Chapter 7

Edna

The speakers that was present in every corners and nooks of the battleship kept repeating the announcement we heard in our room.

Renee and I hurried to the square.

A large group of people were already in the assembly square.

The crowd looked like ants.

All the remnants of humanity had gathered here.

A white podium was at the end of the square.

The steps at the side of the podium gleamed.

"Finally, we would not be couped up in this metal junk. I can't wait to live on a planet again." A female voice complained.

"Living on the spaceship is better than dying." A sarcastic female voice replied the first person that spoke.

More words from different people made the square noisy.

A whooshing sound broke the murmurs from the crowd.

It was a small plane.

There was a man and a woman inside the plane.

The small plane landed on the podium gracefully.

The woman and the man alighted from the plane.

The two of them were handsome and pretty.

Both of then were dressed in black uniforms that hugged their body frames snugly.

The woman removed a pen from her breast pocket.

"Hello everyone, I am Miranda." The woman spoke into the pen.

I looked at the pen in her hands in wonder.

The moment she spoke, all the speakers near the square echoed her voice.

Her voice reached everywhere.

"We all know why we are here. The leaders have found a planet." Miranda said.

Cheers rose from the crowd surrounding the podium.

The fevereish air infected me.

My lips lifted up into a smile.

My mind strayed to my brother.

Tyler would have been among the people cheering loudly at the good news Miranda shared.

I clenched my hands into fists.

The smile on my lips reduced.

I shook my head to rid myself of the gloomy mood hanging around me.

I am om this battleship for Tyler and I.

My brother still resides in my heart.

My presence on this spaceship is the same as Tyler being on this spaceship.

I returned my attention to the news Miranda was sharing.

I was a little surprised that another planet was found.

Our current location must be more than a million light years away from the solar system Earth resided in.

"There is just a little problem." Miranda continued, "We detected traces of life on the planet. It has indigenous people living on it."

I finally knew why the higher-ups wanted to share the news early.

Although the government prepared everything for the day the earth would be destroyed, there was a limit to the things they can predict.

Besides, Earth's resources was severely deleted this past few years.

The amount of fuel and energy they preserved would not be too overwhelming.

This battleship they built was already a welcome surprise. It would have eaten into the reserves they had.

Normally, we should settle on an uninhabited planet.

It was the best solution.

Friction and conflict would be nonexistent. Nobody would fight humanity for resources. No one would try to rule us or deprive our rights from us.

From the things I have heard, the leaders of humanity wants everybody to settle on this new planet at all cost.

I don't now if it is because of the depleting resources on the battleship or something else.

All I knew was that the higher-ups weren't going to let this planet go.

If the indigenous people were hostile, the leaders would try to destroy them.

I sighed.

The race for survival was brutal.

"The planet has a high level of technology. There are many things we don't know about too." Miranda said, "The leaders finally arrived at a solution after deliberating carefully. We are going to send an exploration team down to the planet first."

I listened carefully.

"An exploration team? Hope the leaders won't send us down there. We don't know if the indigenous people are hostile." A small voice grumbled.

The voice travelled far.

It was like a fuse.

Many people began to complain.

"The government takes all our taxes and points. Members of the military and protection forces should be the one to go and explore the new planet!" Another shrill female voice said.

"You are right. Since we are the one paying for everything with our taxes, we should have privileges." Another voice agreed.

Similar murmurs came from the crowd.

It was deafening.

Miranda watched everything with smiling eyes.

She reminded me of some words I read from a book in the past.

She looked like a smiling tiger.

She gives me the impression that she would still be smiling as she guts someone to their death.

The man that came with her didn't do anything.

Somehow, it felt like this man came as an escort even if their uniforms are similar.

"Will they send ordinary civilians to the new planet? I don't want to go! We have a higher chance of dying." Renne whispered to me, "What would be the essence of boarding this battleship if I am still going to die?"

I patted her shoulders, "Calm down. They might not even choose you. If they do, follow the instructions. Don't forget that the leaders are in charge here. They provided an avenue for you to live. They can take it back."

Renee nodded with a pale face.

To me, going against the leaders was suicide.

These people control the battleship. We were in the end times.

Law and order were extremely brittle.

If the leaders kill anyone and slaps on a righteous excuse, nobody would be able to do anything.

It was better to go with the flow first.

I don't want to be oppressed but I would not act out either. A wise man should know when to bend or stand tall.

This was the time to bend.

"Silence!" Miranda said.

The speakers repeated her voice.

The murmurs from the crowd didn't stop.

A shot rang out.

This unique noise finally brought silence to the square.

A gun was in Miranda's hand.

"Are you guys be able to listen now?" She asked with a smile still on her pale pink lips.

The crowd nodded in unison.

The voices that complained loudly a few minutes ago was nowhere to be found.

"Great. Like I said earlier, we are going to send an exploration team to the planet we found. Everyone has a chance to be on the team, isn't it beautiful?" Miranda sighed.

Nobody replied her.

The people surrounding the podium just looked at her with various expressions.

There was fear, anger and many more.

"Don't worry, we will send one exploration team made up of ten members to the new planet first. If we don't hear any news for a very long time, more exploration teams would be deployed." Miranda continued.

"H-how will we know who would be on the first exploration t-team?" A trembling voice asked.

"That is a very good question, thank you for asking." Miranda grinned, "We are going to choose the members of the team randomly. It is a fair system that utilizes AI and computers."

As she spoke, the man snapped his fingers.

A light curtain hung behind Miranda.

I observed the light curtain carefully.

It was a projected light.

A device somewhere was making the light.

Numerous names were on the light curtain.

I spotted my name near the middle of the list.

"Both members of the protection forces and civilians has a high chance of being chosen." Miranda said before she glanced at the light curtain, "Start the spin."

Her voice acted like some kind of command.

The names on the light curtain began to move upwards at a fast speed.

I watched the scrolling names seriously.

After a few minutes, the names stopped moving.

A few names on the list was highlighted in deep blue.

"If your name is highlighted, please step out." Miranda said softly.

I sighed.

Renee faced me with a look of shock.

"You were chosen?" She whispered aggressively.

I nodded.

I made my way to the podium.

The number of times I checked and rechecked didn't matter. The results were not going to change anytime soon. My name was in deep blue color.

I was going to be among the team members that would explore the new planet.