Last Man On Earth When There Is No Earth ?

Sector nineteen, Logan

For as long as I can remember, I was always fascinated by anything that could fly. Whether it's the birds flapping their wings or the aircrafts roaming the sky, I admired anything unbound by the ground and yearned for the sky and the neverending void beyond it, but as it seemed. life had no interest in letting me have a try

I came from a poor family, one of many pushed into the wildness of the forests surrounding the main cities. What made it worse was my stature, unlike those my age I had a smaller built which made finding work hard with no education or connections to rely on, and so I turned to thievery trying to survive.

That didn't last long though. I didn't get caught or anything, it's just that one day I met a young female who stole my heart, and to make it work between the two of us I had to have something more stable to build our house on.

Between the things I got my hands on were engineering books. Being poor didn't drawn my curiosity and bit by bit I learned enough to get myself a job as a mechanic.

My skills grew sharper with time and I made myself a name. I convinced the female who had my heart and started a family that slowly grew in a matter of few years.

With three daughters and a son it was hard to keep a satisfying life. Feeling responsibility I looked for a better way to earn, and as life seemed to have a change of heart I found the right opportunity to offer my loved ones a better life.

A male named Giran appeared one day recruiting for his crew. From what I heard he is one of the Verta clan members, and quite a high ranked one at that.

The clan wasn't on the best terms with Namira's governors, or so I heard. I knew by taking that step I wouldn't only be endangering myself, but also my partner and my offspring. Yet presented with this chance I couldn't let it go without giving it some serious thought.

Giran heard about me from the forest dwellers. My skillset ranged from being a mechanic to -although I've no experience outside simulators- a pilot, two in one was a good deal for him especially since he wanted to keep the crew small.

It was the opportunity of a life time, the pay was better than anything I could hope to get and my wish to go up and beyond would be granted, but ultimately I ended up declining.

I have a family now, what I wanted became a second thought the moment my first kid was born.

And getting involved with the clan wasn't the safest thing to do. I may end up losing my life whether I manage to get back or not, and no one knows when the authorities would start cracking on the believers who never left. Knowing my family would suffer while I wasn't there was enough of a reason to stay.

It was when I discussed the matter with my partner that I realized I'm the only one feeling that way. She said the house would be fine and that I didn't need to worry, telling me that I should be a little selfish every now and then. She always seemed uninterested when I talked about my dreams, and as time passed I completely stopped mentioning them in front of her. That is why I was really taken by surprise when she gave me her opinion, I never thought she would encourage me leaving her side.

I gave it much thought but in the end I couldn't resist The temptation. I joined Giran's crew on the condition that I stay separate from the clan. It's well known that they participate in many illegal activities out there, so I wanted to stay away from it as much as possible. In the end we agreed that as long as I keep a blind eye they wouldn't mind accepting my condition.

Namira is a closed planet, there was no legal way for those that aren't from the upper class to travel outside.

I knew what I was getting myself into. In the first open planet we went to we engaged with a hunting pack placed there to take down any Herara that escaped Namira.

At that time my face was scanned and not long after the intergalactic put a bounty on my head. Thankfully they were considerate enough not to lump me with the Verta clan, but now that I'm a wanted criminal the chances I had to see my family were few and far in between.

At some point we were relocated to the twenty first sector to start spreading the clan's influence around those parts, I think it was about that time that I started suffering from homesickness. Seeing Blue reminded me of how I'm never going to see my children grow in front of me. I loved my job, but with how things are now the distance between me and my family would keep growing, so when I saw the saw a second chance I didn't hesitate to take it.

I should've known that second chances didn't come by very often.

…..

The light subdued slowly, and I could finally opened my eyes.

Captain's partner, miss Lilia took action too early by kicking one of the guards into the wall, and before I knew it lightning was raining on us.

I thought our fates were sealed, we were dead and nothing we did could change that. yet when I opened my eyes I realized we were still in the same arena and none of us got hit by that pillar of light.

"Ho-ho… I was told you are immune to energy blasts but…" just when I was about to sigh in relief a rough voice rambled, striking fear in me as a reminder that the negotiations just broke down "to think you could bend my thunder…"

The one speaking was the clan head, and the one spoken to was none other than captain

"shit, I can't believe how many of my hoodies you Herara are going to burn"

He let out a long breath and turned to face miss Lilia

"You ok?"

"Eh? Ah, I'm fine…"

Our beautiful Zesionien female seems to be the most shaken by what just happened. The attack was most likely directed at her so it can't be helped that she froze in her place I mean, I won't be surprised if I went bald, even Aley who isn't supposed to feel fear lost dropped smiley face and wore a more serious expression.

After making sure his female was alright-he didn't as much glance at the rest of us- captain seemed to go through a bit of change

"Attacking unarmed, restrained opponents, don't have any shame?"

His hair suddenly changed, turning completely white for an instant before regaining its jet black color. I was too focused on that that I didn't notice him breaking his cuffs until they made a sound colliding with the floor.

'the thing captain did just now… wasn't it the same as the clan head?' the thought spawned in my mind.

The lightning strike that came down on us, it was the clan head's power, supposedly granted to him by the ancient god Verta, the power to bring destruction. I never understood why so many believed he was chosen but that display of overwhelming horror convinced me without needing to see it for a second time.

We Herara have better survival instincts than most living creatures. we are capable of smelling danger and know exactly when to run and when to fight. But those instincts had a downside to them, given authority to the strong over the weak with no choice but to comply. That meant the reason the clan was banished from Namira didn't have anything to do with intergalactic laws, but the fear the governors had of the clan head conquering the whole planet without them having a way to stand against him.

That said, the power captain used for a moment there, it felt exactly like that of the clan head. The range was small and it didn't last for as long, but I'm sure what I felt was perfectly identical.

Was the captain also blessed by Verta?

A moment of silence passed by, no one dared to take a breath.

After a few seconds the head left his throne and walked forward, descended into the arena and approached captain.

"I will give you one chance" the clan head said, grinning his teeth out "we will have a duel, defeat me and you get to leave with your little friends"

"And if I lose?"

"You will be my dinner, I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about"

"fine"

Letting us leave? I don't think he has any intention of letting that happen. Losing a fight would mean losing his position as the strongest, and with it goes all his authority.

Either way, we had no choice but to go along with this proposal and hope for the best. Captain told miss Lilia to massacre everyone on the ship. Depending on how the fight goes she might get the chance to strike the finishing blow if the captain weakens him enough.

With that we could secure a way out in the middle of the confusion. But that won't happen if the captain is defeated without doing much.

Please captain, don't fail us now.