Roman

Chapter 2 - Ghost Town

I began focusing on a more achievable dream. To work for Omega Corporation. I focused my studies on my passion, robotics. I went to the best schools I could afford to get into, and decided that if I really wanted this to become a reality, I would have to forgo having a family and truly place my focus on being the best.

I managed to graduate and further my career with 2 masters and a doctorate in Space Robotics. By my 32nd birthday, I landed a job at Omegas' number 1 competitor "Tesla", which was as close to the dream as I could accomplish on my own, for you could not apply to work for Omega.

I got hired to work on their latest project, their moon station, directing their build site. Omega didn't want to build a base on the moon. They were visionaries and planning on having the first 'Roman' operated base in Jupiter's moon, Europa by 2090.

Tesla used Romans for the construction of their moon station. All the humans were housed at The Lunar Orbital Station and connected to the Romans on the moon surface. Even though everyone working at the lunar base used a Roman, I didn't. I never stepped one foot on the moon, I planned all the duties for the workers from the station, never having had the chance of using a Roman. After 3 years working for Tesla and under my supervision, The Moon Base was finished a year ahead of schedule.

This got me noticed and after so many years of hard work, my longest and most desired dream, became a reality. Upon arrival to my home on Earth, I found a letter from Omega Corporation welcoming me into their Europa Team. Omega wanted me on Europa working with their team within a year. That meant that they would come pick me up in a month, so that I could catch the earliest available shuttle to the ISS.

I didn't know exactly what to expect, as their operations on Europa were top secret and no one outside Omega Corp knew much. By November 2086, I had arrived to The Jupiter Orbital Station. Since very few people were invited to be part of their team, I rode alone to JOS.

When I arrived, I was so excited that I didn't even notice that no one came to welcome me at the gate. I figured, everyone was too busy with their tasks, no one had time to welcome me. Perhaps, no one even knew I was coming.

I made my way through the gate, and passed into the microgravity lobby. I immediately noticed that it was deserted. Not even welcoming Holos. The lights were on, but it appeared as if everyone was somewhere else. "Was working here so busy that no one needed to be here?" I figured might as well go try to find my room and then head to the Roman training facility. Problem was, I had no idea how to get there. I left my stuff at the lobby and went on exploring.

It was a massive space station. In fact, it was the biggest ever built. I remember reading a news article after its completion that described how fantastic the view from the observation deck was. Seeing Jupiter with your own eyes must be truly awe inspiring. Why not head there? Maybe someone could be taking their lunch break, admiring the view.

Since not all areas of the station had micro-gravity, navigating this place with zero knowledge, was quite the challenge and very disorienting. After what seemed like many hours, I managed to reach the Observation Deck. It was huge, big enough to house 2 basketball courts. I looked up and saw the most magnificent sight of my life... Truly breathe taking. Jupiter in all its glory and its eye, staring right at me. And as breathe taking as it was I couldn't help to notice how empty this deck was. No one in sight. Something was different though. There were signs of struggle. Chairs and broken pot plants scattered though out the deck. Something called my attention, I saw, at the other end of the deck had, what appeared to be black dots on the wall. As I got close, I noticed that the dots were bullet holes! 

                         "What in the Hell is going on here?! And where is everyone?!!!!!"