Last Man On Earth When There Is No Earth ?

One of the Zesionien sh.i.p.s, Seven

"ugghhh…" stretching on my back, I g.r.o.a.n.e.d with the lingering urge to vomit moving up and down my c.h.e.s.t

Although it's not as strong as before, not vanishing after this long is concerning

"are you still feeling unwell?" sitting on a chair beside my bed was Lilia, gorgeous as ever, with a worried look and eyes fixed on me

A l.a.p pillow would probably cure this sickness, but where do I go to get that kind of courage?

" pathetic" said the third person in the room, although calling her a person isn't exactly right

"shut up"

"eh, sorry…" Lilia backed away thinking the words I unconsciously let out were meant for her

"careful now, you don't want your cute wife hating you so fast"

'I'm gonna kill you'

"I would like to see you try"

This annoying little…

" ah Lilia… where you here the… entire time?" I move my hand and turn to the direction she sat in. it's not hard to guess she thought I was talking to her when there is no one else in the room, I have to be really careful not to let any part of the conversation I have with this ghost girl slip out

Lilia appear to be distressed a little, but she bit the bite nonetheless. She blinked a few times and smiled awkwardly as her cheeks turned a little red, leaning a little forward she spoke in a shaking voice

"d-did I wake you up?"

"nah, I just had a bad dream"

Of course, that was a lie. The nausea I'm feeling kept the sandman away, and I spent most of the past two days laying on this bed or looking outside from the front glass of the c.o.c.kpit.

We said our goodbyes to the commander, who offered us a raid to nearest open planet.

Lilia had the option of returning to her own planet, but she decided to come along. If only the reason for it had been that she didn't want to leave her beloved husband behind, cause he wasn't allowed to enter Zesion. But I could tell she was afraid of becoming unable leave it once she comes back home.

' why did you have to go and die'

"hey, you know it wasn't in my hand"

Another reason was Iris that was now dead. if it's the memories that would awaken upon her return, or wanting to continue the journey the two of them had began, it probably had to do more with that than me.

" maybe we should have stayed in the center for a while" Lilia stood up, handing me a glass of water from the nearby table "you don't seem to get any better"

" nah, I will be fine. My hair isn't white right?"

Lilia c.o.c.ked her head "no, what does that mean?"

"don't know, I think I lose it every time it changes"

" you think?"

'yes, I think'

I get up and drink some water that tasted just like water. And by tasting like water I mean boiled water with only oxygen and hydrogen, which means, unlike mineral water, this had no taste.

'in the first place, I don't trust that commander guy'

"interesting"

'so you noticed?'

"it seems like Lilia is still oblivious about it"

For someone dealing with an alien trespassing on their borders, not only that but had beaten more than a few of his soldiers, that "man?" Had been way too nice. Even with Lilia supporting me he had more than enough reason to lock me up.

Then the thing with the planet, no nation would give up such a big piece of land like it was nothing, he could have convinced Lilia to keep quiet about it and it would belong to them.

And most importantly

'he never asked how we got rid of the gravitational field'

"nor did he say anything about Verta"

'This room, no, this entire ship is probably bugged, i can't get Lilia to tell me what they talked about when I was in that cell'

" when 'we' were in that cell, could you please start treating me like a person?"

'I will think about it'

"how about you think fast before your cute little wife notice you hitting yourself"

' alright, alright, no taking over okay?'

This is another problem, I have to find a way to get rid of her

" you know I can hear you right?"

'shit'

"anyways, shouldn't you be worried about something else?"

'I know'

Lilia's ship was out of question, the engine was destroyed and repairs would take more than a day. As she made the call to her father, who was away on a business trip leaving one of his sons in charge –a person I can't say I liked- we made the deal and got more than enough money from the melted Glassume in the laboratory ruins.

We can now buy a new ship rather than waiting for the old one to get fixed. With that in mind I discussed the matter with Lilia and convinced her about heading for the next destination.

After a nights' rest –I wasn't able to sleep- we were finally ready to go. Just before I got on the raid the commander called me out saying something I couldn't fully comprehend

" I know how you feel, but it's better to take things slowly"

When I asked what he meant he told me "you would find out, eventually"

Something told me he was talking about my relationship with Lilia. It wasn't out of mutual understanding or unspoken words that we decided to keep quiet about it, Lilia just went and introduced me as a new friend who was interested in doing business with her dad, never hinting anything about marriage. The commander probably suspected something was going on but chose to keep silence.

' is there any chance that she plans on ending things soon? If I don't say anything no one will ever know'

"idiot, if so why didn't she just return home but went with the trouble of accompanying you?"

' won't she just ditch me along the way?'

"I don't know why I have to mentally support a pessimist like you, man up!"

….

Zesionien Space Fleet Center of Operation number 0303, the commander's office, commander Blitz Firestone

What interesting beings, those so called humans. Although they are just an undeveloped life form physically inferior among those who have spoken words, not to mention their slow mediocre technology , they somehow managed to survive this long. Persistent isn't enough to describe this race.

Books tell of the great wars, and the planets with no life, but here we are four thousand years after their extinction, and they still walk around like it's nothing new.

By no means I intend on ridiculing their females, they showed strength and discipline, and are formidable foes. The planets they conquered are the best proof of what they could do, but the question that comes to mind

Who had the upper hand? Probably not the females

They resemble us a lot, at least for the outside form. Although when it comes to us Zesioniens, our females tend to have a better and much stronger physic than the males even with the size difference, with that said the reason why the males still lead the race is due to the emotional weakness the females have.

The majority of them can't handle politics and the painful shit that comes with it, nor do they stand the blood that comes with the violence, so even with a worrier grade diploma, most settle for being housewives.

" commander, are you thinking about that human"

" now now, what could you be talking about?"

Exceptions do exist of course. My assistant, for example, has a heart as cold as the deep space. Some may argue that I chose her looking at her cute face, but her abilities were the only reason she was able to get this job

" ' the human like artificial life form' is what we agreed on right?" I say, taking a sip of my so delicious cup of 'earth apple' tea

" may I ask why you insist on referring to him by that?"

"oh? Are you saying a mere human could easily deal with a squadron of fully equipped soldiers? Our soldiers?"

"all while being b.a.r.e handed"

She sat down on the couch and served herself a cup. This is a little secret of mine, but I surely enjoy watching this girl trying to keep her calm expression as she drank the very sweet tea. It remind me of my daughters when they were young

" I don't know about physical ones, but he seems to be bullet proof" she said, slightly blushing

" well, I don't know about that" I motion with my finger for the window to turn her way, showing her the quick scan I performed during his little fight the other day " rather than being bulletproof, it seems he is able to absorb some types of energy and turn them into physical strength"

That's right, he absorbs the energy, then use it little by little in every move. But compared to the amount he absorbed from our guns he only released a tiny bit punching that wall, and the rest of it has been floating inside him after he had calmed down.

But what we should be afraid of is that; the energy signature from the pillar of light.

For him to walk around with a portion of a mythical beasts' power, surely he is no ordinary guy

" I apologize for my lack of manner, but was it a good idea to let him roam around the center, let alone get that close to you?"

"no, what you said is true. But it was the best way to deal with someone like him, after all my methods worked way better than locking him away until further notice"

"I still think that it was the better choice, we must follow the protocols no matter what"

"good thing I'm the one making them then" I laugh as load as I usually do, my little assistant doesn't seem to like the way I go about it.

My eyes started to grow tired and I couldn't stop yawning, maybe it's a good time to take some rest

" oooh, right right, you did what I told you right"

"yes, all injured soldiers were paid for their silence. We spread the word about him being an artificial life form just like you ordered, no one seems to have any doubts"

" good, I promised to keep his identity a secret after all" at least until I no longer have any need for him " now, would you mind leaving me alone for a bit?"

I wait for the door to close behind her, then stretch on my seat and close my eyes.

"humans huh"

To think they could get this close without us noticing, if this get's to the inner circle I wouldn't hear the end of it.

…..

" here we are, lady Stoneheart" the pilot said, turning in his seat with a big grin on his face

Lilia's eyes sparkled, and her lips curved a little along with a slight blush. By her side was Seven, still feeling unwell and about to puke

He turned around to look at Iris, whose eyes were gapping open as she stared at their destination. When she finally noticed him, he gave her a really smug grin, making her face flush

"w-what?"

'nothing, I'm just happy that you are able to see it'

" should I be thanking you for that?"

'you don't have to, but there is something I want to know

Although, he had one question in mind

"what part of that seems like a rooster?" he said, analyzing the planet a distance away from them.

He was no astronaut, but judging by its size and how much they can see from it, they still had a long way to go. Even so several sh.i.p.s were passing beside, under, above them from time to time, going to and from the planet they all called 'Rooster'

It had three crescent shaped half rings surrounding it each pointing in a deferent directions, and unlike them, the main planet which is the orb at the center seemed somewhat dark, with only one spot emitting light

"hey, you are thinking aloud"

'shit'

"mister Seven, have you never seen a rooster in your life?" asked the pilot, his thick eyebrows raising in surprise.

Lilia took out her tablet like device and started swiping, while seven answered the pilot with a displeased look

" well, I've never seen a living one with my own eyes, but the roosters I know are probably nothing like the ones you know"

" you have to be more careful, you don't want them to think you are an idiot, oh! I forgot, you really are one!" a really, really smug grin appeared on her face. alien common knowledge isn't something modern –past- day humans had anything to do with, he shouldn't be blamed for that. but his ghost companion wasn't so nice as to leave a chance for payback go unused.

"ah!" Lilia gasped " this is what a rooster looks like"

She showed him a three dimensional hologram of a flying ball with the same crescent shaped rings around it, and what could be considered a flat tail

"Is this a living creature?" he asked, for him it looked like a poorly designed monster for a game with weak graphics

"it says they live underwater in many of the planets surrounding Zesion" Lilia read the writings describing the creature knowing Seven couldn't " it makes sense for you not to know"

"wait" seven looked more dumbfounded than before "you mean this thing is a fish?"

"wait, humans eat fish?" said Iris, reading Sevens' thoughts about how in the hell do they cook that thing?

The planet had grown larger and larger as they were talking, the ship moved faster than he realized and now they were at the entrance to the planet.

It was a closed circle about two kilometers in diameter, according to their escort this was the only legal entrance to the main city, that shiny spot on the planet. When they pass this gate their identity cards are automatically scanned and registered. It is possible to land somewhere outside the city without going through this process, but if you are found out you could get immediately executed.

The three rings, which apparently are it's moons, only admit people from the upper classes of communities with really deep pockets, although they are the only pieces of land suitable for farming, the main city is divided to several sections with crime rates raising the further away you are from the center

"and then there is the boarder" the pilot said " you probably noticed by now but this planet doesn't move at all"

" come to think of it…" seven wondered why it looked so dark like it's night the entire time

" rooster doesn't spin around itself nor does it orbit any of the suns, each of the moons is effected by the gravitational field of the sun in its direction, at some point millions of years ago the planet got stuck between the three suns unsuited for life until about five centuries ago" the pilot continued swith his explanation " the other side faces the nearest star, it's a dying one with weak gravity but it's light is still strong enough to burn anything alive, the rest of the planet outside of the main city is a wasteland making a great base for pirates and crime syndicates"

"And terrorist groups, don't forget terrorist groups" said Seven, half joking

" well, not that the main city is any different, 'Dark Skin' , 'GloraGrora', 'Sharp Yakitori' and Kahen are big names around here"

" and those are…"

"gangs" Lilia finished for him " I heard about Dark Skin before, they are a vicious criminal group with mostly Zesioniens as members"

The pilot turned to the front and continued " those are names you should keep your distance from"

"are all open planets like this? I thought they were more like a paradise with no racial boundaries" seven crossed his arms thinking for a moment, even a country like America where a mixture of every color and religion existed racism is still as strong as ever

"ah and one last thing, don't ever start a fight you can't win, the law won't protect you if you can't protect yourselves" he raised his hand pointing at the seat beside him " buckle up please, we are lending soon"

Seven was still feeling sick, Lilia is excited like a little kid and although she tried hiding it, Iris couldn't help but smile. The ship landed smoothly, and no problem happened. they paid their entrance fees, got a final identity check, and went through the front gate

" welcome to Gram city"