The Atlantic Settlement

I saw from the commander's chair as we approached Earth's blue atmosphere and the dark, lifeless blackness of space vanished. Our ship's gravitational field shifted as we continued to descend and came to a halt little above sea level.

With his arms folded in a dignified manner behind his back and his chest puffed, Cody announced, "Ma'am, we've arrived at the coordinates but cannot detect any sign of the settlement."

"Don't worry, Cody," I said, then glanced at his green figure.

"Yes, ma'am." He appeared nervous even after agreeing and letting off a little.

I gave him a brief appraisal and laughed a little, remembering how eager I had been when I was younger.

They could still be wearing their cloaking gear. Let's send out a landing request using Jetson. I smiled wistfully at my youthful but well-selected second in command, offering guidance.

Once again, he pulled himself into an official position. "Done already, ma'am. However, we haven't heard anything back. With a very tight mask of neutrality on his face, he told me.

I hummed to myself, "I see." then pivoted to face the remainder of the team. As we prepare for a hydro-landing, let's attempt to establish communication once again. Jetson, check around to see if there's a problem or whether the water's interference is affecting our signal. I stepped up in the center of the command room and gave an order.

Cody stepped over to stand next to me. He nervously tapped his toes. It was one of his numerous idiosyncrasies that sometimes irritates me, but on this occasion it made sense.

"All of my communications have returned, ma'am. However, I've found an outdated distress signal that was sent a few days ago. With apprehensive eyes wide, Jetson said, and the once-busty command room became silent.

The team held their collective breath in anticipation, all eyes on me.

With a firm voice, I said, "Pull it up on the overhead, let's see what it says," hoping that my composure would rub off on my team.

"Yes, ma'am." Jetson nodded and whirled around in his seat. The front view window was covered by the above screen as he started to type frantically on his keyboard.

"A signal for trouble? Should the staff be allowed to watch this with us? With a worried expression on his face, Cody mumbled next to me.

I said in a calming voice, "They should know as much as we do," and continued to stare at the television.

It flashed blue in front of me, and then I saw Commander Raidah from the Atlantic Settlement. Her massive eyes were wide in a hushed but calm fright, and her Mars-red skin glistened with sweat.

"Jetson, please push play," I said, pulling my shoulders back in anticipation of what was going to happen.

"Yes, ma'am." When he answered, the screen animated.

Commander Rida took a seat, and the crew and I observed.

The camera trembled and a rumbled in the background, and she let out a big sigh of relief.

"This is Commander Rida from the Atlantic Settlement on Earth, license number 2346.” The camera wasn't focussed yet, so she talked in a tremulous tone. "The building was finished a few days ago. We have communicated our readiness to begin colonization. A rumbling like to the one we'd heard at the start of the stream stopped Raidah.

She went on, and the camera shook once again. "It appears that we underestimated the risks connected to our submerged settlement on Earth." Water seeped into the room behind her as a result of a visible fracture in the port window. She was cut off by many terrified shouts.

Anxiously, Rida chewed her lip and her pale eyes became distinctly watery. I'm going to stop transmitting now since there weren't enough escape pods for everyone. However, I worry that even they won't be sufficient to avoid this little blue planet's fury. She swallowed loudly to finish.

With a serious expression on her face, Rida bent forward and the broadcast ended.

There was a startled stillness in the command room as the screen in front of us flickered to vivid blue once again.

"How in the world was that?" Cody generally grumbled to himself.

I tried to train my face to appear neutral as I looked in amazement at the screen. I had to pretend to be strong for the crew and not allow the pain of losing my old buddy show.

"Let's search for survivors by scanning the waters," I said, clearing my throat in discomfort. Additionally, launch a couple probes. I said, "I'd like to see what happened with the settlement," and my chest started to tighten.

"Yes, ma'am." As I slipped into my commander's chair, the crew sprung into activity, and the whole chamber reverberated.

"Ma'am, what is that?" Cody murmured. His eyes were wide with worry as he bent down and observed me.

Earthquakes are a common occurrence on Earth. The tectonic plates moved throughout its early development to produce the several regions that people refer to as continents. While they still seem to affect the ocean bottom, earthquakes are also occurring on land. I cleared my mouth, swallowing a lump that had developed at the base of my throat, explaining in a hollow, lifeless voice.

"What are you saying?" Cody inquired, his eyes flashing with dread and uncertainty as he moved away from me.

Jetson yelled as he turned to face us, "Ma'am, we have found no sign of our kind of life forms, but the probes have found what remains of the settlement."

"Hang it from the ceiling." I made the request and eagerly glanced at the blue screen.

The transmission displayed the hazy gray image of probe 34341 navigating the muddy waters. Its headlights barely lighted the water's debris-filled surface.

All we could see were fragments of crumbling walls, broken electronics, and the like. The most significant discovery, however, came from our little investigation when we discovered the remains of the entrance, which originally said "Atlantic Settlement." The inscriptions were shattered, leaving just the word "Atlantis."

It struck me as ironic, and I laughed to myself.

As the probe's broadcast stopped, a ridiculous human folktale about a vanished city with the same name flashed across my head.

I said to the team, "Thank you," and as I stood up, a little grin appeared on my lips.

As the command room was quiet, I said, "I am sorry for many of your losses in the destruction of the Atlantic Settlement."

Cody grumbled, partly to himself, "We should have known there was some kind of catch when the humans so willingly surrendered to our forces."

"This was not something that humans did," I said, glaring at him before turning back to the workers. "The Earth is a living being in and of itself, a force of nature. She is upset with our takeover and just asks for respect, so she took her frustrations out on our settlement by accepting it in full. I apologized and cleared my throat once again.

The crew immediately went back to work when I gave the order, "Let us leave the little blue planet to her previous affairs and deliver the report to the mother ship."

The commander's chamber was exactly as it had been before to this tragedy being discovered.