Chronicles of Athena Lee Book 3

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The English Catholic Historian Lord Acton wrote that “Power corrupts.” That would be a true statement when considering the real powers behind the UN. Since achieving total control of the Earth, the UN’s Secretary General dissolved the general assembly and appointed the Council of Ten. The Secretary General’s position was that of a figurehead. The real power lay with the Council of Ten.

As a future colony leader, I was inducted into the inner workings of the government. They called themselves the Illuminati. I found out later the name came from an actual secret society that existed in the past. Several thousand of the planet’s elite were members. Military leaders, politicians, celebrities, and journalists came together a century ago to build the Empire that I helped to defend. My brothers and I owed our very existence to them. Our entire program had been their idea from the start.

“You are the future. You and those who you call your brothers are to be our future leaders if you survive.”

The leaders before me were some of the same people that had visited our group when we were still children. In some ways, I felt the interview would be like this: “Thank you for considering me for the position.”

“We have been watching you, Sam. We have been watching all of those in your group. The Superhero program was a partial success for what we wanted. We needed a new breed of warrior.”

“The history that we learned in school said that leaders are made, not born. How is that possible?” This was really interesting to me.

“Leaders can be shaped and molded into anything that we need. The colony program was successful in removing certain, shall we say, elements from Earth. What failed was retaining control of those elements once they left the planet. We sent out several groups of government representatives on many of the ships. They either joined the rebels or were killed fighting them. Or at least we hope that was the case. You and your people will be different. Your very lives have been ours to mold. You owe us everything.”

Those last few words shocked me to my core. Owe them? My brothers and I didn’t owe them anything.

“Did all of the groups you sent fail?”

“Not entirely. We still control two of the early colonies. We have an influence on many of the rest where an organization such as this one exists.” He spread his arms, encompassing the room. “They exist in the very fabric of the outer colonies. They run the military and control the flow of credits to and from the government. They influence everything, right under the noses of the colonists. We will give you access codes and recognition signals that will allow you to contact and connect with those groups. The military forces that we are sending with you should be able to handle whatever you throw at them. We wish you luck, and when we see you again, we hope you will join us, here at this table.” He patted the empty chair beside him.

As I bowed to the Council of Ten, a thousand thoughts ran through my brain. Where did I stand? Did I really want to rule over other people?

Those questions continued to plague me through the next few weeks. I met with the other four ship captains as we planned our roles in the societies we would create on board the ships. Twenty years was a long time to be surrounded by strangers. The council’s plan was for us to educate the rebellion out of the colonists. Teach the next generation to respect us, so we could rule in peace. When we arrived at the planet, we would just take over.

I still was not sure if I wanted to rule over anyone. Maybe on the journey, I could decide.

It was time. Several large neighborhoods and small towns had been targeted for relocation by the council. Subversive material and celebrations of former Independence had blacklisted these areas. Special forces troops moved in during the morning to begin the forced relocation. Roads were blocked, and citizens were instructed to gather at select points to hear announcements from the government. There were no announcements.

The gathered populations were loaded onto transports and sent to the spaceport. The special forces troops already learned the hard way that if you give people time to organize, they will retaliate in force. Keep them confused and disorganized, and they will follow you like sheep.

The confused and now angry citizens were given basic clothing and supplies and assigned berths on board the ships. In some cases, whole families were broken up to isolate the troublemakers. This was not received well by the families, and several riots broke out in the terminal. Shock troops moved in and shot the potential colonists that had gotten out of hand. It had been decided to use stunners or low-powered pulse rifles to subdue the colonists rather than projectile weapons which would kill. The now unconscious family members were loaded on board the ship and placed in the brig until lift off.

Up on the bridge, I climbed into my suit. It was like climbing back into my artificial womb. My suit was filled with the same artificial Perfluorochemical liquid that had grown my small body. The liquid-filled suit would lessen the chaotic effect that the jump engines could have on the human body. The very old or the very young were at the most risk from the jarring effects.

I looked around the small compact bridge. To my right was the co-pilot Johann 009. In front of us were the navigator and the ship’s engineer, Charles 0485 and Jacob 0479. Down below in the crew compartments were our marine forces and some standard crewmen. All of these people were donning the same suits that we wore. Earth-trained personnel were too precious to lose accidentally.

My ship, the Precious Jewel, was headed out past the known galaxy toward what Earth was calling the Botany Bay sector. Long-range surveys had shown high concentrations of elements needed on Earth. We were to set up mining colonies and begin sending minerals home. The holds of the ships were filled with the necessary equipment. The other ships were to follow until we reached the new sector, where we would then split up. The grand adventure was about to begin.

I turned to my right. “Johann start the countdown please.”

“10… 9… 8… 7... 6…”

“Jacob, seal all hatches and lock the ship down.”

“All hatches are secure, and the ship is locked down.”

“… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…”

“All hands stand by for launch.” I pressed the big red button on the console. Someone, most likely Jacob, had written the word EASY on its surface.

With a roar, the ship lurched from the shipyard bay. When we reached the edge of the solar system, I would engage the jump engines. On my ship’s pilot screen, I could see the other four ships launching.