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Her homeworld looked like a shrunken version of Erulea. A few brown landmasses clustered across the surface. The satellites hovering above were few and far between. It was hard to imagine something so quaint sustaining the entire human race.
Caligher could tell with a glance that the planet was in a volatile state. Soon, it would change drastically. The readings on his ship confirmed it. The humans needed help, and soon.
A sniffle sounded over the comms.
“Lucca?” he asked.
“I never thought I would see it again.” He heard her wiping her face and sniffling repeatedly. “Sorry. I’m cloaking us now. Do you sense your friend?”
He did, but… “He’s not on the ground…”
Which meant he had to be somewhere in orbit.
They set an arcing course over the atmosphere until his senses pinpointed a single static target. The warship hovered up ahead, and shortly beyond it was a flimsy-looking space station. Caligher stared in horror at the blocky construction.
“A broadcast is coming out of it,” she said.
“Let’s find out what it says.” He braced himself for the worst.
“Hello, travelers!” chirped a cheery voice he recognized at once—Baade. The message was pre-recorded.
“Welcome to the planet Earth, homeworld of the humans! If you come in peace, you are welcome to visit. If not?” His voice darkened with that amusement-laced threat Caligher knew from experience. “You had better turn back. I have claimed this planet as mine. I am its God and its protector.”
“Its fuckingwhatnow?” Lucca blurted. “Who does this guy think he is?”
Baade continued with his speech, providing statistics about the local planets and sun before launching into details about the atmosphere of Earth. Caligher could hear Lucca losing her utter shit. “Is that your friend?” she demanded.
“That’s definitely Baade,” he confirmed. “And this is something Baade would do.”
EPILOGUE
CALIGHER
It was all a damn ploy.
Baade had married a human, let himself get captured by humans, let them take him back to their homeworld as a prisoner—and then turned it against his captors.
He’d taken over Earth and declared himself God.
He wasunhinged.
Caligher was tempted to murder him for what he’d put him through. He’d spent the last painful decade seeking revenge on his behalf—and for what? For fucking what?
Baade hadn’t had the courtesy to inform him of this plan, and once he was on Earth, he never bothered sending any messages. He could have tried.
He’d been toobusy.
Caligher was flabbergasted, at a loss, in shock. He no longer wanted to look at his old friend.
Lucca’s crimes against humanity were absolved upon entry. The local governments and military were under Baade’s control. Baade was pleased to learn they’d brokered peace. He was eager to establish a chain of trade with theHeartso that humans and Ternetzis could start trading, traveling, fucking, and breeding to their hearts’ content. Soon enough there’d be no telling who was from what planet.
There were no explicit rules against subjugating planets populated by other sentient life forms. There were no rules because it had never been a consideration. Whenever Ternetzi people wished to expand, they simply terraformed their way out—rather than conquering other people.
Every human Caligher asked found this turn of events offensive. Humans taught them their game, and then they beat them at it. He was hard-pressed to feel sorry for it. Lucca had been hilariously inconsolable for the days leading up to the wedding.
That was the other thing—they were getting married on Earth.
Lucca’s parents took them to this place in the mountains, where crisp, chill sunshine and the sharp scent of needle-covered trees infused the air. A handful of their friends flew down to meet them. Soon the sprawling summit was covered in spaceships and smaller human automobiles.
