The Girls From Earth

On the muddy banks of the Karazoo river, two frontier laborers scramble to beach a makeshift raft before the incoming transport ship touches down. Their goal is to get on the list for a program that pairs men on this distant world with women from Earth—a marriage arrangement that spans an entire solar system. As they wrestle with reluctant native creatures and the ticking clock, the harsh landscape of Landing City looms on the horizon.

Both men dream of settling down, but the prospect raises practical questions about farming, trapping, and daily life in a settlement of corrugated‑steel shacks and barbed‑wire fences. Karl imagines a partner to share the chores of his sawmill and garden, while Joe worries about adapting to a new domestic routine. The story follows their uneasy trek toward a future that could finally bring companionship, if they can survive the first step.