Epilogue
After a little bit of searching we found the only colony left that still had life. In fact it actually still held a civilisation. They listened to our story and believed our every word, for they knew it to be the truth. The artefacts had yet to do much damage to their society. What limited activation there had been had done little damage to their population.
The incredible thing was that this colony had held on to themselves far better than our planet ever had. They understood how to maintain and repair the Blue Clarity generators. They had great cities that were as beautiful as they were large. They lived upon an ocean of promise and they welcomed us with all their hearts. Were we not treated as guests, or immigrants, or invaders, we were treated as one of them.
After the first year Adrian and I bought a house, not a large one, but large enough for the both of us. In my interaction with the artefact I had gained a sizable amount of knowledge through which I was able to help the people of Aurelia build up their technology.
Aeniah popped round once a week for tea. We would all sit around the stone table and talk of the great adventure that we had been on. We would laugh at all the stupid things we did and she would tell us about the world she had grown up in. The sun would always shine a little brighter when we were all together.
Aeniah and Sean had used the components of the Xenith class to design and develop an FTL capable vessel for the people of Aurelia. They were just a few weeks away from completion of the project. Everyone was getting quite excited by it.
I had a proper job for the first time in my life, working as the head of Deep Space Observations, keeping watch over the stars for signs of life.
It was four years now since we had shut down the Artefact and Adrian and I were eating breakfast together. It was bright outside and the plants rustled in the warm ocean breeze.
‘Did you see the Conem’s destroy the Deneut’s last night? It was awesome they never stood a chance. Four to one, brilliant!’ Adrian pushed his fist into the air in triumph.
‘That’s fantastic, wish this place had a concept of commerce so that I could have put some money on it.’ We both laughed.
I was clearing away the plates when the phone rang. I almost dropped them all with the shock. I pressed the air where the answer button for the phone had resolved. An image of John Cueson appeared. He had worked for me at the Deep Space Observation Centre since I had joined.
‘Sir,’ he said a little timidly, ‘you need to come in right now sir. This is an Alpha Protocol alert.’
Alpha Protocol I thought. What the hell, and in the middle of a dishwashing. I kissed Adrian on the forehead and rushed for my sub-orbiter. The journey through the outer atmosphere was a tense one, a thousand thousand thoughts rushed through my head. What if it was another meteor or something else?
I burst through the doors of the DSOC and was confronted with a mass of people throwing themselves at one another, trying desperately to bark information at one another. John was right by my side in an instant.
‘Sir, Aeniah is on the line for you, the President is also on call. They and the supreme cabinet are waiting for you in the control centre.’
I ran through the departments, at some points physically pushing people out of the way. There was an energy in the building that told me all that I needed to know.
In the control centre was a holo of all the people that John had informed me would be there. Aeniah looked tense.
‘Brief me!’ I shouted to no one in particular. It was John who responded, he waved at the people manning the controls for the holo.
‘Sir, one hour ago a Ceila satellite detected an incoming into the system. The image you see behind you is a wave-form consistent with faster than light translation. At the same time our monitoring of the co-ordinates you gave us showed a massive increase in energy output.’
I gasped and pushed my hands against one of the desks near me to try and keep myself on my feet. Aeniah recoiled away from her camera. ‘You don’t mean,’ I said.
‘Yes sir, Ascension appears to be doing something. But sir that isn’t the point.’ He waved at another technician. The holo resolved upon an image of a large and powerful looking vessel. It was bearing a United World insignia.
‘Oh my god!’ Aeniah shouted. ‘Oh no, that’s my ship, that’s my fucking ship.’
‘But I thought Carvelle?...oh no...oh no.’ I couldn’t even begin to bring myself to form the words. I knew exactly who it was, and exactly why we were here. But above all I knew with absolute certainty that we did not have the power to resist.
‘Sir,’ shouted a technician, ‘we have a message incoming.’
‘Open channels,’ I said.
The image of a man who was infamous in my mind resolved and stood before me. His eyes held a murderous texture to which I felt my very hopes and dreams die beneath its weight.
‘Ladies and gentlemen of Aurelia, my name is Alfred Carvelle, and I am here to offer you Ascension.’
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