1

       At 6:14 AM, William Rallerd woke up to the sound of a revolver cocking. As he opened his eyes he saw the barrel of his own gun pointing at him. Looking up a bit more, he saw it was none other than Sean Rallerd, his own twin brother.

          Sean and Will used to share a great bond, as they depended on each other to survive their war torn home but fell out over a dispute regarding whether or not they should have moved on from a life of crime when they were 12 and have hated each other since, only showing any form of compassion towards each other upon learning of their parents’ deaths. Despite being brothers the two were opposites. Their attitudes and appearances reflected their paths in life.

          Sean had stuck with the life of crime, having lost his right eye when he was 13, he had an eyepatch that he covered up by growing out his hair to the point that most of the right side of his face was completely covered. He was constantly irritable and arrogant. However, he was also extremely intelligent and very cunning, which you had to be where he was from.

          Like Sean, William was very intelligent and cunning, a little more so than Sean was. Will and Sean were involved with gangs and, despite their young age, had climbed the ranks due to their intelligence and their manipulative abilities. Will, however, left the crime life and managed to keep a clean record.

When Will had woken up to see Sean, he was very surprised.

“Rise and shine, Will” Sean said with a smirk on his face.

“Sean?” He wondered if this was just a dream, “how in the – IS THAT MY GUN?”

Sean’s smile grew, he took a closer look at the weapon, “You didn’t hide it very well, I’m surprised the guards haven’t found it.”

“Unlike you criminal fucks, we don’t get inspected that often. Guess they don’t trust you as much as they do us, funny how it works.”

On this ship, about 20% of those on their way to their new lives had criminal backgrounds and were constantly monitored. Despite the fact that both Will and Sean had a criminal history, Will managed to never get caught, meaning his record was clean.

“So why even come all this way to my room? Sure was a big risk, you must have a good reason.”

“I thought I’d see my brother again, might not get the chance to, seeing how it’s launch day.”

Will looked up at Sean with a glare, “I couldn’t give less of a fuck if I never see you again.”

Sean just looked at his brother silently, with no emotion. At that moment, he heard the soldiers coming their way.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, trying to hide his panic.

“What’s wrong, Sean?” Will asked him, knowing full well what was going on.

         Sean attempted to peak out the door, but as he was about to turn towards the door, Will landed a punch directly on his jaw, knocking him back far enough to fall out of the door and hit the railing.

         On this ship, the rooms were set up like a prison, Will’s room was on the third level and there was a series of catwalks that ran along the rooms with staircases on each side. Sean got up and saw the soldiers aiming at him, he knew they were only loaded with dummy rounds but he knew they’d still hurt like hell so he got up an ran. As the soldiers followed in pursuit, Will poked his head out. By now he was completely dressed in his uniform, black cargo pants, shiny leather boots, his navy blue undershirt and a black collared button up overcoat with a patch on the shoulders and the American flag stitched into the left lapel. As he saw Sean disappear down the stairs he felt a little bit sorry but ultimately concluded that it was deserved.

         As he made his way to the cafeteria it really sank in, it was launch day. Five years in space aboard The Endeavor and he was finally being launched. When it fully sank in, he began to reflect on everything that put him here.

         Although it was 2137 at that time, it all really began about fifty years prior. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization had broken down and the European Union had been replaced by the European Federation, led from Berlin. The Russian Federation was undergoing civil war and had all but collapsed. The People’s Republic of China, having taken the island of Taiwan, cut off the rest of the world from access to superconductors, meaning they had become extremely valuable, and that quality of life would plummet in the developed world.

          The US and the Europeans had to invest heavily in coal-based transportation and technologies, and they had to ramp up production of weaponry, as tensions were reaching a boiling point. This, however, caused air pollution issues that, on their own, would normally not be a big deal, but combined with the already intensely polluted air of the twenty-first century, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

          The United States lost the third world war in the year 2114 to the European Federation and the People’s Republic of China. Much of the east coast went into military occupation by the EF and the US had to pay too much in war reparations to the EF and the PROC. The federal government nearly collapsed, and the rest of the Union nearly broke apart, for ten years the federal government had almost no control.

         NASA had discovered a solar system that had seven colonizable planets. The US government, having recentralized their power, decided to gather as many resources together and attempt to colonize at least one of the planets, believing they could solve many of their problems by leaving Earth. The government decided that young children would be trained and tasked with establishing a presence along with many other tasks on these planets because they would be young adults by the time they arrived and they were a burden to the economy, it was a win win for them.

          William Rallerd was among those sent to the solar system. For five years, they had been in space on the biggest man-made spacecraft ever constructed, known as The Endeavor, and he was tasked with colonizing a planet and sending information back to The Endeavor. He was skeptical of the government’s true intentions, but seeing as how he would be promised a new life and status upon completion of his mission, he never openly questioned it.  

          He walked into the cafeteria, where they were serving pancakes, waffles, crepes, omelets, and a lot more, which only happened on special occasions but made sense, given that it was launch day. Will made his way to his normal table to eat with his friends, he had shown up late, so Zoe and Thomas were already eating.

          Sitting in front of Will was Zoe Akbar, a girl of about five feet and nine inches, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes that were representative of her cheerful and friendly nature. She always spoke in a high-pitched voice that was borderline girly-girl, except for the fact that she was one of the strongest people Will ever met, although her lean figure might not have given that impression. Her cheerful nature made it nearly impossible to stay mad at her, although Will often wondered if she did that intentionally. Like Will, she was extremely intelligent, and when it comes to strategy, despite her appearance as an impulsive airhead, many would describe her as the second Napoleon. Will was the only person on board that could win a chess game against Zoe, and likewise, Zoe was the only one to put up a fight against Will.

          Next to her was Will’s close friend Thomas Reed. Thomas was exactly six feet tall with a buzz cut. He had a slender yet tight build and near black eyes. In contrast to Zoe, Thomas always appeared to be a blank slate, always observing his environment. He was cool and calculated, he always chose his words carefully and didn’t bullshit people. However, he had a great heart and always cared about others.

          After conversing with his friends, Johnathan Zach had finally showed up. Johnathan had short brown hair and pale skin, he was about five feet and six inches. He was an introvert and spoke very calmy and with an extensive vocabulary, mostly due to the fact that he was the son of a very powerful man that ruled much of the northwest during the post-war civil conflicts.

          Before taking his seat next to Will, Johnathan leaned down, whispering in Will’s ear, “It’s done.”

          Will took a deep breath, trying to keep a calm expression, but his stomach was sinking a little. He was getting nervous, but it was too late to turn back now.

          At that moment, the cafeteria went silent as a man in a military uniform with a microphone began speaking.

“Ahem. Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “as I’m sure you’re well aware, today is the day you serve your country honorably in our search for a new home. Today, you become the future of the human race, the future of our nation, and of our people.” As he finished his sentence, everyone began cheering with pride. “Today, we will be giving you the best lunch you can dream of as a sendoff. I salute you.” As he said that, everyone stood up and in unison began to salute towards him.

          Once everyone went back to finishing their meals, Will stood up, giving Johnathan a knowing look and calmly walking out of the cafeteria.

          He made his way towards one of the many armories spread about the ship. Before entering, he poked his head around the corner and watched the security camera, paying close attention to its red light. Will watched closely, while also taking the time to look towards his watch.

‘Assuming Johnathan did his job,’ He thought to himself, ‘the light should go off in

3… 2… 1…’

          His eyes immediately focused entirely on the red light as it shut down, signaling that the camera was out of commission. Will waited a few seconds, making sure Johnathan had not accidentally messed with any other systems on board. He also watched a group of soldiers heading away from him in a hurry. Johnathan had been successful. Will calmy walked to the armory, relieved that his plan had worked out exactly how he wanted it to. He went in, and loaded as many weapons and ammo he could into large boxes before moving towards his pod.

          The pod was the size of a large plane, and each team of colonists would board them to get to the planet. Will saw a man loading the last boxes into the pod and hid behind another corner. He reached for his revolver that he kept hidden but decided against killing the man. Instead, he silently grabbed a tranquilizer gun, made sure it was loaded, and knocked the man out. He was uncertain what exactly the tranquilizer was filled with, and simply hoped to god that it was not enough to kill him. He moved the unconscious man into a closet and began loading the boxes of weapons into the pod. There were already some guns on board, as the teams would also be accompanied by a team of soldiers for added protection.

          Realizing that there would be no room for the extra guns, Will unloaded a few boxes to make room. He closed the pod shut and went straight for a nearby office. It was unlocked, thanking Johnathan, he walked in, seeing it was also empty. He went to a conference room and saw a map being displayed on a large screen. It was a map of the planet Will was heading towards, and he was shocked to see it. Thinking quickly, he took a nearby flash drive he copied the file along with many other encrypted documents and leaving the office in a hurry. He found Johnathan in the rec room, watching Zoe fight Erik Dyron. Will knew winning a fight with Erik Dyron was a fool’s game, but Zoe always tried. Will sat with Johnathan.

“Did you do it?” Johnathan asked, not looking at Will but keeping his gaze straight forward. Will just looked nervous and didn’t answer.

“So… were you right?” Will nodded as Johnathan finally made eye contact.

Will finally spoke, “we have to do it.”

“You realize the risks involved? We’re lucky to have not gotten caught already!”

“Exactly, there’s no going back, especially since we know what’s really going on.”

          Johnathan looked down, putting his face in his hands and breathing out nervously. “Are you one hundred percent sure about this?” “I saw what I saw, we have to act.”

          Johnathan looked back at will, calming his nerves down, “Fine. But if we fuck up, we’re dead men. Understand?”

“I’ve known that was a possibility from the beginning.” Will seemed confident, “Besides, we’re smart enough to do this.”