The Outcast shuttle made a controlled descent, touching down on its shock-absorbing legs. Its front faced the road with the UN building as the backdrop for the thousands packed onto the closed street outside. Human faces looked on expectantly as the front cargo door slowly eased downwards. A stage was set up on the street-side of the craft, complete with three podiums. Security forces were visible but discreet. A mixture of Secret Service agents, battledroids and security drones made up their ranks. Further out, fighter drones circled New York, such was the concentration of political power about to be revealed. Most people expected no trouble, but there were still a few Korgax stragglers – fanatics of the defeated regime. And the threat of terrorists with all manner of causes was, sadly, ever-present. The cargo door touched the ground, revealing both human and Outcast VIPs. Four men walked to the front of the shuttle to greet them: Vice President, Blake Jefferson; Secretary general of the UN, Ekon Agbakoba; Indian PM, Jitin Kumar; and British PM, Michael Carlton. They stood waiting for the alighting figures to reach them. As the shuttle passengers walked slowly down the slope, the crowds saw them and erupted into spontaneous cheers and applause. Leading them was President Powell, flanked by Outcast Leader, Adai and Captain Jen Martin of Zeta-One patrol. But there was no Sorensen...
***
February 14, 2064: Tony’s Diner, Arlington, VA
Nothing fancy, she’d told him. He’d definitely succeeded finding something that fit the bill for this Valentine’s date. Zoe was from a well-to-do family and had grown tired of flashy restaurants and country clubs full of upper-middle class bores. Good food, limitless coffee and no distractions was what she’d said. Just my cup of tea too, thought former-commando, Jake Sorensen. He’d spent way too long with Jonah and Jen from the SSS – so much so that he’d started using their limey phrases. He smiled, and thought fondly of the pair.
Sorensen and Zoe got on great for a full two hours over breakfast. He was relieved to find she hadn’t given up on him after his long sojourn. More to the point, she was available. Now with his military and Secret Service career behind him, he was ready to make a go of it with her. He didn’t quite know what he’d do for a job, but he’d think about that later. The server turned up the volume on the old TV mounted over the counter. He’d been invited to attend in person, but had to prioritise. They could send the medal by courier. The TV showed President Powell had returned to Earth and was ready to speak.
***
February 14, 2064: New York
Powell stood at the middle podium, with Leader Adai on the left and Fleet Admiral Jarvax on the right. The three intelligent species of two star systems stood outside of the United Nations. The scene was packed with joyful faces. An audience of billions watched on from further afield. Hostilities had ceased over three weeks ago, but as that phase ended, another opened up. Powell, Romero, and the others had jumped back to Earth where they’d agreed the peace treaty and started to work on a number of other agreements. The hope was that these would make the coexistent future a peaceful one, for the benefit of all. He’d also gained agreement from the majority of other world leaders to lead those negotiations. He had the closest working relationship with the Outcasts of any senior politician, so was best placed to do so. The Russians were in turmoil, given the devastation the mind-control tech had brought on their establishment. They were in no position to object and needed all the assistance they could get. The likes of Bekov and Demenok had had their day; the edifice of the police state was finally crumbling. The Chinese had gone along with it, after the guarantee of fair access to new markets and trade routes. And the UN Secretary General resigned himself to continued sidelining and powerlessness. At some point, these alien friends would become competitors. Powell knew that unless humanity managed to form a united front, they might be hopelessly out-manoeuvred by them.
He wore a smart grey suit and blue tie, but still looked somehow unkempt and tired. He did not look comfortable wearing the formal attire he was in, as he adjusted his clothing, several times. He fired up his full-beam politicians’ smile, cleared his throat, and spoke.
“Ladies and gentlemen, allies and friends; today we welcome the leaders of two great civilizations to Earth. Our peoples are now the firmest of friends and look to a peaceful future working together.”
He looked to Adai then Jarvax to the applause of the crowd. He continued, more sombrely, “We must never forget the millions of lives lost – human lives, Outcast lives and the lives of Alphas. I now ask you to take a minute’s silence in their memory.” He paused and looked down.
Background noises became apparent as distant vehicles still moved and birds still sang. A baby cried, her mother quickly hushing her back to calm. Powell thought of two of the men he’d grown close to: General Fred McIver and Secret Serviceman, Bill Wilke. Their deaths were the most real for him and had been partly due to them trying to protect him. One minute they were there facing the Guardian Impostors’ assault, next they were no more. It all just underlined the fragility of life and the needlessness of their premature deaths. There were millions upon millions more. Ever since the war had been won, he’d resolved himself to ensure it never happened again. Never Again – the words that seemed to come up once every few generations; once humanity had forgotten the lessons of suffering. Like an echo through history: Never Again.
“The war is over and now the rebuilding begins. It will take years and decades, to repair homes, infrastructure, and economies. Some lives, some families will never be repaired fully, but with time and with peace we can do what we can to heal them. I want to pay a special tribute to the brave men and women of our armed services. And when I say our armed services I am talking about humankind’s. Even though I am United States President, I feel now that we are not Americans or Indians or Chinese, but rather we are humans. If this war has done anything for us on Earth, then it should be this: to have united us, finally, as one people. We need to put away our triabalistic instincts and our prejudices to speak and act as one. It was the actions of human servicemen and women and our alien allies which won the day. We dethroned the repugnant Korgax regime at its stronghold on Gaia. As they held their War Council, plotting the enslavement of Earth, the valiant forces of the US, British and Outcast militaries neutralised these war criminals. They had already pushed one species – the Outcasts – off their home world. They would have eventually done the same to us here or, taken away our free will with their evil mind-control technology. We must ensure these things never happen again. We face unprecedented challenges to control the use of this technology and others. We are about to sign this peace treaty before the eyes of the World–” Powell held up the document and waved it as he spoke.
Major-General James Hadley watched on from the seated section by the stage. The history buff recalled old footage of Neville Chamberlain in 1938 with his famous piece of paper – the Munich Agreement. At the time, it was lauded as exemplary diplomacy, but later it was derided as appeasement and, therefore, encouragement, of Hitler. Just images in the mind – nothing like the situation today, he thought as he dismissed the evocation.
“–We sign it in the hope that it is lasting and acts as the foundation for a future of cooperation. I am also pleased to announce that we are already working on a framework for the use of strategic technologies. In a similar way that nuclear weapons are controlled, here on Earth, we strive to restrict the use of mind-control and FTL technology. This knowledge must be handled with the utmost care and only by responsible regimes – governments with the checks and balances to safeguard all of our peoples...”
Powell continued his speech and Sergeant Matthew ‘Chip’ Hart watched on from his seat next to Hadley. Beside him was Zara and their two boys. Daddy had been picked up from the asteroid by the former enemy three weeks ago. He’d returned by shuttle and spent some well-earned R&R with the family. He looked up at the familiar shape looming in Earth’s sky. He had to admit, it’d been a close-run thing on 375 Nemesis – both their evasion and getting th
e thrusters working. They’d left it very late to be diverting the asteroid and one of the three thrusters failed catastrophically after start-up. Guess it answered the question on whether two thrusters were enough, he thought. He looked at his young sons and shuddered as he considered the alternative scenario. In many ways, life was returning to normal. The UK had been lucky compared to many Tropical countries. But the big picture would never be the same again. Humanity had lost its innocence and now a brave new world among the stars awaited them. Powell was right about one thing: they needed to control mind-control and FTL with the utmost care. FTL was getting more accurate all the time. Once its precision was fully refined, something’s position in space would have a new meaning. The implications were enormous. Weapons could be delivered at will, without warning from anywhere to anywhere. People could be assassinated, as long as their position was known – not difficult, given modern surveillance technology. Whole new star systems could be colonised... Regardless of the fine talk about cooperation, Chip believed there would be another land rush among the stars. The decision he had to make was more practical than all this stuff though – he needed to decide how much he was going to be a part of it all. He loved his Army and his brothers and sisters-in-arms. But the he considered his wife and boys as he sat there, no longer listening as Powell gave way to Leader Adai. Truth was his wife worked and could provide for them, and he loved his family more than anything else.
***
After the endless speeches – Chip suspected they all wanted to bathe in the glory of victory – it was time for medals. He stood in line behind Motor and received the Victoria Cross from Prime Minister Carlton. Captain Jen Martin and Sergeant Jonah Fitzroy followed. Lakai, Sarai and Takai all received commendations from their leader, Adai. Powell honoured General Fred McIver and Secret Serviceman, Bill Wilke, posthumously.
A tall black man in US Navy Full Dress Whites was being delayed as he tried to join ceremony as the medal-giving was nearing its end. It seemed he was late and the Secret Service was having an issue with the ceremonial cutlass he wore. Jen and Jonah turned to see what all the trouble was about. They did not recognise the man that had completed what they had started on Mount Hazard. Fortunately, President Powell did recognise Captain Nathaniel Carter of the USS Esperanza, and waved him through.
“You’re late, Captain Carter,” smiled Powell, as he retrieved the medal.
“Sorry, Mr. President,” he replied, already composed and at attention.
“Navy Cross as well, Captain. Well done, your service has been exemplary; as was your timing on Gaia, where it counted,” he beamed, affixing the award to his chest.
***
February 14, 2064: Hereford, England
The wonders of modern suborbital flight meant they could return from New York in less than half an hour in the air. Eight o’clock and all is well, thought Chip as he laid down next to his son, Callum. It could have all turned out so very differently. Now the Korgax nightmare had receded he’d need to see if he could get retroactive planning permission for the bunker under the house. If not, then it’d be nothing a few cubic metres of cement wouldn’t fix. Callum reached over to the bookshelf and chose his book. Kids’ books were the last preserve of the printed page, so it seemed. They brought back warm memories for Chip of his father reading to him: the cosy security of home, the glow of the bedside light, while nestling under the snug covers.
“Spiderman? Thought you only wanted Space Marines stories..!” beamed Chip.
“I’m bored of Space Marines, Dad. Spiderman is awesome! He can shoot webs at baddies!”
“Okay, Spiderman it is.”
He laid back and he read. He had learnt long ago – to some self-admonishment – that he could read on auto-pilot. He thought of all that Powell had said. He thought about the brave new world – a world his boys would inherit.
He continued reading, suddenly snapping back to the real world as he neared the end of The Amazing Spiderman. He read the last narration panel to his son: “With great power there must also come great responsibility!” The wisdom of Stan Lee...never a truer word said, he thought.
Mind-control, FTL...aliens for goodness sake! When he was born, they knew nothing of these. The World would eventually be in the hands of his sons’ generation. He only hoped he’d made the right choices for them and everyone else, wherever they may be.
THE END
*
Coming Soon:
OVERLORD by T.J. Sedgwick
The Vassal World (The First Exoplanet Book 2) Page 21