Gabatrix: The Terrorists of Batrice
CMed (TheUniverseofCMed)
Copyright © 2021 CMed (TheUniversofCMed)
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9798456636485
Cover design by: Piero Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9798456636485
Cover design by: Piero Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Copyright
About the Author
Disclaimers
Prologue
Chapter 1: February 17th, 2349 (Prelude)
Chapter 2: August 25th, 2350
Chapter 3: Another Diplomatic Meeting
Chapter 4: Catastrophe
Chapter 5: The Imprisoned
Chapter 6: Revelations Part 1
Chapter 7: Revelations Part 2
Chapter 8: The Second Watch
Chapter 9: Cultural Incineration
Chapter 10: Run From the Fields Part 1
Chapter 11: Run From the Fields Part 2
Chapter 12: Asylum
Chapter 13: September 1st, 2350
Books By This Author
About the Author
Hello everyone, my name is CMed. I will make it brief and quick about me. I was a college student who got a Major in History before going into the realm of the military. I am a Navy Veteran that has served for six years and wanted to become an author and book writer near the end of my military contract.
Serving aboard ship was a long and challenging life. It is not for the faint-hearted, but after being taken off of it, I now had more time than ever. I used my time wisely to begin writing books. Writing had and continues to serve as therapy for me. It helped me through my times, even way before diseases or social unrest ever became the main headlines of modern media.
Writing is something that does not come overnight. Most writers require at least two years of writing before they are even going to be marketing. Needless to say, make sure that you set the time to do so if you wish to be a part of that hobby. If you know somebody that wishes to become an author, make sure to give them that support. Writing is an extension of us and our imagination. Without imagination, our civilizations would never exist. Without imagination, we would have no empathy towards the next person. We all come from different walks of life. Each one of us can tell a story, and it all comes down to our will to survive through the best of times to the worst of times.
I have designed Tales of Heroes and Gabatrix to be a system that expands itself. If people like my stories, then they can help out that cause. With the help of you, the audience, the system will get bigger and bigger. If you like my stories, then come and support me on my Patreon. Thank you, and enjoy my stories. :)
https://www.patreon.com/TheUniverseofCMed
Disclaimers
Tags: Swearing, Space, Science Fiction, Future, Sex, Love, War, Violence, Blood, Interspecies, Male Human, Female Aliens, Scalie, Human/Alien Sex, M/FF
Disclaimer 1: This story deals with a war between humanity and an alien race. Coercion and terrorism maybe a part of this story. This story deals with scenes of a battle or war that might be disturbing to some readers that experienced traumatic events.
Disclaimer 2: This story is meant for adults as it contains sex. This story deals with violence and blood. Reader discretion may be advised. This is the fifth book of the Gabatrix series. It is highly recommended that you read the other Gabatrix stories before jumping onto this story.
Special Thanks to my Patreon supporters:
Jordy, Frank Nordhaus, Quintin Martin, Nightsound, and Anthony Kestle for their generous donations
And, of course, the other patron supporters for allowing me to write and supporting the universe that I write. :)
By CMed
Prologue
“As I stare at a statue of myself, my only greatest fear in the universe is that my recorded actions will become more and more deluded as things progress. As the history books are written, we must be careful that it too does not get lost in the sea of time.” Ciro Gabatrix at the Cebravis’ Commemoration Ceremony, 2328 AD.
……. The Human race fights a war with three alien clans. One has chosen to become its ally to fight the other two……..
…….Even with an alliance, humankind struggles to keep everything in order. The colony of Batrice is a constant challenge in the actions of diplomacy and peace………
…….The tragedy of the past is the domineering spirit of the colonies. It can rear its ugly head and strike at any time…….
Chapter 1: February 17th, 2349 (Prelude)
The path has been both a problematic and valiant struggle for the ones that they call humanity. Together we stare up from the ground of a place called Earth……the “Planet of Lost Cause,” as it is called today. It was a name that was only adopted in the last one hundred years, even though it was seemingly abandoned by most of the human species long before that. Many historians coined and phrased the name after the famed Gabatrix Experiment that gave the human race to traverse to new worlds.
As you stare up, you try to look through the dark clouds where the heavy sulfur, plastic deposits, and acidic vapor resides. It isn’t exactly the most ideal of places. The ocean levels have risen as the polar icecaps have melted. Many of the great coastal cities of three hundred years ago have been driven underwater. It has been replaced with a contaminant that reduced the waters to a ghastly orange and red color.
The landscape that we are located at is that of the Krâvanh Mountains or, as it was, also known as the Cardamon Mountains. It is a famous place for the areas of Southeast Asia. The former great continental peninsula would house many nations from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Singapore. There are many mountains located on this peninsula that connects to China and India. The Krâvanh Mountains are just an example of these marvels of Earth’s former glory. It housed an extensive collection of various fauna and wildlife till the eventual extinction by the destruction of the environment. The range’s history is profound as it would serve as a place of refuge for many people in the past.
As we take one last look at the mountainous sides, we can see the numerous rocks, boulders, eroded dead trees, and the occasional skeletons of long-dead wildlife. A waterfall is not far from us. Water still moves, but it is significantly less than it did a while back. The infamous “Orange Muck,” as it has been called, has reduced the liquid to a toxic sludge that still moves with a never-ending resolve. It is everywhere. There is no safe haven, and the population that had to live here each has their own tale on how they managed to survive against the inevitable.
You already know this tale before, but its importance is one that always drives us back to this world. To not know of humanity’s birthplace is to deny its achievements. Earth was our home. Without it, we would have never managed to reach into the great regions of space.
The sacrifices of billions managed to perform a miracle in getting its population to the great world of Mars. From then on, they managed to reach that of Cebravis and so forth. Without the mountains, the human race would have drowned as the sea levels would have consumed them. It is here that we also uncover something as well. The mountains are one of many that hold the great bastion cities where the human race resided. Carved into the solid stone, the buildings consisted of housing, facilities, robust water filtration systems, administration centers, closed-in agricultural areas, and fusion power reactors. Even with the incredible filters, the Orange Muck was a menace. In the last forty years before the great Exodus of Earth, the experiences gained from this were vital. Many of the architects, technology, and construction workers that helped make this possible would move to create the great canyon cities on Mars.
What is left of these former bastion cities on Earth is little more than hulks and ghost towns. A few people remain trying to maintain the buildings, but much of it is falling into disrepair. Their goal in keeping the robust filtration systems working is an ongoing struggle that may never end. The Orange Muck never left, and the remaining population on Earth debate if it is still worth living in this place as more lavish homes have been created elsewhere. The remaining people of Earth’s fate are unknown as only a few million people remain.
Progress is something that is both a blessing and a curse that the human race is all too aware of. It can be defined that if the human race is to survive, it must eventually reach out to the stars to uncover the universe's mysteries. To remain on Earth is a slow and eventual death sentence for itself. It is difficult to see the star of Sol as the clouds cover its once radiant glow overhead. Its life-giving energy is one that will eventually fade as millions of years are to pass. For some, it is expected that within a hundred million years to possibly billions of years, Earth will eventually be no longer in the habitable zone of Sol. Much as the fate of Venus, Earth is expected to be slowly cooked by its own star. One day far in the future, Earth will look like Venus as Venus’ atmosphere is ripped away in turn as the star continues to expand in size.
While this may seem like a very long time, humanity does need to consider such things very carefully. The environment is a fragile one, and the need for a society to progress to escape the fate of stellar destruction is one that requires great sacrifice and advancement to survive. The sacrifice is one that you can easily see as your eyes look below at the great chasms. These crevices are none other than mines dug out over and over again to harvest the minerals necessary to create the many infrastructures, materials, equipment, buildings, and ultimately vessels to leave the planet.
Mining is often considered to be both a hardship and a necessity to survive. Even as humanity works with its equipment, it had to be crafted from somewhere. Certain materials had to be found and dug out of the ground for some time. History is filled with the many human souls that have had to mine to survive in order to take care of their families for the sake of money and food. It is not uncommon for even greed to be an excuse for this cause. Valuable rare minerals and stones have driven nations to become more powerful than the other simply because they had access to certain metals that the other did not.
The end result of mining is an area that had utterly upended the landscape. Nature itself is altered for long periods as the unnatural events result in a different place altogether. Dug-out pits, craters, and artificial lakes are the only evidence of humanity’s ancient attempts to alter Earth to suit its needs. Some would consider mining to be a necessary evil.
While the human race struggled to leave Earth, new technologies would arise to provide some relief on this concept. The basic fabricators introduced would prove revolutionary for the human race going into the 22nd century. Basic metals could be converted into other basic metals. This alone would help reduce specific mining into areas for certain particular metals. This would bring the arrival of a new type of mining known as “Basic Silicate Mining,” where certain regions of the mountains would be dug through, converted into homes, and utilize the sand to create new equipment in turn.
Of course, the fabricators still had their limits. Rare metals and minerals still existed. The need to find and extract it was necessary if people were to create the new-fangled forms of technology and materials to expand it. Even greed pushed it as well. It is here that we say goodbye to Earth once again. As we leave from this desolate and altered landscape, we get a better view of it. We fly over the clouds as we get to faster and faster speeds. The higher and higher we reach, we can see nothing but the orange and red coastlines as the thick haze make it hard to see below. Much of the place that was former Cambodia and Thailand is no more. Its ancient history is long destroyed or underneath the thick sludge that poisons all life.
We reach space as we hear nothing. The vacuum smothers any form of sound, and the cold temperatures make things even more inhospitable to be. We leave Earth as we begin to observe everything around us. The countless stars of the galaxy are all around us. Instead, we are drawn to the nearest object in space. It is one that is quite obvious as its history is almost parallel to that of Earth.
It is the solitary moon of Earth. Gaining the name of Luna, the moon measures that of around 3,500 kilometers in diameter. It is around the same age as Earth, at about 4.5 billion years old. Tidally locked, it forever faces one side towards Earth as the people always see the same side. We decide to head here as it gets closer and closer to us. Moving at blazing speeds, we can begin to see it as it magnifies itself. The familiar shades of light gray and dark gray are a constant reminder that it lacks any form of life on it that we know of.
It is often said that Luna’s importance for life on Earth is paramount. Some argue that Luna is an anchor to help prevent the Earth from completely spinning on its side, similar to the planet Uranus. This would have caused one side of Earth to be forever facing the sun, while the other side would be in perpetual darkness. This, in turn, helps regulate the temperatures for wildlife to evolve. Others argue that wildlife simply required Luna and depends on the rising and falling tides that it generates.
Perhaps Earth was lucky to have a moon, to begin with. Whether it was created by a heavy asteroid strike that split Earth into two pieces in the beginning or formed naturally as the solar system did, some argue that life couldn’t have evolved without it. Many questions remain on this idea, and in the end, we know that many worlds have life on them whether it has a moon or not. Venus never had a moon, and Mars’ moons are little more than two large asteroids that orbit it. The rest of the more giant outer planets carry so many moons that they don’t know what to do with them.
We begin to close in on the surface of Luna. Surprisingly, much of Luna’s surface is actually oxygen that is mixed into the lunar soil. By simply heating up the rocks, the oxygen gas can be extracted from them. As we begin to hover closer and closer to the surface, we can see the dark soil and multiple meteor impacts that produce the dark spots on the moon. What is known as lunar mare or maria is actually the remnants of ancient extinct volcanoes that riddled the surface. While many view Luna to be a dead place, it does have its moments. Right now, as the sun blasts its body, we feel temperatures of around 120 degrees Celsius. As we begin to near the edge of the light, the temperatures are sure to drop to the exact opposite. Its gravity is light being that of ten percent of Earth’s, which helps serve as a sign that Luna does have an iron core inside it.
Surprisingly, Luna’s benefit to the human race was more than what people could ever imagine. For as long as humanity looked up to the stars, Luna hovered as some forbidden landscape. It became a goal to reach upon. Space programs were established, and the great race to go to it was accomplished in the twentieth century. Even now, the famous footsteps of Neil Armstrong sit on the surface as the lack of weather prevents its erosion. In time, Luna was colonized, utilizing many of the same elements and materials that reside there.
Luna, to this day, is a testament to helping the human race reach new technological levels. The struggle to colonize it would fuel new research. It consisted of elements such as silicon, aluminum, titanium, and other easily mineable resources. It also would become a central hub to something that humanity would need very much that Earth never had…..Helium 3. What is often considered to be the center of science fiction was very much a scientific fact. When used as a fuel source for nuclear reactors, Helium-3 did not produce the radioactive waste that fission was always responsible for back on Earth. It was safe to use, and it was found on Luna.
As we continue to fly across the surface of Luna, we begin to see things we didn’t think were possible. We begin to see the great dome cities of the moon. Millions call this place their home. Debate raged for the moon. Would mining from Earth spread to Luna? Would the great landscape be altered forever? The answer simply had to be yes. Helium-3 was vital for the human race to continue. As coal and natural gas were used repeatedly, Earth was being altered more and more. While Fusion power and Direct Fusion Drives were finally introduced in the 21st century, they couldn’t be manufactured quickly enough to meet the demands for humanity’s ever-growing desire for more energy. It took time to create them. Nuclear power provided a dangerous alternative due to the waste byproduct. With Helium-3, however, this meant that nuclear power could serve as a cheaper alternative with clean benefits until fusion could be more readily created.
What became the “Luna Colonization Gas-Rush of the 21st Century” was the end result of the desire to find rare Earth metals and gases on the beleaguered moon. Superpowers and corporations rushed to reach the moon in hopes of building more prominent and more productive facilities in hopes of harvesting the precious gas of Helium-3. As we fly over certain areas, we can see entire landscapes that have been carved out. In reality, the harvested material would have its oxygen removed and have Helium-3 extracted from it. The developing colonies on Luna were a sign that humankind was reaching out into space as humanity was slowly losing its battle to preserve Earth's environment. It was too little and too late.
Mining……without it, the human race wouldn’t have made it in the universe. As the fabrication technology was eventually introduced, every square inch of harvested Luna soil was fully utilized. The moon was starting to become a base of operations for the human race to reach beyond. Mars was next in the spotlight as the Luna colonies were being developed into a launching platform to reach the small red planet. As resources were stretched heavily on Earth and overpopulation reached its peak, it was inevitable that tragedy would strike.
As we fly over the surface of Luna, we come to a stop as we see a small object implanted into the soil. Numerous craters and blast marks line the area. Broken debris, blackened areas, and scorch marks litter this spot. It doesn’t take much to conclude that this was not caused by natural means. This was an area where a battle had occurred. Mostly undisturbed except for footprints of people that long removed the deceased, it was evident that great care was made to preserve this area. We can see the largest object is a large black rectangular piece of tungsten as we look closer. It appears that it was purposely planted there by the people that gently placed it.
We close in on the object as we see two carefully placed helmets beside it. Both helmets appear to be differently designed. One has a flag that portrays the United States, while the other flag depicts that of China. Both of them are riddled with bullet holes and blast marks. It is safe to conclude that the tungsten object is actually a shell that is used on the railguns of the spaceships of long ago.
As we zoom in on the seemingly unspent round, we can see a series of inscriptions that have been placed on the side. The words are as follows:
“We, the United Nations, dedicate this site on the Mare Nubium Battle location as the Memorial for the NATO-Chinese Crisis of 2127. This shell was never used by two opposing sides that never hoped to fire a shot at one another in 2125. In 2127, the battles that occurred resulted from an incident that would claim the lives of over 761 on both sides. Each helmet comes from the last soldier from both sides that died on Luna from this conflict. May this site be forever protected and preserved in hopes that peace will thrive and continue for the nations at home as we give condolences that such an event like this will never happen again. Signed, the people of Earth and Luna, 2129.”
Luna’s importance to humanity is evident. The experiences learned from colonizing Luna would serve as a stepping stone for reaching Mars. As Earth was abandoned, Luna would help in the evacuation by creating shipyards that would supplement the convoys to reach Mars. To this day, it remains as the outpost for Earth as it oversees a relic of things seemingly forgotten as time progresses forward.
Humanity might have made decisions that it regretted in the past, but they also learn from them as well. The term “Never Again” is a common phrase spoken by politicians and the public alike of today. It is a rallying cry in preserving nature and the strict laws that are placed to ensure that mistakes of the past are implemented to ensure that they never happen again. With cleaner technologies, this is in all parts a viable goal. There is a catch for it, however……
We say goodbye to Luna. We begin to zoom further and further out as we see the entirety of the Mare Nubium region. We see the lit domes as we eventually pan out to see the sphere of the moon itself. What lies beyond is the stars in the dense field of space. We embrace the darkness as we begin to venture forth. We travel faster than the speed of light as we start to see stars zip past us. Sol is nothing more than a spec in space as its light is one of the billions out in the void.
Our destination has a purpose as we begin to alter course. We see more stars zip past us as we can see the constellations ahead of us. Tucked between the Capricornus and Piesces star groups is one of the oldest known constellations of human recorded history. It is none other than the Aquarius Constellation. Its star pattern reflects that of the water bearer or the man who carries a jug of water to be poured over the heavens. As we get closer and closer, we begin to zoom in on a tiny star that lies within it.
Much like most of the galaxy, much of the stars out there consist of those of the M-Type variety. Red dwarf stars are so small that visual telescopes can barely pick them up. Their luminosity is so dim that it makes Sol, which is often called a yellow dwarf, appear as a giant. Just bigger than Jupiter, we begin to close in on the tiny star that is known as Trappist-1. It is here that we can gaze upon a series of seven planets that orbit it.
Trappist-1 has been an enigma for astronomers for some time that goes as far back as 1999. Its discovery would ultimately gain its name, but it was what was within it that made it even more of a surprise. In 2015, it was discovered that it had planets orbiting it. The location and the worlds that followed it traveled in a circular pattern that allowed astronomers to easily spot them as each sphere would fly in front of the star’s sightline to Earth. Careful measurements and even the ability to tell their orbital distance was all achieved because of this simple observation.
The Trappist-1 system has been one of both marvel and shock to the field of astronomy. Located forty light-years from Earth, it was some of the first attempts to catalog a solar system and its planets other than the Sol System. While small, it proved to be of scientific discovery as more and more study was poured into it. What further surprised individuals were the distances of each planet and the strength of the star itself. Not only was the star way less hot than Sol, but the orbital habitable ranges of Trappist-1 created a zone where life could exist, at least in theory.
We have to zoom in closer and closer to the star until we can finally see it. While the exoplanets are bigger than Earth, the furthest planet, which is Trappist-1h is actually way closer to its star than Mercury is to Sol. Mercury has an orbital distance of 0.38 Astronomical Units (Range from Earth to Sol) while Trappist-1h is 0.06 AU. All in all, we come to a stop as we look overhead to see seven planets that orbit this tiny star.
Questions arise as we stare at this star system. Could life develop on these worlds? Red Dwarf stars offer certain unique aspects for the development of life. The most significant advantage is that Red Dwarf stars are not going anywhere anytime soon. Bigger does not always mean better when it comes to space. The most prominent stars are the ones that will die first, while the most petite stars are the ones that will last the longest. It is expected that Trappist-1 will outlive Sol itself in trillions of years as it continues to burn until it finally fizzles out into a black dwarf. A lasting legacy for a life that depends on sunlight is that the M-Type stars will actually be the final resting spots in the universe as it slowly burns out in trillions of trillions of years to come.
We continue to observe the Trappist-1 system. Each planet is so close to the star that the closest one (Trappist-1b) takes a day and a half to make a full orbit, with the furthest taking eighteen days to accomplish it. Life here would be much different than that of Earth. The planets are tidally locked, much like the colony of Aphadus and New Olympia. Just like Luna, we will only see one side of it as it remains forever trapped, facing one side to its orbiting parent. The illumination is also significantly less on these worlds as it would produce a dim-lit reddish hue over most of the planets. If intelligent life did develop on these types of solar systems, it would carry benefits. For one, everything is much closer. Planet hopping would be realistic and possible. Imagine if Earth had six massive moons instead of one that is smaller. Each planet would take a day or two to reach on primitive conventional drives. Tidal heating would allow the world to have seismic activity. While this in itself wouldn’t guarantee precious metals or building material, all exoplanets combined together could prove to be worthwhile for that developing race.
Of course, there is one drawback that you are already fully aware of. Much like many Red Dwarfs, these stars have a tendency to produce enormous and extremely powerful superflares that make Sol’s solar flares seem like a firecracker in space. With the planets having to be so close to their star, the entire system is engulfed in it when they light up. If Sol had these forms of superflares, Earth’s atmosphere would be ripped off in years. This alone brings in problems for developing life. Powerful radiation surges can superheat planets by at least ten to twenty degrees for minutes. This radiation would be lethal to humankind. For developing life, they would have to endure this form of hardship.
For now, the human race was trapped with an early dilemma of its own once the famed Gabatrix Experiment was done. Should Earth be regulated to a mining world to provide the materials of an ever-expanding society? What about Luna or Mars? Even with the implementation of “Never Again,” the human race still needs the raw materials required to produce homes, equipment, and even the vessels that will carry themselves out amongst the stars. The fantastic and beautiful worlds of Cebravis, Oshun, Cipra, Eutera, and Aphadus must be preserved at whatever cost. This meant that somewhere, something had to be sacrificed to provide those materials.
The answer lies in the worlds that prove to be of little interest. Something must be sacrificed, and it was decided that Trappist-1 would be on the chopping block. As we zoom in closer to the system, we can begin to see the numerous worlds in their better glory. Each one is beautiful in its own right. While life was found to exist to certain degrees on some of these worlds, humankind had to turn a blind eye to it. Seven exoplanets meant that there was more than enough to supply the material wealth that could be provided to every planet on every human society in the thousands of years to come.
It is here that we begin to zoom in on the great colony that is Batrice. Located in Trappist-1e, the combination of the right amount of heat from its star has caused the ice to melt into a liquid. This, combined with tidal heating, causes the rocks to be messaged and molded after billions of years into the most significant materials ever found. It is easy to extract and mine the gems below. We zoom in close enough to see that it is a rocky world with large purple lakes on its lit side.
Batrice……its history is one of strife and achievement. The great dome cities that lie on its surface are designed to be mobile. It provides the ultimate defense in case the star decides to unleash a devastating superflare on its surface. Each dome city consists of enormous and powerful drills that claw deep into its crust. The human populations that reside within them know only one thing: to look beneath its feet. There is a saying in this world that you have never met a person from Batrice until you decide to lower your head and follow your gaze to the ground with them. It is there that you look up and then behold the fact that they managed to accomplish far more than that.
Established in 2263, the colony of Batrice’s first action was to dig. While the extracted metals and material results were nothing better than Earth, it didn’t matter. For the people here, it was life. For them, Earth was a forgotten and ravaged relic. Its poisoned waters made things unthinkable in the desire to go towards. With hopes that one day Earth could be restored, the need to mine from the Trappist-1 system grew.
In the far distance of the planet, we can see another planet. The neighboring world of Gillan or Trappist-1f was chosen next to continue the expanse in the desire for material wealth. A planet mostly covered in ice. One side consists of melted water, while the other dark side is frozen solid. Consisting of a couple of tiny islands that float on the surface, the small colony would become the sister of Batrice. As we look closer at it, we can see that it almost has the appearance of a large purple eyeball. It seems to be looking at its brother and companion in the system. Established in 2268, Gillan would join up to become the two great colonies of the other developing worlds that would lead to the United Worlds’ Alliance. Cebravis would become paradise and a carefully farmed food planet for other worlds as Batrice and Gillan would provide much of the needed materials for the rest.
While the results were slow at first, Batrice knew that its place was important in politics' societal infrastructure. The people were not stupid, and many of the rich were starting to come from these two worlds. Much like Earth's history, those that have the material wealth, the mines, and the resources could, in effect, control the destiny of other civilizations. Mars was becoming a slowly abandoned world thanks to Cebravis, but it still provided the equipment and resources to build a military. Its place as a capital is more than understood. While Cebravis kept the military away from them, Batrice and Gillan knew that it had an opportunity that the other worlds didn’t.
We instead get closer and closer to Batrice near the western hemisphere, where the light and darkness meet. This is the area where the temperatures meet in the middle. Trapped in a tidally locked position, it will forever be dawn in this zone of the exoplanet. We begin to see something that looks like a ring at first, but as we fly in, we begin to see the object's full size. Tethered to the ground in high orbit, the ring is nothing more than a gate array. Thanks to the great experiment of the past, the people of Batrice can make a trip from one system to another quickly. It serves as a massive port, but the population wanted more. In the wisdom or greed of society, it was seen that Batrice could give something that only Mars was providing at the time. We can see on the ring an extensive series of construction platforms attached below the array.
Designed in the early 2270s, construction of the Batrice shipyards began in 2274. Its construction would not be complete for 25 years, and even to this day, it is continually expanded to provide additional ports and facilities to build more spaceships. Unlike the Deimos shipyards of Mars, these facilities were not restricted in size. We can see one of the great dreadnoughts being manufactured in one of the yards. More significant than any UHN battleship ever built from Mars, it is only a semi-mounted skeletal frame, but the words “UHN Cancrinite” are written on the side. The cylindrical body is only in the very beginning of stages of construction. Numerous other ships are those of mining vessels. Designed to be launched to other worlds, the Batrice economy exploded all in due thanks to the shipyards created. The large cross-sheeted platform is lined with numerous defensive guns and missile launcher batteries to help protect itself from harm. Below the massive shipyards is an immense spinning centripetal habitat to help provide gravity for the numerous staff, workers, and population. They make regular trips back and forth to the tether that leads down to the surface of one of the domed cities.
It does not end there. Our destination is not this location. Instead, we back away from the shipyards. It begins to get smaller and smaller as we have a fantastic view of the great surface below. Ahead of the gate array is the planet Trappist 1D. It is little more than a planet of dirt and rock. Heated by its star, it is barren of life, but the world's close proximity provides comfort in this crowded solar system. We continue to move further and further away until we begin to see one of the great marvels of the human race.
In high orbit near the more northern section of the planet is a titan of construction. It stands almost like a beacon. It is so large that you can only marvel at how tall it is as you look up. More extensive than the tallest of skyscrapers of Earth…..taller than the World Trade Center of former Earth……taller than the Shanghai Tower…….taller than the Burj Khalifa…..it is nothing more than a colossus. It appears almost like a giant pill in space that stretches over 10 kilometers long. It carries two massive spinning drums on it on the top and bottom. The might of Batrice seems to point straight up.
It is nothing more than the great Fort Batrice. It is the ultimate achievement of human engineering. Its construction began in 2299, and it is only nearing completion. Only the bottom drum is currently spinning as the top portion is still being worked on. The sight of it dominates the fact that additional warships also sit in-formation to protect it from harm.
It is so much to see and so little time to admire it. Our journey is not here, but we are getting closer. The sight of this marvel is awe-inspiring. Like a monolith, we stand to admire it as if it serves as a religious symbol like a gift to the gods.
We stretch our arms wide. We lean our backs parallel to the surface and begin to traverse downward. Gravity takes hold as we begin our descent towards the ground. The great fortress begins to shrink in size as we fly through the little atmosphere on the planet of Batrice. Even the warships shrink till they are little more than dots in the sky.
Our journey is coming to a close as you turn yourself to look upon the ground of Batrice. We see nothing but the dirt and tapped mines of the surface. Nearby, one of the great mining dome cities of the colony comes into view. It is none other than New Phnom Penh, the capital of the settlement. The enormous overhead dome spans a diameter of fifteen kilometers in length. Near it are other domes that all interconnect to it. Unlike the main center structure, the other domes all appear to have massive tread systems so that they can move. The capital is much like that of Aphadus. Great care is taken to ensure that the buildings are radiation-shielded.
From above, the domes don’t look impressive, but as we get closer, we can see that it provides a transparent but covered ceiling. The sides utilize large landing ports that seem to be busy picking up or launching shuttles and gate jumpers that make trips back and forth to the gate array to other systems. There are also a couple of weapon emplacements mounted on the sides of the capital. While the central dome is not significantly oversized, the combined domes provide adequate population protection against the star's harmful radiation.
We close in as we begin to see the numerous city structures that line the inside of the central dome. We fly past the clear heavy-duty, shielded top as we find fresh air and a seemingly crowded area. New Phnom Penh is only just one of many of the city domes as we can slow down near the ground. In one direction, we can see numerous city blocks allocated to housing apartments, facilities, schools, hospitals, subways, and roads. The center is where the main administration building resides. It consists of five jutting curved towers, with the center being the tallest. Modeled after the famous temple of Angkor Wat, it serves as a testament to the people that descended from the Angkor Empire of former Earth thousands of years ago. Painted in green, gold, gray, red, and blue, it gives a pristine, radiant glow to the people. It serves as a reminder to them of their ancient ancestry, even if they are forty light-years from that planet long forgotten.
The journey is at an end as we see three individuals walking together. It consists of two older teen brothers named Mizu and Chuang and a young little girl named Keiko that walks through the crowded sidewalks. Towering over them are more and more apartments. Electric cars drive through the busy roads as the three are seemingly talking and enjoying their time together.
All three seem to have similar facial features. Both men have a pale complexion but have a look similar to people of Japanese and Chinese descent. They both had short black hair and looked so similar that they might as well be twins. Both of them were dressed in their civilian attire of blue shirts and blue pants. The little girl, on the other hand, is more of mixed ancestry as she has an even paler complexion than the two men. She is dressed in a black and yellow formal dress, almost as if she was heading to a place of importance for the day.
“So, brother,” Mizu said in a faint Japanese accent as he put his arm around his brother’s shoulder. A big smile appeared on his face. “After we get Keiko to school, you think you might be ready to meet Boupha?”
“I….don’t know,” Chuang said in the same accent as he almost seemed to brush off his brother’s arm. “I heard that Boupha is sort of a…..well…..I can’t say it in front of Keiko.”
“A bitch?” Keiko remarked as she spun around and began to walk backward, looking at the two men. Her voice was piercing as it caused another person in the moving crowd to look back at them.
“Ugh…..” Chuang remarked. “Keiko, I don’t care if you are our cousin. Try to at least watch your language. Wow, where did she get that mouth?”
“Hey…..hey!” Mizu added. “Don’t you worry about it. Keiko is just being ahead of the game.”
Chuang smiled and shook his head. “Ahead of the game by cursing?”
“Why not? She is turning eleven. She needs to be ready for the teen years.”
“I don’t think her parents are going to be happy about that,” Chuang continued.
Mizu shrugged his shoulders. “Keiko, keep your head ahead of you. We are reaching near the street crossing.” He happily pointed at her, gesturing to the street sign where the crowds were slowing to a stop in preparing to cross.
Keiko happily turned around and came to a stop as Mizu began to scan the surrounding area. He saw the green grove where the three rectangular structures that represented the school were located. It was not that far from the administration building as he was all too familiar with the location. He even saw the local food stand that had a few chairs available for the numerous customers that come and go. He then turned to his brother as he patted his shoulder.
“I wouldn’t worry about Boupha,” Mizu told his brother. “She acts like shit so she can push away any of the men that try to cling to her. Once she gets to know you, she will be all over you.”
Chuang went and scratched the back of his head. “We will see….honestly, I feel like I have seen better women.”
The light turned green for the pedestrians as they followed along with Keiko to the other side of the street. They began to proceed in the direction of the school.
“So…..have anything you are looking forward at school today?” Chuang asked Keiko.
“Nah….just boring history,” Keiko snickered.
“Oh, I understand that,” Mizu commented. Chuang simply shrugged.
“You always preferred mathematics,” Chuang said. “I can see you getting into engineering a lot.”
“Nah…..who needs to be an engineer when you can fly,” Mizu remarked. He looked over at his brother as he gave the big nod to him. “That will really draw in the ladies.”
Keiko mocked the two as she began to make smooch sounds with her lips. She skipped a little bit as she turned her head enough to look at the two. Both the brothers seemed to chuckle.
“Wait until you are older, Keiko,” Mizu said.
“You still thinking about joining the military?” Chuang asked his brother as they were closing in on the school building.
“Hell yeah,” Mizu answered. “I want to fly the next gunship and start blasting those Itreans straight to hell.”
“I am still debating about it.”
“Why not? You can become an engineer in the marines like you hinted a couple of times.”
They reached the doorway of the main building of the Ardern Primary School of New Phnom Penh. The schools in the capital were beautiful. For a 24th century design, they were built with all the most modern equipment. Each school was unique to look at and offered the most comprehensive curriculum ranges for developing minds. Numerous other students were coming in and the occasional parent that was coming with them.
“Ehm….” Mizu said. “We can just go ahead and leave now. Keiko already knows where the classroom is.”
“Hmmm…..not this time,” Chuang commented. “Remember what her mother told us. She likes to try to skip class. She wants us to be with her completely……at least until she in class.”
“Ah…..” Mizu laughed a little bit. “Right….of course.”
Mizu continued to follow his brother and cousin as they walked through the halls. While a majority of students walked into their classes, they had to keep walking with Keiko ahead of them. As an escort, their goal was to make sure that the little girl reached her class. Mizu was reminded briefly of what was going on. This girl was picking up bad habits, and he had a brief reminder of why that was the case. Despite her walking, he was sure that she wasn’t going to cause problems.
Chuang looked over at one of the female teachers. Her figure was quite radiant. Mizu was doing all he could to avoid making any form of cat-calling, especially with a crowd of students.
“Man…..remember our teacher, Mrs. Willow?” Chuang asked his brother.
“Oh, how can I forget?” Mizu commented. “She was really…..really…..well, let’s just say that I don’t need to say anything more than that.”
They continued their walk as the long passageway was getting filtered out of students and the occasional parent who followed them. A few teachers looked at the two men but quickly went on with their mundane tasks. Mizu wasn’t particularly too worried about Keiko as she seemed to be nonchalant with her actions. He could even note that while Chuang had a little more of an eye towards her, even he wasn’t that too worried about it too. A simple gesture of being with her was more than enough for her to carry on and not misbehave.
“Yeah….I wouldn’t mind getting some breakfast at Flories stand today,” Chuang commented. “You paying this time?”
“Hmmm….” Mizu remarked as he pulled out his small tablet from his pocket. He began to tap it to turn it on as the blue screen appeared. It showed him information that he was all too aware of before he put it back. “Actually…..I am a little low on the money.”
“Don’t worry about it, bro,” Chuang said as he waved at him. “I will pay for it.”
Mizu shrugged a little bit as they walked up to the classroom at the end of the hallway. Past them was an elevator and staircase that led to the floor above them. Both of the men looked at the little girl. Chuang was the one that gave the nod to her, while Mizu crossed his arms overlooking her.
“Alright, you head in,” Chuang said as he gestured her to enter the door. “Almost late too.”
“Yeah…..” Mizu said as he smiled at her. “Please behave this time. Not that I don’t mind walking around the area and hanging out…..I wouldn’t want to have the wrath of your parents come barreling down on all of us.”
“Don’t worry couses,” she said. She gave the peace sign to them as she stuck her tongue at them. “I won’t cause problems this time.”
With that, she turned and skipped into the entrance of her classroom. Chuang went and scratched the back of his head as he gave a questioning look at Keiko. Mizu was holding back a laugh as he shook his head a little bit.
The classroom door slid closed as Chuang shrugged and looked at his brother. “Where did she get that from?” he asked him.
“I um…..” Mizu remarked. “I was showing her some of the older Japanese anime from former Earth. You know some of the new retro stuff they have been showing here on Batrice? Yeah….some of it is running off on her. I think she really enjoys it.”
“Ah……” Chuang commented. “Eh….it’s ok.” He looked near the door to see a small console. He walked up to it as his curiosity started to take hold.
“What is it?” Mizu asked him.
“Remember those new features they were adding to the classrooms when we were attending here?”
Mizu seemed to think a little bit as he put his hand to his short hair. “I think so…..oh yeah…..they were installing the one-way visual panes. It was going to allow parents or other staff to easily look into the classroom without having to open the doors. It was designed to help prevent people from interrupting classrooms or having the principal from overlooking all the teacher’s shoulders.”
“Yeah, they finally installed them,” Chuang said as he tapped his finger on the console. The moment that he did, a small blue-lit line appeared over the wall. The lines grew as it revealed a one-way view of the inside of the classroom.
Mizu walked up and admired the simple form of technology. Inside the classroom, the students wouldn’t see the two men looking inside while they, on the other hand, could see them. He didn’t think about it too much, but he knew that it was something the teachers wanted to have installed. It provided a sense of oversight. Parents that had questions about how the curriculum was taught could easily stand and observe the classes. The one-way viewership also offered privacy and prevented students from looking out of the window to the viewers looking from the hallway.
“Heh….” Mizu said as he gave a brief nod. He could feel his stomach began to growl. “I don’t know about you, but I am feeling hungry. Come on, bro.”
Chuang went and gave a look of surprise as his eyes widened a little bit. “Whoa…..hey bro, check this out.”
He pointed to the display as Mizu went and looked inside of the classroom. It consisted of fifteen desks that were adequately spaced apart. It was nothing spectacular in general. In many ways, it was just like he remembered it back when he was in school. The desks were arranged in a circular pattern that all looked towards the center projector. The room itself was nothing special. Several sets of displays showed the lessons and work planned for the day on the walls. It had a small separate restroom for the students and the teacher. A small rectangular section was advocated so that students could sit down on the soft carpet and do other activities. The classroom was filled up as Keiko was already sitting down on the side closest to the restroom. The teacher was an older woman with a complexion that was similar to a person born from Indonesia on former Earth. The female students were dressed in the same dress color pattern as Keiko to indicate a uniform color. The male students wore long yellow and black pants and shirts.
It was a lot for Mizu to grasp onto. The center projector showed a massive three-dimensional display that allowed every student to see equally towards the center. The teacher tapped her left arm that highlighted and accessed the projector. The augmented arm she was using was a common sight for most people. If anything, Mizu felt like he was using outdated technology with his tablet. She walked towards the center as she tapped a few buttons on her menu display. New words were showing up on the screen. It was easy enough to see what was being shown on it. There were pictures of a lush green forest that Mizu was unfamiliar with. One was the picture of the Krâvanh Mountains long before human intervention turned it into what was now. Another photo showed old black and white photographs of people that had similar looks to the general population of Batrice. He did not pay too much attention to them.
Chuang seemed fixated on something or someone, but Mizu was still trying to understand what he was looking at. He looked at the teacher and then the students. Besides Keiko, nobody else was remarkable to him.
“I am looking, bro…..is there somebody I should be looking at, or are you going to go silent all of a sudden?” Mizu asked him.
“Do you recognize the girl on the far left?” Chuang asked him. “The one that is sitting between the two boys?”
Mizu looked at the children and spotted the girl that he was almost pointing at. This girl had long black hair. Her complexion was slightly darker than that of Keiko. Much like many of the students, they all had similar looks and appearances from where their families descended from. Only a couple of students had a pale complexion to them as they descended from areas other than Southeast Asia. Mizu was doing his best to see the differences and the things that made this girl particularly important that his brother was insisting upon. Finally, Mizu simply just shrugged.
“I don’t get it,” Mizu replied as he gave a shrug to his brother. “Who is she?”
“That is Channery Chanvatey…..” Chuang answered.
Mizu thought about it for a second, and it dawned upon him. “Oh…..shit…..no way,” Mizu replied with surprise. “You mean Channery like…..”
“Yeah….it is Heng Chanvatey’s daughter.”
“Holy shit,” Mizu said as he kept his voice down. He felt some wave of shock at the scene. “I can’t believe the prime minister’s daughter goes to the same classroom as Keiko’s. I wonder why he would send her here.”
Chuang shrugged. “I don’t know, bro. I think this school is closest to the parliament building.”
“Eh…..I wonder why, though. The Prime Minister is rich. Why not be like the other rich cronies and just hire private tutors to teach their kids like the rest of them?”
“I don’t know….I don’t keep up with politics either. I think the Prime Minister has been mentioning something about putting more funding into schools and trying to eliminate some private-sector stuff……I don’t know, man…..”
“Eh…..oh well,” Mizu said. He went and tapped the button as he closed out the display screen. The blue light lit up as the one-way see-through display closed up. Chuang shrugged as the display was replaced with a solid wall.
“Well….it will be something to tell mom and dad, right?” Chuang remarked to his brother.
“Yeah, bro,” Mizu said. A big smile appeared on his face. He gestured to both of them. “Come on….I am hungry.”
Chuang gave a big nod. “Me too. Let’s go eat.”
The hallway was very much cleared up by now. Except for a student here and there that was heading into the classes, the place was very much empty. It made things easier to transgress as they began to head towards the exit.
“You saw that augmented arm that teacher had?” Chuang asked.
“Yeah…..it is great to be working for the government,” Mizu replied. “You know….we will get free augments once we go military.”
Chuang seemed to think about it as a student almost bumped into them by accident. “I….will still have to think about it.”
“I want to get augmented hands or one of those laser arms that some of those marines get.”
“Yeah, but didn’t you say that you wanted to be a pilot?”
“Sure, but….I can still dream about it.”
“Why would you complain about that? As a pilot, you can fly one of those gunships and zap the Itreans anyway.”
“True……heh, I guess you will be getting it instead if you are going marines.”
“Yeah, it would be true, but…..”
“What?”
Chuang gave a discouraging look at his brother. “Those marines work way harder than the typical UHN personnel.”
“Well, in that case,” Mizu countered. “You should just become a pilot like I will. Ladies will still come after you.”
Mizu looked at his brother. He knew that he was generally more vocal than him, even if he was the older brother. With his birthday just around the corner and Chuang that just turned seventeen, he knew that the enlistment age was upon them. The United Human Navy had just seen a terrible defeat in the colony of Eutera not that long ago. Almost a thousand individuals were kidnapped or presumed dead. The Itreans had unofficially declared war upon the human race. So little knowledge was there, but the rallying cry was made. Mizu could feel it in his veins as he looked upon his brother. The sense of patriotism to the UWA and Batrice grew louder and louder as each day passed by. However, Chuang only showed the signs of discouragement, but it was something that he knew could work if he just kept encouraging him more and more. Then again, the fact of having women all over him only seemed to promote the idea to himself more than the glory.
“Well…..if all else fails, we can at least go to New Olympia,” Chuang remarked to his brother.
“Ah…” Mizu said as he put his hand to his heart. “Now we are talking.” They left through the school's front doors as he put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Think about it…..two women for every man. Maybe it is even three!”
Chuang almost rolled his eyes. “Those were just rumors, though.”
“I am telling you. The only reason why the men never return from that planet is that they never want to leave. It is too damn good.”
They began to walk down the sidewalk as they had another look at the surrounding area. The commotion in and out of the school was way less now. The school's traffic was far less, and even the cars and subway station had calmed down. It was a typical day as it usually was. The two brothers walked together as they eyed the food stand on the other side of the street. The buildings around them once again reminded them of the city's typical busy life in the great dome.
“Brother, I don’t mind the idea of settling down with some nice woman,” Chuang said. “But…..I still prefer just one.”
“Eh…..your loss, man,” Mizu said. “One more month…..one more month till I get to finally join. Can’t wait to pilot my own shuttle……or maybe even a battleship from the bridge of one of the great warships.”
They reached the street light in preparation to cross it to get to the other side of the road. The moment that it almost turned green to stop the traffic, alarms were suddenly given off. It was loud, filling up the entire area of the city. Flashing lights were being announced, and every individual seemed to stop in their tracks. Those that augmented arms or hands stopped to see what the alarms were all about. Those that didn’t have them instead pulled out their tablets. Mizu was one of these individuals as he went and pulled out his tablet from his pocket. Both of them were wondering what was going on.
The alarm had an electronic sound that continued to echo. Even the streetcars were slowing down to a stop. It was as if the entire city was coming to an immediate halt. Even Mizu could feel a slight amount of apprehension as he scrolled through the menu of his tablet. A warning message was displayed on the screen. He read it to his brother.
“There are either one or two Itrean ships that have entered the system,” Mizu said. “They appear to be heading straight to Batrice. A Condition 1 State of Emergency is being declared…..”
“ALERT!” an electronic voice interrupted him as it was called out in the city. “Itrean ships have entered the solar system. All personnel is asked to return to their homes or seek shelter. Defenses are en route. All personnel is to remain calm and move in an orderly manner. This is not a drill.” The voice then repeated the same thing in Chinese to ensure the rest of the population understood it.
Advertisement bulletins that were on the building walls all began to say the same thing in both English and Chinese. The same message was being passed on. Mizu looked at his brother as he was left in the form of resentment.
“Son of a bitch,” Mizu said.
“They won’t get far,” Chuang remarked as he shook his head. “We have way more firepower…..right?”
*******
Meanwhile, the uninhabited orange planet of Anamade came into view. It was mostly dark. The opposite side of the world wasn’t receiving any light from its star in the solid darkness. After leaving from its opposite direction of both Batrice and Gillan was a pair of two Itrean ships. They were somewhere between the distance of both Batrice and Anamade. Behind the rear ship was a vortex that was only reminiscent of that of a gate that they just exited from. The swirling mass of energy and particles was there for a brief time long after the ships had clearly traveled through it. After the ships’ engines were fully activated, the folded space ceased as the vortex slowly dissipated and returned to normal space once again.
The black environment only served to reveal the two ships to certain degrees. They seemed to be flying in formation at first. Only the faint flashing lights and rear engine glow gave any indication that there was anything there, at least visually. The lights did at least provide some indication that each one was shaped differently.
In Batrice’s orbit, one of the three largest battleships in its defense fleet that hovered near the great space station of Fort Batrice began to break off. The reaction was quick. Defenses were made ready as one of the large gray cylindrical warships started to activate its rear thrusters. As its vectoring thrusters altered its direction, it was much easier to see it as the dim sunlight began to reveal it more and more. The words “UHN Widado” could be seen briefly as its rear engines started to flare up. Its box-like centripetal rotating structure continued to spin as it pointed its railguns in the direction of the incoming threat. The eight bow-mounted torpedo/missile launch tubes opened up.
Meanwhile, the two Itrean ships blue engine flares revealed that they were speeding up. They were slowly accelerating more and more as Anamade was moving out of the way of the star’s radiance. The sunlight began to reveal what they actually looked like. Both were painted in the color of red, which served as some form of identification marker. Each ship was unique by appearance. One of the alien vessels was a small box and cylindrical vessel that carried a few smaller CIWS autogun turrets along with its frame. It carried a missile launcher and a light railgun turret on its bow dorsal section. On its ventral side was a hangar bay for a single shuttle. Besides the weapons, there were forward-mounted thrusters on its port and starboard side. Connected to the main forward section of the hull was a small centripetal rotating ring. On the rear area were the main aft thruster and power generator.
The other Itrean ship was completely different. It almost had a vertical flat nose with the bridge mounted in the forward section. There was no form of the centripetal rotating ring. Besides the large nose was a cylindrical frame that had an aft bridge compartment and hangar facility next to it. There were an extensive series of arrays all along the hull, and it had engines mounted on the forward sides and rear section of the ship.
It was the UHN Widado that decided to attack first as a volley of eight anti-ship missiles were fired from the tubes. They flew out at blazing speeds before the flying warheads' rear thrusters began to activate to head towards their intended target.
The moment that the UHN ship fired, within less than ten seconds, the side flat-nosed Itrean ship broke off from the other Itrean vessel. Its vectoring thrusters caused it to turn away slowly. Suddenly, a field of light began to erupt from it as the light vanished. The entire ship slowly began to turn invisible. The engine glow was cut off as if the vessel had disappeared entirely. The other smaller ship was continuing to advance, heading straight to Batrice.
*******
On the capital ground, both Mizu and Chuang had sought refuge in a nearby building along with several other pedestrians. It was a rest stop as the alarms were still being called out throughout the entire city. By now, the streets had become empty. The people that were driving their cars had even abandoned them and went into the buildings to get away from the road.
Mizu looked around at where he had huddled down. He had his tablet in hand as he was watching the events take place. Chuang was sitting next to him along with another couple that had taken refuge. They were all inside a law firm building. The glass windows allowed everyone to see the outside perfectly. They found a nice table near as Mizu had started to get further away from the window.
“That was good thinking, bro,” Mizu told Chuang. “I wouldn’t want to be near the windows. If the Itreans start to shoot at us, we might get hit by the raining shrapnel. Hey guys! Get away from the windows!”
He looked at another set of people who had just entered through the building's clear glass pane doors. Upon hearing it, the two people looked at Mizu before they began to walk further and further away. Mizu was unfamiliar with this place, but it obviously had to be some sort of waiting or reception area. There were additional counters by the main lobby and entrance. Sitting by the wall, Mizu continued to watch the events unfold.
Chuang still hadn’t bothered to pull out his tablet as he watched the events transpire on Mizu’s tablet. He held it close so that they can both look at it. News agencies were all reporting the same circumstances. A live feed was being broadcasted to seek shelter. They had even patched in the camera feeds from the satellites that were tracking the two Itrean vessels. It was just enough that Mizu could see one of the Itrean ships vanishing. Only a tiny invisible distortion could be seen before it had veered off and became too difficult to track it anymore.
“You see that?” Mizu replied. “It’s gone…..”
“It cloaked?” Chuang asked.
“The Itreans have this sort of technology? Shit, man…..”
Chuang sighed as he looked away from the tablet. He pressed his back to the wall as he sat comfortably on the soft carpet. He showed a look of concern.
“Our cousin…..” Chuang remarked.
Mizu looked at him. “I am sure she will be fine. I don’t think the Itreans are going to get far by directly attacking us.”
Even by telling himself that, a slight sense of fear had entered him. He knew enough that the small enemy warship still carried some firepower to it.
Mizu continued to read up the news feed report that the Batrice military was currently engaging the Itrean raid group. He hoped that these aliens were all they had. Perhaps it was with the indication of the cloaked warship that it seemed that the other small warship was going to engage in some sort of suicide run to the planet. With everything on high alert, tensions were up, but it was not outright panic.
“Ugh….I hope so,” Chuang said. “We are responsible for her.”
“Hey, bro. Don’t attack yourself like that,” Mizu replied. “We will be fine. We are not like Eutera.”
Chuang seemed to acknowledge this rather well. Mizu knew that he was correct. Unlike Eutera, Batrice was a heavily fortified system. It wasn’t just like Mars. It had two large bases that the Itreans had to take out to conquer the system, not including the ground defenses. Its fleets could easily repel small attacks way easier than Eutera’s population of a thousand. Batrice alone had hundreds of millions that were living on the surface. There seemed to be way more confidence in the general society when the Itreans came and attacked. The battles were very small scale. Despite the alarm, there was no real panic or signs of anxiety in the society. If the Itreans were determined to take humanity, then they were doing a poor job at it. If anything, the general consensus that Mizu could see was more of confusion or even annoyance at the attack.
“What about Fort Batrice?” Chuang asked.
“It isn’t operational,” Mizu commented. “Shame that it isn’t yet. I know they are rushing to complete it since the Itreans have begun their attacks. It looks like our military already has things well in hand……damn, I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
“Heh….” His brother almost seemed to chuckle a little bit. “I imagine that after this, the Batrice system will have something to gloat about.”
“You know it, bro. The military can use this film footage as an advertisement to recruit people.”
Chuang looked at the live feed very carefully. The Itrean ship was still flying further and further away from Anamade. By now, more of the planet could be seen in the background as part of its side was being illuminated by the star. To Mizu, the alien warship was moving as fast as possible as its engine plumes increased more and more. The blue flames were hottest from the main rear thruster as it bled into the darkness of space behind it. The other ship that was with it was long gone.
“I can’t believe the Itreans have the ability to cloak themselves…..” Chuang remarked.
“Well….they won’t get far,” Mizu replied.
Mizu looked around the room to see the others in the lobby that were also watching the feed footage on their augmented implants or tablets. He would occasionally see a person looking out of the large window to the streets of empty vehicles. He could only imagine the reactions of every individual. Chuang wasn’t really scared but more cautious about the events. He could even recall seeing another individual who got on one of the law firm's comfortable couches. The man went and rested on the seat, was even trying to fall asleep. As long as it was away from the windows, even Mizu didn’t worry about it.
Suddenly, the Itrean warship’s dorsal mounted light railgun turret began to move a little bit. With the vacuum of space being absolutely quiet, the gun altered its direction by a few degrees as it suddenly emitted a flash to it. Blue and purple lines of particles rained from the weapon as a hypervelocity round was expelled.
“Holy shit….” Chuang replied. Others in the room reacted similarly. The alien warship had fired, but the question was where?
“The ship is firing at Batrice….” Mizu said as he read the feed’s information. He scrolled the text as there wasn’t enough information available.
People seemed to be holding their breath as the gun’s angle was steady. The vectoring thrusters went off on the other side of the alien ship after firing to keep it stable. Even expelling a round in space would naturally push a vessel in the other direction. The technology of the Itreans might have seemed advanced, but it was apparent that it was almost on par with the technology of the UWA and UHN.
Another shot went off from the Itrean warship. The same effect happened again as another hypervelocity tungsten round was thrown into the direction it was shooting at. There were less shock and awe from the people in the lobby.
“How long does it take for those missiles to hit it?” Chuang asked.
“I don’t know exactly,” Mizu replied.
He seemed to think about it as he was doing the math in his head. It wasn’t an easy task to do. The distances between the worlds of the Trappist system were much closer than that of the Sol system. Regardless, the time it took from getting from planet to planet would still be a lot. The catch was that there was no defense against such a move as this. Space did little in stopping a bullet, especially when it was launched towards something. Unless gravity or some large object were in the path, the shell would simply keep going until it would hit. Perhaps he did underestimate the Itreans.
The gun began to turn a little bit. It seemed to aim in a new direction rather than what it was already firing. The railgun went off again as Mizu could see a trail from a different approach.
“Third shot…..” Chuang commented. “It is firing once every fifteen seconds.”
Mizu continued to think. Without knowing the distance of the alien warship, it was difficult to determine how many more shots it was going to do.
“WARNING,” the computerized voice and alarms went off again in the city. “Itrean warship has fired on New Phnom Penh. All personnel and staff are to remain in designated shelters.”
For the first time, Chuang began to show real fear in him at the realization that was happening. Everyone began to react as people’s attitudes began to shape into shock. The Itrean ship was now firing at the capital.
“Looks like the first two shots were made at Fort Batrice….” Mizu explained. “I don’t think they are going to make much progress in damaging it. The thing is still being finished up as it is.”
Chuang felt like standing up as Mizu went and grabbed his arm. “Hey bro…” he told him. “We will be…..”
On the live feed, the alien ship fired another shot from its railgun. It was the fourth shot being made. The turret did not attempt to turn or adjust. Wherever it was going to hit, it was going to be bad. Even though the Itrean ship was no bigger than 150 meters in length, it was determined to do as much damage as possible.
Suddenly, a series of small missiles were launched from the large missile box of the alien ship. It must have been at least twenty small pieces of munitions that all flew out at once. Once they were jettisoned, each one began to ignite as they took off, leaving blue plumes as they flew. The railgun turret then adjusted slightly before it made another shot from its cannon.
“All three shots are heading towards the capital,” Mizu responded.
Even Mizu was getting frustrated. When was the enemy vessel going to be destroyed? Time was ticking by. Every fifteen seconds, it was getting a chance to launch a projectile towards the capital. How big these projectiles were, was anyone’s guess. It was as if the volley of missiles deployed from the Widado were taking forever. The fact was that the enormity of space made the transition for even fast flying weapons seemingly slow.
Each second was going by. It was becoming a countdown as the next round was about to be fired. Mizu counted it off in his head. Ten……nine……eight…..seven….six….
Before he could countdown to the next shot, the alien warship’s small CIWS gun turrets began to fire. Sprays of small tracer fire could be seen that formed a line. At least two of the guns were going off. The eight missiles were closing in. One of the UHN warheads was seconds from the impact as it was ripped to pieces. Another one exploded as the CIWS guns were doing a good job trying to repel the Widado’s volley of munitions. Two more missiles were torn to shreds when the final four finally impacted the Itrean ship.
It was insanely fast enough that Mizu practically blinked and almost missed it. The four missiles all hit around the same area of the forward port section of the alien warship in rapid succession. One of the anti-ship missiles tore into the hull while another missile was a nuclear warhead. This missile hit and produced an enormous flash of blinding light. The entire interior was torn asunder. Within less than a second, the whole vessel was obliterated and incinerated from within. There was a gasp from one of the individuals in the room. Within a few seconds, the blinding light faded as the radiation of the explosion was sent outward. With no heat to really travel in space, the nuclear blast quickly dropped into nothing. There was nothing left of the ship. The alien vessel was destroyed.
“Yeah….” Mizu replied. Chuang even clapped his hands a little bit. The rest of the room all seemed to indicate some form of relief.
“Attention all personnel of New Phnom Penh,” the computerized voice called out. “Three shots from the Itrean vessel are still on course with the capital. Estimated time of impact is within two minutes and three seconds. All personnel is advised to remain indoors. Do not venture outside. Emergency teams are on standby to render aid.”
The words stuck to everybody’s mind. The capital was a huge place, but regardless, it was like being told that a few hypervelocity meteorites were being sent to rain down upon everyone. Mizu had some form of notion of what was going on.
“Damn…..” Chuang replied as he wrapped his hands around his leg.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, bro,” Mizu said. “That gun wasn’t that big on that ship. I am sure we will be fine.”
“I wonder about those missiles that the alien ship fired.”
“Missiles can be shot down, unlike the railgun. I am sure that the UHN can shoot them down without a problem.”
Chuang gave the nod. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“We will be fine. Maybe the dome could deflect the shots?”
Mizu seemed to think about it for a little while. Science and physics certainly had an interesting way of working. It was possible to take asteroids, turn them into weapons, and then guide them to worlds by simply using math and science. The concept of the railgun was little more than taking a solid tungsten shell, accelerating it through a magnetic chamber, and launching it to hypervelocity speeds. While the process was simple, careful precision was needed to ensure it hits the target. There was nothing spectacular with the shell itself, only the mass, velocity, and power it delivered was the genuine threat.
“One minute till impact,” the computerized voice repeated on all tablets and augmented arm and hand displays. Mizu and Chuang didn’t even want to think about it, but it was hard not to.
Chuang sighed. “Shame they can’t shoot these things down….” He said.
Mizu patted his brother’s knee. “At least we got them,” he assured them. “That was a nice explosion.”
“I hope everyone is going to be alright. I am not just worried about our cousin.”
“Yeah…..me too,” Mizu said. He showed a serious side of him as he felt this gut instinct that something terrible was about to happen.
“You know…..this reminds me of the safety drills we had in class.”
“Yeah……you are right. I didn’t even think about it till you said something. The duck and cover drills.”
Mizu thought about it as he could picture Keiko in the same situation. If some crazy meteor shower could penetrate the dome’s armor casing, the students would all be underneath their desks. He remembered how humorous it was. Most of the students thought it was a joke as they had to practice tucking themselves up into a ball and hoping that the desk and ceiling were somehow going to repel the rocks that rained from above them. Like anything, it really just came down to luck and hoping not to be there when it struck.
The computer voice uttered the words, “Estimated impact in ten…..nine……eight…..seven…..six……five……four……three……two……one.”
Everyone seemed to hold their breath as each hypervelocity round was about to strike. Traveling at several thousands of meters per second, the razor-sharp carved tungsten slugs punched through the thin atmosphere of Batrice. Each round was no bigger than a small table. Technically, the damage should be light, but their velocity and mass were the real issues. The first round hit near the southern section of New Phnom Penh dome’s top ceiling. It hit so hard and fast that it ultimately went through it like it was tin foil. It wasn’t a large hole, but the seals activated quickly. Metal doors slid over to prevent any form of the city’s atmosphere from being vented away from the population. The round traveled for mere seconds until it struck a street that was close to the main administration building. Two cars were battered and sliced to ribbons as the shell slammed into the concrete. Debris was thrown about as one of the car’s hoods flew up for a few seconds into the air before landing near the impact site. Little pieces of additional objects were flung about. Like tiny bullets, they flew in all directions shattering windows and hitting walls. Thankfully, despite the impact, only a small crater and property damage were left behind.
It was far enough away, but the sound was loud that Mizu and Chuang could hear it. Each shot from the destroyed Itrean ship was about fifteen seconds apart. The banging sound was disturbing, but the fact that it was nowhere near their vicinity was welcoming. He didn’t even imagine that anybody was hurt from it, but that sickening feeling was beginning to return. He had no idea why it was the case, but his head turned toward the direction of the school.
“No……” he said. Chuang seemed to look at his brother with some questions as the adrenaline became more apparent.
The second railgun round struck the ceiling again as the metal doors activated immediately. Much as before, the shell flew for a couple of seconds before the titanic crash sound could be heard.
The building that Mizu and Chuang were in was rocked where it was. The explosion was thunderous, causing everyone to shake where they were at. Even the man that tried to fall asleep jumped out of his chair, breathing hard. A few people gave small cries of panic. A woman screamed momentarily as the realization of war was at everyone’s doorstep. Debris rained in the street a little bit. The sound was horrifying, and Mizu knew where it was.
“No….no….,” Mizu said quietly as he stood up. His adrenaline filled his veins. Others were recoiling a little bit from the shell’s impact. Chuang started to stand up as he saw what his brother was doing. The explosion came from somewhere, and it had to come from only one direction.
“The school…..” were Mizu’s only words as he bolted from his position. Raw emotion and adrenaline were guiding him as he ran to the door that led outside.
“Bro!” Chuang yelled at him. “The last shot hasn’t hit yet! Stop!”
Chuang had no choice. He had to follow his brother. He hoped to catch him, but he was too fast and already had a head start. Everyone watched in horror as the two brothers ran out to the street.
Mizu had a brief look at the school that was not far from the law firm building. Smoke was pillaring out the air above on the easternmost section of the school. He didn’t think. He just ran as fast as he could to it. His fears had been realized even if he did his best to mask them.
“Brother, stop!” Chuang yelled at him. “The last round is about to hit!”
Mizu ran forward as the last railgun round slammed into the ceiling and punched clean through. Within a couple of seconds, Mizu swore that he heard a slight whistling sound that got louder and louder before there was an explosion. The hypervelocity round slammed through a building near behind him before it punched clean through and into the street. Much as before, a part of a car was hit as its wreckage was slammed into the wall to the left of him.
It all happened so quickly that there was no way to react. He couldn’t tell how far apart it was, but the concussive shockwave was horrific. Debris was showered in all directions. Chuang was lifted off the ground and flung into the wall of the law firm building. On the other hand, Mizu didn’t even see the sizeable broken metal slab from the busted car come barreling towards his body. The impact was hard as everything went dark……
*******
“A…….u……” were Mizu’s only words. There were flashes of light. Mizu growled as his eyes opened up. He couldn’t hear anything as he was lying on the ground. Blood was everywhere.
“G……..school…..” he tried to say, but there was no audio. He heard nothing but a high-pitched ringing sound. He had partial sight, but it was enough that he could see the school.
Dazed and somewhat confused, he felt that he had only one obligation. He summoned the energy as he barely stood up. Blood was pouring out of his left ear. His left side had been sliced into. He looked over and saw his brother Chuang. It was very brief, but he could at least know that he was breathing even if his eyes were closed.
Nothing else mattered. Family came first. Seeing that his brother was somewhat well enough was enough to convince him to go after the next important thing. His brain had taken a concussion, but raw adrenaline was driving him to run towards the school building.
Silence…….the world was completely different now for Mizu. He was breathing hard as his body was summoning every last ounce of energy that was available. He could see that the second railgun round had hit the school like a giant sledgehammer. He could see people running towards the school, but there was no volume. Things seemed to be slow for him. Even if it was over for the rain of death, he had to do it. He ran to the school as best as he could.
He had no grasp of time. He was tumbling as he ran at times. He began to lose his memory once he was in the school hallway. He didn’t even remember entering it, but there he was. Students were being moved safely out of the building as he kept moving as fast as he could. Nothing was in the right frame of the mind anymore. Pure shock from the concussion and impact to his body made the world upside down. He continued to move as fast as he could.
He blacked out over and over again. He knew that his life was forfeit and most likely that he was going to die as more blood was dribbling from his ear. A staff member tried to stop him, but he kept moving forward. A teacher from the end of the hallway from where Keiko was located was his destination.
There were brief moments that his hearing produced thumps as if it was his own heartbeat. If people were yelling at him to stop, then he wouldn’t hear them. He was still in an absolute daze. His brain would have told him that it was stupid to leave the building, but nothing was working anymore. The body was moving. It was driven to find his cousin.
He mouthed the words “I got to save her,” but he couldn’t hear it. Another staff member saw him and tried to get him, but he brushed past him.
He blacked out again as he now stood in the hallway. The round had clearly left a sizeable hole where it bashed through. It crashed from the top floors and worked its way down till it reached near the second classroom. Debris was everywhere. Bodies……
A teacher stood in shock as she went to go to one of the students. She looked into the classroom that Mizu had run in. Mizu looked and only remembered the brief flashes that his mind understood.
The scene was grizzly to behold. The hypervelocity round had hit the edge of the adjacent classroom. The concussive shockwave and blast blew the wall into the next class where Keiko was located. Students were crying for help, but Mizu couldn’t hear them. He was relying on his eyes to help him.
“Got to help……” were his empty words as he saw piles of bodies of students. Each one was in a different shape. Keiko was on the other side of the impact area. She was closest to the restroom, as he remembered. He stumbled as he walked. The sliding doors had been punched clean through from the blast as he entered inside.
There was no fire in the room, but Mizu’s body was struggling to operate. His eyes seemed to betray him at times. He would look and see a child that was dead or barely alive. Most appeared to be unconscious, or at least that was what he was hoping. There was blood, however. He even recalled seeing a limb of an arm…..
“Keiko…….cousin…..” he said as he tried to call out, but his ears still didn’t function correctly.
He wanted to save them all. Every child was precious, but he was one man trying to help dozens. He tripped over a piece of shattered debris from the wall as he spotted her. Keiko was unconscious as she had been slammed into the wall from her desk. Apparently, the desk had performed its job deflecting some of the blasted objects, but it wasn’t enough. There was just so much force that was exerted from the impact that it took its toll on everyone.
He couldn’t remember much as he scooped up Keiko in his arms. Her right arm and leg were broken entirely from the savage impact. He had no idea how he had the strength, but he began his trek stumbling out of the room, almost tripping over another student’s body.
His mind was going in and out. A part of his hearing on his right was returning as he was still bleeding from his left ear. Mizu had only one destination to go towards as he could see a staff member that tried to help him. As far as Mizu was concerned, it was as if the person wasn’t there at all.
Once again, things seemed to go in and out for him. He was like a walking zombie that was cradling something that was priceless. Mizu that was at least coherent enough to know of the environment, had surmised that he would most likely die after this. If he could get Keiko to the emergency teams quicker, maybe it would be the difference between life or death.
Blood continued to drip from his sides onto the floor. Finally, it appeared that he slowed down enough that he could feel her body was lighter. The whispered words of “I got her…..go get help…..” were just enough to be registered in his right ear. He was near the exit as he could see that one of the pedestrians had taken her from his hands. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but it was enough that he was doing his best to help.
Another pedestrian that had run into the building had taken hold of Mizu. He felt his body get lighter as it appeared to be a woman of some sort. He reached the school's exit as more and more people were coming and going in the pandemonium. There was enough of the scene to indicate that the students had been safely evacuated from the building. Teachers were doing headcounts, but Mizu’s vision suddenly went black again. He was completely powerless as he tumbled to the ground. Other people rushed to him as he ultimately passed out. His job and task were complete as the last thing he saw were Keiko being gently placed to the ground as emergency response teams were coming in…….