It was a short hours wait until the Earth reinforcements arrived on the scene, dozens of transports with only a single pair of gunships escorting, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Lloyd. The transports touched down and dozens of Earth soldiers ran out, they secured what they could of their dead from the ravaged settlement and Major Lucero left to embark with them. There was no aggression expressed and all weapons were kept out of hand, slung around the soldier's shoulders as they went about their tasks. Felix paid close attention to them, hoping to pick up any interesting thoughts or information. The overwhelming opinion of the soldiers was an uneasy fear coupled with an absolute order to not provoke the Tarrax. Felix's work was cut short when he discovered that Joseph Mott had arrived with the reinforcements and was heading over to speak with him. Felix ran over and they spoke beyond a rise out of view.

"Ah Mr Mott, where have you been hiding?" Felix asked playfully.

Joseph scowled then remembering his orders composed himself, "we have a few things to discuss you and I," he stated bluntly. Felix nodded remaining silent. "To begin with, the Government consents to the other alien ship landing for the express purpose of removing you and your people."

"Removing?" Felix uttered in denial, "I'm not sure you have all the current information, but please go on."

"Yes, to remove you," Joseph repeated himself angrily. He took a deep breath then continued, "after bringing a severe biological threat to our world and at the cost of so many of our forces and resources, your asylum is hereby rescinded by the Government of the United Earth Colonies."

"I hope at least, that you understand that we had no idea those people were infected or that the Scourge could even do such a thing," Felix declared. "If I recall, your own scientists cleared us medically before things went pear shaped."

"Yes I am aware, but that doesn't change what has happened. Furthermore I have been tasked with advising you to depart within 24 hours," ordered Joseph.

Felix scoffed, "oh don't worry, we intend to leave rather shortly, this whole planet is doomed," warned Felix in a dark voice.

"Doomed?" Joseph disagreed, "as far as I can see the threat has already been eliminated."

"You're wrong. So very wrong," Felix maintained. Joseph did not agree and merely shook his head. During their conversation Felix had been prying into Joseph's mind and he had finally stumbled upon something of significance. Felix gasped, "you're fools!" he spat.

"I beg your pardon," Joseph objected in revulsion.

"You don't have the means to stop it, you may feel that your few weeks of testing have given you insight but you're gravely mistaken. I admit that irradiating the pellets for the plasma rifles is quite ingenious, but you just don't see the bigger picture here."

Joseph's face was marked with grave concern, "that bloody Major, I'll have him court-martialed for this!"

"You can't underestimate the Scourge Joseph. If even one of it's cells is out there then it's only a matter of time. If I were you, I would be organising an evacuation," warned Felix.

Joseph laughed, "evacuate? Ridiculous, there's no threat to warrant such drastic action and aside from that, there's nearly two billion people that call Earth home, we don't even have the means to do so."

Felix was fast becoming annoyed, "the Tarrax have the technology to detect the Scourge. Erranos has already said that the thousands that attacked here were only a fraction of what remains, and now, now there could already be twice that number spreading and devouring everything," advised Felix.

Joseph rolled his eyes and sneered, only further infuriating Felix as his mind reflected on the image of little Cassie. First Felix clenched his fist tightly then his breathing grew heavy. He looked Joseph dead in the eye and Joseph began to levitate much to his panic.

"Argh, what on Earth? What's happening to me?" Joseph squealed waving his arms and legs as he was held hovering 2m off the ground before Felix.

"Shut up and listen to me you peon!" Felix commanded. Felix spoke not only with his voice but also with his mind, enough so to cause Joseph to enter a trance like state. Joseph's body went limp as he dangled under Felix's power. "Time is of the essence, the Tarrax will help with the evacuation but you must act quickly. Do you understand?"

Joseph floated as if half asleep in a state of pure tranquillity, he was completely relaxed and submissive to Felix's will. "Yes, I understand," he replied in a soft, low tone.

"Very good," Felix then winced from a sharp pain within his head, holding a person airborne for so long coupled with mentally imprinting on them was promptly taking it's toll. Felix lowered Joseph to the ground and sent him on his way. The Earth military forces finished boarding their transports and departed as quickly as they had appeared.

After rejoining his friends, Felix fastidiously explained the level of arrogance he encountered from Joseph and that he was certain it would only be worse further up the chain of bureaucracy. Erranos brought down the Lotar and the refugees began to board, as her children once again entered the Lotar, Gaia painstakingly updated her manifesto. It was with a heavy heart Gaia learned that only 3,745 of the refugees had survived the attack on the settlement. The drones remained deployed, out patrolling the area until they were set to leave. After first arriving and detecting the Scourge presence Erranos had already sent word to his people for assistance. The Earth would have to be destroyed, for there was no other way to be certain that the Scourge was completely eradicated.

Felix had at least acquired some relevant information from Joseph. Felix enquired with Erranos about the Lotars, "I remember there were many unused quarters, how many can a Lotar house?"

"100,000 comfortably but many more times that number for a shorter stay. I will request more are sent. What is the Earth's population?" Erranos asked.

"About 2 billion according to Mott," Felix replied without enthusiasm. "I don't suppose you have another 20 thousand Lotars just hanging around out there?"

"Unfortunately no. As of the last data synchronisation for the fleets, the total of Lotars was only 488. Also most of them are almost a year away in other quadrants," informed Erranos.

Felix sighed, "well I guess it doesn't matter, most of them will be dead by then anyway. How many do you have that could arrive within say 2 months?"

"One moment." Erranos took a few seconds to calculate the distances based on the last known positions of the nearest fleets. "12. The last of which would arrive in approximately 7 weeks and 4 days."

"Well call them here please, chances are we're going to need them all," Felix surmised.

"Understood," Erranos replied without hesitation.

"Thank you," responded Felix. "Now shall we head off to watch the story unfold from orbit?"

Erranos nodded and they boarded the Lotar together. With everyone else already on board there were no longer any humans on the ground and the drones climbed back into their rack housings of the Sarrat and deactivated. The thrusters of the ships hummed as they rose from the ground, spraying red dust in all directions. Leaving the atmosphere, they bid farewell to Earth just as their ancestors had done so in antiquity.

Eva and Lloyd were standing together on the bridge watching the ground drift further away. The Lotar and Sarrat rejoined the Barooda positioned between two of the Earth's defence satellites.

"Of all the outcomes, this I didn't even count as a possibility," admitted Eva apathetically. "I thought for sure the Earth military would have just disposed of us all."

"Me too, but did you see the way the soldiers were staring at the drones? They were petrified. Too scared to even sneeze I reckon," laughed Lloyd.

"I guess so, but they could have just nuked us. That would have solved all their problems at once," reasoned Eva.

"I disagree," announced Felix stepping onto the bridge. "There's still the chance that nukes can't breach Tarraxen shields. And more so, say they some how, miraculously, managed to destroy these 3 ships. They have no idea how many more are out there," explained Felix as he found his own vantage point next to them. "They probably think they got off easy, avoiding an interstellar war with a far technologically superior race." Felix sighed watching the Earth as they adjusted to a high orbit, "but still, we came here for help and now we've doomed them all." The three remained in silence for a few minutes reflecting on Felix's words.

Though their numbers had significantly dropped, they were still surviving. Gaia went straight back to her role visiting everyone whilst she patrolled the ship as if they had never visited Earth, although her rounds now took up far less time. For a few days they waited in orbit with no news from the surface. Despite this, Erranos was well aware that a mass mobilisation had begun. The entire Australian continent was abandoned as the inhabitants were air-lifted away. Eva was first to figure out what was happening, in fact it took her but a second to reach her train of thought once Erranos advised them what the Earth humans were up to.

"They couldn't possibly have enough for that entire surface area," guessed Lloyd trying to run the numbers in his mind.

"It could only take three for all we know, the yield outcomes could be much more devastating by now," argued Eva.

Erranos joined them on the bridge, "it would appear their evacuation on the continent is complete." Lights and sounds of the bridge seized their attention. "They are preparing to fire, I have detected 220 silos activating." The silos sat ready but did not fire, instead a transmission was received from Earth.

"You're up buddy," implied Lloyd prompting Felix as Erranos established the connection.

Felix cleared his throat then spoke, "this is Felix, who am I speaking with?" A younger woman's voice answered.

"Greetings Felix, I am Ruby Torres a representative of the United Earth Colonies Government. If you recall we met previously soon after you arrived in our space."

"Ah yes Ruby, I remember you. I hope you're well," replied Felix with more enthusiasm than he thought he had left at that particular point.

"I am thank you," she answered. Before she could continue Felix cut her off.

"Wait, where is Joseph? And why aren't you preparing to evacuate?"

Ruby hesitated, clearly reading back over a prepared script to keep from deviating. "I am your liaison now, Mr Mott is no longer fit for duty and has since retired."

"You what?" Felix lost his composure, "you bloody killed him for recommending the evacuation didn't you!?"

"Felix please remain calm, Joseph is alive, but he has suffered a severe nervous breakdown of sorts and is now being treated. Yes, he did recommend an evacuation but that is all he would say when prompted, just that, over and over again," Ruby's voice was soft though slightly unsettled, she and Joseph had been colleagues for many years and she too was upset by his new developments.

"I see, Ruby, I apologise for speaking harshly and I wish him a speedy recovery." Felix had calmed himself but only out of guilt for he knew exactly what had caused this to manifest in Joseph.

"Thank you. When I next visit him, I'll be sure to let him know," replied Ruby.

Felix quickly removed Joseph from his mind and refocused on the task at hand, "Now, down to business. Are you calling to tell us to bugger off or you'll fire?"

Ruby choked, taking a moment to vocalise her response, "No! No! Not at all. We are about to exterminate the Scourge and wish to advise you, so you don't misconstrue our launch as aggression."

"Oh. Well that makes sense, thanks," Felix conceded, "so what's the countdown?"

"T minus 42 seconds. I'll contact you again shortly after. Enjoy the show!" The transmission cut out and Felix was left flabbergasted. Once they had a moment to process what they had just heard they scrambled to get a better view.

There was perhaps a 2 second lag from the Earth transmission as Lloyd's countdown was off, causing him to pout. The 220 silos ready to launch were spread across the entire globe. Ironically 10 of which were located on the very continent to be bombarded. These were launched first and the second wave soon followed. The entire continent was struck 3 times over by the high-yield nuclear weapons. The display was terrifying though spectacular from their space view. The intense lights from the blasts filled the sky completely for a few seconds after each strike, before slowly dissipating to reveal the plumes that rose in the epicentre of each detonation. Like ghoulish figures the fallout clouds loomed over the devastated land until the following wave hit dispersing them instantly. In the hours following the sky above Australia was thick with dust and debris so intense that no sunlight could penetrate to the ground. As Felix, Lloyd and Eva watched on their minds were drawn to memories of footage from the archives. Similar fiendish images flashed back across their minds from the Third Great War that ravaged Earth long before their ancestors set off into space in search of a new home.

Felix spoke first breaking their silence and awe, "it was almost beautiful in a surreal way," he admitted cynically.

"What I'd like to know is how they intend to clean it up, that dust is going to spread over the entire planet killing everything," pointed out Eva.

"More importantly," chimed in Lloyd, "there's no way to tell if the Scourge has even been eliminated."

"What do you think Erranos?" asked Felix.

"The radiation levels are easily adequate. But with how much time has elapsed the Scourge could have already left that continent. That bombardment may have merely bought them time."

"I see," Felix murmured, "is it likely the Scourge will resurface straight away?"

"No. With few numbers it will lay dormant and consume only what is close by until strength is amassed," explained Erranos.

"Just like in the desert!" Lloyd called out as if he were first to realise it. "That's why it took so long, we were actually starting to think we were safe."

"That is why an evacuation is prudent. If in time there is no Scourge detected then the humans would be free to return," advised Erranos.

"Are you able to detect any Scourge signatures?" Felix asked hopefully.

"No. The blasts have temporarily interfered with my scanners," Erranos told them, dashing their hopes to a quick solution.

"Well boys," started Eva, "I guess we just have to wait."

Still yet to be contacted by Ruby, Felix decided to check in on Maddison. At that moment Felix realised he hadn't seen Maddison in hours and she had even missed the light show. He didn't find her in the quarters they had been assigned by Gaia and he began to panic. Felix darted through the corridors haphazardly trying to find her but the Lotar was such an immense ship it could take an entire day to find someone else if they were on the move. Felix ran through a junction and stumbled upon Gaia with a small group as her entourage.

"Gaia!" he called out, "have you seen Maddie?"

"Not since we boarded sorry," she replied causing Felix's face to show more concern. Gaia turned to her walking party excusing herself then stepping closer to Felix. "Is everything alright Dear?" she asked softly.

"I, I don't know. I just have a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach and now I can't find her." Felix sounded hurt, his mind was getting away from him.

"It's okay Dear, I'll just patch into the internal sensors to find her. Won't be a second," smiled Gaia.

Felix allowed his breath escape, he had forgotten that Gaia was able to influence the ship's systems at will. He began to feel silly that he had allowed paranoia to take hold over his mind, Felix smiled thinking of Maddison's face and how excited he was to show her the ships recordings of the missile launch.

Gaia's face turned grim, "she's not breathing."

"Where!?" Felix roared.

Gaia had already turned to bolt, "the core! Follow me!" she shouted as the pair exploded from their position flying down the corridor toward the ship's power core. Within a few seconds Gaia realised she would leave Felix behind and without a guide if she continued at full speed. Without a word she doubled back, scooping up Felix and took off with fierce determination in her eyes.

In less than two minutes they arrived at the core. The door opened and they were met with Maddison's cold body slumped against the wall, her wrists opened by the slither of jagged metal next to her and a half dry pool of blood that pulled away from the floor slowly as Felix stepped through it. Felix collapsed to his knees trembling, stricken with grief. Gaia knelt down to feel Maddison's body. She had been dead for at least an hour, Gaia checked the sensor logs and there had been no one else in the area. It seemed as though the pain was finally more than Maddison could bare, she had lost too much and sought an escape from her arduous existence.

Felix clenched his fist tightly, his temper boiled over and with a mighty roar he swung at the wall Maddison rested against. The Tarraxen steel crumpled under his fist instantly forming a large crater as though his body was shrouded in an unseen veil extending a few centimetres in all directions.

Within a few seconds the doors opened and a few Tarras came scurrying in to assess the damage, Felix ignored them as they walked around him scaling the wall and circling Maddison's lifeless body.

Gaia said nothing to Felix, leaving him on the floor to assimilate the situation without interruption. After a few minutes Felix reached out and pulled Maddison's body over to him cradling her in his lap. He looked down at her, placing his hand along her face. As he gently slid his hand down past her chin blood was left in it's stead and finally a tear dripped down landing on her cheek then running down her face and falling to the floor, tainted red.