Just a Normal Morning

The soft humming of engines was a normal thing in his life by now. Even as he slept, Malcolm barely stirred while the world around him bustled. Just outside his window small speeders zipped and belched past his home. A Tall skyscraper, One of many tall skyscrapers. Each glistening with cool water vapor on their windows. The sun hadn't yet risen, you could see it on the horizon, reflected in the many windows of the surrounding buildings. A droid in the corner clicked on, it's visual sensor lighting up, giving it the look of having eyes. The droid was a common model, in fact, this particular one was old. It's metal was worn away in places, as if it'd been passed down after years of use.

The entire room looked like this, it wasn't sleek and shiny like any of the nicer rooms. There were things littering the floor, drinks sitting on the nightstand. Clothes strewn across a chair just across from the bed, suggested a dull and dreary life. Certainly this room was as unremarkable as a book, no longer picked up and read now. For you see, our story begins in 2321, on the first planet to ever be created by man, Thalia Prime.

While the room was unremarkable, its inhabitant wasn't. He lay sleeping on greying sheets, his mouth open wide, drooling. This is Malcolm, a man of a mere 23 years of age. Just barely getting by, he'd dropped out of the military, dropped out of college, and as he shifted in his sleep. He dropped out of bed. The dull thud, could have been an issue for his neighbors living below if it hadn't been for the soundproofing apartments now had. For Malcolm this fall signaled the start of his day.

Sitting up and yawning, Malcolm started his day timing his own alarm clock. It annoyed him greatly that everyday, without fail, he would wake up a mere few seconds before his alarm would wake him. Holding up his right hand, he ticked off a finger, and then another. Finally, he had only one left and with a brief pause.

PING!, a sharp chime from overhead could be heard throughout the entire home. "Good morning!" a metallic female voice called. " The weather outside is a cool 47 Degrees. Energy charge is within expected parameters for Thalia Prime and we are expecting another sunny day!"

"What else is new, it's always in expected parameters...", with a sigh, Malcolm picked himself off the floor. "C4, would you get coffee started...?"

The droid chirped and burped out a cup with steaming brown liquid, it gave a high pitch whistle. Looking at it, Malcolm shook his head and groaned. Coffee was a rare commodity. Unfortunately, the price of it had gone up so high that all he could afford was Coffee flavored substitute. Only, the last time he had it, it was the consistency of mud.

"No thank you... forget I even asked. Yuck...", he said, waving a hand at the droid.

Chirp! went the droid, was it possible for a droid to look crestfallen?

He decided to go a safer route, and going to the kitchen he opened a panel on the wall. It revealed a odd cubby like hole in the wall, with a panel and slowly flashing lights on it. In the middle of the cubby was a tray, metal and shiny. A synthesizer unit. It was the only new thing that Malcolm kept. It couldn't synthesize coffee but water and food was easy. World hunger got solved with them on Earth and so they were relatively cheap to buy. Installing them on the other hand... took some work.

"Ehem....Waffles and orange juice." Malcolm stated clearly. For a moment, the Synth unit did nothing. Looking annoyed, he kicked a panel below it. With a sharp hum, and a flash of light, there on the panel stood steaming hot waffles and a glass of cool orange juice. It wasn't the real thing he knew, it was mostly reconstructed nutrient paste with coloring and flavors. Real food was a rarity on Thalia Prime, even most of the galaxy relied on the same synth-meal he did. They were thoroughly researched by the greatest scientists in the entire known universe to be used on NASA space shuttles originally. Each Synth unit cost the Earth around 10 Billion to produce, where now, It took somewhere around 300 Galactic Credits. You could make that just breathing in this age.

Content with the meal, he ate quickly. Malcolm didn't want to dwell on the fact the food wasn't real. Once he'd had his fill, he tossed the tray that came with the meal into the recycler. It chirped a happy tone which he ignored with the best of his ability while he searched for clothes to throw on. Choosing the same clothes he wore the day before he walked out his front door and down an elevator. It let him out on a platform where the sunlight wasn't hitting directly. He was a few levels below surface, on a walkway. He could still see the gleaming skyscrapers above him, and fancy speeders racing overhead. The city, he remembered growing up on the upper levels, where the sunlight was brightest. He always dreamed of having a home up there. Just a dream now, he thought. Thalia Prime was an industrial planet specializing in Carbon crystals. The speeders would pollute the air, that air would be sucked downward to the lowest level of the planet where the sunlight was virtually non-existent. Where it would be pressurized and turned into either Carbon Crystals or Diamonds. The owners of the equipment and businesses that made the gems would be above his head for the remainder of his natural life. The thought brought a sour expression, he kicked at the metal he stood on, and decided a walk was in order.

Nearly two hours later, he sat on a bench. The park was large, it was the only place where all classes could gather without there being walkways overhead. He closed his eyes, basking in the sunlight, The white walkways surrounding the park. No speeders flew here, the area was protected by laws as a nature zone, where the only technology was a beautiful fountain in the center. The soft tinkle of water and sunlight was so relaxing it could put anyone to sleep. Here and there children played, parents watched and dogs walked. The place was heavenly to him. The only place he could go to relax, to think, and to calm his mind. He took in a slow deep breath, letting the only natural source of oxygen on the planet fill his lungs. He could feel his lips twitch into a smile, and he let out a sigh. If only more places like this existed on his home world. It'd be so beautiful, he thought.

He didn't know when he became aware of a high pitch whine in the distance. It started as some goosebumps. Confused, Malcolm looked around. Kids were still laughing and chasing eachother... The fountain was still spraying beautiful streams upward into the pool of crisp blue water. What was that noise? He thought. Soon he started noticing others looking around too. The sound seemed to be coming from all around them. The downside of living in this city was its natural acoustics. He began looking around too, something caught his eye. A glint? Was the sound getting louder??? He stood up, looked around more. Someone screamed, the sound was earsplitting now. Then he spotted it...

People were running, running as fast as they could for exits. It took a moment for him to register the large ship headed straight at him, it was still far off. Maybe he could make it? He turned and began to run, the exit across the park was nearly 100 yards away. The ground began to vibrate beneath his feet as he took off at a sprint. His breath tearing at his throat, heart hammering his chest. The high pitch whine started to shift to a Low Rumble. He was about halfway when he felt something slam into the ground behind him, a loud CRASH, and the grinding of metal. It was SKIDDING, terrified he put on a greater burst of speed. He was almost to the end of the park, something hot was licking at his back, and chancing one look behind him, a Scream was torn from his lungs.

He felt his feet leave the ground, suddenly there was no sound, no vibration...and then a violent wave slammed into him, and then nothing... Just Black.