Chapter 1 Passengers

The earth rolled amongst the black of space, the ship drifted in orbit. Charlie had been living aboard for 4 months now. He was test subject #1756. The term Ship is used loosely here. Terra-Pod was a ship, it transported. The predominant function, the item of the test was more important. "This vessel is the seed of a mighty oak tree." Was one of the quotes plucked from a speech by a journalist. Apart from the rocket filled with gallons of precious fuel to force it, and its cargo out of earths atmosphere; There was this seed. A Terra-Pod. "Everything man needs to create, sustain and build." Terra-Project's plan was to plant trees in the universe. Charlie was selected from millions, he was ordinary, as were most of the other test subjects. A cross section of planet earth. Charlie liked to think he was representing Red headed people in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Most mornings Charlie sat on the viewing deck, he was required to ingest caffeine at 0800. It was a probably a beautiful spring morning in the UK. All that gave any indication of time's presence aboard the Terra-Pod was the monitors on their wrists. This morning Charlie sat with Sam and they indulged in conversation. The schedule that Terra-Project had the test subjects on was different for everyone and rarely left time for socialising. Every Thursday Sam had some time before mandatory exercise and after stock check. On occasion when Charlie and Sam talked they seemed to condense hours into minutes with each other. Their eyes never left each other's gaze. Neither of them could remember what they talked about even moments after parting. After months of this high chemistry, swapping biological messages, Charlie arrived at the idea that he was in love with Sam. It seemed so unlikely when they sat next to each other this morning. She was dark skinned, black haired with a strong Thai jawline and soft nose. Charlie often jokingly imagined the possible monster child they could create; ginger hair and freckled white skin with Thai facial features. Then he realised he was, albeit jokingly, thinking about their children together. They had been discussing Sam's country. She still teased him about the line he put to her because he wanted to avoid being racist to the Dark skinned Asian who spoke perfect English. "My ancestral heritage" She would quip as often as she could.

There was a moment, the kind that where happening increasingly often. A pause, the kind that was becoming increasingly long. Both smiling at a shared joke, postures mirroring each other. Sam was a little bit disgusted at herself for even considering him as attractive in that moment. You're a slow blinker, she wanted to say, you take so long to blink maybe it's because your eyelashes are so long, longer than mine. Charlie took her smiling silence as intimate. He wasn't sure but he may of crept a few centimeters closer looking for a reciprocation, perhaps a kiss. When he saw a strange light flicker on her cheek. Barely perceptible though it was, through the window. They sat and watched in awe as the green of the planet earth was overcome by fireballs and smoke. The earths crust looked like it was convulsing and bubbling. They ran down the hall to the control room. Sam banged on the door with the bottom of a balled fist.

"Are you seeing this?!"

She screamed searching the faceless door for a reply.

"The situation is under control Sam, we need operational security now, passengers will be briefed."

Shot a tiny speaker above the door after a lengthy pause. She stared into the camera that accompanied it, knowing someone was looking back at her.

The five pilots sat in their cabin and alternated looks at each other and their feet. They had just listened to the last 5 minutes of the human race. In a flurry of communications beginning with a message along the lines of "Somethings going on here. Get out of there!" and culminating in the commentating of a battle. It seemed a disaster had struck earth, it's countries had turned on each other and after that." I'm sorry i can't stay." Silence. To begin with the Pilots believed that other countries had blocked communications. Until they horizoned on south east Asia. Explosions and fire engulfed it. Primula, the captain was the first one to take her eyes off the scene and she span in her chair. She pitched her voice to grab the co-pilots attentions and ordered them to their action stations, to run tests on earth. They snapped out of it as a group and drew themselves towards the masses of computers that filled the room, each to a different one. Primula knew that their was precious little to be gained with these checks but she needed time to think, she turned and stared back to the planet. Primula Corradini was the first true space captain. The Terra-Pod had the ability to function independent of earth. All previous missions had enjoyed constant communication with earth. Their decisions made and controlled from earth. She knew that this mission was one of the first independent space faring ones, but hadn't quite expected this scale. Total independence from a dying earth. She thought over how this could have happened now that the gawking co-pilots gave her space. There were eight countries on earth with nuclear capabilities and it didn't seem too far of a stretch that some of them had deployed weapons. There was a thudding on the door and they heard Sam's shouts. The crew turned and looked to their captain. She hovered over the intercom before giving a vague response, worthy of a politician. Ensuring she had released the intercom, something others had learned the hard way, she spoke to the crew that studied her.

"I want as much information as possible on where got hit and the cause, nobody talks to crew until we have put a briefing together. Twenty minutes we will meet in the cafeteria and tell everyone, lets be quick so they don't get all worked up."

The crew by now knew not to reply and turned back to their consoles. Except for Alain, who still faced her.

"Do i have you permission to contact other vessels? Maybe we can piece together our stories."

"We have no way of knowing who is hostile, the world is at war."

Primula rose from her seat and looked out the window to the stars. Alain spoke to her back.

"We are all in space together, our ship is the most modern and versatile. We might have to re-supply and rescue others."

"Send out a signal to all vessels. Ask the crew to translate it, i want them to see it, to feel safe."

Alain looked at the rest of the pilots hard at work.

" Prim, why are they doing this? what are they testing?"

She glared at him.

"Get on with it, I'm going to run this ship until i don't have to anymore, we have our orders."

Alain breathed hard through his nose and turned to his computer. A test Primula thought, to see how she would react, how everyone would react in sheer panic. Pretty ballsy of Terra-Project to destroy the earth right in front of everyone.