Eden Anew Chapter one: The Arrival I often wonder why God had created such beings as us on the planet. Why He had taken our weak bodies and gave us such a strong mind that we could defeat all the other animals on our planet to become the most dominant species. I often wonder if we where just plain lucky through the Ice Ages and the many years before us. Was that the reason we became so smart? If any of the other animals that we killed off or attempted to save lasted as long as us, would they have been as smart as our kind in time? Could we have been beaten and knocked down the evolutionary latter? Lately I also wonder if God has put into place a sort of… limbo between all other species of life in this large universe. If he has made us dislike one another only because he wishes to see what species could come out on top. Hell on some days I wonder if God even EXISTS! Why would there be with the pain He has caused through all of the years… the brutal power of the Nercs… the great brain power of the Tarns… and our resourcefulness as creatures of his creation. Did He make us to join forces against a greater foe or just to see which one has be best chance against one another? I even wonder at times how we managed to pull ourselves from this shit hole of an existence to come to be so powerful. Having such large guns that we can blow away any enemy as though they are nothing. I am afraid that my ideas of Gods plan are true and that… in time we will kill one another. We will leave no trace of any other creature in this galaxy and as such… we all die… nothing will be left… the true Armageddon… not the one that took place 500 years ago on Earth the first. Then I often wonder on the ideals of the world around me. Why is it that our world… a world with a once grand country called America… has become such a despotic planet that it is almost sickening. We have one leader…and he is nothing to really look up to. He stands so tall and lets himself be heard with wonderful speeches and grand tear filled words. I am curious how America was pulled down into the gutter… all files of our civilization before the rise of the Earth-United fronts have been eliminated… and that zone of the planet known as America has been cut off. It is the only place on Earth now kept from radiation. Something had to happen and I want to know. The unfortunate thing about all of these facts is that I will never be able to know. I am nothing more than a lowly battle cruiser pilot. A small ship man that is only lucky when he is able to get himself a piece of ass… and that is even rare with how few women are around… they are either taken up or are such sluts that you can’t help but puke. I often wonder if I might even try to go for another guy… since it seems that is the way things are shaping up around here. Well, that is enough of my ranting here in this journal. I should be going so as to get ready for the introduction of a new pilot tomorrow… why do we need another pilot? We have not seen battle in a good year or so. Well I am of, till next time. Roman Alexander. January 24th The year of his prime’s 2804. Roman woke the next day startled. He glanced around for the object, which kept making that infernal beep. His eyes clouded over with the morning drowsiness that always effected him. He could not help but grumble as his hand fumbled over the table next to his bed. When he realized that the only thing on the surface was his wristwatch he cussed at his memory. Rolling onto his back he glared at the small black square above his bed. “You can shut off that noise, computer… you infernal piece of dog dung!” As the words where caught by the sensor the noise shut off and the panels on the top of the room began to glow a deep white. Roman rolled to sit up, rubbing the drowsiness from his eyes and standing. He yawned and extended his hands as far to the side as he could. Feeling the sweet pain of his muscles loosening slightly, he spoke in a slightly sleepy voice. “Open the windows… shut off the panels. I hate that infernal fake light.” The light from the “windows’ where still fake but they felt far more natural. They carried slight warmth to them and the glow was not as mechanical. As the panels opened slightly they revealed a set of tropical trees that swayed just out his window. The gentle red light of the second sun shown in and against his skin. He knew it was not real but in this time and age you take what you can get. He glanced out the window at the common scenery of Earth the Second. The tropical climate was always hot and humid, which lead to the great growth of tropical forests that littered the planet in so many places. Roman could not say he knew of the cold of Antarctica or the heat of the desert. He was born on Earth the Second and raised in the government that had become so powerful. He yawned once more and placed his hand on his slightly bruised shoulder. Training yesterday had been hard but he had needed the practice. He slid from his bed and glanced around absently. He spoke up once more his voice finally clear of any sign of tiredness. “Turn on the warm water and keep it at 70 degrees… and do NOT make that Celsius this time. Brew me three cups of black coffee in a large mug, and make me three pieces of toast.” He let his hand fall as he placed his right hand against the small black pad near his closet door. He could feel the heat as the sensor wiped over his identity tag placed in his right ring finger. He heard the small sound of air letting loose and grasped the door pulling it slowly to the side. As it opened his wardrobe became apparent. He glanced slowly over several uniforms and sighed. He took one and set it down on top of his bed. He walked through the small room into the small kitchen and past the steaming mug of coffee into the living room. To keep from tripping he glanced down every now and again until he was in the small bathroom. He could stand tall but it was only big enough for the small shower, which was now running, and the toilet that was there. The sink and mirror were in his room. He sighed and stripped hopping into the shower. The water did not come from a nozzle any more but rather from the ceiling itself. The water fell at a cool temperature and landed on his skin. His soap was given to him once every month and now it was nearly gone. His shampoo came once a week in very small bottles that took only two days to really use so most peoples hair seemed to look and feel greasy. When he was finished he chimed that the water be turned off. As it was he stepped out and pressed his hand against the wall a small voice came through the small speaker in the top right of the room. “Three credits have been taken from your account mister Alexander. You have 95 credits left for the month.” That took Alexander a little by surprise. They must have given out the rations early or he should have finished up his credits for the time being. He took the towel that had appeared in the bottom of a small holder and wiped off. He came back to his bedroom and took up the uniform. The uniform was black with small brown stripes on the shoulders and down the legs. The writing on the right read “Battle Cruiser Pilot Roman Alexander. Currently holds the rank of O2.” On the right shoulder were two, small metal bars that showed his rank. He ran his fingers over the cool metal once to feel the soothing knowledge that he was an accomplished graduate of the Officer Academy. He sighed and quickly pulled the clothing on tightening the collar until it fit his neck snuggly. He always hated that feeling of it being so restricting but it was regulation. He glanced around once, picking up the small beret and placing it under his left arm. He glanced over himself once more in the mirror to his right to make sure that everything was perfect before he nodded and turned walking over to the door to leave. Letting his right hand press against the black pad once more, feeling the heat and the small click he grasped the door and slid it to the side. Leaving he closed the door and looked around the slightly dark hallway. This early in the morning the panel lights were never really on full power. He glanced to the side panels to see a picture of the stars outside. They could not be real windows of course, the constant spinning of the middle of the spacecraft kept them from being able to. You could get so dizzy doing that. But the spinning was needed so that gravity could be created. That camera was in one of five selected still spots on the ship. Roman turned absently after gazing at a few new stars and walked down the hallway toward the mess hall. After making a few turns and passing a few enlisted ranks, he came to the large room. The room could easily to fit a few thousand men. It had a second floor that was more for the casual people. This evening the first floor was slightly decorated with the black and brown banners of Earth the Second. At the very front standing near the stage was the commander, and next to him a young woman. Roman could not help but stare at the woman. She had short red hair that just barely touched her shoulders. Two bangs extended down far past what they were allowed. No one seemed to notice though because she had a very beautiful face. She was a deep tan and looked like she had just come from Earth. The markings on her shoulder placed her in the same rank as him, though very few in his position could ever really get above that. She was very shapely and he could imagine himself doing so many things to her. He shook away such thoughts and rubbed his hand across his eyes. He was thinking far too much for his own good today. He moved as close to the front as he could and stole a seat next to David Browky, a fellow pilot. The ceremony’s started as normal with the National Anthem and the saluting of the ship’s commander. He did this through routine and put very little emotion behind the song. He placed his right hand against his left chest and slid it slowly across to his right before slamming his fist against his chest once and letting his hand fall absently to his side. This was the salute and Roman had always found it rather… strange. He sighed and let his body sink back into his chair. The commander standing for a moment to make sure that everyone was quite before taking a breath and beginning the introduction speech. “Fellow Crew Members, I would like to introduce you to Miss Rose Barton. She has recently graduated from the Academy and has obviously been placed here on our ship, The Wolfgar! This ship has a long history of being placed first into battle and being the best while in battle. I am almost certain that this young woman will not tarnish that reputation. In fact she was suggested to me by the Academy’s head tactical trainer, Mister Davis, with great… persuasion I must add. I have looked over her credentials many times and have found her to be far more then he was telling me she could be. I feel that you all will accept her, and gentleman I do warn you I have told Miss Barton about our lack of females and your excessive… sexual drives. She has assured me that she will not be an easy capture and any that grab her without permission will wind up with a broken hand. “And on one final note I have also brought you here to inform you that we have been drafted as a new ambassador ship.” This brought quite a few groans of displeasure from the group. After it quieted down the commander continued. “We are to go in route to Tarn and pick up not only one Ambassador, but also a member of their royal family. You will treat them with respect or you will find yourself demoted to the rank of E1 without a second thought. Do you understand?” The crowed all stood doing the salute and speaking in unison a loud yes sir. After all of the speeches and the common ceremonies the music began and the first day of leisure that any of them had seen for a good year, began. A slow beat started to pick up in the speakers. The soft thud and soothing voice almost hypnotic. People began to sway and dance in the center of the large room. Roman had found himself compelled to stand and find Rose. She was to be placed into his squadron so he felt that he should speak with her. Snaking his way slowly between dancing bodies he came to the Commanders Honor table and found her, deep in conversation, with the Captain. Roman stood patently until the Captain looked to him with a slight grumble on his voice as he spoke. “Roman… Not now… I know that you don’t like the Tarns but you know what I said.” “Sir. I know… but in all actuality I came to speak to Rose. She is to be part of the squadron and I felt that I should at the very least have a small conversation with her. This way she knows that not all of us men are that bad.” Roman spoke with a gentle tone. Looking almost dumbfounded the commander sat with his eyes directly at Roman. Before slowly he looked to Rose and coughed, regaining his nerve. “Well I see no problem with that… Rose. This is O-2 ranked officer Roman David Alexander.” “A pleasure to meet you Roman.” Rose spoke. Her voice was soft and gentle. It added a bit of fragrance to the beat of the music and made even that sound dulled compared to her voice. He could not help but blink once or twice. Her voice was so stunning that he stood in shock for a moment. Then came that voice again. This time much closer to him as she was standing just next to him. “Why don’t you be the one to give me the tour of the ship? Since you are the only one to be nice to me so far.” “O…Ok.” Roman shook his head slightly and smiled turning to face her. “Would you like to take the tour now… or a little later?” He let his voice ring off with the slightly teasing tone that always came when he spoke to others. “Oh… I would say now, but I would rather dance with you right now.” She spoke with a gentle smile on her face. She looked to the Captain and spoke over the music. “I will be back in a bit sir. Shall we meet at… lets say… oh 500 in the morning for proper introduction to the squadron?” The Captain nodded and before Roman could react he was grabbed by the cuff of the shirt and dragged along into the crowd of dancing people. He could not help but laugh as she pulled him to the very center and began to dance with him. The rhythm of the beat speeding up and slowing down almost as though on cue as she moved with him.