Mars Colony Chronicles (Books 1 - 5): A Space Opera Box Set Adventure

by Brandon Ellis

  “The Explorer Race was downloaded with information and its tucked into your DNA, into all humans DNA, but only a human within the bloodline can unlock it. Once you open that information inside yourself, it will tell you how you can save the universe from races like the Dunrakee. Your race was created to shift the balance. To bring peace in the Universe again.”

  That’s what Ozzy had read, as well, but Lyra was adding a bit more information than what was on the two stones she had Ozzy decode.

  Lyra stood rigid, and tall, her paws in fists. “You think I’m lying.”

  “No, I think you know more than I do now. Where did you get this information? From the meetings you’ve been having?”

  “Yes.”

  “They know we humans can’t be the Explorer Race.” He splayed his fingers on his chest. “I even know that. We’re far from saving anyone, especially ourselves. I can’t even balance my own auric credits let alone the Universe.”

  “I know what I’ve observed with you humans. You think you’re a bad lot. But you aren’t. You were created, purposely, with a lower life span than any other race in the known cosmos. You have a 120 year lifespan and you still manage to lessen it, but you are uncovering different ways to overcome obstacles. A longer lifespan, such as thousands of years like many other races, will allow a race to remember how to overcame an obstacle. They then overcome the next obstacle in the same way, because it’s efficient and doesn’t bring about stress like it would if the race had to constantly figure out new ways to overcome the same obstacle. Those of my race, along with the races around the Universe, thought that was a good thing, but it wasn’t.”

  Ozzy shook his head. “You’re not making sense.”

  Lyra put up her paw, telling him to be quiet. “Listen, according to what you’ve read on the Gaia Stone, the Creator sent emissaries across many nations in the many galaxies that make up our Universe. Why? To help with this universal imbalance of positive and negative. The emissaries, as you explained, asked for races to create an Explorer Race—the humans. They did, and because you live short lives, and have short memories and bad historical documents that don’t trace every single thing that you have done as a race, each human has to think of a new way on their own how to overcome an obstacle, whether it be one challenge, or many.

  “You see,” she continued. “You aren’t able to go back thousands of years like my race, for example, and find a holovid on how someone overcame an obstacle, and re-use their version. You, on the other hand, because of so many different variations on overcoming hardship, can discover hundreds of ways to overcome just one obstacle.

  “The races the emissaries chose have been watching you for eons, and these chosen races record what you have been doing. And they share it across the galaxy. And now your race is ready to do what you were intended to do—explore. And you have thousands of systems, or ways, to figure out solutions to problems, and you will teach us, and in the process, you will figure out how to overcome the races who think genocide and all out power is the key to life. We’ve tried, and we’ve failed. With your race, after you succeed the negative ET obstacle, and they come back in force again, hell-bent on destroying you and other races in a different way than they tried before, well, your race is genius and faster at figuring out a different way to overcome them because you are practiced in the art of change.”

  Ozzy stood straight, placing his hands on his hips, his eyebrows high. “If what you’re saying is true, then I need the other Gaia Stones and I need to read them.”

  “Good. Are you ready then?”

  “Ready for what?”

  She grabbed onto his forearm and squeezed hard. Ozzy cringed in pain. He attempted to push her hand away, but she dug in her claws, piercing his skin.

  “Don’t struggle,” she said, pressing her teleportation device on her wrist with her nose.

  A bright flash and everything went white. He let out a scream, but no sound followed. He fell to the floor, wincing in pain, his insides wanted to force their way out of his body, sending hundreds of pounds of pressure to his gut.

  He went into a ball, doing his best to breathe, but neither air would escape nor enter his lungs. He gasped and gasped, like a fish out of water, flopping around, readying for its life to end.

  He clutched his throat, and slapped his cheeks, hoping it would send some type of signal to his brain to wake up his medulla oblongata, the portion of the brain that regulates breathing.

  A pop sounded.

  “We’re here,” whispered Lyra. “Open your eyes.”

  Epilogue

  Volopolos, Mars

  Ozzy opened his eyes.

  He was in an underground tunnel lined with iridescent lamps hanging from the rocky walls, and arranged every two meters from each other.

  The tunnel was perfectly chiseled as if a boring vehicle was used to dig, assisted by laser sculpting devices that smoothed out even the smallest jutting rocks.

  The tunnel was warm, and humid, in fact. The sound of dripping water echoed throughout, and the smell of fresh dirt was everywhere.

  “We’re here, Ozzy.”

  Lyra bent down and helped Ozzy into a standing position.

  Ozzy blinked several times to gather himself and walked over to a wall, leaning against it. He was weak, and all he wanted to do was sleep. “What’s wrong with me?”

  “You’re not used to teleporting. The effects will wear off shortly. Until then, drink.” She unclipped a canteen from her belt and handed it to Ozzy.

  “Thank you,” he said, realizing he was parched. The liquid swished around as he untwisted the cap. He brought it to his lips and drank.

  A salty, sour taste filled his mouth and down his throat.

  Ozzy leaned forward, spitting what was left in his mouth onto the ground. “That’s nasty. What the hell is that?”

  Lyra chuckled, snagging the canteen out of his hand. “If I told you, you’d never forgive me. But do you feel better?”

  The weakness began to fade, and as if a light turned on, he was no longer lethargic. He rubbed his face, waking himself more. “Much better.” He glanced around. “Where are we?”

  “Close to the entrance of Volopolos, a city far underneath Mars. The tunnels and the city are oxygenated, so we will not have any trouble breathing. Yet, we are not allowed in the city. Apparently, humans are often carrying around illness or disease.”

  “Oh, great.” Ozzy sat with his legs crossed. “I guess we wait?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we teleport back to Pyke?”

  Lyra sat with her legs crossed as well. “Yes. And when you see them, don’t look away. It’s a sign of weakness, and if they believe you to be the bloodline now, they’d reconsider that fact and we’d leave without the Gaia Stones. Do you understand?

  Ozzy nodded. “Sure. No weakness. Got it.” He scratched the back of his neck. “So what’s their city like?”

  “Immaculate. Healthy. Clean. Darling, it’s too beautiful to describe. They’ve learned a lot since the war that decimated their people and have learned to communicate properly, instead of fighting. So they work together to make cities even your mythological cities of old would bow to.”

  “So, no skyscrapers or a city-scape like Briault. Everything is better. Got it.”

  “There are lowscrapers. They build downward and have many structures that you’d consider forty to fifty stories deep.”

  The sound of footsteps echoed in the tunnel and Lyra put her hand in the air, cutting Ozzy off from more questions.

  A man, twice the height and width of Ozzy, came walking around the corner. He wore a red beard that went high on his cheek bones and drew low across his chest.

  Several men and women were behind him, following like they were his disciples of some sort.

  The man in front, clearly the leader, wore a long, purple robe, and held a wooden box, lined in gold. In his other hand was a staff with gems and silver at the hilt.

  Their faces were impeccable, almost
perfect. They were as sculpted in the body as they were in facial features.

  “Welcome, Ozzy Mack.” The leader dipped his head. “I am Froj of Amberjay, and I have lived in your years more than a hundred-thousand, and I have been waiting to give someone of the bloodline these stones for that long.”

  Ozzy’s mouth dropped open.

  Froj smiled and opened the wooden box, revealing three glowing stones sitting on what looked to be red silk.

  He gestured for Ozzy to take the box.

  Ozzy reached upward, his arms and hands like a dwarf’s compared to Froj’s. Froj bent over and Ozzy took the box into his hands, the stones making it heavy, nearly toppling him over.

  Ozzy set it down, curiosity plaguing him. “How could you be so old and not look a day over twenty-five years compared to my race?”

  “Someday you may discover that technology, but we also have longer life spans than a human. I’ve also been in suspended animation many times during that hundred thousand years. So, to answer your question, young Ozzy Mack, there are many ways I’ve become old without aging.”

  Ozzy glanced down at the box, eyeing Lyra. “Now what?”

  Froj spoke, “When you read the stones, you will know where to go and what to do.”

  Lyra pointed at the ceiling. “The Dunrakee have taken over Mars.”

  “That is between humans and the Dunrakee. We will not get in the middle. Our days of war are long over.” He motioned toward Ozzy with his staff. “Where have the humans relocated?”

  “Europa.”

  Froj stepped back. “No. You cannot. You will not survive in such an environment. Europa is a disease.”

  Ozzy scrunched his eyebrows together. “We have no other place we can escape to.”

  “Read the stones. There you will find Kyra, and on Kyra you will seal your destiny. On Kyra, all humans will wake up.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Ozzy.

  “There will be a place you must find, a place encoded by the Gaia Stones in the box I have given you. There, you will place the stones and it will open up your DNA and your DNA will reveal your true mission in the Universe. And all on Kyra will understand. And all on Kyra will manifest their destiny.”

  Froj cleared his throat. “The humans were gifted with the most difficult tasks to overcome in the entire evolution of the Universe. Humans are to teach the rest of the Universe how to overcome the many obstacles that they have faced with the how and the why.”

  Ozzy heard this before and merely nodded.

  “So do not seek Europa,” said Froj. “Convince your people to find Kyra. And Kyra will then find you.”

  He turned, taking his entourage with him, and walking around a corner in the tunnel and disappeared from view.

  Ozzy’s chin hit his chest and his shoulder’s slumped. “So, you’re telling me, I have to tell an entire fleet of humans that we can’t live on Europa, we have to find a planet named Krya?”

  “Kyra’s location is probably written on those stones, darling,” replied Lyra. “It’s time to go.”

  She grabbed onto this wrist.

  “Great,” moaned Ozzy, rubbing the back of his head. “So, I have to convince an entire population who are scared out of their minds and just want a home, that the home they are about to land is diseased, and we’ll have to take our fleet to a place we’ve never heard of or if it even exists.”

  “Yes.”

  “This ought to be fun,” he said sarcastically.

  Lyra pressed on her teleportation device and a bright flash carried Ozzy from under Mars to Pyke, where he stood in the corridor he had left from.

  “Daddy, where are you?” Lily came around the corner, jumping back in surprise. “There you are.”

  Jozi was behind her with Bobby.

  “You weren’t here a second ago,” said Jozi, her eyes narrowed, figuring something was most likely going on.

  At Ozzy’s feet was an open golden box with three shiny stones. He bent down and closed the box. “We’ll talk about it later, but until then, let’s get some food.”

  He picked up Lily and headed to the cafeteria. Lyra grabbed the box and followed him.

  “Gragas,” Ozzy called over his shoulder, expecting him to be in the cockpit.

  “Yes, Ozzy?”

  “Figure out a way we can convince the Admiral to take our fleet somewhere other than Europa.”

  “Stop,” said Gragas.

  Ozzy halted and turned around, seeing Gragas standing outside the cockpit, his arms crossed and his head cocked to the side. “Why would I do that?”

  “I have a bad feeling about Europa.” He twisted around and turned the corner, his stomach ready to eat a nice, replicated burger before he had to give everyone, including the Admiral, the news.

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