Between the Stars

Log 0.0

TCE 203.1.47

Day of Reckoning - Astrophel

The sky was streaked with red and black. The noise had been going on for so long, it almost seemed quiet in the lull between bombs. The sizzling and crackling of the rocks and shattered buildings had been a comforting consistency in the months of bombardment.

However, today was different. There were people in the streets waving into the smoke thickened sky. A child on the sidewalk was screaming, "The sky is on fire!"

Their mother had gone missing weeks ago. Oftentimes, this street would fall asleep to the sounds of this abandoned child screaming.

A song played in the distance, growing louder with the engines of foreign ships. When the first Cosmos Starship came into view, the citizens of that street sighed with relief. Even the small lonely toddler quieted his cries for a moment.

Bombs were still bursting farther off but here, at least, the massacre had ended. Peace was coming for the Astros.

One ship landed on the street, taking out a few lampposts with it. The people on this street rushed out their doors, battling to be closer to the sleek craftsmanship of a Cosmos Starship. They all just wanted a means to get away from the horror.

The ship opened up, revealing nothing but more intimidation. Every alien held a gun and every alien was a Lutrypsan.

The civilians scrambled backwards with wails and begging for mercy. The soldiers didn't react with mercy.

The first gunshot made the people lining the streets jump. The Lutrypsans were not known for being quick in their methods. However, even the Lutrypsans had grown sick of the abandoned child's screams in the few moments they'd been on the surface.

One soldier held the sole responsibility of taking the lives of three civilians and he took his time reloading his gun. Ignoring the pleas for mercy, he levelled the barrel at the innocent's head.

A little girl and her brother watched the emblem on that soldier's shoulder patch, eyes wide with fear. Three stars, though they represented planets. Three for the three founding races. Three innocent lives taken from a street of people from a planet that refused to surrender into The Cosmos.

The children's father had been killed a year previously in the initial attack against Astrophel. Now, on the Day of Reckoning, that soldier grabbed their mother from the crowd. "Mom!" the little boy cried, grasping his sister's hand.

"Stay there," she said soothingly. "You'll be okay. Just stay together."

The boy looked away as the soldier loaded his gun for a second time. The little girl held her mother's gaze for a moment longer. "Look at the stars, my little Pluto. Venus, you too. They'll keep you safe."

The children looked up, flinching at the ringing of the gunshot in their sensitive antennae. The soldier that grabbed their mother approached them. "Is your father nearby?"

"You killed him," the boy spat.

The soldier showed no remorse in his glittering blue eyes. "Come with me. You're wards of The Cosmos now."