Extraterrestrial Refugees
Chapter One

There it was—the little blue and green planet Gemma had been taught about since the day she was born. She, like every other person from her planet, had been given an Earthling name and birthdate at birth. Her planet’s language was technically her mother tongue, but she grew up fluent in several of Earth’s languages. She had a thorough knowledge of Earth’s history as well. She almost knew more about Earth than she did about her own planet, Tetra. She had seen thousands of pictures of Earth and could hardly believe she was finally going to see it herself. The sphere glowed against the black backdrop of eternal space. It seemed to stand still though she knew they were approaching it at an impossible speed. Her teammates pressed their faces against the observation windows enthusiastically.

“There it is, Gemma! Can you believe it? We’re finally here,” Justine exclaimed. She had become Gemma’s best friend in the years they had worked together. She held her camera up to the window and snapped a few pictures. “My sister will be so excited.” The glowing screen made her brown eyes shimmer.

Gemma glanced over at the screen of Justine’s device as she launched the picture through space. A twinge of jealousy soured her heart. It had been months since she had had any contact with her fiancé, Vance, who was traveling on a different vessel. It had been two years since she held his hand or kissed him. She longed for his warm, loving embrace. She took a deep breath. “Just a few more days,” she sighed to herself. It was infuriating to be so close to each other and yet so far.

“Ah, yes, then you’ll be reunited with your lover,” Justine said with a bright smile. Gemma returned the smile. Her friend was fortunate—her family, a husband and three children, was in the dorms below the control deck. All on account of being in the right place at the right time, really. Gemma was truly happy for her. Justine’s family made her happy and her happiness was contagious; it had lifted Gemma on many occasions.

If only Gemma had been more insistent that Vance accompany her to the last council meeting that was held back on Tetra. If she had, he would have been there when they announced Mission 382 was embarking two weeks earlier than planned. All family members of the team were entitled passage on the vessel Fortuna, but most of them—scattered around the globe—were not able to make it in such short notice. Justine was one of the few lucky ones whose family was with her.

Although the two-year voyage had been filled with hours of research and studying, there were still many idle moments when Gemma was able to replay the hours leading up to their rushed departure and the disheartening conversation she had with her dear fiancé:

“They’ve moved our departure to tonight,” she had said into the communication device she wore in her ear. She rubbed her trembling hands together.

“Tonight?” Vance groggily replied. He was thousands of miles away, on the opposite side of the planet. A painful distance of thousands of miles and a vast ocean, but nothing compared to the lightyears that Gemma knew would soon stretch between them. She heard him clear his throat and shuffle as he sat up in bed. She could picture his bedroom. Likely his clothes from that day were discarded on the floor beside his bed. His bare walls were colored a dark blue and the hole he made with the corner of the dresser when moving in was still there; he fixed peoples’ houses for a living, yet never made time to fix his own. Like how he never bothered installing blinds in his window—Gemma could see the square of light the moon was casting on Vance as he sat up in bed. “Gemma, there’s no way I can get there tonight.”

“I know,” Gemma said. She glanced around at the others in the conference room—a team of specially-selected intellects, inventors, doctors, scientists, linguists, agriculturists, and environmentalists. Those who were not currently communicating with their families were chatting amongst each other, scrolling through documents on glowing screens. Gemma was struggling to compose herself. She was generally a calm person even in tense situations. Her collectedness helped her complete all the strenuous exams required to attain her multiple degrees. Her near flawless scores are what caught the attention of the people who formed Gemma’s team. At its head was Captain Clarence, a middle-aged man with thinning, dark gray hair. He was tall and slender and currently facing the corner of the conference room, assumably speaking with his wife.

Gemma’s heart was fluttering frantically.

“I don’t suppose they’d wait for me?” Vance’s voice chimed in her ringing ears again. Gemma shook her head before lowering her voice to a whisper.

“I begged them to—I promised them you’d be on the next flight over. But they refuse. They say it’s absolutely necessary that the mission leaves within the next few hours.” She looked over at Clarence who was now seated, holding his head in his hands. “They won’t even wait for Clarence’s wife and kids.”

“I thought we still had time.”

“So did we. But…” Gemma hesitated. She took a few steps away from the bustle at the long table. “Vance, the predictions are looking grim now. They’re keeping it on the down-low. Don’t go broadcasting this information, but they’re planning on loading the vessels in the next few days.”

There was silence on Vance’s end. Gemma heard him take a deep breath. “A few days?”

“Yes.”

“Were they—you—lying to all of us when you said we still had at least another year?”

“No, no.” Gemma shook her head again. She wanted to leave the room, but she did not want to risk missing an important update, seeing as plans seemed likely to change entirely in an instant. Her mind skipped ahead to the coming week, when she and Vance had their big wedding planned. With the impending doom looming before them, they were going to celebrate extravagantly. They had pumped all of their cumulative savings into it; they would not need them where they were going. They would have to start with not much more than the clothes on their backs anyway. She knew their currency would have no value in their future home.

The scientists had hoped for more time. The Fortuna would depart months before the others to prepare the way for a peaceful and seamless exodus. Gemma inhaled deeply. “There are… indicators… that the end is coming much sooner than we first predicted. Things change.” She rubbed her brow. “Look, Vance, I told them I’m not leaving without you. I’m flying back to you as soon as I can.”

“As much as I want that, that isn’t an option,” Vance said. “You know how important you are for this mission. It’s likely to fail if you bail out—if they’d even let you.”

“They can’t force me to go. They can’t force any of us to go. This entire team—we’re all here voluntarily.”

“Listen, honey, if you say they’re loading the vessels next week anyways, then I’ll just jump on one of them and I’ll see you when we get there.”

Gemma brushed away a tear as soon as it snuck out of her eye. “That’s two years, Vance,” she choked.

“I know, I know.”

“And contact between here and there has been quite unreliable up to now.” The prospect of not seeing Vance for two years was heartbreaking enough as it was, but the possibility of not even being able to speak with him seemed unbearable. “I’m not going.”

“Then you risk the lives of twelve-billion-three-hundred-thousand…” Vance paused briefly. “Seven-hundred-thirty…four?”

“Close enough,” Gemma said, chuckling lightly. The number fluctuated daily, but it was engrained in her mind and branded into her heart. It was for those twelve billion people that she was there—that she had derailed her life for. That she had spent countless hours over the past three years working out how to secure their futures. The entire purpose of her team was to save as many of them as they possibly could.

“Honey, I love you,” Vance continued. “I want to be selfish and keep you, but I know you’re an essential part of this mission. You have to go.”

“I’m sure they can replace a replacement.”

“Gemma, you’re one of the most humble people I know, and I love you for it, but you are probably the most indispensable person on that entire team. You were chosen for a reason—not only because you’re the most beautiful person ever. You’re the smartest, most accomplished person I’ve ever met, and I know they need you.”

Vance’s calming voice restored clarity to Gemma’s scrambling mind. “You’ll still love me in two years?” she asked, eyes hot with tears.

“I’ll still love you in two years. Even if you fall in love with some brilliant scientist on the way there. Or, worse, some handsome Earthling guy.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Gemma laughed. “You know scientists aren’t my type.”

“That’s right. You’re into capable men like me.”

“You got it.”

Silence ensued. Gemma did not want to disconnect, but the meeting was reconvening. The others were moseying back to their spots at the table, each looking utterly defeated. She took a trembling breath. “I wish you would’ve come with me,” she whispered.

“I do, too,” Vance said. “I’ll try not to be such a workaholic when we make it to Earth. What good did it do anyway? Built a beautiful bathroom this week and now you tell me it’s going to be gone next week. It wasn’t worth it at all. But I didn’t know…” His voice trailed off and he exhaled loudly. “Well, anyways, I hope they know how to party, because we’re going to have the biggest, loudest, most fun wedding ever.”

Gemma smiled. “Can’t wait,” she said.

“They’re fine,” Justine said, placing a reassuring hand on Gemma’s shoulder. She must have seen the absent expression on Gemma’s face—an expression she had seen so many times over the past few months that she could decipher precisely what it meant. Gemma smiled pathetically.

“I know,” she said. Honestly, she knew it was a miracle that anybody had made it off the planet alive. Vance had described in vivid details the chaos that ensued once boarding began. The people of Tetra were not typically violent or irrational. That changed when desperation hit. Fear and greed took over. People who had previously declined a spot on one of the fleet of vessels suddenly changed their minds. Many people were trampled to death in the mass panic. Identities were stolen. Mothers handed their babies off to strangers in attempt to save them.

“The communications team has been working tirelessly to reestablish contact with them, but they think the problem is on their end.” Justine tried tugging her fingers through her frizzy, dark hair. “Ugh. I wish the hair team was working just as tirelessly on this hair of mine!”

Gemma chuckled at the joke. There was only one cosmetologist onboard and her sole purpose was to make Gemma look like a goddess. Not that she needed any help; Gemma possessed a natural beauty that was real and raw and perfect. Her silky, golden hair tumbled down past her shoulders in elegant curls. Her eyes were a striking blue, like the color of a tropical ocean, lined with dark eyelashes that were long and thick. Her smile was bright and warm and when she wore it—which was often—a dimple appeared on her right cheek.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to give it a go again?” Justine timidly asked, making scissors with her fingers and snipping at her hair with them. Gemma shook her head.

“Nope. Definitely not.” She held out both of her palms toward Justine. “Last time was disastrous.”

“Nobody’s a pro at anything the first time they try it. The second time will be better,” Justine argued. Gemma was not accustomed to not exceling at everything she tried; a lot of people resented her for it. Haircutting was something she felt certain she would never be good at. Vance had asked her to do it once when they first started dating; he never asked again. She wished she could say she had messed it up intentionally.

“Come on, Gemma. I don’t want to give the Earthlings a bad first impression when we all show up looking like a group of unkempt homeless people.”

“We are a group of homeless people.”

Justine held up her finger. “That is true. But it doesn’t mean that we have to be unkempt.”

“Ladies and gentleman,” Clarence’s voice boomed, drawing everyone’s attention. The control deck fell silent. “Our estimated arrival time is approximately three hours and twenty-one minutes. I’d like to ask you all to gather in fifteen minutes to go over our arrival plans.” His piercing green eyes shot over to Gemma. She held his gaze for a few seconds, feeling the pressure of the immense responsibility crushing down on her shoulders.

She would be the first one to make contact with the earthlings.