It’s hard to think about having to shoot anyone, but at the same time I can remember many of the scientists being excited to start this project… I heard stories of the militia abusing the natives… All the events up until now really made me start to doubt everything. I have personally witnessed how evil we can be… and these acts are being committed by an organization that’s supposed to guide and watch over all of us. It’s almost as if my whole way of thinking and perceiving life was nothing more than an illusion…
Whatever the case may be, we all had to do this. If we’re all gunned down by the militia then so be it. If Kayin’s plan fails we can all go to our deaths knowing we did the right thing. It’s better than living like this.
I looked at X-451 for a few more minutes and then headed back to my room. Even though I had my doubts, I was also confident the plan would work. Everything seemed to be falling right into place. I had easily gotten the injections to the resistance and Kayin says support is building every day. Maybe tonight, sleep would come easily and I’d be free from the horrors that have been etched into my memory.
When I woke up, I was overcome with new feelings. All of this was no longer an idea so far away I could barely see it. Any moment I could receive word for the final debriefing before we take action. I just wish I could somehow relay all this to the natives still trapped in the holding rooms… waiting to see whether or not the injection would kill them or make them able for the slavery down below.
When I got to the lab it was empty. I walked over to the back to look for Cyrus and I found him standing over an opened up corpse. On the inside I cringed but I had to pretend like it didn’t bother me and I said “Where is everyone?”
He looked up and replied “Well as you know we’ve almost provided Neros with all the workers he needs so I’ve dismissed the rest of the teams to other science divisions… You and I can take care of the rest, it’ll only take a few more months.” He was standing there holding his hands up… the white gloves he was wearing had turned red…
He got back to work and continued to speak – “Since we’re almost done and will still be left with years of nothing to do I’ve been given another project… I will attempt to advance one of the natives far beyond our average intellect in the hopes of being able to apply the studies back on Aeris. This could lead to a substantial jump in mental evolution for all of us Atlas.”
I thought to myself – “Maybe it would make all of you smart enough to realize what you’re doing is wrong…”
Cyrus went on to say it was one of the most important experiments in the history of the world. All I heard was white noise. I saw nothing more than a man that enjoyed hurting things for his own interest and amusement. His words no longer meant anything to me… The more he talked the more it reminded me how much I wanted to end him.
Then I realized something horrible had just happened… Cyrus would be using the advanced treatments after all and I had switched almost all of them for injectors filled with water. This was bad; it was only a matter of time before he’d figure it out. I had to get word to Kayin immediately, but there was no way. I was stuck here until Cyrus dismissed me.
What he said next struck serious fear within me – “I’ve already administered the first dose to a subject over in lab 2. He won’t be showing any improvements until tomorrow and I don’t need you here today. I’m just doing some personal research on the differences in their physiology… Go ahead and take the day off Atlas.”
I was almost frozen stiff by the time he finished talking… he would know something was wrong by the morning. He might not immediately think to examine the injectors but eventually it’ll be the only thing left to check. I had even less time than I thought… As soon as I got to a safe distance I started running back towards the team quarters. I had to tell Sara to relay the message to Kayin. We had to act today, tomorrow at the very latest. Otherwise everything could be compromised.
By the time I got to Sara’s room I was totally out of breath. She opened the door and I just walked in and sat down. She looked alarmed and said “What are you doing!? What’s going on?”
I put my hand up to motion for her to stop and wait while I caught my breath… … - “The plans have changed Sara. Cyrus has been ordered to do more intelligence experimentations on one of the natives. He’s already used one of the swapped injections. He’s going to know something’s not right by tomorrow morning… You have to tell Kayin now!”
Surprisingly she didn’t look alarmed – “Atlas relax, I just got word from Kayin that we’re to meet first thing in the morning for a final debriefing before we begin the takeover… It doesn’t matter. Just calm down… Go back to your room and I’ll come get you when it’s time.”
I nodded, regained my composure, and left. Instead of going back to my room like she said, I decided to go sit on the observation deck. Even though it was technically “day time” the view in space never changed... It was one of the things that helped me keep my sanity all this time. When I looked out into the stars I could forget about my life for a while. If today would be my last day alive, I can’t think of any other place I’d want to spend it.
As I looked down on X-451 I thought back to my first day on The Aurora. It was truly hard to believe everything that’s happened was real. I went from being excited about the adventure of saving Aeris to becoming part of something truly evil… I know that for the rest of my life I’ll never be the same, and the things I’d seen will never go away.
I also had to wonder what would happen when we got back… Would we be rewarded and celebrated, or punished? Knowing what I do now it might not even be safe to return to The Aurora. We might have to get our story out to the public first, just to protect ourselves. I think it would be safe to say that the majority of the ACI and our government can’t be trusted. If they would do all this, than killing us and burying our story would be easy for them.
Kayin and the others may not have realized it yet, but setting the workers free is only the first step… There will be a lot more that needs to be figured out. We’d also still have to finish mining the chrysos. Maybe if everyone on the ship participated things would move along quickly. Once we take The Sirius there won’t be a need for a science or militia division… The chrysos, getting home, and healing our world will be the only things that matter.
In exactly 8 hours the final meeting will take place and Kayin will direct everyone’s actions. As far as I know I’d be taking care of Cyrus… What I could truly look forward too is not ever having to be involved in anything like this again, whether we succeed or not. I leaned back and closed my eyes.
I must have fallen asleep… I awoke to Sara pushing on my shoulder – “Atlas... Atlas!” She sighed heavily “I’ve been looking for you… I told you to stay in your room so I could come get you!” I got up and apologized. Sara immediately calmed down and said “It’s ok, but we have to go, Kayin is probably waiting for us.”
She led me back to the same elevator but this time we were going to a different floor. I looked over at her and she said “We had to find a bigger space, there are going to be a lot more people this time, and they’ll be relaying audio down to our people on X-451.” A lot more people?.. That’s exactly what we need.
After navigating a series of hallways she finally stopped and opened a door. When I walked in I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were hundreds of people crammed into one of the storage rooms, waiting for Kayin to give his final commands… As I looked over the crowd I knew this was going to work.
Kayin noticed Sara and I come in and he began – “Everyone!.. This is it!.. Five mining sites are waiting to be sabotaged by our men on the ground and the natives have agreed to fight alongside us… I will hand pick 20 people to accompany me to the flight deck to take control of the ship and bring Neros to justice. 40 more will accompany Atlas to secure the natives on the ship and find Cyrus… But first we will split up and take the two weapons rooms… Does everyone understand!?” The entire room shouted – “Y
ES!”
He went on to assign different groups to take over specific parts of the ship. I could tell he had this all well planned out. Not only did we have the numbers now, but soon we’d be fully armed; in some ways even more so than the average militia.
While we headed towards the weapons room, I was surprisingly calm. Almost as if I knew I didn’t have time to be nervous for this, it was far too important. Or maybe it was all the horrible things I’d seen over the past three years, I don’t know. It didn’t matter because I was ready. I was ready to kill Cyrus and I wanted to see the native’s go free more than anything else I had ever wanted.
When we finally reached the weapons room, Kayin pulled out a small computer and hooked it up to the door panel. He looked at me and said “I’m a technician remember” then he smiled. When the door opened we had expected to see some militia but there wasn’t anyone in sight. I suppose they never thought a crew take over could be possible. The room was completely stocked with every weapon imaginable. We would have a serious edge.
When Kayin was done handing out weapons and relaying orders he walked over to Sara and I -“Sara go with Atlas, you were part of what went on in that lab too. I’m sure you’ll want to confront Cyrus.” He gave us both a firearm, put his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes – “We can do this.” … Almost two years of hopelessness had suddenly turned into something spectacular.
As we ran down the hallways heading to the lab, my militia training kicked in. I split the rest of my team into two units and sent each one to secure two of the four holding rooms. Sara and I would deal with Cyrus together… I knew for a fact that he would be alone, waiting for the effects of his treatments to kick in on his new project. He’d probably be cutting open another one just to pass the time…
We approached the lab and I signaled for Sara to wait… Killing Cyrus was something I thought of almost every day, but now that it came down to it, things were different. If I killed him I’d be just like him; a murderer. I stood there in silence for a few moments. I thought about all the people he had killed. I thought about the sound of the drills, and watching him cut open their chests and skulls like it was fun. I realized that he had to die; we couldn’t have someone like that left alive to possibly jeopardize the plan. Someone like Cyrus didn’t deserve the gift of life… I had to do it.
I looked at Sara and said “I had to work with him all this time… I’m going to kill Cyrus and you’re going to watch the door.” Just before I went forward she stopped me and said “Tell him what we’re doing, I want him to know what’s happening and why.”
I slowly cracked the door and looked around; I didn’t see him so I walked in. As I approached his private room in the back I could hear him talking to himself. I almost felt sorry for him…
I opened the door abruptly so he would hear it. Cyrus whipped around frightened – “Oh man Atlas! You scared me!.. What are doing here?” I held up the firearm – “Atlas what are you doing?!” I looked him in the eyes for a few moments and said “Half of us have turned against the ACI; we’re taking over the Sirius and freeing the natives. We plan to stay as long as it takes to finish mining without using them at all… Your sick little project is coming to an end Cyrus”
I didn’t plan to let him speak, he didn’t deserve it. I just wanted to fulfill Sara’s request before he died. I’d rather never hear his voice again… I could see the hatred flare in his eyes and right when he went to respond, I shot him in the head… To my right, there was another cut open native, senselessly slaughtered for his amusement. As I looked down at his body it only reminded me that I had done the right thing.
The live native he was currently experimenting on was chained up in the corner. He’d be safe just where he is, so I went back out to Sara. As soon as I walked through the door she hugged me and said “Did you tell him?”
I let her go and replied “Yes… I told him exactly what’s going on… I saw the anger in his eyes and before he could speak I shot him.” She looked sad – “I know he deserved it but… I do wish we didn’t have to kill anyone, enough people have died.” I touched her arm – “Sara this may not even be close to over yet… Remember Neros has hundreds of men still loyal to him. There might be a lot more death before this is done… You have to be ready to defend yourself, they might not hesitate… and I don’t want to lose you.”
She smiled and said “Don’t worry Atlas I know… We’ll both be fine and have all the time in the world together once we get back to Aeris.” I wanted to raise the idea that we may no longer be welcome or safe at the Aurora Station after this but I’d save that for another time. I could tell she hadn’t considered it yet… I wondered if Kayin had and what his plan would be?
When we made to the flight deck Kayin, and the others had successfully taken control. It turned out that when they told the flight staff and technicians what was going on they put up no resistance at all. In fact they agreed with what we had done and gave their full support.
I walked over and congratulated Kayin. I could see Neros off to the side, lying in a pool of his own blood. I asked - “So what’s next?” Kayin led me over to the communications panel and said “I just gave the order to sabotage all the mining sites and spread out the militia. The rest is up to them… they all know exactly what to do and even if the native’s back down I think they can still win… All we can do now is wait to hear from them.”
As the hours went by we kept receiving word of more mining sites being freed. There was some initial resistance by the militia, but when the natives joined in it was quickly put to an end. Once Kayin’s men had a chance to explain what was going on to the militia, they all sided with us just like the fight crew.
Reports were coming in from all the different sections of the ship that our people were taking over with minimal casualties on both sides. The team I split up had successfully taken control of the native holding rooms and were getting them ready to be returned to X-451. Everything was unfolding perfectly… just as if it were meant to happen this way. I truly felt that the universe itself was on our side.
It seemed as though everyone just needed some inspiration to do the right thing. Kayin’s plan had worked flawlessly… This whole experience had ruined my view of humanity, but Kayin never let his become corrupted. He knew most of the people on this ship were good and willing to do the right thing when given the chance… He was right, and I’m glad he was here to make it all happen.
Everyone who refused to cooperate was detained in the holding rooms originally used to treat the natives. The next day they would be mining, whether they liked it or not. All the remaining natives on the Sirius were loaded onto transport ships and taken back down to X-451 to be reunited with the others.
Once it was confirmed the Sirius and all the mining sites had been taken over by our group I felt such a relief. Everyone seemed so happy… I suppose we all were. Even though I couldn’t forgive myself at the moment, it was a good start… I felt someone take my hand, it was Sara.
Kayin and I stayed on the flight deck for hours discussing what to do next. We had both agreed that mining operations would resume first thing in the morning and everyone available would participate; no matter what division they were in.
In just under two years the mining division produced close to 3,000 tons of chrysos while using the natives. If we add every free man and woman onto the mining teams it should be somewhat close to the number of natives that were used. Though the natives were substantially stronger and more energetic than we were, so things would slow down considerably.
We could still have years of work ahead of us but this is the only way. Anything was better than what Cyrus and Neros were doing… I think everyone was ready to work as hard as they could to get this mission accomplished and return home to Aeris with a clean conscience.
Sara and I were off to the side talking when a communication came in. The two surviving leaders of the natives that Kayin’s men had further advanced in secret, wanted to meet with us�
� I was excited and ashamed at the same time…
As we headed down to the loading bay Kayin turned to me and said “You did it right?” I nodded – “Yes, and I told him exactly what was going on… that we were going to free the natives and take our time mining the rest of the chrysos… I could tell that killed him before I did.” Kayin laughed.
On the way down in the transport ship Sara and I sat next to each other; she kept her hand on mine. Even after everything I’d just been through, all of a sudden I was nervous. Just like my first day on the Aurora station… I was trying to come up with something to say. I was wondering if they would even understand an apology.
Hopefully they would be able to tell by the looks on all of our faces. From what I’ve seen they had to be intelligent enough to recognize remorse. I had to come up with something simple. From what Kayin said their language had close to 60 words now. He and some of the others could communicate, but just barely… By the time we landed I still hadn’t come up with anything to say. Hopefully Kayin would handle that…
As we approached them I could see how frail and weak they looked. They had injuries on their hands and their lips were blistered from thirst. I yelled “Someone get them water now!” As I said that, they both dropped to their knees and started chanting “Anu – Nnaki , Anu – Nnaki!”
They still viewed us as something to worship. Kayin and I tried to get them up but they wouldn’t for some time. It was even hard for us to get them to drink water. They knew we had saved them yet they were still completely frightened of us.
Before Kayin could try to communicate, they started directing the other native’s to get back to work. We tried to get them to stop but they wouldn’t. The whole mining site was ringing out with the chant “Anu – Nnaki!” … I guess it was their way of thanking us.
I turned to Kayin and said “We have to do something about this… the whole point was to set them free. Now it looks like they’re working even harder just to please us.” Kayin put his hand over his face and sighed – “Me and the others have been trying to explain it to them for months… we just can’t make them understand Atlas… Come on, we have to get them to stop working.”
The Sirius Chronicles Page 7
