The Macrocosm: Centauri

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The crew stared in disbelief; the air was heavy and tense. Silence lingered throughout the craft which hung loosely in space. The captain swallowed roughly as tears almost came to his hazel eyes. The silence was maddening...the sight before him even more so. Something had to break the silence. The tension. He took a deep breath.

"Earth is gone forever this time."

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I had sat back in my chair as I watched my old home turn to ash. The fire of war had swept across the land. It was like an everlasting fire burned brightly. The great abyss which the I felt was never ending, this pain as I looked out upon this object in space; this grotesque figure which hung about before me. Shortly after Titan was successfully colonized, the war had broken out. Two sides, The Human Federation and The Eastern Republic, moved by greed and personal ambition. After this war started, the other planets and moons, Mars, Mercury, Titan, Europa, and even their own Moon broke relations with Earth. Both sides wanted full dominion over the planet, but it would cost dearly. Just yesterday, the first use of a weapon called a 'Toxicity Devastation Device', or 'TDD' for short, was used on both sides.  Billions lay dead, and the earth was ravaged into a world of pure destruction. Not one thing survived, human, animal, nor plant was left. Earth is gone forever this time, but the buildings from the past can still be seen, forever clinging to life, but it was pointless.

As I looked at my ancient home, a deep sense of longing and regret fell upon me. I remember the vast open space of my home in Nebraska, when I was growing up in the year 2150. But that past is gone now. This view of my home was both beautiful, yet destructive and terrible.  The surface held only death and ruin.

The Human Federation had control of what was then known as the Americas and parts of Europe. The Eastern Republic ruled over the land from the sands of Morocco to Russian Siberia and even the land "Down Under". Was this what they had called Australia once? I had smiled at the thought.

I remembered growing tension in the governments. And the people. The hate which festered on both sides. This was one of the reasons my family left Earth.

I had been suddenly awoken from my day-dreaming, new orders came in that I should head back to Mars. Earth really was gone forever. And I had to give it one final farewell.

Shortly after the incident, the rest of the planets and moons created a pact between all of them, promising such things would never happen again. 'Such things can never happen again', they said. They called their new alliance with one another 'Sol United.' Each one lived under the promise that a golden age for humans would be born out of the ashes of Earth. But humans are not the best at keeping their word.

I arrived back at the spaceport near Mars, with my ship of 50 men, and docked straightaway. The Port Ramp connected to my own ship, allowing safe passage off the craft. A new group of pirates was forming near Io, a moon of Jupiter. I had a feeling I would be called here for this reason. My experience was like none other, top of my class and I excelled in every mission I was assigned.

I had orders to report to the head chancellor of Mars immediately. After docking, I was put onto a transport ship which took me directly down to the planet's surface. The red planet glistened in the sun that day. The vast barren land which lay beyond the capital of Mars stood before me, just as dead as Earth is now. And even beyond this, in the distance, I remember seeing a large and unforgiving dust storm which tore across the plains of this desert world. But the sun still looked down upon all of it, almost lovingly. As if the world was at peace, finally. Yet such deceptive things never shook me.

"I'm sure you heard of the pirates in Io."

The chancellor, whose name was Alexander Timmings, looked at me through his glasses while sitting down at his desk. He was old and graying, a born leader for the people of Mars. He had led a life of politics since he was younger, and has been the chancellor of Mars since his youth.