towards Dragon City. But it wasn’t there. There was only smoke and ash. Jim blinked, his eyes watering. “Dad?” He whispered uncertainly.
“Everyone, get inside the cave.” The scout leader’s voice called out sharply. “Now.”