“No, thank you,” he said.
“Why?”
“If you hadn’t joined us, your fine parents here wouldn’t have either, and we’d still be down there in the middle of the apocalypse. I’d hate to think what would be happening…”
“You’d have survived,” Kassandra said, matter-of-factly.
“I expect some of us would, after a fashion. But, it’s still better that we all did.” His face fell slightly. “Assuming everyone comes around, that is. But this way, we can regroup in peace and safety before we decide on our next move.” Akio and Zara nodded. “Well, I’ve got to check on my other people. Bye for now.” Lord August walked over to the other beds and inquired on the patients’ conditions, before exiting the sick bay and going to the other wards.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I Must Become Less
The video showed a frightened-looking Asian man. He was close to the camera, so his face filled up most of the frame. The flashes of flickering lights somewhere off to the right played on his features. “This is the colony formerly known as Entara. Seung Yi is dead. He was the only one who had the codes for the Extinction Switch, so it can never be used again. Some kind of quake or explosion happened here. It caused massive damage and casualties. There are only a few thousand of us left. Most of the machines that keep us supplied with food, water and air are broken. We are appealing to Earth for help. This is the colony formerly known as Entara. Seung Yi is dead…” The message looped over and over.
Kato stood transfixed by the news broadcast, which was displayed on a large portion of the rear surface of the bridge. A red ticker ran across the bottom of the screen, which said: “THIS IS ENN AMERICA. THIS VIDEO WAS RECEIVED BY ALL THE WORLD’S NEWS STATIONS AND THE FEDERATED STATES OF EARTH JUST MINUTES AGO. WE EXPECT TO HAVE A REACTION FROM THE LEADER OF THE FSE AND THE WHITE HOUSE SOON. THIS IS ENN AMERICA…”
“My God!” Kato said. He turned round. “Alexei?” He turned back around. “Call Korolev,” he said. His neural implants made the connection. A few seconds later, he said: “Alexei, get down to the bridge!” Kato then scanned the room. Annabelle and Antonio were present. “Antonio, go and fetch August, JC, Akio, and Zara, wherever they are.” Antonio’s demeanor was now considerably lighter.
“Yes sir.”
“You don’t have to call me sir. Kato will do.”
Annabelle watched the screen, wide-eyed. Moments later, Korolev entered. He stood beside Kato and watched. “So, the mission of the Arcadantera wasn’t in vain then.”
“It seems not,” Kato said. “The bomb may not have gone off properly, otherwise there’d be nobody left there. But, partial destruction of the place is just fine by me. Especially since that bastard is dead.”
“What do you think happened?” Korolev asked.
“We may never know. He was obviously not killed straight away, since he used that damn thing again.”
“What if the message is fake?” Korolev said.
“Hmm.” Kato stroked his chin, which now sported a day’s stubble. “Can’t be positive, but my gut’s telling me it’s real.”
“I agree,” Zara said. She was standing behind Kato.
He turned around. “Didn’t see you sneak in there!”
“Dad, we’re the only two people still alive outside of that place who’ve met Seung Yi personally. I become somewhat psychically attuned to him, ugly though that was. My spirit is telling me he’s really dead.”
“Ah, yes, the Soulism,” Kato said. Soulism was a two-hundred-year-old religion, which was centered on the human soul.
“Yes. Well, it’s real. He’s gone,” Zara said.
Kato’s eyes teared up. “So it’s over then. This awful genocide is over.” He hugged Zara.
Antonio returned with JC, Lord August, Kassandra, David, and Vivianne. “It’s really over,” David said, thoughtfully, on hearing the news.
“Won’t bring back those who died,” JC said.
“No, but it does remove further threat,” Lord August said. Kassandra just stared at the screen.
----
A week later, Kato, Korolev, Lord August, JC, Kassandra, Akio, Zara, Annabelle, Antonio, David, Vivianne, Magana, Blake, Thaddeus, Aimee, and several other Defender squad leaders were assembled on the bridge. The space was nearly full.
“I called this meeting because we need to start thinking about what’s next,” Kato said. “But first, there’s some personal stuff to attend to.” He turned to Korolev. “You were right, Alexei. I have stayed far from people my whole life. I chose space over my family, over you Zara”—he nodded at her—”even to the point of dying among the stars.” Kato looked at her. “I’m so sorry for that. I was busy being a spaceman and a businessman, when I should have just been your dad.”
Zara stepped forward and flung her arms around Kato. “Dad, honestly, it’s okay. We’ve been over this many times, and I’ve forgiven you many times. You’ve got to forgive yourself.”
Kato gulped, and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I saw myself repeating the same pattern through this whole crisis. I was made to see the error of my ways, though.”
It was Akio’s turn to speak. “Kato-san, the people needed a leader with your power and resources. I think you pretty much had to be in space, to keep your command post going up here. Besides, if you’d been on Earth, you’d be dead now.”
Kato sighed, and nodded. “That’s true. If I’d been above ground, anyway.”
“And then you wouldn’t have been of any use to anybody.”
“Yeah. But, Kato’s war is over now,” Kato said. “Seung Yi is really, truly dead. Kassandra, rebuilding is for your generation. I’m just an old fossil from a bygone age.”
“No you’re not, Dad,” Zara said.
Kato continued, “You guys, meaning everybody here, you guys represent the future. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, in this solar system or out of it. All of ISI’s ships and other resources are at your disposal. I’ll help you all I can, of course. But, this is your time. Humanity must rebuild. I must become less and you must become more.”
Author’s Note
I really hope you enjoyed this book. My main aim in writing is to entertain and stir the imaginations of my readers.
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The Extinction Switch: Book three of the Kato's War series Page 25