Orion's Children

by Rohan Moorthy

  The group went downstairs, where a large gathering of Greenleaf personnel were assembled. Part of the group made way for General Ansari, who walked to the front of the room and on a large monitor saw the image of masked man gesticulating wildly from a place, which he recognised as being the office of President Anderson’s. The man spoke in a harsh and coarse tone. “For too long has Greenleaf been expected to serve the people of Earth. This has been home to a select few brave men, women and children and we are tired of your demands to provide for your endless greed. You have exactly one hour to sign a declaration and show all the people of both our worlds that Greenleaf is from this day forward an independent colony from Earth. Equally important is that all of our ties will effectively end as well. In other words, we will cease to recognise your existence completely. But let me add that if you attempt to launch a counter strike against us it will be futile. We have in place a web of chemical bombs in your sky that will detonate and cause vast devastation across the continents of Africa, Europe and Western Asia. Millions will die and the chemical that will fall cannot be cured with any medicine you have or can conjure up. It is made from the deadly Bautra insect venom only native to our planet. If you so much as attempt to send a SWAT team to interfere or if we see a single ship, satellite or vehicle come within any distance of the Wildlife One spacecraft, we will detonate our devices. So let me be very clear on that point.

  “To all of Earth’s leaders I say this, do as you’re instructed and no one will have to pay the price for your foolishness. And to the people of Earth I say this that if your world is in ruins right now, then you only have your forefathers to blame. Do not expect our world to right a wrong for you,” said the masked man. “One hour is all you have,” he added and with that the screen went blank for a few seconds. A frantic set of Earth TV reporters came on to discuss this development. General Ansari and his crew stared in disbelief at what they had just seen. “The lousy idiots. Let’s take them out right now,” yelled Nigel. “No. Don’t lose your head Nigel. This is not the time for that. We need a proper plan,” said Khalid. “Don’t tell me to…” said Nigel, but he was cut off when Carmen placed her hand on his mouth and pulled him aside. “Darling not like this please. Leave it to General Ansari, he’ll know what to do,” she said. Nigel tried to argue but finally relented. She tugged at his arm and led him back up the stairs. General Ansari watched them leave and then turned to face his crew. “We have a lot of work to do people. The first order of business is to rescue President Anderson,” said Khalid.

  The group got to work in formulating a plan. After 20 minutes, one of his men called to him. “Sir Michael Chen, the UN Secretary General is on the screen,” he said. Everyone turned to watch. Standing within the main assembly of the UN, Michael Chen look sternly towards the cameras hovering in front of him. His dark blue suit and purple tie contrasted against the colour of his face, which appeared cherry red. He sipped a glass of water and then spoke. “To the people of Earth and to those few with the right sense of mind on Greenleaf, I would like to say that today a great bond of solidarity and goodwill that we have worked towards building over the past 70 years has been broken. This ultimatum that has been given to us, is nothing less than an act of terrorism. I for one am appalled at such behaviour and while I deeply condemn this threat, the governing representatives of the United Nations and I feel that we cannot risk the innocent lives of countless civilians here on Earth. It is therefore, our decision today, to announce that we do hereby declare that Greenleaf be considered an independent colony of Earth. But while we do grant this request, we ask that all personnel who are non-Greenleaf citizens be allowed safe passage back to our planet. They are innocent bystanders who have nothing to do with this conflict. To those Greenleaf citizens, who are present on Earth at this time, we do apologies but need to comply with the series of demands given to us earlier and will have no choice but to deport you back to Greenleaf. However, as this exchange of people will take several months to complete, we ask those in charge at Greenleaf to allow us to maintain contact for a period of a year. All member countries will be signing a formal agreement, which will be sent to the main office at the Temple of the Sun within the next hour. I, therefore, request that the device of destruction present in our skies be deactivated as quickly as possible and that no further harm be brought upon the citizens of Earth in any form. I thank you in advance for your cooperation,” said Michael Chen. General Ansari stared at the screen and then switched it off. He turned and saw Nigel standing behind him. “Well I guess you heard,” said Khalid. “Yes I did,” said Nigel.

  Greenleaf Presidential House

  President Anderson stared out of the window of his bedroom. He kept turning the incident from this morning over and over again in his head. “How could I have missed seeing all the signs? How could we have failed the Assiross and not acted sooner? We found out about the New World Legionnaires last week…what a fool I’ve been!” he thought to himself. He heard the door open behind him and saw Commander Buziba Chidi walk in. “Well I don’t think I’d win any prizes for guessing that you orchestrated this little charade,” said Kenneth. “My dear President Anderson, now is not the time to be bitter. Now is the time to celebrate. For only a few minutes ago, the United Nations Ambassador Michael Chen formally declared that we are an independent colony from Earth and that his wretched planet won’t have anything more to do us ever again,” said Buziba taking a seat in front of Kenneth. “Have you lost your mind Buziba? Have you any idea what you have done? You have compromised this entire planet, humanity and more importantly, you have betrayed the….” said Kenneth as Buziba cut in. “Assiross? Betrayed the Assiross my dear President Anderson? Oh yes my friend I know we each swore an oath upon arriving at Greenleaf. But don’t get me wrong. I did enjoy my many visits to Roonbranook. But my allegiance or rather the allegiance of quite a few people here belong to the true guardians of our race. The ones who are strong and who will reward us greatly for our loyal service to them. The Triadians,” he said. “Are you crazy? They are using you. They have no intention of helping humanity,” said Kenneth. Buziba laughed heartily, which infuriated Kenneth all the more. He saw the large man rise up from his seat and stand across from him. “Oh they do my dear Kenneth. They do. No doubt you and your precious General Khalid Ansari thought you were very clever in discovering our cloning facility of the east coast. Let me tell you something, I let you discover it. There is no point in keeping something a secret anymore when ones victory is assured. But it surprises me as to how you’ve not asked me why? Well, let me tell you. My family as you know have always been loyal members to the Defenders of Amanora from centuries past. The Triadians told us about Greenleaf and the outpost the Assiross had created here. They needed our on-ground help when the time was right and so we helped them. We gathered intelligence and passed it on to them when our members visited Roonbranook. You might ask how come your precious Assiross never guessed by looking into our heads, well that’s because the Triadians gave us the tools to keep those frauds out of our minds. However, six of our members nearly betrayed us and we made short work of them. The Triadians gave us the technology and assistance to create the facility your men found. And remember, till now you didn’t even know it existed. But because of that near betrayal your precious allies got suspicious and informed you that not only did they suspect Triadian movement but also that some senior people from Greenleaf were in…how do you say that…in cahoots with them? Well none of that matters now does it?” said Buziba grinning broadly at Kenneth. “It doesn’t matter now. But you have started a possible war with Earth and…” said Kenneth as Buziba raised his hand. “I suggest you hold your tongue old man. For it gives me pleasure to inform you that you are no longer President of this fine nation,” said Buziba with a stern face. He took a step forward and said “I am and I shall ensure that not only does Greenleaf become even greater but I will also ensure that the humans, who live here are allowed to prosper and be reunited with the other civilisations
of the stars. But more than that our civilisation will become a shining example for the whole universe to see, which will make anything at Roonbranook or what was ancient Veeronia pale in comparison,” said Buziba. Kenneth began to chuckle and then said “You truly have lost sight of what could happen to you.” “I’m glad you’re amused my dear Kenneth. But let me tell you something else that will shake you to your core. At the time, we took you from your office, our allies the Triadians also ran their own little campaign far to the north of Dorenland. As of right now, Roonbranook no longer exists,” said Buziba, grinning again. “You madman! You madman!” said Kenneth as he tightened his fists and moved towards Buziba. A guard quickly burst in and pointed a gun at Kenneth. He stopped moving and stared at Buziba. Very swiftly Buziba reached out and held the muzzle of the rifle. “No need for that. He can do nothing now,” he said. The guard very slowly lowered his weapon. Buziba watched him and then turned back to Kenneth. “But to you my dear Kenneth know this also that the Assiross not just on Greenleaf, but on their six other colonies are done for. They share the same fate as the Oakors. After nearly 14,000 years, this great tragedy has finally started to have an upside. I’ll leave you to stew in your own juices for now,” said Buziba. He watched as Kenneth lowered his head and then abruptly turned and left the room. “Keep a careful watch on him. General Ansari may try to help him escape,” said Buziba to the guards stationed at the front entrance. They saluted him and watched as his car sped away down the quiet country road.

  ◆◆◆

  Retrieval

  South African Ministry of Defense Office

  There was a deep silence that engulfed the room before she finally spoke. “And are you sure that there won’t be any risk of them seeing our crew and the bombs going off?” asked Minister Amber Campbell nervously. “Don’t worry. The cloaking device we’ve had attached to the rescue vessel will ensure that it isn’t detected by any cameras on-board Wildlife One. It can dock and allow the team enough time to apprehend the perpetrators. They will have to move quickly of course. But as discussed earlier, on route to the ship and at the exact time, the team should also release the Red Scepter drones, which will be able to stop any of the bombs from detonating. And do remember that they too will be invisible,” said Derek as he paused to draw on his cigarette. Amber continued to watch him nervously. “Please be calm Amber. We’ve always anticipated something dangerous like this might occur for years now, so we prepared ourselves accordingly,” he added. “Well I hope you’re right Derek,” said Amber as she tried to force a smile. “Trust me it will work. Now let’s get your team ready,” said Derek as he arose from the seat in front of her office table. He checked his watch and then glanced out the large window behind her, where he saw the sparkle of city lights in the distance.

  Earth’s Atmosphere

  “You’ve done well. Now it’s time for you to tie up all the loose ends,” said Toby. “I understand,” said the clone. It tapped off the video and checked all the systems in the cockpit one last time and then proceeded outside the sleeping chamber, where the Lion still stood guard. It surveyed the room to ensure that everyone was still asleep. Satisfied with everything, the clone called to the Lion and headed to the animal enclosure bay area below. After securing the animal in its cage, it shot it with a tranquiliser gun, which put it to sleep very quickly. The clone then descended to a lower level and entered the spacewalk zone, where it proceeded to put on a spacesuit. After securing itself, it walked towards the exit chamber and pressed the door shut behind it. It then tapped a few icons on the wall panel, which opened the exterior door allowing it to walk out off the ship. The clone carefully navigated itself away from Wildlife One and looked below at the still active web of death hovering above Earth.

  The clone watched the various star cluster formations and marvelled at them. It also enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness and ventured a short distance from Wildlife One before engaging its jet pack, which propelled it forward to cover a distance of 50 kilometres. In a while it reached the designated spot. The clone checked its armlet and tapped at a red icon. “There he is sir, right on time,” said the pilot to Yuri Barinov, the Black Guard General, who was second in command of the Defenders of Amanora. “Good. Let’s have him come on board then,” said Yuri. The pilot navigated the Black Knight spaceship towards where the clone was positioned and once it reached it, the ship gently maneuvered itself to one side. Soon a door opened and the clone used its pack to navigate its way in. It waited patiently for the outer door to close and the inner door to open, which it did with a loud hiss. The clone stepped inside and tapped at its armlet, which automatically removed and lowered the helmet and top half of the suit. “Welcome my friend,” said Yuri extending his hand to the clone. “Pleasure sir!” said the clone. “Come do get changed. The guards will escort you in, so you can join me along with the rest in the main meeting room,” said Yuri. He then turned to walk away. While the clone looked down in order to remove the lower section of its space suit, Yuri nodded to the two armed men standing near a hallway. The clone got off its two boots and just as it looked up it saw both guards holding their rifles at it. “Sorry my friend,” said the one on his left. The shots came in rapid succession and the clone crumpled to the floor. Both men approached cautiously and looked at the bloody mess at their feet. “Was it necessary?” said one. “Oh yes, General Yuri was clear about that. Can’t have any loose ends you see,” said the other as they picked up the body and carried it towards the incinerator.

  Wildlife One

  Ali arose and felt nauseous. He pressed his head and felt around his chest. The top sliding glass moved back as he got out of his sleeping pod. He groaned a bit and then began to recall the series of events that took place earlier. He stepped around the other pods and went straight to Nigel’s and to his surprise he saw him in there. Ali checked the log on Nigel’s pod and found that he had never been awakened. He then starred at the healthcare monitoring system and was horrified to find that Nigel’s vital signs were at zero with a message that flashed ‘deceased.’ Ali tapped frantically at the console and tried to have the glass door open but it would not budge. He scratched his head and then quickly checked on the others and noticed that they all were starting to awaken. Ali tapped each of the side panels, so that the glass covers could open quicker. As John and the rest began to rise up out of their pods, Ali waited impatiently for a few moments and then blurted out “Nigel is dead!” “What? He can’t be?” said John. “Oh yes he’s dead…you can have a look if you want,” said Ali gesturing towards his left. Mike and Adrian ran across to inspect the pod. There were gasps of agony and cursing among the group. “But the worst thing is that he attacked me earlier,” said Ali. Everyone stopped and stared at him. “I know I woke up as timed and when I was about to get ready I heard this sound, which led me outside the sleeping chamber. There I saw one of our captive Lions…” said Ali breaking off in mid-sentence. “God! The Lion,” he said out loud. He quickly commanded the personal pod next to him to check where the Lion was and saw after several quick scans that it was in its cage, asleep. “What the? But it was outside?” he said while scanning through camera footage. “Ali I think you may have been dreaming or something,” said Mike in a grim voice. “No I didn’t dream this. Nigel was awake and he zapped me with this Taser thing he had and the Lion was outside to. I’ll prove it to you!” said Ali and turning to the pod again he added “show previous footage for the past three hours.” The pod displayed the previous recordings but nothing turned up, which matched what he had just described. “I don’t get this. How is nothing turning up? All the footage shows nothing happened?” said Ali to himself. “Look Ali you probably had a bad dream or something. I think we need to come together as a group and get the TASNSA folks on the line and let them know what’s happened,” said Paulo. Ali grinded his teeth and rubbed his head. He then threw his hands up in the air and said “Fine.”