Planet Earth 13

Human Alliance Agent 0420

 Part of the proper procedure when entering the atmosphere of a planet was to send a signal to the nearest Space Traffic Control tower. This signal was required to contain the date (by the Earth Calendar), the model of the ship, what station or planet the ship last departed from, the pilot's license number, the voyage's authorization code, a list of all items on the ship, and a credit transfer to pay the landing fee. Ragan had all of these requirements prepared, except the first. He had lived among an alien society for the past eight months and could not figure out the date by the Earth Calendar as required. Quite accidentally, the ship's interface had been set to the same society's language, only Ragan's memory of its layout allowed him to operate the complex vehicle. Also, his microchip was malfunctioning. He could not even turn it on to check the date due to the extremely psychoactive effects associated with using a malfunctioning microchip.

He frantically searched for some kind of clue to the date, as he had urgent business on the upcoming planet and could not be late. Realizing there were no recent documents or calendars that would help, he sighed in frustration. Ragan was a resourceful person, however, which is why he was made Agent at the young age of 32. He remembered the date on which he had departed for his mission. He knew exactly how many days he had remained on the last planet. So to count up to the current date, he just had to figure out how to account for the days spent traveling.

Throughout the Human Alliance, those who were allowed to travel off-planet used portals to bridge the gaps of sometimes thousands of lightyears between planets. These were huge machines, all of which were in space due to the devastatingly negative effects they would have on any planet's environment. As the Human Alliance grew, more portals were built throughout space. Despite this, however, space travel still took weeks or months just to get from the portal to one's ultimate destination. Ragan realized he could check the ship's odometer to find out how much it had traveled since the day he left Earth. Knowing how many miles the ship traveled each day, he was able to calculate the number of days spent traveling, add them to the days spent on the last planet, and finally figure out the date.

This may have seemed like a menial ordeal, but the system was automated. This meant that if the signal did not contain all of the requirements, including the date, Ragan's ship would be shot down by the weaponized satellite just outside the atmosphere. Hoping his calculations were correct, the agent began entering the planet's atmosphere. As soon as his radar picked up the nearest tower, he began broadcasting his message:

"It is December 20th, 2998. I am operating an HA Puma, second class. I'm coming from HA Station Z7. My license is 10030527. My voyage code is Agent Authority, passcode Ragan0420."

He was then supposed to slowly descend as he waited for a reply, upon whence he must send the digital copy of the ship's inventory and the routing number for the credit transfer. He had gone through this process countless times during his career. Each time, he grew more frustrated about the bureaucratic, robotic system that seemed to rule everyone's lives. Having grown up on Mars, where lower class humans from Earth had migrated to in search of mining jobs, he had learned to appreciate what was really important: the connections that humans of all races could experience with each other. Unfortunately, many of the human societies he had encountered since then were utterly consumed by their artificial creations and no longer appreciated reality. This made him grateful for his humble origins, which he pondered on often to ensure that he would remember.

Though the mining facilities on his home planet were kept in pristine shape with intense security, the lands outside of these privately owned properties were mainly ignored by the government. However, the Miners' Union had a deal with the facilities' owners requiring water and electricity to be provided, for free, to all homes of employees. When the Mars Mining Project began in 2874, the companies also built hundreds of apartment buildings for the employees and their families. Since then, the apartments filled up, and people began building their own houses. Businesses developed between the inhabitants as some entrepreneurial employees managed to save enough wages to order shipments of various goods to sell for profit. While the men were busy in the mines, they often relied on their wives to run these small businesses, which created a circulation of goods and currency between the hundreds of thousands of people who lived on Mars.

As the years passed, an independent but slightly chaotic and dark society developed over these lands. As the mines were spread out, workers spread out towards their respective places of employment. Towns of various sizes formed, some of which could be called cities. The Human Alliance had very little presence on the planet, as all of the valuable land was owned privately, leaving the employees' society without central law. Small groups of militias had formed to handle cases of violence, but were ineffective and disorganized. The only thing that protected people from the harm they could do to themselves without law was the bonds between members of these small communities. Unfortunately, as the populations grew in these communities, the people grew unattached from each other. In the larger cities, people had lost their sense of accountability for each other and cared only for themselves. Ragan lived in one of these cities.

Though he was constantly being trained by his father in combat, this was not enough to protect him from the gangs that terrorized the miners' city. He refused to join the groups of thieves, traffickers, and murderers; though many tried to coerce him into submission. Instead, he formed a group of his own. His charisma and virtue attracted other young men who detested the reign of lawlessness upheld by these various gangs.

Together, they protected the defenseless from extortion and threats from the criminals. The young man became involved in a series of small wars between his group and several dangerous gangs. By the time he was 20, he had been in dozens of gun battles. He did not count the number of people he had killed. Since they all meant to harm innocent people, he refused to let himself become sentimental about it.

After eradicating most of the violent gangs in his home city, he became infamous among the people of Mars. The attention attracted an unexpected visit from a Human Alliance Agent. The man offered Ragan a job in the Human Alliance Intelligence Agency, and promised to provide a comfortable home on Earth for his parents. Though he was reluctant to leave behind all he had worked towards since his early adolescence, he knew in his heart that he was finished on Mars. His true dream had always been to explore the universe and help those who couldn't help themselves.

He halted his reminiscences as he realized that it was taking a little longer than usual for the signal to arrive from the planet's Space Traffic Control tower. Ragan became worried, he knew what would happen if he made a mistake on his landing request. He then heard the unmistakable blast from the anti-spacecraft guns below. He could hardly mutter the word "Fuck" before his ship was hit and thrown into a wild downfall...