In the distant future, humanity has reached out for the stars. Multiple colonies had been established on various planets, from the stable, tranquil world of Shizuka to the tumultuous, volcano-ridden mining world of Big Rock. Most of humanity was united under one government, referred to as the Union of Terran Planets, or UTP, for short. There were a few outlying colonies that were under private control. The tiny colony of Liten was one such world.
The course of human history changed forever on April 13th, 2486. First contact was made by a UTP exploration team on the planet Vasten with an alien race, soon named the Arkons. The Arkon's response to the team? Brutal, merciless slaughter. Not long thereafter, multiple colonies on the Fringe were assaulted by Arkon warships and utterly annihilated. The most sinister of the Arkon hostilities, however, was the infiltration of human colonies by the shape-shifting Arkons and decimation from the inside. The prominent UTP planet Tahego fell to this subtle infiltration technique.
At an emergency assembly of the UTP Congress, war was declared on the Arkons by unanimous vote. A side effect of the war declaration was that the UTP declared all human planets under its jurisdiction, and as such, all non-UTP colonies were required to declare allegiance to the UTP, or suffer the consequences. The motive behind this move was that many of the colony worlds were rich in resources, which the UTP would need to fight the war against the Arkons.
Meanwhile, on the planet Liten, the governing authorities struggled to make a decision. Would they comply with the UTP, or try to resist. Some of the members of the Liten cabinet favored open rebellion, while others favored to side compliantly with the UTP's demands.
And then the unthinkable happened...
August 5th, 2486 Space Calendar
Day 10, Month 9 Liten Local Calendar
0530 hours Liten Local Time
Bzzt!
The vidcom buzzed loudly. Governor Sarah St. Kerrigan opened one eye regretfully to check the clock. 0530.
Why would anyone be calling me before official working hours? I didn't get enough sleep last night as it is...
Bzzt!
With a sigh, Sarah pushed back the pseudo-silk sheets of her bed and sat up, making a feeble attempt to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Next to the bed was a shiny aluminum folding chair, with a crimson robe draped over it. Grabbing the robe, Sarah slipped it on, covering up her underwear.
Bzzt!
Sleepily she ambulated over to the wall where the vidcom was fastened and lightly punched the answer button. Nothing happened. Then she realized she had accidentally hit one of the number keys. Again, she hit the answer button. This time, a familiar face popped up on the screen.
Dr. Haylen York. The lead scientist on Liten.
Why is she calling me at this hour of the day?
"Ma'am, we have a problem," Haylen reported.
Sarah yawned. "Can it wait? I'm tired."
"No, ma'am, it can't." Haylen's words held a tinge of fear in them. Sarah became more alert.
"What is it?" she inquired.
"Well..." Haylen took a deep breath. "I came in early to work, as usual, and I found Simmons there, too."
One of Haylen's assistants. "What of it?"
"He tried to attack me, ma'am."
That got Sarah's attention. "What?"
"Luckily, I had my laser pistol on me, and I shot him before he could kill me. But when I shot him...his body changed."
"Changed how?"
"It morphed into something...alien. I checked the data we recently received from the UTP when they sent us the proclamation. The profile matches that of the aliens the UTP recently declared war on. The Arkons."
"Dear lord..." Sarah found herself at a loss for words. "Has he killed anyone else in the lab?"
"No, he was the only other person here. But if there was one Arkon...ma'am, I think it's possible that there's more of these things on Liten."
Chills coursed down Sarah's spine. Arkons...on Liten. But why? Liten had nothing of value, and they were far away from the Fringe. What could the Arkons possibly want with Liten?
"All right, get to the Government Center and head for Meeting Room 1," Sarah told Haylen. "We need to figure out what we're going to do here."
"Aye, ma'am." The video feed switched off.
Five minutes later, Sarah was fully dressed in her olive-colored uniform. For added measure, she fastened her laser pistol's holster around her waist. With aliens likely running around, it was better to be armed.
Without warning, the doorbell to her quarters rang. Sarah felt the fingers of fear clasp her brain.
Is it an Arkon, sent to assassinate me?
She went over to her desk and accessed the security camera feeds on her computer. Selecting the camera watching the outside of her door, she found a man standing in front of the door. In his hand, he held a pistol.
Beads of sweat trickled down Sarah's forehead. They had come for her.
The doorbell rang again.
He's not going to go away. Well, I've only got one choice, then.
Cautiously Sarah stepped toward the door. She flattened herself against the side wall and slapped the "Open Door" button. Immediately a bolt of light streaked into her room, burning a hole in the wall on the far side. Whipping around to face her attacker, Sarah took quick aim and fired. Red light hit the man squarely in the chest, and he collapsed to the ground. His laser pistol clattered to the ground.
Panting heavily, Sarah quickly ran up to her attacker and kicked his weapon away, while keeping her own pistol aimed at him. Strangely, he wasn't transforming. Was he human, then?
"What do you want?" Sarah demanded to know.
The man grimaced. "I'm not...the only one," he grunted. "We can't...join...the UTP. It spells...our doom. You...must die!"
Desperately he lunged up, pulling a knife out of its sheath. Quickly Sarah fired her laser pistol again. This time, the man collapsed to the floor and didn't move. He was dead.
But what he had said was disconcerting. Sarah had known some people disagreed with her stance on joining the UTP, but to openly try and assassinate her? This was a step she had not thought anyone would take. This was supposed to be a civil world, not some barbaric, backwater colony. Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen!
But like it or not, it was happening. The question was how to deal with it?
Holstering her pistol, Sarah turned to stride down the corridor, en route to meet Haylen and the rest of the governing board in Meeting Room 1. Hopefully, together, they could figure this nightmare out.
Or will we tear ourselves apart...
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