Not everything goes according to plan.

It started out great. I found/created characters I really liked, and I was excited to try an area that had caves.

First, we have Wolfe. She is a marine cadet turned warship captain that really likes to build things. Actual things as well as relationships with other people. She is clearly the leader of our little survivor drama.

Next is Vlad. As a small child, Vlad dreamed of being a space explorer. And, so as an adult that’s just what he did. Unfortunately, that ended up with him being shipwrecked on a remote world out in the rim.

Katya is a hardworking and incredible chef. She has a real talent for turning food into a work of art. Katya was traveling to a new cuisine opportunity when calamity struck.

Finally, Nick is a Holmes-like character. He’s smart but likes to use his fists. A real problem solver.

So, as these screenshots show, upon first landing, all was well. In fact, Wolfe found a semi-ruined structure close to the landing area that would serve them well as their beginning home. Katya’s sensors showed that the area was inhabited by alpaca – just what the group would need when the cold winter set in. Vlad got started on putting some crops in the ground and the huskies, Paddington and Nosferatu, explored the area. All was going really well.

Yes, all was going very well. And this was just the first day!

Then, disaster struck. I did not realize that the caves held bugs. Big bugs. Big angry bugs. Needless to say, they attacked. It was Paddington, the husky, they attacked initially. Not willing to let Paddington become bug food, Wolfe drafted the others into a quick militia to defend the camp. That first bug went down pretty easily. But there were more. So many more.

Vlad was wounded early in the ensuing battle. By the time the dust had settled, Katya finally noticed that Wolfe was down as well. Nick stabilized Vlad while Katya hauled Wolfe to her bed. Despite Nick’s best efforts, however, Wolfe had been too seriously wounded (from taking a slash to the neck) and she died.

On the first fucking day.

I’d like to say that I was planning on continuing this particular saga. It does, indeed, have a riveting first day and puts our remaining survivors in an interesting position.

But, I think I’m going to recreate the characters and start over. On the upside, I learned more about how combat works in the game.