“It might have taken only a couple of hours for the activity to stop but it seemed like eternity. Then came the moment that changed my life forever. The pod opened itself slowly and we saw something bluish moving inside it. Because of my experience in dealing with new species I was selected to approach the pod. As I got closer, I could see an alien no bigger than two feet lying inside the pod. My first guess was that the alien species were just smaller than us. It has happened on our planet where species have gotten smaller as they have evolved. Since they were likely more evolved than us it would explain the small size. That assumption went out the door once I was close enough to see it. From the appearance the better assumption was that it could actually be a newborn. The baby looked somewhat similar to humans in its structure which was a relief. It looked at me raised its arms towards me. All my years of studying species told me not to do it but I instinctively reached my hand out to touch it. It grabbed my finger with his tiny strange looking hand and right then and there I knew it was not hostile. It raised its other arm towards me and I knew right away that it wanted me to pick it up. Scientifically speaking I acted very unprofessionally but I just felt connected to this alien baby. I picked it up in my arms and it held on to me just like a human baby would.
“The pod closed behind me and went back into the ship. The platform closed back up and the ship went completely silent as if it had served its purpose by getting this baby to safety. I guess at that moment I realized that this alien child was my responsibility now. I walked back holding this baby into our camp.”
Elliot looked at Omega, “You were bonded with me since that moment. I still remember your tantrums when I had to leave town for work. One time when I went to the UN for a couple of days you almost destroyed the entire GSRC. I am so glad you grew out of that phase.” That got smiles around the table.
“So why did we end up at the GSRC?” asked Yasmine.
“Omega trying to destroy the GSRC didn’t help the fears the UN had about raising an alien child on Earth. Getting back to the story. After I brought him into the camp on his first day we tried running tests on Omega. All we really were able to do was observe him. We were not able to penetrate his skin to take any samples. We tried everything we had at our disposal to see what is inside his body. X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI all failed to see inside under his skin. There was no material or technology in our possession that could penetrate or look inside his skin. Even diamond cutters broke off on his skin. His body never expelled anything either for us to run tests on. I was so worried about how we will get him the energy to grow. He didn’t come with an instruction manual. We tried food, water, sunlight… we tried everything and nothing worked. It took us a while to realize that his species was way beyond the concept of requiring external energy for growth and sustainability. He has some powerful, internal energy source inside him way beyond human imagination. It’s still a complete mystery to us.”
“On a side note, how did you know he is a male?” Stan asked.
“We don’t,” Elliot replied. “I don’t know enough about their species to know if they have the concept of male and female to reproduce.”
“So Omega could also be a female,” Stan said with a cheeky smile.
“And what would be wrong with that? He could still make you his bitch,” Yasmine jumped in.
“Kids, kids… behave, we are in a Temple. We decided to refer to Omega as a male because well… assigning him a gender made it easier for humans to accept him. We didn’t assign him a female gender to assure the UN that he cannot reproduce more of his kind in the future. There was a lot of fear and apprehension at the Security Council about keeping him here. In order to keep the whole thing contained they created the GSRC around this ship to keep Omega in that location. It seemed like the safest move until we could learn more. I was assigned to look after him, monitor his every move, and report back to the UN.
“The first time I went to the UN and left him alone he destroyed half the GSRC from separation anxiety. I had to take an emergency flight back. That was the nail in the coffin for Security Council who was looking for any reason to get rid of him. Knowing how powerful he was as a child made them fear what he could become as an adult. They made the decision to eliminate Omega but kept it a secret from the rest of us.
“One day out of nowhere additional troops and weapons arrived at the GSRC citing Omega’s security as the reason for it. They kept us in the dark on the weapons by hiding them in large shipping containers. This was going on in parallel to rebuilding parts of the GSRC that Omega had destroyed. The chaos at the GSRC allowed them to run this operation under our noses. They spent months planning and importing different types of weapons that they thought could kill him.
“One morning all the alarms in the GSRC went off and we were asked to evacuate. I tried to head to Omega’s room to grab him but they told me that Jackson had already got him and they are waiting outside. When I got outside I didn’t see Omega with Jackson. He informed me that he never even went towards Omega’ wing on his way out. I asked everyone on the team and no one had seen Omega. We knew something was not right. We tried to go back in but the building but it was on lock down. Armed guards came to the door and pushed us back. We had a good idea what they were up to. I called Alan at the Security Council and he told me that it’s been in the works for a while. Omega is too much of a security risk. They have orders to shoot anyone that gets in the way,” Elliot continued.
“We might have lost you that day if it weren’t for the Dashkis. I was so glad they had already relocated around the GSRC.” Elliot showed his appreciation to the Dashkis.
“It was our purpose to protect him at any cost. We were honored to sacrifice our lives for our savior. We will do it again in a heartbeat.” Jeos replied with his hand on his heart.
Elliot continued, “I ran out to this Temple in desperation. I never thought much of them but I knew this much that they would be the only ones who might be willing to help us save Omega. They did not hesitate for a second. I was surprised how well armed and ready you guys were for that moment.”
“We had been getting ready since his arrival. It was prophesied that we will be expected to protect the savior in his vulnerable years. The followers will have to sacrifice to earn a place in the paradise that is yet to come,” Jeos added.
“What happened next was a war to get in the GSRC. We lost dozens of people on each side but were finally able to get into the GSRC and take it over. After searching everywhere we found Omega in the military wing of the GSRC. He was sitting on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood and a lot of torn up body parts. We will never know what exactly happened in that room but it didn’t work out as planned for the UN. We found nuclear material, high intensity lasers, advance experimental weaponry in the room. It was all brought in with the hopes that one of those might be able to kill Omega.”
“Sick!!” Stan seemed impressed.
“I guess he had it covered but it has never stopped me from worrying about him before,” Elliot replied.
“There is no human weapon that can ever kill a God.” That statement from Jeos received a huge eye roll from Stan.
“I don’t understand your faith in me to deliver a paradise for your people but I am in your debt for the sacrifice.” Omega showed his appreciation.
“Did they learn their lesson after that?” Yasmine asked Elliot.
“Yeah. Only because they didn’t have much of a choice after the fiasco. After we returned the bodies or what was left of them they had no choice but to come to the negotiation table. A week after the incident we met with the Security Council and came to an arrangement. They agreed not to attack us again as long as we do everything to raise Omega to be on the side of humans. If they couldn’t kill you the best option was to use for their missions.
“There was a committee put together by the Security Council that included psychologists and behavior experts to come up with a plan to raise Omega. They wanted you to grow up in a controlled environme
nt. Make you see only the good side of humanity and feel indebted to us for accepting you as one of our own. You kids were part of their plan. They wanted Omega to be raised alongside other kids so he can bond with humans and be empathetic towards us. They searched for kids all over the world that fit the psychological profile. You were the ‘lucky’ orphans to be selected. There were no parents who would object to you guys being used as pawns. You guys were innocent and unsuspecting participants in the game we had been playing all these years. If something happened to any of you no one would miss you and we could just replace you with another. I can’t apologize enough for not telling you guys earlier. I was just trying to keep Omega safe. You deserved better.” Elliot apologized to the team.
“So, all these years!! Our entire childhood was a lie. How could you do that to us?” Stan asked angrily.
Yasmine jumped in before Elliot could say anything, “So what? Don’t be such a bitch. We were orphans. We were the rejects. Where do you think we would be right now if we didn’t get selected for this? On the streets? In jail? Or dead? Yes. It sucks that they sold us a lie. But I will take this fake life any day over the lives you and I had before. You are old enough. You can make my own decisions now.”
“I didn’t know that you were intentionally put in my path as part of an elaborate plan but it doesn’t change the fact that you guys are my family,” Omega added.
“We have always had each other’s back because if we don’t, who will? This doesn’t change that so get over it,” Yasmine told Stan.
“Am I at least allowed to be mad for a few hours?” Stan stormed out of the room. “I have a lot to process. I will see you guys at dinner.”
“Hopefully he will get over it,” Elliot stated. “We have bigger things to worry about right now. The United Nations was already not happy about Omega’s revenge killings. Now that Omega has his own militia in Africa head-hunting wealthy big game hunters it will turn some heads. They have always been paranoid about Omega going off script. Now that he has there might be trouble heading our way. We need to prepare.”
“I agree. We serve Omega and will protect him and people closest to him at all costs. The world might not think much of us. They may think we are crazy but all our prophecies are coming true. Omega is realizing his destiny. He was never supposed to be just one of us. His destiny is to lead us. We will start preparing for battle. Our faith in the prophecy has never been stronger and we are ready to see this through no matter what it takes,” Jeos replied.
Omega thanked them for their support. “I appreciate that I can always count on the Dashkis. My hope is that it does not come to that. This is my war and I would like to shield all of you from any harm. I hope the UN is smart enough not to repeat their mistakes.”
Chapter 9
It was the headline of the week “Al-Harih backed by Omega beheads the son of billionaire Klan.” Klan’s son went to African on a big game hunt against better judgement. It’s hard to convince kids born with a silver spoon that they can’t have something they want. Everyone knew that this would lead to trouble because of Klan family’s influence on global politics. They had spent decades buying politicians around the world. Klan would be calling in all his favors to make sure Omega and Al-Harih pay for it. The body wasn’t even buried before NATO announced that they will take action against Al-Harih. There was huge public backlash against NATO from environmentalists and animal rights groups. Since Al-Harih had started working for Omega poaching and game hunting has been on a major decline. They had gained some support amongst sections of the society who cared for animals or just had general distain for the elites.
You could see the cracks in society getting bigger over animal rights vs. human rights. It was much harder on human rights organizations who largely agreed that animals should be protected but didn’t agree with the way Omega was going about it. They didn’t like that Al-Harih had a free pass to kill anyone they wanted and Omega would shield them from any consequences. It really didn’t sit well with NATO allies who had been waging a war on terror for decades. China had been trying to wipe its past and become the leader in the fight for animal rights and climate change was quick to condemn NATO’s decision. Russia and China also had ulterior motives to finally reduce the influence to west on the world stage by pitting them against an unbeatable force in Omega.
Al-Harih had killed hundreds of poachers and big-game hunters in the past few months. The videos of them capturing, killing and beheading these people received both positive and negative reviews. They were being condemned by humanitarians while animal rights activists were trying to make them go viral on social media. Social media sites were reluctantly taking them down as it was technically against policy but the divisiveness on this issue was a huge money maker. Censoring it entirely was not in their best financial interest.
Omega could not let NATO go after Al-Harih who was trying to protect animals on his orders. He released a prepared statement warning NATO to not take action.
“Al-Harih as previously stated is under my protection. Anyone who tries to attack them will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. An attack on them is an attack on me. The rules have been clear and well-defined. Poaching and hunting endangered species is punishable by death. People who defy are making a conscious choice to risk their lives to kill innocent creatures. Those who still choose to do so are responsible for their own demise. This will be one and only official warning to NATO. If there is any action taken against the defenders of these innocent creatures everyone involved in such actions will have to pay the price.” It was a very short but direct warning from Omega.
NATO as expected was defiant in their response. Just like Klan’s son they were not accustomed to anyone else dictating terms. United States Ambassador to the UN Jack McMillan responded. “Omega had been given refuge on this planet by us humans and this is how he is repaying us? He is supporting a deadly terrorist organization that is pure evil. He talks about ‘innocent creatures.’ What about the thousands of innocent humans that have been killed, raped, and abused thousands at the hands of Al-Harih. We raised him like one of our own and he betrayed us. If he wants to stay on Earth he will have to abide by our laws. He does not get to make his own rules just because of his alien powers. We humans are resilient and will not be bullied. We have powerful weapons of our own. If Omega doesn’t back down we will be happy to let him see our might and bring him to his knees. We will not let an alien tell us how to live our lives. We will not bow to this alien enemy. We have to take a stand now or pretty soon it will be too late. If we don’t act we may lose our planet and our freedom to this foreign invader. The time is now and we urge the world to join together and send a message that we will not go quietly in the night.”
At the GRSC Sol and Elliot were having a drink after a long day.
“So we are heading to war right?” Sol asked Elliot.
“There is a good chance of that. I didn’t expect US to forgive and forget after what Omega did on their soil. They have been looking for a reason. Finally they have the support from NATO to take action.” Elliot agreed
“I better start getting the GSRC ready just in case.” Sol responded
“I would expect nothing less from you. When I am gone I am leaving you in charge of this place.” Elliot raised his glass to Sol.
“You are not going anywhere. I still have a lot of learn from you.” Sol cheers Elliot.
“Being around you, teaching you all these years has been my pleasure. When they first brought all of you guys to the GSRC I had a hard time with the rest of them. I wasn’t ready to raise five kids. But I could always relate to you. You reminded me of myself when I was young.” Elliot reminisced.
“I’ll take it as a compliment. I was hesitant at first about having to leave the orphanage but once I got here I knew I was in the right place,” Sol replied.
“They gave me your file. It was impressive. Your IQ was off the charts. I am certain you would have been successful no matter where you were,” Ellio
t complimented Sol.
“I appreciate it but being discarded by my parents and living in an orphanage with limited resources; I don’t know how far I would have gotten.” Sol had is doubts.
Elliot continued, “Well I am glad you ended up here. I always enjoyed teaching you. Even as a kid you were able to surprise the staff. You earned everyone’s respect pretty quickly. Not to mention you were able to help me bridge the gap with the rest of the kids. You were always mature beyond your age.” Elliot started remembering the simpler days at the GSRC.”
“Being in the labs and learning from all of you was the best part of growing up. I got picked on by the rest for being a suck up. It was worth it.” Sol laughed.
“They love you. Maybe not at first. You didn’t try to be part of the group early on and hid inside the lab. I am glad you figured out how to balance education and being a child pretty quickly.”
“Yeah. I needed that. Honestly I needed them more than they needed me so I am glad they gave me shit about it. I was always a loner. I had a hard time relating to other kids and making friends. Being forced to get out of my comfort zone really helped me. If it weren’t for them I would have been one socially awkward kid. Can you believe an alien was better than me at relating to humans?” Sol and Elliot laughed as they continued to reminisce about the past.
Elsewhere NATO had mobilized the forces in Africa after the Jack McMillan speech. They launched an attack on Al-Harih just a couple of days after the verbal response from Jack. It took a few hours for the news to reach Omega. He walked in the hall to watch the breaking news. You could see the anger on Omega’s face. Within the next ten minutes everyone at the GSRC was gathered in the hall. Stan broke the silence in the room by telling Omega that he was ready to go to war. If war is what they want, war is what they will get. The sentiment was echoed by the rest of the group.
Omega addressed the room, “As you understand that this will eventually bring war to our doorsteps. Not everyone here is a soldier and this is not your war. I will totally understand if you would like get as far away from here as you can. Your lives will be in danger if you decide to stay back.”
Hero Falls Kingdom Rises Page 10
