The Renaissance pulled slowly into orbit around the large, dark planet. Tel looked up from his control panels and brought down the RHUD. A million little lights invaded the cabin as vital statistics, important information, species, oxygen saturation, UV protection, atmosphere, and three dozen other real-time statistics invaded the captain's log. Tel's face went from uninterested to worried to downtrodden within a few scans through the cross-section.
"The planet is dead, Evane," he said through clenched teeth, wondering why the stupid bastard had taken him nearly 5 light-years away from his home system of Earth-View to orbit a planet with no atmosphere, no species, no LIFE, and very little produced oxygen. Tel stared down below the captain's deck to the red couch positioned with a perfect view of the cabin. His partner and half-friend, Evane, laid there but out of sight. After a few moments that seemed an eternity, a small puff of cigarette smoke came from the couch. He shook his head.
"Vous êtes impoli, you are such a bastard."
"Not quite dead, Tel," Evane finally said, groaning as he stretched. The shock of black hair fell about his face and he scratched a beard that had just began to form, "Deep inside those caverns are some of the last sources of Thermadite, a rare mineral that the Earth Federation will pay fantastically for." Evane's cold, blue eyes scanned across the equally cold landscape.
"What happened here?" Tel wondered aloud, not expecting Evane to answer him. To his own surprise, he heard a response.
"War happened," The mercenary said, looking tired. He put the Rothman cigarette to his lips and took a long, satisfying puff. Letting the smoke out slowly for extra dramatic effect, he watched as it gathered near the air vent Tel had installed and smiled. His bad habits were good for only him. "The Earth Federation and TechNation both had a very large interest in who controls this planet. Unfortunately for the citizens of AS-DEK9, their planet only had so many resources, and both factions had too much firepower. Not only did the EF and TN obliterate each other and AS-DEK9's citizens, they also obliterated any chance of an atmosphere."
"That's horrible." Tel said, his fixed gaze never leaving the ravaged planet.
"That's life, Tel," Evane said, a small grin coming to his face, "Life is a wasteland."
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