Extinct Doesn't Mean Forever by Phoenix Sullivan (bill gates book recommendations TXT) 📗

The planet called Earth rose over the horizon. Deep blue waters and green and brown masses of land obscured by swirls of white clouds. Night had fallen on much of the world, but no lights twinkled in the distance. No voices remained to tell of their fate. Yet another cry silenced by the cruel chaos of life.

When he found a new world suitable for his people, Indigo would return to the stars and go to the central planets of the Sing Xu. There, among the peaceful races of the galaxy, he would bear witness. It wasn’t too late for the Oshen to see justice, and the race of Human should not be forgotten.

Indigo rubbed his eyes and yawned. As soon as the repairs were complete, he could finish his long journey.

~~~

The console beeped, waking Indigo from a deep sleep. Every joint in his body ached. He yearned for the smell of a living world and the warmth of sunshine on his skin. It had been three long terms since leaving his home behind, with few cycles since to break the monotony of life inside the cold, sterile ship.

The ship’s repairs were complete and the jump drive back online. The Drifting Star was ready to leave. Indigo keyed in the launch sequence and stretched his arms and legs while the ship broke free of the moon’s gravity. The ship settled into position high above the Earth, close enough for the sensors to scan the planet while navigation calculated the next skip.

Indigo’s eyes grew wider as the sensor displayed its results. The planet was mainly covered by water, with the largest areas containing high concentrations of salt, a rich blend of life-sustaining minerals and flourishing ecosystems. Deep canyons and rifts covered the floor of the sea. Indigo yearned to dive into the blue sea and feel the waves rolling over his cracked skin. It had been far too long since he felt its healing touch.

The atmosphere was a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, perfectly breathable by Oshen standards. And the soil bore only trace amounts of Astatine, the element the Fringe were after.

The land masses, as he suspected, showed minimal signs of life. High concentrations of iron in the northern regions suggested a large meteor had struck, upsetting the precarious balance and triggering the end of an era. Too, large masses of ice were receding to the north and south edges of the world. Everything in the path of the ice had been ground to dust, leaving a healthy world behind. Earth was a perfect candidate for the new Oshen homeworld.

Once the cryotank was in the water and activated, he could leave for Sing Xu and find justice for his people. By the time he returned, he expected the children of the Oshen would have many questions.

He chose an island off the eastern shore of the largest land mass as the likeliest landing site. There the colony would grow and thrive among the reefs and spread out by way of the strong currents that led to the deeper sea.

The Drifting Star had just entered the exosphere when the first blast hit, rocking the ship. Indigo pitched the ship and dove deeper into the upper atmosphere. The Fringe warship loomed overhead.

“Do you think you know our technology better than we do?” The familiar voice crackled over the cabin’s speaker. “That a decoy would fool us for long?”

Indigo switched the comm off and turned his attention to dodging the incoming fire. He was running out of options. He couldn’t skip unless they ceased fire — and that was a mistake they wouldn’t make again. The Drifting Star was smaller and more maneuverable than the warship, but couldn’t return fire or outrun them. There wasn’t anywhere it could go that they couldn’t follow.

Indigo opened the engines to full power. The ship shuddered under the stress of bouncing between the exosphere and thermosphere. The turbulence, though, would make it difficult for the warship to get a clear shot. The Drifting Star raced on.

They orbited the planet, the Fringe keeping the Drifting Star in their sights, bombarding it with anti-armor projectiles. Glancing blows scored the hull and sensor lights lit up as several of the armor plates disintegrated under direct hits. The Fringe could afford to be patient, Indigo knew. It was only a matter of time before their target’s defenses failed.

Sweat dripped down Indigo’s face as his mind raced for a solution. There was too much at stake for him to give up this close to the end of his journey. He programmed a new course into the navigation system. He wondered if those early Human explorers felt the same fear and hope in their souls as they reached out from the Earth to the stars. The rewards of success far outweighed individual mortality.

Indigo knew what he had to do.

~~~

Indigo ran through the narrow passages of the ship, the cryotank clutched to his chest with one arm while the other fought for balance as the ship pitched and rolled. The chronometer strapped to his wrist continued its final countdown. If he was successful, the Fringe would never bother the Oshen again.

It was bitter, giving up any chance for reparation, but the need to survive far outweighed his desire for justice.

There was only one way in or out of the Drifting Star. He reached the door to the airlock. Thirty ticks. The cargo hold was small, but the scout ship didn’t need much room. He flipped a switch on the control panel that turned on the comm.

“I am the last Oshen. I may not have lived free, but I will die free,” Indigo said and switched the comm off for the last time. The Drifting Star had served him as refuge in the darkest storm he could imagine, but it was time to go home.

The Fringe warship closed in on the Drifting Star, a superior foe stalking its wounded prey.

Smoke was filling the corridors. Indigo hoped the ship would