BLEED/HAVEN

THREE

With that, applause rang out once more and he came to have a seat, where Eliot gave him a silent high five in his seat. The crowd's uproar died out and once again the next speaker was announced,

"We will now hear from our own, Chairman Reid."

The man stood from his seat and took the microphone sitting at the desk in front of him. From there, he took a moment to scan the crowd, picking out certain individuals to look at before speaking,

"As many of you know, I am Chairman Reid, head of the Council of Roakon. I would once again like to thank everyone for attending. As I previously stated, I will be getting straight to business. We together today are dedicated to the preservation and rebuilding of mankind. In order to do such a thing, the support of many is necessary for the prosperity of the many. With that being said, what is needed is financial support of the Exemplars in order to effectively have and develop in time the necessary tools to rebuild as we decide what the best course of action for our future will be. Along with that, we need the numbers and support of the people, so the recognized faction of New Haven and Capella's providing of ample workers will be crucial to the speed of our production."

With that being said, he turned to the other council members to receive a final nod from each, then turned to the room to speak,

"People of Earth. What is left of the human race is dwindling as time goes on. We must act, and we must do it now. The technological advancements we have gained from the Veverg along with the best scientists and forward researchers we have pioneered for us this plan that we present to you all on this momentous occasion. We, the Roakon faction, present today, project Lestallum, and after which, the journey to find a new home. Colonization."

On some of the monitors were presented schematics of a domed city-plan that sent the crowd into frenzied chatter. A new home, colonization? The banter went on for some time before the man rose his hand and the room fell silent before he continued,

"I understand this may seem somewhat like a fantasy, however I must assure you all that this is no such matter. Our world is dying, our solution will consist of letting it morph and change into what it is with the support of few, as we create a home we may flourish on as we explore for other habitats to flourish in. Then in time, when this world is ready, we may come back and have the technology and power to treat it better than before. Therefore, Lestallum will be an artificial world that we will create on the broken moon."

This time there was no banter. There was a silence before a man in the crowd spoke out,

"How exactly would this work with families and such?"

Another person spoke up,

"Will there be a selection process, a criteria, how will this be fair?"

Atop that another question,

"Have you thought about the good of the common man when coming up with this sir?"

The debate rang out between them all and Idalamis started her own debate between the two men before finally the announcer rang out to speak,

"We will now hear the answer from the Leader of the Exemplar faction, Cassandra Reid."

'Reid?' Idalamis thought, she turned to Eliot who turned to her and they raised an eyebrow, thinking that the two may be related in some way and that was why they were so snappy towards one another.

The woman in the white suit stood from her seat and spoke in a matter of fact tone,

"The rate of parasitic growth in this world is exponential. In my travels I have made the discovery that the fourth stage of the Stigmata that the Miss Archega spoke on earlier robs one of their humanity. There are much more nightmarish things than death and they lurk in the shadows, they make very specific selections on whom they feast on and when they reveal themselves. I'm no scientist, but I'm not an idiot. I think it is safe to say that these creatures do not rely merely on primal instinct. Although I do not have the facts to back up my statement, I am willing to gamble that they are intelligent and have something planned."