by Luis Robles
“Well, everyone did as well as we could. We don’t have any more giant worms in our tail. And now, there’s hope. I was able to control it, the War Beast,” Avenn replied.
“That was you moving us around like that?” Arnold asked.
Avenn just nodded in reply.
“How are you feeling? Does it really hurt? I wish we had a medic among us,” Kenya said.
“We do have at our disposition advanced pain relievers. They are in the top right cabinet. I suggest one every three hours to alleviate the pain,” Iris said.
Kenya went to get the pills and some water for Arnold.
“So, what is the plan now? What do we do?” Jordan asked.
After taking the pills, Arnold responded, “We’ll try to get in touch with the Havens and give them the good news. We will tell them that we are on our way with the War Beast,” Arnold said and chugged on the water.
“What about Clint? What do you want to do with him? He must be awake by now,” Kenya asked.
“Nothing yet. I want to talk to the Council first and see what they want to do,” Arnold replied then looked at Avenn, “You think it will be difficult getting back to Haven... passing the dunes and all of that?”
“If Iris is correct about her theory, I think it shouldn’t be difficult getting past the dunes. In fact, I think we could go unnoticed,” Avenn said.
“What theory?” Arnold asked.
“You see… When I was fighting the giant worms, their fluids splattered all over Deimos, making him smell like them. We had eight more incoming worms... they slowed down and didn’t even notice me once I was covered with their fluids. I think they like to prey on the unknown,” Avenn said.
“That is correct,” Iris chimed in.
“Iris, can you get us a direct line of communication with the Havens?” Avenn asked.
“Right away. I will look for all possible lines of communication with the human colonies,” Iris said.
The group waited anxiously in silence for Iris.
“There appears to be a problem. I’ve looked through all available channels, and I only found one looping piece of audio and video, an open message of some sort. Would you like me to play it?” Iris asked as the group grew tense.
“Play it,” Arnold responded.
9
Havens
The Havens were essentially the only place humanity had left to claim their own. For humanity, the outside world had become stale, in a sense. Whatever was left out there seemed to be engineered with the sole purpose of killing humans. Whether it was mutated creatures, heavy radiation, and sometimes the invaders, humans almost never ventured out into the desert. It almost appeared as if Earth was angry at humanity.
Humans had scavenged the land for whatever they could to construct the Havens. At first, it seemed like a daunting task, but they didn’t have any other choice, as humans were dying left and right from radiation poisoning and other harmful effects of war.
There were over two hundred known Havens when humanity first built them, but over the first few years, that number dropped to half. It was the Havens that were built on low grounds that suffered first. Havens that were built on low grounds were often attacked by the mutated creatures, the remnants of war. Thousands upon thousands of humans that survived the attacks fled to higher ground, but that itself was a reckless idea, as overpopulation sent the Havens into a downward spiral of disease and hunger.
The only Haven that did survive were those that were almost impossible to migrate to, those that were too remote or too deep inside the desert.
Humanity was slowly dwindling out of existence.
“Why are we still wasting water on those dying plants? If there is any kind of reason to this Council, then we will stop watering the plants. Water is essential to live. We don’t need plants to live anymore... We should be conserving our resources,” Craig Williams spoke in front of the four members of the Council, and Marcus.
“The Council will now put it to a vote,” Leeana, the speaker for the Council, uttered.
The four members of the Council stretched their hands and voted on Craig’s request. A thumb up meant yes, any thumb down meant a clear no. All of Council’s decisions were final and cannot be contested for some time. One by one, their thumbs pointed down.
“I will not sit by and watch my people be thirsty over watering the plants. This is what’s wrong with this world... this is what’s wrong with humans. We give importance to unimportant things. So what if the plant dies? So what if we don’t eat vegetables for a while?” Craig argued.
“Control yourself, Craig. This is not the place for one of your little speeches,” Leeana said.
“Yes… Yes, I agree, it’s never the time. I am only wasting my breath with you. It’s time for change. It is time for the people to take matters into their own hands. You are correct. I couldn’t agree more with you,” Craig said sardonically as he walked out of the Council room.
“That man will never change. I fear that he might be the end for us and not our real problems,” Leeana said.
“Agreed,” the rest of the Council said with a low voice.
“So, Marcus, can you give us some good news finally? Have you heard back from the Orca? We desperately need good news. The people in the Haven are getting out of control. If we don’t hear something good soon, I don’t know if there’s anything we could do to stop Craig anymore,” Leeana asked with a worried expression.
“I’m afraid not... We lost track of them as they went deep into the dunes. The only thing we can do right now is hope... hope that they’re still out there somewhere, hope that humanity will be saved. It’s all out of our control now. If Craig wants the revolt, and if people want to follow him because that’s their last hope, it wouldn’t do them any good at this point. It wouldn’t do us any good also to get in his way. All we could do is wait and hope for a miracle,” Marcus said as he sighed.
“They’ve said no, as they said many times before in the past. This is why we are here... because of inaction... because the Council has been too afraid to lose the misery we already have. That’s not fair for us... that’s not fair for you. You are, and we are, capable of making our own decisions,” Craig said as he stood in the middle of the Haven’s small square. People passed by and looked, but a few were beginning to stop. “We should be able to live the end of our days the way we want to, not the way some old, paranoid Council members choose to. Who knows, maybe we could survive the coming disaster upon the Haven.”
“What he’s saying is true. We shouldn’t be told what to do,” said a man that was passing by and stopped to listen to Craig.
“I have a plan that might save us all... I have a plan that will bring prosperity to this Haven, and only this Haven... because this Haven is the only thing we should be worried about. We shouldn’t be worried if other Havens had foods or water or whatever, no; we shouldn’t worry because they have not worried about us. They are thriving now,” Craig lied, “as they always have been... We suffered in silence, but we won’t be in silence any longer. We will go take from them what is rightfully ours. It is because of our supplies that they are alive.”
“Let’s go! I’m with you,” another spectator agreed. The rest of them cheered and started to form a crowd.
“Ready your arms... ready whatever you have. We will take that last boat today, and will come back with treasures beyond your wildest dreams. Life will begin to feel normal now,” Craig said, already feeling triumphant.
“You should be ashamed of yourself!” Marcus yelled from across the small crowd. The crowd stopped cheering so loudly at the presence of Marcus. “Are you trying to brainwash these people’s minds with hatred... with division? We are better than this, Craig. If it wasn’t for the hundreds of times other Havens have helped us, we wouldn’t be here today. Can’t you see it? We are all humans. At the end, there is no that Haven or this Haven. My life matters just as much as your life and their lives. I am no better than anyone,” Marcus yelled passiona
tely.
“Which is why you shouldn’t be leading these people... which is why I should’ve been the leader of the saving all along. You are too blind to see what other Havens are doing to us. You are too naïve to think that those people care for us. We are alone in this world, don’t you see it, Marcus? I’ll give you a chance. Come and join now, or be a part of them and suffer their faith,” Craig said.
“Craig, this is madness and you know it. It’s the same reason the Council never voted in favor of you,” Marcus tried to reason.
Meanwhile, Ron made his way towards Marcus, making his way through the small crowd, pushing people aside.
“We have some bigger problems than this. We have to get everyone underground for safety. We have to do it now,” Ron said, breaking into a sweat.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong? What is happening?” Marcus said all out, causing people to stare.
“Just a few minutes ago, Haven 1B sent out an SOS signal. As I tried to hail them, we lost all communication. They are completely in the dark now. I tried to communicate with all the nearby Havens, but same thing... they’re all in the dark,” Ron said with a grave tone.
Chill ran down Marcus’ body as he heard the news. He knew what was coming, and he knew that they had already overextended their luck of being alive. Now, they were finally at their doorstep; he only hoped to have the courage to face them head on. People around them weren’t moving, and everyone was quiet, including Craig.
“We have to get to safety... we have to go underground once again if we want to survive this. Take only your family to safety. We have to move now!” Marcus yelled at everybody.
“Should I try to fire up the old anti-air battery?” Ron asked.
“Yes, we have to do everything we can to save the people in the Haven,” Marcus said as Ron ran towards the watchtower.
“So, do you see now...just how far they are willing to go to derail us... just how low they would sink to stop us from taking back what’s rightfully ours? Don’t listen to them! This is a hoax, just an elaborate hoax. Probably nothing happened to Haven 1B or 2B or five or six. Come with me, and I will show you the way to reclaim what’s yours. We are leaving now, and when we come back, this Haven will be ours and not theirs anymore,” Craig yelled at the crowd.
Most of the crowd agreed with Craig, not because they believed him entirely, no; it was because he was the only shot they had at changing things, a change in the monotonous life they had grown into. Whether it was for better or worse, they needed change, and change couldn’t come soon enough.
The angry mob left with Craig towards the hangar. They grabbed whatever they could and whatever they thought they could use as a weapon to raid Haven 1B. They grabbed knives, machetes, and ammunition for the small turret gun that was recently hitched to the smaller boat by Haven 1B. They hastily put civilian radiation suits on and jumped inside the small airboat.
“We’re doing this for humanity’s greatness once again!” Craig yelled at the mob on top of the small boat.
The small boat didn’t pick up so much speed as it went down the mountain. It was gliding roughly and pumping on many rocks, as it was overweight.
“Don’t worry. This one is one tough animal. We have lent it to all the Havens in the nearby vicinity and nothing has happened. Chances are that nothing will happen,” Craig said as he ventured into the desert for the first time.
It wasn’t long before Craig and the small mob of people saw them; the visitors were descending upon them rapidly. They were in three ships, flying in low altitude. The ships looked solid and designed with function over form; they were ugly, and they didn’t even try to hide it. Many lights lit up the dark colored ships. One of the ships slowed and hovered just above the small airboat.
“Let’s not show them fear!” Craig yelled at the small mob. “Open fire! Let’s show them that we still can.”
The small turret gun at the back of the airboat came to life, firing an array of bullets at the visitor’s ship. The ship did not move and did not flinch, as the bullets bounced off it. But a few seconds into the attack, the ship made a loud noise and accelerated towards the others to join them near the Haven.
“You see? You see what happens when you show your valor? They treat you as warriors... they treat you with respect,” Craig yelled out, and the small mob cheered.
Only a few minutes passed before their cheers turned to worry and panic as they saw the desert worms approaching them fast.
“Do not worry! They cannot get on this boat. How has everybody else that has ventured into the desert survived? These are bolts and are a lot faster than them,” Craig said, trying to calm the crowd.
“But, sir, they’re gaining on us... We are too heavy and almost dragging in the desert floor,” one of the people in the mob expressed.
It didn’t take long for the desert worms to surround the heavy airboat and take it down. Craig was one of the first victims of the desert worms; nobody in the small airboat survived.
Back in the Haven, Marcus was doing whatever he could to put the people underground and to the safety of the bunkers. The people in the Haven ran; they were scared, and the Haven was turning cold. They could feel that something was wrong, that it wouldn’t be just another day trying to survive. People scrabbled into the bunkers, with only a few of them staying outside.
Marcus ran towards Ron and the old anti-air battery once he saw most of the people are safe inside the bunkers.
“What do you have?” Marcus asked.
“We have three enemy aircraft approaching,” Ron answered from the gunner’s seat as he saw the aircraft from the large digital scope. “The stories about these things are true... you better find a way to send a message to the Orca if they are still out there. I don’t think there’s anything in this Haven that will be able to survive this,” Ron said as he put his finger on the trigger, ready to fire.
“We’ve done everything we could to protect this Haven. It looks like we reach the end of the things we can do. For whatever it’s worth, it was a pleasure knowing you,” Marcus said.
“Yes, we did. Although we might not survive this, I am sure humanity will. It was a pleasure knowing you too, old friend. Now go before they get here,” Ron said as he focused back on the scope.
Marcus ran back towards the communication room; he ran as hard as his old heart would let him. It wasn’t long before he heard shots being fired from the old anti-air battery. There was a loud laser-like sound that made the ground tremble, followed by an explosion. When Marcus looked back, he saw that the anti-air battery was not there anymore—it had disappeared along with Ron.
Marcus entered the communication room and grabbed the first portable signal device that he could find. There is another laser-like sound just outside, and the structure he was in began to crack, forcing him outside. When he went outside, he couldn’t believe his eyes—half of the Haven was on fire and the other half was gone all the way down to the bunkers. He had to send a message, and he had to send a message fast. As he looked up, he saw the three enemy ships floating right above the Haven. By then, he knew it was the end for them; there was no escape.
10
A Lost Race
They were known as an advanced type I civilization, with formidable technology. They had harnessed the powers of the stars to their full potential, making it easy for them to travel between stars, between galaxies, between large amounts of space. But with them, just like many other races, after their technology stopped improving, once they had seemed to reach the threshold, a primal instinct began to take over their governing bodies. It was an instinct that was far more ancient and destructive than their greatest weapons, an instinct as old as an atom itself. Greed took over them, with each leader trying to control more than the next. War erupted among them, and their home planet was destroyed.
The act of destruction sent them wandering in space, searching for a place they can call home. They spent ages wandering the endless void of space, looking for a new plac
e they could inhabit. They were spread thin throughout space, exploring many galaxies at the same time.
As centuries passed, their technology stopped advancing, and they started to die. Overcrowding, sickness, and decease took over their ships, and harsh but necessary decisions had to be made in order to survive the coming void.
For the survival of the race, the Hackaram came together, once again pulling all their resources to make one common goal possible: to find a planet which they will be able to call home.
Three simple rules were established to prevent genocide or any kind of planetary contamination.
One: Any Intelligent life should be at least 3.5 light years away from the new planet.
Two: Intelligent life should not already be occupying the new planet.
Three: Intelligent life should not become aware of the existence of the Hackaram.
The rules were paramount and were inscribed on every scout ship that would ever look for a planet. At first, the operation looked promising. But as centuries passed, the hope for them of finding a new home became bleak.
Endorem Palac was a young captain at the time. He was well respected in the ranks. He had a brand-new fleet, with an Explorer class ship as their flagship. Explorers were a medium-sized ship when compared to the rest of the fleet, although fully equipped to establish a colony if need be.
He set out to find the next home of the Hackaram, and he intended to be the first one to do so.
Space folding was prohibited for the discovering fleets, as they could easily miss a prospected planet. For centuries, he traveled in suspended animation, searching far and wide, prospect to prospect, as his species died in space.
He and the nearly 2000 Hackaram aboard the Explorer, and the rest of his fleet almost lost their lives as well, as they came into contact with powerful and technological superior, the type II civilizations. They had barely escaped those encounters, and deemed those edges of space as red zones.