To the Ground

1.2 Deadly Discoveries

"They're all still alive, besides one." President Zaiden shrugged and sipped water from his coffee mug, "Aster will keep them under control."

His secretary, Miss Layla Gordinski, pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her button nose and carefully thought of her reply. His reaction was unusual, but she decided it was best to ignore it. Zaiden never failed to remind her that he was in power, not her. She was his second, and therefore anything she said meant nothing to him. Though, she couldn't hold back.

"Sir, with all due respect, don't you think people will begin getting suspicious? We already told them the pods were a malfunction. We lied about Aster Anson's death. When will we decide to come clean?"

"When it's time to send us all down. We can't just do things, Layla. This ship will turn to utter chaos. We will surely be killed."

Zaiden swiftly grabbed a blueprint to Aster's lastest project -- a spaceship -- and rolled it on his desk. He ran his finger down each line drawn, staining his skin with charcoal but too intrigued in his art to worry. He couldn't believe Aster forced him to send him down with the other orphans. He felt disobeyed and betrayed. His hand balled into a fist at the thought. Aster owed him his life! Sefarina's president grew infuriated with the boy he considered his own. Still, he wouldn't ever bring himself to express it with Aster. The root of his anger was concern for the teen's safety, not his deception, though it contributed.

"Zaiden," Layla reached a comforting hand out that Zaiden refused to accept.

"Get out, Miss Gordinski. Deliver Aster's creation to the engineers." He sternly ordered.

"Yes, sir." She took the blueprint and headed out of the door.

Layla marched down the steel halls. They were silent and empty due to their confinement from the public. Her brown ponytail bounced against the back of her bare neck with each step. She grew nervous as the exit came insight. Doubtlessly, civilians were outside, waiting for a person in authority to step out so they could give them their respect on Aster's behalf. She prepared herself to lie over something she wasn't sure she could bring herself to do. She felt sick. Layla scared herself at the thought of ever lying about someone's death. Zaiden was right, though. Somebody would get their deadly hands on them for such a secret.

At last, Layla reached a dead end. She punched in the security code to open the door, stepping into the populace. As she suspected, a group stood outside, patiently waiting for an arrival. Few people cried, though most kept themselves together. Some were on their knees to pay reverence. Upon Layla's arrival, they bowed their heads as if she was royalty.

"We are so sorry for your loss, Miss Gordinski. I know Aster was like a son to you." A frail old woman grabbed her hand and shakily held it to her beating heart.

Layla listened carefully to her trembling words. The sentence instantly brought tears to her eyes. The boy meant a lot to her. Though, her tears were for all the orphans on the ground. She knew of Earth's survivable radiation levels, but she also surmised that they were beyond scared. They knew nothing except their given goal -- to survive. Layla only hoped that Aster was keeping things orderly and preserving their fear to a minimum. She felt guilty for allowing such things to happen to kids. Responsible for the death they already faced within an hour of landing. She nearly exposed the government's secrets but kept them behind her teeth.