| Tranquil Pond (continued) |
| General Brungess rose from his seat and walked up to the viewscreen. "What's going on here?" he asked himself, staring at the oblivion that was supposed to hold a starbase. "Come to a full halt," said Mansel, also rising out of his chair. This was making no sense. No ships around, the Starbase was gone, no response to their distress signals. "What do we do, Captain?" Commander Vaughn asked, looking directly at Mansel, who had no answer. "I think the best bet," said Brungess, "would be to go to Earth and UNSF HQ." The idea sounded as good as any other to Mansel. "Set a course for Earth," he instructed. "Best speed." *** The long range scanners came online again before they reached Earth. When the bridge crew discovered that Starbase 1 was also missing, Talaj scanned the surface. "Approximately 4 billion life signs," reported the Explorer's Science Officer. "All human." "What?" asked Brungess, incredulous. "That's impossible!" "Impossible," Lieutenant Talaj agreed, "but true. According to the Explorer's long range scanners, there's 4 billion humans on Earth, and not one single alien." Mansel rose out of his chair and came to stop behind his Science Officer. He bent down and inspected the findings for himself. "Well, I'll be," he muttered to himself as Brungess met him at the console. "What the heck is going on?" Brungess asked as he stared at the same figures as Mansel and Talaj, hpoing they would change. "Apparently, something not right," said Mansel. "Lieutenant Hardy, contact UNSF HQ and ask them what in the world is going on." "I've already tried, sir." "And?" "It's not there." "Prepare a landing party," said Brungess, heading for the nearest turbolift. "I'm going down there to see what's going on." *** "Tell me you're kidding," Mansel said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. After three hours of roaming Earth and talking to some of its inhabitants, Brungess found out the most horifying bit of information. They were back on the bridge of the Explorer, not orbiting the third world, but instead close to Mercury. The UNSF liaison officer nodded. "It's true. Somehow, the UNSF barely even exitsts anymore. To some people, it doesn't exist. Marauder has finally conquered Earth, after all these years, along with the help of his daughter. Anarcha now currently lays waste to Neptune's mine feilds, trying to find a new source of fuel for starships. "The UNSF is based out of Saal now, and is nothing more than an idea. Somewhere along the way, we lost the war to the Imperials, which opened the door for Marauer and Anarcha to decimate the remnants of the UNSF and take Earth along with other crucial planets." Mansel looked up and out at the viewscreen, which currently displayed the red world Mercury. "My God," he whispered. "What has happened?" |
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| To Chapter 3 |