The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series by Heather Heckadon (books to read to get smarter .txt) 📗

I listened as her merriment floated into the sky and past the trees I had once run to for cover. The same forest I had sat in with Garrett and watched the skitters play. The same trees I had fought wars in and had found love in as well. Hearing the echoes of a friend's laughter through them really drove it home for me. I knew in my soul that I was truly meant to be here and destined to call Circadia my home.

In the morning, the sun finally peeked out from behind Earth’s occlusion and lit the way over Circadia. The light dripped over the trees and down onto the flower weed like sweet honey on a biscuit. Nothing could ever bring me more hope or joy than watching the sun rain down on Circadia after a deep night.

The community of New Haven watched as the Herrold brothers’ enormous craft touched down in the open field outside the colony. The wind pushed the flower weed around the ship flat to the ground. The engines roared until they came to a slow stop. After opening the hatch at the top, the brothers emerged and waved to say hello. We ran to greet them.

“Hey, Phillip! Hey, Ross! You made it!” I called.

“Did you ever doubt it?” Ross returned. It was a rhetorical question typical of him.

“You ready to make things happen?” Phillip asked.

“You know it,” I replied.

Once the brothers had descended from the enormous craft, I watched another pair of hands grasp for the surface. Then a head popped out. It was Chris.

“Hello, Aella!” His smile stretched from ear to ear.

“Chris! I didn’t realize you would be coming along on this expedition!” It hadn’t occurred to me that Chris would ever come to Circadia. He seemed genuinely interested in Earth’s affairs, and I didn’t think he would leave it.

“I had to see your face when we released the video. Axel is back on Earth to catch the footage of the reactions to the video and the initial uprising. You know him. He’s got it. I wanted to be here, at least for a little while.”

I nodded quietly, then looked down and kicked the ground. “You think it’s going to have the impact we’re hoping for?”

Chris walked over to me and pulled up my chin so that it was high in the air. “This video is going to inspire history.”

THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY sat in the common area waiting. A few men from the Herrold’s team worked on setting up the projector and the white screen. Jane and Smith came to sit next to me on the ground. Phillip and Ross stood behind us. One of the men setting up the projector flashed the brothers a thumbs-up, and Ross walked to the front.

“Everyone quiet!” He paused for a moment as the community silenced. “Thank you. Now, I know you all know what this video is about. Hopefully, this will expose The Divinity and inspire the people of Earth to retaliate and initiate a more unified rebellion. It will play live on Earth as we stream it here. Our teams have hijacked all the stations so that no one, not even the mainstream media, can say otherwise. This is about breaking away from control and giving the power back to the people. Some of the things you’re going to see are hard to watch, so be prepared. Everyone ready?”

The community sat silent, but he pressed play anyway.

The white screen turned black, and I heard voices playing through the speakers the team had set up surrounding the common area. It was my first sabotaged interview with the media. The whole thing. It ended with me being upset and saying the host wasn’t interested in the full story. Then it cut to the farmers and explained what The Divinity had taken from them. After that, it switched to Washington, D.C. and its ash-covered, burnt monuments. Scenes of The Divinity taking away tons of weapons from the people played next. Then it cut to me on Circadia with a gun in my face. More scenes flashed by at dizzying rates until it showed my face. I thought back to the day I made this portion of the video and the resolution I had felt by doing so. The video continued.

“My name is Aella Toms. You may or may not know me, but I’m rooting for you. The Divinity, our tyrannical government, has taken over. They’ve taken everything from us. Our livelihoods. Our food. Our homes. Our hope.”

I paused and stared into the camera. “But no more. I’m standing up and taking back what’s mine. They took my entire world from me—Circadia. I took it back. I fought for what I wanted. I rose and declared, ‘No more!’ Now I’m ready to help you, but you have to help yourself.

“Grab your neighbor. Grab your friend. Fight back! Fight for what’s yours. There’s never been a better time. Don’t wait for it to get worse. Don’t wait until it personally affects you. This should be personal for all of us. They took what was yours. A government by the people, for the people, is now dictated by a few greedy individuals. They will stop at nothing. Nothing will ever be good enough for them, and that shouldn’t be good enough for you. So stand up. Take back what’s yours.”

The screen cut to images that Axel had obviously shot of small rebellions at food dispersals where civilians regained control and gave out reasonable rations of food and happy people sang in the streets. It cut back to me again. “This is your world.”

More images of Earth and happy people streamed past as my voice urged, “Don’t let it slip away,” as scenes from a decimated D.C. returned as grim reminders. “Gun for them.”

The screen faded to black.

Everyone sat silent. Phillip stood and walked to the front. “I know there’s