Tora was tired.
Thoroughly.
So much had happened in so little time that he didn't think it was possible to process all of it.
So he stopped bothering.
The fleet had fallen into chaos.
Everyone had run away, scattering in different directions and trying to make it harder for anyone who pursued them.
Some HUMF personnel had decided to hastily set up a base on Pluto, deciding that they could buy everyone else some time.
They numbered a hundred ships, and while that number may have once inspired fear, it was now just part of another doomed attempt at defiance.
Fifty ships, including the Santa Maria, had fled beyond the solar system and were headed for the Free State of Alpha Centauri, but it would take decades for them to arrive there.
Which wasn't too bad considering Newmen could effectively live indefinitely.
But what had all that advancement, technological or otherwise, amounted to if they couldn't do something as simple as reclaiming their home world?
Tora wasn't sure anymore.
Those who had conquered the galaxy were fleeing for whatever safety they could find, and Tora was now known as the man responsible for the deaths of millions.
He argued that it wasn't he who sent those soldiers to their deaths, but mourning ears were often hard of hearing.
He chose not to dwell too long on his ruined public image, as such things could be repaired with time.
As had been guessed, Anoona had sent a fleet of a thousand ships after the Newmen who were stationed on Pluto, and it was only a matter of time before they met their end.
Tora blinked away all these burdensome thoughts as he sat in bed by Phymn's side. He had since decided to enjoy the simple stillness of her presence for a bit.
He appreciated these unspoken moments, but always wondered if Phymn felt the same.
It was such a juvenile thought, yet it hung over him more than was comfortable.
"Where do you think we go lost? My kind, that is." He broke the sacred silence with a question.
"I can't say. There was almost no way you could have known what was waiting for you on Earth, and while it would be easy to blame ignorance, I believe it is callous to blame the child for stumbling and hurting themselves." She sighed, making Tora nod.
"Of course. I suppose this was all a necessary lesson, then."
Tora turned to Phymn, who was still poring over data from the Earth, something which he hadn't instructed her to do.
"Still marvelling at Anoona's cells?"
"Yes, but something has been puzzling the scientific community ever since they first got hold of the samples from Earth. While it's true that her cells have various defence mechanisms and an individual awareness, it seems as though they can also generate an interference field of their own. This was demonstrated a few times when they temporarily disappeared, although it's more accurate to say that they weren't completely visible in the same way the Earth isn't. Some of the observed cells remained in containment and interacted with the world around them, but... There doesn't seem to be a structure in the cell generating this field of interference, and the genealogists have yet to find anything in Anoona's DNA that would instruct her cells to do such a thing. Yet." Phymn softly muttered. "If we can figure out how she and her children are able to generate interference fields, we might be able to fight back."
"And how long do you think that will take us?" Tora asked, making Phymn look upwards in thought.
"At this rate, it may very well be a decade that passes before we crack the code."
"If we make it to the Free State, then this discovery will be what decides the fate of our kind. Although, to be completely honest with you, my dear, I think I may have meddled in nature's business quite enough." Tora sighed as he closed his eyes.
A message then suddenly came from the bridge of the Santa Maria.
[Mister Tora, please make your way to the bridge.]
Tora deflated with a sigh before crawling out of bed.
He gave Phymn a curt smile before leaving the room and making his way to the helm of the ship.
On his way, he received many scornful stares.
He tried to pay them little mind, but it was his name that was being looked down on, his legacy, something which shook him to his core.
He eventually made it to the bridge, standing before Vice Captain Persephone, who had a coy smirk on her lips.
He ignored her for a moment, turning instead to the projection of the Earth that floated in the centre of the bridge.
A world that would become synonymous with war in the eyes of the Newman.
While domestic conflicts were usually solvable with sheer force or political plays, this was different.
Anoona and her children were unknowns who were seemingly impervious to physical damage for the most part.
The reason why nukes had been chosen was that it was only the self-immolation of a First Class military spaceship that managed to kill just ten of Anoona's children.
Just 10.
Tens of millions of lives had been lost for those kills and even then...
Now, Anoona had a lunar base and was likely going to continue her expansion.
What began as an archaeological trip to the long-lost home world of man turned into the seeds of a war that threatened to consume the galaxy and all of the progress the Newmen represented.
And it was all...
No.
Tora didn't want to blame himself.
He couldn't.
Even though his name was already spreading in the fleet as that of the man who shook the hornet's nest.
They wondered what he could have possibly done to anger Anoona that much, and even though he insisted that she didn't want them near her children, they assumed that he just wasn't able to reason with her.
And so the council was going to try to establish communications with her again.
This couldn't go on; regardless of their plans, not a single additional life could be lost in this conflict.
Lest the names of all involved be writ in shit and disdain.
Or worse, made to be forgotten.
Tora needed a plan.
The Newmen needed a plan, and the Artimen weren't going to cut it.
According to the last development records he had received from the council, the new Artimen prototypes had been successfully fitted with miniature fusion cores, but their bodies still weren't able to make use of this power without overheating.
Their muscles would burn and tear, their organs would boil, and their brains would melt whenever faced with loads that exceeded even the upper limits of their capabilities.
Tora recalled that Anoona's cells could be destroyed by nanobots, but the follow-up was how the Newmen would be able to get a significant amount of the nanomachines anywhere close to her or her children.
"It's not like you to wallow. Usually you seethe for all to see, which is quite entertaining." Vice Captain Persephone chimed, reminding Tora that he was standing in front of her.
Tora glared at the officer, seeing through her cybernetic lenses to see that she was just trying to get a reaction from him, and so he sighed.
"Do you have any idea the weight the of the responsibility that my shoulders bear?" He hissed only for the soldier to rest her hand on her hips and scoff.
"Looks to me like you're the one who chose to pick it up and put it there. There's never been anything wrong with looking at something and acknowledging that you can't do anything about it. Nothing wrong with running away, either."
Tora gnashed his teeth.
"Do you have any business with me, child?"
"Yes, actually. There's chatter among the High Generals; they're considering calling in a significant portion of the Council's military to blow the Earth's home solar system to bits."
Tora's brow immediately knotted.
"What? I was not informed of this." He shook, making Persephone smirk.
"I know. That's why I'm informing you, our gracious benefactor."
Tora immediately bolted to his feet and bolted to his chambers, where he called the Council, or more specifically, Herto.
"What's the meaning of this?" He snapped, startling Phymn, who was sitting idly in bed.
[I'm guessing this is regarding the elimination of Anoona?]
"And the rest of the solar system!"
[Mr. Tora, please. It is evident that you are currently unable to think or act in the best interest of Newmankind. All we will say is that a definitive end to the loss of Newman life must be put, and this was the most elegant solution.] Herto's voice remained flat as he spoke.
"And what about the Earth?" Tora cried.
[A relic of the past is not worth the continuous loss of Newman life. That is all we will say in what will be the last of our communications. Goodbye, Mr Tora.]
"Wait, what about my awards—"
The call dropped, and even though Tora spent the next few moments trying to contact the Council, they didn't respond.
Tora stood completely still afterwards.
Frozen and unthinking.
He couldn't allow himself to think yet.
Not until the embers that filled his mind had died.
Embers that threatened to consume his mind.
Phymn crawled out of bed and reached for his hand, gently cradling it in the silence.
"There is still much you can do." She whispered.
"Where do I even begin?" He whimpered, his eyes welling with tears..
"You spoke of legacy, of heritage, yet fail to realise that you stand as a relic in your own right. You are alive, my dear and are a descendant of those who wriggled and breathed the cycle of life into being. Is that not divine in itself?"
Tora's quaking eyes lowered in thought.
"You... You're right." He trembled as those unshed tears began to fall..
"So take a stand, wherever it may be, and, regardless of whatever follows, you would have played your part in that cycle."
Tora digested Phymn's words, slowly wrapping his arms around her as the Santa Maria soared further and further away from the earth.
He eventually went to sleep, thinking of what fate awaited him, and it was here that Phymn stood up to leave the room.
She made her way to the Biological Studies Centre near the rear of the Santa Maria, where she was led into Dr Bulwark's office.
She was a short and frail woman, had pale skin that was dry to the point of flaking off and wore big, round glasses.
It was this woman's research that had enraptured Phymn to the point that she spent most of her time reading it.
The female Artimen had been looking for a way to fulfil Tora's desire and find a path for her to walk on her own, but he didn't seem to understand that all she wanted to do was make him happy.
This led to her taking the extra step and secretly devising a scheme that would turn the tide of this newborn war… if it was successful.
"Doctor." Phymn greeted, making the sleepy scientist raise her overlarge head.
"Phymn. I take it you are ready to begin the Grafting process?" Doctor Bulwark asked as she tapped on a document that outlined the process of grafting pieces of DNA into pre-existing cells.
"Yes," Phymn answered without hesitation.
"Alright. And so begins the tale. One of Two Queens."
TO BE CONTINUED!
Afterword:
Thank you so very much for reading QOTS! This is the end of volume one's main story, but worry not! I'm gonna be uploading a short story after this to keep us all busy until volume 2 is busy with the title being... "The Cerulean Gauntlet", a series of chapters where Anoona's Beta children will compete for glory and worthiness in the eyes of their mother!!