“Gosh! I hate her,” Gema whispered to Tirana, as she called a cinnamon-tinted girl with hunched shoulders and a narrow waist, who gave me a smug look.
“Ha-ha! Do I look like a care?” I countered, sticking my tongue out to the duo. The individual shook his head, marching straight ahead.
The drones gunned closer to the crypt. The spectres must have found us. A duo buzzed towards the vault with their air surfing boards.
“Hide,” I yelled to the scientific research team as they dove inside the steel containment. We dashed outside exchanging fire. A beam of heat from the ray gun grazed my shoulder. It stung and burned as I yelled in pain. The individual covered for me as we rushed towards the surface, downing the drone and the wraith mounting the air board. It was merely a scratch. I would live. I shrugged it off as we rushed to the backyard.
“We need to EVAC this complex. We can’t let them lay their hands on these pieces of equipment.” He suggested, lowering his eyebrows in defeat.
“Our vessel is destroyed. We need something temporal to get us out of here while I figure out the next move.” He sighed, cinching up his straight nose.
“The choppers… I can fly one. Get these out of here and save what is left of my people.” I suggested as we exchanged fire with a Nargoth on a flying hovercraft, downing it as it crashed on the concrete ground.
We made it to the right side of the yard, jumping from half-demolished buildings. “I will take you to the airfield. Hurry.” I commanded as we crouched and meandered towards the airfield, dodging fiery balls and laser beams.
“She isn’t coming with us.”
Gema shook her head frantically, standing at akimbo.
“Oh yes, I’m coming!” I responded firmly, the corners of my mouth curved up in a subtle grin.
“Captain, I can fly the chopper.” She offered.
“Gema, we need her as much as I hate to admit it. We do not have our ship, remember?” Gema furrowed her forehead, her small eyes peering profoundly into mine, but took her captain's word for it.
The spectres were relentless in their pursuit. Guided blue fireball launcher blasted from what looked like a grenade launcher, but it spat blue energy balls, projected to our position. They missed frying us by mere chance. I worried about the safety of Marie and my squadron. I hoped they were all alive. We were the bait. At least, I could take the danger away from them and away from the compound.
We climbed into the hyper stealth Boeing CH 47 Chinook. I accessed pilot control, entered the cyclic stick, pulled the collective lever and pressured the anti-torque pedals. It was months since I last flew a chopper. I was surprised at how out of practice, I was. Perhaps, it was the situation. However, I had to prove to the sassy Gema, that I had a role in the operation as well.
I breathed and thrust the controller, the rotors started. I disengaged the rotor brake and it accelerated to full speed. Then, I pulled down the throttle slowly studying the horizon while correcting helo position. I kept tugging the collective Just as my training had dictated and the black hawk turbines slowly took off hovering in steady flight. The spectres fired at the hawk. I pulled the throttle meandering and the dodging laser beams. The individual and his team exchanged fire with a Wraith ship that was attempting pursuit blasting and downing one of its engines with what appeared to me as some sort of EMP railgun. The impact of the invisible pulse weapon on the craft bought us some time as I rotated the blackbird, taking it to destinations unknown.
Now, I could take a breather and get to the bottom of this quagmire. I set the flight course and activated autopilot, yanked my headphones off and turned to them. It was time for the truth.
“You need to take care of that.” The individual pointed at my grazed shoulder. I shrugged, but he was relentless. He opened the makeshift apothecary box and applied, rubbing alcohol on the gauge and pressured it on my shoulder. It stung, but it was nothing squirm-worthy. So, I sat through the pain without wincing as he finally bound my shoulder with a bandage.
“Thanks.” I peeked at him and our gaze met. He quickly averted his gaze as did I.
“Now, will someone tell me what the hell all this is about? Who are you guys? Where are you from? Who are the Nargoths? What do they want with these instruments you carry?” I fired up, my voice deep and serious.
The individual gave me a wry look, sighed lifting a finger in the air,
“Whoa, one question at a time.” The individual rasped, twitching his lips with a subtle smile.
“Do not pacify me, Ok? Speak up. I deserve to know. You owe me that.” I chirped, narrowing my eyes and biting my lower lip.
“OK.” He nodded, running his hands through his hair.
“You are not even supposed to know of our existence.” He began, his expression closing up.
“Well, it’s not one of those serendipities, is it?” I teased, masking my own concern for fear of the truth.
“Actually, that was random.” He breathed, sagging his shoulders.
“The crash in your compound wasn’t supposed to happen. We were attacked as we came close to your realm.” He narrated, cradling his knuckles.
“Realm?” I drew closer, noticing his baby-soft hands as they clasped together.
“Yes,” He nodded.
“My name is Ranishé, but you can call me Ran.” He commenced, and I cut in with a mirthless snigger.
“Who names a boy Ranishé? It sounds like a girl’s name,” I snickered, throwing my head back, tears welling in my eyes.
“Maybe it’s in the meaning, genius. It means radiate with smiles.” Gema grumbled sizing me up as her eyes ran from my head to my toes at irregular intervals.
I cleared my throat realising my rudeness.
“Pardon me. Go on.” I held my hands in an Amen. He rattled his head and sustained.
“I commandeered the vessel S.R.F 3340 Alzetec yacht — An exploration vessel. We hail from interstellar system billions of light years away named, Zephyres. Our planet is called Andraniva.”
The words rang in my head like a dream. I couldn’t process Intel as fast as it was flowing it.
“Never heard of it.” I wobbled my head.
“There is a lot you do not know and probably for your own good.” He puffed.
“No. I need to know everything. I’m here helping to put me on board.” I disputed.
“How did you crash into earth undetected by USSA's (United African Space Station) galactic surveillance equipment? They have radars and satellites. Nothing can make it close to the earth gravitational field without signalling some form of alarm.” I slumped forward, eyeballing him.
“The same way we have been doing for millennia.” Ranishé shuffled in his seat, clearing his voice.
“See, our organisation has been stealthily trespassing the earthly realm for thousands of years. We do not exactly call your planet, earth anyhow. To us, you are, planet AAO10110.” He flickered as I digested the data.
“Unbelievable!” I sponged a streak of moisture from my brow.
“You asked,” Ranishé responded. But I had to know more. The more questions I asked, the more questions sprang up.
“Why the trespassing? What were your goals and destination?” I folded my arms, scrutinising the squad.
“The earth's strategic poles, forming the five-star compass.” I jerked. It wasn’t what I expected to hear, but more was to come so I leaned forward as he continued.
“What for? To learn about us and our weaknesses and perhaps terraform and take us, hostage?” I folded my arms across my chest as he scoffed.
“That is preposterous. What would we want with you people? You have antediluvian apparatuses and your world leaders are crooks. Down here, it is a mayhem.” He smirked, laying his head back in his seat.
“We have a lot of minerals and natural resources. Maybe your organisation's resources are depleted.” I folded my arms across my chest.
“We have everything we need.” He responded lethargically.
“And what? Your le
aders are perfect?” I quizzed.
“Exactly! We live in a structured society, each possessing his or her role. Like parts of a giant machine working together to produce an outcome.” He blurted out with a lazy countenance.
It was disappointing that he was a bagger. Perhaps, I was just offended. I could not trust my judgement anymore. Right from the time, I saw him.
“Well, congrats.” I mocked applauding as he simpered.
“Now, how come you look exactly like us? But those spectres, they looked different.” I shifted in my seat
“Will these questions ever end?” He sniffed... something he did quite often. I discerned.
“Just answer, please.” I insisted, my right arm resting on the top of the seat.
“Everyone in the entire universe possesses the same genetic structure, hence looks alike across the galaxy. The only reason the Nargoths look different is, their planet is without sunlight. They lack exposure to ultraviolet rays. Their planet, Typhon, is dying and that is why they want the Cyclotron.” He touched one of the metal boxes.
“What does this cyclotron do?” I turned my gaze to the devices.
“You have a lot to learn. I hope I’m not making a mistake by telling you this much.” He sighed and continued.
“No one has to know.” He warned, his crooked index waving in the air.
“I think we are way past that already,” I maintained.
“You might think your world is manual. In fact, it is automated the rotating seasons, night and day, global warming and cooling, etc. You might believe you were woven by an omniscient creator. Yada, yada.” He trailed as I turned to check on the fuel indicator.
“Is it not?” I scrunched up my face.
“No, far from it. The truth is, it’s simply a giant appliance set in automatic motion and like any other mechanism, it needs repairs and servicing.” I let out a huge laugh and received stares from the squad.
“So, you guys are engineers, mechanics?” I asked teary-eyed.
“Something like that.” He bowed in agreement.
I gulped from the cold bottled water, taking a deep breath as a cold intense anger rose over me.
“Why don’t I believe you? If you didn’t want to say anything, you should have just said so. I didn’t hold a gun to your head and give you an ultimatum to tell or die, but you, cooking this whole ridiculous narrative for is just petty. Who do you take me for? Some dumb college kid? I swear you really had me.” I yelled, turning back to pilot control and regaining command from the autopilot.
I had great analytical and profiling skills. In fact, it was my forté. I couldn’t be fooled. Either they were who they said they were or they actually believed whatever it was they were saying. My heart stopped. Everything I thought I knew was destroyed with just one statement. I was a Catholic all my prayers couldn’t all be for nothing. All those years of trying to do the right thing by God, suddenly seemed questionable.
“No. This is some Jedi mind trick. You cannot be serious.” I muttered to myself. I wasn’t sure he would hear.
“The truth sometimes isn’t what we expect, but that doesn’t make it a lie because it doesn’t fit with the chronicles we set for ourselves. It just is.”
“Hey,” He shuffled towards me, the scent of his cologne engulfing my senses.
“You wanted to know, right? That is the truth. It’s up to you to believe it.” He concluded, sitting back.
“Let’s say what you say is true. What exactly are you supposed to repair?” I massed the courage to extend the storyline.
“Your sun is losing mass; earth’s magnetic field is collapsing. I’m sure you have heard of the Torus, the toroidal shaped, zero-point energy field, that regulates the outflow and inflow of magnetic fields from the north pole to the south and encompassing the entire planet. The earth’s glacier is melting and the ozone hole is no longer healing.” He lectured, his hushed voice resounding in the dead silent chopper.
I was in for a ride as he narrated. I sat trancelike, trying to remain sane in digesting all that was said.
Apparently, the five special portable containments called a cyclotron, a particle accelerator, or in layman’s parlance, a collision ring in a titanium encasement harboured beams of high energy protons; negative and positive, producing a ball of pure energy. The devices prevented axon spin-offs and inhibited orbital waves from malfunctioning and hence, prevented the earth from spinning out of axis.
The devices were laced with special thermonuclear powered fields, harnessed from merged neutron stars to propel radioactive material of charge, light beam particles, spinning at the speed of light, rendering it extremely volatile and to be handled with care.
The portable Collider didn’t only generate or accelerate magnetic, stellar or glacial aptitude. It also was a beacon device, embedded and wielded from the planet, Andraniva.
“You mean the control room?” I cut in sharply, staring at him profoundly as he blabbered about themes I couldn’t make much sense of.
He smirked as his full lips thinned strangely “Whatever suits you. We gather data, read the magnetic, stellar and glacial data outflow, control the data and send feedback, geoengineer and maximise equilibrium in the functionality of your world.” He explained further.
I couldn’t make sense of 80% of his terminology. I wished I could have taken physics lessons more important. Instead, I had slept my way through each physics lesson… a direct consequence of loathing the stern teacher, who flogged at the least wisp of a breath.
"We use it to control and monitor weather conditions climatic changes. The first three cyclotrons,” He pointed at three identical metal boxes.
“Harbours the stabilizers to be positioned at the centre of the equator, located west and on the east.” He cleared his throat and continued,
“This stellar accelerator device is to be placed on the south pole.” He gestured at a box, distinct from the rest with its earthy tinge.
“The last cyclotron holds one glacial stabilizer to be placed on the north pole.” He pointed at a white coloured box.
He went further explaining how the volatile pieces of equipment were like giant batteries which kept the earth running. They previously were replaced after every 500 years. But thanks to humans who constantly drilled the earth’s core for oil and minerals had upset the universal cycle, weakening the magnetic field and draining the power of the accelerators. This had led to the Andranivians replacing the devices after only seven decades. The constant realm voyages had risked them exposure to the Nargoths; a breakaway clique of the Andranivians, mutineers, whose planet was nearing extinction. They, the Nargothians, had like earth, wrecked everything, harnessed all the metal and minerals. Their gravity weakened, the electromagnetic force enfeebled, their two moons and sun combusted, their glaciers melted, leaving only a few survivors in the darkened, barren planet.
“Their greed destroyed them. It is the same with your people. They are headed down the same path.” He completed.
“You do not know my people. They are stronger than you imagine. They are survivors. The earth has been through a lot, but it always survived. You should know that.” I countered.
“However, it doesn’t make any sense.” I swallowed.
“Why don’t you repair theirs? It will make the trouble go away.” I quested.
“Their solar system is beyond repairs. They messed too much experimenting anti-matter, dark energy and other unstable fissionable particles they harnessed to generate fuel. Thanks to them leaving dark matter signatures littered all over space, your people have learned to generate dark matter and are now close to opening a black hole right here on earth. How imprudent could they be? These black hovels are feared all over the universes. They’ve been chaotic, careless and outright stupid.” He smacked his lips and continued.
“Besides, the Nargoths aren’t subject to our jurisdiction since they rebelled and broke away. They wanted autonomy over a planet, we gave them the planet, Typhon 0112, told them they were left to
their own devices. They wrecked it. Their failure brought to them by their hubris.” He raved, waving his index finger in midair.
“This is all too crazy,” I scratched my forehead in wonder.
“If they want the accelerators, what good is it to them if their system is dead? Are they going to come for earth?” I inquired, hoping to get a soothing response.
“Highly unlikely. They would hunt for new planets uninhabited. Your planets resources are always depleted. It will be wastage of resources for them to attempt to cleave them. My guess is, they want the Hadron Collider, so they can wreck and sustain themselves in the process. They are smart and will replicate the cyclotron and the accelerators.”
“We cannot let that happen. They will destroy each and every planet they come across.”
“Exactly.” Ranishé agreed, a satisfied look written on his face. Finally, I was seeing eye to eye with him.
“Hold on. What guarantees that when these devices are replaced, the Wraith won’t retrieve it?” I questioned. I wanted to be clear on every doubt and detail.
“It doesn’t quite work that way. Even they know the volatility of tampering with the ware once it is set in motion. Nothing above the earth or below can rescind it. Not until it beeps to be replaced and by then, it is of no use to anyone. Just empty containments.” He lectured.
“So, we have to take these devices to each of the five points on the earth's globe. That is a lot of continents away. This chopper will not even take us to the next city. We are fast running out of fuel.” I palpitated as we all gazed at each other in confusion.
“We have no time. If we do not replace these devices and the Nargothians get their hands on them, your world will shrivel and die—fast.” He forewarned.
“Oh my god!” I freaked my hands shook as I held the resistor.
“Ok, let me think.” I hummed.
“What’s your name?” He probed, attempting to keep me in line with reality.
“What?” I turned sharply.
“Your name, you never told us.”
“Right,” I blew cool air to my forehead.
“Ahem!” I cleared my throat.
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