“God, we’re flying!” Gustoff said, staring out of the porthole, watching Second Earth’s soil disappear and the deep darkness of space appear to him for the first time. It was magical, and as they exited the atmosphere of his home planet, Gustoff shed a tear of joy.
“We made it! We actually made it!” somebody else said behind him. But Randy couldn’t take his eyes off the planet beneath him. Now it was just a sphere bobbing in space, but for a long time, it was all he’d ever known.
Now he would come to know so much more.
***
The man in the suit stared at his computer screen with a smile on his face. On the LCD monitor, he watched as a red blip flashed as it moved on a digital schematic. The schematic he was looking at was of the Andromeda Galaxy. The top of his screen had a timer on it. It was three seconds from reaching zero.
“And so it is done,” he whispered under his breath.
The counter reached zero and the blip turned green. A message popped up on the LCD monitor.
“PROJECT SECOND EARTH COMPLETE. ALL LIFE FORMS PASSED THE TEST. MINOR CASUALTIES. MAXIMUM RESULTS. ETA ON ARRIVAL OF VESSEL ‘SECOND HOPE’; SIXTEEN HOURS AND FIFTY-TWO MINUTES”
“You did well, General,” A voice said from behind the man in the suit.
He quickly swiveled in his chair and smiled at the man standing in front of him. This man also wore a suit. But his was much more expensive, and he had far more power. But a congratulatory handshake was in order, so the man got up off his feet and shook the other man’s hand.
“I couldn’t have done it without the help of The Company, Sir. Many good men and women made this possible,” he said.
“Nonsense General, you did the human race proud. You found a distant planet, cultivated a presence on it, and played God with your subjects. You sat back and watched as a group of stranded humans became self-sufficient. You saw your subjects learn from textbooks and build a spaceship of their own. You did what no man has ever done before. You proved that we aren’t just a one-off. A flash in the pan. An anomaly. You proved that humanity has what it takes to conquer the Universe,” the man said, still shaking his hand.
The General knew how monumental this day was. For nearly two-hundred years, humanity had attempted to prove its own existence. It had attempted to recreate Earth and see where its inhabitants would take their own technology to. At what level would they leave Second Earth and what cost to life would the experiment have on them as a unit?
To the General’s surprise, they had opted to live a simpler life. They formed different sections of society, just like back home, and bickered amongst each other, just like on Earth. For a few years, most of The Company thought that the experiment had failed, that life on Second Earth was destined to be just that…life, and nothing else. But then they came to know that a select group of the colony members had managed to start work on a spaceship. They’d chosen to keep it a secret from the others, and it amazed the General that even on Earth 2.0, people didn’t trust each other.
There were many secrets. Many dishonest individuals, and many reasons to rejoice, for the experiment that was Second Earth proved that humanity isn’t perfect. That it isn’t inherently good or evil. It proves that humanity is just that, human. And humans hold many different characteristics. Characteristics that also prove that the human condition is both unique and unbiased.
Stick a bunch of people on a planet, wipe their memories of the places they used to call home, watch them reproduce, build a civilization, build a church, follow a religion, reject that religion and embrace science proves to The Company that the urge to know what we are, where we came from and where we’re going far outweighs the ability to ignore the truth and live in ignorance.
Project Second Earth was a success because it proves that humanity has the ability to adapt to a level that far outpaces the various alien races known to mankind. There will come a time when the people of Earth will look back at this moment with glee in their hearts and thankfulness in their minds, for it is the day when humanity truly learned what it meant to be human.
“I take it the bosses know that it was a success?” The General asked.
“Yeah, they are thrilled, especially since trying to cover up Second Earth was starting to become harder by the second, no pun intended. When Second Hope reaches Earth, we can finally tell the world that conquering other planets and becoming the dominant species in the Universe is not only feasible, but likely. The Second Earth colony proves that the ingenuity of our race far outweighs the fear in our hearts, and the next two-hundred years are going to be glorious,” the man said.
“What about the traitors, the ones that know too much? Surely now that the secret will come out, we can let them go?” the General asked.
“I’m afraid that’s it’s not that easy, General. They may come to know the truth about Second Earth and our destiny as humans, but they will never come to know of our secret weapon, a weapon that will help us build ships faster, fuel those ships and populate livable habitats in the Andromeda Galaxy and beyond. The blackness is that secret weapon, and the less they know about it, the better it is for our development as a species. So the traitors must die, or we risk causing a divide between our own people. Some of them won’t understand the resource and will want a piece of it for themselves. And I’m afraid that just cannot happen.”
The General nodded. He then turned his head and saw the blip on the screen slowly making its way toward Earth.
“What will they say when they find out that the people of Second Earth were rescued by an Earthling?” The General asked.
“There’s nothing to say. We destroyed their ship. They couldn’t rescue the people of Second Earth without their own ship, a ship they built without our help, thus proving that we humans can survive anything,” the man said.
The general smiled.
“So I guess it’s official then. This time tomorrow, the world will know that we aren't bound by our planet any more. That there are viable options out there, and left to our own devices, even without any prior knowledge of science or philosophy, we can build ships that fly back home.”
The man shook the Generals hand once again.
“And then the true experiment begins. An experiment where we flourish as a species and take what’s rightfully ours.”
The General smiled.
“Divide and conquer,” he said, the last syllable rolling off the tip of his tongue with ease.
The Second Earth Chronicles continues soon.
A new world awaits the colony; a world they do not fully understand.
Danger lies dormant for Commander Williams and Cap, but are they the key to releasing the truth behind the Company, and their true intentions?
Second Earth: New World hits Kindle soon (Late 2016, Early 2017)
As with Second Earth Book One, it will be released in an episodic format.
If you enjoyed this series, please leave a review on Amazon.
Thanks for reading.
Luis.
Carry on reading for a sample of Dropship One, Out now on Kindle!
Chapter One
The Crimson Shores, Tribeca planet.
I held the plasma railgun tightly in my grip. The troop carrier was shaking violently as we descended toward Tribeca’s foreign soil. My stomach was in knots as I attempted to hold my dinner in. But it was no use, I was as green as the grass, and green was certainly how I felt. I leaned forward and hurled my guts up. A fountain of vomit escaped my gullet and sprayed all over the steel grated floor beneath me. My boots were covered in a carrot -like substance. The men around me groaned. I’d let them down. We were heading into battle and I’d already puked my guts up like the rookie I was.
“Rookie’s gone chucked up his guts,” one of my fellow Marines said.
But I didn’t feel like a Marine. I felt like a failure. Like I’d jumped the gun and went into this headfirst without thinking. But now I was thinking. And I didn’t know whether the fact that I’d just puked my
guts up was playing havoc on my self-confidence, or I was now seeing things clearly; but now I didn’t feel as confident as I did when I’d stepped on the troop carrier earlier on. Now, all my confidence was gone. There wasn’t much left of me. Not much left in my stomach, or my heart. And I sensed that everybody around me felt exactly the same way. In the space of a few seconds, I’d become a shell of a man. The reality of war was crashing down on me much like the waves of bile in my stomach.
“Get a hold of yourself there Marine, puking your guts up isn’t going to accomplish anything. Unless, the only thing you want to accomplish is getting chunks on your shiny shoes. But you seem like a bright young man, the type of young man that doesn’t like to play with strands of vomit or mucus. I don’t say this about many, but you don’t seem half as retarded as some of the men that have graced this troop carrier in the past.”
The men around me started to laugh. I wiped a smidgen of sick off my lips and looked up at who was talking to me. The guy continued his tirade. And I continued to suppress the explosive vomit in my stomach, holding it down to the best of my ability.
“So I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt and putting all this down to nerves. So sit up straight, breathe through your nose and puff your chest out like the son of a bitch I know you are,” the Marine sergeant said to me as he flung his heavy arm around my shoulders and straightened me up a little.
I sat there with my chest puffed out, everybody else was looking at me, judging me, probably laughing at me – But I was here. I was here just like the rest of them. And just like the rest of them, I was here to make a difference. And that is exactly what we were going to do.
Make a difference.
“Thanks ever so much, Sir,” I said to the Marine sergeant with his arm wrapped around my shoulder.
The man’s tight grip loosened. He grunted, standing up and turning violently on his heels. His big abrasive boots screeched in protest as they made contact with the grated metal beneath his feet. The troop carrier continued to rattle and shake as it descended toward the foreign planet.
We’d all been briefed on our mission. It had all gone awry on the Tribeca planet. Something about merchant pirates becoming a little over friendly with the native population. The over friendliness soon turned into war. A war between two fierce alien species. But they weren’t like us. They weren’t anything like us humans. They didn’t walk upright. They didn’t speak an intellectual language. They were animals. And animals so often enjoyed animalistic behaviour. Savage beasts. But these beasts had been learning to get along with the rest of the Universe. Space and everything that surrounded it was teaming with all sorts of different creatures. Some were diplomatic. Others were violent and predatory.
Unfortunately, both the pirates and the natives of the Tribeca planet seemed to fall into the silent and predatory category. And we’d been sent there to stop the war escalating into an endgame event.
The thing is, it wasn’t the natives of the Tribeca planet or the pirates I was worried about. I was sure they were going to fare quite well. But, we humans - Marines - weren’t so favoured. In fact, instead of being revered, we were vilified. No planet nor its inhabitants wanted to see us landing on their soil. We only served one purpose, and that was protecting the merger of companies around the Universe. Companies that controlled the trade and market share of goods. And when a planetary event was deemed to be affecting the market negatively, the Marines were sent in to stabilise the market. And sometimes, the only way to stabilise anything was with pure carnage and violence.
The railgun in my hands signified carnage and violence well. It fired at a tremendous rate. Rounds and rounds skittering off into the horizon. Chances are my shots would hit something. And whatever it hit, it would bleed profusely. Yes, the railgun was the perfect weapon. A perfect weapon of violence. Carnage. Unadulterated death. At least my gun remained confident in my hands.
I knew that if my gun was a conscious being, it would be smiling right about now. Maybe even salivating at the thought of taking a creature's life. The gun would not have any problems with disembarking the ship, putting boots on the ground and searching for a viable target. It wouldn’t have a problem pulling the trigger when the time was right. It wouldn’t differentiate between male and female, man or beast, woman or child. No – the gun, my gun, wouldn’t have any problems at all with getting the job done.
That sort of confidence requires an empty mind. A bottomless pit of a conscience. It would require somebody not to be human. Ironically, a gun would do just fine. It wasn’t human. It was metal. Forged by the hands of a human. A human that most likely didn’t give too much thought about the lives the gun may take in its tours of duty. But the time for thinking was soon up. The troop carrier was starting to rattle less as it descended toward the ground.
We were seconds away from planetary touchdown. Once the ship made contact with the foreign soil of the Tribeca planet, then the doors would open. We’d all then be expected to make our way out of the ship and onto the ground, no matter what lay in wait for us. There could be a seventy-foot-tall dinosaur waiting to munch on a bunch of Marines, and we’d still be expected to go out there with a smile on our faces.
Missions like these ended up the same way every time. We would win, but at the same time we would lose – lose many men. It was the price of war. The human body was expendable. It was just flesh and bones. And at the rate that humanity reproduced, there would never be a short supply of humans. People back on Earth sure liked to fuck. Everybody I knew had some sort of baby, or kid hanging around. Schools were filled to the brim with children eager to learn. Millions of bottles of milk every morning – making Kids grow big and strong. I didn’t want kids. I didn’t want more people going through what I went through in my crappy existence thus far. They tell you to get married and to start a family. To enjoy life. Go out on picnics. Chase your smiling kids down the park. Ballgames. Swimming holes. Tire swings. A cabin in the woods. That’s the stuff that freedom is made out of.
But then they call you for enlistment. Man or woman, enlistment is mandatory. Two years’ service – or else. That’s why I’m here. Mandatory enlistment. I’ll do my two years. I’ll kill whoever they ask me to kill. The thing is, unlike most of the people on board this troop carrier, I won’t be doing it with a smile on my face. I’ll be doing it whilst gritting my teeth. I’ll be doing it begrudgingly. They’ll never know that I don’t enjoy the prospect of spilling blood for the simple and primitive objective of financial or economic gain.
“Touchdown in thirty seconds,” the Marine sergeant said while standing up and turning toward us. He gave me a wink and I smiled. It was all I could do. It just didn’t feel right winking back at a grown man. I’m sure he understood my predicament.
“Things are going to get messy down here. There will be a lot of firefights. The pirates are armed to the teeth and so are the natives. Most of the fighting seems to be happening in the rock quarry fields to the east of the city. We’re landing around ten clicks north of it. Once we touchdown, every one of you will make your way toward the quarry. Good luck out there and don’t get killed. As my daddy used to tell me, you only get one chance at dying – might as well make it memorable. So no fuckups out there, just get the job done and get your arses back here in one piece.”
The Marines around me whooped and hollered as the troop transporter shook violently. I braced myself, the railgun in my hands shaking in parallel with the transporter. My legs vibrated as the air vehicle swayed from left to right. My heart was in my mouth. I could taste copper. Iron. Blood was rushing through my head. My ears felt like cotton. I couldn’t hear much. I couldn’t see much more. The red light above the exits flashed rapidly. We were seconds away from touchdown. And before I knew it, the light above the door went green. Everybody unbuckled and stood up. The sound of hundreds and hundreds of guns being loaded and cocked reverberated off the tin walls that surrounded us. Then that sound was replaced by the new sound of swift moving boots maki
ng haste toward the double doors.
The darkened dimness of the air vehicle soon became engulfed in light. Natural light. The doors opened and the Marines disembarked. It didn’t take long for the sound of gunfire to make its presence known. Within twenty seconds, most of the transporter was empty. I felt someone push me. I stumbled forward, my railgun still tightly in my grip. Then I craned my head back and saw who’d pushed me. It was the sergeant. He was the last one on the ship. I was second to last.
We both stepped off the ship and onto the Tribeca planet. Huge mountainous peaks surrounded us. The tips of the mountains were pointed, the sun in the sky cascaded a bright warm light across the canvas of rock above us. But time was of the essence. We couldn’t afford to be standing around, staring at the natural beauty that surrounded us. This was a war zone after all.
A war zone teeming with danger around every corner. If only I knew how dangerous things were to become, then maybe I wouldn’t have been standing around like an idiot waiting for the danger to find me. Instead, I would have seen it coming; I would have seen it approaching us.
“Keep your wits about you, there’s plenty of areas where an ambush could potentially become a reality, so stay frosty around the corners, rookie,” the Marine sergeant said as he turned toward me and gave me the thumbs up.
I was heavily distracted by the glare coming from the sun above us. Not even the mountainous peaks gave us much protection from the hot beating sun. But the sun was the least of my worries. The troop carrier behind us was empty, and dust was slowly rising around us. The dust emanated from the running boots of our fellow Marines, Marines that were far in front of us now, meaning that it was just the two of us. And two lowly human souls would be nothing more than cannon fodder for whatever was lying in wait for us out here.
“We should get a move on – I have a bad feeling about this,” I said, gripping tightly onto my railgun.
Second Earth: The Complete First Novel (Second Earth Chronicles Book 1) Page 21