The People Of Avenir (The Avenirian Series)

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Lost in a vast ocean of thoughts I found myself staring at the open fields in Sector Z-12 of Neo Earth, which I prefer to call by its original name, Avenir. Tired of thinking so much about how much things have changed in the last 7 years, I turned away from the window at the corner of my room and dropped myself on my bed, and as always it made an annoying sound similar to that of a creaking door's. I closed my eyes and I tried my best to relax, but I was too stressed out thinking of all the things that have happened since then.

My thoughts were about that war that started 7 years before we had to come here, when humanity was at its worst, facing a battle against itself, and in the process destroying most of our own cities and whole countries, which forced the remaining humans to leave Earth. Luckily scientists had discovered a planet suitable for us, planet Avenir, which was later renamed Neo Earth after our arrival. We've been living here for 2 years already, this planet is truly beautiful, it's similar to Earth, but at the same time so different. I can't say I don't miss Earth, but this place... this place is amazing.

As amazing as it is, I have lost many things; among them are my parents and all of my friends... I have nothing left of them except the last words from my father as he died: "...Donovan, my son, please be brave... move on, and do your best to forge a new future for all of us... I love you". When I remembered his words a tear came out of my eye, and my heart became heavy; my chest ached. This is a great pain and I am not able to move on. I then spoke to myself: "Father..." and sobbed before resuming: "...I'll do what I can". I cleaned the tears in my eyes and stood up. I got out of my room and entered the hallway, and opened a door right about in the middle of the hallway, which led to the bathroom.

In these two years we managed to build water and electricity transfer systems on this planet, which were just like the ones back on Earth. I washed my face some water from the sink and cleaned my face, but my light brown hair got a bit wet in the process. My hazel eyes sparkled beautifully in my reflection in the mirror above the sink, because of the light that came from the window high up the wall behind the bathtub. As always, I was looking pale, after all I didn't take too much sunlight outside.

After a while I decided to leave the house and take a walk, it was boring not being with Lysandre, but I knew he'd come back later with one of his new weapon prototypes. He is quite fond of technology and he always finds something new to do on his job. It was weird that he didn't send me a message through my Neo Earth Communications, or NEC for short, device from NECO. NECO is a company formed for communication purposes here on Avenir, and well, basically they created a replacement for what phones were back on Earth called NECs. I have a friend that works for them, a very nice friend in fact, the beautiful 16 year old Irina.

Suddenly after a while my NEC device flashed with a green light and a hologram message came up, it was from Irina. "Donny, please come by the coffee shop at William Avenue. I need to speak to you about something" said Irina with a sweet voice, and the n continued after a pause "...oh, and Lysandre will come too. So... please hurry up and don't be late. See you there!" As the message reached its end, I quickly made my way to the bright and colorful coffee shop at the corner of William Avenue in Sector Z-11.

Near the entrance of the shop stood a tall young man with dark brown hair, tan skin, and blue eyes covered by clear glasses with a black rim, and a young girl with bright green eyes, blonde hair, and light skin holding a NEC device. "Hey Donovan, nice to see you." said the tall young man who walked towards me. "Hi Lysandre, got anything new to show me?" I said as curious as always. The wind was quite strong and the young girl's light blonde hair moved beautifully and gleamed as if it was shining. The girl put her NECO device away and hugged me tight. "It's been a while Donny, how are things going for you? Found a job yet?" said the girl smiling sweetly at me and twirling her hair with her fingers. I thought about my answer for a while, so I wouldn't end up saying anything that might sound either rude or stupid. "Well, the truth is I haven't, but I've been trying to get a position on NEATT, and as an option I also considered searching for a job on either NECO or NEAM."

NEATT (Neo Earth Arms Technology and Testing)

NEAM (Neo Earth Arms Manufacturers)

Irina and I discussed about jobs while Lysandre stood there listening, while having a big smile on his face. I looked at him and asked him: "Lysandre, why are you smiling so much?" Lysandre kept his smile and put his strong firm hands on my shoulders, well I've been telling Cpt. Fray about how you have always wanted to work for NEATT, and how you have helped me test our weapons against some of the local hostile wildlife. He said he was quite surprised and he said the craziest thing..." I quickly asked excited: "He didn't say...?" "Oh yes he did! He wants you to work for NEATT!" Irina congratulated me with another hug and a big smile across her face before saying: "No way! Finally, now you can work with Lysandre and other NEATT members just like you've always wanted!" I was so excited that I couldn't help to smile and give a friendly hug to Lysandre and thank him so much for what he did for me. He smiled and returned the hug.

I then remember and asked Irina: "Irina, didn't you call us here for something?" Irina paused and shook her head, then said a bit worried and happy at the same time: "Yes, I was informed that I need to work part time with you guys at NEATT. It's the first time I would be dealing with weapon technology, so I wanted to ask for some help from Lysandre." Lysandre smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, then said in a comforting tone: "Of course I'll help you, and the same goes for you Donovan. It might be hard at first, but it will get much easier after a while, you'll see. Oh and I forgot to say, most people have a partner. Donovan you'll be with Alexander, a young man two years older than you. He is very skilled, but he can be stubborn, antisocial and rough most of the time with some people. I'll be your partner Irina, so you shouldn't worry about a thing." I wasn't completely sure about being with this "Alexander" guy, but I also didn't want to be arguing already about a job that was given to me just because of Lysandre. I kept my smile and we celebrated the rest of the day, and Irina and I got prepared for working at the NEATT facility in Sector Z-10 which wasn't that far from our house or Irina's, since we live in Sector Z-11.