Fate of Terra

Chapter 10.1 - Adaptation

The ship was coming alive around Michael and his girls as they toured its interior, bustling with an absurd amount of activity as potential recruits ran every which way to their assigned stations. The Intrepid had visited roughly half those cities Michael and Aurora had chosen for recruitment drives and they were more overwhelmed with volunteers than ever. It seemed everyone was eager to pay the invaders back the damage they had wrought.

In each stop the Intrepid would land for two days and take on a veritable horde of passengers that would be screened both physically and mentally. After passing, they would be given a series of tests designed to reveal their aptitude and skill sets, as well as their preferred position. The recruits would then be assigned a bunk and a schedule of different stations they could attend during their time aboard. In most cases this would involve being given a presentation on what was involved in the advertised position followed by tests in simulators, or in actuality for the case of noncombat applicants.

After the first day the recruits would bunk down for the night, during which an evacuation drill would go off and only those who had the foresight to read their manuals would know where to go. When two days had passed and those chosen had been approved, the Intrepid would wait one day for them to close their accounts and say goodbye to friends and family before blasting off to space for drills. The next few days would determine who could stand the rigors of living in isolation under such conditions and who would be put ashore at the next stop.

As Michael and his party neared what he'd come to term the 'Reception Hall' where he'd first come aboard, they were battered by heat and dust swirling in from the open hatch packed shoulder-to-shoulder with new faces. The potentials were siphoned off and directed to one of various desks that would get them squared away. Marcus and a security team lined the bulkhead in light armor, wary of letting so many unknowns into their haven.

Suddenly, a man in dark brown covering broke from the ranks of newcomers and sprinted towards the group. He took a small, compact gun from inside his sleeve and shouted in greatly accented English, "For the good of humanity, die alien scum!" Before he'd finished he was already squeezing off rounds at the blue-skinned outlander.

Michael blurred to his right, covering Dejah's body with his own. The assailant got off two shots before a loud boom shook the enclosed space and the top half of the gunman's body simply disappeared, leaving the remainder to slosh to the deck in a messy, sickening puddle. Michael checked his party for wounds, absently associating the sound he'd heard with the 'cannon' Marcus called a sidearm. It looked like a grenade launcher, though it shot capsules that released energy based on the rays fired by the B'Amuf. He liked it because it had considerable stopping power minus the collateral damage.

Finally getting around to checking himself, Michael was surprised to see the bullets hadn't penetrated his uniform and knew the girls hadn't provided him something made of ordinary material. Even more unexpected was that the mass of recruits hadn't broken and fled. In fact, some were already moving towards available desks, still willing to come aboard. He just shook his head at the resilience of the human race and turned towards Dejah.

The lightly furred girl had her arms tucked into herself and was shaking slightly, Aki and Rin on either side of her offering words of comfort. Michael supposed the mechanical bot that had pulled up and started the gruesome task of vacuuming up the bloody remains wasn't helping. He shared a look with Marcus and the grizzled veteran nodded and headed off, already talking into his Comm.

When Earth had begun mobilizing to face the extraterrestrial threat, there was resistance, but not by the usual suspects. North Korea, for instance, flat out told the Council that if provided the ships, they were more than willing to supply the men needed to fill them. The most common disagreements occurred with countries that didn't want to be placed under their assigned representative among the Council of Terra. Ireland, for example, was dead set against any form of subservience to the British. Only by threatening to put them under the French did they finally relent.

Iran was another unforeseen outcome as they fully supported putting aside their differences to attack the invaders home worlds. The Grand Ayatollah had even come out and said that they had a new calling, one that shifted their religious duty to the 'true' nonbelievers: aliens. And there, in part, lay the cause of what happened today. After the attack by the B'Amuf there arose tremendous anti-alien sentiments. Oftentimes, sects would form with the sole purpose of keeping Earth 'pure' and eliminating all extra-terrestrials before they could make another attempt at conquering the planet.

Probably the most depressing thing about it all, Michael thought, was that while the majority of the planet, the Council of Terra included, did not condone or agree with such actions, it was clear that Earth would take a xenophobic outlook towards the stars. There would be no more welcoming gestures as President Whitmore had first tried in his Whitehouse bunker.

Security would override all else in this new age and outsiders would be looked upon with suspicion. Where before, countless settlers and traders might have migrated out and blended with other cultures, slowly immersing themselves with the galactic community, now, Earth would be sealed off until they knew just what they were dealing with and if they could handle the possible threats.

Michael knew it was judgmental and intolerant towards those races who had done nothing to deserve such feelings, but even he couldn't disagree with the policy. Someone had come along and pulled back the curtains to reveal a dangerous jungle filled with unknown predators. Whole civilizations that had been ancient before humans had walked the Earth. They had their own customs and systems in place that didn't account for the human race. The need to tread carefully warred with the burning desire they had for revenge.

Michael and the others retired to their suites, though Aurora departed soon after as she had to address those recruits trying out for the bridge crew. He and Kat sat on opposite sides of Dejah on the bed while the twins grabbed pillows and sat on the floor in front of them. They all saw that Dejah was still pretty shaken and remained silent, giving her some time to collect herself.

For her part, Dejah couldn't figure out why the episode had affected her so much. She certainly didn't resent the humans their prejudices given their encounter with the B'Amuf. It also hadn't been the first time she'd almost died. In fact, she'd been under constant threat during her captivity.

The more Dejah thought about it, the more she realized what she feared most was that her new life here might end. The past few months had been the best, most rewarding time in her short existence. The B'Amuf had ground down her spirit until she almost didn't care if she lived or died. Yet here, with Michael and those she'd come to see as his family, she'd found a family... And she never wanted to let them go.

Dejah turned to glare at Michael. "You! Front of me jumping," She stated angrily. "Why? What thinking?"

He looked away and said a bit sheepishly, "Well, you aren't protected like we are... and there really wasn't any danger for m-"

"Not danger?" She exclaimed. "There many of B'Amuf weapons lost in Earth. What happeneds if you shot at by one of those accursed rays at you?" She appeared to Michael as if she would rather die than allow even a chance that he would perish.

Not having been given the chance to inform Dejah about Pandora's somewhat morbid -and untested- resurrection idea, the others remained silent. Finally, Kat looked towards Michael and said, "I think it's time."

"More than time," Rin echoed. Aki just nodded her head.

Michael chuckled, "I guess so." Grasping Dejah behind her head he drew her in and lightly brushed her lips with his. Pulling back, he stood and crossed to the bedside table. Reaching underneath it, he accessed a hidden compartment and returned holding a bottle of champagne. Although they'd improved the solution, ingesting it was still the preferred method.

Kat returned with five glasses and a bottle of wine. Dejah looked at her single flute of champagne and furrowed her brow. "This is...," She paused to work through her rapidly improving English. "This will make me like you?" She asked hesitantly.

Michael loved her silky accented English and was impressed with how quickly she'd picked it up despite them having Pandora able to instantly translate what was said. "Well, not exactly like me," He hedged. "You're still considerably better-looking."

Dejah cracked a smile when she saw his innocent expression and then laughed outright when she caught his wink. Kat whispered something in her ear and Michael saw her eyes light up and her smile grew wider. After they had toasted and drained their glasses, Dejah leaned towards Michael. She hesitated as the normal sluggish pace of translating her thoughts to an understandable state sped up in her mind. Grinning she nuzzled her cheek against his, "Kat said next time it would be my turn to jump in front of 'you,'" She murmured, giving a throaty growl and nipping his lobe with her canines.

Dejah wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled them both down towards the bed. The other girls quickly got up and prepared themselves to join the fun. After some manoeuvring, Dejah lay atop Michael, his hands cupping her juicy ass cheeks comfortably, her tits mashed against his chest...

* * * * * 

The five woke refreshed and, after a quick dip in the bath, felt the need to fill their bellies. Since they were on land, the girls wanted to go out for some 'real' food and Michael was eager to see some of the many sights Istanbul had to offer. He promptly 'ordered' Aurora to take a break and come with them and the group left the ship.

Michael knew that Marcus would no doubt assign a security team along at a discreet distance in plainclothes and Pandora had already marked in his vision two Furies circling overhead, but as far as he was concerned this was just an outing with him and his loved ones. The only place the 5 mile long ship could land in the sprawling metropolis was in the water so the Intrepid was mostly hovering over the Bosphorus Strait, 'docked' to the west bank so passengers and supplies could board.

After picking up some street food, the party traversed the bustling streets towards the Hagia Sophia. Michael noticed the area around them was in the shade despite a lack of nearby buildings. Looking up he spotted a huge black spire in the distance. He was familiar with what it was, having pioneered the idea to have scores of them constructed around the globe. The 1,200m high behemoths were part of Earth's new defensive system predicted to go online next month. They would power floating platforms that would radiate energy outwards as part of a massive shield system that would, theoretically, encompass the planet.

He had offered to make the spires mostly transparent and to design them however artfully the locals wished, but had been turned down at every occasion. It seemed the time for pretty designs and tasteful decoration was over. People needed to be reassured by the intimidating structures. They wanted the strength of those first iron clad ships, the gleaming terror that had been the panzer divisions, the might of the Great Wall of China. They wanted to build that which would shout their defiance to the stars.

The shield system, dubbed the "Aegis," was to be supported by hundreds of floating, low-orbit asteroids housing gun platforms. Coupled with the nearness of Lunar Base One and the close proximity of Michael's AI-controlled ship factories, Earth 'should' be well-guarded. Should, because they simply didn't know what was out there.

Exploring the city, Michael noticed several non-invasive indications that Turkey was now Romanian-controlled. There had been quite a fuss when the Council had made the proclamation, particularly in light of the bloody history between the two. However, since one wasn't considered European Union, the other wasn't part of the Arab League and they both consisted mostly Sunni thus Iran didn't care, they really didn't have much other options.

They were a resilient people though, and there was a popular saying that went, 'It could be worse: it could have been Greece.' Realistically, the people would only have to bear it for another year or two given Turkey's advanced state. They would then become independent with the potential to become a full-fledged member in the Council of Terra.

Leaving the eighth booth in the massive bazaar, Michael came to the conclusion that all of his girls were better at bargaining than him. He would recognize the patter and know to go lower, but he was terrible at making it seem like he was capitulating. The girls, by contrast, had the sellers eating out of their hands and he saw them garbed in an assortment of shawls, jewellery, and bags they'd swindled from poor, unsuspecting merchants.

Spying an old-fashioned 'westernized' bar and curious about the local liquors, the group traipsed in. They were met with a fairly large room with over a dozen tables, bar counter, and dim lighting. In a corner there seemed to be a crowd of what looked like locals listening to a small group of Romanian soldiers. After observing the scene, Michael concluded the old officer with Major insignias, who looked to be over a century old, was regaling the locals with a story of when he'd served in WWII. The natives were listening with rapt attention and the younger officers standing behind the seated Major were nodding and grunting at each statement.

"I grew up on a farm you know," The wrinkled Major was saying in heavily accented English, "So I should know this. This Jewish family had served best damn bacon I did ever eat." This earned another grunt and a nod of agreement, as if the other soldiers had all tried it and could also attest to the bacon's goodness. "We ate there almost every day and no one could figure out how it tasted so damn good. Even the Germans ate there- we never let those SS bastards inside our beloved country, of course." Another grunt, another nod.

"Well there we was," He continued. "All rousted from beds in morning, still dark outside, mind you. Three whole Romanian regiments, because they were afraid Germans were going to go on shooting spree for some reason. And where should we assemble, but outside tavern owned by the Jewish family who made such good bacon. Some of us officers from each regiment went inside and were directed to backroom. Through passageway I hadn't recalled as being there before, we marched down underneath building and to our shock what we found I can still see in my head today."

"Bones!" He shouted, thrusting his arms wide and coming up off his stool, startling all of the patrons. "Four feet high, bones and bones... Skinned and boiled until they were gleaming white and then piled high." Another nod and a grunt as if this happened every day. By this point the locals were looking particularly green and nauseous.

The Major was unrelenting however, and after another slug of beer explained, "What happened? This family would wait until German officers came. They would get officers drunk as fish. They then pull lever and officers drop down through floor. Poof! The problem," He went on, "More officers came right after last ones had been taken. One of taken officer's hats remaining which indentified his regiment. So Germans run round and round like chickens with heads cut off before they finally connecting missing officers with tavern and finished," He proclaimed, banging a leathered hand on the table while mimicking a noose slowly tightening.

There was a lull where all the locals looked like they were going to be sick and they didn't know if they were supposed to clap or what. Kat gave Michael a curious look and he shrugged. 

'Hey,' He said, speaking to his party in their heads, 'We're a people that still celebrate Vlad the Impaler as a national hero. We're a bloodthirsty sort.' He raised his drink in acknowledgment and took a sip.

Rin told the group, 'It's also quite effective fear tactics against a country that has more than 3x their population. They're essentially saying we're all batshit crazy, don't make waves or we might just fly off the handle. Oh, and by the way, all that stuff we just described, it could happen to you. So don't go mistaking us for one of those sensible, civilized countries, we're just itching to bring back the stakes.'

Michael burst out laughing and almost spilled his beer. "Essentially, yes..." He chuckled. "Romanians are also a people that respect strength. We took the name of the Romans, even though most of the territories in Romania hadn't been conquered by them, because they had been the strongest, hardest force around."

"Great advocates of psychological terror, the Dacians, one of the earliest Romanian peoples, used hollow metal wolf heads with flowing dragon tails mounted on pikes. The Draco, as they were called, would be used against invading armies. The Dacians would rush down a hillside towards their enemy and the wind would go through the mouths of the Draco creating a shrill, keening sound that would often cause invaders to run in terror before they even closed the distance," He paused, his eyes narrowed thinking about what it must have felt like. As the party left to return to the ship, Michael synced with Pandora and brought up a display in his line of sight where he made a few notations in the design of one of his projects. 

* * * * * 

Two weeks later, Michael and his girls, Kat's mother, Councilman Matsushita, and a few Japanese dignitaries that had wanted to meet Michael all sat at a long table in Skytree tower in Tokyo enjoying lunch. Stacey and her parents were due to visit tomorrow and she would then be boarding the Intrepid as the main communications officer on the bridge. Michael and the officials were discussing Japan's representative status and the problems they faced.