"This report is getting to be pretty dry reading.  Seems like a fairly standard colonial development with the typical sort of inter city rivalries." DaVinci Brown said out loud.  "Albert, you have the entire Sanderra file, don't you?"

"Yes, dave." The A.I. replied.

"Download it to the computer onboard the DeMedici. Didn't Auditor Landon write a memoir about his time on Sanderra?"

"It is already done.  Accessing...Indeed. They were even turned into a Holo Series.  Cueing display...

"I hate Dues-Days."

It was early morning, and Auditor Horatio Landon was in his office when he felt the floor start to rock, and knew instantly it was different from the way the Commonwealth Tower usually swayed with the wind. Moments later his wrist comm started beeping.

"Auditor Landon, I'm sorry to wake you..."

"It's alright Dr. Kynes. I'm already in my office.  We felt the tremor here, too."

Landon looked out over the city of Speedwell:

"I don't see any obvious damage.  There are some lights coming on, but nobody's panicing in the streets."

"It wasn't just one tremor.  Our instruments have recorded three seperate events in the last sixteen hours.  They would seem to indicate a much larger incident on the other side of the planet."

"Is this something we have to worry about?  The colony seems to have just started getting off the ground, I don't want to see it shaken down around us."

  "I don't think so.  This is the first recorded quake on Sanderra, and the planet is so stable, we really can't explain it.  I'm going to take a Flitter over the the projected epicenter.  I can wait if you really want to come along."

"As enjoyable as a trip to the middle of nowhere with you would be, I'll have to pass.  I'm headed over to Arid Hill later today to set up a new office, and I've finally negotiated an interview with the New Zionists.  I'm expected in Beth Shalom next week.  Let me know what you find out though."

....

Later that morning, a short walk to the station

and soon the Auditor was on a train speeding east to Arid Hill.

Past the farm holdings of Sanderra ConAg, the living green a stark contrast to the rich earth tones of the desert...

...and through the suburb called Grady's Triangle.  Landon was astonished at how well the cacti have adapted to the environment, and how much they have spread.

Finally arriving at the base of Arid Hill.

A short hike later he was at his new office in the Inter-System Shipping building, and he looked out at the city with a bit of dismay.

From the swelling residential sector,

south to the still undeveloped Teksax Hill.

Horatio Landon remembered the gentle hillside that was once here.  It was as if some giant had come along with a razor blade and started slicing off parts of the landscape.    While there was no indigenous live on Sanderra, there was still beauty here. He realized then that greater care would have to be taken to preserve some of the natural environment...

Author's Notes:

- To avoid some naming confusion.  The name of the area in Horatio Landon's time was Arid Hill.  By DaVinci Brown's time the city's name will be shortened to Aridill.

- The Sanderran Calander (this should probably go in an appendix)

The calander on Sanderra is broken up into 12 months, each cosisting of four weeks.  Each week has six days.  The exact origin of the names of the days are unknown, but they come from the ancient Earth dialect of English.  They are as follows:

Sand Day

Dues Day

Wendy's Day

Third Day

Fred's Day, and

Setting Day, the start of the weekend.

-While writing this update I found a CODEWORD.