Orion's Children

by Rohan Moorthy

  Greenleaf Presidential House

  Kenneth Anderson walked along the grass barefoot and enjoyed feeling against the soles of his feet. He always loved strolling in his rather expansive garden as a means to reduce any stress he felt. Today was no different. He stopped by a bush of Red Roses and watched it carefully, till something caught the corner of his eye towards the right. He turned and saw a sparrow standing in the grass looking at him. He began to walk slowly towards it and then noticed that it opened its beak and dropped something on the ground and flew away. He went near it and noticed that it was a small piece of rolled up paper. “Khalid, you crafty fox. A robot Sparrow of all things,” said Kenneth very softly with a smile. He carefully bent down and lay on the ground for a few minutes. Several guards watched him and then continued their conversation. Kenneth slowly reached out and picked the paper roll up and held it between his fingers. He lay there for a few minutes more and then got up and started to wander again. He did so for a while and then headed back towards the house. He turned and looked very casually at the guards near his front gate and ascended the porch which led to his kitchen. He slid open the door and shut it without making a sound. He waited and looked around to ensure no one was watching him and headed for his living room. Once there, he undid the paper roll and spread it. It read “Tonight 11:00 p.m. Basement. Walk in the dark!” Kenneth smiled and shook his head in approval.

  Shamila Ridge Sanctuary

  “We best be moving,” said Khalid. “Ah! Is there no one out there who can help us at all mate?” asked Nigel. “No one as of now. So long as most of the people believe that Buziba and his cronies are in charge, they won’t act. We need to move quickly and be ready to extract President Anderson tonight and make our way to the coastline, where our boat will be ready to take us to a small island stronghold we have. We can’t be tracked there,” said Khalid as he put on his jacket. “Grab your things and let’s work this out like we discussed,” he added. “Come on darling, don’t delay,” said Carmen as she came close and hugged Nigel. “Oh alright!” said Nigel kissing her on the forehead. He reached down and picked up his haversack along with his prized tranquiliser gun.

  Northern Coast of Alita Island

  The extraction plan went off smoothly and later that night, the team had Kenneth safely on board their vessel. “Mr. President I am really glad to see you,” said Nigel extending his hand to him. “I am too Mr. Greenback,” said Kenneth smiling. “We should reach our destination in about three hours. The weather looks good so far. The boat’s going to be going in stealth mode,” said Khalid and he signalled to the Captain to set off. Nigel felt the cool air rush up against his face and he breathed it in deeply. “Under any other circumstance this would be a romantic gateway for us darling,” said Carmen holding his hand. “Oh it is love! Let’s leave all the worries behind for now shall we?” said Nigel. The sky was sprinkled with star clusters and they spent the time counting the number of shooting stars that they saw.

  They soon arrived at the island and docked into a small cove. As they disembarked, Nigel pulled Carmen along so they could walk alongside General Ansari. “So this island is something only you and the President know about?” asked Nigel. “Not just the two of us, but the people you see here as well. Our trustworthy comrades. This place was also built for us by the Assiross. It has a number of special features like an aircraft hangar that is below the surface of the waves,” said Khalid. “What? Oh come on mate, you gotta be kidding me right?” said Nigel. “No, I am serious I’ll show it to you soon enough. For now we must ensure that we get in and find out what’s going on at Axedon city,” said Khalid as the group proceeded into a tunnel that led towards the heart of the island.

  As the gathering headed in, they came across tow massive iron doors. Khalid went to a side console and tapped on several icons, which then produced a lower rumble caused by the doors as they opened. But before they could enter, to the group’s horror, they were confronted by the smiling face of Toby Mackinrow, who had behind him a row of armed guards with machine guns. “Welcome home you lot! I thought I’d get ahead and keep everything ready for you,” said Toby. No one from the group spoke but just stared back at the militant ensemble. “As your new Commander-in-Chief one of the key things that I needed to make myself aware of, were the whereabouts of our beloved former president. And so to assist me with that I have to thank dear Ms. Barbara Winters as she finally told me where all of you may come to hide,” said Toby looking directly at President Anderson. Kenneth glared back at him and spoke rapidly. “What have you done to Ms. Winters?” he said. “Oh she’s safe. Well as safe as the dead can be anyway,” said Toby. With that Kenneth rushed forward but was restrained by several of his people. “You made a mistake President Anderson by laying so many secrets in her keep. She snapped pretty quickly, I might add under our questioning. But enough of that, I am here to place the rest of you under arrest and escort you back to Axedon city. So do come quietly,” said Toby as he began to move forward. At that moment, the whole group heard a short buzzing sound spread across the chamber and stop immediately. Toby stood stationery as he heard the noise came back again. He blinked a couple of times and stared blankly at the group in front of him. He then swayed and collapsed to the floor. The guards behind him also fell in rapid succession. Khalid rushed forward to check Toby. He felt for his pulse. “He’s dead!” exclaimed Khalid. The group looked at the slain and then heard another sound. Turning to their left they were astounded to see several Oakorian sentries emerge from behind some of the tall computer servers.

  “God lord, would you look at that!” explained Nigel, as he squeezed Carmen’s hand and stared at the giant beings walking towards them. “Forgive me for our late arrival. Allow me to introduce myself to you. I am Kina Ferox, king of the Oakors and here at your service,” said Ferox as he bowed to the group. “No kind sir, it is us who should bow to you,” said Kenneth as he gestured to the rest to follow him. “Please there is no need. I am sorry we only just arrived and were coming up from the hangar’s entry way when we heard this man speaking to all of you. We know all about him and the New World Legionnaires. Rest assured, we will help you take back your city very soon. Also, do know that we have our five ships stationed above your planet. Once we know we have secured Alita Island, we will bring them to land for they contain the many refugees of Earth,” said Ferox. “What? What do you mean by refugees,” said Kenneth. “I am sorry to tell you President Anderson but Earth was destroyed several days ago. There is nothing left of it. We have with us the members of the Guardians of Symoor as well as other important people, whom we could save in time but I am sorry that we failed you. More than 15 billion people have perished in the disaster brought on by Amanora and his people,” said Ferox. The whole group was at a loss for words and looked downcast. “Come with us now. There is much work to be done,” said Ferox.

  Universal Astra Regime

  Leaving the members of his team to plan things out with the humans, Ferox returned to the hangar below the island and boarded his aircraft. He set the controls for a new destination, which were above the ruins of Roonbranook. He then started the engines and launched the vehicle forward. It sped through a vast tunnel and towards the end of it a portal opened through the ocean, in which he sailed through it into the night sky. The aircraft veered towards the left and within a short span of time it arrived at its destination. From the scanners, he saw the remains of the once great city. He felt a deep pang of sadness knowing that he would never be able to see Gyrodina again nor the friends he knew, who were stationed here. His aircraft hovered in the night sky, camouflaged by its invisibility mode. After a short span of time, Ferox then saw the object he had been waiting for. A gigantic inter-space vessel descended from the night sky above and stopped just above his own ship. He walked behind the cockpit to a circular room and stood in the center of a glowing circle on the floor. He saw the light grow even brighter and he was immediately transported to a conference room in the spaceship above. Ho
wever, here it was he who was the small being as two other aliens sat at the head of a table. They had very large oval shaped heads with cream coloured skin. Their eyes were black with light green pupils. Standing up they would have measured about 50 feet in height. Their bodies were quite muscular and they had six fingers on each of their four hands. They wore dark purple robes with gold coloured patterns spread across the front. Both beings made a soft screeching sound as they breathed and Ferox observed a flow of moisture that started near their heads and flowed further down their necks, disappearing into large pores at the base. This was the natural way for their bodies to absorb oxygen. A third alien, who had his back towards Ferox, was looking outside an expansive window.

  Speaking in fluent Halfecki it began, “I received your message Kina Ferox and I am most disturbed by what you have said,” said the being continuing to stare at the night sky outside. “The current state of affairs are very disturbing indeed,” said Ferox. The alien turned towards him and gazed for a couple of minutes. “Admiral Aragoota, everything I mentioned in my correspondence to the Universal Astra Regime is true. The Triadians’ ruler Amanora and his band of followers have not only been the sole cause of my civilization’s destruction but that of the Assiross’ and the humans we created. Humanity has lost its original home, the planet called Earth. This one here is all they have left for themselves,” said Ferox. “And evidence my good sir?” said the Admiral. “The evidence I can produce are the ruins you will see below us, the testimonials of our members who form the Guardians of Symoor, the video footage of the New World Legionnaires on Greenleaf, who are very explicit in their allegiance to the Triadians and…” said Ferox but he was interrupted. “It is a gross violation Kina Ferox. The Regime had left strict instructions that neither the Assiross nor the Triadians were to have any contact with the humans of Earth, whom we considered to be not only dangerous, but also unfit to stay connected with the larger civilised universe. Further, we assumed your race to be extinct. But you failed to inform us about your little chamber buried in the Earth, where you yourself hid for so long,” said Admiral Aragoota, his voice booming across the room.

  “Apart from that I wish to you inform you that the Endanmo will be dealt with separately. They too failed to inform us about the so called ring of death placed over the Earth a short time ago but more so, they carried messages on behalf of the Assiross to humans, which was a violation on the caretaker role we entrusted them with,” said the Admiral. He walked towards the left and kept staring at Ferox. “However, given the information you have provided us with and the terrible destruction of the planet Earth, a decision has been made by the lower court at our headquarters and so we are obliged to help you,” said the Admiral. He walked back to the window and looked out again. “We will teleport and remove all members who belong to the New World Legionnaires from this planet. But you should know that one of our battalions, a few minutes ago, intercepted the Black Knight spaceship. The whole crew along with those we capture tonight will be placed in the FireGate prison in the Nuta Galaxy. We will as a matter of course, excuse your race of the violations it has caused and offer this world adequate protection to ensure that the Triadians do not come anywhere near here. As Amanora has obtained a vast quantity of Agovon crystals, he will be a very dangerous adversary to deal with. We have of course, surveyed this planet and found a large underwater city, which we are sure belonged to the Triadians. But as suspected there is no one there now. No doubt they escaped to join Amanora and flee to another part of the galaxy. We have our best teams looking into that and should hopefully be able to track them down soon enough,” said the Admiral and he turned to face Ferox. “Lastly, we cannot hold the Flaleems and Novongs any longer. They have served their sentence and so must be released. So for now, I suggest you return and look after these people of yours,” said the Admiral. Ferox nodded and was about to transport himself back to his ship, when the Admiral spoke once more. “Do also remember Kina Ferox, that if your humans misbehave again, we the Universal Astra Regime will not hesitate to ensure that they are completely wiped out. I hope I make myself clear,” he said.

  Temple of the Sun

  It was a little after dawn and Buziba Chidi sat at the presidential desk, writing down some ideas for his proposal to reframe the Greenleaf political constitution. He heard the door of the office click and without raising his head he said, “Ah Toby tell me did you find General Khalid and….” “I can say that he did in a way,” said Kenneth staring at Buziba. “What is the meaning of this?” said Buziba rising menacingly from his seat. “Retribution my friend. Retribution! You may come in now gentlemen,” said Kenneth turning towards the door. A group of six armed guards entered and surrounded the table. “Buziba Chidi, you are under arrest. Please place your hands forward and do not speak any further as that can and will be used against you,” said one of the guards. “You think you can get away with this…” said Buziba. “Sir you are advised not to speak at all,” said the guard once more. Kenneth raised his hand to the guard and then spoke in a measured tone. “Till the other night you were in charge. You and your army of hoodlums. You who conspired with our most ancient enemy and threatened the existence of humanity. You will not be spared now. Last evening, your comrades on board the Black Knight spaceship were arrested by the Universal Astra Regime and as of this morning so have all of your New World Legionnaires. Scooped up and thrown behind bars. No doubt you were probably aware of the Oakors awakening. Well let me tell you that they have brought with them the few human refugees from Earth,” said Kenneth as he took a step closer. “Your so called god Amanora was only interested in extracting the Agovon crystals found deep within the planet Earth. When he couldn’t win a political victory at Veeronia, he took to war. Those who blindly followed him from humanity’s side were just pawns in his game. When he finally destroyed the Earth a few days ago, he extracted his prize and made off along with all of your Triadian allies. In short they have abandoned you. Not only that, they ensured that by sending the Black Knight spaceship here and allowing the Oakors and refugees from Earth to escape, they could buy themselves enough time to getaway while the Universal Astra Regime, you and us would be occupied with dealing with matters here on Greenleaf. They used you Commander. Either way you’ll be getting your just desserts now. You and the rest of your Defender of Amanora friends. You’ll be rotting in a prison cell far, far away in the galaxy,” said Kenneth. “Take him away!” he commanded. Buziba’s eyes blazed with anger but he did not say a word as he was led out of the room.

  Greenleaf

  In the weeks that followed Buziba’s arrest, President Anderson along with General Ansari and his team went about ensuring that all of Earth’s refugees were taken care of on Alita Island. The work was challenging but interestingly the residents on Greenleaf became very open to welcoming and helping their Earth cousins. From the estimates at Kenneth’s office, they would need to focus on five solid years of construction work in order to upgrade many public utilities and housing zones. Fortunately, the Oakors were on hand to lend their support in helping with plans to expand Axedon city, including water and agricultural works. However, the most defining thing during that time, was that there never was a single case of rioting witnessed nor did any communal violence break out. Instead, a peaceful cooperation grew among the population and saw old prejudices fade away, giving rise to a new era of humanity.

  ◆◆◆

  In The Future To Come

  Roonbranook

  President Anderson stood at the very edge of the rocky platform, which overlooked the ruins of Roonbranook. His eyes slowly scanned the obscene picture of devastation that lay below him. The giant pyramids had been badly damaged but most disturbing was that the central Lotus shaped tower had been completely obliterated. Only shards remained at its base. The all-Seeing Eye image was mostly covered in rubble. He could not help but shed a few tears over the unwarranted destruction of such a pristine city and a culture the likes of which would never be seen again. Mo
st of all his mind kept returning to Gyordina. He truly did miss her for she had not only been his greatest teacher but someone who held his heart completely. The sky was overcast with a mass of grey clouds that spread across the entire sky. He heard a distant rumble of thunder and knew the rain would be upon him fairly soon.

  As he stood silently, he noticed a large plastic dome fly and hover over him just as a small drizzle began to fall. He felt the wind pick up speed and held his coat closer to his chest. He turned slowly and observed John Stroff walking up to him and who was also looking down on Roonbranook. “You know John I would do anything to have them come back. All of them. Not just the ones who perished now but everyone right from the time of the Great War,” said Kenneth. John looked carefully at the tired face in front of him and nodded in response. “I understand Mr. President. But I think the important thing to remember is that some justice has been done and more importantly, this past year has shown us that people can live in harmony and create something unique. Instead of imploding on itself, Greenleaf’s new civilisation at Alita Island is progressing in a positive direction,” said John as he turned to cast his eyes on the buildings below once more. “But we should also be grateful to have the Oakors, who have really helped us reshape our way of living. It’s at least something that we can be happy to have,” he added. Kenneth said nothing but turned back to look at his beloved city.

  They stared at the ruins for a while more without saying a world. Then Kenneth slowly rubbed his hands together and said, “I’m going to rebuild this John. All of it. Even if I don’t live to see it completed, I want us along with our Oakor friends, to recreate Roonbranook and let it serve as a peace monument. But more importantly it should be a reminder to all future generations of one of humanity’s great protectors.” He turned to John and gripped his left hand. “Promise me that you will see that it is completed John,” said Kenneth. John saw the tears swell up in Kenneth’s eyes and felt a great deal of pity for this remarkable man. “I will sir. Of course I will,” said John smiling. “Come it’s getting late, let us be off,” he added.