As the dark of night rapidly
approached the planet of Netopia, a pale red moon shimmered across an expansive
high-security fence. Heavily-armed sentries paced tirelessly back and forth;
watching, waiting for the figure spotted not half an hour ago at the farthest
outpost. They only had a blurry image; the security camera captured one frame,
but all the guards knew that the form spotted was real, and likely dangerous.
A guard stiffened as a faint crack
came from the woods parallel to the lookout tower. As his flashlight beamed
into the darkness, a faint white glow shone through the trees. The sentry
tightened his grip on the trigger. Suddenly, something shot out of the forest,
bowling the burly sentry to the ground. For a brief moment, he saw a blinding
flash of light speed up the high voltage fence, creating brilliant blue flames that
engulfed the figure. Then it vanished into the dark compound, leaving the guard
and smoking fence behind in the dark night.
The figure of light continued on,
either unharmed or unstopped by the powerful electric shock delivered by the
fence. As it leapt over an imposing barrier, the form glanced back at the
fence. The guard was shouting to his comrades for assistance; already several
dark figures were gathering around the alerted sentry.
The intruder ran faster, dodging
the numerous steel barriers scattered throughout the compound. Far ahead in the
gloom of night, it could see another security gate, even higher than the one
before. It ran faster, a blur of light shooting across the military post. As
runner and fence collided, a brilliant blue flame lit the night, shooting
sparks of electrical voltage into the air.
Already the guards had alerted the
entire security squad to the intruder; many were hot in pursuit. But none of
the heavily-armed guards could match the pace of that one so light of foot. It
never seemed to tire, always surviving the charged security fences. The
intruder was slipping out of their grasp…
Suddenly a plethora of guards
opened fire from the left lookout tower. As high-power cartridges rent the air,
the escapee began to descend the fence, jumping off just before the security
fence blew into pieces from an implanted explosive system. The shrapnel sprayed
everywhere, mysteriously not killing the fugitive. With a quick glance behind,
it leapt straight into the minefield.
*****
Reshnu jolted awake as the horrible sound drifted through
the night air, sending a shiver down his back. Clutching his pillow, he peered
nervously out of his window, looking into the night sky for a terrible flying
creature. What was that sound he had heard?
“Reshnu, are you awake?" The little boy looked up to
see his mother, standing in the doorway with a concerned look on her face.
“What is the matter?"
“Yes baby, I did. That’s why Yama came to check on you."
“Yama, where did it come from?" The small tot looked
inquiringly at his mother, waiting for an answer. To Reshnu, Yama was the
source of all knowledge, never without an answer to anything. To Reshnu, Yama
was the center of the universe.
Yama smiled at Reshnu, but could not conceal the worried
look pervading her face. “I’m not sure, Reshnu. Do you want Yama to sit with
you?" The little boy nodded, reaching out his hands in affirmation.
With a smile, Yama sat on Reshnu’s bed, holding him close.
He was the dearest thing to her in the world, and nothing she could imagine
could be worse than losing him. Her entire life revolved around him, ever since
that horrible day she discovered the truth at the medical clinic. The family
had separated itself from her, tantamount to not even knowing her. Nothing
mattered more to her than Reshnu.
“You know Yama loves you, right Reshnu?" She gazed
affectionately at her loved one.
“Yes Yama, I know. And I love you too, oh so very much!"
“And you know that nothing will hurt you when Yama is taking
care of you?"
“Never ever!" Reshnu bobbed his head emphatically.
“Then be a good boy and go back to bed, all right Reshnu?"
The boy hugged her tightly and flopped into bed, his face lit with a beaming
smile. “Good night, Yama! I love you!"
*****
The glowing figure quickly dodged
a suspicious-looking pile of dirt, trying to remember the exact field layout of
the mines. One to the far left, another near the center of the brick mound; the
thoughts were muddling in his brain.
He looked back, estimating the
distance of his pursuers. Probably not far now; already he could hear the roar
of a military vehicle gunning across the compound. He ducked under a well-placed
strand of barbed wire, almost tripping on a boulder. The intruder struggled on,
peering through the piercing darkness. A rifle catridge ripped through the air,
burying itself a few inches from his left foot. He swerved to the left-
The explosion almost deafened the
intruder as he flew into the air, his arms flailing from the force of the
blast. He berated himself as he went, despising his ignorance. Of course they
would have added more mines since they built the palace; nothing was ever secure
enough for the military. All his careful preparation - blown into the air by a
single mistake! But it was too late now.
A jarring pain shot through his
body as he hit the ground with a thud, pitching over and over the rocky ground.
He struggled to get up and escape, but even his enduring body had its
limitations. A light flooded the area as a military speeder raced to the scene.
Heavy blows began to rain down from his furious pursuers, beating him into
submission.
Life became a blur as he was
lifted into a speeder and chained both hand and foot. He felt a far-off sensation
of another powerful blow, glancing off his shoulder.
Then everything went black.
*****
Inside the azure building that
held the Air Traffic Information Center (ATIC), an administrator glanced at the
northern radar, noticing for the first time the red blip on the far right of
the screen. He leaned over his computer module. “Menthrall, why is the northern
radar registering a red blip near the northern border outpost?"
Menthrall typed a few commands on
his keyboard and opened up the northern radar. Sure enough, a mysterious red
spot was consistently registering near the northern outpost. “I’m not quite
sure, Jahure. Have you checked the identity of the flight?"
“No; in fact, I had just noticed
the blip a few minutes ago. Perhaps it’s just a graphing error - an
unregistered flight." Jahure surveyed the flight information sheet. Nothing.
All fields were blank, indicating a startling reality. He looked up at
Menthrall. “I don’t believe this is a Netopian flight."
Menthrall stood silently for a
moment, trying to understand what was happening. “It could be an off-chart
Mesomifult ship that had a faulty navigation system…"
“Except for the fact that the
flight signature would register as Mesomifult – here we have nothing."
Jahure typed a few more commands
on his keyboard. “There are no flights from Mesomifult that cross over Netopia,
save one, which isn’t scheduled for several months. It has no signs of a
changed flight time, let alone date."
“And it’s a ship?"
“Absolutely; the radar detects it.
But that is all we know." Jahure sighed, throwing himself back into the
chair he had been in since yesterday. “We probably should report it."
Menthrall nodded, internally
screaming at the thought of another night without sleep. He started to get up
from his desk. “Unless… we just keep it quiet for now."
Jahure looked up from the screen.
“What do you mean, ‘keep it quiet’? This could be a critical security issue-“
“Or not, Jahure! This is no time
of war, to be suspicious of every unknown ship that flies over Netopian soil.
We can simply keep an eye on it."
“But what if it gets worse? We’d
be held responsible!" Jahure shook his head. “Serious problems could
arise."
“Then we can deal with such a
situation when it becomes a reality!" Menthrall looked anxiously toward
the door. “Think, Jahure! The next shift will be showing up in two hours. When
they come, we’ll simply leave this out of our activity report. No one will ever
know the truth!"
Jahure wavered, unsure of himself.
Was it worth the risk?
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