Mission Orion: The Travel through Time

Chapter 60 | Prometheus is Taken

I saw as Jack's body started turning into a darker shade in front of me. "What's happening to the body?" I asked Montwik. "It's what your gun does. Slowly decomposes the body and in a few minutes there would be nothing left except his gun and the clothes he was wearing." Montwik replied. "Not even the skeleton?" I asked him, shocked. "Nope. And there were just three guns like this produced. And those three belong to Reneesh, Souvik and you." He replied. "Some technology you guys have." I said. He just nodded his head. I couldn't watch as Jack's body slowly decomposed. I walked over to the other end of the jet and sat down.

We reached Beta One after a few hours and we were met by Bolius at the door. "Heard what happened with Profus and Jack. I'm very sorry, Montwik." Bolius said, shaking his hand with Montwik say the same time. He acknowledged my presence and together we walked over to the bridge. "What is our position now?" Montwik asked Bolius. We could see the battle happening in front of our eyes. The boundaries of the war had expanded. Alpha and Beta jets flew around rapidly, countering the threats posed by the Kenjah's men. "We have called back our forces from the Kenjah's palace. The Black Thunders are ruling the Kenjah Palace Air Space. The ground army of the Kenjah has secured the palace as well. Meanwhile, all the other major cities are still under our control. The air space and the situation on the ground are well within our control. We do not see any attempt from the Kenjah's side to retake their cities. Outside the planet it is chaos. We over-estimated their ground teams and under-estimated their Space Air Force. It is a bloody pitched battle over there. Both sides are losing jets and ships rapidly. We now have the problem of the Kenjah taking control of the human ships. We have dispatched several squadrons and they are en route. We have intel that the Kenjah is bringing the human ships Prometheus One and Prometheus Three into the war zone area. He then would have leverage against us, unless of course we take the risk and take their defenders our." Bolius said. "There is no way you're risking the lives of the humans." I interrupted. "That's our only option at the moment. Launch an all out attack before they reach the war zone and hope for as little casualties on the human side as possible." Bolius argued. "What weapons do the humans have at this point of time?" He asked Bolius. "They just had their standard weapons, Montwik. That was all they could bring. They could take out ten jets before the jets over powered and took over the ships. The jets presumably took out the cannons and other weapons on the ship. If not, I still see no way we can use them to our benefit." Bolius replied. "Send me into there." I said. "Are you out of your mind? We barely got out of Photrox alive? Do you realize how close we came to death? Emanta is still in the medic bay struggling to stay alive. I am sorry, but there is no way I am sending you out there." Montwik replied, raising his voice. "What are you going to do when you get there anyway?" He asked me. "I have no idea. But I am needed there." I replied. "No offense, Rithvik, but they do have their captains and their leaders, who in fact outrank you. I see no point in you going there and exposing yourself to the dangers of being captured and killed by the Kenjah's Army especially after we've broken out of their palace and killed some of their guards." Montwik replied. "I need to go and I need to go right now." I said, firmly.  "And I am not letting you to go." Montwik replied. Reneesh and Souvik stand beside me, listening to us arguing. "I NEED TO GO!" I yelled. A few soldiers around us stop and look at us. "Give me one reason, Rithvik. One reason why you should be there with them." Montwik asked me. "Because they need me. Someone needs to tell them what's happening. Someone needs to reassure them. And that someone has to be human. That leaves us with only five people, and two of them are in the medical bay, fully restrained, sedated, and are in no position to move around. That leaves us with Reneesh, Souvik and me. And I am the one to do the job." I replied. "Wrong." Reneesh interrupted. "What?" I asked him. I thought Reneesh out of all people would understand what I am trying to do here. "Wrong, Rithvik. It is going to all three of us who are going to Prometheus One and try to free them from the Kenjah's men." Reneesh replied, looking at Montwik. "That's enough. And Rithvik, that was a bullshit reason." Montwik said, angrily. "The three of you go down to your bunkers and get some sleep. Nobody is going anywhere." Montwik continued. "We are going and that is decided." Reneesh said. "No you are not." Montwik replied. "Yes we are. And don't you dare stop us." Reneesh said. "What will you do if I stop you? It's three of you versus hundreds of us." Montwik replied. In a flash second, I saw Reneesh holding his laser pistol at Montwik's face. Immediately, all the soldiers around us grabbed their weapons, and pointed them at us. "Alright alright, calm down guys." Bolius interrupted. But the look on Montwik's face said that he was far from being calm. He was infuriated. "Let them go, Montwik. He is partly right." Bolius said. "Seriously, Bolius? You are supporting this stupid idea?" Montwik snapped. "Please, Montwik." Bolius pleaded. "Reneesh, please put that down." Bolius requested. "Put it down, man." I said to Reneesh. Slowly, he lowered his weapon and held it firmly in his hands. "EVERYONE! LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND GET BACK TO WORK!" Bolius ordered and the soldiers followed his orders. "Fine, but you are responsible for their safety and if they get captured by the Kenjah's Army, I am not going to authorize another rescue mission for them. If they die, they die. I am a man of my word, Rithvik. Even if you die, I will honor my words and will protect the humans at all costs." He replied. He then walks away from us and gets down to work. "Your man went really overboard with this." Bolius said, regarding what Reneesh has done. "No soldier from our side has ever pointed a gun at Montwik since times immemorial. It is an insult to his honor. After this war, we would need an apology from Reneesh ready." Bolius said. Reneesh and I nodded our heads in agreement. "C'mon, let's get your team ready." Bolius said, gesturing us to follow him. 

***

"So this is your team. Captain Holder will be flying you again, and most of the team members one the same from the rescue team. You are a total of ten people, and you will fly to Prometheus One on Warrior Three. You will first encounter our jets, who have already been informed of your arrival. You will then be escorted all the way to Prometheus One. Here comes the most important part. When you encounter the Kenjah's forces, do not engage. We have open channels of communication with the Kenjah's top people. We will try to get permission for you to enter the Prometheus ships. In case we fail to get permission before you reach the Kenjah's defenses outside Prometheus ships, turn back immediately and get back to Base as soon as possible. The journey would take approximately eight hours. Prometheus has pretty fast engines." Bolius said. "You will be in contact with me at all times." He continued. "Are you sure you will try your best to get permission from the Kenjah's people to let us land?" I asked him. "I will try my best, Rithvik. Trust me with that." He replied. "What reason would you give them if they ask you why?" I asked him. "The same reason you gave us a few moments ago." He replied. "I have to agree with Montwik on that, that indeed was a bullshit reason.  I don't think they'll allow that." I said. "We'll improvise on that. And let us hope for the best, Rithvik. It is not in my hands." He replied. "Fine." I agreed. "Your weapons would be confiscated upon arrival anyway. Take your standard issues." Bolius said. "Bolius." Reneesh called him. "What?" He replied. "I am sorry for what happened in there." Reneesh said. "It was in the heat of the moment, I lost control." He continued. "It is okay. I am sure Montwik would get over it." Bolius replied, smiling at us. "You quite had the nerve, eh?" Bolius said. "And one more thing, Bolius. Please keep Anna and Konrad safe, will you?" I asked him. "Of course, Rithvik. Do not worry about their safety. And Gofr is working on how to get those chips out of their bloodstream. And I trust Gofr with that job. Let's hope they will be back to normal by the time you come back to base. And that reminds me, you need to get back to base as soon as we call you. No arguments and absolutely no delays. Is that clear?" Bolius said. "Thanks, Bolius. And sure." I replied. Bolius and Captain Holder had a small talk as we got ourselves ready for the journey.

Soon, along with our weapons, we made our way to the launching stations. We had our uniforms and our head gear on along with the standard weapons we had on the rescue mission. Soon, we were out of Beta One, flying back towards the same direction where  MR-1, the planet with our bases, was. For about an hour, four Beta jets escorted us, after which we were left on our own. Most of the soldiers were talking about themselves as we made our way to the Prometheus ships. Reneesh and Souvik fell asleep. Reneesh and I lost a lot of pounds during our rescue operation mishap, but Souvik looked better than he ever was. The people had taken good care of him when we were gone, and I had a hunch that Bolius had a hand in this. I looked out of the windows to see stars twinkle in the distance, lighting up the dark sky. I couldn't wait to get to Prometheus. Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do after I get there. The first thing I obviously needed to do was meet the leader or the captain and brief them about the latest developments. But after that, I had no idea. 

It was the urge to be with my own kind again. People who weren't trying to kill me. People I could trust without a hint of doubt. My people.

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-Rithvik/LPS21