Until the dawn, p.40
Until the Dawn, page 40
Jelara pointed at the small glass vial lying next to Dorgain's paperwork. "Have you been able to determine whose blood that is?" she asked curiously, watching him nod affirmatively in response.
"It's mine," he said. "The DNA matches precisely. My guess is that they discovered my clone and his true identity, and this is their way of proving it to us."
"One of Dorgain's clones was on board the Waywardsman," Jelara continued. "He was using a false identity, known to them as Peter Wrangler. The fact that they have captured him also means nothing, since he was sent there to gather information. He doesn't know anything that can possibly hurt us."
"I sure hope he doesn't," Dorgain noted cautiously, pointing at the back of the photo containing the text message. "Because there are fourteen signatures at the bottom of this note: their Captain, each member of their newly elected governing Council, and a Peter Wrangler. So not only have they discovered him, but he is obviously cooperating with them as well."
"Irrelevant," Horrend decided casually as he and Jelara stood up.
"Have all of the probe's remains, along with its contents, put in long-term storage," instructed Horrend. "Finish up with what you need to and then file everything away somewhere – I really don't care where." Dorgain nodded and watched them leave the room before checking his schedule and returning to his daily routine. Inside he was fuming.
You wouldn't be so eager to consider all of this irrelevant if you knew how many Brotherhood members had vanished along with the survivors, he thought silently to himself. Then he moved swiftly to follow the instructions assigned to him.
After completing another day's work with his usual precision, Dorgain returned to the small room in the lowest level of the underground complex that served as his quarters. He poured himself a glass of water and took a drink while reviewing the events of the day in his mind. He was very familiar with humans and had personally interacted with many of the survivors each and every day – so the fact that the Waywardsman's crew had taken the time to program and send the probe left him extremely curious. He was quite relaxed, and therefore nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw the man standing in front of him.
"You have done well," the stranger told him. He was dressed in civilian clothes and had straight black hair, high cheekbones and an evil smile that rivaled Horrend's. "Have you committed any acts of brutality lately… ordered any deaths just because you can, perhaps?"
"Who are you?" Dorgain said, studying the newcomer curiously as he set his glass of water down. "How did you possibly get into this complex… especially its lowest level? You should be dead."
"Have you already forgotten the message from the Waywardsman's crew?" the stranger asked, grinning with delight in response as he casually leaned against a wall. "Specifically, do you remember the part about genetic enhancements and the responsibilities that go with them?" He pointed at Dorgain's hands. Glancing down, the Triumvirate leader was astonished to see a series of red and purplish blotches covering the skin on the surface of both hands in at least a dozen areas. "One of the first things that you need to learn about people is that when you go around making enemies, it's quite possible that they may get really angry at you and come up with ways to exploit your vulnerabilities. You know, perhaps an attack using a biological agent of some sort." The mysterious stranger smiled slyly. "If I were you, I'd start reviewing quarantine procedures because your cloned enhancements make you an extremely valuable test subject…"
"Oh no…" Dorgain groaned, taking a closer look at the spots that had not been present only hours earlier.
"Oh yes!" the stranger countered confidently. "You think humanity is going to just sit back and LET you win? They've been fighting wars for thousands of years… your petty cloning lines are virtual babies by comparison. Does your Triumvirate think that they have the lock on playing dirty? They'd better watch out, because probes like the one that landed yesterday could be dropping out of the sky a lot more often. Who knows – maybe they'll even contain more than just a virus we found next time!"
Dorgain moved quickly to call for assistance, but he was blocked by the man as he spun toward the door. The malevolent smile of the other pierced him to his very soul.
"Who are you?" Dorgain demanded to know, studying the hatred blazing from the man's crimson-tinted eyes.
"Don't you recognize me?" grinned the stranger wickedly. "I am the person whom your people choose to serve. My name is Lucifer." He chuckled, deep and throaty, placing a hand on Dorgain's head and forcing him to his knees. "You may also know me as 'the Devil' or as the one who was cast out. I prefer Mephistopheles, actually. It has such a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Dorgain resisted, trying to rise but his strength temporarily failed him, and he felt his forehead growing hot. "I am extremely pleased with the murderous agenda your Triumvirate has embraced. It has made you extremely strong and powerful."
From his position kneeling on the floor, Dorgain opened his mouth and screamed…
Epilogue: The Beginning
UNTIL THE DAWN
Epilogue: The Beginning
* * *
Captain William Norris was sitting on a rolling, grassy hill staring at the setting orange sun when Aaron Rem found him. "What's new Aaron?" he asked curiously, his arm wrapped protectively around James. "Is the universe managing to get along without us for once?"
Aaron chuckled lightly in response. "You could say that," he replied. "We've rescued more than a billion refugees from Earth, and more are arriving every hour. Noah wasn't kidding; these people are geared up to handle refugee problems. Their Point-to-Point is absolutely astonishing to behold. What we've done with ships and small fighters, they do with people. And they're doing it at thousands of points all over Earth's surface simultaneously."
On the horizon, white puffy cumulous clouds were turning pink and orange as they caught the day's last few remaining rays of sunlight. Listening to the scientist's report, Norris smiled. "What do you think James?" he asked his twelve year old with a warm grin. "Can you learn to like it here?"
"Sure," the young boy replied. "It beats going back to live with the Brotherhood."
"I concur," his father nodded.
"It's doubtful they would let us watch a sunset without permission," added Aaron with a harsh chuckle. "Maybe after sixteen hours of forced labor, once we collapsed from complete exhaustion."
"After all the centuries our country spent helping the world, we finally lucked out and found someone else who is as generous and compassionate as we are… and right when we needed them most." He glanced upward briefly, long enough to study Aaron's eyes. "Are you a believer yet… in Intelligent Design?"
"I'm getting there," the elder Rem told him. He picked up a small stone from the grass and dropped it, watching gravity take hold and tug it immediately back to ground level. "You see? There's certainly magic to be found here too, just like back on Earth."
Together the three of them breathed in the flower-scented fresh evening air and continued to watch the sun set.
If you liked this story, check out these others:
Grayson’s End
Mission’s Edge
The Challenger
Power Spike
Titan Stand
Max Jager, Until the Dawn
