Shipping Mishaps - Interlude - Earth

Earth, 2042.

It was summer in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. A year had passed since the One Day War. A large mass of people were present to place the final piece of the memorial to the first casualties.

James McConor Esquire, and his three year old daughter, Kristie, were front and center for the ceremony. It was still all so surreal. Maria and Geo were off camping, there was a war, then the footage of Maria's death was shown at the war tribunal. Now HE was a public figure. It should have been her, not him. He was stone faced throughout the entire ceremony.

There were four religious speakers at the ceremony, a Rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest, an Imam, and a Pagan High Priestess. They all talked about the horrors of war, the loss of innocence, and that we were no longer alone in the galaxy. The names of the missing and fallen were read, those of the scouts, rangers, and police.

The only survivor, a scout now aged 15, who would forever walk with a limp, and had escaped with the footage of the battle, slowly walked to the memorial and placed Geo's lure encrusted fishing hat on top of the memorial. They then retraced their steps to the back of the assembled people, and out of sight*.

Mr James McConor, Esquire, husband and father of the deceased, wept.

*Suffering from a huge amount of survivors' guilt, later in life they would disappear into the canoe area, never to be heard from again.

*-*-*

Earth, 2052.

The aliens trapped on Earth had finally managed some integration into society, and in some cases, had children. Schools became a hotbed issue, again. For the second time in 100 years, segregation reared its head. It was a time of civil unrest, protests, riots, violent clashes with police, and aliens being burned in effigy.

At the age of 13, Kristie McConor was just trying to get through middle school. She was on the way into school after soccer practice, when a reporter stepped out of an alcove and asked, “Ms. McConor, since your mother and sister were killed by the aliens, you, of course, believe that school segregation should be kept in place. Correct?”

Kristie thought for almost two seconds before replying, with her foot, to his crotch. “If you ever even THINK of taking my mother or sisters name in vain again, I will show you what it's like to be hung from a tree. You know, like a lynching? Like my mom's great grandpa had happen to him?” She kicked him in the crotch again for good measure, before walking inside.

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Her father got her off of assault charges and collected a hefty settlement from the news agency involved. Desegregation came to the schools in the next few months.

*-*-*

Earth, 2079.

It wasn't pretty, but with her colleagues, alien and human alike, they had finished the first Terran made hyperspace vessel. Kristie was proud of her team. Every one of them had committed everything they had to the project. No one had been found wanting. The test flight to Alpha Centauri and back had taken 7 days. The berthing at L4 station had been smooth and flawless. It brought the team much accolades and awards. It also brought with it news. Ominous news.

Some 10 light years distant, an emergency signal had been heard. Headed this way was a small armada of alien life. Refugees from the galactic civil war. Earth was to be invaded again. This time by refugees.

*-*-*

Earth, 2080

The refugees finally arrived. Starving, sick, penniless. Luckily, the infrastructure was already in place to assist, and many were placed at the fledgling Mars and Moon colonies.

*-*-*

Earth 2095.

Space was no longer the final frontier. Colonies had been started on Mars, and Earth’s Moon 15 years past. Now almost every rock in the system had a station or colony on it. FTL scout ships of both Terran and alien make were out looking for systems with planets in the “Goldilocks” zone. Things were coming together nicely.

*-*-*

Earth, February, 2103.

Having had enough of governmental and corporate control, most solar colonies rebel.

*-*-*

Earth, December 21, 2120.

After 17 long years of fighting, the war ended. Not with a bang, but a whimper. On both sides the will to keep fighting had finally run dry, and with the casualties mounting, they had had enough. With the final concessions made, the first colony war was over. The death toll was high, no one walked away happy; no one had “won”.

*-*-*

Earth, 2141.

It was summer in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. 100 years had passed since the One Day War. A large mass of people were present to place the fishing hat on top of the memorial to the first casualties of the war. 17 species were present. The keynote speaker was the great grandson of Maria McConor. He spoke with love and emotion about his family's role in the war, of the loss of so many, of his grandmother's accomplishments and his Great Grandfather's final words “Do not hold hate in your heart, it will burn you. Instead, love your enemies, make them your friends, your allies, your partners.”

*-*-*

Earth, April 19, 2203.

With the entire solar system watching, the first official FTL colony ship armada was leaving Sol for 23 of the surveyed worlds. The celebratory crowds on overcrowded Terra and Mars were jubilant, and the rest of the system wasn't far behind. The ships were gone in a little under 3 hours. The parties and ceremonies would last for more than a week.

*-*-*

Earth, May 10, 2203

The last of the colonies had checked in and none were having any significant issues. 3 Days later, the human only colony at Beta Cigna stopped broadcasting. It took a week to muster troops and arrive on site. Taking appropriate biohazard precautions, an investigation of the settlement turned up all of the colonists, dead. Cause of death was finally pinpointed: a local virus.