D558-100
“The new galactic year opens with the last government transport leaving Ou-4 this morning. Ou-4 remains a contentious topic for several species, but all of them believe this is a healthy first step to resolve the decades-long conflict.
“But the fate of the planet hangs in the balance as an environmental plague continues to spread across the surface, now covering a continent and an ocean. The galactic government has allowed select groups to stay and study this unprecedented natural disaster. No timetable has been shared regarding the studies.
“And out of the galactic baseball league championship,....”
***
D558-151
“If you remember Ou-4 a few months ago, you won’t recognize it now. The entire planet has become inhospitable for all life as a plague that sprung up at the start of the dispossession of the planet has now overrun it. The galactic government has several groups studying the plague, but nothing new has been learned.
“The Kelkers have filed a grievance against the Birnsteins and Humans as the debate on Ou-4’s ownership was leaning in favor of the Kelkers. They believe one of the other species caused this. No study of the plague has theorized this possibility, but the galactic government has said in a statement that all possibilities are being considered as they continue their research.”
***
D559-336
“A scientific breakthrough out of the Ou system as the plague that destroyed the ecosystem of Ou-4 over a year ago is no longer a mystery. Numerous teams have now proven that the plague was engineered. Several studies suggest the Birnstein Empire released the plague when they learned they would no longer be on the planet.
“A spokesbeing of the Birnstein Empire passionately denied this, citing that, and I quote, ‘such an action is against the Exploration Treaty of dee one-four-eight that governs the discovery and settlement of new planets, and the mighty and glorious Birnstein Empire has always been benevolent followers of galactic law.’ The Birnstein Empire remains the most isolated of the galactic government’s biggest member species.
“Researchers and political analysts don’t believe a Birnstein origin will ever be proven. But the facts are that the plague was created, and Ou-4 is now destroyed.”
***
“You again?”
“I’m here to enlist.”
The recruiter shook his head from behind the desk and looked down at his tablet. Joe kept his eyes on the recruiter, anxiously waiting for him to respond.
“Listen, kid,” started the recruiter, “not only are you under age–”
“I’m eighteen,” interjected Joe with a lie.
“–but you’re missing an eye,” continued the recruiter without pausing.
“The military can fix that,” said Joe. “I’ve seen pictures of soldiers with replacement arms.”
“Arms lost in the line of duty,” said the recruiter as he looked up. “If a soldier suffers an injury in the line of duty, the least we can do is handle their healthcare services.”
“But not before?”
“Could you even handle bootcamp?”
“Yes!” said Joe a bit too loudly.
The recruiter shook his head again.
“Come on, Greene,” said Joe after quickly looking at the recruiter’s name on his uniform, “I need to enlist.”
“For your eye?”
“To fight the Birnsteins!”
“What’s your beef with the birds?”
“They destroyed my home!”
“I can understand that, but we have requirements for enlistment, and you don’t meet several of them,” said Greene.
“But–”
The door to the office opened behind Joe, and Greene looked around Joe to see who’d entered. Joe turned to see two teen Humans whispering to each other as they looked at the recruitment posters hanging on the wall.
“I’m sorry, kid, but I’ve got other potential enlistees to talk to,” said Greene, drawing Joe’s attention back to him.
“But they’re barely old enough!”
“We still have youth programs they can join. And before you say anything–” Greene was quick to cut Joe off as he started to protest again “–they appear to have both eyes to pass their physicals. Thank you for your interest, but you need to leave.”
Joe looked in dismay as Greene stood up from his chair and made his way around the desk to go talk to the other two. With his frustration about to boil over, Joe turned and made his way to the door, staring at the recruitment posters that showed fully armored and armed soldiers looking majestic and powerful. It just frustrated Joe more.
Once outside on the streets of Gefunden, Joe made his way away from the recruitment office. The sky was overcast with a light drizzle falling. Several beings walked on either side of the street, mostly human, but one Canliar carried an umbrella, wiping her muzzle with a tissue as she walked by Joe.
The buildings around the recruitment office were clean and tall, but as Joe got further away from there, the buildings became grittier and shorter. The streets and sidewalks were stained and dirty, similarly to the occasional vehicle that went by. Joe kept his head down as the people around here minded their own business and didn’t like others looking at them.
Until Joe saw some Birnsteins.
A bang from inside a vehicle repair garage caught Joe’s attention, and he looked up to see two Birnstein mechanics. They chirped at each other as they looked into the engine compartment of a vehicle. The bang Joe had heard was a tool falling to the floor, and the brown feathered Birnstein on the right stepped back to bend over and pick it up. As he stood back up, he looked up and saw Joe glaring at him. Joe had slowed his pace but kept walking. The second Birnstein also turned to look at Joe, but none of the three said a word. Joe despised the Birnsteins more because of what happened to Pturllel. The Birnsteins turned back to their work, ignoring Joe as he walked out of view from the garage.
The rain started to fall harder near Joe’s destination. For the last block, Joe jogged to a bar called Late Call. The place only had a handful of customers with Uzair behind the bar when Joe entered. The other customers looked up to see who had entered but soon went back to their drinks. Uzair watched as Joe went and sat at the far end of the bar away from everyone else.
Joe looked up at the three monitors hanging from the ceiling behind the bar as his frustration continued to boil. One showed a baseball game occurring on Gemma, another showed the local news of Gefunden, and the last showed a Human galactic news network. Joe didn’t particularly pay any of them much attention, though.
Uzair slowly made his way to Joe and set a glass of water in front of him.
“They still said no, uh?” said Uzair with a deep voice.
“I’ll try again tomorrow,” said Joe before he took a sip of water. “If you let me crash here tonight, I can do the dishes.”
Uzair slowly shook his head.
“Joe, you’ve been like this for over a week. Why don’t you go back to the orphanage?”
Joe was shaking his head before Uzair finished.
“Can I crash here or not?”
“Of course you can,” said Uzair. “Order whatever you want. I’ll leave the dishes for you.”
“Thanks,” said Joe.
Joe was about to look down at a menu that appeared on the counter's surface when a name on the monitor with the local news caught his eye. He saw them once again talking about Ou-4, the incorrect name the whole galaxy seemed to call Pturllel. The monitor was muted, but captions showed the anchor talking about the plague being engineered and all signs pointing to the Birnsteins as the engineers.
This time, though, the newscast showed images from orbit of the planet, and the whole surface was black. The continents and oceans blended together, and Joe didn’t know what part of Pturllel he was even looking at. He recalled his last moments watching Pturllel fall beneath him as the carrier left the planet, thinking of the green continents and blue oceans. The new images infuriated Joe. He wanted to rip the monitor off the ceiling and stomp it into the floor.
“What happened at Ou-4 really bothers you, doesn’t it?” said Uzair who’d seen Joe staring at the monitor and getting more upset.
Joe’s temper boiled over.
“It’s called Pturllel!”
Joe shouted the name of the planet, and his outburst caught Uzair off guard. The bartender took a step back, but Joe kept his attention on the monitor as he continued.
“It was a utopia. All species worked together to better each other. But then the rest of the galaxy came to Pturllel and destroyed it. They destroyed utopia! And now they say the Birnsteins destroyed the planet. That utopia can never exist again. That’s what bothers me!”
Uzair looked shocked when Joe looked at him. After seeing that reaction, Joe realized what he’d done. He wasn’t upset with Uzair; he was upset with the rest of the galaxy. They had no idea what Pturllel was before it was invaded, evacuated, and destroyed. But Joe did. Joe knew what it was thanks to the Laurel Ethiek sisters that took care of him after the invasion.
Silence dominated the bar, and Joe stood up and looked around at the other customers. All eyes were on Joe. The others didn’t know what was going to happen next. Most of the customers were Human, but with a few Szeckxs, a Naptelan, and another species Joe didn’t recognize. Joe decided he wasn’t going to stay and listen to them whisper about him as he ate. When the unknown species started to get up, Joe made his way to the door quickly and left.
The rain was coming down even harder now. Joe soon pulled his hood up and started walking down the street. He knew a couple of other places he could crash for the night.
“Hey! Wait!”
Joe stopped and looked over his shoulder to see who was shouting. It was the being who’d started to get up as Joe took off. Joe didn’t recognize the species, and all he could make out right now was the face, which looked slug-like. Since Joe didn’t know who this was, Joe shook his head, turned away, and resumed walking.
“I know about Pturllel, too. I was there!”
Joe froze. What did this being say? Joe turned all the way around this time, and he saw the being stop and nod their head several times.
“What?” said Joe.
“I know Pturllel like you do. It was a utopia. Beings from all over the galaxy, from all species and cultures, came together to coexist. They wanted to better themselves, you’re right, but they wanted to isolate themselves from galactic politics more. And they did. But nothing can stay isolated forever. Pturllel may be destroyed, but the idea will always remain. That cannot be destroyed, by invasion or plague. Pturllel still lives. I’m looking at it right now.”
Joe couldn’t believe what he heard. It reminded him of what the sisters would say about Pturllel at the mission. But Joe had never seen this being before. Who were they?
“Who are you?” said Joe.
“My name is Doctor Cajo Tehinjhm. And I’d like to talk to you more about Pturllel.”