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Mission to the Stars: Arbitration
Mission to the Stars: Arbitration
Prologue
The comet was traveling on its usual trajectory, as it had done for thousands of years, until an unusually large asteroid appeared. Cruising at incredible speeds, the comet could not slow to avoid the object now veering directly into its path. If it had had eyes, it might have closed them just before impact.
The collision was astonishing. The asteroid immediately became space dust, but the massive ball of ice-rock was only knocked off its original trajectory. Over the coming decades the comet made an uneventful jaunt through the galaxy. It flew quietly past multiple stars and planets. Each planet’s gravitational field bent the comet’s orbit slightly, nudging it closer to impact with a binary star system in a distant galaxy and the desert world it housed. Finally, passing between the planet’s two suns, the comet announced its presence in the night sky of this unsuspecting world.
Chapter One
An Arenian Luminary Watcher was the first to notice it. At first he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. But after many calculations and observations, and after watching the star grow even brighter, he decided to bring his findings to the attention of his superiors. His colleagues verified his assertions, having seen for themselves the object and the facts. It was a comet, and it was headed for their home. The Luminary Watchers and the scientific community confirmed that not only was the comet heading directly for them, but its impact would be an Extinction Level Event (ELE). They could do nothing but prepare as best they could for the inevitable. The calculations predicted the deadly impact would occur in four months. If the Council of Thirteen were to ensure the survival of the species, they would have to work fast to prepare.
The Arenian Council decreed that, to ensure the survival of the species, ten of the most fortified Arenian cities would be transformed into secure refuges: five in each hemisphere. Out of necessity, the Arenian Council of Thirteen also made a second decree: a list of those chosen to live was to be compiled. Any government, on any planet, in any system, in any galaxy, would have done the same. The list included prominent citizens: doctors; teachers; scientists; and government leaders, both local and national. Needing to diversify the planet’s future population, other citizens were selected via a lottery. It wasn’t fair, but it was necessary. Each of the ten fortresses could only house a total of one thousand Arenians. This meant that the rest of the population was chosen to die—if the cities they lived in could not withstand the impact of the killer comet.
Elsewhere, other bunker-like facilities were secretly dug into other hills. These would house all scientific, historic, and medical materials, as well as many vehicles. Survival of knowledge as well as of the species was paramount. To that end, the general population was kept unaware of these facilities for fear they might try to overwhelm the bunkers, tossing out needed materials to insure their own continuance.
Nature, though, seems to have way of playing with the mind of every intelligent species.
The long-ago collision with the asteroid had, in fact, damaged the comet. Hitting the asteroid at an angle had created a long gouge in the comet. Spreading out from the gouge were many hairline fractures. As the comet passed between Areneas’ two suns, the gravity from the two stars pulled the comet into different directions, widening the fractures.
The Arenians were waiting for their demise when, minutes before hitting the planet’s upper atmosphere, the comet shattered into six pieces. Four were smaller and bounced harmlessly off the atmosphere. The remaining two larger pieces punched their way through. As they came closer to impact, they found the immense pressure too much. Both exploded violently, one above each hemisphere, creating damage and mayhem never before seen by this world.
The devastation was horrific. At ground zero the blasts super-heated the sand to temperatures near that of the sun. An area about fifty miles in diameter melted. Later, when this cooled, it would turn to crystal glass. The shock wave that followed impact destroyed everything in a thousand mile area. It stirred up the sandy landscape, sending enough into the atmosphere to blot out the two suns for many months to come. This dropped temperatures to never before seen lows, taking the lives of many Arenians. When the twin suns could be seen again and temperatures returned to normal, the violent ELE-driven storms subsided, and Arenaes’ normal seasonal patterns returned.
Chapter Two
After the ELE, the Council of Thirteen remained sheltered in a refuge in the southern part of the planet. It took over one month for the hysteria and confusion that followed the impact to subside. Then the council was finally able to meet—the first time since the ELE—in order to discuss the next steps. Debate raged for hours, until a council member named Hiltsard rose to speak. He stood there quietly for several minutes until the Council’s Chief Ambassador, Tilsar, saw him and in a low, stoic tone asked, “Ambassador Hiltsard, perhaps you have a comment for us?”
“We seem to be at an impasse in our discussions. I believe that we must prioritize. As of now we are arguing about things that make no sense.” He shook his head in disgust.
“Go on,” Tilsar said.
“We know that our citizens in the fortresses are safe. That would be ten thousand if I am correct. But what about the rest? We now know that we did not receive the full fury of the comet. There is no way that everyone outside of these fortresses survived, but it is also probable that not everyone died. If we are to rebuild and repopulate, we must first survey the damage to all our cities and to our population. We should be discussing how to go out and help those people who may have lived through this tragic event. They will be needed if we are to go on as a species.” Hiltsard sat down.
The council sat in silence for some time, pondering the speech.
Ambassador Tilsar stood. “A proposal has been made. I believe we should put it to a vote.”
Another stood. “A vote now? This should be discussed before it is put to a vote.” It was Ambassador Vlaisder, the lead delegate from the Northern Hemisphere. He was vicious and had not wanted any regular Arenians to be selected for survival. The council had voted against his idea, and he was still bitter. His voice rose. “I demand it!”
“Vlaisder, sit down. It is a clear-cut proposal and we will vote now. I am for this proposal; the longer we sit and discuss this, the more of our people will die.”
Vlaisder glanced around the room and several eyes met his gaze.
The vote was taken. To Tilsar and Hiltsard’s surprise, it was passed by only a narrow margin. Eight for and five against. Those against all represented regions from the North. This concerned Tilsar. He knew that Vlaisder’s influence in the North was great and it showed. Ambassador Tilsar could see the division beginning, one that hadn’t occurred in several millennia.
Now that that proposal had passed, the council made arrangements to inspect the unfortified cities. What they found, over the course of months, was that most of the cities had taken on heavy damage and some had been completely destroyed. Luckily, there were survivors. A final census was taken and, of the original 200,000 Arenians, only 100,000 had survived. Soon after, the debate began.
The comet was traveling on its usual trajectory, as it had done for thousands of years, until an unusually large asteroid appeared. Cruising at incredible speeds, the comet could not slow to avoid the object now veering directly into its path. If it had had eyes, it might have closed them just before impact.
The collision was astonishing. The asteroid immediately became space dust, but the massive ball of ice-rock was only knocked off its original trajectory. Over the coming decades the comet made an uneventful jaunt through the galaxy. It flew quietly past multiple stars and planets. Each planet’s gravitational field bent the comet’s orbit slightly, nudging it closer to impact with a binary star system in a distant galaxy and the desert world it housed. Finally, passing between the planet’s two suns, the comet announced its presence in the night sky of this unsuspecting world.
Chapter One
An Arenian Luminary Watcher was the first to notice it. At first he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. But after many calculations and observations, and after watching the star grow even brighter, he decided to bring his findings to the attention of his superiors. His colleagues verified his assertions, having seen for themselves the object and the facts. It was a comet, and it was headed for their home. The Luminary Watchers and the scientific community confirmed that not only was the comet heading directly for them, but its impact would be an Extinction Level Event (ELE). They could do nothing but prepare as best they could for the inevitable. The calculations predicted the deadly impact would occur in four months. If the Council of Thirteen were to ensure the survival of the species, they would have to work fast to prepare.
The Arenian Council decreed that, to ensure the survival of the species, ten of the most fortified Arenian cities would be transformed into secure refuges: five in each hemisphere. Out of necessity, the Arenian Council of Thirteen also made a second decree: a list of those chosen to live was to be compiled. Any government, on any planet, in any system, in any galaxy, would have done the same. The list included prominent citizens: doctors; teachers; scientists; and government leaders, both local and national. Needing to diversify the planet’s future population, other citizens were selected via a lottery. It wasn’t fair, but it was necessary. Each of the ten fortresses could only house a total of one thousand Arenians. This meant that the rest of the population was chosen to die—if the cities they lived in could not withstand the impact of the killer comet.
Elsewhere, other bunker-like facilities were secretly dug into other hills. These would house all scientific, historic, and medical materials, as well as many vehicles. Survival of knowledge as well as of the species was paramount. To that end, the general population was kept unaware of these facilities for fear they might try to overwhelm the bunkers, tossing out needed materials to insure their own continuance.
Nature, though, seems to have way of playing with the mind of every intelligent species.
The long-ago collision with the asteroid had, in fact, damaged the comet. Hitting the asteroid at an angle had created a long gouge in the comet. Spreading out from the gouge were many hairline fractures. As the comet passed between Areneas’ two suns, the gravity from the two stars pulled the comet into different directions, widening the fractures.
The Arenians were waiting for their demise when, minutes before hitting the planet’s upper atmosphere, the comet shattered into six pieces. Four were smaller and bounced harmlessly off the atmosphere. The remaining two larger pieces punched their way through. As they came closer to impact, they found the immense pressure too much. Both exploded violently, one above each hemisphere, creating damage and mayhem never before seen by this world.
The devastation was horrific. At ground zero the blasts super-heated the sand to temperatures near that of the sun. An area about fifty miles in diameter melted. Later, when this cooled, it would turn to crystal glass. The shock wave that followed impact destroyed everything in a thousand mile area. It stirred up the sandy landscape, sending enough into the atmosphere to blot out the two suns for many months to come. This dropped temperatures to never before seen lows, taking the lives of many Arenians. When the twin suns could be seen again and temperatures returned to normal, the violent ELE-driven storms subsided, and Arenaes’ normal seasonal patterns returned.
Chapter Two
After the ELE, the Council of Thirteen remained sheltered in a refuge in the southern part of the planet. It took over one month for the hysteria and confusion that followed the impact to subside. Then the council was finally able to meet—the first time since the ELE—in order to discuss the next steps. Debate raged for hours, until a council member named Hiltsard rose to speak. He stood there quietly for several minutes until the Council’s Chief Ambassador, Tilsar, saw him and in a low, stoic tone asked, “Ambassador Hiltsard, perhaps you have a comment for us?”
“We seem to be at an impasse in our discussions. I believe that we must prioritize. As of now we are arguing about things that make no sense.” He shook his head in disgust.
“Go on,” Tilsar said.
“We know that our citizens in the fortresses are safe. That would be ten thousand if I am correct. But what about the rest? We now know that we did not receive the full fury of the comet. There is no way that everyone outside of these fortresses survived, but it is also probable that not everyone died. If we are to rebuild and repopulate, we must first survey the damage to all our cities and to our population. We should be discussing how to go out and help those people who may have lived through this tragic event. They will be needed if we are to go on as a species.” Hiltsard sat down.
The council sat in silence for some time, pondering the speech.
Ambassador Tilsar stood. “A proposal has been made. I believe we should put it to a vote.”
Another stood. “A vote now? This should be discussed before it is put to a vote.” It was Ambassador Vlaisder, the lead delegate from the Northern Hemisphere. He was vicious and had not wanted any regular Arenians to be selected for survival. The council had voted against his idea, and he was still bitter. His voice rose. “I demand it!”
“Vlaisder, sit down. It is a clear-cut proposal and we will vote now. I am for this proposal; the longer we sit and discuss this, the more of our people will die.”
Vlaisder glanced around the room and several eyes met his gaze.
The vote was taken. To Tilsar and Hiltsard’s surprise, it was passed by only a narrow margin. Eight for and five against. Those against all represented regions from the North. This concerned Tilsar. He knew that Vlaisder’s influence in the North was great and it showed. Ambassador Tilsar could see the division beginning, one that hadn’t occurred in several millennia.
Now that that proposal had passed, the council made arrangements to inspect the unfortified cities. What they found, over the course of months, was that most of the cities had taken on heavy damage and some had been completely destroyed. Luckily, there were survivors. A final census was taken and, of the original 200,000 Arenians, only 100,000 had survived. Soon after, the debate began.