Gabatrix: The Terrorists of Batrice

Chapter 13: September 1st, 2350

It had been a week since the bombing. Mizu had finished up the first day of work in a forgotten world of Earth. The seemingly abandoned world was little more than a place of refuge for the millions that remained. Most of the great cities were mainly ghost towns by now. In the mountain city known as Tamalpais Francisco, the small enclave is a hub where many Earthlings still try to enjoy what is left of the planet. Consisting of box-like structures woven into the Tamalpais Mountain's bedrock, the thousands of people are enclosed but still try to gaze out of the wasteland that is Earth. Not far, one of the T'rintar clan's ancient dreadnoughts hovers over the sky as it deposits probes that clear the atmosphere of the heavy pollutants. The city once consisted of hundreds of thousands. Now it has been reduced to only 1% of its former glory. Away from the red and orange oceans of the Orange Muck, the people have done their best to live with what's left.

For Mizu, Earth is a new beginning. Arriving only a day ago, the mayor of the small town already had a job for him, which was quite evident. Carefully cleared of the toxic contaminants, for Mizu, it felt that it was still not enough. While Earth had regular access to water, the toxicity was extreme and had to be constantly cleared over and over again to ensure that the Orange Muck didn't get into his system. The irony was that even though technology constantly improved in the water purifying process, the most significant factor was that the population simply left. What remained of the human population, at least in this area of former California, were the people that were determined to call Earth their home.

All was not lost, though. The Itreans were cleaning the environment. The exchange was more for the benefit of the people of Earth than anything else. Many of the people welcomed the sight of the T'rintar clan. Their efforts to clear up the environment would be a lengthy process that still continues to this day. The general attitude of the Earthlings towards the Itrean clan was more welcoming here than even Batrice. It was an eye-opening experience for Mizu as the T'rintar clan announced that the humans lived as members of the T'rintar clan and granted citizenship status. Within the moment that Mizu landed on the world, he was a citizen of the Itrean clan.

The day, however, was a busy one. Mizu didn't even want to think of it as he walked in regular civilian work coveralls. The gravity felt hard on him. After a couple of days on Mars, he realized how heavy Earth's environment was. In time though, he knew he would be used to it. He arrived at his apartment. It consisted of a long rectangular room that was jutting out of the many sides of the mountain. The passageway underneath the bedrock still had a nice window where he could look out and try to enjoy the outside view. It was a view that he was all too used to by now. He stuck his augmented hand on the door panel as it registered his arrival. His apartment room door slid open as he stepped inside.

The apartment was not anything grandiose, but being one of the few people on Earth, he could enjoy a place that was seemingly bigger than his barracks room back on Fort Batrice. It was essentially one huge room. It had a living area and a king-sized bed on one side, a kitchen near the middle past the door, and a restroom and shower in the back.

Mizu took a deep breath as the door slid closed behind him. He felt tired and exhausted as he walked over to a large green sofa. Without much thinking, he began to take off his coveralls. A part of him felt like placing them in some wastebasket. Even with the proper safety equipment, what he saw earlier in the day was disturbing to him.

"Ugh....." Mizu said to himself. "I bet even the shower feels gross. Those scrubbers just seem tainted with that muck shit."

He shook his head as he was careful to take his coveralls completely off. As he got his boots off, he placed them to the side door. He swore that his former UHN boots had something orange on it.

"I can't believe the people still live in this dump of a planet," Mizu said to himself. "Fucking idiots couldn't take care of their own world until it turned into that. Can't even believe this world was originally like Cebravis once."