2050AD.
In the space surrounding the blue and green planet of Earth, were approximately 15 ships. In the standard of Earth, to call them ships would be to call the Sun small, but in the perspective of powerful civilizations around the galaxy, that is merely all it was.
The BioShip, which had just finished it's construction in the year before was nothing more than a row boat when looking at these new ships surrounding Earth. Each one of them reached the size of small states.
On one of these ships, most notably the largest one, was a table surrounded by what appeared to be several men and women that looked to be of significant status when compared to the rest of the crew.
Despite being humanoid in shape, that was the only similarity that this species had to the Earthen natives. Each individual was several feet taller than the typical Earth Human, with an exoskeleton that made them seem much bulkier, as well. Two large mandibles surrounded what appeared to be the mouth, while several smaller ones shaped the rest of the mouth. A pair of small beads showed on the front of this foreign species head, and while no ears were present, each "bug", had a set of antennae.
Without genitalia, and with no difference in color, the only way to notice a difference in gender was through the length of their antennae.
Without tongues, their working language was formed by variations of the deeper tones the clicks of the large mandibles made, and the higher tones formed by the smaller mandibles.
It had not been long since the successful voiding of the large Human city that they had come to learn was known as New York. Elation filled the table for several minutes after the fact. Clicks of joy and of success spread across the table as they each congratulated each other.
A series of deep clacks quickly shushed the table, as what appeared to be the commander started to speak.
"I know that we are all excited, but we must not get complacent. We have come to this backwater system for a purpose and we must not disappoint the General. Though, I will admit that several congratulations are in order. Firstly, Chief Brose. Rise."
" Yes, Sir!" One of the younger division chiefs that surrounded the table stood up. More excitement than he meant to convey fell into his simple acknowledgment of the Chief Commander.
"It was thanks to you and to your Information Department that I was able to present 7th General with such valuable information. As much as he will reward me for this event, you can expect for me to reward you. Anticipate it well."
"Yes, Sir! I will, Sir!" Sitting back down, a grin covered his face that had most others at the table feeling like they just ate trash.
"Next, Chief Hocs. Stand."
"Yes, Sir." A calm series of clicks, melodious to the ones at the table, came from the next division chief.
"It was thanks to the interference you ran on this planet that our attack went uninterrupted. The attack was also very beautiful. Expect for you and your Tech Department to receive just rewards in the near future."
The Chief Commander was among those who found Chief Hocs to be particularly alluring.
"Yes, Sir. Thank You, Sir."
As the Tech Chief sat down, the Chief Commander began to stand. As he walked to the bridge he began to issue command to the Head of Communications aboard the ship.
"On my signal, open the communication line to the planet. Don't forget to overlay the translation software that we were forced to develop for this backwater location"
"Yes, Sir."
"Open in..." the Chief Commander raised three fingers before bring down one at a time... "Attention, Humans of Earth. I am the Chief Commander of the 1st fleet under the 7th General of the Jurian Empire.
Today, at 13:00 EST, we completed a process called voiding, on the city known as New York.
There were two reasons that we came to the decision to void only one of your cities. I believed that only one voiding would be enough to demonstrate our power. I also believe that the loss of a significant amount of your world leaders would give you enough of a reason to open your minds to what is to come.
As a warrior, I know what it is like to lose brothers and sisters, thus I do know what it means to mourn. For the events that occurred today, I emphasize with you. I do.
However, as a person with power amongst my people, I must do what is necessary to ensure that they thrive. So I can only tell you one thing. Brace yourselves. Brace for what will come, and for what you must do.
You are now vassals of the Great Jurian Empire, and for the Empire you must give your lives and servitude.
In the coming days, we will send down our landing parties, and we will gather you.
Your limited and underdeveloped knowledge will be ours, your precious and abundant resources, that you don't even know exist, will be ours, and your very lives will belong to us.
But as vassals of such a grand Empire, you all will, of course, not miss out. Technology, medicine, anything and everything you dream could be possible. As long as you serve well.
Farewell. For now."
***************
Earth 2050AD
As silence once again settled around the planet, the fear of the unknown suddenly became fear of the known.
A power with the ability to project their voice across the entire globe. Unheard of!
A power that can annihilate such a large space into, essentially, nonexistence. Impossible!
The silence and fear that engulfed the planet slowly turned into confusion and chaos. At first it was contained, families gathered together and held discussions. The confusion began to go away as a better understanding was obtained.
At least until the images came out.
Broadcasting systems from around the world went to New York to gain a better understanding of what 'voiding' meant. But as the truth was shown to the world, the fear and confusion returned.
An entire city, even one as vibrant as New York, was wiped of the face of the Earth.
The calm discussions at dinner tables turned into fits of anger and rage.
Those who were disinclined the most to the idea of servitude began to riot in the streets, crime in the few days leading to the landing of those responsible for New York's destruction became rampant.
On the day that the beings of the Jurian Empire began their landing, however, no one stood up in protest. At the sight of a ship that blanketed the sky. At the sight of thousands, of tens of thousands of landing craft descending to the surface, those thinking of resistance gave in. Rioters collapsed and retreated. Only those who were the most radical formed together in their own private militias.
This only pleased the Jurian soldiers that landed. Most soldiers were drafted as a mandatory service, but there were some who registered simply for the fun. And to them, hunting natives that were against their hostile takeover was the most pleasant.
***************
It took a few weeks before the Jurian soldiers were able to gather all the Earthen natives.
Only a third of the Humans were kept on Earth, as the rest were herded onto the Jurian landing craft.
The first goal of the Jurian's was to gather the Humans together, more specifically, to gather them away from where they decided to form mining sites.
The second goal was to enhance the humans, to ensure that they could survive long enough in the mines to collect everything they had to offer. To complete this, the Chief Commander was permitted by the 7th General to issue out C-Grade Enhancers to every human now under their control.
A typical C-Grade Enhancer was all that a middle-class family would be able to afford for their children, so to be able to hand out so many would be extremely expensive on a normal occasion. When compared to the profits that would be made from the allusive mineral found on Earth, however, it was but a small fraction.
The more Enhancers that one uses over time, the stronger one becomes and longer their lifespan becomes. In this case, the Jurians used hope against the humans. 'The harder you work, the more Enhancers you will get. The more enhancers you get, the longer you live. The longer you live, the more likely you will be freed from servitude.'
That was the sentiment that developed amongst the humans over time.
The final step, was to establish the mining sites and put the humans to work.
As the Chief Commander had mentioned, Earth had an abundance of material and resources, it's just that it was all so deep under the surface of the Earth that Human technology had not been able to discover it. Added to the fact the the mineral is natural allusive to underdeveloped scanners, it is only natural that the Jurian's discovered it before the Humans.
Such a mineral would not have put the Chief Commander in such a good mood, however, had it only been discovered on Earth. When the Jurian Empire discovered this system, they also discovered that each planet and moon held a special property that made this mineral abundant.
Thus the entirety of the human race was subjugated to being miners. With a third of the humans staying on Earth, the remain humans were split between Mercury and Venus.
It took nearly a hundred years for all Earth mining operations to cease.
When the initial two and a half billion humans first finished mining all the resources available on Earth, their numbers were reduced to a single billion. The volatile mining environment, coupled with the treatment given by the Jurians was enough to eliminate nearly one and a half billion humans.
Similar numbers were seen on the other two planets as well.
As the humans finished up mining on the three planets, one portion of the humans were moved to the moon of Earth, while the other two groups were split between the two moons of Mars.
The humans went to their new home with anticipation eager to earn more enhancers, readily serving their new masters. Even if just to burn time.