The Lost Colony - Chapter 1-8 summary
Spoiler Alert!
The purpose of this summary is two-fold. For readers new to the story, you may skim this summary rather than read the first eight chapters. As the author,
I'd rather you read the entire story,
but if you just want to catch up you may do so. In addition, readers who may have forgotten some details can skim the summary. I'm aware that my chapters are released infrequently. By the time I publish chapter nine, you may have forgotten what happened in chapter five. This summary is for you!
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Major Spoiler Alert!
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In case it isn't obvious, reading
this summary will spoil many of the twists and surprises
from the first eight chapters. Stop here if you think you might read the individual chapters.
Cheers!
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Chapter 1
Our hero, Alain Sparr, is an exo-biologist sent as part of a mission to K2-136-b, or as the crew refers to it, Kaybe. The planet was colonized four hundred years earlier, but contact was lost early on. No one knows exactly what the mission will find.
Sparr works for a large company, K2 Genetics Holdings, sometimes shortened to K2 Gene, or just Genetics. They have purchased the rights to any new species found on the planet. It is Sparr's job to catalog new species and transmit their DNA sequences back. Earth itself is going through a protracted crisis, with disease, famine, and political unrest rife on the planet. New genetic material could hold the secrets to helping solve these problems.
At the beginning of the chapter, Sparr finds himself unexpectedly stuffed into an escape pod and launched toward the surface of Kaybe. Still under the effects of cryo-sleep, he is barely aware of what's happening, much less able to do anything about it. The pod lands on the surface. With little hope that a rescue is on the way, he takes off toward a city he observed during entry. He has no idea what happened aboard the ship, the Odysseus.
He is chased by wolf-like creatures which hunt in a pack. He kills two of them, cooking and eating the second. He resumes his journey, but while he's sleeping he is captured by slavers. They must be descendants of the original colonists but speak a language that he doesn't understand. He is placed into a wagon with other captives from a dusky-skinned race. He befriends one of the captives, a man named Efreem. Sparr has an 'implant' that helps him learn the local language, itself a mash-up of English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin. It will take a while though.
That night, the slavers stop at a campsite that has a waterfall and pool. The captives are made to wash. When the female leader of the slavers sees that Sparr is 'gifted', she goads him and one of the female captives, Kess, into sex while the others watch.
The next day the slavers reach a town named Vonde where the captives are sold. He observes that the town is ruled equally by a priestess named Liette and a man who Sparr dubs the Governor. It is the latter who buys him, while Liette buys Kess. He doesn't see what happens to Efreem.
Sparr is trained to be a gladiator. He is in his early thirties, quite tall, and in good shape. Under the constant drilling and mock combat, he grows stronger and sure with weapons. He goes to his first match, where he is given yellow and black chalks to mark himself with. He decides to mark his face with stripes like a tiger. A sexy, topless gladiator, Syreet, extends the stripes down his body, completing the effect. He wins his match. The crowd starts calling him 'Animal'.
That night Syreet sends for him and the two have a session in her house at the edge of town.
There is a flashback to the space journey to Kaybe. We meet Calista, a woman with whom Sparr has been having a fling. She works for K2 Mineral, a company very similar to Sparr's employer, except focused on mineral resources.
Chapter 2
* Sparr learns that the Governor still has his survival supplies, including his communicator, but has no way to retrieve them
* Flashback to aboard the Odysseus. He and Calista just had a session in zero gravity, but she abruptly calls quits to their relationship, mystifying Sparr
* He keeps training as a gladiator, getting stronger and faster
* He notices the local currency, discs called tokens which are intricate and seemingly unique from one another
* He finds out that the city he is seeking is called Shong. Apparently, it's largely abandoned
* The local religion is called the Origin. Their teachings revolve around a mythical figure named Omm who 'smashed the machines'. They sometimes take pilgrimages to Shong
* Sparr is called again to fight in the gladiator arena. He wins, as does Syreet in her match. But another gladiator that Sparr knows is killed
* That night Syreet invites him yet again to her home where they have a session with a female performer who was at the arena earlier
* While running errands for the Governor, Sparr sees a tapestry which is a map of the world. He gets some idea where Shong, and other cities, may be found.
* He learns the Origin deals in flesh, offering the services of maidens and princes to those who donate (sacrifice) to the temple
* At the arena, he is sent into a death match against Efreem, who has been training elsewhere. Efreem has been drugged with something called the 'red draught' which makes him irrational and aggressive. Efreem is a good fighter, but Sparr survives, knocking his opponent bloody and unconscious. Unfortunately, the Governor sees what has happened and demands that one of the two die. Before Sparr has to choose, Liette the priestess makes a show of buying both him and Efreem for the temple
Chapter 3
* In the temple Sparr is shaved above and below by two maidens who briefly pleasure him
* Another priestess, Lell, comes to fetch Sparr to witness a temple ceremony
* He witnesses how the wealthy of the town come to 'sacrifice' tokens in exchange for drugs or sexual favors with the maidens or princes
* Flashback set at the very first meeting of the mission crew. Sparr sees Calista for the first time. The mission crew learn from the captain how little is known of Kaybe and what they will find there. Gets a hint that Calista is bringing 'something heavy' aboard the Odysseus
* Liette summons Sparr to her quarters. She's obviously interested in him, but instead instructs him and the priestess Lell to fuck while she watches
* He meets Efreem who is recovering from his bout with Sparr but is feverish with infection
* He befriends the temple cook, Silla, who is also a slave
* He attends an evening of relaxation with the temple priestesses, slaves, and maidens/princes. He uses the ruse of being a magician to recover some medication to help Efreem, and a solar-charging blanket from his survival gear which Liette has been holding on to
* He learns that the temple will soon be taking a pilgrimage to Shong, the city that he thinks represents the best chance of signaling his ship
* Liette summons him to fuck her, while playing a role in her brute/princess fantasy
* On the way out he finds his communicator and takes it with him
Chapter 4
* Sparr gives Efreem one of the antibiotic pills, which seems to help heal him
* Learns there is another, older religion called the Precipice which isn't very popular
* Learns that there is no written language on Kaybe. The population is illiterate
* The temple buys new slaves for the upcoming pilgrimage, including several young women and two young men
* Flashback where Sparr introduces himself to Calista for the first time. They begin a cautious approach to friendship
* Observes a temple ceremony to determine which worshippers will be allowed to attend the pilgrimage to Shong
* Fucks Liette again, once more following her preferred brute/princess fantasy
* Learns he will accompany the pilgrimage to Shong, as will Silla the cook
* Learns there will be some sort of ceremony before the pilgrimage, referred to as the Departure
* Befriends two of the youths, Tuck and Drian, that were bought for the pilgrimage. Starts to train them with weapons
* The Departure is a show put on for the faithful that didn't donate quite enough to accompany the pilgrimage