Asterion (35 page)

“Thank you for the support, but this is not over. Word is Burnsom is working on his next batch and they are worse than these.”

“What are we doing about it?”

“Taylor and the team have some new weapons including the battle suits. We are rushing to manufacture them in quantities sufficient to defend ourselves.”

“We owe a lot to them.”

“Yes, I agree Governor. We also owe them a new lab.”

“Agreed, move what you can from the old one and make it happen fast.”

“Will do, I’m headed to congratulate Foxx and our men and women in uniform.”

“Good, we’ll speak later.” Stanley ends the call and leaves his office for some rest.

The team and Sarge arrive at a rally point for the refugees. Tired, they exit the vehicle. They look around at the scorched hill full of bomb craters with just an olive tree standing on the top of the hill. Untouched, it represented the hopes of the people.

Milar comes over to where Taylor and Christine are standing. “I have to leave soon to report on the battle and the success of our battle robots.”

Christine hugs her, “So soon?”

“Yes, time is of the essence.”

“We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you guys to.”

Taylor gives her a hug, “See you soon.”

She starts to leave, turns around to them, and smiles, “Hey, it has been fun.”

Christine laughs, “Yes, I always enjoy almost getting killed.”

Milar laughs, turns and starts walking. Her smile turns to sadness with each step away from them.

Christine looks at Taylor, “She’s good people.”

Taylor starts to agree, stops and thinks for a second and replies, “You do remember that she would have killed me if I was intentionally creating war beasts.”

“Well, it all worked out.”

Taylor tilts his head, not sure he’s comfortable with that assessment, but reluctantly agrees.

They reunite with Barry and his family, fellow travelers on the road to freedom. They celebrate their survival and their hopes for the future.

The two soldiers who loaded the fighting robots scour the battlefield for recoverable parts. The artist of the two comes across the shield he painted. He turns to the other one and shouts, “Hey, I found it.”

“Really, in one piece.”

“Yup, come help me with this thing.”

“Seriously dude, you are going to earn us KP duty one of these days.”

“Awe, you worry too much.”

They throw the shield in the back of the truck. They look around for their next part and drive off to have a look at it.

Taylor stands at the top of the gently rising hill under the tree. Christine joins him. He puts his arm around her shoulder and she holds him around the waist. From a distance, Milar turns back and looks up at them. Her life is one of clandestine activities that left little room for others in one’s life. She envied them and at the same time, she had not known camaraderie such as theirs. She would have to return to see them again.

They hear Phil’s voice a short distance away. “Hey, you kids behave. If you’re good, I’ll show you some magic tricks using science.” The orphans settle down and focus their attention on Phil.

Christine laughs, “They’re like cats. They seem to know who is not fond of them and seek their attention.

Taylor smiles, “It may be the other way around. Phil is an orphan.”

“Too bad, everyone should be wanted.”

“It’s too bad; some don’t want to be wanted.”

“Well maybe they will soften him up a bit.”

Taylor laughs, “A heart of gold wrapped in barb wire.”

“Good analogy.”

Taylor scans the horizon at all the devastation. He sighs, “I never meant for it to turn out this way.”

Christine looks around, squeezes him tighter, nods and looks up at him, “Unintended Consequences.”

EPILOGUE

One lone tree, untouched by the ravages of tyranny stands in the middle of the devastation caused by those who seek to dominate and oppress. Like the spark of freedom, untouched by edict or bullet, it stands tall for all to see. Underneath it, they stand at neither the beginning nor the end. A snapshot in time with the past to their backs and the future before them, between the known and the unknown they consider their future. Mistakes from the past often come back to haunt us in the future. Their mistakes hunt them down. Man’s arrogance tells him he can control nature, mold it and shape it into his servant.

The Tower of Babel, recreated many times by man to try to control all that he sees. Destroyed out of self-preservation, it reminds us that nature is larger and much more powerful than we are and it requires someone larger than us to control it. For now, they stand in the eye of a great storm. A respite before the winds of war once again roars throughout the land.

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About The Author

Author, minister and life science professional Kenneth Morvant is a lifelong science fiction enthusiast with a love for the thought provoking classics and the modern action adventure oriented books and movies of the genre. My desire is to combine both so that the reader’s perceptions are challenged along with entertaining their desire for a futuristic adventure.

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http://www.kennethmorvant.com

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