Earth 5.0

"We are here," they radioed the Supreme Court, transmitting videos and images.

It was immense, up to five times larger than Earth. "Earth 5.0," they called it. It deserves its own name, they thought to themselves.

"They’ve arrived, Captain," the colonel announced. The Supreme Aid was on deck and didn't wait for the Captain to relay the message.

He got up immediately, signaling at the colonel. She handed the headset to him.

"Visuals."

The color green covered the screen. They couldn't make out what they were looking at.

"Zoom out," he instructed.

He didn't make any outward expression when the planet came into full view, but within he thought, "Finally. They found it."

A planet lost, all data of it destroyed, as if they never wanted it to exist. No, they were not hidden in some classified folder.

Earthlings are panicking. Climate change, overpopulation—Earth is in distress. They have been under pressure; they had to find a new home. They couldn't go back to their planet. The last of it had been destroyed. So, they started digging. They got bits of information from retrieved records from the ships they arrived in.

For nearly twenty years by Earth’s time, they have been searching. Ships with courts of thirty were sent out. They lost contact, and when they sent a second batch out, they lost contact as well. They had lost hope then...

Krkkrkkkkkkrkkk....d d d d d DT dt dt d

"It was a frequency they were picking up."

"Tune in," the Supreme Aid instructed, having been out here in space for so long, looking for any clue whatsoever. Anything out of the normal void.

"Nothing, sir."

He took the headset and began tuning in himself. Finally, the transmission came; it was one of their lost ships.

....

The planet pulled them in, as if asking for a warm embrace, seeking their presence, craving their company. They landed gently.

"We’ve entered the atmosphere ..." they reported back to the Supreme Court

"Recucucu rereeeree" They were getting a response but the transmission was unstable again, and then it went blank finally.

Since they had switched to this frequency, interference had been less compared to when they found each other. When it took weeks for a single transmission to get through. They had been cut off on several occasions and risked losing contact entirely if they moved too far from each other.

They were at the right distance, which is why they had made contact in the first place. And given the advancement of the Supreme Gale. The ship was far more sophisticated than the earlier ships sent out. It was built to transmit over very long distance, fast and to pass through the constant waves sweeping through

Knowing this too they immediately sent their coordinates when they found the planet.

Their ship stationed here, on the shore of it's sea. They wondered.

Why did they ever leave here? It was even more beautiful and bigger than Earth. Its skies extended endlessly like the high temple of some supreme god, with ceiling unreachable. The sky wasn't blue like on Earth; it was mint green, as were the waters of the sea_like liquid gems flowing through.

"Why did they ever leave?" He asked loudly

"I don’t know," Ulha responded."It’s beautiful."

They had seen the sun miles away even before they reached the planet. It was massive, and it brightened the world just right.

Vohla opened the hatch

"Proceed with caution," the robot warned as he descended."Proceed with caution." It kept repeating until, finally, they were both down. They had expected the sun to burn. But it was simply cool on their skin. Like an iron it pressed the hair on their skins flat. Warm .The beach was clear, clean with coarse sands

...

They were losing the signal

"What's their coordinate?"

He tapped on the screen, the line glitched as he zoomed in.

"Siiiiiiir," the colonall stammered as a way to stall as he tried to get their coordinates.

"Lock in their last location," the supreme Aid instructed, seeing that they could have possibly lost them.

"Do we have it?" the Supreme Aid asked.

After a three-second delay, he answered, "Yes, Aid, we do."

Speaking to the captain, he order "Steer the ship to that location." And he waited for their coordinates

"We are years apart, my Aid. The captain reasoned. Our fuel is on reserve, our engines require few maintenance. It's a shorter trip back to earth. Perhaps my Aid we should return to..."

"Open the reserve tanks. The engines will hold" We will spend our last resources to reach that planet. Send words to Earth:

The reserve engines were prepped; fuels were pumped in, with full power they zoomed

....

"Whatever made them leave must have been really bad. It says they all arrived safely on Earth, they stayed here a long time and the population grew too."

Vohla picked up a stone from the shore and threw it into the resting water as if to test it—to awaken a monster hiding, to unveil a hidden truth. But nothing.

"Maybe it’s not here. This is a paradise. It’s... beautiful," he spoke, gazing at the clear green water. It felt good

"When the Aid arrives we can know more"

As both sat at the shore, the darkness slowly crept in. They were eager to see what the night looked like on this planet. Would there be stars? Moons?

This was home; it had to be. Aside from Earth being increasingly hostile toward them, it was true that it was becoming uninhabitable with climate change and its orbit shifting. Its end had been slowly unraveling, the signs pointing toward a perilous conclusion. Even humans would need somewhere else to go. This planet was three times bigger; it could contain them all easily. They would accommodate the humans—especially since they had helped build the ships and had been there for every step of the expedition.

...

It was a year and 11months 26days by Earth time, before the Supreme Court arrived

Ulha and Vohla were both standing before the ship, waiting for them to emerge. First, the court of armed soldiers came out, fully geared in titanium full-body armor. Then, the rest of the court—the captains and advisors—descended, dressed in full space gear.

They were familiar with this system. They had used it themselves before they were ravaged. Before they came across those...Aliens? Guardians? Whatever those creatures were, they were alive and vicious.

They remember the bodies floating, blood suspended in mid-air. The surrounding atmosphere had green-blue, film-like appearance.They fled in the opposite direction. They went as far away from that spot as they could.

They saluted as they saw the red suit marked with a circle and a cross under the Circle It was the Supreme Aid.

He tapped each of them on the arm. "You have a story to tell, soldiers."

They acknowledged him, and he step away, taking in the view of the world they had just entered.

"Magnificent," he said. Immediately he instructed

"Unload the time machine. Begin the survey," , knowing there was no time to waste. When his ship had been sent out, conditions had been even worse on Earth. His ship was sophisticated, equipped with everything needed to facilitate the search and, as of now, to determine if the planet was truly habitable and why it was abandoned.

There is a secret here and it was his job to find it.

...

The holography encircled them, showing everything in full detail. It felt real: a little blond-haired girl was running toward them. She wore a white feathered jacket and was laughing as she ran across the beach. Others followed after her. She passed right through him, yet the joy in her filled him.

The image began to crack, and suddenly they were back in the dark room of their ship.

"We’ve lost that frequency, sir."

"Switch to the next," he said. It was this planet that confirmed it.

Once again, they were transported away from that dark room into a forest. The planet has changed . There were trees, and the air felt dry and cold.

"There are seasons here, too," Ulha said aloud. "It's harmattan,"

"There must be a moon." The captain said

No one said it, but they were all happy knowing this. It was no longer a bland plate of soup to them.

They had started farming. They walked out of the forest, and they were houses in uniform structures garden fences

They had built a neighborhood within seven years of arriving. They were growing fast. "Hello" an old woman greeted. From behind them they heard a cheerful responses "Hi" they all turned around to see a beautiful young woman with a child in her arm, both smiling waving at her.

Their attention cut off when the glitch started _darkness_ Forced out of that beautiful scene, another scene came up.

"My Aid," a man in a uniform—something similar to what the guards are wearing today—came in holding a gun. "We've completed another survey, still no signs of life on this planet except us."

"Keep searching," his back to the younger captain, the older man issued his command without turning around.

"It’s been 12 years, my Aid. We’ve dug to the depths of the ocean and the ground. If we were knocking, we’ve knocked hard enough to wake a dead man."

"Keep searching!" He barked, taking a deep breath, with a calmer voice, he said, "you need more than a knock to awaken a dead man. Keep searching." Stressing his last words.

"Yes, Supreme Aid."

He did obeisance and left.

The glitch came again, and they were transported 15 years later.

Everyone was wearing a nose piece. There was something different, the way they moved...quietly, almost as if in slow motion. The plants and houses had only a few additions; compared to what they had seen earlier, it seemed they had stopped working completely or developing .There were more of them now; obviously, they were still giving birth. The children didn't wear the nose pieces, only the adults.

The glitch happened

Exhausted, they knew they had no time to waste. "Next frequency,"

They were, in a room filled with computers and scientists. The screen in the middle of the room was displaying data.

Oxygen level: 120%

Nabum 42%

Senabrum 78%

Hubba 10%

This was twenty five years later.

"How far are we with the analysis?"

"It failed, sir. We ran a third simulation this morning."

"Move over to the next stage," the Aid instructed His gaze on the screen

"What analysis?". They tried to get a closer look at the system the scientist had returned to, but the glitch happened.

In the same room. Everyone was busier, and the figures on the screen had changed. The oxygen level was dangerously lower, as were the other elements, aside from the senabrum.

That was why they wore the nose, they are running out of oxygen.it must be regulating their intake sending the oxygen straight to their blood. They had to slow down everything to conserve it.

The glitch came again

"Are the robots back from the survey?"

"Yes, Aid."

"Display "

The atmospheric constituents were displayed on the screen. Oxygen was at 300%; Nabum, and Senabrum followed.

that must mean the oxygen didn't replenish as fast as it was being used. As the population and their activities increased, the oxygen diminished faster than it could be restored.

"What about the soil and water survey?" He asked

"Still on its way."

"Next frequency,"

" Sire, we have news from one of our ships"

He turned around immediately, facing the captain

"We’ve come in contact with a planet. We received a transmission yesterday, but it’s over four years old."

"Show me the Aid ordered swiftly"

It’s habitable, sire. Actually, it is inhabited by a race called 'Humans.' It’s smaller than this planet, but its supplies are self-sustaining.They are advanced, too."

"Good."

"Any news from our other ships?"

"No, My Aid."

"Assemble a team for our second contact with the planet. We..."

"My Aid!" A young girl, in a blue coat and white pant stormed into the room. "We have it!"

The older man exchanged look with his captain, and they both headed toward the main room in long strides. As they walked in, an older woman stepped forward. "We’ve synthesized the first oxygen, sire, and Nabum. We have both of them."

"Show me the equation."

"Over here, Aid." She revealed the screen,

The glitch happened and the transmission cut off

"What!!" The Supreme Aid exclaimed

"We lost the frequency, sire."

"We need that equation! Get it back!" He barked

He paced, knowing these frequencies were incredibly hard to retrieve. But they had to; that formula would sustain them on this planet.

"We are working on it."

"Next frequency."

The scene opened

"They are preparing for evacuation," Vohla exclaimed. "What happened? They had the problem solved."

They were in a queue moving into the ships they had arrived in. Yet, there was something unsettling about their movements.

Look, his captain said. They is no one guiding them. No guards to guide the crowd, They were moving in synchrony. And there were no nose pieces on most of the adults either.

The current Aid moved closer to the screen. There, in the recording, was the previous Supreme Aid inside his ship. He had his head bowed, his hands gripping the table tight. When he finally raised his head, his nose was bleeding. He began inputting coordinates with a stiff, jerky hand, as if someone—or something—was holding him back. Once the task was complete, he collapsed.

The glitch came in again.

Something was wrong "Has our coordinates been sent to earth?"

"Yes, sire. It is two year and nine months away."

"Good. And this recordings?"

"Waiting for a compilation sire."

"No, forward what we have immediately."

"Yes, Aid."

"Next frequency."

One of the ships came into view; they were on the move already. Everyone was seated as they should be strapped in_ He was looking for clues as to what was wrong, and there he found it.

The coordinates. These were not coordinates to Earth. They were going somewhere else.

"Where?" Those were the coordinates the Supreme Aid had inputted." Did they find another planet?..."

"Look!!. What is that?" the Captain asked, pointing up at the sky. There was a well-camouflaged shape.

They zoomed in.

"Is..." the Captain started, his voice trailing off.

"I’ve seen that," Vohla said. "That was what decimated our ship—the creature we encountered."

The image came in glitching; it wasn't stable for even a minute.

"And it is possibly what’s causing the glitches," the Supreme Aid commented.

"Next frequency," he ordered.

The scene opened inside the Supreme Aid’s ship. He had a helmet on this time, dry blood was on the bridge of his nose. He sat there, intensely calculating. Hurriedly, he inputted new coordinates and sent it to all the ships.

Within seconds, they turned around just before they crossed a border—a film of blue and green coating the atmosphere. And then, they headed to Earth.

"I want to know what exactly happened" The supreme Aid tense and anxious directed

All other frequencies are glitched sire.

He motioned for him to come over. The colonall handed him a tablet.

He tunes randomly. A scene popped up

The Supreme Aid was standing in front of the screen looking at the data . Everyone had retired he was there alone. His captain walked in. He was dressed in a more casual outfit. The Aid lifted his head noting his presence. The captain made obeisance .

I was only looking around Sire" feeling a bit odd appearing before him in a sleeping wear

His Aid simply grunted, nodded and returned his gaze to the screen.

Diffidently he came forward. "What bothers you sire. We have found a safe place for us." After few minutes of silence " do you not trust my..."

He cut him short my motioning for him to come closer. He flipped through several data

"Tell me what you see"

He looked intensely. The oxygen levels dropping

"Is that all?

He was silent.

"Look the sebarnum level. It's value keep fluctuating. It's increase is coincidentally with the glitches in our transmission. And lately it's been happening frequently. And reports of some strange sound I've heard. There something wrong" this time he said it looking at him

"What are you saying sire "

"Something enters our atmosphere and every time it does it leave this as a trace" there was something in his eyes as he said it fear? Anger?Something dark

He turned and left leaving the captain behind with the data.

He tuned randomly

"Sire we can fight"

"We cannot, we don't have the resources "

"We can exterminate them even before they know "

"They've been watching us since we came here, they knew about us before we found them. They are more prepared for a fight than we are. We can come back and fight. If we stay we will lose"

"Sire..."

"Prepare the ships for evacuation. we are leaving for earth. From there we will fight".

The captain stormed out

Transmission broke. He tuned randomly again

"Aid Aid" he heard them calling him. He started towards that direction. The colonall was carrying someone. It was his captain

"Starton" he called him. His heart stopped on seeing color drained from the face of this man who has stood by his side since he was a teenage. " Call the healers" he barked

"You were right sire'. Holding his arm " we will lose"

"No, no," the cocktail of fear and pain of losing him was audible"Hold on boy" he instructed

"Yes My Aid" he answered, and his h

and dropped.

"We lost 9 others Sire" colonall said

What happened? Before he got a response, all electronic began glitching and he knew.

"We are leaving "

Yes sire, and he ran out