The Invasion Begins!

I wonder how I'll die… Denzel sighed as he tossed on his narrow bunkbed. 

Sleep didn't come easy these days.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the destruction of Gaia. 

Terrifying spatial fluctuations ravaging the continents, rivers of blood and body parts, the cries of infants who didn't live to maturity, having their lives terminated early on…

Finally, the result would be a catastrophic implosion of the planet, destroying all life within...

It scared him.

Perhaps, the only relief, though dark, was that he wasn't the only one who was experiencing this.

Jax and the others too similarly had such thoughts on their mind.

To minimize the damage, most youths had been conscripted into the army and sent out of Gaia's airspace.

The babies were in life support machines on the larger vessels while those from five years of age to thirteen were in other spaceships being trained and preparing for the worst.

Those above the age of fifteen were all made to join the main army vessels as a reserve army force.

After all, though young, fifteen-year-olds were rank 4 warriors, suitable to engage in combat, if any.

This meant that those left on earth were either the very unlucky or the very old and weak.

Food was a luxury so obviously, those who weren't strong had no share nor portion in it. They could only scrounge for scraps in the wreckages of food and convenience stores.

All of a sudden, the high pitched alarm calling all to assemble began to blare with ferocity, startling many out of their reverie.

'Shit! What is it this time?' Jax growled in annoyance as he scrambled out of his army casuals and into an appropriate uniform.

'We'll know when we get there,' Denzel replied, following suit.

'Fern man, get your ass out of bed! The alarms are blaring!' Brutus shook Fern awake. 

Two weeks of hunger strike and not moving had accumulated an unholy stench on him, causing Brutus to wrinkle his nose in disgust.

Fern sighed and sat up, rubbing his reddened eyes. 'Take the lead. I'm right behind you.'

The trio nodded and bolted out of the room. 

Outside, hastily dressed youths and adults rushed to the various emergency meeting points.

Static crackled and the gruff voice of the head general, General Griffiths resounded on all ships and in every Army base.

'ATTENTION SOLDIERS! YOU HAVE THIRTY MINUTES TO GET INTO BATTLE GEAR AND BE BATTLE READY TO INVADE A PLANET. 

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

WE WILL TAKE OUR DESTINY INTO OUR OWN HANDS AND CHANGE IT!

FOR GAIA!'

There was a moment of silence as everyone struggled to come to terms with what the general had announced.

Suddenly...

Resounding cheers filled the army base!

Everyone knew what invading a planet meant!

New land, new resources, a chance of survival!

The eyes of the soldiers instantly became bright as they rushed with the ferocity of lions to switch into their battle gear.

'Finally Ol' Zhang made a move! I knew he would find a way!' Brutus chuckled in glee and excitement.

'Say less! Let's get this done and over with so we can all move away and not be destroyed!' Jax added.

Denzel couldn't help but grin. 

There was hope!

In under ten minutes, the trio were in gray and blue Gaian battle suits, weapons ready!

Hefting his broadsword on his back, Brutus stormed out. Closely behind, Jax followed with his spears and Denzel with an army standard psionic blade.

Heading over to a nearby convergence point, they joined the throng of Gaian soldiers, arrayed in neat orderly files, ready to invade the enemy planet!

Twenty minutes was relatively short but it seemed like an eternity to the hopeful soldiers.

It was hard to be patient when you knew redemption glowed like a beacon of hope on the horizon!

Everyone couldn't wait.

At long last, the command was given!

'We're moving out! Get into the pods!'

…

President Zhang was in a conference call with the various generals on the ships.

'Griffiths, what are the odds of us winning this invasion?' he turned to look at the imposing figure of the head general, one of the top five experts in Gaia!

His copper colored hair had many streaks of gray and his face was hard and rectangular, as if chiseled out of stone.

This stony looking general had a rare smile on his lips which looked more of a grimace.

'A solid ninety percent, Mr. President. It should even be a full hundred but unseen factors have to be taken into consideration.

I don't think it would be too much of a problem.'

President Zhang turned to the holographic figure of the bald, skinny General Mathers.

Mathers certainly looked comical, with his wide nose and bald head but it was a proven fact that he was arguably the sharpest tactical mind in Gaia's military!

'Mathers, how close is the Imperial fleet to the position of Gaelen-II? And also our planet?'

'Our planet has no immediate Imperial ships in the vicinity. Bastards are afraid that the planet would soon implode and want to stay as far away as possible.

As for Gaelen-II, the most recent patrol happened a few days ago and they won't be back until a week's time, according to our observations.'

That was good.

The Council's long greedy tentacles wouldn't be able to extend that far in a short while to disrupt their plans. 

'Mathers, how long will it take for the Council to realize something is wrong?' asked President Zhang.

'Based on what our satellites have been picking, it seems they have a small outpost on the planet, nothing too major.

There is a high possibility that our little task would soon be public news a few minutes into the invasion.'

'Nuke the facility then. We won't take any chances. We need all the time we can get,' President Zhang ordered.

He wanted to buy as much time as he could to allow everyone on Gaia to move to Gaelen-II before the Council could retaliate!

Once they had settled on the planet, they would have the upper hand and the only thing the Council could do would be to gnash their teeth in fury.

And of course, their usual tactic of heavy propaganda and agenda against Gaia, painting them the blackest of sinners.

But President Zhang didn't care!

If he had to be the very devil to save his people, he would do it without hesitation! 

Of course, by bombing their facility, it meant Gaia and the Galactic Federation would have a complete falling out with no chance of redemption.

Hell, the Council could even send the Imperial fleet to attack them in a fit of rage!

But President Zhang was willing to go down that lane.

'Let's make this quick and clean. The moment we have Gaelen-II under control, immediately initiate Project Exodus. 

In twenty-four hours, we should have more than half of everyone on Gaia on that planet.'

'Yes Mr. President.' 

'What of the various historical relics?' asked an official.

'You're thinking of historical relics at this juncture? You fool! We've not yet even sent the people to safety but you're worried over your ancestor's heirlooms?

Idiot!' cursed General Wyndham in anger.

The poor official shrunk back, feeling threatened despite General Wyndham being only a holographic projection.

'When we've moved most of the people, then we'll see if we can salvage some of the important relics.

For now, our priority is the people,' said President Zhang. 

The generals were solemn.

They knew they couldn't fail this task!

The fate of everyone on Gaia was in their hands!

…

'In sixty seconds, we enter atmospheric space! Prepare for landing!' called the commander!

Grim faced soldiers with blaster rifles in their hands and protective helmets covering their faces readied themselves.

It was time!

This was the moment, now or never.

Whether their families lived or died depended on their actions today!

In seconds, the pods hovered twenty feet above lush green lands which stretched out as far as the eye could see.

It was a stark contrast to the bleak, smoggy and almost volcanic looking terrain of Gaia which looked like a land claimed by the devil himself!

But this land in front of them?

It was simply paradise!

The eyes of all the Gaian soldiers became even brighter, regaining their luster as they greedily eyed the beautiful surroundings.

The future of their children would be radiant on this planet!

The hatches opened and the commanders yelled, 'Go! Go! Go!'

Gaian soldiers quickly jumped out of the various pods and thus began the invasion of Gaelen-II.