A girl with secrets. Secrets on which the very fabric of space and time are threatened of their existence. "What she did was a crime"- is what they'd all say. But was what she did, really what she is being accused of? Is she really a criminal; a Mul...
The pods, with the characteristic shape of an oloid, detached from the underside of the Interstellar Traveller, entering the atmosphere of the foreign planet. The world showed an astounding resemblance to the planet of the origins of the humans: Earth.
The atmosphere was dark grey and smoky, and flames came into view shortly.
The essence of a single word flashed in all of their minds.
Devastation.
Whole cities burned, with the ground charred black in some places. Though it seemed that the rays of fire had been withdrawn, the aftermath was too painful to watch.
Jayden looked back up at their mothership as it blurred and then completely disappeared above the thick clouds, as they descended lower and lower. Beads of sweat formed at the sides of his forehead. No, no, no... I shouldn't be scared. This is our first mission! I have to handle it! I trained entire years for this. I can't just back out now!
He glanced at the ones who had joined them later on. After hearing all about the distress call that is.
Drio was looking outside the pod through the window beside him, sitting opposite to Jayden. Jayden could well determine the look of horror that was evident on Drio's face. He was the astrophysicist they had hired from the X73 solar system and was similar to humans in most ways except in colours. His skin was red. He also had blue hair and a black mouth. Pitch black as the historically well-known snake, Black Mamba. Some of its kind still existed in but the most exotic of zoos across the expanse of colonied space.
Sierra sat beside Lily. Lily had become Sierra's best buddy ever since both of them got the job. Being a human as well, they blended well in interests and emotions. Jayden admired her 'always calm' attitude and her patient handling of situations. She worked with them in receiving signals and decoding messages. A communication specialist and information analyst. Having done her set of assignments earlier and being at it for hours, she was taking a long nap when the distress call was received- the reason why Jayden was only seeing her now.
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As the pods touched down, the smoky air greeted them un-welcomingly.
There were four pods. In the first pod were seated- Jayden, Sierra, Drio, and Lily. In the second- Sir Sanduo, Markus and the robots- B.O.5, and B.O.8. The remaining two had other robots on board. After touching down, they were booted for the first time and seemed to be ready to tackle any complications.
The skyscrapers were mostly burnt to pieces of metal or buried into the ground. The landscape was fully devastated and no living being could be seen far and wide. Dead remains of some birds and other animals could be seen lying around and one or two dead human bodies could also be made out, sticking out in some places.
Lily covered her mouth as her body shivered with the horror that lay bare before her. "Oh goodness... What could possibly have happened here!"
They observed their surreal surroundings for a few moments, and a bit later, opened the coordinates the girl had sent on their flex-tech( A fabric which had evolved from the slab-like mobiles the humans used long before the Migration had begun. It could be hardened at will when needed and remained in cloth form at other times).
The IMG hopped on their LAAVs( Low Altitude Airborne Vehicle) and flew past the debris, a chill running down their bodies as they plunged deeper into the heart of the skeleton of the city that remained, en route to their mysterious messenger.
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Sharlotte wrapped her arms around her legs and cried in agony. It echoed back and forth the walls of her shelter. Theydid find me but... can they...? Can they really save me?
She looked up to see the empty ceiling through which cracks had grown. She snorted derisively, feeling that it deeply symbolised what she had become from the inside. Nothing but a piece of broken glass.
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As the IMG passed through the so called 'streets' which were now but rubble of rock and metal, they neared to the location sent by the mysterious hooded girl. Everything happening seemed to have no explanation. How could they traverse more than a hundred thousand light years in the pass of a moment?
Who is that girl? The obvious question rang in Sir Sanduo's head. And how did she know about us?
"I think this is it," Lily said, stopping her LAAV.
Each of them dropped to the ground and raised their heads to see the toppled-over structure of a massive building. Its base was still intact.
The weapons gleamed in the dim light of the shining moon of the planet as the IMG entered the site, ready to deal with whatever they were about to behold. This fate that had marred the planet was one it was undeserving of. The resolution echoed through each of the crew's minds: We have to find out what happened here!
The door of the toppled building was blocked by pieces of glass, metal and stone. Their blasters coordinately aimed towards the blockage at the ready as Sir Sanduo proclaimed, "Three... Two... One... SHOOT!!"
A blinding light illuminated the surroundings of the area as the synchronised shots rang out in the enclosed space, and shortly, a large hole appeared before them in the wake of the explosion. "Okay, here we go," Sir Sanduo said as the rest followed him inside, the dark swallowing their silhouettes in the full moon night.
