All Or Nothing

All Or Nothing, An Anunnaki Story

Chapter One

Apsu, dressed in his formal attire, walked through the corridor of the Ma'adim’s Guardian Headquarters heading for the office of Admiral Tolk. No one ever gets called to Tolk's office unless it is something of extreme importance, Apsu thought. He had to admit he was a little more than nervous. He couldn't even imagine why Tolk had summoned him to his office.

At the door of the Admiral's office, Apsu raised his arm to knock. The door suddenly opened. Standing in front of him was his long-time friend Mummu also dressed in Guardian formal attire. He and Apsu had served together as Ma’adim Guardians since the beginning of their military careers.

"Greetings, Mummu," Apsu said as he tilted his head downward. The usual Anunnaki greeting.

"Greetings, Apsu," Mummu replied as he returned the same head tilt.

Apsu walked through the doorway as Mummu left. The office wasn’t as large as Apsu had expected. It was just big enough for Tolk’s large wooden desk and an antique bookcase with some very old books on the shelves (Apsu didn’t know books still existed with everything being digital now). There were also a few chairs and a very comfortable-looking sofa. Not exactly the lap of luxury Apsu expected. Apsu wondered why Mummu had been in to see Admiral Tolk.

He was about to find out.

"Come in and have a seat," Tolk said as he motioned to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Tolk walked over and sat down in his chair behind the desk. The big office chair was worn from use, but it looked comfortable. Like an old pair of jeans, you won’t get rid of until they just can’t be fixed anymore.

"Thank you, sir," Apsu replied. Apsu was perplexed. Sitting in front of an Admiral was rarely done.

"I'll get straight to the point. Apsu, There is a plan. It's a crazy plan but still a plan that some bio-engineers have come up with to try to replenish the atmosphere. And that is why you are here." Tolk stated matter of factually.

"Sir, I thought the plan was to go underground. I’ve been seeing vids about it everywhere," Apsu replied.

Ma’adim’s atmosphere was severely damaged by a powerful weapon during the war. The weapon was known as The Planet Killer and it nearly lived up to its name. Fortunately, everything within three hundred miles of where the weapon was used died instantly. I say fortunately because the effects of the weapon several hundred miles on from that were horrible at best. People suffered terrible burns and died in excruciating pain. The weapon used a tremendously large burst of plasma energy and carved a six kilometers deep and 4,000 km long canyon into the face of the planet. It was devastating, to say the least.

"That is the backup plan in case this plan doesn’t work. They are being worked on simultaneously,” Tolk replied. “The bio-engineers think they can replenish the atmosphere, a form of terraformation."

"Sir, how are they going to fix the atmosphere?"

"Do I look like a bio-engineer to you?" Tolk answered gruffly. Apsu shook his head slightly. "The only thing I know is that they need gold."

"Gold, sir?"

"Did I stutter?” Tolk replied sounding aggravated. “Have you ever heard of the Nibiru?"

"Yeah, it's a mythical giant, moon-sized ship."

"It's more than a myth. It exists."

"What?" Apsu asked incredulously.

“Apsu,” Tolk began, “there are some things that are needed to know, and until now you did not need to know. This mission is going to be a giant undertaking. It’s going to be a hard mission. It's going to be off-world, and it's going to take a long time, maybe years."

"Sir, may I decline this offer?"

"No."

"I've never been off-planet more than a few months," Apsu explained.

"You are the best man for the job. I hand-picked you, damn it, so quit second-guessing me."

"Yes, sir," Apsu replied sheepishly.

"The bio-engineers say we need gold and gold is hard to come by. There's no way we can mine as much gold as is needed. Not here, not on this planet. There's not enough. There are two places we can extract the gold. One is the asteroid belt, and the 2nd is Tellus."

"Tellus, the third planet?” Apsu asked.

Tolk nodded. "Nibiru isn't just a ship," Tolk went on. "It's a space station. We are going to need a huge amount of people to mine as quickly as possible. The best plan is to mine Tellus. It has a breathable atmosphere and you won't need pressurized suits. The people under your command are going to spread out all over the planet, mining the areas with the greatest amounts of gold deposits."

"Sir," Apsu said, “May I speak freely?”

“Go ahead.”

“I can’t be away from my wife for years our marriage would never survive,” Apsu said.

“Lucky for you your wife has been assigned to the Nibiru then isn’t it?” Tolk replied an obvious grin turning up the corners of his mouth.

Apsu left out a sigh of relief.

“Now, you ran into Mummu on your way in. He’s going to be your 2nd in command,” Tolk said. “Tiamat has been assigned as your chief medical officer. Her background in medical science will be an asset.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You have your orders. I suggest you go home and get your affairs in order. You won’t be back for a long time. You have two weeks. Then you will report to hanger bay three. From there you will be shuttled to the Nibiru.”

“Yes, Sir,” Apsu said as he stood and saluted the Admiral.

“Dismissed,” Tolk said as he turned to look at the computer monitor sitting on top of his desk.

Apsu left the room thinking that he had been right to feel so nervous on the way to the office. This was way more than he ever could have imagined. At least Tiamat and Mummu will be with him. They will make the adjustment to a new planet slightly easier. Two weeks, Apsu thought, I only have two weeks.

All Or Nothing, An Anunnaki Story

Chapter 2

The two weeks they had been given to get ready to ship out for their mission were hectic, to say the least, and went far too quickly. Everything they wanted to take with them they packed into luggage. Because of the nature of their mission they were able to arrange for the rest of their things to be put into a storage locker at the military base. When you are preparing to leave and not return for a long time, you realize how many things you actually own. Their fully furnished home had been provided by the Ma'adim government (a perk of being in the armed forces), so that made things slightly easier.

It was now the day before they left their world for an unspecified length of time. Tiamat had so many things running through her mind. What would Tellus be like? Warmer? Most likely. Brighter? Definitely. Gravity will definitely be stronger. I’m going to feel heavier. How long will it take to adjust? She thought.

“Apsu,” Tiamat began. “What if we hate it there? What if we run out of food and the vegetation is poisonous to us? What if we can’t drink the water?”

“What if, what if, what if?” Apsu said softly. He walked over to Tiamat and grasped her hands in his. “There will be ships running back and forth picking up gold and returning with supplies constantly. Besides, we are taking botanists to examine the plant life. We will be fine my darling.” Apsu kissed the backs of her hands.

Tiamat’s tension subsided a bit. She adored her husband. His big dark brown eyes, long, curly, black hair, olive-colored skin, and muscular build are what attracted her to him, but his compassion is what made her fall in love with him. When he smiled his eyes seemed to sparkle. Apsu is right, she thought, It’s all been planned out. We will be fine. “We’ve just never done anything like this before. It’s scary,” she said.

“No one has ever done anything like this before,” Apsu said, “but we will be fine.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Let’s go do something fun tonight. It’s our last night on Ma’adim.”

Tiamat smiled and nodded in agreement.

These days something fun was limited to indoor activities because very few people even wanted to be outside. Life on Ma’adim changed a lot after the war. The sky got darker and the surface water is polluted by the fallout from the “planet killer’s” weapon strike. The air is harder to breathe and it only keeps getting worse. The elderly and those with respiratory problems have to stay inside as much as possible. When they do go outside they have to use an air filtration mask that also provides oxygen. Others are able to wear regular air filtration masks while outside. It probably wouldn’t be long before everyone will need to use the air filtration masks that also provide oxygen.

The next day they loaded their luggage into their car. It was a mid-sized car, stacked completely full except for the two front seats. Closing the trunk, Tiamat began to think about Tellus. She imagined how fresh the air would smell, and how rich the dirt would be. She wondered what it might be like to grow a garden.

“Hey, quit daydreaming and get into the car,” Apsu said through his mask. “What were you daydreaming about?”

Tiamat smiled. “Planting a garden on Tellus, what else.” It was easy to tell she was smiling even behind her mask. Her eyes gave it away. Tiamat’s long wavy hair moved with the gentle breeze. Her pale blue eyes looked almost Grey in the sunlight, even behind the visor part of her mask. Her tanned bronze skin was a beautiful contrast to her light-colored eyes and blonde hair. Her Guardian uniform hugged her slender build. The casual Guardian uniform was a blood-red button-down shirt with gold buttons, a black-tie (the ties for the women’s uniforms were slightly thinner than the men’s.) a black double-breasted vest with gold buttons, and black trousers, black socks, and black combat boots. For formal occasions, they would wear winged tipped boots instead of combat boots and add an elegant notched collar, a double-breasted black overcoat that was decorated with gold buttons, decorative gold chains that attached to the buttons, and blood-red detailing. The entire look was quite striking.

“OK, let’s go. You can dream about your garden on the way,” Apsu said. Tiamat laughed and got into the car.

“How long will it take to get there?” Tiamat asked as they traveled to hanger bay three.

“The entire trip from Ma’adim to Tellus should only take about two hours,” Apsu replied. “We will be traveling at near light speed. That’s not counting the unloading and loading of all our luggage.”

“Are you as nervous as I am?” Tiamat asked.

Apsu looked at Tiamat, “How could I not be?”

When they pulled up to the hanger there were sailors driving what looked like baggage tractors from an airport. The baggage tractors were filled with the luggage of those getting into the shuttles. The loaded tractor would pull up to a shuttle and the sailor that had been driving the tractor would then unload the baggage into a compartment at the bottom of the shuttle. An Ensign jogged over to Apsu as he got out of his car. The Ensign snapped to attention, saluted Apsu, and said, “Sir, I will take your vehicle from here. I have been directed to tell you to go into the hanger from the front.”

Since Apsu was the captain and Tiamat was the wife of the captain they were able to bypass all the red tape that would be slowing everyone else down.

“Thank you, Ensign,” Apsu said returning the salute. Apsu and Tiamat walked through the front of the hanger.

Hanger bay three was huge. There was room for six shuttles to be in the hanger at the same time. The shuttles that were taking everyone to the Nibiru were as big as a double-decker bus. When one shuttle was full it would take off. Then they would start filling the next one. Empty shuttles would return from the Nibiru and the process would start all over again.

There was a steady stream of people coming into the hanger from one of the doors in the back. They were being directed to the shuttles. Apsu was glad they didn’t have to go through processing. Otherwise, they would have been in that very long line of people.

Mummu came jogging over to them when they walked into the hanger. “Hey, I was hoping to see you before we boarded,” Mummu stated from behind his air filtration mask. “I found a blueprint of the Nibiru? It’s the size of an entire continent on the inside. Want to see?”

“Let me see that,” Tiamat said taking the blueprint from Mummu. There was no military formality between the three of them. Their friendship had outgrown such things.

The blueprint showed that everything had been built along the curved wall of the Nibiru. The Nibiru’s rotation caused enough of a force that it created a gravitational pull. Like when you swing a bucket of water in a circle and none of the water spills out.

“Where did you get this?” Tiamat asked accusingly.

“I respectfully refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I might incriminate myself,” Mummu said then flash a grin that told her had been up to some computer hacking. If Mummu wanted information he knew how to get it and there wasn’t much that could stop him. “Where is Tolk? I thought he was supposed to be here.” Mummu said. Mummu was very tall. Head and shoulders above Apsu who was the average height for an Anunnaki male. He was thin with short, straight, dark brown hair, and light brown eyes.

“There he is,” Tiamat said pointing to where Admiral Tolk was standing talking to one of the pilots.

They walked over to where Admiral Tolk was standing. Admiral Tolk had the look of a man with a lot of years under his belt. His hair was white with age, his skin was pale and wrinkled, and his brown eyes were heavily hooded.

“Admiral, sir. Reporting for duty,” Apsu said as they all snapped to attention and saluted.

“At ease,” Tolk said.

They clasped their hands behind their backs and stood at ease.

“Follow me,” Tolk said motioning to them. Tolk walked over to a shuttle just outside of the hanger. Soldiers had just finished loading the shuttle with Apsu, Tiamat, and Mummu’s luggage.

“Get in. I’ll be taking you up myself.”

Apsu, Mummu, and Tiamat looked at each other. “Copilot,” they all said, but Mummu finished saying it first so he got the copilot seat.

The inside looked like any other shuttle. Two seats in the front and two seats in the back The seats in the back were along the sides facing forward with enough space to walk between them. The back of the shuttle, behind the seats, was loaded with their luggage.

“You will be setting the Nibiru in an orbit around Tellus with the rotation set up so the same side always faces the planet. You will see why when we get to the Nibiru,” Tolk said.

“Yes, sir,” Apsu and Mummu said together.

“While your team is mining for gold, the Chief Of State has decided we are to go ahead with the move underground in case the bio-engineers plan doesn’t work,” Tolk informed them. “We are really hoping it works though.”

“We are too, sir,” Mummu said.

They were getting close enough that the Nibiru had filled the entire front window. It was completely covered with dust, dirt, and craters from being hit by meteors. In one of the larger craters, there was a complex. The different buildings that made up the complex were all connected by colonnades. The station covered a circular area of about one kilometer in diameter.

“Shuttle 229 requesting access to shuttle bay two,” Tolk said to the air traffic controller.

“Shuttle 229, access granted,” said a voice from the speaker. Tolk maneuvered the shuttle into shuttle bay two and landed. Everyone exited the shuttle.

Tolk spoke to one of the workers. “Have someone deliver this luggage to its respective quarters,” Tolk said. “You do have tags on your luggage identifying them as yours I hope,” he said looking at the trio.

“Yes, sir,” they all answered at once.

“Good.”

Tolk took the lead and led them to an elevator. Inside the elevator, Tolk pushed a button of which there was only one. No one said anything as the elevator dropped for what seemed like at least five minutes. When the elevator stopped the doors opened on the opposite side of the elevator.

They stepped out of the elevator and were awestruck by what they saw. It was amazing. Everything was built along the wall just like in the blueprint. There were grass and trees, places that looked like farms, and cities with roads, parks, and tall buildings. There were rivers of running water that traversed the cities and there were people driving boats on them. Skywalks crisscrossed through the center of the station in all directions connecting one area of the station to another. Some of the skywalks connected to a large round glowing object in the middle that seemed to not only provide light but also heat. The object in the middle was large enough that it obscured the view of the opposite side of the station, and was bright enough that you didn’t want to look at it very long. One could live indefinitely on this station.

“Now, it’s time for you to see the control center,” Tolk said.

“Yes, sir,” they all said.

The elevator had opened up onto a sidewalk that connected perpendicularly to another sidewalk that ran parallel to a street. They walked to the end of the sidewalk they were on and hailed a taxi.

“They actually have taxis!” Mummu gushed.

“This place is incredible,” Tiamat said exuding excitement.

“I can’t believe this place,” Apsu said incredulously.

“Believe it,” Tolk said.

A taxi stopped and Tolk opened the passenger side front door and got in. Apsu, Mummu, and Tiamat crowded into the back.

“Nibiru headquarters,” Tolk informed the driver.

“Yes, sir,” the driver said.

The electric car sped down the street hovering about 30 centimeters off the road, barely making a sound. Apsu, Mummu, and Tiamat took in the sites commenting on the different places they would like to visit. The car stopped in front of an impressive-looking tall building completely covered with tinted glass. There was a sign out front that read “Nibiru Headquarters”. They all exited the car and Admiral Tolk took the lead. They followed him into the building and then into another elevator. This time there were 27 buttons, one of which was marked G and another one was marked B. Tolk pushed the button that read 25. The elevator whooshed to the top floor. The elevator doors opened revealing something similar to a starship bridge only much larger.

“Admiral in the control room,” someone said. Everyone stopped what they were doing, stood, turned in their direction, and saluted. The Admiral, Apsu, Mummu, and Tiamat returned the salutes. “As you were,” Tolk said. Everyone went back to what they were doing.

Tolk walked over to the center of the room and put a pale aged hand on a seat that had controls built into both sides of it. “This is your chair Apsu,” Tolk said.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Apsu replied.

“Mummu, you’ll be spending a great deal of time here, in this chair,” Tolk said placing his hand on a slightly smaller chair with fewer controls attached.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Mummu replied.

Admiral Tolk turned to Tiamat. “Tiamat, you will be in the medical science building across the street,” Tolk said. “This whole area is called Control City. All the high-ranking officers live and work in this area.” Tolk looked around the room and then back at them. “You were assigned living quarters. Am I correct?”

“Yes, sir,” they said one at a time.

“Good,” Tolk said. “Go hail a taxi. Tell them your destination and they will take you there.”

“Yes, sir,” Apsu said.

“Dismissed,” Tolk said.

They took the elevator back down to the ground floor, walked out of the building, and hailed a taxi. A taxi pulled over for them, they got in and told the driver where they needed to go. The driver took them to an area that resembled a suburb. When the taxi stopped they got out. Apsu’s and Mummu’s houses were next door to each other. Here Mummu, parted ways with Apsu and Tiamat as they went into their respective houses.

The house was fully furnished just like their other house had been. Apsu and Tiamat walked into the house and plopped down on the sofa.

“Are you hungry?” Tiamat asked.

“Nah, I’m too tired,” Apsu replied with a yawn.

“Me too, I am so ready for bed,” Tiamat said.

“Let’s unpack tomorrow,” Apsu suggested.

She nodded. Tomorrow will start a whole new life, Tiamat thought.

They got up, walked to the bedroom, undressed, and crawled into bed. They hugged each other and drifted off to sleep.

(To Be Continued)

Read Chapters 3 and 4 here:

https://vocal.media/fiction/all-or-nothing-continued-qw2gn005vr