“The second point is that a few hours ago, it was brought to my attention that at the annual Earth G14 meeting held yesterday, more than half of the voting nations are not in favour of our initial proposal for independent rule” There was a murmur in the room. Toby raised his hand for silence. “My friends, I love this planet just as much as all of you and I will do anything do defend her, even if it means laying down my own life. But make no mistake, when the time comes, I will spill the blood of any person or group that threatens our planet’s survival.” He paused again and looked around. “We all took such a pledge at respective points, when we joined the New World Legionnaires and all of you know what is at stake. Our true allies the Triadians are our own personal treasure and the ones who will reunite us with our brethren of the stars, whom our accursed ancestors of Earth nearly caused our race to lose all ties with, due to their own stupidity” said Toby. He stepped forward and spread his hands out and said “The hour is close at hand. Make no mistake of that. We will win and we shall truly see a new world emerge that is greater than any this galaxy has ever known.” With his eyes wide and his booming voice resonating across the room, the members of the New World Legionnaires knew they had a leader who would lead them to a victory they had craved for so long.
Toby watched as the members in front of him in the great hall chanted their slogan in unison “freedom to rule, freedom to live.” His tall frame, ginger hair and beard made him appear almost as a Demi-God in front of them. He raised his hand and spoke “Before we conclude our meeting today, I would like to attend to one last matter” He turned towards his right and nodded. One of the police officials stationed there pressed a button and within a few seconds, from above the stage, the body of a man began to descend from near the ceiling. The man was bound tight and had a gag in his mouth. He was unconscious and one could see deep scars lined across his face. The rope stopped and the man’s body swayed just a few inches above the stage floor. As the gathering watched, Toby undid the man’s mouth gag and then slapped him hard across the face. At first the man stirred slightly. Toby then began a series of slaps across his face till the man awoke and began cry out in a hoarse voice. “So at last you awake Mr. Ching-Wan. We thought we lost you there for a second” said Toby glaring at him. “What! Mr. Mackinrow… what! Why am I here? What’s going on? Release me. This is some kind of mistake” said Ching-Wan as he tried to wrestle with the ropes. “Oh there’s no mistake my friend. You’re here because of the near problem you placed us in the day Team Air Hawk arrived here,” said Toby slapping him across the face again. “What! How can you do this? This is against our civil code. You have no right to hold me this way. Release me…” said Ching-Wan as Toby’s hand collided once more with his face. “You listen and you listen well my friend. You’re here because of the question you asked Stroff at the conference. You know fully well that all Alita citizens swear an oath relating to the state secret of Greenleaf and that no temporary Earth visitor would ever be given a hint of what that is in any form. On that night you asked Stroff about his belief in God and whether Greenleaf would rattle that belief. Well, that is hint enough for the rest of us. You broke your oath and many questions were raised across the cyber news world regarding the reason as to why you put that forward” said Toby. “I...I...I never meant to break my oath…I merely tried to ask him a question to add a certain flavour to the story I was writing…” stammered Ching-Wan. “Silence you idiot! You know fully well what the punishment is for those you betray their oath. Six people before you shared a fate that you will now be a part of” said Toby. “No please. How can you do this?” said Ching-Wan struggling now with even greater fervour to free himself. “Struggle all you want. You’re not going anywhere, except the great abode in the sky” said Toby. “No, please…” said Ching-Wan before he screamed in agony as the cords that bound him suddenly came alive with white electric currents. The execution only lasted for a few seconds and his body then convulsed and lay still.
“Such is the fate of those who threaten to destroy all that we have worked for. Now my people let us go forth and bring in that victory that we so crave” said Toby as he walked off the stage and into the hallway. The rest of the assembly began to rise and move out of the building. Only one person remained seated and watched as the corpse of Ching-Wan was lowered and then taken off stage. “Poor man, but it was needed” said the member to himself. He rose and began to walk to the entrance where his car was waiting for him. “Will we be heading to the Halo air base sir?” asked the driver. “Yes, please proceed there at once. Also, please have Aphelia and her team keep me posted on the clone slated to take Ching-Wan’s place” said the member. “Yes sir” replied the driver.
As the man started the engine and the car rose above the ground and whizzed by the line of trees, a flock of birds caught the member’s attention as they rose towards the sky, painting an interesting pattern that moved across the air towards the ocean in the east. He adjusted himself in his seat and pressed for a glass of whiskey. A machine hand produced one and added three cubes of ice for him. “This should be an interesting day” said Buziba Chidi, Commander-In-Chief of Greenleaf's entire military force, as he took the glass to his lips and relished the icy flavour flowing across his palette.
◆◆◆
The Hunt Begins
Hangar 18
Ali rubbed his hands as he walked out of the Hangar 18 entrance. He glanced around and smiled looking at some of the aircraft parked nearby till something else caught his attention. He paused for a few seconds and then bolted forward. “Whoa! And where do you think you’re going?” said Ali as he ran across the tarmac from the hangar towards the aero bridge that was connected to Wildlife One. Estella Jenkins, Staff Sergeant and leader of the Greenleaf team that would be supporting Team Air Hawk, said curtly, “We have our orders to inspect the habitat areas and DNA storage facility that you have on board your spacecraft.” She produced a small piece of translucent paper, which then displayed a video confirmation given by council member Adolf Brandt, allowing them to enter Wildlife One. “Well, whatever you’ve got I can’t let you go on alone, so I’m coming with you,” said Ali. “As you wish, my team and I would be most interested in knowing how you plan to care for the unfortunate creatures you wish to abduct,” said Estella glaring at Ali. “Abduct? Okay, listen lady I don’t know where you get off, but the point is that we have a mission here and…,”said Ali before he was interrupted by Nigel coming up from behind him. “Ah, Ali, Ali! Come on there, son. No need to get all worked up. The lady just wants to have a look around at what we got. No harm done. What do you say, love?” said Nigel swinging his right arm around Ali’s neck and winking at Estella. “I am Staff Sergeant Estella Jenkins, leader of the Greenleaf Sparrow team that will be supporting you. And I would appreciate if you address me by my name, and not “love”. Is that understood?” said Estella taking a step forward towards Ali and Nigel. “Oh yes, my lady, as you say,” said Nigel as he tipped his hat in her direction. “Shall we then?” said Estella as she proceeded towards the aero bridge.
Akira watched the proceedings from the entrance of the hangar and while she couldn’t hear anything, she could make out that the two groups were not exactly getting along. “What do you suppose is up with them?” she asked Raveena, nudging her chin in their direction. “Oh! No idea, but these Greenleaf folk really give me the creeps at times. I just don’t get them. It’s only been a few days and while this place is absolutely gorgeous I can’t help but feel that everyone here is not at ease. Somehow, I feel they are quite literally living on the edge,” said Raveena as she swung her leg, while sitting on a set of box containers. “Well, for me it doesn’t matter, so long as we get the job done. But I’m most curious about the fact as to why we are restricted or more likely forbidden to visit the other continents out here, like Karithia and Volmudian. From the satellite imagery, those spots look absolutely stunning,” said Akira still watching the group as they got onto the aero bridge. “That’s because you w
ould not survive there, due to the Boutra insects,” said Buziba from behind her. Both Raveena and Akira were startled by the deep baritone voice and turned around quickly to locate its source. There they saw the Commander-In-Chief of Greenleaf’s military force standing behind them with four armed guards by his side.
“My apologies, dear ladies, if I startled you. You see, both the Karithia and Volmudian continents lie towards the southern hemisphere of our planet and as the topography and vegetation are unique to those parts, these insects seem to thrive very well there. The plants and animals living there have of course over time developed a strong immune system and are unaffected by them. But when our first exploration team visited those sites in 2072, they contracted a deadly illness after being bitten by those insects, which sadly could not be cured. The disease, which we term as White Fever, causes the blood in your arteries to thicken and leads to a slow agonising death, where your heart stops pumping within a span of an hour. Though since that time we have developed what I would label as a primitive cure, where a patient could be partially healed,” said Buziba as he glanced slowly from one face to the other. He cleared his throat and continued, “I say that because it would take a full 8 months to regain consciousness but unfortunately, you would be paralysed for life in the primary and nearby regions of your body where the insect has bitten you,” said Buziba with an ice cold stare. “But, thankfully, the Boutra can’t seem to exist outside of those zones and so we leave them in peace and they do the same for us,” he added.
“Wow! Well I never read anything about the Boutra before,” said Akira. “Of course you haven’t, my dear. We’ve never shared those findings with Earth till now. Only the TASNSA council knows of their existence and as all visitors stay confined to our island of Alita in the northern hemisphere, there is no need to cause a panic,” said Buziba as he smiled at both of them. Just then Raveena’s armlet flashed red. “Oh! Sorry I just got a message from my husband. I’ll be back,” she said and walked quickly to the other side of the hangar. Buziba’s eyes followed her and then returned to Akira. “So, you see my dear, my intention is to keep you all safe as well as the population of Alita. So do trust us when we say do not go beyond the fly zone,” said Buziba. “Oh, sure! Thanks for that wonderful lesson. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind,” said Akira as she crossed her hands. “My pleasure. I look forward to speaking to you again,” said Buziba and he turned to leave having spotted John and Paulo entering the hangar. “Oh yes, likewise I’m sure,” said Akira as she watched him depart. “Wow, there’s a character for sure,” she thought.
Meeting Area, Hangar 18
Twenty minutes later, Team Air Hawk and the Greenleaf Sparrow team were seated in the middle of the hangar. The whole set up consisted of an array of hover chairs, all facing towards a podium and a presentation screen. Mike and Adrian watched as Buziba walked toward the podium and spoke. “Team Air Hawk, I welcome you to the Halo airbase. I am sure we are all going to get along just fine,” said Buziba. His tall frame and robust physique made him a very intimidating character to most of the group present. “The first stage of this operation will begin with a survey across the savannahs of Erong, the coastlines of Vilia and the forests of South Doren. Our team Greenleaf Sparrow, will be led by Staff Sergeant Estella Jenkins and as per the reports submitted by TASNSA before your departure, her team will be divided into three groups of 10 members each. The groups will be led by Adrian Adlin, Mike Johnson and Nigel Greenback. Mr. Stroff and Ms. Jenkins will participate in each team’s operations as they deem fit. For my part, the Greenleaf military is at your disposal and any requirements that you may have, may be passed on to my secretary, Josh Shapiro,” said Buziba indicating with his right hand to a slightly stout man with curly brown hair. Josh nodded and surveyed the group in front of him from his side of the stage. “And so, if there are no questions, I will ask both Mr. Stroff and Ms. Jenkins to go over their respective plans with all of you. That will be all, thank you!” said Buziba as a short burst of applause greeted his final words.
John looked around at the group in front of him and thought about the mammoth task that lay ahead. Till this point, the mission and its glory had seemed overwhelmingly wonderful. But now the reality of the task was beginning to sink in. “Well, I thank you Commander Chidi for your kind words. A big hello to everyone present here. At the outset, I would like to thank all of you for your support and dedication to this mission. As you are aware, we are looking to contain a set of animal, bird and marine species, the details of which you can see on the screen behind me. The aim would be to capture each group and have them transported to the Corinthian Park that you have towards the East of Axedon. There, your veterinarians have assured us they will be able to care for them and get their bodies used to being in a cryogenic state, needed for the long journey back to Earth. To elaborate further, the species that we are looking for are as follows: 10 carnivores that include: Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar, Mountain Lion, Timber Wolf, Fox, Grizzly bear, Polar bear and of course the very elusive Tiger,” said John with a smile as a photograph of an Earth Tiger was displayed on the screen. There were a few laughs and he continued with his discourse.
Following him, Estella came on to the stage and spoke through the profiles of each of her team and which ones would be assigned to Nigel, Mike and Adrian. Nigel would oversee the capture of carnivores and herbivores, while Mike would handle the marine species including getting DNA samples of Whales, Squid, Walrus and Seals. Adrian would look after the bird species and after its completion would assist Nigel with his work. Ali would remain on base and work in coordination with the Corinthian Park medical department, while Raveena, Akira and Paulo would man the station set up at the hangar, to coordinate with each of the teams. “While this is our structure, I would like to dwell now on the type of equipment we’ll be using,” said Estella. With that she began to display a series of medical equipment, air, land, and water vehicles. She then proceeded to display cage designs, capture nets and personnel gear for each excursion.
“Crikey, would you look at the curves on that one, eh, Mike?” said Nigel as he grinned and slid further down in his seat. “Ah! She’s alright my man. It’s the lady standing next to the stage that I got my eye on,” said Mike indicating with his hand. “Yeah! She’s nice too, well good hunting to you my friend. I got my eyes set on that daisy right there,” said Nigel. “Suit yourself,” said Mike turning back to the presentation. “And so, the most important part of all, ladies and gentlemen, is that there will be no use of firearms, except what we give you. The only weapons you will be permitted to handle will be the Walter 280 hand gun and the Walter 378 rifle. Both these weapons work on laser shots. They temporarily stun the animal for a period of 6 hours. The laser puts their systems into a state of sleep, which gives us enough time to place them in their respective cages, without causing them any harm or injury. So do remember only these weapons are meant to be used,” said Estella. “Ah, come on, sweet heart, that ain’t no fun. You need a really good tranquiliser like mine,” said Nigel a bit too loud. “Well, Mr. Greenback, for your information you won’t be allowed to carry that with you into the field,” said Estella. “Ah, go on with you. I can do so if I bloody well like,” said Nigel as he stood up and jabbed his hand in the direction of the stage. “Mr. Greenback, our laws will not permit such a thing. Do respect what our constitution has laid down. I, for one, would most appreciate it,” said Buziba. His bald head gleamed a bit from the light coming in from the skylight above. Nigel looked around in frustration but as neither John nor the rest of the team were willing to say anything, he threw his arms up in frustration and sat down again. “Lousy witch. Think she can outsmart me, does she?” said Nigel to himself. “Still think she’s hot enough for your Nigel,” said Mike digging his elbow into Nigel’s side. “Ah, screw you Mike,” said Nigel turning quite red in the face.
After 30 minutes the presentations ended and the group broke for an early lunch. “You know I really wish you had stood up for me b
ack there, about my gun, John,” said Nigel as to the two of them stood by the food counter. “It’s not that I don’t stand by you, Nigel. It’s just that we are guests here and we need to respect the rules these people have,” said John as he held his plate in one hand and forked around the tray of sausages in front of him. “Ah, screw that, John. Come on, put in a word for me,” said Nigel still looking at him. John turned and sighed heavily. Looking at Nigel he could almost see a small boy in front of him, badly in need of a hug. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” said John. “Ah, that’s the spirit Johnny, my boy,” said Nigel as he slapped him on the back and went off to join the Air Hawk team at their table. “Please don’t encourage your friend so much, Mr. Stroff,” said Estella as she came next to him. “Oh! Well I am not encouraging him but I do think that you should reconsider your stand. He is a responsible member and wouldn’t look to harm anything,” said John. “That is something I refuse to believe. The approval for allowing a foreign weapon into service is restricted and Commander Buziba, whose authority you need, won’t agree either,” said Estella. “I understand Estella, but Nigel’s tranquiliser gun has been certified as field worthy by TASNSA, who, as you are aware have an elite team of scientists that have testified…,” said John as Estella cut in. “On what grounds, Mr. Stroff? As I recall your planet has hardly any animals left, which is why you are here. How can you tell me with any degree of certainty that your scientists can say that their tranquiliser gun, can honestly not affect the animals here? They’ve had no hard evidence on how the tranquiliser drug will work on several species you wish to capture,” said Estella. “Estella there is no need to get so agitated. But, more importantly, the drug used in the gun as well as the needles are the same as was used on Earth animals more than a 100 years ago,” said John. “And as we all know, most of those animals from Earth are extinct…do enjoy your lunch, Mr. Stroff,” said Estella as she walked off with her plate towards her team seated at another table close by. “She’s a hot head for sure,” John mumbled to himself.
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