Every bone in her body broke as she slowly withdrew into her teleportation chamber. Aella knew that she would remember none of it ever again even after her ascension. But her mind still wondered whether the ascension was also a lie. What else had her power hungry father and the elders done without her knowledge and consent? Deep down she still wondered why her father would sentence her to a primitive life on a weird planet. A planet she had seen only during her defense classes when she was a year old. One that had no teleportation, telepathy or complex advancements in technology. The excitement from blowing up the planet still made her nerves tingle. But this thought only brought her unimaginable pain because she knew that it was her fault that he was also being sent to Earth.

Kahlo. She tried again to see whether she could find him. But there was a thought interference wave that barred her from reaching him. Aella could not bear the pain anymore. Her whole body was in agonizing pain. She never imagined that shape shifting was a painful process. Of course Martians were emotionless creatures and they were trained to feel no emotion. But this was a pain she was not taught to bear. Her body was literally being torn apart on a cellular level and was being rearranged to fit the description of an earthling. Why did she have to be the one to endure this pain? Why was she going to Earth?

All the prisoners were barred from telepathy and all their mental abilities had been subdued such that while inside their teleportation chambers they were powerless. Their teleportation devices had also been confiscated. Emperor Balthazar looked down from the watching bay to make sure everything was on schedule for the descent. His face showed no sign of emotion even if he knew that he was about to probably loose his daughter forever. But to him, she was weak and by the time she was back, that is if she was going to make it, he would have a male heir. But he hoped that she would die with the other prisoners. This was the first trial on Martians on such a large scale and he was almost sure it was going to fail. He had been part of the group that was working on the teleportation and implantation.

Martians were creatures of perfection. There intelligence quotient was really high and there was no room for error unless it was intentional. Martian young ones were expected to have an IQ higher than 300 by the time they were a year old. Those who did not make it were either used as slaves or killed. So, on Mars, there was no room for emotions for this reason. Everyone spent their lives trying to up or maintain their IQ because their lives literally depended on it.

Prepare them for molting. The command pulsated through the brains of every Martian in charge of the descent including the Emperor. Balthazar gave his daughter one last look and in his private thoughts, he was happy she was going away for good. He teleported to his personal chambers and Oswald, his advisor followed. Oswald could teleport to where Balthazar wanted unless Balthazar wanted otherwise.

I want some personal space. I will be gone a few hours and I want no disturbance and I will leave a clear channel on to my thoughts that can only be accessed once the descent is ready. There will be no communication from me and no one should try communicate with me before the process is complete. Balthazar transferred his thoughts to Oswald as he picked his watching glass and teleported to the Sacred Caves of Olvix.

Oswald bowed as he waited for the teleportation tracking wave to fade before getting out of the Emperor’s personal chambers. He wanted to stop Aella from being sent away but he knew that he would be killed for even trying to bring that topic up again. He had tried. The Emperor was an arrogant being. Oswald had, on numerous occasions, wished to rapture the Emperors communication receptors in his sleep. And he had wanted so badly to destroy him but he knew it would bring chaos and death to many innocent Martian lives.

He could, at this moment, only wish that Aellas IQ grew enough to be able to challenge the throne. He had prepared her rigorously and he hoped it was enough to help her survive through what was to come. His receptors let out a soft vibration. He was sad. Life at the Emperor’s chambers would get worse. And not for the best. He scanned his surroundings one more time as he pressed onto his teleportation device implanted just below his chest. Levitation was forbidden unless you were in your private chambers. Teleportation was the only means of moving from place to place and long distance teleportation needed security clearance.

Oswald issued the command not to disturb the emperor and any communication would go through him first. He walked over to the chambers containing the prisoners to inspect the molting. Briefly, he stopped at Aellas chamber and touched it, while avoiding being spotted, then quickly proceeded to the opposite side of the room to where the engineers were working on the last phase of the teleportation to earth. All information was wirelessly downloaded to his brain as he levitated. Oswald had noticed all the intentional errors that would only be spotted by Balthazar but he knew he could do nothing about it. All he could do was hope that he had done enough because it was too late to change anything since the launching sequence had been initiated hours ago.

The molting was almost done and in a few minutes the ship would leave for earth. Aella felt her body shrink and soon, she knew she would be a useless cell. As she lay in her chamber in agonizing pain, she felt a rush pulsate through her nerves. Oswald. She, at this point, was too weak to try any communication but she knew something had happened. She let out a slight moan as she slipped into deep sleep. The process was complete.

Launching in T Minus 10 minutes. The command was issued to every brain on Mars. It was going to be a historical event and a digital print was left in every back up brain chip on the planet. Balthazar nerves tingled. He was happy. His subjects would worship him. He was willingly sending his only child to an almost impossible mission. Not many knew that she had gone against her will and as a prisoner. Aella had been a model Martian and Martians would always honor her memory as one of the bravest royals in history. Balthazar would also go down in history as a selfless Emperor who put the needs of his subjects above his own. There was a soft hum as the countdown dropped to seconds.

3…2…1…

The Black Orb Ship launched and the whole planet fell into a deep silence. Almost every Martian was nervous but excited. Some chose to shut off their brain receptors because their loved ones were on the ship while others watched in awe. The Orb Ship let out mild vibrations as it warped and in a split second, it vanished from the surface of Mars. It was scheduled to reach Earth’s surface in 47 days, after which all cells would be implanted into their respective humans while the ship finally cloaked and settled in the middle of the Congo Forest.

The ship’s cloaking device was set to be active for 62 years after which the ship would automatically power back and return to Mars, with or without the survivors. Out of the 72 prisoners, there was an approximated 75 percent chance of survival meaning approximately 18 cells would die before getting to earth and before implantation. More prisoners were expected to die before the end of the first 12 years due to adaptation incapabilities.

Everyone watched as the orb floated into deep space . As they all started getting back to their life commitments, a sudden high pitch buzz pierced through every skull. A RED ALERT!! The entire mission, the records and the footage were disappearing and fast. Oswald quickly attached himself onto the operations monitor but it was too late. The whole program shut off and just like that, it was like it never existed.

Oswald knew what had happened but he did not want to think of it because it would destroy him. He retreated to his chambers, programmed his awakening for 6 hrs and as his brain shut off, he knew he had to find Aella even if he died doing it. And he knew where to start looking. Mars was in danger, and this danger was from the ruler the Martians loved. A ruler they would die for. This danger was far much worse and he knew no one would believe him. His lids shut as his mind went blank.

Project Earth had been deleted successfully from every active brain and all computers. The Black Orb Ship was floating through space with no one to steer it, no commands, no guidance and no one to remember. And Balthazar’s nerves tingled in happiness. It had all gone according to plan.