It seemed like any other quiet, tranquil afternoon. A gentle breeze swept through the fields of wheat, and trees swayed idyllically back and forth. Kyle was lying on his back in the grass under the shade of one of the great oaks, just looking up into the empty blue sky. The hazy blue sky gradually transitioned into a murky red colour just before it touched the horizon. To Kyle, the effect felt somehow unnatural, even though it had looked that way for as long as he remembered.
This was his favourite place to be when he didn’t have to go to school, or be at home. Here he could just lie around and forget about his failing grades or his parents’ annoying bickering. Here he felt at peace. It was his sanctuary from the rest of the world. Gradually, he heard a low roaring sound grow louder. In the distance, a long, slender Alliance airship floated past the clouds. For a second Kyle wondered how a metal battleship could fly. He could barely make out the cannon ports and the faint blue-green flags along the mast of the ship. As he traced the winding trail of steam made by the airship, he felt his eyes growing heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.
---
A low booming sound stirred Kyle awake. He stood up and looked down into the valley where the city of Edinburg stood. A sunset lit the horizon with hues of red and purple. In moments it would be nightfall. Another loud boom, with a faint ringing echoed across the landscape. Then, all at once, a flash of light illuminated the horizon. Sirens began to wail, and the sound of gunfire and cannons. It seemed as though the stars were falling from the sky, thousands of fiery dots streaking down towards the homes below. In moments the entire city was aflame. A massive explosion brightened the sky. Slowly a burning airship was descending from the clouds. Above, two fleets were engaged in chaotic battle.
For a second that felt like an hour Kyle just stood there, too stunned to even move. Then he ran down the hill towards the city. A soldier eyed Kyle warily as he passed, the line of people fleeing Edinburg. The massive stone gates stood ajar. Without hesitation, Kyle ran into the city. He passed firefighters and soldiers, futilely trying to stop the spread of flames. Entire families, with only the few possessions they could carry were scrambling to escape the inferno.
The next few days were a blur. Kyle had been unable to find his family anywhere. At some point the fumes and flames had overcome him, and he was forced to flee the city along with thousands of refugees. Now he was in the city of Gavenport, staying with relatives. He tried to calm himself by remembering what had happened in the days before the massacre.
---
“Border patrol attacked by mysterious enemy from beyond the wastelands!” shouted an overenthusiastic paper boy. “Read all about it!”
Kyle ignored the tabloid seller. Every week there’d always be an utterly sensational and fabricated story about unspeakable terrors from beyond the wastelands that bordered Severnia and the other Alliance countries. The busy street was filled with vendors trying desperately to sell their cheap wares, pedestrians trying to avoid them as they headed towards whatever their destination was, and streetcars rolling through the streets and leaving clouds of steam in their wake. Kyle adjusted his cap and put his hands back in the pockets of his overcoat.
Turning the street into the town centre, he could see a crowd gathering around a wooden platform with nationalist banners.
“Hey you made it!” shouted a boy of about seventeen, around Kyle’s age.
“Hey Rick,” replied Kyle.
“Guess what,” said Rick excitedly. “They’ve been saying that airships hailing from some place called the Imperium arrived about two days ago with an ultimatum. It looks like there could be war!”
“Ugh, you know I’m not a military freak like you,” said Kyle.
“Yeah, the only reason you’re here is because Laura might be here, am I right? Ow!” said Rick as he was punched in the shoulder.
“Well…”
“Kyle, she’s the mayor’s daughter, you’re just the son of a lazy old fisherman, you don’t stand a chance with her,” said Rick, grimacing for a punch.
“I know, but it doesn’t hurt to dream…” replied Kyle.
---
“Hey, sleepy head, wake up!” shouted a soft, distant voice.
“Hmm?” responded Kyle as he slowly returned to consciousness. He realized he was slumped over his desk in his chair.
“Hey, class is over! The teacher didn’t even bother to wake you up this time!” scolded the voice again. It was a soft, female voice. Kyle looked up to see Laura staring wide-eyed at him. She was wearing the standard school uniform for girls, a white blouse with blue trim and a pleated blue skirt.
“Oh, err, hi!” he said, a silly grin on his face. “I didn’t mean to… um…”
“Hmm, what’s this?” She leaned over and picked up a sheet of paper from Kyle’s desk. Her long blond hair fell over her face as she leaned forward. She brushed it aside.
“Oh, that’s just, um, a sketch I made, uh…” He was caught.
Moments of awkward silence passed as she studied the drawing.
“For reference, my hair isn’t as wavy as that,” said Laura, smirking.
“I was trying to get the effect of the wind and um… OH MY GAWD LOOK OVER THERE A DIVERSION!” shouted Kyle, pointing out at the window.
For a moment, Laura just stared blankly at Kyle, then began to laugh.
“I don’t know what’s funnier, that you said that, or that you thought it would work,” giggled Laura. “Can I keep the drawing?”
“Sure,” replied Kyle.
“Uh, say, are you free later this afternoon? I heard there’s a festival going on somewhere,” said Kyle.
“Um, sorry, I’m already going with someone else,” replied Laura. “Anyway, I need to get going now. See you at the festival.”
“Oh… Kay,” said Kyle as Laura turned and walked out of the classroom. For a minute, he just sat there, staring at his disorganized notebooks. Then, quietly he left.
---
The festival was in full swing by the time Kyle arrived. All around, delicately painted paper lanterns were hung from trees. The mix of traditional wear and decorations with electrical lamps and steam-powered cars pulling up beside horse-drawn carriages seemed surreal. This was a celebration of the traditions of cultures that had disappeared centuries ago, like the renaissance of a lost era.
“Hey Kyle!” shouted someone behind him. Kyle turned around to see Rick in a blue military dress uniform. He hadn’t bothered to dress up. In fact, he had hesitated to come at all.
“Here, I borrowed a uniform for you too, cause I knew you’d be stupid and come unprepared,” said Rick.
Just then, a particularly ostentatious car pull up at the entrance. With grace and elegance, Laura stepped out from the car, and then her father the mayor. Later that night, during the formal ball, Kyle shared a dance with the girl of his dreams, under the moonlight and the glow of lanterns.
---
It was raining the day Gavenport was attacked. The overcast sky made it impossible to see the battle that was taking place overhead. All Kyle could hear was the constant sound of raindrops on the pavement, and the occasional boom of thunder, or an explosion, which one he couldn’t tell. As refugees and residents packed up and prepared to flee the city, Kyle wandered aimlessly through its streets.
Eventually, he made his way to the graveyard, where in the twilight, he placed three flowers on the makeshift grave markers he’d assembled. It would be his shrine to the only things that ever mattered to him. Then he slowly walked back to the city square, now deserted, and waited patiently for the sky to fall.
---
Andrews had specifically asked for a room with a window to the outside. Most people on ISC-04 wanted a window to the inside, with its artificial sunlight and green environment. Andrews though had always been fascinated with the stars. Thus, he was disappointed when they gave him a room where the vast majority of the view was obscured by the barren, blue and brown planet around which ISC-04 orbited. Bored, he flipped on the video screen.
“Sources from within the Imperium Unified Nations government indicate that the Imperial Seventh Fleet has commenced environmental cleansing of the newly discovered uncontaminated region in the southern hemisphere,” spoke the monotone reporter on the video screen. “The region is believed to be one of the last areas on the planet that still contain green vegetation and is relatively free of pollutants and radiation. This daring initiative is believed to be in preparation of President Johnson’s recently unveiled plans to re-establish settlements on the Earth’s surface.”