Free Athena Lee Chronicles 8: Infiltration by T S Paul

was similar to that of a space station except this one has teeth. The best that Earth had to offer. It was time to take back what belonged to Earth.
     
    “Sir, message from the Secretary General.” The communications tech was from a lesser line. The Captain barely acknowledged him as he read the message. His own line was the top tier, superior to all others. He frowned as he considered the class system that ruled Earth. Everyone that mattered was a form of clone. Different lines were developed to do certain tasks. Menial work was still done by unaltered humans but who cared about them? His was the superior gene.
     
    “Communications, recall all fighters and support craft. They are to return to Colossus as soon as possible. Inform the Quartermaster to make those lazy sapes work faster! This ship leaves in two hours with or without the that shipment. Tell them I will space any sape that fails to meet his quota.” The Captain walked to his station and sat down. “Navigation. Plot a course to Mars, it is time to begin.”
     
    Earth would be totally unrecognizable to anyone from the past. After the colonization phase was over, a new way of life was adopted on the planet. The colonization plan had been a form of population control from the very beginning. It was a good way to remove anyone who would object and cause trouble. Each continent only had two or three massive cities now. All other cities and towns were destroyed or repurposed. All arable land was now used for food production or resource allocation. Strip mining was back in fashion as the UN sought minerals for ship production. A class system was imposed for those that remained on the planet. Natural humans, those that were not genetically altered or cloned were at the very bottom of the system. Ironically the very people that helped the UN to power were dominated by it. Only clones or those that were Gen Mod ruled now. Everyone else was dross.
     
    Natural humans were called sapes by the majority of the genies. Genie was a derogatory word that could get a sape killed if overheard. The sapes did all the menial jobs on the planet. They picked the crops and took out the trash. One step up from sapes were the gene altered or Gen Mods. Several thousand Gen Mod babies were raised by the Program on Earth to be used as fighters, spies, and pilots. They were granted extended life spans and like the sapes had many uses even today. Initially they were the commanders and the trainers of the first generation of clones. Soon, the clones outnumbered the Gen Mods by a large percentage. Sensing that they were being replaced, many of the Gen Mods attempted to take power and rebelled. That rebellion was savagely suppressed. During the battles that raged across the Earth many were killed. The few Gen Mod survivors left were used as overseers and servants by many of the clone lines. There were over thirty general purpose lines and a few dozen specialties on this ship. The Captain’s line was one of the specialties. His line was designed to provide him with the skills needed for spacecraft flight and hyper-jump survival.
     
    “Captain, all sections have reported in. We are ready to depart.” The communications technician kept his eyes diverted to the floor as was proper when dealing with a higher ranking officer.
     
    “Excellent. Sound the alert and notify command that we are departing.”
     
    Alarms began sounding across the ship as airtight doors were shut and sealed. This ship was constructed in a Venus orbit. This would be only the second time that it would be moved a great distance. Down in the hold several hundred sapes huddled in fear. Many bore scars from beatings or whippings that they received for poor performance. These were what remained of the tens of thousands of sapes that helped build this very ship. They knew the stories, humans had reached out into the stars and left the Earth. Vast colony worlds lay outside the influence of the dreaded UN and its horrors. Many