Faux Realm Ch. 16

"During the Great Attack we endured massive loses. Some due to abductions but we lost most of our population in the initial attacks. We tried to fight back. Needlessly. They kept coming for more in following months. Close to 40% of world population was lost." Adhira shook her head.

"After the attack we wanted to understand what had happened. We understood the main points. Higher technology won in the end. Yet even though we had the world's best weapons at hand we did nothing to them." The woman shook her head sadly.

The general was about to protest, however Kanata quietly held her hand to allow Adhira to continue.

She looked at her clenched fists, "You know, people made countless movies and TV shows on the topic. We get invaded by aliens. 90% of the people think 'big deal', but then it happens and you're unable to do anything. Just die. Watch helplessly as beings invade and take what they want, kill who they want and you don't have much say in the matter."

She gave herself a brief shake, "We understood that there was a huge gap between us. Technology matters, but we have intellect as well. Are we behind that as well? Many would argue against what we're about to propose. However, we have no choice. Families, loved ones are missing. We need answers." Finally surmising her thoughts she ended.

Suddenly the entire room felt quiet. The sounds of ocean waves rumbling were deafening. Lucian could see in some of their faces that they were still hurt.

Others showed vexed expressions.

"Before I can do anything, I need to know how you know about me." Lucian asked.

Kanata sighed taking over the narative, "Currently there are satellites in orbit acting as a protection net around Earth. We managed to track your space craft land on that island few days ago. Few days of surveillance and we managed to get most of your background." She glanced towards one of the men standing neatly alongside the wall.

One man was holding a piece of paper, and he approached the table.

"Name, age and occupation was easily acquired," He spoke, "The fact that you went missing approximately five years ago and came back recently led us to believe that you managed to obtain some allies out there." He waved his hand.

"My parents are gone, who --" He started asking, but he was gently interrupted by the same man.

"Companies sent everything to a local database." The man grabbed another piece of paper and presented it to Lucian.

"They kept collecting information on all of the people missing or dead. They didn't know. They just followed our new -- edict; if you will." He added with a smile.

Lucian stared at the presented paper with a sad look in his eyes. Apart from his occupation, name, date of birth and former address there was nothing else. Beside the large picture, nothing. No interests, nothing that let him know people knew who he really is. A bitter reality of the past came crashing forth. To most he was an enigma.

He gave his head a shake before focusing on task at hand.

The man sighed, "Currently there're more people missing than we can count. The online page we set up for people to easily track and find if their loved ones showed close to 4 billion individuals missing. This number is skewed a little since some of them might be dead, yet we have reports that the number has stopped growing - for now." The man ended with a sour note.

He looked broken, "Even after this happened economy moved forward. Some people locked themselves in their homes. Others decided to end it all. I can say that current situation for human population is grim."

Kanata Nyong'o took over after the man looked he might collapse any second, "This is my personal assistant, he's in charge of an organization that maintains the number of people on New Earth."

She continued, "Basically if no loved one approached then we gathered the data from the companies that individuals worked for, like you, eventually we made a system that took some time to adapt and it provided us with necessary information."

The man recuperated enough to say, "There are some flaws, but the system works. As best as we could hope for."

Lucian took a deep breath, "How many people have returned?"

Kanata looked down at the table before saying, "You're the first."

General Andrew approached the table from its side and leaned his palms on top of it, "We need to know about military tactics of our enemies."

"No!" Adhira interrupted.

"Why not?!" General asked.

She looked aghast, "Have you forgotten what violence can do?!"

General Andrew laughed, "God no. That's why I want it. To prevent the past from happening again."

The arguments kept escalating. The man and the woman seemed locked in an ageless argument of peace and violence.

The arguments were only broken by Lucian's question, "Why?"

Come to me.

A sudden echo resounded through the room. The voice, but a whisper in his mind, yet he could clearly hear the words it tried to say. Others seemed immune to it. Unhearing the clear summons in its voice.

*Not now!* He shook his head.

While the general and Adhira had their argument interrupted Lucian's fists clenched beneath the table.

"Are you ok?" A sudden question from the man roused Lucian from his troubling thoughts.

"Yes." Lucian smiled, "But on to elaborate my previous point; why do you need military tactics?" Lucian asked.

His left arm twitched.

General Andrew watched Lucian for few moments before answering, "You're seriously asking that when you saw how they assaulted us and took every little bit of dignity we had. Pecking away like vultures."

Come to me!!!

The voice was clearer. The whisper deafening. Echoing throughout the room. Lucian's eyes went wide with terror for just a moment. The people in the room noticing his genuine unease.

"Are you ok?" Kanata worriedly asked.

Lucian still unnerved by the ghastly voice echoing through the confines of his head, he managed to nod his head slowly. As if waiting for the voice to continue its barrage.

He focused his attention to the people inside the room patiently waiting for his response. Some of them worriedly watching his every movement.

"I don't get it. What do you want me to do about it?" His head was starting to ache.

Another woman in a business suit cleared her throat, "Let me ask you this. How did you escape?"

Lucian focused on the new voice and inspected her features. The headache abated. For now.

She was most likely in her late forties, brown skin, brown eyes and a surprisingly worried expression on her face. Her black suit and a tie stood out from other formal wear, yet still held a certain charm to it.

The topic was getting all over the place. He grabbed the bridge of his nose. His mechanical limb nervously twitching away beneath the table.

"Why do you want to know about that?" Lucian asked genuinely curious.

"Indulge me." She answered smiling, crossing her arms beneath her chest. Her feminine features hidden away beneath the dark fabric.

He could see she was waiting patiently, the rest of the room suddenly lost all noise, focusing all of their attention to him and his next words. The woman still managed to project her femininity, though she wore a business suit.

Next several hours were spent in describing his four plus years in space. Most of it in captivity. In servitude to the unseen masters. The story flowed, how he escaped, people who helped him and his eventual recapture and torture. By the end of it he was emotionally drained. Exhausted from reliving his torturous nightmares. The chair embracing his exhausted body.

The world leaders inside the room remained silent. Lucian couldn't gather strength to look up, but felt their gazes travel across his body.

"You poor soul." A caring voice reached his ears.

"The pain you went through, I'm surprised you remained sane." Another chimed in this time more delicate.

Lucian smiled, "That's debatable."

"What do you mean?" A man's voice asked.

Lucian looked up and watched as all eyes watched closely with awe.

Their entourages finally inside the room, during the arduous tale, one by one, they entered the room and silently listened to his harrowing experience. Several of them took notes on specific parts that he was describing, however everyone remained silent.

The man looked European, Scandinavian as far as Lucian could guess and he figured he might be the European representative, but to be on safe side he politely asked, "I don't believe we were introduced."

The man looked surprised, "Certainly sir, my name is Gunner Erik Larson I'm the European representative in the New Earth and I help the President with various tasks around the world." He ended with a smile.

The man was genuinely glad to speak about his credentials. Lucian was all too glad to divert the attention.

Lucian nodded, "Very nice to meet you. To answer your question; during my abduction and recapture I seem to have developed a coping mechanism of sorts." Lucian pointed to his head,

"The various torture methods from my captors left my mind segmented and I guess the voice alone helped me cope; to some degree." He smiled.

The woman on his left leaned forward, looking more interested than ever, "Tell us more. Please, how -- or when did this first occur?" She asked.

Lucian could clearly see they were straying further from the original topic, every person having their own questions, he smiled, "I can't say I remember when exactly, but it was probably during the time I lost my left arm and being in a cage. I don't know how much time passed in between. The days just melded together as one."

"Fascinating." The woman replied in awe.

He watched her writing something frantically on her laptop before she looked up and asked, "The arm ..."

Before she could finish the question she was interrupted by General Andrew, "Wait just one damn minute. The military claims the right to all answers towards any technological subjects the man has to answer. Concerning the ship and any technology he might own. Anything disclosed in a reckless way will endanger the world's defensive capabilities."

"What defensive capabilities? The man's limb is missing, what possible military potential could it provide?" The woman asked.

General Andrew smiled, "The fact you ask that question means you don't understand the nuances of military tactics. The very fact that he has a robot arm is crucial for the development of our people and race in general. The countless achievements we'd have from just a sliver of it would be immeasurable. It could propel our technological advance a decade or more; if not couple hundred years. The potential is limitless."

"We have the man in question here, don't ignore him and his feelings in all of this. General you might have the greater good in your mind, but doing it like that is wrong." The woman eagerly argued.

"We all know the vigor your people will go for new technology." The general sneered.

"Our people as you put it have different agendas than you. We're focused to discover all of the secrets of the mind." The woman proudly stated.

"Please." Lucian attempted to calm down the situation.

"I don't know how the arm actually works." He tried to explain.

"I don't believe you do and that doesn't matter all we need to do is to dissect it with fine tooth comb." The general smile sent shivers down Lucian's back.

Kanata Nyong'o finally stood up, "General you are being incredibly rude to our guest."

She turned towards Lucian and bowed deeply, "I apologize for his reckless words. I hope we can continue this meeting."

Lucian smiled, "Of course. I understand his motives, trust me. I do. Nothing would make me happier than seeing my tormentors issued some kind of justice."

"But let me be honest about one thing here. I doubt you'll find anything on your own. The technology is just too advanced for you." Lucian shook his head.

"You can't possibly know that." General argued.

"We've made so many advances in short amount of time, hell we even conquered the whole world in less than a month. As it is nothing stands in our way." Lucian noticed the man having a strange gleam in his eyes.

Lucian smiled, "May I suggest one thing then?"

General Andrew finally calmed down, "Go on."

Seeing the calm man before him Lucian continued, "I suggest we have a drill. A military combat drill to be more precise."

The room erupted again. Noise was too great to distinguish anything that was being said, but Lucian could understand the pleading and urgency in their voices.

He was the only one sitting on his seat while people around him tried to argue the meaning in his words.

Finally it was calm enough to hear Kanata's voice, "What are you talking about here?"

Lucian smiled, "I'm just proposing a little military drill between our two forces. All of yours and mine. Well, what my friends currently have."

"Haven't you told us that they gave you the ship?!" General asked.

Lucian laughed, "Oh they did. Yet even I know they did that just to indulge some agenda on their end."

The people in the room watched as Lucian's own words sent him on a tirade. "They thought I wouldn't notice, but I did." The dark thoughts flooding his mind.

The general seemed deep in thought, "What's the catch?" He watched confused as the man in front of him slowly regained his sanity.

Lucian shook his head, "No catch at all, I just want to show you how delusional this whole thing is. I believe you have good intentions, but even those can be harmful towards your goals. If you win I will let you poke, probe and dissect this arm of mine to your hearts content." Lucian lifted his left arm to elaborate his point. The metal fingers bending to his will.

"And if you win?" General asked.

Lucian smiled, "I don't want anything."

General scoffed, "Preposterous. You must want something from the deal."

"Honestly speaking, I don't want anything. I want to be left alone and I just want to show you how much you might lose. Do we have a deal?" Lucian asked extending his healthy hand.

General grabbed it with his own asking another question, "What can we use?"

"Everything you have in your arsenal." Lucian answered, "I'll be doing the same."

"We have a lot." General grinned.

"Oh, I know. Use everything in your disposal." Lucian finally ended.

Their hands separated and general finally smiled, "Good, good. I want to test all of our newest weapons. Shiniest stuff up front. We can't afford to lose here. Can you believe it one ship conquered the world in a month? You don't stand a chance with our arsenal." The General ended with a cackle.

Lucian smiled and asked, "Can I use a phone and contact my friends?"

"You're not going yourself?" President Kanata finally asked.

She was quiet during the exchange between him and the general. All the while quietly evaluating the man before them. Lucian could see she was torn between stopping this and seeing the end result.

Lucian shook his head, "No, I have faith in my crew."

"You're full of yourself." General spat.

"No. Just I'm surrounded by amazing women." He added.

"You'll about to see." Lucian smiled.

Next several minutes he was busy explaining the new development and asking Ericha, Liza and Lindsay for their help. The rest of their team was on another system busy relaxing in their own way.

Girls gladly agreed and started to fly towards their ship in orbit. They said their final love-you as their line was cut by background radiation.

The girls were watching every bit of the conversation by their long range sensors. Already preparing by the time Lucian called. The women were smiling as their ship took position in the lower atmosphere.

There was palpable silence as he sat the receiver down and took a deep and calculated breath, "You can start whenever you want."

The room full of people moved to the command center.

Various people in the room briefly stood in attention before resuming their exited work around their respective posts. The various noises and activities from people took Lucian by surprise as they were well trained in executing orders without errors.

"We've encountered and FO." One voice shouted.

"FO?" Lucian quietly asked.

"Foreign Object." General briefly answered.

Lucian sighed, "It's started."

"Good. What do we have that's ready to intercept?" General asked.

"There are four flights of MiX fighters on a mission. We could divert two of them to intercept and engage." An officer instructed.

"Make it so." The captain in the room barked an order.

Lucian leaned towards the general Andrew and asked, "I thought you'd still use UFO acronym."

General smiled, "It changes. The acronym was out of use even before the Great Attack."

"What about other countries?" Lucian asked.

General smiled, "Conquered the world. Remember?"

Lucian blushed.

Ignoring his blush general continued, "If we do encounter something we have similar abbreviations for it, just this has been our practice for ages. Usually it's not known until we confirm it one way or the other. Foreign Object makes it more ambiguous to the people that are listening."

"Thought this was the military. Are you compromised?" Lucian asked.

General shook his head, "Not at all. However, people; especially those online, think they're the next person to break a story when there is none to break, often request our back logs, transcripts and whatnots. God damn pain in the ass."

"Everyone thinks the entire army is out here looking for a way to break Human laws." He harrumphed.

The conversation was interrupted while a big screen across the room was turned on. The picture on it showed what one of the men in the aircraft saw with a camera on board.

"Sir, the men were redirected." A voice stated.

General replied. "First let's test waters, send the order for the men to use the old weapons."

"Aye. I mean yes sir." The voice replied.

Lucian noticed a tall woman approaching the room.

"Fleet Admiral is in the room!" Another voice shouted and the people manning the stations stood up briefly.

"At ease." The woman in the white uniform said.

Lucian was captivated by her elegance and grace, yet fascinated by her apparent ferocity.

She glided towards the general and smiled before speaking, "I was having a relaxing lunch with my daughter when suddenly out of nowhere I was called by my aide about this unscheduled drill you have here. What is the meaning and purpose of this?"

Her long blond hair was neatly tied. Her blue eyes locking with Lucian's, evaluating his every action.

General sighed, however President Kanata interjected by saying, "General and our guest are trying to prove a point."

"What point is that?" The Fleet Admiral smiled.

She glanced towards Lucian, "Is anyone going to remove this civilian from my bridge?"

"Fleet Admiral he is the one we've been informed about." Her second in command stated, handing her a Pad with information on it.

Her eyebrows rose, "Oh! I suppose you've asked him about the rescue operation." She asked President Kanata directly.

Kanata nodded, briefly adding "Yes."

While scanning the information in her hand she asked, "And what about the combat drill?"

General smiled, "I was asked to prove a point. Anna, how can I refuse?"

"It's Fleet Admiral. Show some respect." Her aide warned.

"It's ok Philip. I don't mind. However, why are you using MY men to do it?" Fleet Admiral Anna asked.

General smiled, "They're my men as well. Remember our military is one big happy family now."

Anna grimaced, "How can I forget? Regardless you were to advise me about any military deployment."

"I just forgot. The excitement got the better of me, I apologize Fleet Admiral." General lowered his head.