Factory Reset: Divine Corruption

Chapter Four

Chapter Four: The day of Reckoning

There had been many stories, many, about the end of a world. An earthquake, splitting the very planet in two. A massive meteorite, slamming down to wipe out all life. A deadly pathogen spreading and destroying all life-forms.

For Ja'Kle, and his race, the end started with a tremor. The ground itself shook with force and with vectors, rattling the very foundations of their homes. The air spoiled, smelling of burnt and tarnished rubber. The foliage died around them, and what remained of the plant life was quickly gobbled up by the horde.

Nameless, numerous creatures, a plaster black so dark it appeared as a void in their vision. Ja'Kle was among the first few that managed to escape, knowing something was amiss when the power cut out, something seemingly impossible for their technology.

He, along with a very few precarious ones, travelled to the space-thruster, hoping to stake out there, just in case something happened. They had been right to, as moments after arriving at the thruster, a live feed was broadcasted onto all holo-views. A view of a stake out atop their towns tallest point.

The horde blacked out the ground, with only small wisps of some purple smoke emanating from their bodies. They received no audio, though Ja'Kle could tell by the movement of the camera that they were fearing for their lives.

"I could swear, even if we didn't hear them, that they were screaming." He recounted to the officer before him, sitting across from him at the table. The officer was a Karaite, a species of insectoid like creatures. They were the main crew for the planet.

"We got onto one of the thrusters, and the operator stayed behind. I don't know if he made it or not, but..." Ja'Kle continued, briefly pausing for a moment, "Anyways... There was about ten of us, given that we were only a small town."

Ja'Kle leaned back uncomfortably, not liking how serious the conversation had gotten, "I honestly didn't think that a thousand of us would even survive, given our biology. I'm impressed that fifteen thousand of us had the foresight, in all honesty."

The Karaite nodded, marking a few words in karaitnion, before finalizing his report, dismissing Ja'Kle from the room. Ja'Kle brushed off his dusty wings as he left, feeling his heartbeat rapidly beat. The interview was finally done.

Ja'Kle was impressed on just how fast the protogen council worked, or at least their programs worked. Within the first hour of arriving on that planet, they had been briefed, given housing and food, and then interviewed for information.

The planet, though it was more akin to the size of a dwarf planet than anything, was rather exotic in it's foliage, from what Ja'Kle understood. Most of the planet was uninhabited, and was overgrown with foliage, not tampered by any upper-intelligent life.

Ja'Kle emerged out onto a mostly quiet cityscape. There were tall buildings, skyscrapers, and even restaurants, but there was close to no one on the streets. From a map of the planet Ja'Kle was given, there were only three settlements that held cities. And the city they arrived in, Overwhine, was the only one fit to house refugees, or fleeing parties.

Ja'Kle sighed, sliding his hands into his pockets. The housing district for them was at the very back end of the city, essentially a large complex of homeless shelters repurposed for large amounts of housing.

Ja'Kle stopped by a restaurant on his way down the street, the smell tantalizing. He reached into his back-pocket and pulled out one of the customary galactic-basic D.W.A.T. A sort of device that held digital currency.

He had been given a hundred credits for his time there before they could get them situated, but Ja'Kle doubted that he'd need that much. He lived alone, with no other family as they lived in the other cities.