Gaia Lost

Chapter 2-Unknown Dreamer

Joseph awoke early the next day to the sound of the stationwide alarm. Joseph rushed to the door and peered into the hallway. The smell of smoke permeated the air and the distant glimmer of a raging fire could be seen in the eastern corridor. The sounds of distant gunshots could be heard coming from the direction of the fire. Soon an unfamiliar voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Attention all workers', we are under attack by the Nevian Empire. Fires reported on decks three through seven. Nevian centurions have infiltrated deck four. All workers are to proceed to the nearest weapons locker and equip themselves. All escape pods are offline, our only chance is to hold off the invaders until help arrives."

"Shit, why would they attack here of all places?" Joseph mumbled to himself, "The war is over, they would be fools to attack now."

Smoke continued to fill the corridor, cutting off all visibility and breathable air. The glimmer to the east grew stronger and the sound of distant fighting grew less frequent. The Nevians were winning.

Joseph ran down the western hall as quickly as he could, desperately trying to escape the oncoming horde of soldiers barreling down the halls. The sounds of his fellow workers screams echoed through the halls, a grim reminder of what may become his fate. He continued to run, desperate to get away.

Eventually he reached the gun locker, only to find it empty, its ammunition and weaponry completely stripped away. He was unarmed and alone during a major assault from one of the most powerful military forces in the galaxy.

He continued to run through the halls, by now he had resigned himself to his fate. He ran, and ran until he reached the most heavily fortified position on the station, the reactor room. Several people had already barricaded themselves in the room, a last ditch effort at survival.. Joseph was too late, one of the men tossed him a rifle before filling the last gap in the barricade and closing the blast door behind him.

He continued down the hall, desperate to get away. He ran, and ran until he couldn't run anymore. He leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

Joseph then heard a sound he wished he would never hear again. A a strange heavy breathing, the sign of the Nevian centurion, coming from behind him.

A whole squadron of centurions rushed through the halls towards him. Soon they parted, each taking up positions along the sides of the hall. Soon a figure emerged, one cloaked in darkness, with an aura of pure death and destruction surrounding him.

"Nice to see you again Joseph, I never thought we would meet again. I see the war has left you a broken man. Such a pity, I was going to break you personally."

"Who are you? I have never seen you before. I was never in the war, I was a scientist." Joseph replied with an air of trepidation in his voice.

"You may not know me, but I know you. More than you will ever fathom."

“What are you talking about? Ive never even met you.”

“That enough for now, I merely wanted to meet you, not carry on a discussion with you.” said the shadowy man as he raised his hand, a pistol in hand.

Joseph saw this and fired off a shot directly at the mans head. The man raised his other hand and blocked the bullet, the bullet disintegrating on contact with his hand.

“Not a very smart move on your part I'm afraid.” said the mysterious man. He raised his pistol back up and pointed it at Joseph. Then, he pulled the trigger.

In an instant, a shot rang out through the halls and pierced Joseph's upper chest. He fell to the ground, sure he would soon be dead.

“Goodbye Joseph, until our next meeting. Just remember this, Earth isn't the utopia you seem to think it is, you would be better off forgetting about it.” said the man before turning back the way he came, his centurions following close behind.

Joseph lay there, slowly dying, his life flashing before his eyes. Then something unexpected happened. A bright light filled the room, followed closely by a shrill screech. Then in a flash, it was all over.

Joseph found himself sitting at the same terminal he had fell asleep at the night before. He was sweating and out of breath. It had been a dream, nothing more. Joseph never had dreams, this was the first in years.

He felt no reason to even consider it anything more than a dream, the idea it might be something more never even crossed his mind. The only thing he was thinking about, was the upcoming conference.

Joseph got up from the terminal, groggy from a lack of sleep. He walked over to the locker in the corner of the room and pulled out a worn out suit and pair of fancy shoes. The suit was worn out from heavy use and the colors faded from the ravages of time. The shoes, once one of the finest quality in the republic, were now worn and broken down. He slowly put on the suit and shoes, taking special care not too damage them any further.

He opened the door to his quarters, the dream still a distant thought. He walked down the halls of the station, his shoes wearing down even further as they hit the metal grating. His brown suit sagged from the weight of the moisture it absorbed. Joseph paid no attention though, he couldn't care less what the people at the conference thought of him. The years of uniformity on the station left little need for style, something Joseph carried with him wherever he went.

Soon he arrived at the subspace transmission node of the station. The small room looked different from anywhere else on the station. The walls were a metallic white in color. A large holographic map of the galaxy was in the center of the room and gave off a powerful blue aura that permeated the room. Around the map was situated an array of eight terminals, each designated to a different group of sectors.

Joseph walked over to the nearest terminal, terminal seven, and sat down. He stationed his hands over the keyboard, his hands perfectly still. His fingers then opened and rotated out of place as small tendrils shot out through the exposed holes. The tendrils proceeded to type at inhuman speeds, perfectly striking each key with unparalleled precision. Within ten seconds all one hundred twenty lines of code had been entered and the coordinates were set. The Deltian Republic homeworld of Tunare shown brightly on the map over Josephs head. He then pressed a key, and commenced the dive.

Soon Joseph was in subspace, his consciousness surging through the cosmos. He could see stars and planets fly past at high speeds. The transition was soon over, he was at the conference, inhabiting a machine cloaked in his likeness. He tried out his new body, holding his hand up in front of his face. He looked at it, turning it over and over again. It had been a while since his last jump. Then he turned his attention to his surroundings.

The conference hall was unlike anything Joseph had ever seen before. The floor was made of a high quality black marble that shimmered in the light. The ceiling seemed to reach on with no end and was littered with diamond encrusted chandeliers and red curtains hung over the tall windows that looked out over the entire city. The effect was overwhelming for Joseph after living on the station for all those years.

Joseph felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see the greeter for the conference, an elderly gentlemen with a white mustache and a balding head .

"Greetings sir, are you a member of the ERA? This is a closed conference." the greeter asked Joseph with a slightly arrogant tone to his voice.

"Yes, I am a member, the names Joseph Keldan"

The greeter typed something into the screen of his computer then scanned the screen for a moment. The computer was paper thin and folded like a scroll.

"Ahh, here you are. Welcome to the annual Earth Researchers Association conference, I hope you will find the information given today to your liking." said the greeter in a more friendly tone, apparently adjusted to the idea of Joseph's being there. "If you wish we have other suits for all of our guests."

"Thank you but I will be fine, this is my lucky suit."

"Very well sir, you're sitting in the third row, fourth seat from the right. I sincerely hope you enjoy today's conference."

Joseph walked his seat, stopping only to pick up an pamphlet giving an overview of the days events. The pamphlet was a simple one, made of a green paper. Joseph skimmed through the pamphlet before folding it up and placing it in his back pocket.

He reached his seat and sat down, eager for the conference to begin. His leg shook nervously, and he began to sweat slightly. Anticipation had already begun to take its toll on Joseph.

The seats around Joseph began to fill over the next ten minutes. People from all fields and places were attending, I sign of the associations growing influence. All of a sudden a figure appeared from behind the curtains of the stage and walked up to the podium. He had long white hair that reached down to his shoulders and piercing eyes that glowed a bright blue. He exuded an aura of confidence and pure power. He then began to speak in a haunting voice that seemed to resonate. Joseph recognized him almost immediately, it was Sateros Kremlin, the leader of the ERA.

"Welcome to the fifty fourth annual meeting of the Earth Researchers Association. Throughout the history of our fine organization, we have been at the forefront of Earth research, and have pioneered many new ideas and theories. These theories have changed public perception on Earth and many now believe in its existence. Today we will expand on the number of believers, and recruit more to our cause. Let the true believers be the ones to prosper and all others be left behind in our wake."

The crowd cheered him on, giving praise and approval to his every word. Joseph did not join in, he felt it was degrading to carry on in such a manner. Sateros made a quick gesture for silence and the crowd immediately stopped. He then continued with his speech.

"Today will be a day to remember. We have made a groundbreaking discovery that will propel our cause forward in ways we could have never imagined even a year ago. Here to explain is the head of the Cufris Mining and Survey corporation, Catherine Belotz."

“What could someone from Cufris possibly have to say?” Joseph mumbled to himself.

A young women, apparently in her early thirties, walked up to the podium. Her red hair was tied up in a bun and she was very attractive, something she seemed well aware of. She walked with a grace rarely seen by Joseph, her long legs making long, even strides. She shook Sateros' hand and then began to speak.

“I want to start off with a quick thank you to the host of today's conference. Sateros, thank you for all the work you have put into our fine organization. Without your hard work and determination, none of us would be here today, and the world would be blind to much of our research.”

The crowd cheered once more, though Joseph still didn't utter a sound. He shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, his legs still shaking, and waited. Soon she signaled for silence and began her speech once more.

“Today will be a day to remember, the day when we can no longer be ignored. We will finally get the recognition we deserve, no longer will we be refused government support. In the Delphi sector we have discovered a relic of our distant past, a derelict vessel, believed to be one of the original colony ships sent from Earth those many years ago. We have not yet surveyed the innards of the ship for fear of causing any more damage, however we will soon send in a specialized team to retrieve the computer logs. We believe that this will lead us to Earth, place of our creation and birth. Earth is now within our grasp, and we are going to do whatever it takes to get there. I will now open the floor to any and all questions pertaining to this issue”

A flurry of hands shot up in an instant, each person jostling for a better position in the crowd. She surveyed the audience, before pointing to an elderly gentleman in the first row. He stood up, a nervous shaking in his legs and a twitching on his face..

“If the inside of this vessel has yet to be explored how do we know it even has the slightest relation to earth?”

“We know it is from Earth because the ship is over a thousand years old. Our society doesn't have a written history going back that far. So either it is a lost colony ship from earth or atleast something else worth investigating. Next question, we are pressed for time.” Catherine answered, still calm and composed.

The next person chosen was a young woman in the sixth row. She stood up calmly, computer scroll and stylus in hand.

“Why do you believe this ship ended up in the Delphi sector, thats on the very outskirts of the galaxy.” asked the young woman.

“We believe the most logical explanation is that it suffered technical difficulties and was incapacitated. We feel it then drifted into the Delphi sector where it was discovered.”

Joseph sat through this for the next ten minutes before he finally couldn't resist the urge any longer. He raised his hand high, his arm shaking uncontrollably. He knew this was his chance at some recognition, even if he couldn't be the highlight of the day he would still get in his word.

“Yes you sir, in the brown suit” Catherine said as she pointed in Joseph's direction.

“Thank you, what do you propose we do if this ship does indeed lead us to Earth?”

“What I propose is this. We lead a team of specialists and ambassadors on a journey to Earth and reestablish contact. It is a simple and effective plan.”

Catherine bent down and picked up the bottle of water sitting next to the podium. She took a quick drink and then set it back down, preparing for the barrage of questions she knew was still to come.

“What are we going to do about the Nevians? They already oppose our research of Earth, leading an expedition to Earth may ignite a violent response.” Joseph said, trying to make an impression on the audience. He felt Earth was too important to be treated so casually. “We have hired a mercenary force in the event that the Nevians attempt anything. The Deltian National Guard is also contributing two battlecruisers, the Victoria and the Atlantia. The Nevians will not be a problem. We also do not feel tat the Nevian Empire will risk all at war for a few explorers on a diplomatic mission. I believe I have answered all of your questions, correct, may I move on?”

“Yes ma'am” Joseph answered back, feeling defeated.

Joseph backed down in an attempt to keep his dignity. Catherine was an expert debater, her skills honed from years of working in public relations. Fighting her was pointless.

His chance was over. He had failed to make his impression, failed to make a name for himself. He had been outdone.

The conference continued on. Joseph listened as what seemed to be every member of the audience asked a question. He started to grow restless, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

He was looking around the room when he saw something strange. A man in the middle of the audience was fumbling with a small metallic sphere in his right hand. Joseph had never seen anything like it, it was roughly the size of a grape and gave of a dim purple glow. Joseph knew something was wrong. He got up from his seat and began moving towards the man.

Soon Joseph saw something that confirmed his suspicions. Two guards came up onto the stage and pulled Catherine through one of the emergency exits in the back. The crowd began to panic. The mysterious man reacted almost immediately to the confusion. He stood up, sphere in hand, and moved toward the center of the room. Joseph began to run towards the man but he didn't make it in time.

The man raised his hand high above his head and crushed the sphere in one quick motion. A high pitched shriek rang out throughout the conference hall. The guests covered their ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound. All the windows in the building shattered in an instant. Soon something much worse began.

A strange crystalline growth began to move down his hand and along his body. Soon almost his entire body was encased in the strange purple rock.

Everyone ran for the doors but none were fast enough, none could hope to outrun it.

When the growth reached the ground it reacted violently. Immense crystal shards shot out in all directions. Crystalline formations began snaking through the room, encasing all it touched. People, benches, tables, it was all the same. Within seconds the entire building was nothing more than a giant slab of crystalline rock.

A new era had begun in that one instant, an era defined by violence.