The War for Earth (Children of Earthrise Book 4)

by Daniel Arenson

  Across the assembly halls, aliens cried out in horror. A few wept. Everyone was glaring at Leona. Some aliens spat at her.

  "She's lying!" Leona said.

  "Would I lie about my dead child?" Xerka said, raising the skull. "Council, I entreat you. We must stop the humans. Or they will murder all our children!"

  Leona ran forward, trying to lunge toward Xerka. But the Peacekeepers grabbed her, dragged her back.

  "You're a filthy liar!" Leona shouted.

  Tom grabbed her too. He pulled her back down—firmly.

  "Leona!" he whispered urgently. "Do not prove her point!"

  Leona's pulse pounded in her ears. "They have to know the truth!"

  Tom held her hand. "Leona, they all just saw you shout and run toward Xerka, fists raised. After she convinced them that we murdered her child. Shouting at her, attacking her—it will only make things worse."

  The hall had erupted in chaos. Aliens were shouting, pointing at Leona. Some insisted on kicking her out, others called to execute her. Some aliens were crying out for order. Peacekeepers were moving across the hall, urging ambassadors back to their seats or perches.

  In the chaos, Leona stared at Xerka across the crowd.

  The Basilisk Queen stared back, gave an almost imperceptible smile, and winked at Leona.

  Finally order was restored.

  Xerka placed down the skull.

  Probably a baby snake she murdered herself, Leona thought.

  The queen spoke again. "I would like to invite a friend of mine to speak. To share his own tale of humanity's evil." She reached out her clawed hand. "Valik, will you come share your story?"

  A lanky Aelonian rose from the crowd. He wore black and burgundy robes, hiding most of his transparent skin. But his face was visible within his robe. A face like a glass jar filled with flame.

  "That's him," Tom muttered. "The Aelonian who helped murder Melitar. I saw the whole thing."

  Valik stepped onto the stage. He leaned across the podium, staring at the crowd with hard, narrowed eyes. Those eyes were filled with fire, with a simmering hatred that made Leona shudder.

  Valik spoke with a deep voice that filled the hall. "Only hours ago, the humans murdered Emperor Melitar, the hero of the war!"

  Gasps sounded across the hall. Leona rose to her feet again, was about to shout before Tom pulled her down.

  "It is true!" Valik said. "I saw it myself. The great Melitar, the hero who defeated the scorpions, who slew Sin Kra in single-handed combat. The humans shot him in the back like an animal."

  This time Leona couldn't help herself. She leaped up.

  "You liar!" she cried. "It was Rowan who killed Sin Kra. And it was you and Xerka who—!"

  The Peacekeepers fired.

  Electric bolts slammed into Leona. She gasped and fell, shuddering as electricity crackled across her. Tom helped her up. Her legs twitched, and it was long moments before Leona could breathe properly again. Tom held her protectively, staring at the Peacekeepers as if daring anyone to attack again.

  Tom won't sit here meekly forever, Leona knew. She could see the warrior rising in him again. She could see the Tom Shepherd with the cold eyes, the man who had killed countless enemies. If they awoke the beast, he would fight.

  But yes, perhaps Tom had been right. This was a place to fight with words. For now, she would have to suffer this slander. She only hoped she got a chance to fire back.

  Xerka returned to the podium. She spun in a slow circle, staring at all four chambers. Finally she spoke again.

  "There is a reason why, for thousands of years, civilized species have hated humans. There is a reason why, wherever humans go, aliens regard them as pests. On world after world, thousands of civilizations realized what you all already know. That humans are vermin! The demons of the galaxy! They antagonized the scorpions, drawing us into a galactic war. The war was their doing! Their plan! They sought to sow chaos, to have us kill one another—so that they can later feed upon the carcasses. And now these scavengers seek to claim a world of their own? I say: We must not only deny them Earth. We must exterminate every last human in the galaxy!"

  A few species seemed shocked by this. They conferred amongst themselves, muttering about things going too far.

  But most aliens roared in approval.

  Thunderous applause, trumpeting, stamping feet, and roars filled the Council Hall.

  From the podium, Xerka stared at Leona with satisfaction.

  Aliens reached for their voting buttons.

  Leona stood up again and marched toward the edge of the hall.

  "I demand to speak!" she shouted.

  Tom joined her. He cried out, voice booming across the hall. "Hear us speak before you vote! We too have a voice!"

  Aliens began to shout them down.

  "Kick out the pests!"

  "Arrest them for genocide!"

  "Wipe out humanity!"

  Leona and Tom looked around, seeking some ally, seeing only hateful faces.

  What can we do against such hatred? Leona thought. Will this always be our curse? I thought I could change things. That after so long, I could show them our worth. I was wrong.

  Then one voice rose.

  "Let the humans speak!"

  Leona turned toward the voice. She was there, floating in the huge tank of salt water.

  "Aurora!" Leona said.

  The mollusk raised one of her eight legs in greeting. She was a Menorian, a member of a friendly race. Aurora had helped humanity during the great war against the scorpions. She had even helped Leona's own ancestor, the legendary Einav, during her ancient wars. Aurora was thousands of years old, wise, and kind. Leona shed grateful tears to see her friend.

  Aurora's body changed colors, becoming blue with silver stripes, then a deep gold. Cameras across the hall picked up the colors, and a computer translated the words.

  "Let us hear the humans!" Aurora said. "I have known them for many years. They are wise beings. They are friends. Let them speak!"

  The aliens reluctantly settled down.

  Leona and Tom stepped onto the podium.

  They spun around slowly, facing all four chambers of this grand hall. Salt water. Fresh water. Thick gasses. Air and land. All types of aliens from across the galaxy, living and mechanical. The wide panoply of life.

  And looking around her, Leona didn't see enemies.

  She saw beauty.

  "You are beautiful," she said softly. Microphones carried her voice to every translator. "You are wonderful. For so many years, our ancestors gazed up at the stars, and they wondered: Are we alone? Here before me I see a miracle. A great wonder. I see the rich variety of life. I see endless forms most beautiful."

  They stared at her. Waiting. Silent. Perhaps confused. Where was the demon they had expected?

  "Life is precious in all its forms," Leona said. "From the smallest single-celled organism to the starwhales who swim through the cosmic ocean. We humans are a part of this rich tapestry. Yet for many years, we languished like a loose thread. Lost. Discarded. But not less wondrous than the many threads that weave the rug. So today I ask you, my friends, to let us rejoin this tapestry. Let us weave ourselves into the universe again. We are only a single thread. But I promise you: We will make this tapestry even more wondrous."

  "But you are killers!" one alien shouted.

  "Killers?" Leona said. "We've only ever killed in self-defense. For thousands of years, aliens tried to exterminate us. The Scolopendra titaniae, the centipedes from deep space. The marauders, great spiders from the depths. The Hydrian squids. The Skra-Shen scorpions. Many others, some of whom are here today. In almost every world we lived on, we were treated like vermin. And they tried to exterminate us. So we fought back! We refused to die! You call us killers. I call us survivors!"

  "You drink the blood of children!" cried another alien.

  "That is not true," Leona said. "We love our children. And we know you love yours. All those tales you heard? Stories! Fairy
tales! For thousands of years, we humans have been an oddity. Among ten thousand alien civilizations in the Milky Way, we humans have been the only one without a homeworld. The only one lost in the darkness. So you made us into villains. You demonized us. Hunted us. Blamed us for all the evils in the cosmos. But now we have a home again! We found our lost world! We have settled on Earth! The news has been spreading across the galaxy. Half a million humans now live on Earth. A culture! A civilization! A species." Tears filled her eyes. "We do not ask for empires. We do not ask for even a star system. We ask for but one small planet. One among billions. We ask for the world we evolved on. The world we have always yearned to return to. The world we have resettled. We ask for Earth."

  Now Tom stepped forward, and he spoke too.

  "My name is Tom Shepherd. I am a human. For that reason, I was placed in a gulock. I was stripped naked. My hair was shaved. My body was branded. I watched the scorpions murder my wife and our unborn child. I watched the scorpions murder thousands. They murdered millions of us. They tortured us, broke us, nearly destroyed us." Tom lowered his head. "They skinned us alive. Burned the still-living bodies in great fires. That pain will never leave me. Every night I still see the bodies. Still hear the screams." He looked up, eyes red. "Yet I still believe in beauty. Because I saw beauty in humanity. And I see beauty in the cosmos. And there is beauty too on Earth. There are not many humans left in the galaxy. Let us last few survivors return home. Let us be free." He held Leona's hand. "Let us find new life."

  Now everyone was silent.

  Many aliens lowered their heads.

  They're not monsters, Leona realized. They were fed lies. They're ignorant. But they're not heartless. We can change their minds. We can regain not only our world—but acceptance.

  Xerka returned to the podium. Her eyes flared with rage. Saliva dribbled down her chin. Her fangs shone. The basilisk shoved Leona aside.

  "You invaded Earth!" Xerka shouted. "You are conquerors and murderers! You never came from that world, lying apes. You evolved in the pits of the galaxy, rose from the sewers. You are demon spawn!"

  In the silence that followed, the doors to the hall slammed open.

  Two new humans stepped inside. A man and a woman.

  "We did evolve on Earth!" cried Ramses al Masri. "And I have proof."

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Ramses crossed the hall, holding Najila's hand. Aliens of every kind watched them walk by. They stared with eyes. They sniffed with snouts. They screamed at them with sonar cries. They reached out tentacles, fingers, and whiskers to poke and prod. Aliens scaly, feathered, blobby, biological and mechanical. Towering and tiny. The variety of life.

  Najila squeezed his hand tighter, looking around with wide eyes. This was her first time on another world. She was trembling, but she kept walking. And Ramses was proud of her.

  They reached the podium.

  Ramses nodded to Leona and Tom.

  "Hey, Curly. Hey, Shepherd."

  Tom nodded. "Hey, Pharaoh."

  Leona only rolled her eyes. "I told you guys. Don't call me Curly." She gripped the Egyptian's arm. "What the hell are you doing here, Ramses? And who's your friend?"

  Everyone was watching them. Including Xerka, who lurked nearby, hissing, her red eyes glittering.

  Holding Najila's hand, Ramses spoke into the microphone, addressing the crowd. "This is Najila, a human. A human born on Earth. To parents born on Earth. To a family that has never left Earth. Najila has never hidden in space. Never cowered in some rundown space station or burrowed into a forgotten asteroid. Never known the claws of scorpions. Never known the pain of a refugee. Her family is an unbroken line—running back countless generations to Earth's ancient past. You wanted proof that we evolved on Earth? We never left Earth! There have always been humans on Earth. Here is your proof!"

  "Lies!" Xerka screeched. "Filthy lies from deceiving apes!"

  "Yes!" Ramses said. "We are apes! Risen apes. We evolved from apes who lived in Earth's ancient forests. Apes are our heritage. Earth is our birthright." He pulled out a stack of photographs. "Here are images of Najila's village by an Earth river called the Nile. Here beyond the river, you can see the sphinx. The pyramids. Monuments that are seven thousand years old—built by humans, by Najila's ancestors. If you wish, you can analyze a sample of Najila's DNA. You will find no traces of the microscopic variations in those humans who were exiled into space. You will find the signature of generations spent on Earth. You may also analyze DNA in Earth's native animals; you will find we share a lot of our chemistry. The evidence is clear." Ramses turned toward Najila, and his voice softened. "Najila, will you share your tale?"

  The young Gaean trembled. But she nodded. She spoke softly, but her voice gained strength with every word.

  She spoke of her people. Of their old tales and legends. Of sunlight on the Nile and stargazing from atop the pyramids. Of a line that she could trace back for thousands of years. She ended her tale with tears in her eyes.

  "The basilisk queen might tell you that I'm lying. But I speak the truth, from my heart. Earth is the only home I've ever known. Earth is the only home we humans have ever had. Let us be like you. Let us be a civilization. Let us be Earthlings."

  Najila ended her speech and stepped into Ramses's embrace. He kissed the top of her head.

  "I'm proud of you, Najila."

  Humanity had spoken.

  And the voting began.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Emet sat outside under the stars. The others gathered around him. As campfires burned, they all stared at the radio. It lay on the ground, crackling with static. About to deliver the most important news in history.

  The Galactic Council was light-years away from Earth. But the basilisk fleet, which was orbiting just a few hundred kilometers up, had ansibles installed. Those ten thousand Rattlers had a live connection to the Council. From here in the colony, human hackers had tapped into the Rattlers' network.

  Here on Earth, Emet could hear everything going on in the Council.

  And he was proud.

  Proud of Leona and her impassioned speech. Proud of Tom and Ramses and Najila. Proud of humanity.

  He held Cindy's hand. Other colonists gathered nearby. Across the land, half a million humans gathered around their own radios. Across the galaxy, on every world and in every starship that had an ansible, humans were listening. Seven million humans, the entire population in the cosmos. They would all hear their fate decreed.

  Would Earth be returned to humanity?

  The votes began to come in, one by one.

  Beside Emet, Mairead was ready to keep score. She held a marker, prepared to write each vote on a large wooden board.

  The first to vote were the Aelonians.

  Under their new leadership, they voted: No.

  Emet's heart gave a twist.

  No.

  No to humans living on Earth.

  Emet clenched his fists. His friend, Melitar, would have voted yes. But Melitar was dead. Murdered.

  Yet thousands still needed to vote.

  The next species vote was announced. The Tarmarins, a race of scaly aliens from Til Shiran, voted no.

  Emet exhaled slowly. He had expected that. The Tarmarins had never been friends to humans.

  Another race voted. The marshcrabs of Arkraba, the creatures that had once governed Paradise Lost.

  No.

  A fourth race. The Silicades, a race of living crystals. No.

  The Esporians, a species of sentient mushrooms. No.

  The giddy excitement across the colony turned to grimness. Mairead kept tallying the votes on the board. So far: five noes. Five votes against granting Earth to humans. Nobody had voted yes yet.

  Another species voted—the basilisks this time. Their vote was not surprising.

  Six noes.

  More votes came in. No. No.

  Faces were somber across Port Addison. Eyes were cold.

  The Gouramis swam up to vote. These sentient
fish had been human allies since the days of Einav. They had fought alongside Emet in many battles, and they had fought alongside his ancestors. Emet held his breath, waiting for their vote.

  Yes.

  They voted yes!

  A cheer rose across the camp. Men and women embraced, kissed, even applauded. Mairead wrote the first "yes" on the board. Eight noes, but there was one sign of hope. One yes. One vote to give Earth to humans!

  The Skra-Shen scorpions rose to vote next.

  Everyone on Earth held their breath.

  The memories of the scorpions' genocidal campaign were fresh. Their emperor Sin Kra had led the Hierarchy, had nearly driven humans to extinction. The Skra-Shen empire was decimated now, down to only a single planet. They were ruled by new leaders.

  And they voted yes.

  The scorpions, the great enemy of humanity—they voted yes!

  Voices rose across the camp. Some cheering. Others calling to ignore a vote from the killers. Nevertheless—Mairead wrote a second yes vote on the board. Two votes for humanity!

  The Paevian cats, those wretched felines who had so willingly sent Ayumi and her community to the gulock, voted no. The Bonecrawlers, those skeletal creatures who had once hunted Bay and Rowan in the ducts, voted no. The Markonite hoggers, porcine creatures of bristly fur and tusks, voted no. The Trilians, aliens like living musical instruments, voted no. The sluggers, a race of cruel mollusks, voted no.

  The no votes kept pouring in.

  And then, the Rawdiggers, those miners who had helped smuggle human refugees throughout the war—they voted yes!

  The Menorian octopuses, perhaps the greatest allies of humanity—they voted yes!

  The Altairians, tall green humanoids—they abstained, perhaps fearing repercussions from the basilisks who roamed near their world.

  The bloated Blorins—no.

  The Nanadakis, a race of friendly little humanoids with four arms—yes!

  The centipedes, the infamous scum from ancient Earth history—no.