The Zia'n Legacy

Prologue

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Prologue

It has been fourteen thousand years since humanity left Earth for the last time, the planet completely destroyed at the whim of a few power hungry governments. When the Eastern Alliance launched its first wave of nuclear missiles at the Western Confederacy they had responded with similar force. The European Union immediately put operation Eden Seed into action before commencing it’s own pre-emptive strike toward the east, opting for chemical and biological weaponry rather than a full nuclear salvo. Barrage after barrage followed this, each of the three major powers exchanging fire for four decades until the last attacks were being commanded from mobile battle platforms high above the atmosphere, nothing but insects left alive on Earth. These battle stations in space were eventually destroyed themselves, through lack of supplies and constant attacks by each other.

Of course, man had colonised the stars centuries before, many planets and outposts under our control. Had it not been for operation Eden Seed, there would have been no survivors from the decimated Earth. Operation Eden Seed itself was masterminded by Professor Marc Johnson, who unfortunately did not live to see it come to fruition. Eden Seed was, in effect, an escape pod for the planet Earth and humanity itself. In collaboration with various countries, alliances and major powers from around the globe, Professor Johnson and his team had built thirteen mammoth space cruisers, each an entire city in itself. Their mission was, in the event of a complete world war, to leave the Earth programmed to find an inhabitable planet large enough to take the population of the craft, and far enough away from Earth so as not to become involved in any further conflict.

When the craft were finally built, the inhabitants of each had been selected from around the world, trying to encompass as many different races, cultures and religions as possible. Once the selections had been made, each and every passenger had been frozen ready for instant launch. The thirteen craft were designed such that once a suitable planet had been found, they would land and immediately become the hub city of a new country themselves. Complete with terraforming equipment for any environment, and self-sustainable for one thousand years, these were the ultimate saviour ships for the human race. When the decision had been made to launch, it was like pushing the reset button for humanity.

The ships found their destination, eventually. It was remarkable how much like Earth this new home actually was. Continents and ocean in roughly the same ratio; atmosphere and weather patterns all eerily similar. Man's new home was chosen and the ships did their job, seeding the planet.

The Thirteen Cities Coalition now controls New Earth. Headed from Prime City, the first of the Eden Seed ships to land and establish itself, the TCC is a combined ruling council made up of members from each of the other twelve cities. Their power is absolute, controlling all off-planet travel and communications with other known provinces. Each of the thirteen cities on New Earth has become a sprawling metropolis, all interconnected, but all self-sufficient. Man lives only in these cities high above the landscape below, never venturing down to the surface of the old planet.

Centuries before, when the captains of each ship were woken and the call was made to seed the planet, there was only one thing they hadn’t checked. The past occupants, apparently long since gone, had left such little trace of themselves that they were not detected from orbit. When the seeding ships had landed and started to build their new cities high above the ground, the commanders were completely unaware of the ruins below, which remained undetected for thousands of years.

Until now…