Ella had sent an urgent message to the Continental Deputies with a summary of what the Consul told her; she told them to meet her in a holo-sync in one-hour.
No time to waste.
She made some hot Earl Grey tea, thought about mixing a pill in with it, but decided against it; she would conduct this meeting without any artificial succor.
She activated her hologram sphere and watched the static as she waited for the Deputies to log in. It reminded her of stars in the night sky on a clear night and she wished for the simpler times of her childhood; the safe feeling that radiated from her parents, with no worries, no stress, no assassination attempts by traitorous rogues. The freedom that only belonged to children. She let out a deep, unconscious sigh.
The Deputies began logging-in, one by one until all seven were present.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Ella began. “Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, but what I have to say is of the highest priority.”
Francisco, Deputy of Sao Paulo Pyrἰnas, said, “Of course, Stratego. The contents of your message implied that we should act with the highest urgency.”
“Indeed,” said Kalyan Sood. “I talked with Consul Blake after you did, Stratego, and I understand your reasoning for summoning us. Let us proceed with the meeting with the upmost hast.”
“Yes, thank you Deputy Sood and Deputy Francisco. We have irrefutable evidence that the assassination attempt on my life was carried out by a faction of humans who have decided to break with Lux Orbis, for reasons yet unknown. I called this meeting to inform each of you of the matter, but also to impress the importance of what this means. We need to rethink strategies and divert resources to deal with this renegade faction. The only projects we cannot allow resources to be diverted from are the Continental Boring Project and the Meliora Science Divisions. These are too important for the future of humanity.”
Ella drank a sip of her tea to provide the Deputies with a moment’s respite to let what she told them sink in. “We have investigations into the assassination underway, and I will keep all of you apprised with any additional information, but I need each of you to order your Shadow Berserks and top strategists to begin compiling assessments and plans to deal with this issue. I need these plans in forty-eight hours. Thank you. Stratego signing off.”
Ella hated meetings. Her entire life she found them a pointless waste of time, so when they were absolutely necessary, she kept them as short as possible. After she ended the holo-sync, Ella met with her Aide, Luther, took care of some organizational tasks, and went to her quarters with her Berserkr escort; they were going to be following her for the foreseeable future.
After she had eaten and showered, she lay down in her bed and pushed a small button behind her left ear. Her Glia-Sphere activated, and a selection screen appeared in her mind’s eye. She chose her favorite and relaxed as the images of history passed through her mind. Tonight, she had decided to relive the First Olympics in 776 B.C. She usually chose this because she thought it was the pinnacle of man’s first transcendence from nomadic tribes to civilization; the thought of it alone had a calming effect on her.
But her peace didn’t last long. As she was watching an ancient, oiled athlete hurl a discus, her Berserkr Sergeant came in and said that two men were waiting for her in her foyer.
“Did they give their names? I would hope so if I am to be disturbed like this in my quarters.”
“One of the men said he was Imperator Thegn Kane of Parabellum Scramasax V.”
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Mars was near the point of exhaustion. It had been an exhausting and eventful twenty-two hours. As he stood in Ella’s foyer waiting for the Berserkr Sergeant to get her, Mars looked at Jax. He was still astonished at how quickly the circumstances had changed.
“Mars?! What is going on? Who is this?” Ella said as she came into the foyer, looking as beautiful as ever with her long hair down and flowing.
“Stratego, I apologize for the intrusion, but I had to speak to you immediately and in private,” Mars said, glancing at the Berserkr guards.
“Of course, Thegn. Please follow me.” Ella led Mars and Jax into her private study and bid them to sit down.
“Now please, tell me what is going on.” Ella was exhausted from the day’s events, but she could see that Mars and this man were much worse off. She pushed her exhaustion out of her mind.
“Stratego, this man is Jaxson Landry. I caught him at the Thov Rapra spaceport after he used a copy of my iris, which he illicitly obtained, to gain access. I subdued him and he told me an incredible story that I believe you need to hear from him.”
Ella looked intriguingly at the well-toned, dark-skinned man with beautiful green eyes. She also wondered why Mars would bring this man to her without her Berserkr guards present.
“Yes, well,” Jax stumbled as he tried to think of where to begin in his long story. “I guess I’ll start at the most relevant point.”
“Just tell the Stratego what you told me before I was about to kill you, clone,” Mars said, impatiently.
“Well then, a short summary it is…Odina is not here to save your race. She is merely using the humans to defeat the Izcir on Proxima Borealis. Once she has defeated the Izcir, she will enslave humanity on Earth and Proxima Borealis and the clones on Proxima Borealis.”
“If I hadn’t had my doubts about Odina already, I would find that hard to believe.” Ella said dejectedly. What else could possibly go wrong right now. “There are humans on Proxima Borealis?”
“Yes—millions of them…”
“Incredible. This changes certain plans.” Ella was incredulous; millions of humans living on Proxima Borealis? Unbelievable that they hadn’t thought of this possibility. They assumed that the clones would have killed all the children they had stolen.
“I consider this actionable intelligence and we must act quicker than the Consul and I wanted to. Have you told the Consul yet?” Ella said, looking at Mars.
“Of course not, ma’am. I’m not so unprofessional that I would jump my chain of command in such a way. I came straight to you as soon as possible.”
“Then I’ll need to meet with him right away. But first, I would like more of a backstory on this man and why you were gone for so long.”
“Yes, Stratego. After I stopped Jax from sabotaging Thov Rapra and he told me his story, I decided not to take the high-speed train back for fear of Odina discovering that I was on to her scheme. Jax had a hovercar, so we took that back to Lagos, and I avoided the AI surveillance systems as much as possible along the way. It was an arduous task, Stratego.”
“I see,” Ella said. “You took the necessary precautionary measures, Thegn, and you have proved that you are the right man for the mission you were chosen for. Now, I would like to ask you a direct question Jaxson Landry—” Ella said, glaring at Jax. “Why would you tell Imperator Thegn Kane here of Odina’s plot? As you are a clone, we are your enemy, and you are betraying your kind in so doing.”
Jax looked unfalteringly at Ella with his piercing green eyes and said, “I understand your reluctance to accept my truth, Stratego Fleury. But as the elders of Earth used to say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and Odina means to destroy us all. I will not sit idly by and watch this happen while there is something I can do about it. We must collaborate.”
“Imperator Thegn Kane, you have vetted this man and vouched for him enough to bring him into my presence without my Berserkr guards present. Because of his knowledge, he is your responsibility for the foreseeable future, and I want him made a member of Parabellum Scramasax V. Additionally, your original mission parameters have changed, and you will meet with me again in the morning to receive new orders. For now, I need time to think…”
“Yes, Stratego. Thank you for your time.” Mars and Jax turned and left, with Jax leading the way. Mars wouldn’t turn his back to this clone.
Not yet.
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Ella’s head was swimming. This new information from Jaxson Landry had sent her mind reeling with all the carefully laid plans she had to scrap, and all the new ones that would have to be implemented. Millions of humans living on Proxima Borealis?
She decided that she would have that green-blue pill now.
And then she would go wake Consul Blake. Information like this could not wait, and Ella wouldn’t rely on any interceptable means of communication to deliver it.