Chapter 2 – The Earth

Kota followed Emperor Der Verge down the great hall, the sun visible through the opaque walls. The throne room was located on the top of the space ship and the great hall descended slightly on an angle toward the bridge. On either side of the hall were large elevators that allowed people to visit the throne room without going through the command center. Kota had used one herself to reach the throne room. The bridge was off-limits to ship personal, but the Emperor’s door remained open, although few chose to visit him.

The 301,670 citizens of the Redemption Song both loved and feared their Emperor. In order to survive amongst the stars, morality came second place to survival. Keeping his people safe was all that mattered to him but there were things he had done that they could never forget. Any threat to their lives was dealt with harshly; any resource that could improve the lives of those aboard was harvested immediately and without reservation. Emperor Der Verge showed no sympathy for alien worlds, if their technology could help his people, he took it without mercy. Yet the Emperor was no bigot. Anyone who made the ship their home were treated as equals. The people aboard the ship were a family and he had sworn to protect them at all costs. They were grateful, but also fearful, the stories they had heard from their ancestors were not the kind to tell young children.

The doors to the bridge slid open before them and Kota Jones saw the command center of the ship for the first time. The circular white room was fifty feed wide with the Emperor’s black chair raised up in the center. Black trim spread out from the chair, leading to the walls where it ran around the room to form a frame around the massive viewscreen attached to the ship’s bulkhead. There were eight commanding officers aboard, including the red-skinned Vizier, as well as two navigators. When they saw the Emperor, the officers turned and bowed at the waist in the ancient Japanese style, then returned to their stations.

“Emperor on the bridge.” The Vizier said with his soft, mechanical voice. The Emperor nodded to the artificial man then took his place in the captain’s chair.

“Emperor, why is the Neo aboard the bridge?” The Vizier asked.

“She is accompanying me for the foreseeable future, Vizier. Treat her as you would treat me, or as if she is not here at all.”

“Yes, sir.” The artificial man said nothing more and returned to his post behind the Emperor, to the right side of the bridge door. The Vizier was also known as the Chief Engineer and through his control console he monitored the hardware of the ship. Opposite of him, on the other side of the door, was a middle-aged woman who Kota had seen around the ship a few times. Her name was Cindell Raise and she was the computer expert and handled the complex software that kept the ship running. Her official position was Chief CO, for computerized operations. She was long and thin with unusually long fingers and long red hair that was tired up and back into a ponytail. Kota’s hair had always been short and black and she admired the woman’s curls and natural blond highlights.

On the viewscreen the silver hull of the 8,000-meter long ship stretched out in front of them. The Redemption Song tapered toward the front, giving it a spearhead shape. Most of the hull was armored and smooth, but there were circles on either side spread out every 2,000 meters. These were greenhouses, four in total, which allowed the plants within to gain direct sunlight whenever possible. Kota could see the tiny shapes of people inside, enjoying the beauty of the botanical gardens.

Seated in front of the Emperor, directly in front of the view screen were the two navigators. They each wore black, with crimson trim that matches the color of the Emperor’s armor. The navigator on the left handled the ship in real space; the second navigator controlled the ship’s hyperdrive system.

Kota was surprised to find the atmosphere of the bridge relaxed, almost casual. Around the Emperor, the people often showed a high level of reservation and decorum. On the bridge, he was captain only, and the command crew did not idolize him.

The other six command personnel stood at their computer consoles, three on either side. On the left was the Chief Medical Officer, a broad-shouldered man by the name of Leon Sphinx who had only recently taken over the position. His skin was very dark and his hair was a perfectly shaped cube. He was personally responsible for the health and well-being of every person aboard the ship, as well as the dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses. Next to him was the Chief of Agriculture Jim Sherling, a short, round, little man with wild hair and thick glasses. Kota had met him many times, as most of his time was spent in one of the ship’s farms or forests. Sherling and Sphinx had to work closely together, as the food supply and medicine came from what grew in those green habitats.

Last on the left was the Chief Communications Officer, a rather easy position considering how little negotiating ever occurred aboard the ship. Lace Grimes had been born blind but gifted with an uncanny ability to distinguish sound. Most of her time was spent listening to the strange music of space. To say she was odd would be an understatement, but from what Kota had heard, she was a kind and interesting woman.

To the right of the Emperor was the rest of the ship’s commanding officers. A large, young man with a long braided beard and short cut hair stood watching her from across the bridge. He was the Chief Security Officer and the only person aboard the bridge who had earned his position through combat. The previous Chief had been corrupt and his security officers had begun treating people aboard the ship as if they were his slaves. Bjorn Svenson had rebelled against the oppressive authorities and him and his gang managed to take a security room in the front section of the ship. When the Emperor had heard he had asked to speak to this young, violent, rebel himself. Bjorn had told him the truth and asked that he may challenge the former Chief. The Emperor was intrigued and gave his consent. Bjorn had beaten the bigger, older, man easily and the Emperor surprised everyone aboard by giving the position to Svenson once he completed the two-year training program. That was four years ago and the rebellious young man had become a fine officer since his graduation. The corrupt security officers had been demoted to janitorial staff and although they grumbled about the young Chief Security Officer, they did so very quietly.

Next to Svenson, talking quietly into his command console, was the pleasant Phileas Gupta, the Chief of Personnel. It was important that people aboard the ship had a career that made them feel like a part of the crew. Gupta’s favorite quote was “idle hands do Shiva’s work”. His office, which Kota had seen personally, was filled with motivational posters. Her favorite had always been the one with the cat hanging from a branch. Phileas was also responsible for making sure that personnel were at their stations; it could mean death for all of them if a gunner decided to skip off from work, or if the shield integrity specialists all called in sick at the same time. Gupta was rarely on the bridge, but today was important and all the commanding officers were at their stations. They were returning to Earth and no one wanted to miss it.

The last commanding officer was Suzanne Church, the Chief of Science. She was one hundred and ten years old, with thick white hair and bad posture. She had served in her position for over seventy years and was considered by many to be a walking encyclopedia. Suzanne’s primary job was to figure out the problems that the other Chiefs could not handle. Anything new and unexplained fell under her jurisdiction and it was rare when she could not find a solution. Chief Church saw Kota watching her and gave her a smile, which revealed the web of wrinkles on her face. She looked considerably younger than her age and kept herself in great physical shape. There were rumours aboard the ship that she was perhaps a superhuman, like the Emperor, but only Chief Medical Officer Sphinx knew the truth.

“Bring us around to face the planet.” Emperor Der Verge ordered.

The navigator on the left, a young man with a head shaved completely bald, nodded and began shifting the ships position with a small set of steering handles. Navigators customized their controls and it seemed the young man preferred the joystick method. They did not need to move the ship to see the planet, it was equip with a three hundred and sixty degree surveillance system, but it was easier for the command crew if they faced their intended target. The man on the left was older, slightly larger and had a medium length crew cut with a bald patch beginning to appear in the middle. His hands rested patiently on the control console, he could relax until it was time to leave the solar system.

The mood aboard the bridge began to change immediately as the planet Earth appeared in the viewscreen. The entire command crew moved from their stations and stood behind the Emperor and Kota joined them. She had seen pictures of the Earth from the past, taken from space in the years before the aliens invaded, but there were no pictures of the planet after humanity had left. The first thing she noticed was the bright, vibrant, blue water was almost non-existent. The planet before her was a dark brown, the color of clay, with tiny lakes where there had once been wide oceans. The Emperor stood slowly, walking closer until he stood directly below the viewscreen. Asia appeared and the Emperor waved his hand over a large circular crater in the right side of the continent. In the center burned a massive volcano with lava that burned as bright as blood.

“This was the home of your ancestors, Kota Jones. Dai Nippon Teikoku, the Empire of Great Japan. They died without ever seeing the face of their attackers. A blessing perhaps. .”

The Emperor’s words trailed off and he let his arm fall to his side once more.

There was little left of the vibrant green forests, with only patches of trees running along the farthest northern parts of Russia and Canada. Everything below the 60th parallel was scorched as brown as a desert.

Although they remained quiet and professional, Kota noticed the command crew stiffen up in shock and surprise when North and South America came into view. Where the great cities of the United States of America once stood were now massive crumbling alien relics. There were hundreds of dome-shaped structures, stretching from the Canadian border to Argentina and Chile. The tip of South America was shattered into tiny islands surrounded by black water that stretched out for thousand miles.

“What are those things?” Kota asked.

“The remains of the Carterax hives.” Der Verge replied. “When the aliens landed on Earth, they did not attack, not immediately. No, what they did was far worse. They ignored us completely. Their armies landed and began to build these structures over our heads so fast we barely had time to prepare ourselves.”

Kota Jones stepped closer, standing beside the Emperor.

“What are they made out of?”

The Emperor turned and faced her, his solid mask unmoving.

“They are made from us, Kota Jones.”

The Emperor sat back in his chair and the rest of the command crew returned to their stations. Kota remained in front of the viewscreen, knowing the Emperor was watching her.

“Is the planet habitable?” She asked.

The Emperor turned his head toward her Suzanne Church.

“High levels of lead in the soil. Radioactive dust including uranium, plutonium, cesium-137, strontium-90 throughout the Western Hemisphere. Sulfer dioxide in the atmosphere, aluminum in the water at 97 ppb and iron concentrations at 194 ppb. Humans could live here, but they wouldn’t live long.” Suzanne replied.

“The Catarax landed in small pods and immediately began to consume all the resources around them, humans included. They ate us and converted us into metals which they used to build their hives.”

Kota could hear the anger in his voice, subtle but there nonetheless.

“They didn’t see us as a threat, we were nothing to them. No more than food to be digested and regurgitated.”

“Disgusting.” The Chief of Science said.

Kota moved away from the viewscreen, turning back toward the Emperor.

“The world at the time was full of super-powered humans. There are records of them in every country in the world.”

“Yes it was.”

“What happened to them?”

“Is the shuttle ready?” Der Verge asked.

“Yes, Emperor.” The Vizier replied.

“I will show you what happened to them.”

The Emperor stood and strode through the bridge doors. Kota followed quickly behind him, all the way to the shuttle bay where his black ship awaited him. The door to the shuttle decompressed and opened for him and he had to duck slightly to enter. Kota was surprised to see him sit in the pilot’s seat himself.

The shuttle glided through the hanger doors and shot down toward the moon, the inertia pushing Kota back slightly in her seat. It took only a few minutes for the shuttle to reach the lunar surface and Kota gasped aloud at what she saw. Spread out across the surface of the moon was the dried husk of an alien corpse, its desecrated tentacles spread out fifty feet in every direction. In front of it stretched a road of human bones. The corpses were bleached of all color but Kota could still see the once colorful capes and costumes still attached to the bones.

“Put on the space suit. We’re going for a walk.” The Emperor said.

It took a moment for Kota to respond. The sight alone had left her speechless. The idea of going outside, on the surface of the Moon, froze her in her seat. Here was the celestial body that had inspired so many songs and stories from Earth. The Moon, Earth’s only celestial companion, was right outside the door.

“Are you coming?” The Emperor asked patiently.

“Yes, sir!”

Kota jumped from the seat and hurried to the back of the shuttle where the space suit awaited. Regardless of how terrified she was, she was not going to miss an opportunity to see the graveyard of heroes.

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