Return
Post-Lokosha Occupied Earth
598 OR (Octavian Republic), 602 Years from Now
Can’t stop falling
Heartaches calling
Finds you after the fall
Saints or sinners
Take no prisoners
What’s left - after you fall
No not much no
-After The Fall, Journey
Ronzo stepped into the clearing. It was a warm mid-autumn day with temperatures in the high 70s. The clearing was not empty as the Ersca princess sat cross-legged in the center, meditating. She knew that he was here, so there was no use fooling around. This was what he came here for, after all. He moved forward and said. “Greetings Princess Calma. I am Dr. Ronzo Jones, Ambassador from the Octo colony.”
Princess Calma sprung up and turned around. Almost instantly she stood in front of Ronzo. She had a tight grip on his right wrist and a sharp knife pointed at his throat. She looked at him with disdain and almost hissed. “It’s about time you showed up. The Lobstahs have been gone for nearly 50 years and you finally decide to make your presence known.”
Ronzo gulped when he saw the knife blade resting less than an inch from his neck. He realized that if the Princess wanted him dead, he would be. So he relaxed and took a better look at the Denison of the forest. He found her to be very attractive.
Princess Calma was in full camo mode and she was difficult to see. She was mottled red, orange, yellow, and brown matching the colors of the changing foliage.
Ronzo noted that Princess Calma was almost his height at six feet tall. She was hairless and wore no clothes, better to remain unseen. She was also lithe and at home in the forest. He himself was comfortable in the wilderness. Ronzo would not have been able to observe her in such detail were it not for his augmentation. His people had been modified with advanced nanotechnology when they were relocated to Octo V at the beginning of the Lokosha conquest of Earth.
A group of fifty thousand humans were brought to Octo V by the Octavians. Octo V was a moon of their solar system’s only gas giant, Ki. The moon had been terraformed for humans. That, along with Nano-augmentation, empowered mankind to thrive here. Not only that, the augmentation enabled these people to live in various habitats.
The Octavians received an unknown FTL signal calling for help. From there they were able to save a mere fraction of humans before their planet was conquered. Humanity was only one of several civilizations aided by the Octavians.
By the time of Ronzo Jones’s return to Earth, the human population in the Octavian system, known as the Octos, had grown to just over five million. They had a presence in seventeen biospheres throughout the solar system. They also provided a large percentage of the Octavian space navy. They were known as fierce fighters and had performed well in the war against the Lokosha.
The Octos had previously been close with the Ersca and the other tribes of the North American interior. They made frequent stealthy missions, providing support and trade. With the coming of the war, the Octavian government banned access to all Lokosha occupied worlds. The Octos sent a final message to the Ersca informing them of what happened, but received no response. From what they knew of the Ersca, they did not believe that it went over well. That was the last contact between these two groups of humans until Ronzo met Calma a few minutes earlier.
After the Lokosha conquered Earth, survivors realized that these creatures only lived in the coastal region. They hardly ever ventured beyond ten miles inland. Anyone who could make the trip, journeyed to the interior seeking refuge from the alien overlords. Many people died along the way, but those who survived found sanctuary. These people were also able to genetically alter themselves. They became stronger, faster, more intelligent, and most important, stealthy. Their chameleon mode allowed them to avoid the rare Lokoshan intrusion.
The survivors coalesced into seven tribes. A council of each tribe, known as the Interior guides, was formed. The interior people avoided the coastal areas where the Lokosha ruled. They ignored the horrors that took place there, knowing that they were fortunate it was not them. People were too busy surviving to deal with the Lokosha then.
Eventually the survivors became stronger and did more than merely survive, they flourished. They made contact with five other similar groups of interior people from around the world. Annual assemblies were held between these groups with the location rotating to a new capital each year.
Several years later a group of Octos landed in Ersca territory. The Octos provided supplies and information about worlds beyond the Earth. The Ersca accepted their new friends without question. The two groups got along famously. Although the Octos did visit the other interior people around the world, they were a constant presence with the Ersca. Some even lived there permanently.
The Octos told tales of what life was like in the Lokoshan Empire. It was a bleak place. They said that a war was being planned, and if it did not occur soon the Lokosha would remain in power for millennia.
One day the Octos disappeared. They climbed aboard their starships and headed for the sky, without saying goodbye. Before the ships vanished, a message was sent. It read:
THE WAR HAS BEGUN.
WE ARE ORDERED TO LEAVE EARTH IMMEDIATELY
FOR YOUR SAFETY DO NOT GO INTO THE COASTAL REGIONS FOR AT LEAST 25 YEARS.
AVOID ALL CONTACT WITH ANY LOKOSHAN: INFLUENCED HUMANS.
WE WILL BE BACK SOMEDAY.
Thousands of years earlier Lokoshan males and females were very similar. They were long, thin, dim-witted snake like creatures living within a quarter-mile of the shoreline their home world of Tompt’s only ocean. A large meteor crashed into the planet, initiating the Greenhouse effect and causing many changes. In order to survive, the Lokoshans underwent a rapid evolution.
The males became amphibious and bipedal. They grew a thick, protective yellow shell, and their strength and intelligence increased dramatically. Humans thought they bore a resemblance to a big yellow lobster,
Lokoshans had always fed by sucking the juices out of living beings through a snout on the front of their head. Now the males fed exclusively on brain matter. The more intelligent the being, the tastier the meal .While the males evolved dramatically, the females remained unchanged.
Although the Lokosha could only live in the coastal regions, they quickly came to dominate their home world. Within a few thousand years the Lokosha developed a star drive. Initially they were surprised to learn that alien cultures were repelled by the source of the Lokosha food supply. In order to assimilate the Lokosha kept this secret and attributed their private eating habits to religious doctrine
The Lokosha became affiliated with an interstellar confederation of intelligent species and were known as its most feared fighters. They bided their time and came to know the technology and peoples of the confederation. They also never ate in front of any non-Lokosha.
After several hundred years the Lokosha rebelled against the confederation and formed their own empire. The Lokoshans no longer hid their eating habits. All of the surviving races were terrified of their new masters. Most became vassals to do their bidding. Forty-three races became food sources and their entire home worlds were turned into farms. Among the favorites, and tastiest, were the newly discovered humans.
The Lokoshans who ran the farm world of Earth were aware of humans living in the interior sections of this planet, but they did not care. All they were concerned about was growing the product, and the coastal regions were secure. Drones occasionally attacked the interior areas, and if the beasts became unruly, troops would be brought in.
The product was live human brains. Lokoshan males could only feed off of the brain matter of living sentient beings, and humans were quite adequate. Lokoshans found that they could improve taste by manipulating age, emotion, intelligence, and other factors. So they did. Product was being shipped out in record numbers. Specialty items were sent to the home world and said to be among the Emperor’s favorite. Although most of the product was rather bland, it was also very nutritious. This was appreciated by the common solders.
Humans of the interior were very aware of what the Lokoshans were doing and were repulsed. They developed an instinctive reaction to avoid the coastal regions. The Lokoshans would occasionally ensnare a careless wild interior beast, which were difficult to capture. These beasts had a wonderful taste and brought a high price off world. Things were going well for the Lokosha on Earth. Until the sickness began.
Ronzo Jones looked at the knife still pointing at his throat, and sighed. Simultaneously, he slapped the knife to the ground and pulled his hand free from Princess Calma’s grip. When she recovered from her setback and pressed a new attack, he calmly stated. “Princess, I come in peace. The war is over. We won.”
Startled by this revelation, Princess Calma froze and stared at Ronzo. She finally managed to blurt out. “The Lobstahs are all gone?”
“Yes. Not just on this planet, but everywhere.” Ronzo spoke rapidly. “The species has been exterminated.”
Her mood was much lighter now. It seemed like a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Calma looked into Ronzo’s eyes, smiled, and asked. “What of the Emperor?”
Ronzo laughed, smiled back, and said. “I’m not supposed to tell you. Actually, I shouldn’t have said anything at all. I’m empowered to tell your father’s counsel first, so when I do tell them you will have to pretend that you are just finding out.” The look in Calma’s green eyes pleaded with him and Ronzo could not resist.
He laughed again and spoke. “Emperor Wasanta was captured trying to escape his home world in an old freighter. The alien crew that caught him broke protocol. They put him into a large tub of water, boiled him alive, and had a party where they ate him. No charges were ever filed against them.”
Calma burst out laughing and kept it up for two solid minutes. “Thank you.” She said. “I haven’t laughed that much in years.”
Ronzo smiled at her and said. “I’m glad to help. Now can you do me a favor? Take me to your father.”
Princess Calma looked at him and replied. “Sure thing, but first things first.” She stepped over to Ronzo, put her arms around him and gave him a hug. Her lips then found his and she kissed him passionately.
After what seemed like hours, a dazed Ronzo felt her pull away from him. He watched her run into the words and heard her yell back. “Can you keep up with me, Octo-boy?” Before Calma knew it, Ronzo was running at her heels. What amazed her though, was that he moved around the obstacles as gracefully as she did.
It took three days to reach the Ersca capital of Chicag. As they grew closer. Calma was quite impressed with Ronzo Jones. Not only could he keep up with her physically, he ran through the forest like a natural born Erscian, but he was also a skilled hunter. Late on the first day he was able to catch a large while boar. He stripped it down, seasoned the meat, and cooked it on a fire that he started with two sticks. They ate well that night.
After the meal they slept together, but it was due more to sharing bodily warmth in the cold night air than anything else. As their cultures were want, they made love. They both found it very enjoyable.
The next day they ran again. Calma enjoyed running and she did most every day. She never had as much fun as she did on her trek with Ronzo. He joked and laughed, and made the trip quite pleasant. Calma was a little sad when they reached the gates of Chicag and she realized that the journey was over too quickly.
Ronzo stopped when Calma did at the gates of Chicag. Two guards stood in front of the door. They each wore a belt with a dagger set on the right side and a laser pistol set on the left. The guards recognized Calma instantly, bowed, and said. “Princess.”
Calma smiled, walked forward, tapped each guard lightly on the forehead, and said. “Arise.”
When the guards stood, Calma continued. “This is Dr. Ronzo Jones from the Octo Confederation.” She pointed at Ronzo. “One of you please inform my father. Have him meet us with the Council at the Common in two hours.” The guards looked at each other, the one on the right nodded and walked up to the gate. He pushed a bright red spot and a narrow door opened. The guard stepped through and jogged off.
The remaining guard inserted a key into the wall and the main gates swung open. Calma took Ronzo’s hand and said. “Come. We will have some breakfast and I shall show you the city.” As they walked through the gate, Ronzo couldn’t help but notice the ruined city beyond Chicag. It was gigantic, and deserted. There were many towers still standing. Half of them, however, were bent or shattered part way up. This must have been attacked and abandoned during the invasion.
Calma saw what Ronzo was looking at and responded. “Don’t worry about that. It was known as the city of Chicago way back when. We are currently doing a thorough investigation and you should see some of the stuff we have found.” Ronzo looked at Calma. She kissed him and said. “My father is going to like you. Now, let’s go get that breakfast.” They walked side by side into the city.
Calma and Ronzo sat in the row of bleachers that ran along the back of the entire Common, eating breakfast. They arrived early and were the only ones there, so Calma leaned her head on Ronzo’s shoulder and thought, I really like this guy even though he is from another world. Neither one noticed the small group of people enter the Common.
Ronzo liked the sweet roll that Calma had given him, but he really enjoyed the coffee, so he said. “I didn’t know that your people grew coffee. This is delicious, what is the spice in it?”
Calma smiled and said. “I’m glad you like it. Coffee is one of our most precious crops. We have always grown it since the invasion. The spice in that brew is pumpkin, now that it’s autumn. We have also added it to our latest batch of ale. You can try that later.” They heard a loud “Ahem” and looked up.
There were ten people sitting on the stage watching them. Calma’s father, the king of Ersca, was seated in the middle, surrounded by his council. The stage was located in the center of the Common. It was a square, twenty feet on a side. The Common itself, was oval shaped, five hundred feet long on its major axis. The bleachers were ten rows deep and could hold most of the population of Chicag.
Calma and Ronzo stood up immediately and walked to the stage. They stopped in front of the King and bowed to the waist. When they stretched back up, Calma spoke. “Father.” She waved her hand with a flourish at Ronzo and continued. “May I present Dr. Ronzo.,.” She was interrupted before she could finish.
