Artificial Exile
Page 13
“They overwhelmed us. We saw, however, the Iorine explosion while we were retreating.”
“They weren’t sure if it destroyed the robots’ energy storage, however, and they were debating if they would return,” Jaina said to him. “I convinced them to return. We needed to know.”
“We needed to see if it was successful,” Taner spoke. “No robots came, so we decided to risk it and return.”
“You made the right decision,” Bek told them. “Malok managed to take out the energy storage, and the robots are running out of energy. We could hear them shutting down on the days we were here.”
“Malok…He didn’t make it?” Valeena asked while looking among everyone for him.
“No, Ms. Valeena,” Abel replied to her gently. “He died following his goal to the end—successfully.”
“He did it,” Bek said. “He managed to bring the rogues to Earth and take out the robots, like he wanted to do all along.”
“Everyone knew he was in it to the end, whatever it took. Malok and Denec are heroes of humanity now,” Taner said to them. “We wouldn’t be here without them; we would be slaves of the robots, exiled forever to Cennan.”
“We should build them a memorial here on Earth,” Abel said. “Without them, we wouldn’t be standing here.”
“I agree,” Taner replied. Valeena didn’t say anything. She only looked toward the destroyed energy storage, and the robots that lay inactive next to it.
“Valeena, your sword,” Bek approached, handing it to her. “We found it after you left. It helped us here.”
“It served us well,” Valeena replied to him while taking it and placing it back on her back. “Thank you, Malok,” she whispered as she turned toward the destroyed energy storage and saw that people walked free again on Earth.
“We found this group of people roaming around the lake near here,” Bek said while pointing to Ekia and the other people they had gathered.
“I believe it would be best to take them back to Cennan. It’s still the best place for humans to live. Earth needs a lot of rebuilding, not to mention exploring in order to find more people,” Jaina told them.
“More people should be around this area, because the reason the robots kept them was to replace us,” Bek replied. “They were preparing to come after they cleared the city of us.”
Valeena intervened in the discussion. “We brought some supplies, enough for a small team to stay for a while here. If there are volunteers, we can start exploring the area around us to gather as many people as we can find. The rest should take the rescued people back to Cennan and organize a bigger mission to come back to Earth,” she said, walking away from them.
“I’ll be joining,” Taner said to her, and around four more of the rogues who had come with them agreed as well.
“Go to unload the supplies from the transport shuttle,” Valeena said to them. “We will save as many people as we can find, and bury our dead who were sacrificed. We will see what remains of the robots here.”
“Ms. Valeena, I want to come, as well,” Abel jumped close to her and told her.
“Stop calling everyone Mr. or Ms.,” she replied. “You are free to join. You are one of the liberators of Earth now.”
“Go ahead, Abel. We will meet again soon,” Bek said to him, and he waved farewell, seeing that was what Abel had wanted all along. Abel waved back to Bek and Jaina and headed toward the area of the lake, along with Valeena and Taner, to begin searching Earth. Meanwhile, the rogues who would follow them went to grab supplies from the transport shuttle. Bek, with Jaina and the remaining rogues who would return to Cennan, approached the group of rescued people.
“Ekia, we want to take you all to Cennan,” Bek said to her. “You will be given residences to stay in as part of the city. When we rebuild Earth, you will be free to come back.” She turned toward her parents who stood among the others in the group, and after discussing the proposal, she turned back to Bek.
“We have nowhere to live here. We trust you,” she answered.
“We are safe from the robots now,” Jaina said to them. “Come.” After looking around them for a while, the whole group walked toward them. Bek and Jaina went off to one side, and the rogues escorting them followed in the back. They walked, with the desolate plains around them, devoid of sound.
“Earth seems weird without life,” Bek said to Jaina while walking.
“We will make it lively again,” she replied as they headed closer to the transport shuttle. The rogues who would stay on Earth came toward them, carrying the last of the supplies. They passed by, waving happily. Everyone waved to them back with excitement, seeing that humans were roaming the planet again, even though they were in fewer numbers compared to the time when humanity had been the dominant species on the planet. Arriving at the transport shuttle, everything around them was calm. They escorted everyone inside, and the rogues, along with Bek and Jaina, entered once everyone else was seated. Bek took a look outside for one last glimpse of Earth.
“Come. We will prepare to launch now,” Jaina said. Bek took a seat among the rest of the people they had saved. Ekia was with her parents; they were talking, but they were calm. Jaina initiated the transport shuttle launch while Bek sat peacefully, looking outside the windows as they were leaving. He remembered what Malok had said—that Earth was their true home. He wanted to make Earth their home once again after they defeated the robots for good.
Instructions were given to the people they had saved to be calm during the trip as they warped through the gate above Earth. Everyone remained in order during the whole process. Soon, their shuttle flew above Cennan, and before long, began its descent.
“The people of Cennan were worried about the mission when the rogues returned without solid news,” Jaina said to them. “They will be waiting for us. They were preparing in case another robot assault was going to come.”
“The robots won’t be coming to clear the city. We are bringing free humans back instead,” Bek told her.
The transport shuttle followed its course toward the export center and steadily climbed down, landing on Cennan. People from the city were waiting at the export center as they saw it coming to land, and even more started to arrive with vehicles from the city. Bek knew that it would be a relief for them to see the transport shuttle arriving back, and not another robot invasion.
They made their landing among a crowd that was getting bigger all the time, waiting to hear what their future would be. Bek got up and headed to open the doors, while Jaina was helping the rescued people, along with the other rogues. He got outside while the crowd came closer to the shuttle as soon as they saw the doors opening. He exited the shuttle and went to climb on top of a nearby vehicle, in order to address the waiting crowd.
“My fellow humans, I report to you that the robots are no more! They are nothing—with no more energy after we destroyed their storage on Earth, they have been defeated!” he said. Upon hearing this, it took a few moments for the news to sink in. People merely looked at each other, and then all of a sudden, they erupted in cheers. Jaina escorted Ekia and the others close to where Bek was addressing the crowd. “These people were among those who the robots kept on Earth in order to replace us. We saved them, but there are more on Earth, and rogues are there now, searching for them.”
Bek looked toward the city, which was peaceful now. “We will take care of them here, and give them a place to stay. More transport shuttles will need to be repaired in order to take people who want to live on Earth and help rebuild. They would be able to come and go as they wish.” More cheers came from the crowd as some people went closer to the rescued group in order to welcome them. “A small colony would be built initially to rescue more people, and the colony would be used as a base for searching the planet. There is no energy on Earth, so I understand if people who are used to the technology here on Cennan do not want to go back. Others will go, like me and Jaina, because it’s our natural home, and we want to reclaim it,” he continued. �
��We can’t fix all of humanity’s mistakes, but we can always try to make things better,” he said, and he climbed down among the cheering crowd, waving to everyone and heading toward the smiling Jaina.
They took the group they had saved and went toward the vehicles that were parked at the export center. They loaded up everyone and as people cheered them on they headed back to their city, now their second home, along with Earth.
Acknowledgments
To my wonderful family, for their help and support.
Copyright © 2018 by D.S. Emerson
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