The Draconians had beaten the Mulgor back from Earth, but humanity was in crisis and needed help more than ever. Over three billion people had died in the Mulgor attacks. Millions more died afterwards from infections and starvation.
She’d heard rumors that the Draconians planned to help humanity rebuild, but they had created so many problems so far that Octavia didn’t believe they could possibly help.
She chugged her coffee and finished her breakfast. There was a meeting later with the rebuilding committee. She was beginning to hate the meetings. Nothing ever really got accomplished. They ended up talking in circles. Half of the committee wasn’t speaking with the other half.
She brought her cup and bowl to a dish tub and trudged out of the food tent into the snow. It would be another long cold day with the smell of unwashed bodies and poor sanitation.
She tried to keep herself from crying all day every day. She’d done enough of that after the bomb had landed, killing her parents and everyone else she knew. Octavia didn’t think she had any more tears to shed.
Octavia went back to her tent and zipped herself inside, pulling her sleeping bag up around her shoulders. Sunlight was now streaming through the trees and illuminating her tent enough that she could read.
She should have been pouring over urban planning textbooks, but she was reading a trashy romance novel. It was one of the few things that helped her forget the tragedy of her world.
Huddled inside the sleeping bag in her tent, she was able to drift away into a fantasy world where the hero and heroine always found a happily ever after and everything turned out okay. No matter how ridiculous it was and how completely contrary it was to reality, Octavia needed a little bit of romance in her life. Just to keep herself going.
In the middle of a particularly steamy scene, someone tapped at the door to her tent.
“Octavia? Are you in there?” It was her best friend Ashley. She was an elementary school teacher and had been holding class for the refugee children for the past several weeks. It helped keep the kids occupied and gave some relief to the parents and adoptive parents who looked after them.
“I’m in here,” Octavia said, closing her book.
Ashley unzipped the tent and her blonde popped her head inside. Her light skin looked wan. Octavia knew that her own coca coloring was taking on the same kind of pallor.
“What are you doing in here?” Ashley asked.
“I’m reading this trashy novel,” she said. “Isn’t there any school today?”
“It’s a school holiday,” Ashley said, stomping off her boots and entering Octavia’s tent.
“Says who?” Octavia asked.
“Says me,” Ashley said, zipping the tent up behind her. “I’m the superintendent of the New York unified school district. Who knew that all I needed to get a major promotion was the apocalypse?”
“We’ve all gotten major career advancements since the Mulgor invasion,” Octavia said, rubbing her face. The pressure of being one of the few people who could understand what it took to rebuild the city was a tremendous amount of pressure for a woman in her mid-twenties who had just finished her education.
“Dan asked me to come over and remind you that there’s a planning committee meeting starting in fifteen minutes,” Ashley said.
“Do I have to?” Octavia said. The truth was, Octavia had the highest level of education of any of the New York refugees when it came to urban planning. Dan had been a construction contractor and a few other people had worked in utilities. But Octavia was the only one who understood how to put all the details together into the big picture. Since everyone disagreed so much of the time, it was a job that she really did not relish.
“There are a lot of people counting on you, Octavia.”
“I just don’t want to think about it right now. What made the superintendent of the New York unified school district decide to have a holiday today?”
“I haven’t had a day off in three weeks,” Ashley said. “There’s only three teachers for hundreds of kids of all different age ranges. Sometimes I think the parents send their kids to the school tents just to have someone else babysit them. I could really use some help. I’m going to spend the rest of the day looking for more volunteers.”
“I can help you with the kids,” Octavia said.
“Forget about it. You have an important job to do yourself.”
“I guess I better go to the meeting then,” she said, pulling herself out of her sleeping bag.
Ashley and Octavia climbed out of the tent and onto the muddy path between the rows of tents. It had stopped snowing and the clouds had broken, revealing a crystal blue sky and bright sunlight.
It was nice to see the sun for a change instead of the relentless snowstorms that had been hitting the camp for the last few weeks. Everyone was cold and everyone was sick. Life had become a constant misery that seemed to have no end.
She hoped that in the spring, what was left of the government would begin to send aid. But the resources and infrastructure simply weren’t there anymore. Communication was only available through short wave radio, and knowledge of the outside world was limited.
She said goodbye to Ashley and made her way to where the rebuilding committee met once a week to go over new developments. The last meeting had been a disaster, ending in several people threatening to quit.
They had everyone from sanitation workers to architects on the committee. It seemed everyone wanted to talk and no one wanted to listen. She could understand, in some ways, since everyone was traumatized. However, if they couldn’t get it together, they’d never be able to rebuild their first structure.
She walked into the tent and took a seat at the folding table as the rest of the committee filed into the room.
“Oh good,” Dan said. “You made it.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this party for the world,” she said sarcastically.
“I know this is hard for you, kid, but we need you.”
Dan sat down across from her and heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing his red beard. He winked at her, his crow’s feet deepening around his eyes.
“You’re right,” she said.
“I’ve got some news that could change everything.”
Chapter 2
“What is it?” she asked Dan, staring at him. She tried to conceal her agitation. The rebuilding committee was becoming as big a cluster fuck as the ruined city.
“I’ll tell you when everybody arrives,” he said.
The rest of the committee filed into the tent and sat down at the table. Dan was the unofficial leader of the group and called the meeting to order.
“I recently made a discovery that this committee should be the first to know.”
“Just spill it, Dan,” Octavia said.
“The Draconian consulate was the one building to survive the Mulgor bombing,” Dan said.
“We all know that already,” Octavia said.
“I drove by there early this morning on one of my scavenging runs and went to speak with the secretary. He told me that the Draconians are implementing a reconstruction plan starting next week. They brought in some of their best people from their home planet. New York will be the first city to be reconstructed.”
“Are they going to consult with us?” Octavia asked. The Draconians had already been so irresponsible in their dealings with Earth. It was high time that they started working more closely with the humans in order to create a better future for the planet.
“As far as he knew, no,” Dan said, his voice disappointed.
“So we’re out of a job,” one of the other committee members said.
“It’s not my job I’m concerned about. I’m concerned about the fact that the Draconians have no fucking idea how to deal with humans, our customs, or our society. What the hell do they know about city planning and development? They expect us to live in these places but don’t plan to consult us about how to build them? I’m sorry, but that’s completely ridiculous,” Octavia
said, her anger boiling in her gut.
She’d spent the last several months devising a plan to rebuild New York for the good of everyone. The Draconians had been nowhere to be found. The survivors had depended on their own wits and will to make it through the worst part of the year. Now the Draconians were going to swoop in and force their ideas and their cities onto the refugees? That just didn’t fly with her.
“At least they’re planning to help,” Dan said.
“It’s too little, too late as far as I’m concerned,” Octavia said. “And I intend to do something about it.”
“I think it best if we don’t anger the very people who can help us, Octavia,” Dan said.
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” she said, growing angrier by the second.
“If you think that you can get more information than I did, then be my guest. Go down to the consulate yourself and talk to the secretary.”
“That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
The rest of the committee members were quietly talking among themselves. Some of them were relieved that the Draconians were finally helping. Others were just as irritated as Octavia. She didn’t intend to wait around to listen to their opinions.
The Draconians had screwed up. They’d screwed up the Earth’s economy with their irresponsible offer of technology. They’d screwed up the world even more by luring their enemy to her planet. They’d probably screw up again when trying to rebuild. For an advanced race, they certainly were stupid when it came to dealing with other civilizations.
“Can I borrow your truck?” she said to Dan. He sighed and handed her the keys.
“Don’t piss them off, Octavia,” he said.
“I’ll do my best,” she said, turning out of the tent.
The clouds had already moved back in and the wind was picking up again. At least Dan’s truck had a heater. The refugees had fuel they scavenged from ruined gas stations, but for the most part, they had to rely on burning wood from the ruins to survive the cold.
A few of the buildings constructed in the refugee camp were made out of recycled materials from the ruins, but the rest were just tents scavenged from material and outdoor supply stores.
Octavia walked towards the parking lot where Dan’s truck was parked. There were enough cars left to get around the city on scavenger runs, but most of the refugees did not leave the camp.
She got into the truck and turned on the motor. A CD left over from before the invasion began to play through the speakers. Dan would have to be a country music fan.
She turned it off and pulled out of the parking lot. The Draconian consulate was in the middle of downtown Manhattan. Almost every other building in New York had been flattened or blasted wide open, but not the Draconian consulate. The dome was like a white spot in a sea of black, twisted metal.
The road between the camp and the consulate was clear enough to drive through if she wove around the debris blocking the way. She made it to the consulate a few minutes later and parked the truck, thinking about what she would say to the secretary when she got inside. The Draconians had made a royal mess of everything and they needed to get their act together.
She took a deep breath and got out of the car before storming up the stairs and pulling open the front door. Inside the huge dome was a single desk with the Draconian secretary sitting behind it. What did this guy do all day?
“Have you come to enter the mating lottery?” he asked as she approached his desk. The secretary was seven feet tall and impossibly good-looking, like all Draconian males. His perfect features and shining blue eyes made it difficult to remain angry at him. Difficult, but not impossible.
“I have not come to enter the lottery. My friend was here earlier. You told him about the Draconian reconstruction of the city. I would like to be involved in the planning. After all the stupid mistakes the Draconians have made in their involvement with Earth, it’s about damn time that you start taking our needs into consideration.”
“It was not our intention to mate with a civilization at your level of advancement. It is highly unusual for us to be involved with a race who is not either in a very low level of technological advancement or a very high one similar to our own. It was unfortunate that this happened to your planet. But rest assured, the Draconians are committed to making reparations.”
“Committed to making reparations? What the hell does that even mean? You can’t just leave our opinions out of it if you intend to rebuild our entire planet from the ground up.”
“The president has sent our best architect. Housing for Draconian civilians has already been built. Your city will be reconstructed within a few months. You should be pleased.”
“Has this architect of yours been studying human history, human culture, human society?”
“He is the Grand Architect of Draconia. I’m sure he is equipped to provide your species with all you require.”
“Don’t talk down to me. Just remember you need our DNA to survive,” she said, ready to get into a serious debate with this snobby secretary.
“Is there anything else can I do for you today?” he asked, as if dismissing her.
“I told you, I want to be involved in the planning of the reconstruction of New York City. This is my city. I’ve lived here my entire life. I don’t trust some alien to make all of the decisions about how we’re going live.”
“I’ve told you, that is impossible. Now, if there’s nothing else I can help you with…”
Octavia groaned angrily and turned away, storming out of the consulate. She should have known they would blow her off like that. Typical Draconian behavior. They thought they were so much better than humans because they were more technologically advanced. But if they were so great, then why didn’t they think before messing up the Earth? They weren’t even taking responsibility for their mistakes. She got in the truck and gripped the steering wheel, growling angrily at the windshield.
There was nothing she could do except go back to the refugee camp and wait for the Draconians to mess up again. She turned on the engine and pealed out of her parking spot. She hadn’t felt this angry since the weeks after the bombings when she was still grieving the loss of her parents. Everything felt so bitter and hopeless.
Chapter 3
Joss Noro, Grand Architect of Draconia, landed on the small blue-green planet at the site of his next project. The president of Draconia had requested that he specifically go to Earth to deal with the “human problem.” The humans had been a thorn in the side of Draconians since the ill-fated mating armada had left Draconia six years ago.
Humans were a silly race who hoarded resources and waged war on themselves. Joss had learned a few things about the technologically immature species on his way over from Draconia but hadn’t bothered to go over the extensive training materials the males who intended be mated with a human female were expected to learn.
He had no intention of entering his DNA into the mating lottery. He doubted his fated mate would be found among these silly people.
Joss had loved once, a long time ago, when he was but a young man. He had given his heart to a Draconian woman. She was sophisticated and refined, educated in the finest Draconian schools. She came from one of the best families in the Draconian government and had been perfect for him in every way.
He had been sure she was his fated mate. They had spent many countless hours together, traveling in the same social circles. They’d been so young, the mating impulse had not started for either of them. They had both believed that on the day when they came of age, the mating impulse would begin for each other.
But that had not come to be. When the girl had reached her age of maturity, another man, an older man who was an expert in his field and quite well-off, claimed the girl as his own. Her mating impulse was just as strong as the older man’s, and she left Joss without a second thought.
They never spoke again. Joss no longer believed in love or the mating impulse. He certainly could not fathom the idea of mating with t
his barbaric, ridiculous people. He planned to spend the few years required to rebuild the Earth’s cities, then quickly go back to Draconia. His real work was on his home planet, advancing his race as the mighty people they were.
The Draconians had been a technologically advanced species for millions of years. Even with the DNA structure that favored male offspring, they had managed to thrive all that time. The Mulgor had even had a chance to evolve out of Draconian DNA in the time they’d been traveling the universe.
Why Draconians continued to mate with low-level species did not make sense to him. However, if a species was still living in caves and using stone weapons, at least the females would be justifiably impressed with the Draconians’ superiority. These stupid humans were not.
It was not the custom of the Draconians to mate with societies that were at a midrange of development. They either mated with low-level species or species who had the same level of advancement as their own. Five thousand years ago, Earth humans were an appropriate choice because of their low level of development. No one could have anticipated they would advance so quickly. It was a very rare thing throughout the universe.
The mating armada might have been better thought out if the Mulgor had not attacked right as they were preparing. With the war exploding in the Draconian solar system, research of the Earth humans had been lacking.
When the Draconians had found the humans at their midrange level of technological advancement, it had been a surprise. Draconians had to replenish their DNA at least every thousand years. Time was running out and there would be very few females in the next generation.
There had not been time to find another planet to mate with before the generation was over. Negotiations with high-level societies took dozens, even hundreds of years. Earth humans had been the last barbaric race the Draconians had identified as being genetically compatible with themselves. There was no other choice.
Trading technology with the humans was the only option. How were they to know that the humans would not be able to handle themselves? But in typical human fashion, they used the new technologies to create a vast economic divide between rich and poor.
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