by Maia Starr
"Sir, all ships are in position in the stratosphere above their target cities,” a warrior said to me.
"Hold for a second confirmation from each ship that they are prepared for descent,” I ordered.
"Holding. Waiting for each ship to check in a second time.”
Seconds past. This was it. There was no turning back after this.
"Sir, second confirmation. All ships are in position and waiting for your order to descend,” the warrior said to me.
"Confirmed. All ships descend. Go!" I shouted. The warrior repeated my order into the communication devices. Our ship descended into the darkness of Earth sky. We dropped as fast as we could in order to avoid radar detection. It was almost like falling out of the sky. Then a few thousand feet above ground level, we hit the brakes and slowly hovered over the water plant. We landed inside the secured fence, just as we had planned.
"Landing gear settling in firm," The warrior said.
"Affirmative. Batch team ready at the door,” I ordered. My orders were repeated and I made my way to the door with the batch team. Five skilled warriors waited at the door, carrying a large blue tank that was filled with gallons of my secret weapon, which would disburse and dilute into the water treatment plant and go undetected. It was a brilliant recipe and a brilliant plan.
The door opened. “Quietly. We must go unnoticed as much as possible,” I said to the batch team. Then I looked at our armed guards caring blaster guns, shielding us from enemy fire just in case. “Do not fire until fired upon. If we can take them out using just our physical strength by breaking arms, or stabbing, let's do that. Only use blaster guns as a last resort. But let us try not to have any fatalities if possible. We do not need an alert sounded on us,” I said to the guards.
They all nodded their heads in agreement.
"Go now,” I said as the team skillfully carried the batch out of the doors. They had memorized a path straight to the water tanks. One way the archive blueprints of this water plant had been used was to create a tactical plan leading us straight to the target. They stepped cautiously but confidently knowing exactly where they were headed. I followed them, looking around for any signs that our ship had been noticed.
"There, locking team,” I whispered and two Corillion warriors stepped forward and attached the tank we carried to the large water supply tank with a massive hose. Using the blueprint information, we opened the cavity of the water tank and poured the contents of the tank quickly in.
I watched the gauge needle move from four towards empty as the contents flowed out. Everything was going smoothly; everything was going well, too well. I did not expect it to be this easy. Finally, the tank was empty and the locking team unlocked it from the water tank.
"Retreat. Retreat,” I whispered. The batch team reversed course back along the path with the tank and we quickly made it back to the ship. In seconds, we were inside the belly of the ship and I was on the flight deck.
"Go! fire engines, let's go,” I said. They ship roared to life and shot straight up into the air.
"Report on other ships,” I asked.
"Sir, 20 ships are still in action on the ground. The rest are in motion heading back toward the mother ship,” he reported.
"Good. Very good,” I said.
"No one has come across any resistance. It seems a little unusual. This was a great plan sir, if I may say so,” the warrior said to me.
"Yes, it was very easy. It makes me realize just how unprepared Earth is for an invasion of this type. They concentrate all of their energy and strength on their army expecting to be defeated through battle only. They must put very little faith in our intelligence in order to leave their water supply so vulnerable and unprotected. It is very unwise of them and it will be there downfall,” I responded.
"Sir yes sir. Sir 10 of the 20 ships are now off the ground after delivering the package successfully,” he reported to me.
"Good. Keep an eye on it until every ship is back on the mother ship.” I said.
Soon we were in fleet formation just outside of the Earth’s atmosphere in the blackness of space. Quickly the last few of the ships that we were waiting on appeared and took their position. We were ready to go back to the mothership on the other side of the moon. It had been a success. The batches were planted into the water system and there was no turning back. From now on nothing would ever be the same on Earth. It would be as though it had always been destined to be this way, the Corillion way.
As soon as we docked, I was walking across the landing port. There was much to be done and yet I could only think of one thing. Lily. I needed to check on her. I did not like leaving her on the ship where Yiri was able to get to her. It was too risky.
"Congratulations Zian. Your master plan was executed perfectly," Yiri said as he came up from behind me. He walked with me along the landing report to the main hallway of the ship.
"Don't congratulate me yet. There is much to be done. And it won't be effective until the humans drink the water. It could take months for it to start to show results. It is only the first part of the plan, and now we must wait. We will have to retreat away from the Earth’s moon farther into the solar system, near Mars, where we will not be detected. I will order the retreat in a couple of hours,” I said to him as I walked quickly. I was walking toward Lily in my living quarters.
"Yes, it is only the first part of the plan. That is what I wanted to speak to you about. Phase 2 of the plan,” he said anxiously.
"Not now. We will speak soon. For now, see to the arrival of the fleet and make sure that all those batches have been emptied. We don't have room for any mistakes,” I walked away from him. He continued to speak but I did not listen. I was too busy with my new mission, seeing Lily again.
I entered her room inside of my office. I was surprised to see that she was cleaned up. She no longer had smudges on her face. Her red flaming hair was in a high ponytail. She was wearing skin tight black pants and a skin tight black top to match. Her boots went high to her knee.
"Where did you get those clothes?” I asked her, as I narrowed my eyes in jealousy. Someone had been talking to her. Someone had been meeting with her since I had been on the mission and the 48 hours before the mission that I had been avoiding her.
"Yiri. He brought them to me. He allowed me to go to the facilities to shower and clean up,” she said that she put her hands on her hips.
"Did you allow him to watch?” I asked as I slammed the door behind me. I was jealous. I was fuming with anger that he had been talking to her at all. He wasn't even supposed to know that she was being held in my office. The guards that I had placed to take care of her and tell no one had betrayed me, or at least one of them had. I would have to deal with that later. For now, I needed to know every detail of what happened since last time I had left her, since I had left her bed.
"No! Not that you should care. Where the hell have you been? It has been three days since I last spoke with you,” she said angrily. “What is happening out there? Does this have to do with the archive and the systems in every city? You have to tell me,” she said as she moved toward me.
"I can tell you now because it is finished. Nothing can be done to stop it, but you're not going to like it,” I said to her.
"Of course, I'm not going to like it, I think that would be obvious. But I must know. I have to know what you have done. That is my planet; those are my people,” she said.
"Fine Director, as you wish. We have infected the water supply of every major city on Earth. Soon every human will be drinking the solution that we have added to it. And then there will be no turning back, the day of the knot is at hand."
"Day of the knot? What are you talking about? You are not making sense,” she said as she walked up to me.
"The solution we created, it is my master plan. I came up with it and it is the least hostile way to take over Earth. It is the least hostile way to mate with the human females and ensure the survival of the Corillion forever.
"What the hell are you talking about Zian? Tell me now!” She shouted at me.
"The solution is one that guarantees infertility to all human males. Once they have taken even just a small sip, they will no longer be able to procreate. Their sperm will be sterile,” I said to her.
Her eyes opened wide. She put her hand over her mouth and gasped in horror. “No, it can't be. How could you? How could you do such a thing? This will mean the end of humans…”
"The end of humans and the beginning of Corillion and human hybrids. That is the master plan. It is the least hostile way to do it.” I said to her. I no longer felt the arrogance that I felt when I first started the plan. I should be congratulating myself and yet the look of horror that Lily was giving me made me feel ashamed for what I had done. It jolted every fiber of my being. No, I had to stay focused on this plan. I would not let her make me feel ashamed for something that I had been planning for over two years.
"You are a monster, Zian. I can't believe that I allowed you to touch me. I hate you. Please leave me!” She shouted at me and she began to cry and threw herself on the bed.
"Lily, it is no use. It is done. There is no reason to turn me away now. You will need me in the times ahead,” I said to her taking a step toward her.
"No! Get the hell out of here! I cannot look at you! I am ashamed that I allowed you to be anything other than my enemy! You are nothing but an animal! I was right about the Corillion all along, you are the monsters that killed my father! Now you continue to destroy all the males of Earth without any remorse. You're only thinking of yourselves. We were here first! This is our planet and you are nothing but a locust! Get the fuck out of here now!” She shouted at me with rage. She picked up the pillow off the bed and threw it at me. Her words hurt me, they stung like fire. I did not know why. She was nothing but a human female, she was only meant to breed and nothing more. Yet her tears and her shouting at me affected me. She was looking at me like I was a monster. She was using that word over and over like she would never see me in the same ever again. But this was the sacrifice that I had to make. The master plan was already in place and it would ensure the survival of the Corillion race. My feelings for her could not get in the way of that. She and I were nothing compared to the bigger picture. It was what had to be. I took one last look at her and then I turned and left the room. I stood over my master plan was already in place and it would ensure the survival of the Corillion race, my feelings for her could not get in the way of that. She and I were nothing compared to the bigger picture. It was what had to be. I took one last look at her and then I turned and left the room. I stood over my desk and watched through the monitors as she cried hysterically. She shouted loudly, and it was not a word. It was a scream of anguish. It was anguish that I had given to her, and no one else. The master plan was my brilliant idea and mine alone. Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling. I wanted my master plan and I wanted Lily as well. Why could I not have both? Was there a way? There was always a way. I would just need to give her some time for her new reality to sink in. A new reality where the human man no longer created life, only the Corillion man. It was a lot to take in for her; for everyone. But soon it would just be the way of things and she and everyone else on Earth would have to come to terms with that.
For now, I would need to prepare the mother ship for the retreat. I would need to check on the status of every single system on the ship to make sure that we were on schedule. There was lots of work to do and it was going to be very hard when all I could hear was the word monster echoing in my head. How that word stung. How that word would distract me.
Chapter 7
LILY RETRON - DIRECTOR EARTH COUNCIL EMBASSY
I was in complete shock and in complete disillusionment. I do not know why I has stopped considering Zian to be my enemy, simply because we had shared an intimate moment together. He was every bit the enemy that I had been fighting for years. When he revealed his plan to me, I felt sick to my stomach. How could he do such a monstrous thing? To make every single human male on Earth unable to produce offspring would mean that the human race would come to an end. It would mean that human females would have no choice but to mate with a Corillion if they wanted to produce children. It was such a sick plan, and it was hard for me to grasp that it came from the same Corillion that I had been sharing chemistry with. Sure it was angry chemistry, but there was passion to it. I knew it and he knew it. It had forced us to cave in and take action on our desires. But this was before I knew his plan. Now that he had revealed it to me I did not see him the same way. It had all been an illusion.
I felt hopeless crying in the locked room. No one knew of his plan and now humans would be drinking the water, and for months to come, without knowing. No one knew… But I knew. I sat up in bed and wiped the tears from my eyes. ”It is up to you Lily. This is your job. This is what you do. Just because circumstances are a little different than sitting around a large table of the Earth counsel embassy, does not change the fact that these matters are what you were born to deal with," I whispered to myself.
I jumped up from bed feeling a bit better. I had a purpose. I had to try. I had to give it a try or at least find some common ground. I moved over to the mirror and wiped the tears from my face to make myself presentable.
I knocked on my locked door very loudly. Finally, it opened. But it was not Zian, it was a warrior guard.
"I wish to see Zian Crace immediately. It is very very important. I have information for him,” I said to the guard. He gave me a silent nod and then close the door, locking me in once more. I paced the room, getting my thoughts in order. I had a pitch to make to Zian, and it would have to make sense. It would have to be beneficial to both the Corillion and humans, and Earth itself. It would have to be in order for him to accept it. He was in fact the leader of the Corillion and he could make these decisions. Perhaps I could convince him to stop his master plan. Not every single human would have drunk the water by now and there would be plenty of time to get the word out to the water treatment plants to stop water flow. Good, this was good. I should feel fortunate that I was the one that was taken. I now saw how important it was for me to be here and to have the sole audience of the Corillion leader. I was going to go into war negotiations. I was ready. I only hoped that it would work.
An hour later, Zian opened the door and walked in. He stood by the door away. He stared at me and said,” you wish to see me? Do you wish to give me more insults? I am a monster you have made that clear,” he said to me.
"Zian Crace, I come to you with words and information. You said that I was very valuable, because of my position on the Earth counsel embassy. I come to you now as the director to speak with you and I hope that you will take what I have to say into consideration. I hope that you will take it seriously and listen to it as the words from the director and not from Lily,” I sent to him.
His eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms.” I am listening.”
"I urge you to stop your plan, and accept an alternate plan. There is still time.
"What plan? There is no alternate plan,” he said.
"But there can be. It is a plan that will be beneficial to the Corillion as well as to humans on Earth. It is a new plan that I have devised and I am bringing it to the table,” I said to him.
"The table?” He arched an eyebrow at me.
"The negotiations table,” I said to him.
"I didn't realize we were in negotiations,” he said, almost playfully.
"Zian Crace, we are at war. That always requires negotiations,” I said to him.
"Understood. Let me hear your alternate plan,” he said.
"If you allow Earth to know about what you have done to the water treatment plant systems in every city, then we of the Earth counsel embassy and Earth army will declare peace with the Corillion. There will be no more battles. There will be no more war. Your entire war is based on the fact that you need human females in order to carry on your race. We can still do that. But the human females must b
e willing to go on their own choice. We will set up the registration system. All females that wish to register to become a bride of a Corillion warrior can do so. We will have a matching system to match the human female with the Corillion warrior. With time this can be done. I know that I can. I believe that it can. Then we will have peace. We will coexist together,” I said to him. Then, he was quiet for a long time. I did not know what he was thinking.
"That is a very big plan. But you are one person. How can you guarantee peace when you are not on Earth right now speaking for the rest of the Earth counsel and embassy?” He asked.
"There is one more thing. There is one more part of the plan. In order to prove that Earth is very serious about creating the system, I propose that the first marriage of this new system be one of two high-ranking and powerful representatives of each. A high-ranking female of the Earth matched to a high-ranking Corillion. Through this marriage peace will be brought,” I said as I took a deep breath.