Weeks after the destruction of Earth the remaining Lotars requested had all arrived and shared the load of refugees from the others. The Earth ships had docked and unloaded their contents along with those picked up from the defence satellites. The Earth ships were overloaded with passengers and lacked the means to support crews for extended periods and would eventually fail, becoming death traps in one form or another. Ruby was invited to stay on the first Lotar with Felix and the others, which she accepted graciously. Since the catastrophe she had found a new affinity for the Gaia born along with the benevolence of the Tarrax, which seemed endless to her.

Finally there was a name and face to allocate to the now non-existent Earth Government. Each decision conveyed by Joseph Mott then Ruby Torres in his stead was discussed at length by a ruling board and ultimately decided on by the Prime Elect. Her name was Una Martell. She was democratically elected and re-elected for a grand total of seven terms before the unprecedented fall of Earth. Known for her wit and candour, she had the love and support of the people and learning this Felix knew he would have to sway her in order to keep the Earth refugees in line. It was no secret that the loss of Earth was felt by all, the masses however were not privy to the information leading up to the catastrophe. The only citizens outside of the military that were aware of the return of the Gaia born were selected scientists and other political officials. As far as the general populace was concerned, the Earth was attacked and they were those lucky to have been evacuated. This alone was all that kept an uneasy amount of tension in check, if the Earth born were to learn of how the Scourge came to Earth the outcome could be devastating. Felix, Lloyd, Eva and Gaia discussed this at length with Ruby. With the Earth now gone, Ruby seemed far less inclined to be loyal to the government she was once a part of. More so, they were all now stuck together and to segregate the governing forces of the two combined populations would serve only to cause further strife. To this end Felix asked Ruby to organise an opportunity to meet with Una. The Prime Elect and what remained of her cabinet were on the third Lotar and Erranos had the two ships dock together.

The air-lock opened with a hiss and in came the Prime Elect with her surviving three board advisers. They were Shea Valencia, Zachary Lassiter and Tanner Mosby. Ruby stepped forward to greet them before turning back around.

"Everyone, this is Una Martell, Prime Elect of the United Earth Colonies Government."

The Prime Elect scoffed, "well not any more," she stated bluntly. "There is no government now, or Earth for that matter." She looked to her hosts, "just Una is fine if you please." Ruby's face had turned an embarrassed shade of red. "Now, Felix, you wish to speak with me?" Una spoke with both power and conviction.

"Indeed I do," he replied without hesitation stepping forward, "this way please." They were led to the bridge where Erranos was waiting for them. As they walked along the corridors Felix tested the waters by asking how they found their accommodation. Una dismissed his questions swiftly as she wasn't one for silly pleasantries, often finding them shallow and tedious. Felix started to find her much more appealing all of a sudden.

They entered the bridge, found themselves seats and Felix started things off, "I've called you here," Felix paused as Una stood and approached Erranos completely ignoring Felix's opening statement.

"Astonishing," she muttered as she leaned in coming within inches of Erranos' face. He turned to face her and she jumped back startled. "Oh my!" Una choked righting herself.

"Ma'am please, this is Erranos," Ruby interjected as she rushed over fearing Erranos might snap.

Felix laughed, "don't worry Ruby, he's quite tame." Ruby was caught off guard, she tried to recollect what she had just said aloud having so easily forgotten her own words. Certainly not a normal activity for her, but Una always did make her a little nervous.

"Greetings Una Martell, I am Erranos. I welcome you as I also apologise that more of your people could not be saved."

Una found her way back to her seat, "straight to it I see," she commented admirably. "Thank you Erranos, for your kind words and your hospitality."

Felix cleared his throat, "may I continue?" he asked politely but still impatiently. Una smiled at him to commend his confidence and she nodded. "We need to sort a few things out." Felix then surprised everyone by dropping to his knees and lowering his head in prostration, "I also wish to apologise, though it was not intentional, we did bring calamity upon the Earth and for that I'm truly sorry."

Una was speechless, a full sensation she was yet to encounter prior in her life. Felix lifted his head then went back to his seat. "Well I, I can certainly say I wasn't expecting that," she admitted still dumbfounded. "I suppose for what it's worth, I on behalf of those who have survived, accept your apology."

"Thank you Ma'am," Felix responded with relief in his voice.

Una snapped back, "cut that out! I already said just use my name."

"Yes of course, will do," Felix chuckled. Within minutes much of the tension on the bridge had been alleviated. Felix continued, "on to the next item, what do you wish to do?"

Una seemed puzzled, unsure of what options had been presented to her. "In what regard exactly?" she queried.

"Well simply put, these ships are ours to utilise, courtesy of the Tarrax of course. So are the Earth-born and Gaia-born going to band together or go our separate ways?" Felix asked in earnest.

"This is all quite a lot to process," she answered stalling to think, "Tell me where do you intend to go?"

"Well actually, we don't have a plan B. But that's the thing, we can go wherever we want now," Felix explained. "These ships are far superior than our own, we could reach many new worlds in a fraction of the time."

"I see. Well, I feel it would be in everyone's best interests to merge our two peoples," Una declared.

Felix grinned, looking quite sinister much to Eva's confusion. "I agree, our best chance at a prosperous future is to work together."

"Wonderful! Well it's settled then. We shall band together and unify the remnants of the human race," Una cheered. Felix approached her and the two shook hands with glorious smiles. Una's three advisers applauded the outcome with a standing ovation like mindless puppets, a rather unsettled Lloyd and Eva looked to each other then chimed in clapping as well. They were pleased by the result but completely mystified as to how it was achieved so easily. Eva had expected an assassination attempt on Felix and still sat ready for that possible eventuality. Gaia wasn't sceptical in the least, she had hoped for unification and assimilation from the moment they headed for Earth. Though remaining quiet, Gaia was most interested in the proceedings and sat focused on those around her.

"There is still another matter to attend to though," Felix pointed out as he returned to his chair.

"Oh, and what might that be?" Una asked.

"We need to decide who will lead us," Felix answered in a low tone.

"Ah yes, of course. I take it you already have some thoughts on that," Una surmised narrowing her gaze at him.

"I see you're as sharp as they say," Felix said smiling, "I would nominate you, as our leader."

Una was completely taken back, "just like that? You have no ideals of grandeur for yourself?"

Felix chuckled, "I'm no leader, I'll advise you where I can, but I'm just a scientist," he admitted humbly. "It has been a rather bizarre chain of events to put me here now as it is."

"I see," Una uttered before biting her lip. "Well then, I accept," she declared with gusto.

Felix smiled, "wonderful! We can hash out the details later but for now we should inform the people that we are now unified under your new administration. Those who did not know of our arrival will be left under the impression that we arrived just in time to save you."

"Agreed. Though it is rather inaccurate, it will suffice to quell the masses," admitted Una.

After those on the bridge finished their moment of celebratory cheers and applause Erranos stood and walked to the side of the bridge. Not escaping Felix's keen eye, he wondered what Erranos was up to. With all that was done and said, Erranos also had some good news to share.

"Your attention please," he announced gaining the room's attention. "I am pleased to advise you all that construction has begun on a new space station."

"What kind of station Erranos?" Lloyd asked.

"A new home for humanity," he answered.

"What?" called out Felix. "You're building a home for us?" He trembled with excitement in his voice.

"Yes. It is inefficient for your race to be distributed amongst several Lotars," Erranos explained. "Also, we would prefer to keep the Lotars available for their primary role."

The bridge was stunned. Ruby shed tears as the thought of such generosity touched her deeply.

"Are you serious?" Felix questioned jumping up from his seat.

"Yes,"Erranos responded.

Una chimed in, "wouldn't it just be easier to take us to a new world so we could rebuild? I've been informed your race has roamed the galaxy for thousands of years, surely you would know of hundreds of suitable planets."

"No. That is not the case. Most of the worlds we have encountered were ravaged by the Scourge. Also a station can be protected from incursion easily whereas an entire world cannot."

"I see," she spoke softly as she slowly nodded in understanding. "So what do you expect in return?" Una asked causing Felix to scowl.

"Nothing. The Tarrax are responsible for inadvertently unleashing the Scourge on the galaxy and to that end we have many debts to repay," he elaborated.

"Well. As the new human leader, title not set in stone," she chuckled, "I humbly accept your generous gift," responded Una.

"You bet your arse we do!" added Felix setting off Lloyd into an outburst of laughter. "How long will it take to build Erranos?"

"I need to confer with Gaia on many of the specifications. I will advise you when there is an accurate schedule in place."

Satisfied immensely with the meeting's current flow, there was only one final matter to be organised. There was still so much confusion regarding the ambiguity of the attack on Earth. The surviving Gaia-born were sworn to secrecy until an appropriate fabrication could be concocted to fill in the blanks. Una understood clearly the significance for her people to feel safe and build trust, she suggested that the story be spun in a way to advertise the swift response of the Gaia-born to their plight. Once they had discussed the specifics, Gaia patched into the system so Una could address everyone on all ships.

Una kept her speech brief, focusing on the fact that they were now safe. She advised that the Scourge was the entity that attacked Earth and that it had previously attacked the Gaia station. Some of the Gaia-born were saved by their host Erranos and they gave chase toward Earth hoping to stop the Scourge before it arrived. Sadly the Tarraxen ships were not able to stop the attack so did all they could to evacuate survivors.

Among the survivors from Earth were some officials that knew the truth but Una had spoken with them privately to explain their current situation. Though many were reluctant to live with those that had caused their downfall they conceded to having no other choice.

Drawing toward the conclusion of her announcement, Una advised that a new space station was being constructed for them where they would be forever safe from the Scourge. The news was met with both excitement and scepticism as some doubted the technological prowess of the Tarrax. With her speech over Una and her advisers were allocated to their own quarters on the 1st Lotar and Una decided to appoint a council for her to confer with regarding all matters. Naturally the council consisted of Herself and Ruby along with Shea, Zachary and Tanner. To ensure the council would be both fair and evenly balanced, Felix, Lloyd, Eva and Gaia were also appointed. Una had also expressed interest in Erranos' participation but he declined as once the new station arrived, he would have to leave them.

With their first council meeting adjourned, they all left the bridge. Lloyd shot Felix a glance and Felix could sense that something was bothering him. Felix stayed back to speak with Lloyd and Eva.

Lloyd wasted no time, "I don't trust her," he snarled.

"I'm inclined to agree," added Eva. "That was all way too easy, she must be up to something, plotting our deaths most likely."

Felix laughed at their paranoia. He shook his head as he regained his breath. "It's fine. Trust me, she is sincere, every word." His words were met with disappointment almost.

"I know you can read minds, but what if she knows that too? She could have just been thinking what you wanted her to think," argued Lloyd, his words slowly trailed off as he began to doubt the validity of his own scepticism.

"Bingo!" Felix snickered. "She was thinking what I wanted her to think."

"No," mumbled Eva, "you can do that?" she asked as her voice spiked.

"Apparently so," he answered humbly, nodding with his eyes closed.

"Since when?" shrilled Lloyd clearly impressed.

"I didn't know I could until I last spoke with Joseph Mott. Although, regrettably that was an accident, I forcibly planted a suggestion in him to advise the government to evacuate and I, well, it seems I damaged him in the process," admitted Felix with sadness in his voice. "I had no idea what I was doing at the time, I was just furious that he wouldn't listen to me."

"And that's what you were doing to Una this whole time?" asked Eva almost disapprovingly.

"Well no, not the whole time. I Just made her feel confident with the decisions she was making in everyone's best interests," explained Felix. "She was all for it, I just gave her a few little pushes so to speak."

"So why didn't her brains scramble like Mott's?" enquired Eva mentally preparing for an interrogation session.

"All I can assume is that it works based on how hard I push. The problem with Joseph I can only guess is that we were arguing and I lost control," shrugged Felix.

"I see, well I guess she seemed lucid enough," concluded Eva.

"I dunno buddy, are you sure it wasn't just a fluke?" asked Lloyd then he lifted his right hand and poked his nose with his index finger, seemingly oblivious to his own actions. Eva giggled, Lloyd looked at her puzzled then completed the gesture twice more.

Smiling Felix said, "I guess we may never know."

Lloyd spun his neck back and forth between them, in a feeble attempt to find what was so funny. Finally he gave up. "Right, well just don't do that stuff to us."

"Sure thing, I promise," snickered Felix as Eva rolled her eyes.

They departed from the bridge after again thanking Erranos for their new home on its way. Lloyd suggested they go get something to eat but Felix declined, he was still yet to properly mourn the loss of Maddison and wished to seclude himself for a while.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Eva as she put her arm around Felix.

"Yeah I think so, just need to be alone for a while," he replied.

"We're here for you buddy, always," affirmed Lloyd with a poignant stare.

Felix smiled back at them, "I know guys, thanks." And with that he left them heading back to his quarters.

For weeks Felix remained in isolation, deep in meditative state for hours at a time. Periodically Gaia would check in on him remotely, to which he would only ask for further provisions which were brought in by Tarras. Lloyd and Eva asked about him regularly and each time Gaia would reassure them that Felix was doing fine and wasn't yet ready to rejoin them. Most times when Gaia activated visual sensors she found Felix in the same position. Seated with his legs crossed, his hands on his knees, his head held high with eyes closed and all whilst he levitated a meter from the floor.

Most of Gaia's time was spent moving around between the Lotars with Una and Ruby, meeting as many people as possible. As they were adrift and waiting, Erranos had all the Lotars dock together forming one large network of seemingly endless corridors. All the while Gaia and Ruby were working on an updated manifest of the human race. Able to divvy up her attention for varied processes a million times over, Gaia was also engaged in a constant conversation with Erranos as they made final design alterations to the new station en route.

Seeing as Erranos had already received a detailed set of schematics of the Gaia station during her extraction, they had only to discuss ways to improve the new model to best accommodate humans with some Tarraxen flair. Although the new station would be powered and operated by Tarraxen technology, it would still have similar aesthetic qualities on par with it's predecessor. The design incorporated botanic gardens and many other spaces of recreation to entertain it's occupants. Although Tarraxen technology enabled the synthesis of nutrients, the primary source of foods, would still be grown via protein slabs and hydroponics. The new station's systems were essentially identical to those that maintained Tarraxen ships, with Tarras for repair and maintenance along with several robotics laboratories to produce more where needed. Able to traverse space as swiftly as any Tarraxen ship, the new station was also protected by shielding and a heavy armament to keep any threat from coming too close.

With the delivery only a few months away, Una and the Council began to address the task of naming their new home. Felix having finally found within him what he was searching for, had began to move about the ship and engage with others once more. It was he that devised the name for their new station and it was agreed upon by the rest of the Council, without any telepathic prompting Una ratified his suggestion forthwith.

The new space station to serve as humanity's home was to be named Alpha Colony.