Venus Wars

Chapter 1 (Prologue)

ZEXAL

A/Ns: Um, yeah, I really do hope I can do this. I haven't done a space fic since I first started writing, ha. (And that fic was horrid, let me tell you.) Anywho, this fic was inspired/given to me by Arlownay. Some thanks to her for giving me this fic idea! :D


Prologue…

I stared out the window dully, frowning slightly. The landscape had become more beautiful, yes, but I was feeling a bit lonely out here, on Venus. I could see a long-extinct volcano in the distance, the only mountainous terrain for miles (Venus wasn't a planet with lots of tectonic activity- not since the asteroid hit). Sickly orange light (which I had grown accustomed to years ago) spilled over the yellow-brown rocks, signaling that the year/day was coming to an end. It was so odd, how the day, once longer than the year, had become just a normal part of my life. Funny how I didn't notice how the light made the land so brilliant before, when I was still a pawn for Siral.

"Daddy!" came the yell before the door to my office was thrown open and a little boy came running in, hugging me around the waist before I knew what was going on. Laughing, I gently patted the spiky blonde hair on his head.

"Ennis, I'm surprised to see you up," I said, gently pushing him back after a moment. He stared up at me, smiling. It was then that I noticed that he was missing one of his front teeth. "Did you lose another tooth?"

"Yes, daddy!" he said, poking at the space. "Mama said that I'm gonna get money from the Tooth Fairy once I go to sleep tonight."

Almost as if she were summoned by mere mention, Ennis' mother and my fiancée stepped into the doorway, leaning heavily on the frame. She had her prosthetic leg on, something I could see due to the slit in her long skirt. "He said he wanted to come see you before bedtime."

"Oh?" I picked Ennis up, seeing much of his mother in his face. He smiled at me, the space in his teeth making me laugh again. "Let's hope that space doesn't last forever!"

"Yeah," Ennis agreed, giggling. As I sat down in my chair, I let him perch himself in my lap so he could play with the model Nemesis on my desk (the Nemesis was definitely a good ship, in my opinion), having it fly around one of the other ship models I had, the Defender (it was the most powerful of the six I had, Nemesis ranking second, while Retribution ranked third). "Hey, daddy, can you tell me a story?"

"Sure," I replied. His mother had disappeared back into the hallway, possibly to the bedroom. "What do you want me to tell you about?"

"About you, mama, and Uncle Yuma and Uncle Shark…" He began to list all the 'relatives' he had, something that made me roll my eyes.

I stopped him before he talked far longer than his lungs could handle. "Okay, okay, you want to hear what happened when we met?"

"Yes! That one!" Ennis clapped his hands, hugging the model Nemesis and Defender to his chest. "You and Uncle Shark and Uncle Yuma were total awesome people, right?"

"Yep." I ran my hand through his hair, smoothing it out some; he was such a goofy, and sometimes grubby, kid. "You want to hear all of it?"

"Yes!" he replied. Smiling from ear to ear, he leaned his head on my chest. "My daddy is so cool…" I heard him murmur to himself. That statement warmed my heart.

"Okay, kiddo, I'll tell you," I said. I held him close as I began…


Venus was once a planet of intense temperatures and pressure. The day had been as long as its year. Lead could melt into a puddle on the ground within a matter of seconds. Spacecraft could be crushed by the immense weight of the air on them in a few hours. No water could have existed on the planet with its harsh environment.

This all changed when an asteroid, named Gilgamesh50, slammed into the planet sometime during the beginning of the twenty-first century. Around 2013, the planet had sustained enough damage from the asteroid that its atmosphere had been lessened a great extent, its day had become the same as its year, and large acidic seas from the asteroid had filled the planet's slight mountainous terrain. From this catastrophic event, three continents were created: one to the north, one to the south, and a small one located right in the middle.

Humankind saw this as an opportunity to spread our race. We began to send manned ships to Earth's sister as soon as we had shuttles available; by 2017, we had our first colony on Venus, terraforming it to our standards. By 2030, the colony had grown and split, separating onto two of the three continents, the North and the South. Thirty years afterwards, these colonies now have names, and consider themselves countries: Siral on the southern continent, and Aedaria on the Northern continent. Communication between the two countries was peaceful and constant, eventually bridges being built to the middle continent in order for the citizens of both to have contact. The ties to Earth and its inhabitants were kept and sent through a massive ship named Memorex; Venus' own artificial moon while in construction, being built right in orbit.

However, problems began to arise as Venus' population began to multiply, towards the end of the twenty-first century. Aedaria, with its purpose being to promote culture and to remember Earth as the home planet of humans, began to clash with Siral, whose people consider violence over negotiation. Siral wanted to unite the two countries once more, destroying ties with Earth to become its own separate government. Siral threatens war against Aedaria if they cannot reach this goal, but Aedaria refuses. This starts the war between the two countries, and the bridges connecting the two to the middle continent are destroyed, leaving the people who had decided to live there on the small, dry continent.

While the situation on Venus grows dire, the problems on Earth become more intense. The planet, overrun by life, is dying, and the humans and animals that dwell there are forced to leave. Memorex, now completed and having been moved to the orbit of Mars, orders a planet-wide evacuation to the partially-terraformed Red Planet and to the moons of Jupiter, who have small colonies already. Transporter Gates are being built in order to connect all colonies together in order to make travelling between them easier.

By 2116, Aedaria and Siral have been unable to resolve the conflict between them, having disconnected all contact from Memorex and the rest of the human race. The Killer Commandos, a group of highly trained soldiers ranging in age from twelve to forty-three, are Siral's main military, while Aedaria has formed the Aedarian Freedom Force. Fulton Tenjo is the leader of Siral's military while Kazuma Tsukumo is the leader of Aedaria's. All while this is going on, a third group, named the Independent Rebel Assembly (IRA for short), formed on the middle continent from the people left behind by their countries. A man named Sydor Kamishiro leads this group, which wants to reconnect ties with the rest of mankind.

Meanwhile, the vast networks of Transporters and colonies have gone across the Solar System, from the dwarf planet Eris to the asteroids in the Asteroid Belt, and Mars. All of them are led by Memorex, and desperate attempts have been made to try and connect to Venus, but all have been in vain.

The inhabitants of certain colonies, including the ones on Venus, have begun an intense game while the War and evacuations have been ongoing. Using one-wheeled motorcycles, participants race either in teams or solo around a track encircling a huge area, consisting of obstacles and deathtraps. Some people are kidnapped and forced into the sport; some compete just for the thrill. But these Games are deadly, and if you lose, you either die or are sent somewhere where you probably will die.

The year is now 2125. The war on Venus has been going on for years, and yet nobody seems to be winning. Memorex has given up trying to contact the Venusians and instead has resorted to a plan to destroy the planet entirely. IRA wants to get off the planet and back to humankind. Siral desires power. Aedaria just wants to unite the people in peace, without war and discrimination. A group of unlikely heroes is forced into the fray.

But who will win?