"The Age of Ausra III: On the Wings of Fledglings" eBook (EPUB & PDF formats)

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Excerpt

Episode One: “Floodgates”

The planet Ymir, with its perpetual winter, had served its purpose as a home in exile for the descendants of Cain, who completed their penance with the defeat of the Midjiaans. However, Enoch knew that any attempt to mass relocate the entire population to the distant planet of G2V-3, known by Enoch’s ancestors as “Earth”, would be a colossal challenge. A logical alternate plan involved systematically establishing temporary colonies on proximate planets that supported life between Ymir and The Dumas Solar Sector where Earth was located, in a sort of “stepping-stone” approach. Enoch’s plan to use the captured Midjiaan shuttles, to more frequently transport smaller population segments shorter distances, would allow for better logistical support and more frequent maintenance and repair of the shuttle fleet. As the re-settlement operation began at a carefully orchestrated and sustainable pace, Enoch and the Canaanites were unaware that gravitational forces of a newly created black hole were altering the orbit of the largest comet ever discovered in the universe, the nearly one-hundred-mile-wide C/2014 UN271.

Comets, consisting of dense chunks of rock and ice and surrounded by clouds of dust and gasses, often have close encounters with the suns they orbit, which cause them to heat up and spew an “exhaust” of dust and gasses illuminated by the star they are approaching. Occasionally, comets can come so close to a star that they don’t survive the encounter. A direct impact of a comet the size of C/2014 UN271 with a star the size of Ymir’s second sun, the Dwarf Star, would still likely be negligible for the small star, but could result in a cosmic starburst that would send a geyser of lethal ultraviolet radiation and x-rays into deep space. Depending on the exact timeline of events, with a certain orbital path and relative positioning of Ymir after such an impact, the planet could find itself in the cosmic crosshairs of this cataclysmic event.

Akkadia, the planet that the defeated Midjiaan occupiers had called Tera Mega, was home to the mercenary space dragons that initially fought alongside the heinous Midjiaan forces, against Enoch’s shadow army. In a pivotal twist to the war, Enoch had managed to communicate with Chava, a disgruntled Akkadian mercenary, and forged an unlikely alliance with her that greatly contributed to the route of the Midjiaans, as Chava was able to convince her fellow Akkadians to stand down against Enoch’s forces.

Enoch chose Akkadia as the first steeping stone on the Canaanites’ ultimate journey home and would pilot the flagship craft leading the entire shuttle fleet there, laden with as many migrants as could be safely accommodated. It was only when the fleet entered its exit orbit that Enoch noticed an object in space that seemed slightly brighter than the other heavenly objects. Unconcerned, he figured it was yet another return of one of the many comets that periodically lit up Ymir’s night skies. Ymir soon became a speck, and then disappeared entirely as Enoch pushed the throttle to hyper speed.

The weeks-long trip to Akkadia was uneventful, almost boring for Enoch. On the final approach to the docking station, Enoch was surprised to see so few lights emanating from Babylon, the planet’s capitol city. He had negotiated a collective visa for the contingent he brought over on this first crossing, though discussions were still ongoing about how long these guests could stay, and how many more would be allowed to follow. Enoch planned to get this group settled into temporary quarters while the transport shuttles underwent preventive maintenance checks and refueling, after which he would then make the return journey to Ymir to pick up the next group of immigrants.

The full relocation of the entire population on Ymir, just to this first stepping-stone on the journey to Earth, was expected to take almost a year, and though Enoch was hoping each crossing would be as uneventful as this first one, he wasn’t looking forward to the tedious process. However, as it turned out, the return trip would be anything but uneventful.

En route back to Ymir, Enoch’s and the other shuttles’ instrument panels started going haywire and the fleet lost all communication with their home planet. Days later, as the fleet decelerated and entered Ymir’s orbit, it quickly became evident that the planet had suffered some type of cataclysmic disaster.

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