by David Byrd
“Noel keep talking and nodding,” Nick said. “A man has been following us since the council chambers and I have reason to believe he’s up to no good.”
Noel was caught off guard by Nick’s words but his military training took over at once. He turned toward Nick blading his body, all the while he was looking intently in his peripheral vision to see if he could spot the man. He noticed that Nick had his stunner in hand and was prepared to act.
A flash from a bush under a light pole and then part of the bench near them exploded. The shot had been sudden and the force of the ammunition being used was unexpected. Both Nick and Noel were thrown to the side, Noel’s head contacted the opposite bench and he went down. Nick rolled to the side and fired multiple shots in the assassin’s direction.
“I’ve got you now Naldo!” The assassin shouted.
By shouting out, Nick zeroed in on his position below the light pole. He set his stunner for max force and instead of taking pot shots; he fired a steady stream into the light pole above the man’s position. The pole exploded and Nick heard a pained cry from the bush. He waited a minute to be sure and then went over and searched. He found the man dead near the remains of the pole with shrapnel hits in several places. Nick linked to security and called for medical then sprinted back to Noel. Noel was down with a gash on his temple but it looked superficial. His vitals were good so he assumed Noel was just knocked out.
Noel woke up later in med bay with a number of family and friends around. The techs assured him his cut would heal quickly as everyone’s did and he could leave med bay when he was ready. The others left except for Nick who hung back with an excuse to talk about security procedures.
Noel sat down and faced Nick with a somber expression. He had pieced together the truth while waking up. In the moments before he completely passed out in the fight he heard the word Naldo. That was a name he had not thought of in many years. Then the clues he had always seen but disregarded intruded on his quiet mind when he awoke. Nick’s height, his son Kai’s familiarity, his proficiency in security matters. He was sure that the man he called a close friend before him was at one time Naldo Zel.
“Noel…what can I say that won’t sound like an excuse?” Nick asked. “I know that you heard the man and I see it in your eyes. You put everything together and you know the truth. There is nothing I can say to earn your trust again. I’m not excusing my former actions, I know Hollis was hurt when I escaped all those years ago but from my perspective at the time, all I knew was that I had been imprisoned and I had to get out.”
Noel was silent during this confession. At first he was angry and then he felt guilty. He was in the company security force and had participated in putting down several coups during his military days. He realized he couldn’t condemn this man; in fact he himself had done far worse. Nick had completely changed his life and whatever happened in the distant past, he was now a close family friend.
“Nick…you don’t need to say anymore,” Noel said. “I know you…the real you. You’re a good friend, a great husband and father and you also just saved my life. So whatever happened in the past is the past and never needs to be brought up again. Now go get Alison and Kai and bring them over for dinner.”
The two men stood and embraced briefly and then left med bay.
Chapter 21
Ten years streamed past in a blur. They were happy times for the colony and mostly uneventful. As with any large group though you always have differing opinions and some internal strife. This manifested mainly in small groups wanting to go off and “do their own thing”. One such group, calling themselves the “Guardians of Trellis” consisting of about 100 people, left the Domes and headed to the far northern forests to found their own colony they would later name Gaia using their own values and ideals. Like a wagon train of old earth, these pioneers were determined to get back to nature and live in a more or less socialistic society. There were other adventurers who set off to explore since the whole world was as of yet unexplored. Those hardy types were not happy being cooped up in domed cities.
It was a bright sunny day and as usual Elia and Kai were outside in the garden section. All the firstborn children seemed to prefer the outdoors and some even had an aversion to staying inside the Domes for any length of time. Elia was now 16 with shoulder length golden hair, sun browned skin with small freckles and a sunny disposition. Her ever present friend Kai was with her as they sat in the forest grove talking. Kai was the tallest of all the firstborn at nearly 2 meters. With jet black hair and a great sense of humor, he always stood out in the crowd.
“I know it’s just soooo boring,” Elia said while sitting on the ground facing Kai. Their conversations were all internal inside each other’s heads. When they were alone they only talked this way which conveyed not just words but emotions as well. All the firstborn on Trellis II could communicate this way and even their aunt Jean could sometimes hear them. “I just don’t want to listen to adults going on and on about their problems all day.”
“I know…mom and dad are trying to get me to learn how to lead and manage also but I’m just not into it,” Kai said. “I really just want to go exploring. You saw the reports from the others who have gone off to explore the world. It sounds exciting.”
“I’ve always wondered if that’s what uncle Hollis did?” Elia asked. Hollis had disappeared 10 years ago and no one had seen him since. There had been a large search conducted but no trace had been found. When he disappeared, his link stopped working so there was no way to track his movements. He had been conducting experiments further and further from the colony and sometimes he left for weeks at a time but then he just vanished.
“Hello Kai,” Althea said as she walked by the couple. Althea was about the same age as Elia and Kai and was more “girly” than Elia preferring to be frivolous whereas Elia was more of a tomboy. She had large striking green eyes but also the golden ring around the outside of the iris like all the firstborn had.
“I…oh hi Althea,” Kai stammered out loud. He stared after her for a few too many seconds and then felt a sharp pain in his head. “Ouch! What was that for?” Kai asked as he felt an emotion from Elia that was red with fury and it was actually painful.
“Nothing and I’m late for dinner,” Elia said as she got up and walked quickly to the rover and took off before Kai could say or do anything. Elia fumed all the way home and refused to talk to Kai mentally as he kept trying to contact her. Boys, she thought. How can they all be so taken in by a pretty face? While the firstborn of Trellis II were way beyond normal standards of intelligence, they were still young humans without age or experience to guide them. That and the age old drives of hormones made them like any other teenagers in the galaxy.
Elia arrived at home just in time for dinner. Home was back at the original habitat where Noel and Faye had started their journey. They both decided that life inside the Dome was too hectic and longed for a more peaceful life now that Elia had grown. Max and Jean had also tired of the city life and with Hollis’ disappearance, they moved into his habitat as their original home had been destroyed.
“Heyo,” Elia said entering the room.
“Heyo…Does that mean something?” Faye asked, amused at this new slang.
“Sure Mom, all the kids are saying it now…I mean really,” she said with eyes rolling.
“So how was your afternoon with Kai?
“I don’t want to talk about it and please don’t try all that stuff you guys always do to pry it out of me. I’m not talking about it.”
Faye could tell that her daughter’s mood had a marked change. She didn’t have the insight that the firstborn could use to sense emotions but she knew her daughter well enough to know boy trouble when she saw it. Like all mothers, Faye could see the chemistry between Kai and Elia even if they were blind to it at this age. She left well enough alone and they had dinner in a comfortable way talking about other things.
“So where’s Dad?” Elia asked.
“Oh he�
�s over with Max piddling on some invention or another. You know now that he has free time they are always coming up with some new invention or working on some problem. I think it’s just his excuse to relax and do those guy things.”
ALERT CONDITION 1….ALERT CONDITION 1…ALERT CONDITION 1 rang out through link to every citizen of Trellis II. Faye and Noel were linking with the other adults and in the meantime the firstborn levels of anxiety were rising. Elia and her peers could all feel the tension as a palpable thing. Elia’s mind contacted Kai and shut out all the rest.
“Kai what’s happening?” she asked.
“It’s something to do with the system TGate,” he said. “I think something is coming through. I’ve been trying to access the long range scanners but I’m not strong enough on my own.”
“Maybe it’s just an earth contact after all these years?” Elia asked. It’s been so long that maybe they are ready to reach out to us again and make contact.”
“I don’t think so…for one thing all the adults are concerned. They’ve ordered everyone to take shelter. We’ve got to see what’s happening. I’m close to Dome 2 near the water pumping station, can you meet me?”
“I’ll be there in 10 minutes,” Elia said. With that she told her mom Kai needed her by dome 2 and her mother was so involved in the link conversation that she waved her off.
Elia arrived at the station soon after and could see Kai standing by the main pumping building. She pulled up and jumped out of the rover and they went inside to the control room.
“I’m glad you made it, all the chatter on link is getting scary,” Kai said. “There is something about the size or shape of whatever came through the gate that has them all worried. The control console is linked to both Domes, if we combine our power we can access the telemetry from the TGate and maybe even see what’s happening.” Kai and Elia had learned that they could pool or combine their power to increase it in strength. So far they were the only firstborn to do so since it seemed to require that the two merging be in sync with each other.
Kai took Elia’s hand and placed the other hand on the control console. They would use that as a focus through the network back to the Domes main equipment. From there they would access the long range telemetry data from the TGate. Elia took a deep breath and relaxed. She stared at the console and felt that familiar merging in her head that meant Kai was with her. They shut out all other distractions and concentrated on following the path…farther…farther…to the Dome…farther to the TGate. As the two firstborn’s stared at the console, the tiny golden ring around the iris of each of their eye’s glowed softly with power.
“Oh no!” Elia cried. “It can’t be!”
Noel and Nick were on a secure link channel. The council deferred to the two of them as the most experienced in the colony to deal with the threat. What they saw coming through the TGate sent chills through both men. Thousands of small automated ships…each one certainly a guided missile sent to destroy them utterly. Both men knew the score. This was an all-out attack to purge them from the surface. No one would be left alive if the orb defense screen failed.
“Noel they are still traveling at near light speed, we only have a few seconds,” said Nick. “I’m activating the orb defense screen but it was never designed for this. We built it for an armada, not thousands of small missiles. Hold on…the first wave is in range…the orbs are activating at full spectrum and capturing as many as possible. NOEL! Some are getting through.”
“Nick! Evacuate the city…get out of there now,” Noel shouted.
“No time…some are in the atmosphere…Noel I’m sorry…I’m going to re task all the orbs to point to each other to overlap…provide a solid shield instead of capturing ships. There…it’s working…they are impacting on the shield. Noel please take care of…”
Chapter 22
Earth Presidential Palace – 10 hours before the attack
Tobias Kinsdale had cause to celebrate and he cracked open a very old bottle of scotch he had hidden in a cabinet. It was at least 80 years old…around his age now. A chime in his implant indicated that Dr. Lock was ready with his monthly anti-aging treatment. He authorized access and the door slid open to let the doctor in.
“Ah Lock…a glorious morning is it not?” Kinsdale asked. “Just moments ago the fleet of automated missiles left the first TGate. In a few hours our long term problem on Trellis will be over.”
“Yes I’ve seen the vids Mr. President,” Lock said stiffly. Lock was about twenty years younger than Kinsdale but looked every bit like a very old broken man. In contrast, the life extension treatments he administered to Kinsdale made the man look as if he were in his 60’s when in reality he was well past 80 now. The treatments kept his body younger but not his mind…nothing known on earth could turn back the effects of aging in the brain. And this man had a sadistic streak that widened with each year. As Lock affixed the med pack to Kinsdale’s arm he reflected on the last 15 years. The general population viewed this attack as a great battle against a monstrous foe. A whole generation had grown up with propaganda that increasingly portrayed the Trellis system as one of a completely alien force bent on the total destruction of Earth. Most people by now believed the vids, but Lock had been there from the beginning and knew the real truth.
Locke watched the med pack deliver the precious serum and then sat down heavily in the chair opposite to Kinsdale with a heavy satisfied sigh.
“There Lock…you should take better care of yourself. I’m going to need you for quite some time and you are looking quite old. You need to keep yourself healthy.”
“Yes so you keep telling me Tobias,” Lock said as he affixed another med pack to his own arm and activated the serum injection. “So I have whipped up a very special serum of my own. You know I’ve been party to your mad schemes for decades now. Your barbaric nature and general hate for your fellow human and the launch of missiles to Trellis was the last straw. I should actually thank you because this celebration of yours and your aging brain kept you from scanning the contents of the med packs. I’ve whipped up a classic brew for both of us. Do you remember that special poison activated by link channel you had me create years ago?”
Tobias jumped out of his chair and started ripping off the pack from his arm.
“I’m afraid that’s a bit too late…for both of us.”
And with that, Lock activated the sub frequency that triggered the poison bombs inside both of them to erupt. In seconds the office was dead quiet.
Chapter 23
A massive explosion ripped across the surface of Trellis II. Equipment and buildings near the blast were leveled by the shockwave as some of the missiles that made it into the atmosphere before the full shield became active found their mark.
Elia and Kai saw the missiles escape from the orbs and head down…In seconds the explosion hit and a wave of agony hit both of them. Like a tsunami of emotion, they felt the fear and then pain from the firstborn that had been in Dome 1 at the moment the missiles struck. The emotions and pain of knowing his mother and father were just killed washed over Kai and he seized the power in a howl of anger…an anger and pain he had never known before and he released it in the only way he could…while still connected to the TGate he poured all of that into the gate until it exploded into millions of bits. This all took place in the span of seconds and when the power feedback from Dome 1 hit them they were flung away from the console as it exploded.
Elia was not seriously hurt but she could see that Kai was out cold. Her sense was that he was fine, just knocked out. The weight of what happened crashed down on her and she contacted her parents through their link and cried when they answered. The hurt and pain were foremost in her mind and the tragedy that had befallen their people. But something else had happened in the height of the merge with Kai. At the point where he destroyed the TGate, his true self and hers with him were laid bare. They knew in the milliseconds of the merge every secret thought the other had. They would have to grieve and rebuild but at
some point in the future they would need to talk about the fact that both were very much in love with each other.
In the days and months following the attack, Noel and the remaining 3 “First Ones” as they were now being called were needed once again to help re-establish civilization. The site where Dome 1 was located after the attack was little more than a heap of material. The decision was made to re-build the area into a memorial park. A place for morning certainly…but also a place of healing, reflection and joy. After any human remains found had been cared for in the traditions at the time, the area was cleared and replanted with native Earth grasses that had been hybridized for Trellis II. Modified trees, flowers, and plants of all varieties were seeded and set out in pathways and winding paths to the large center field which held a sculpture created from the remains of one of the PlazSteel support columns. The sculpture was etched with the names of all who perished in an alloy that shimmered and changed colors based on the light reflecting on the monument. Everyone was invited to contribute, and art pieces were installed all over the area from graceful delicate wind sculptures turning in kinetic motion with the breeze, to stone and metal art pieces. A formal dedication took place renaming the area Serenity Park. At the same time Dome 1 was christened Ancora from the Latin for anchor since it was their anchor to this new world.
“Hi Dad,” Elia said cheerfully coming into the conference room where the morning council meeting had been held. Noel was the only one in the room and had been going over decisions and work items decided earlier.
“Well…hey what are you doing skulking around these stuffy hallways?” Noel asked smiling at his daughter as she sat down beside him. “I thought you and Kai were headed over to help Jean with her new classes?”
“Kai is over there now helping out,” she said. “I just wanted to stop by and say hi. Everyone has been so busy these last few months.”
