Earth Is Mine

Chapter 29

My body tenses more and more the longer the humans from Earth talk. I have always held Earth at the highest regard from the time I was a seven year old girl, whisked away in a flash of blinding white light and taken to another planet that would become my new home.

My thoughts and memories of my home planet are filled with sunshine, greenery and love but the humans here seem to think otherwise.

And I hate to admit it but it bothers me immensely to even consider that the planet that holds my heart could be synonymous with so many horrible issues.

War, slavery, human trafficking, corruption, extinction, pollution, discrimination. The list goes on and on and for a moment I wonder why the humans here are even fighting for our side when the situation on Earth sounds so horrible.

The tall middle aged woman who introduced herself as Mary now speaks about some sort of embezzlement scheme that lead to millions of elderly humans losing their entire life's worth of savings.

"I don't get it. Why would the government elect a random stranger to take care of an old person just because their doctor diagnoses them to be a danger to themselves? What about their children or relatives?" Joon is equally as flabbergasted as I am.

He's been on Pluto five years longer than I have and the shock on his face is even more apparent.

"Because there are corrupted people everywhere and everyone is out there to make a quick buck, even if it means destroying another persons life," A short blonde guy responds sordidly. I think his name is Alex but I can't be sure.

Everyone introduced themselves at once and I lost track after the third name.

"That's sick," I murmur and Cat whistles lowly.

That's one way to put it," She adds.

I lean against the wall, letting the hardwood take the weight off my shoulders. I don't remember if these same problems exist on Pluto, only the slavery and the disparity between us and the Plutonians.

It is a totalitarian, military ruled society functioning solely to conquer and run the remaining planets under the Plutonian rule.

Sure there are dirty, lying cheats like Lazarus calling the shots but the Plutonians conserved energy like it was fuel for their beating hearts and there was no such thing as extinction.

"It's all Lazarus's fault." My lips pull apart to form a sneer and the hatred in my voice is evident. "He's the one behind all the problems on Earth."

"It's not fair to blame another species for everything, let alone a single alien who appears to be around the same age as General Lucian," The middle aged woman speaks and my eyes narrow in dislike.

She doesn't even know what she is talking about. I saw all those clips in Lazarus's room. It's all his doing.

"She has a point. The corrupted humans on Earth agreed to ruin our planet for the Plutonians. They are to blame as well," Rachel adds. "They traded our freedom for their riches and information to advance their technologies. Everyone claims they have no choice but the truth is we all do."

"And the Plutonians have been controlling Earth since the beginning of time. Lazarus is just picking up from where the generals left off. And the ones before them," Joon reasons.

My heart sinks at their words but I can't deny them. It's easy to blame one person for everything because I hate him but the truth is everyone had a hand in the war and destruction to come. The humans and the Plutonians alike.

"What are we even fighting for?" I blurt out words that I don't really mean in a fit of disappointment.

Mary's eyes crinkle together and the wrinkles pool at the corners of her eyes as she smiles at me. "Because there's good and bad in every species. I know many humans who are kind, hardworking and honest and they do not deserve the future you and Joon have described."