When our world ended, we had to find another.
At first the corporations were our friends. The biggest was ClytoCorp. Their promise to create world peace seemed like a bargain in the face of global warming, rampant pollution, and numerous wars that left our planet spinning towards imminent extinction. Country by country fell under their sway. Fifty years later international borders became regional divisions of ClytoCorp. Prosperity spread as their files on us increased. We didn’t realize the cost was our freedom.
Two smaller companies, Zenco and Trimedia, opposed ClytoCorp’s domination. We trusted them to be our saviors, as we had the ClytoCorp only a generation earlier. But, they too sold us out for profit. We would have rebelled against them all had there only been time.
A massive meteor the size of Texas hurtled towards us. Scientists calculated we only had six weeks until impact. We hoped the international crisis would unite us in a fight for survival. Zenco and Trimedia put aside their grievances with ClytoCorp to find a way to save the Earth. New technologies surfaced, prototype spaceships were tested, and early versions of the Carrier ship, the Sarissa, were put into orbit to try and break up the meteor or upset its course. Nothing could stop it. Two weeks before impact both the scientists and the soothsayers agreed that further attempts would be futile.
Mass evacuations began. Those with money and status procured passage immediately. Little did we know that all three corporations had conceded defeat long before this latest setback. They had begun evacuating their own people almost immediately after the meteor was discovered.
With only a week left, the inhabitants of Earth struggled to leave our world for the uncertainty of outer space. Ships often collided in their desperate attempts to leave. That is when the InterCorporation War began. With food stocks being limited, the three companies battled for supremacy of the galaxy.
Those of us left on earth faced extinction in a matter of days. Fortunately, many of us hadn’t been idle. We too had built ships and began launching into space. The meteor collided with Earth and smashed it into specs of dust. The impact was enough to knock the shards of our former planet out of orbit. Ships that had left only hours before couldn’t get far away enough to dodge the gravity pull of our dying planet, sucking them into a void where no life can exist ever again.
In the next year the heaviest battles of the war were fought. ClytoCorp, Zenco, and Trimedia fought against each other and suffered many casualties. All three corporations hunted us down to achieve galactic supremacy. Their ships greatly outnumbered ours. To confuse our enemies, we decided the best way to keep hidden was to break up into smaller groups of five vessels and use the features of the galaxy as a shield.
S
o here I am in the vastness of space. What drives me forward? What keeps me strong? Survival.
Somewhere among the twinkle of stars in front of me is a planet where I, and others like me can once again live in peace. What other choice is there? The InterCorporation War still rages on. I continue to hone my skills, destroying all enemies. I am low on food and supplies, and must find dock stations to steal their riches. I am flush with ammo, but even that needs re-stocking. Someday, I will find a place to live, a new Earth.
My battle alert has just sounded, flashing blood red in my cockpit. I engage my weapons. Are the incoming vessels friend or foe? I must engage and destroy their five ships before they can do the same to us. My finger is on the trigger. Who will die first?
With both sides hidden from one another, finding the enemy is half the battle!