The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4)

by Anthony Lorino, Rebecca

  Rog started to look nervous when he mentioned the guards. Araime looked away and focused on the plan. “I can take him out in the elevator or in this hallway here,” she pointed at the screen as she spoke. “Quiet maneuvers would be best. I would have to stun him if possible. What are the odds of getting a gun inside the hospital?”

  Dr. Langston shook his head, “None. You will have to use physical force. Do you know a good sleeper hold?” She nodded. She had learned many techniques for subduing an assailant. Rog was turning green now. She had to stop looking in his direction. “Garrett showed us a technique to choke someone until they pass out. I am rather good at hand to hand combat when it comes to choking my opponent out.”

  “Rog, you will have to hack the security system and take over the cameras. We can’t have the hospital alerted to anything out of the ordinary. Once she exits the elevator, lock the doors behind her and put it out of use. That will buy us some time to get Ava to the transport vehicles located at the loading docks.” He pointed at the plans. The laundry transport crafts could wait here. A guy named Naten owned the company, and he was an active rebel informant. Rog contacted him immediately when a getaway vehicle would be required. It would help them stay under the radar because he already had a contract to collect the hospital’s dirty linens.

  “Araime,” Rog said softly.

  He was going to try to convince her that he would find someone else but, she wasn’t going to let him. She put her hand up to stop him from speaking another word. “Rog, I can do this. You know I can.”

  Dr. Langston cleared his throat and said, “If you will excuse me, I need to go check on my son. That is all I can do for now.” Rog and Araime nodded as he left the room.

  “Rog, I can do this,” she pleaded.

  “Why does it have to be you? Why Araime? We need you here. I need you here.” Rog’s voice was firm and unyielding. It made her feel uneasy. What could she say to ease his fears?

  “Rog, I have been training for this for a long time. You can’t deny the fact that I can take care of myself in every situation that the doctor has described. You know that I can do this! Why are you making this so difficult? It has to be me! Don’t you understand?”

  “I know it has to be you!” he yelled. It was almost as if he didn’t want to hear himself admit that she was right. He caressed her cheek with his hand. “You have to promise that you will come back to me. I don’t think I could live without you. Promise me, Araime.” He put his forehead to hers and closed his eyes.

  “I will come back to you Rog. Just like you come back to me every time you leave with our soldiers. I promise, I will.” She leaned into him and touched her lips to his slowly. She could feel his fingers touch the tender skin of her scalp cupping her skull in his hands as he took the kiss deeper. It was as if he was claiming her soul. She would return to him. There was no way that she could live without him either.

  Chapter 15

  Just before the meeting started, Ceran learned that Zirlo would be taking command the ship he was getting ready, The Pyxis. Truthfully, he expected so much when he heard that Zeb’s father had returned. While he respected Commander Zirlo immensely, to say that he wasn’t disappointed at the change of plans would be a lie. Ceran was really looking forward to his first mission in the command seat. Zeb had told him personally that he was glad that Ceran would be with his father because Zirlo would have to learn all the new technology that he missed over the last ten years.

  Ceran settled down in a chair next to Zirlo and Zeb. The council chamber was packed and there were many people standing in the back of the large room. Everyone on the planet would watch the meeting from the holographic tables that were installed in every house and public area. The fate of many was on the line. After a commanding speech by Commander Zirlo, one by one a representative from each planet that pledged help in one form or another, agreed to participate in the recovery mission. Some of the others had elaborated on how their planet had been terrorized by Gatton before giving their support. With overwhelming support, they began the process of coming up with a plan.

  Zeb, Zirlo, and other top commanders from the Galactic Federation were seated in chairs behind a long table set on the center stage in the large room. The Theron council members were in chairs that surrounded the stage with some of Theron’s citizens sitting and standing behind them. All the delegates from neighboring planets that made the trek to Theron were each given balconies that overlooked the center of the room. The representatives that could not come to Theron were displayed via holographical image when they spoke suspended above the stage for all to see. Most amazingly was the holographic image of Lord Ashtar from the Ashtar Command that was affiliated with the Interdimensional Federation of Free Worlds. He told them what they were all about and their current objectives. Collectively, they are a group of individuals mainly from the Sirius, Pleiades and Alcyone star systems. Their goal is to be ambassadors of peace and goodwill from the great central sun and their mission is to bring Earth into the United Confederation of Peaceful Worlds. They became aware of Theron and had joined this endeavor because of the women they took from the Earth.

  “We need act quickly. Our ships should surround the Drylon in masse as soon as tomorrow so that Gatton will not have time to prepare. The odds are that he already suspects our intentions. He is not a stupid being. Soon he will realize that something is amiss when there is evidence that commander of the Theron warriors has disappeared without a trace.” King Og, of Estormia, grunted out. The king had decided to come himself. The large horn that adorned his face was decorated with jewels and lines of gold denoting his rank and importance among his people. His skin was cracked and gray, and several of his large teeth jutted out under the skin when he closed his large mouth. His large dark eyes glanced around the room as if waiting for a rebuttal.

  Zirlo rose and walked over to the podium to speak. “We have received word from an informant stationed in the camp where I was enslaved that Gatton was led to believe that both Lars and I died at the bottom of a pit. They are still trying to locate the ship that went AWOL. I agree with King Og. We must act quickly. I propose we prepare our ships to depart immediately.” There was a small object in his hand and when he pressed a button, a holographic image of Drylon hovered over the center of the room. “Within the next day we should all meet at the outer edge of the Mithuna System. Just here…” He highlighted a section of the map, “There is a wormhole that connects to the Drylon System’s outermost planet. Once we are all gathered in their solar system, we will most likely be detected by sensors and probes dispatched to the area.”

  “It is imperative that we all warp immediately upon entering the system to Drylon and surround the planet with our fighters. The larger ships will stay in the back, like so.” He pressed the button again and the image zoomed past the outer planets and focused on Drylon with the ships in formation. He zoomed further in on the planet to show the land masses and oceans. “The camps that I know about have been highlighted for each of you along with a list of who is known to occupy them. You can explore this information further yourself with the schematics I have sent to each and every one of you. We will work together to reach our goal of freeing everyone. However, I think that it would better if each civilization targets camps that house their own people. Some of these prisoners have been imprisoned for more than thirty years. They most likely assume that they have been forgotten. It would be best for them if they are encountered by people of their own race when they are rescued.”

  “I also want to take some time to prepare you all for what you will find in the camps. Most of you will find that the conditions of prison each camp are highly disturbing. I can only elude to the of descriptions of the other camps using testimony given by the other leaders that I regularly met in the dungeons and my own observations of the one I lived in. You will find that most prisoners will be malnourished, sickly, weak, and broken down. Many have resolved themselves to the belief that they will die in the camps. As of rig
ht now, only a select few have the knowledge of my escape. Most have no idea that we are coming. The other camps will have no idea that we are coming. I want to emphasize that this will not be an easy mission.”

  No one spoke as Zirlo went over the plan. The attitude in the room was somber at best. Sometimes meetings like this were up for debate for days or weeks, especially when you had so many different alien races in attendance. This one was moving fast. Ceran could see that everyone was nodding and murmuring in acceptance of the proposed plan at each step.

  When Zirlo was finished talking, he looked around the room and up to the balconies for questions. King Ruadh from Blacknor stood in his booth. He was small, half the size of a Theron man, and had a beard of white and a blue pointed hat that was covered in decorative stitches. “What are we to do with Gatton when we find him?”

  “Kill him!” yelled Wontwoon, a Sanganese representative. This started a chant of “Kill him!” to be yelled around the council chamber.

  Zirlo raised his hands to ask for silence and the room began to quiet down, “I agree with Wontwoon. Until Gatton is dead, we will never see peace in the galaxy. Many of us have personally suffered at his hand. That being said, our mission should also include the elimination of Gatton from existence. I received a report from the captain of the rebel forces on Drylon that Gatton has stepped up his attacks in the city of Haierti. Haierti is where the rebellion is growing in strength and number. The Drylon people are tired of Gatton’s tyranny as well. Another objective of this mission is to free the Drylon people from Gatton’s rule. Once Gatton is removed, the Drylon people will be given the opportunity to resume their position in the Intergalactic Council.”

  Cheers circulated around the room. Zirlo raised his hands again to quiet them. “Ready your ships and your forces everyone. We will meet in the Mithuna System as soon as you are ready. I want everyone there in two days Theron time. If you need assistance preparing your troops or ships, please come speak to me. I will coordinate with the various leaders to assign you some additional help. In the words of the former Drylon council, ‘May peace and honor be with you always.’”

  Ceran left the meeting confident. Four hours of meeting and debates closed with a general feeling of camaraderie among many planets. Some of the planets participating today had been out of the loop for eons and it was good to reform the alliances with them. New friends were made today and old bonds strengthened. That was what was important to the future of the federation.

  

  Gracie’s Journal:

  Today was a pivotal day on the planet Theron. Today we decided the fate of this world as well as many others. I have just returned from one of the most important council meetings that I have ever attended while on this planet. It has been discovered that many people from many different planets have been captured and forced to work in prison camps sentenced to hard labor.

  When Commander Zirlo described the conditions of the camp where he was imprisoned, I immediately thought about prison labor camps set up by the Nazi government in World War II on my home planet, Earth. There, Jewish people were gathered and loaded into railroad cars like cattle. They were herded into labor camps and starved and worked to death. Some were deceived with the prospect of taking a shower, but instead brought into gas chambers to be exterminated. It was Hitler’s nearly successful attempt at genocide. I was told that this is a similar to what Gatton had tried to do to the planet Theron ten short years ago.

  As much as I hate to think about how we will soon go to war, I know that we need to do everything possible to bring the people of the various camps home. The fate of many planets rides on this mission, not just ours. It was something that I would have never imagined I would see in my lifetime. People of many different races, from many different planets, assembled today to work together to forge a plan to bring peace to the galaxies. In this mission, Gatton would have to be eliminated. He has brought so much destruction to so many places. The home planet of the Uvites, UV-49, has been destroyed and is unlivable today. Drylon is well on its way to being unsuitable for life as well. However, Drylon can still be saved if we act fast.

  It was proposed that with aggressive terra-farming, we might be able to return stability to Drylon’s atmosphere. If only the people of my planet were advanced enough to be able to join the intergalactic council. Just imagine what Earth might have learned through all of this. Just the idea that there is technology in the universe that has the capability to stop global warming on planets such as Earth. Not only that, the possibility to reverse the damage which humans have unknowingly done to harm the planet over hundreds of years of industry and pollution. It goes to show you that it really doesn’t take a long period of time to destroy something as precious as a living, life-sustaining planet.

  Grace placed the pen to the side of her Journal unsure of how she wanted to write the next bit down. Just an hour ago she was allowed to sit in on a meeting that would change her view of the universe forever. She was able to look at the faces of people who lived throughout the universe. What surprised her the most was the talk about how a group called the Galactic Federation of the Milky Way Galaxy had stationed a group called Ashtar Command to look over the solar system that contained her former home. Lord Ashtar spoke of his mission in working with the planetary beings of all twelve planets that existed there.

  The most mind-blowing revelation to her was that the planets in her solar system were hollow as were most others in the universe. Could Jules Vern’s story “Journey to the Center of the Earth” be a factual account? Who knew? From Lord Ashtar’s speech, she found out that the Interdimensional Federation of Free Worlds is a large body made up of 33 vast sectors from everywhere in the cosmos in an all-encompassing body, The Federation. Their job is to advise and suggest paths for planetary evolution, but to never enforce rules or punishments. Their goal in this mission is to prevent the people of Earth from destroying their planet. The destruction of Earth could inadvertently destroy parts or all of the Galaxy along with it. Ashtar found himself involved in this endeavor to attack Drylon, in part, because of the abductions of the sixteen women from Earth.

  He spoke of a time of great technological sophistication in areas on planet Earth such as Atlantis, Egypt, Sumeria, Japan. How these civilizations fumbled through evolution only to have to only succumb to their place in the lower dimensional planes because of their attitudes and support of warfare, hate, discrimination, and fear. They would not be restored to the higher vibrational dimensions until they learned the importance of unconditional love. Ashtar commented that he has seen a shift in overall global conscience that make him hope that the people of Earth will be restored to the fifth dimension relatively soon.

  These stories went against everything that she learned in her history classes at home. It just goes to show that those who aligned themselves with the ancient astronaut theory were more correct than they even knew. He said that the civilizations that are a part of Ashtar Command were driven to prevent the Earth from following the same path as the planet Maldek. Maldek was destroyed by overloading its technological circuit by splitting life-giving atoms. All that remains of the ruined planet is now the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The truth that had been dumped on her today was so overwhelming that her head was starting to ache. Even though she had practiced yoga and believed in new-age practices such as the benefits of meditation and the necessity of a global expanding consciousness, it was hard to align her beliefs with these new truths.

  

  Ceran made his way to the transportation pad and asked the engineer to send him to his ship. He felt himself break down into the smallest possible elements and regain his corporal form in his office. Well, it wasn't his office anymore. Behind the desk sat Zirlo looking at the table top display and checking off the lists of completed tasks in readying the ship. “Despite the long absence, it seems some things never change.” He mumbled.

  “Sir?” Ceran asked.

  “Checklists.” H
e said as he looked up at his second in command, “It has been some time since I have had to do this.”

  “If you need me to assist you with them, I will be happy to help, Sir,” Ceran offered.

  “It’s my responsibility now. You have your own checklists, do you not?”

  Ceran nodded, “Yes sir.”

  “How is your Uncle Samel?” Zirlo asked almost afraid of the answer.

  “He died in the attack. His house was vaporized.” Ceran said softly.

  “I am sorry to hear that. He was a good man.”

  “Yes, he was.” He looked around at his belongings around the room and the box of Zirlo’s things on the floor near the desk. “Actually, I was coming to move my stuff.” He walked over to a table along the wall and started to pick up a picture of his family when he was just a boy. He ran his finger across the image to get rid of a speck of dust that settled on his mother’s face.

  “Ceran, I want you to know that I knew when I met you that you were something special,” Zirlo said looking at Ceran under his brow. “I am sorry that they assigned me to command your ship. They actually gave me Zeb’s ship, but I thought that it would be best to take the Pyxis. She would be more familiar to me. Even though she has changed since I had left, she still feels the same. I can hear the same buzz from the gravitation simulators and the electricity generators. I always did love the old girl.” He caressed the desk as if remembering the adventures he had seen in this office. “As soon as this mission is over, I intend to retire. Just wanted you to know that the ship will be yours again soon.”