The Scouting Party Returns

11 November …

Good news today! Our officers' scouting party returned from Camp Trafalgar unscathed. The men gave a shout of joy and a salute as the party entered the gates into the compound. After debriefs from both sides were delivered, we talked of the mutual adventures. We also learned of the recent attacks by the lizardmen at Camp Trafalgar. Captain Higgins, Subalterns Landowski and Griggs were all saddened by the loss of Private Allen and were pleased by the naming of the tar pits in his honor. They were also quite surprised the pigeons did not make it back to us, as they had launched all they had - over a dozen of them.

Mr. Griggs commented on what he saw in Camp Trafalgar. It seems the British camp has a landing pad for the Ether Vessels, a freshwater well, eight Armstrong 12 pound breechloading cannons (3 in/76 mm), stone roads and access to Lake Wellington. The camp is also twice the size of our fort and has some civilian personnel living in camp (scientists and map makers).

The officers were quite happy about the progress we have made in their absence; however, they had a huge list of improvements to add to our fort. Maybe it was a bad idea for them to travel to Camp Trafalgar, as our workload has doubled with their ambitious schedule of improvements. Captain Higgins even went so far as to send a message back to Houston aboard the HMS Wales, requesting more engineers and equipment, including two 3” Whitworth-Colt Cannons (12 pound /76mm). We should expect to see the RTS Santa Fe in a few weeks, if not sooner.

Captain Higgins, Mr. Griggs and Mr. Landowski want us to show them the lizardman statue tomorrow, as it might help uncover the mysteries of these barbaric people. This is the first statue to be found of a lizardman anywhere in this hemisphere.

On the construction side of the house, we built eight more base structures. We also started building 4-hole burnouts (we will use tar as an ignition source to burn) and leach fields to replace the slit trenches. Mr. Griggs also looked at the plans for the outer walls, making notations and improvements to our initial design. We also completed a timber barn without walls so we can work on wall sections when the rain is at its worst. The rain was a drizzle most of the day and it was off and on. I am not complaining, as we can at least dig holes and place posts for foundations in drizzle and light rain.

Well it is off to dinner and I will call it a night, as I have a feeling I will need my rest for tomorrow will be a long day.

[Editors Note: The 3” Whitworth-Colt Cannon was a breechloading cannon based on the Whitworth 70mm design. It was manufactured in the Republic of Texas by the Colt Arsenal in Nacogdoches until the improved 3” Santa Fe was produced in 1901.]

Venus: 10 November

10 November ...

Today was another busy day of construction as we completed another ten base structures. It is a good thing we have made so much progress on the base structures, because the rain started again around 1600. This time, the rain is very light but constant. The only good thing about the rainy season thus far is that the temperature has dropped down to the high 80s. I do not expect the temperature to drop any more than it already has since the reptiles that dominate this planet require hot temperatures for their cold blood.

I hope to start construction on the outer wall soon, as the ten foot tall inner wall is not enough for a proper defense. The outer wall will be five feet further out, with a height of 16 feet. Rifle firing ports will be added in order to fire our Martini-Henrys at approaching enemies without exposing ourselves to their return fire. The two walls will be joined together with a walkway and the five feet between them will be filled with dirt and rubble to help strengthen the wall. We plan on building escape tunnels and cellars for ammo bunkers and for cold food storage. The natural heating and cooling properties will help with food preservation as ice is a little hard to come by.

RSM Taggart and I have told no one of the statue yet. The last thing we need at this point in our deployment is for our men to start sneaking off and getting into trouble. If the lizardmen decide to attack we will need all of the men healthy.

Still no pigeons today. I am starting to worry. Hopefully, the officers' exploring party will show up tomorrow as I am anxious to hear about their adventures. Well, it is time to make my rounds, as I need to check the sentries.

Half of it is Huck's and half of it is mine...

09 November …

Today we experienced another relaxing, peaceful Sunday with a touch of excitement. The day started out pretty routine: breakfast and a good Mass by the chaplain, followed by holiday routine. The men played another friendly rugby match, the Joneses worked on their brewing techniques and Sergeant Thibodeaux and Private Mistrot worked on building a room around that darned turtle-shell bathtub. All except RSM Taggart and I as we climbed aboard our mounts and headed into the wilderness once again.

Upon leaving the confines of Fort Humid we headed northwest to find a good route to the Venusian Sea. As we were riding, we saw many new species of plants and smaller reptiles just as we did on our previous adventures. After a few hours, we found the sea in all of its glory. The smell of the water was somehow different as it seemed as though we were looking at a source of new adventures. I could see in my mind Republic ships sailing upon the water and a port and road linking the fort to the sea. The sand on the beach was just as it would be on Earth. We saw crabs along the beach and I am thankful they are the same size as what we are accustomed to back home. After a few hours on the beach it was time to head back to Fort Humid, this is when our adventure truly began.

Traveling to find an alternate route to Fort Humid, we uncovered a rock figure covered under weeds and plant life. As we dismounted and approached and started to uncover the statue it began to take shape of a lizardman, just like we had studied from the British exploration manuals. We marveled at the craftsmanship of the statue of an ancient lizardman warrior carrying a shield and spear. While in Yucatan during the war, Sergeant Garcia, Corporal Cromwell and I encountered statues from the ancient Mayans that once ruled the Central Americas and I remember the feeling of amazement that came over us and this was quite similar. We started to lose daylight, so we had to abandon our discovery and hopefully when the work schedule permits we can explore the area further. At the latest, bright and early next Sunday morning, weather permitting. After all, it is duty first and I do not think the statue will go anywhere before then.

Erecting the Camp

08 November …..

In the last three days we have completed twenty-one base structures for the SET huts. The Black Legs helped as we concentrated on building and they tore down and erected the tents on top of the recently built bases. This will help, because I fear there is more rain to come, and if the tents are four feet off of the ground, then we do not have to worry about the rivers running through them as we had earlier in the week.

Almost two weeks since the expedition left for Camp Trafalgar, and still no sign of carrier pigeons. However, we do see many large flying reptiles, which have been seen attacking smaller flying creatures. I just hope the officers and men of the overland expedition made it safely to the British camp and were not caught out in the open during the three-day storm. I hope they make it back safely back to Fort Humid in the next few days.

Sergeant Thibodeaux and Private Mistrot have their turtle bathtub set up again after the rain storm. They have managed to catch a few fish and we ate some extraordinary grilled fish yesterday evening. Today we had Grillag Gumbo and it was quite tasty as well. Sergeant Thibodeaux says he will have to venture out and look for some home grown spices. RSM Taggart told him that would be fine, as long as he did not go turtle hunting again. The potato garden and green onion gardens are doing quite well and are always maintained by our cooks.

The three Joneses in my command have got their still up and running and as we speak are tending to the fire. Lance Corporal Jones is, by the way, an excellent scrounger as well a brewer. Every time I ask about something he comes up with the item. I made the mistake one morning of asking him where he had gotten the eggs for our breakfast and he started to tell me how his uncle this time back in Wales had gotten in trouble with a magistrate. I told him that was enough information and to go about his business once again. He is also one of the best carpenters I have seen and is a natural leader. The lower ranking troops respond to his instruction and correction quite well. When it is time for promotions, I will suggest that Mr. Griggs promote him to Corporal.

Tomorrow is our day off, so we will attend services and relax and maybe head out on another Sunday adventure.

The Rainy Season Begins

05 November …..

After three days of the most horrible monsoon I have ever seen, the rain has finally stopped. The rain was so hard you could barely see twenty feet. The water rose to just three six feet of our perimeter walls, I am thankful we chose our location wisely as it looked as if we were on an island. I am thankful we had the roof and walls completed on the headquarters, hospital and chapel, as the tents had rivers running through the middle of them. We moved as many people as possible into the three structures; of course, our work was close to nothing as it is difficult to work when you can not get proper footing and digging holes is useless as they collapse. The only thing we kept up was the security watches manning the guard towers (as they have roofs).

Today we concentrated our efforts on placing posts for the location of the first ten SET hut barracks. After we set the posts and get the floors built, we will work on ten more bases as we cannot afford to be caught in the same predicament again. If we have the bases of the buildings ready for walls, we will at least be able to place the tents on top of the base structures.

We had so many clothes hanging on lines today drying you would have sworn we had started our own laundry business. Well, enough for now. Time for sleep as tommorrow we start digging holes and erecting new floor structures.