The image of my father leaves me and I find that I'm sitting in BluJay, a light almost care-free smile comes to my face, remembering my father in his prime, relief washes over me.
‘How far are we from the compound, Conner?’ I ask in my thoughts.
‘10 minutes’ he responds.
‘Conner.’
‘Yes?’
‘You okay?’
For exactly thirty-four seconds Conner is silent.
Finally, he responds, ‘I can’t feel right now. Seeing him up there, I know he wants the best for the world, but I can’t shake the feeling something is behind him. Something is always constantly bothering me. But, then again Ash, I am sure you feel the same about Anoura, your mother.’ Again he is silent but I know to wait for him to finish, ‘I will be okay, my love.’
Leaving half the juice and sandwich behind, I make my way to the cockpit, passing expensive and lavish items adorning our jet, as well as treading over a plush carpet that I would kill to feel between my toes right now, heeled boots and thick furry socks separating it from me. My attire is always changing based on mood, season, or century, but for now I usually wear ripped up jeans with beads and jewels running across the strands, fitted long sleeve shirts, and a thick faux-fur coat to block out the cold when we are on earth. Although it was sunny on the floating island and everywhere our parents' government controls, it is not the same for the rest of Earth. There is still beauty to be found among the scattered remains and while we do what we can to preserve it all, either nature, this damn cold, or the government's rejected human beings are destroying it.
“Hey,” I say aloud, sliding open the thick glass pane. As I near the back of his seat, he reaches out for my hand and helps guide me to the chair beside him. His laid back posture lightens my mood and I notice he is wearing my favorite light blue button-up Henley.
“Nice shirt,” I comment slyly. A smile cracks on his face as he gently pulls my hand to his lips, holding it there softly for a moment and closing his eyes. This man always astounds me. Even with his eyes closed, the plane flies straight and with pure ease. Turning back towards the windshield, his violet eyes open and he pushes the yoke forward, the nose of the jet tilts toward the looming snow covered mountains ahead of us.
“Home sweet home,” I say.
Connecting with the interface of the jet by touching the upper right corner of the jet’s window, we pull up a movable, holographic screen that presently has a live video feed of our landing agent - among many other tech related jobs – Scanner.
“Hey, man. We good to come in hot?” I request.
“We are ready and waiting for you. What took you guys so long? Wasn’t it just supposed to be a sweep and analysis mission?” Scanner questions me.
“We got a little distracted,” I wink at Scanner playfully and he knows I won’t say more about what we were really up to.
“I can always read your jet’s logs, you know.” He answers back playfully with a smirk.
“You are too much to handle, old chap.” I say. “Alright, making our descent and coming in hot. Be prepared for an immediate cool off.” I swipe down on the holograph and it disappears into the dashboard once more. Neither of us bothers to buckle in as we both know Conner can land this jet without a hitch and besides, were we to be in an accident, we both would come out unscathed no matter the circumstance. Although we do not see ourselves in the light of gods that is technically our birthright and royal lineage. The tip of the jet warms as we angle to forty-five degrees and dive for a crack between two mountains part of the Himalayan chain. I always love the feeling of falling, the pit that rises in your stomach and the thrill in your mind of utter chaos. ‘Those that allow themselves to fall will rise taller from the ashes.’ I hear my father’s old saying.
“Let us fall, Conner.” With a quick playfully smirk, Conner takes over the controls with mastery and down we go, straightening the plane out we halt in midair with no kind of distress. Two seconds later, we fall from the sky straight down into the crack.
Darkness envelops the jet and snow drifts in from above us as we continue our descent. Seven seconds later, the jet slows and we enter a massive cave-like hanger. Within moments we are a few feet from the ground. Scanner is at the controls going haywire on all the buttons surrounding him and we successfully land. His technology has always been fascinating and the device capturing the aircraft is just one of his many inventions over the years, all which are very helpful to us and our cause. He calls this specific machine, the ‘Hover Machine’. I couldn’t hope to explain it right now, but this man is pure genius and I am glad he is on our side. Landing gracefully, both Conner and I make our way out of the back of the jet, down the loading ramp, and towards the small group that are waiting for us.
“Hey everyone,” I smile. “Joan, I need to know what’s been happening.” I say to my trusted friend and advisor. She is a warrior and has the makings of the infamous Joan of Arc. Some could say my Joan is the reincarnation of her great ancestor. I was the one who started the rumor.
“Ash, it’s worse than we thought. Kalamin is waging war for forest territory against Hammond in the south and the Amazons are beginning to feel the touches of snow. Hammond, as you know, refuses to give up the lands and he is starting to take more resources from what he has not acquired, leaving the rejected with very little. I fear Kalamin is ready to shed blood.”
“We both know he won’t make it past Hammond’s shields, Joan. It’s Kalamin and his people who will be shedding blood. We will talk more of it later.” I cut off k,nowing she will want to press further about a plan. “How is the compound doing? Everyone and everything in order and doing okay?”
“As always, everyone is perfect aside from their own mini-dramas. Don’t know why we ever needed TV. People make enough drama just by living.” She chuckles.
“Conner.” I speak, knowing he will drift to me.
Following me, we three walk through not even a sixteenth of the compound, making small talk until reaching my old playroom from my earlier dream inside the main mansion where Conner, myself, and a selected few, such as Joan and Scanner, live. It’s my favorite spot in the world and offers me peace in troubling times. The windows are now tightly sealed with snow drifting outside and giving a white glow to the room. The mountains loom far beyond and there is no bottom to the earth from this high up. There is only sky and mountains. Our compound is in its entirety, the Himalayans. Every mountain holds a link in our well constructed and armored chain. Conner comes to stand beside me, grabbing my hand, and interlocking our fingers.
“Why do they all have to make it so hard on us? What is the purpose of fighting? Why when we have lost so much do they want to lose more?” The words can almost be seen in the air as clouds rise from my lips. Closing my eyes, I breathe in, thinking of solutions to every problem. My mind normally could solve a problem every twenty seconds, concurring with my physical age, although I myself am as old as the earth itself. However, my mind seems to be bogged down, endlessly filling with snow and blackness. The heavy blanket clouding everything I see and reminding me of all we have lost and all we are fighting for.
“Conner.” I breathe out slowly.
“Ash is that wise?”
“No, but it is what is needed for now. Your father today showed me that he is on the verge of a major development and until we can go there and figure out what that is, I can’t risk bloodshed from the Rejects nor murder on part of the Celestials. It’s extreme but we must sweep the entire earth and do what we can by the week’s end. Our deadline is coming fast. Everyone is closing in for the kill and I will not allow that to occur.”
“Ash, the entire world?” Conner says solemnly.
“Yes, Conner. We are going to put the entire world to sleep. We must save it and we must save them. Then, I am going to have a chat with our parents. I have had enough of destruction on our planet and it’s about time we had our two cents about it. Joan, give the order to Scanner. We are going Code Blue.” I order.
Joan, although bewildered and confused, carries out her order, leaving the room and rushing straight to Scanner back in the hanger.
“You know the damage that will cause the wildlife and vegetation, right? The cold will not sleep and they will not be able to fight the cold.” Conner inquires.
“That is what the sweep is for. I want every team but home team out there caring for every part of this earth and keeping it safe. Have them take the soul-animals to better help those out in the wild. This is what we have been waiting for Conner, and we will not lose this opportunity. I am tired of this and I am tired of the Celestials and Rejects. My patience is wearing thin.” I whisper.
“Well then, they should be very, very, afraid.” Conner squeezes my hand firmly.
“Yes. I believe they should.” I squeeze back.
