Prologue: The End is Just The Beginning

"If only we had more time, we might have been able to save our home." A woman murmured softly.

The woman who spoke had a youthful appearance with brown hair tied back into a ponytail and wearing a red and white uniform decorated with numerous medals. Her eyes were a striking dark hazelnut color. A height that could rival the average size of many men and a pear-shaped figure that couldn't be hidden even under her military garb.

Her beautiful sight made her appear like a goddess. But, internally, her thoughts were unfathomable as her gaze wandered upon the images presented.

"Admiral, the New Haven fleet is ready to depart." A man's voice sounded in her ear. The woman refused to look away from the smoldering disaster on the earth's surface. What used to be the origin of life, the home of humanity, was being engulfed in flames as a nightmarish force of nature smashed against the helpless planet.

In the distance, the admiral could see the sun fluctuating uncontrollably. Without taking her gaze from the earth, she responded, "We will commence departure on my command in 2 hours; by then, all humans besides fleet deck staff shall be in Cryo sleep with no exceptions, use force on anyone who refuses." The second in command felt a shiver run through his spine. The admiral had always been cold, resolute, and no-nonsense; he pitied the souls who faced her wrath. "Yes, Admiral sir, I will relay your commands to all ship captains now." He saluted and marched away from the admiral, who continued to look out the spaceship's glass.

The admiral's eyes focused on the numerous starships spread out around earth and those across the solar system. This image typically should've stricken a sense of pride and achievements for humans. But, the reasoning for this departure made it a bleak one. With a sudden dramatic increase in the sun's fluctuations, evidence was found that the sun was expanding at an exponential rate. It was dying. For the entirety of human civilization, it was a shocking discovery. No scientist or sane person could have predicted that the sun would explode soon. According to all the data they collected and instruments used, it should have been billions, if not 10 billion years before their star imploded. Yet, their reality presented something entirely different from what they had predicted.

The dawn of 3000, the new millennium in human history, should have been a great time for celebration. But, now, this new dawn of millennia will be permanently known as the end of the earth and its solar system.

The admiral finally took her eyes away from the crumbling planet below and walked off the starship's deck to her personal quarters. As she walked past them, numerous personnel were in awe or saluting in her presence. Once she reached her quarters, her cold and resolute demeanor softened as she was now in her personal sanctuary, free from her duties as the New Haven fleet Admiral.

Her eyes briefly wandered across all her various achievements and medals across the room, not feeling any pride in them. She was just doing her duty, after all. However, a science degree was positioned on her ceiling just above her bed. She is a good leader, but at the end of the day, she values her work as a scientist far more than she did during the day as an Admiral. She soaked in a moment of tranquility outside her current chaotic lifestyle before walking up and opening a seemingly out-of-the-place wardrobe. She directed her eyes to a pupil scanner and heard a robotic male voice, "Admiral Mercury, welcome back."

Slightly smirking, Mercury said, "nice to hear you again, Sean." She walked out into an expanding room that was her personal laboratory. Donning a lab coat, she made her way to a small table containing a bunch of research data. "Sean, what were the results of experiment #69-C?"

"Experiment #69-C was a success Admiral Mercury." A robotic male voice replied. "Of course, another failu-... wait, are you serious, it actually succeeded?"

"Yes, Admiral Mercury, Experiment #69-C was a success," Sean said again. Mercury almost felt light-headed. She couldn't believe it. The experiment actually worked. "Show me the results now!" She said.

In response to her words, a string of data appeared on her wall as it loaded the requested information. As the data loaded, Mercury felt her excitement rising exponentially. Although her attempts only ranged in the two-digit count, the amount of time she had spent working on just 1 experiment alone trumped even the most hard-working individuals. Her four decades of free time had been spent on these experiments. It was her life's work and her true legacy regarding her feelings.

The data finally finished loading, and all that was there was a simple video recording. Taking a deep breath to relax her anticipation, she let the video run its course. In the video, two mice could be seen lying in an isolated chamber contained in a cage. "Experiment number #69-C will now be attempted by Sean unit 117 approved by administrator Mercury." A voice sounded over the isolation chamber.

A robotic hand was seen carrying a syringe, then injected into both mice. Immediately after the injections, the mice started to hop across the cage in stress and anxiousness. However, they began calming down a few minutes before falling asleep. The mice continued to sleep for some time, and Mercury sped up the video until she noticed them waking up after six hours.

Both the mice seemed normal at first. However, it was clear that there was something off about the situation.

The mice displayed an evident lack of cognitive control, and their senses were all over the place. "According to chamber analysis, mice A is exerting tremendous mental power over cognitive functions, and its brain is somehow sending signals to mice B. Based on further evidence, Mice A seems to have control of two bodies with one in control. In other words, experiment #69-C is a success."

Mercury stood there with her mouth agape. She rubbed her eyes for a second, doubting what her eyes were displaying, and repeated the video. Soon tears of joy started to flow down her face. This was it. Her much-needed oasis finally appeared before her. For so many years and decades she spent working on this project, she considered giving up numerous times after receiving little to no positive feedback from her results. Yet, her undying passion for science and her dedicated hard work never gave up in the face of her setbacks despite feeling as if she was trudging along a barren desert.

"Sean, move file information to the main screen, and I will be exiting the lab now." Sean acknowledged her command, and her laboratory went dim as she stepped outside to rest for a minute.

With their journey taking approximately 2.4 million years and waking up every so often from cryo sleep to check vital functions, she had something to look forward to on their trip. She now had all the time and the world to perfect her research and create something revolutionary for advancing the human race.

While deep in her thoughts, a beeping noise sounded from her wristwatch. "Admiral Mercury, we have thirty minutes left until all humans will be sent into cryosleep."

Snapping out of her thoughts, her once scientific mindset was replaced by a resolutely determined general meant to lead her people into a new era. "I'm making my way to the viewing deck now; prepare all star ship captains for my coming announcement."

"Who was your training instructor, Ensign? You will say, sir or ma'am, in my presence, do not ever speak to me as if we are equal, you understand?" A vicious woman spewed her malice towards the new Ensign on the star deck. "I'm so sorry, Ma'am. I won't make the same mistake again." He nervously replied back. Numerous people on the star deck felt sympathy for the green Ensign. Still, none of them dared to speak out for him as the woman was the known spoiled daughter of the president of the Earth Federation.

The woman started to raise her voice more. However, she felt a sudden chill go through her spine as she turned around to face a cold admiral looking at her. The admiral's stare almost felt like she was looking into her soul, "Hello Admiral sir, how are you doing?" She nervously asked.

"As the temporary fleet admiral of operation New Haven, I currently am the most high-ranking authority of the entire human race, meaning that I don't care about who your daddy is. Get the fuck off my star deck, you useless princess."

The woman wanted to retort, but the admiral's cold gaze prevented her from speaking, "I-" "I won't forget this!" She squeaked as she scurried out of the room. Mercury didn't bother responding back and patted the scared Ensign on the shoulder, "you will do far more for the human race than what she will ever provide in her lifetime, don't let her words get you down, soldier."

"Thank you, Admiral sir!" The man replied with starry eyes. As she made her way to the front of the star deck, not a single person failed to salute the admiral. She commanded an aura of respect with every step she made, and her words were filled with confidence and decisiveness.

"Comms officer Bradley opens all communication channels to the capital ship 'Hope' I will be making my speech shortly." She announced. The man's eyes shot up in surprise, "Yes, Admiral, sir." He replied.

People from all walks of life could be seen strewn across numerous starships around the solar system. Many were depressed, angry, and disillusioned with the reality in front of them. Almost half a trillion people received communication notices across the entire solar system; many eager to hear the voice of the humanities commander all listened closely. However, many still felt grim about the future.

"From the start of human civilization, we have witnessed and been a part of the most perilous dangers the universe has thrown at us. We've often been tested on our strength of unity as humans. Still, despite our many flaws, we have always come together to face any cause threatening our survival. Many of you are distraught and plagued with helplessness, sorrow, and anger. We are giving up our homes, our relationships, our very meaning of life, and everything we know about our origin as humans. However, I ask all of you to consider my previous words."

People who were previously uninterested in her speech or lost in their own worlds began to pay attention to the admiral's words as her charismatic nature arose in tone and conviction. "We have adapted and overcome every dangerous event in human history, from plagues and diseases to wars and cosmic tragedies, to greed and pollution, and the force of nature that is the universe. We have overcome all of it because we are a robust species. This will be no different, we will make it through this event, and we will adapt to overcome our star's destruction. We will become more significant than our past selves, we will become a capable space-faring race, and we will carve out a better future for ourselves. I am once again asking all of you to not view this destruction as the end of a story but rather to view this as a new beginning of a chapter in humanity's story. We will rise out of the ashes, not as a weaker species, but as a stronger one to explore and conquer the distant stars out in the universe! I wish all of you an extraordinary journey to a new era of humanity's legacy and glory to the human race!"