Galactic Satori Chronicles: Book 1 - Earth

by Nick Braker

  Funny, in all the years I’ve spent here, I’ve never seen anyone use that thing.

  “Please have a seat, all of you,” she said, taking the seat at the head of the large conference table, facing the entrance.

  Asher bumped Brandon ever so slightly in order to take the seat to her right.

  He is determined.

  Tom took the seat to her left, then Weston and Greg. Brandon ended up next to Asher.

  “You see, gentlemen, you know a great deal about the nature of the events in the world and while I would rather just inform the public, my superiors have given strict orders to keep this under wraps. Accepting the offer to join WSO is a good one, of course, and you may have surmised that no was not really going to be a pleasant option for you. It is moot now but I have other news that I want to break to you delicately.”

  She paused to give them each a chance to brace themselves.

  “News?” Greg asked, breaking the silence.

  She nodded.

  “I hope you accept my apologies and understand why I took the action I did. I cannot let you back into the public because you simply know too much.”

  She paused again. This was the part of the job she hated but knew she had to do. Her feelings on the matter were irrelevant.

  “I sent agents to the sorority at Cambridge. They created a situation that would look like an accident occurred, an accident that would positively convince anyone, including the police, coroner, and your families, that all of you had died in a horrible gas explosion. Everyone at the party was pronounced dead. Some cadavers were needed but, due to the nature of the explosion, nothing is identifiable. I’m sorry.”

  “What the hell?” Greg said as he stood up. He hit the table with his fist. “My wife and family think I’m dead?”

  “What do you mean we are dead?” Brandon asked.

  Seriously?

  Asher motioned for them to settle down. He even had to turn and face Greg directly to get him to sit. The look on his face clearly told her he was seething. Asher put his hand on Greg’s shoulder.

  “Greg, let me finish before you interrupt. Alexandria is right. We can’t go back. If any of us did, we would be directly responsible for endangering our own families in this. Put aside your feelings and think about this logically. We know too much. If we are not careful, these aliens are going to find out who we are. If they do, they will try to kill us and if they cannot, they will go for our families to lure us out. At least here we are concealed and protected, but more importantly, so are our families. This may not be the easiest choice but it is the right one. We need to stay low and concealed. If not, we might as well put a bullet to the head of everyone we love.”

  Greg took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. He stood up again, this time, walking away from the table while keeping his face from everyone in the room.

  “Weston,” Asher continued. “Your brothers and sisters will take care of your dad. They’ll be fine. You know it’s true.”

  Weston’s head drooped, looking at his hands in his lap. He was fidgeting and visibly upset but he nodded.

  “Yeah man, you’re right. He’ll be fine. They all will be.”

  Alexandria didn’t buy it. He was taking it better than Greg but only marginally so. Brandon didn’t seem fazed at all but he hadn’t said anything.

  Well, at least he’s in tune with his friends enough to know when to keep his smart mouth shut.

  “Greg, please accept my apologies. I am so sorry,” she said. “I can’t see any of you going back into the public, as yourselves, for years to come. This is not something we are going to solve soon. The aliens are killing people across the planet and we have no way of stopping them. If they find out who you are, we won’t be able to stop them from killing your families in retaliation. I will arrange to sever any paper trail linking each of you to your families. It will deter anyone looking into your backgrounds.”

  Greg took in a deep breath.

  “Can they come here?” he asked, still facing away from them.

  Asher answered him.

  “Would you want to subject them to isolation on this base or perhaps death if the aliens find us here and destroy the facility? So many things can go wrong if any of them come here. What would you tell them if they did? The truth about the aliens and expose them to all of this too?”

  “Are we stuck here for years as well?” Greg asked, his voice trembling.

  “No. You will not be. You will get trained here in Devils Shores, move to WSO headquarters in D.C., assume new identities, and start to work helping us beat these aliens. Honestly, I believe you four play a central part in all of this.”

  “What the hell are you saying?” Brandon asked.

  She stared at Brandon.

  Do I have to spell out everything for this one?

  “You’ve hinted at that with me before,” Asher added. “What makes you think so?”

  “You really want me to answer that?” she asked.

  “Not really,” Asher said. “Four female Einstein’s meet up with four talented males who end up with a shiny new spaceship...”

  “That is an adequate summation,” she said.

  “Thanks,” he said sarcastically, turning to Greg, who was still standing away from the rest of them. “Greg, you know what we have to do. Let’s get to it, man.”

  “Maybe,” he said.

  Asher and Brandon seemed the least affected. Weston’s reaction gave her concern. He was an unknown and she didn’t like unknowns. It appeared he would be fine in time but she couldn’t be sure. Greg was taking this badly but at least his feelings were clear. It seemed whatever it was that let him kill aliens and witness horrific murders wasn’t entirely preventing him from having normal human reactions and emotions.

  Good, they don’t need to be cold blooded entirely.

  “Greg, Weston, I am so sorry. I hope someday you reach an understanding as to why I did this,” she said, trying to comfort both of them.

  “Do they already know?” Greg asked.

  “Your family? Yes, the authorities identified the bodies and have already notified next of kin. I got the report a few hours ago,” she said softly.

  “We were just starting out. We didn’t have much. Will they be okay?” Greg asked.

  “All of your families will be taken care of. The accident will result in a lawsuit that will get settled quickly, out of court, and each of your families will get a settlement. At least financially, they will be well off,” she said. “I made sure of that. It will come to fruition. We have our ways.”

  She directed her last statements at Greg and Weston, hoping at least in this small way they could be satisfied.

  Alexandria excused herself and left the room.

  “Gentlemen,” Tom said, standing. “You are recruits within this facility. I would ask that you act accordingly. The news will spread of your notoriety and it will help or harm you. Please don’t abuse your new roles.” He motioned for them to follow him. “Let me get you settled in. Your compartments are this way.”

  He walked out with the others following behind. Greg lagged but a look from Asher gave him the nudge he needed. Tom showed the four where they would be staying. The compartments were small but comfortable, having two rooms with a full bath. They each got a compartment to themselves, which was a welcome change from the expectation he heard them talking about amongst themselves earlier. Brandon seemed the most excited and immediately started going through everything in his compartment. The others checked their rooms briefly and returned to the hallway where Tom waited for them.

  “It’s late but I want to give you a brief tour so you’ll be better prepared in the morning,” Tom told them.

  With that, Tom again motioned them to follow him. He showed them the galley first which was down the hall from their compartments. From there, he showed them the weight room, conference areas, medical, and the indoor recreation center. It was currently unoccupied but when they saw the place, Brandon and Weston rushed in to
check out all the equipment. Asher and Greg waited outside with Tom and eventually Weston and Brandon got the message and he proceeded through the rest of the facility.

  “There are 18 levels underground and you are currently authorized to the top ten.”

  He handed them each unique badges. They already had their pictures on them and were designed with a small clip.

  “Take these and wear them at all times. Even though we’ll all eventually get to know you, the badges are your only key to the rooms in the facility. If you lose the badge, you aren’t going far.”

  Tom finished the tour and brought them back to their compartments.

  “Guys, I want to welcome you. I hope that starting tomorrow you’ll show us what you’re capable of and we can get you out into the field quickly... or behind those desks.”

  Tom was making sure they got the message and hoping it would be enough incentive.

  “Greg, are you going to be okay?” Asher asked.

  Greg stared at him, turned around, slid his card over the door lock and entered his compartment. He shut the door behind him.

  “Wow, he’s not taking this well,” Brandon remarked.

  “Leave him be,” Weston said. “He’ll work through it.”

  Asher nodded at both of them.

  “Weston, you gonna be able to work through this?”

  “Yeah, it’s the right thing to do,” Weston replied.

  “Let’s get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.” Asher said.

  Each of them split up into their compartments. Tom walked off, leaving them to get some rest.

  Kron - Royal Palace Computer Facility

  Katerra left her chambers and hurried to the palace’s computer facility. Her chamber door slid aside and her personal guards moved to follow. They were selected and trained from birth with their only purpose in life being to protect their queen. It was certainly a true honor for them and their families but they were more ceremonial since no threat ever got past Kron’s space fleet, let alone manage to make it onto the planet itself.

  “Stay,” she ordered.

  “But, my queen?” Shiriam objected.

  Katerra ignored her. She was aware of Shiriam’s confusion at being forced to leave her unguarded. Unorthodox, yet they knew the cost of disobedience... execution.

  She had received a fifth report from Agneta that another of her Omarii had returned compromised from this new planet called Earth. The unusual nature of their return was the concern. Each of the five suffered various levels of mental distress. Whatever it was, it had crippled each of them. The Mental Infusion process should be benign, leaving both the Omarii and the subject undamaged. Yet, she had lost five of her Omarii to these humans. Why was this planet different? What were these humans doing to her warriors?

  Agneta’s assurances no longer assuaged her doubts that the problem would be corrected. It wasn’t systemic though as Satirra had already returned successfully several times. Satirra and Sania were the only two Omarii completely unaffected. Chitra had recovered quickly and now seemed more resistant to this human influence having suffered under its effects.

  Katerra moved through the corridors, navigating the way easily. The computer facility was the main access point directly linked to the computing core buried deep within the planet. She passed several of her people along the way, going about their work. All of them seemed shocked to see their queen unguarded but all of them quickly lowered their eyes and bowed, even if a few weren’t certain it was her.

  She returned her thoughts to the problem at hand. It was Agneta’s arrogance that had jeopardized this project. A minor concern that she would deal with soon. Agneta lead the Omarii program and it was her responsibility to ensure the operation was a success. Earth must be destroyed quickly before the Aliri were able to prepare a response.

  Katerra entered. Eleven technicians were always present monitoring the planet’s long range sensors, communications, energy production, and fleet status. None of them noticed that it was their queen that had entered.

  “Leave,” Katerra ordered.

  Several technicians bolted immediately towards the exits while others seemed confused.

  “Leave,” she said, louder.

  The rest gathered their wits and filed out quickly. Katerra activated the terminal. It recognized her of course, granting her access to all of Kron’s massive computing systems. From here she could access their Timeline Analytic System. It was their weapon of war against the Aliri, a weapon that needed upgrading as the Aliri continued to out maneuver them at every turn.

  Katerra requested all data on Omarii infusion related to Earth. The system responded instantly, displaying the names of the Omarii currently assigned to the project.

  “Switch to voice mode,” Katerra said.

  “Accepted,” the computer’s female voice replied.

  “Display Agneta’s detail reports on the mental distress of the Omarii assigned to project Earth,” she said.

  Katerra read through the reports. Agneta was thorough, giving accounts of each Omarii’s return after their incursions to Earth. The changes they went through, in hindsight, were now obvious. Each successive mental projection to Earth exposed the Omarii to something that eventually caused their own mental breakdown. Nothing like this had ever occurred with these missions so it must be something about the human psyche that corrupted her Omarii. Agneta had reports of the Omarii rambling on about wanting to return, even begging to return. They were experiencing physiological responses outside of Ryikoda too. Only Kron females could achieve the physically transformed state, where as male Kron were devoid of the ability. Even within Ryikoda, these responses were limited to those necessary to force mating. Humans, though, seemed to be overly saturated with them. Why were these humans able to affect her Omarii? Could they be so similar to Kron physiology that the two species were nearly identical? The Omarii spent years training to not feel emotions in order to prevent their host’s normal emotions from influencing their mission. Yet, the data was conclusive. The humans species were similar to Kron and she would need a way to determine how similar.

  Chapter 13

  ASHER LEARNS A LESSON

  Earth - WSO Training Facility

  August 07, 1987 - 11:30am

  The air was hot and very dry. The sun set high overhead and, at the moment, the heat felt good as it warmed him. Asher had just stepped outside from the ice-cold, air-conditioned confines of the remote training facility near Devils Shores, Texas. Alexandria had brought them directly here the night WSO had seized his ship. This place was not on any public map and the locals in the nearby city of Devils Shores weren’t allowed close enough to even know that something was here. The WSO facility was cordoned off with miles of military grade fencing and barbed wire. The facility was guarded nonstop and signs posted around the perimeter clearly indicated anyone trying to enter without authorization would be killed on sight. He had heard stories from some of the soldiers about how deadly they were. No one came near without authorization.

  The alien ship was here too but they didn’t let him see it. Only a handful of scientists and the four girls were allowed near it. He had spoken to Jules on several occasions during the last eight weeks. They were both breaking the rules in doing so but so far they hadn’t been caught. She was quite adept at sneaking around the facility without detection and would visit him in his quarters, always in the middle of the night. The first several times she visited him, they mostly just talked. It was the second night of her visit that he asked her directly how she had learned to fly an alien spacecraft. She insisted she had learned as she went and that it had been easy for her. His questions didn’t seem to bother her and it appeared she was glad to talk about it. She had grown up a prodigy. Her mother and father were probably dead as she told him she grew up in an orphanage. Her IQ opened a lot of doors in her young life and, with some help and luck, she attended several schools for the gifted. She laughed when she shared how even the supposedly gifted kids at those s
chools couldn’t keep up with her. Most of the time she was bored but she didn’t and wouldn’t let that detract her from doing her best, so she took it upon herself to learn more at every opportunity. She impressed Asher with the stories of her childhood. It was obvious she was brilliant, articulate and more importantly, gorgeous. Asher made several cautious attempts at seducing her during these long talks but nothing came of it. He convinced himself she was playing with him and using her fantastic intelligence to keep the conversation neutral. He knew she had wanted him and at first she had deftly deflected and all but ignored his attempts. It took longer than he was accustomed to but their relationship shifted and it got physical. Their first time was a surprise to Asher and he noted that it was much different than his previous successes. He had strong feelings for Jules. Ever since Beth had died, he treated women differently. No one got close anymore and he broke a lot of hearts as a result. He had promised Beth he would never forget her and never stop loving her. The thought of moving on ripped at his heart.

  He respected Jules and it affected how he treated her. He hated to admit it but she was much more intelligent than he was and he had to stay on his toes to keep up. She certainly didn’t have any street smarts but she excelled in every other way, especially in bed.

  He remembered the light tap at his door that woke him up. She always knocked with two light taps to the very middle of the door. It was just enough for him to hear and little chance anyone else would. Night, within the facility, was simulated by a computer controlled timing system and, at the moment, it was dark in his room. He touched the lamp near his bed, which overrode the automated system, and the light came on. It was just enough to reveal the entire bedroom and a small section into the living area. Asher’s compartment was like most others. He had a double bed centered on the far wall from the door to the living area. On both sides of his bed were metal end tables with a touch sensitive lamp on each. Next to the door, opposite his bed, was a metal chest of drawers.