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Apol o 918 The trip of no return
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Joseph Thomas
In the middle of writing my report in my computer
after my conversation with the engineer, an alarm in
my intercom sounded off, I should report myself to
the central control room of the ship. I saved my report
in an encrypted file which I had written on my travel
log. Not much information yet, only my interview
with Lindsay, and the engineer’s report. I stood
before the General. All military and civilian leaders
of the ship were there, we would also be in video
conference through a screen with the command posts
of the other two ships that accompanied us in the
mission. After the formal presentations from senior
leaders, the General lit a small monitor screen and
read the latest reports coming from earth.
- The Western coalition troops had advanced towards
our enemy’s stronghold. Casualties on both sides
were counted in the thousands per hour. Europe had
been fully released but there were still points where
Arab enemies were posing resistance. Cities such as
Madrid and Brussels were reduced to rubble.
According to estimates, only 6% of the civilian
population had survived in these cities. Though still
no warheads had exploded on the planet, medium
range missiles plied the skies. The attacks were
devastating, it was known that few thousand survivors
in the Swiss Alps had escaped before the bombing.
The West Coast of the United States was at this time
under fire. Three coalition aircraft carriers had been
sunk. Of enemy forces, seven were knocked out
thanks to the courage of the soldiers of the U.S. Air
Force. The African continent was dominated by the
English forces and no activity had been reported some
four hours now.
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Apol o 918 The trip of no return
One of the main leaders of the Arab enemy forces,
had been killed, with all his men in Zimbabwe. Many
cities in South America, had been virtually wiped out
along with their inhabitants. Although there was no
longer enemy presence, hunger and thirst began to
take its toll on the population. Countries such as
Brazil and Argentina had offered their support and
military force to the liberating troops. The general
paused for a moment, took a sip of water before
continuing with the investigation report. Now came
the part that we all expected. -Still unaccounted for is
the president and commander in chief of the enemy
forces. We have taken three more cities in Iraq, Iran
and Saudi Arabia. But have not found the nuclear
arsenal. Our orders were still to remain at 12,650
miles from the planet. Ensuring the safety of our crew
and civilians. And ensuring their safe return home if
this war ends. If this is not possible, our astronomers
are looking for a place to settle our culture. But have
nothing yet. We are receiving reports from the planet
every two hours. We will continue to inform you of
additional news.
The commander of the Russian ship also read the
report from Moscow that had been sent. Not much
more encouraging than the one that came from
Washington. From the third ship their commander
was silent, almost at the end of the meeting he raised
some questions about the work of astronomers who
were dedicated to finding a point in space where our
civilization could continue in case of a disaster.
General Pot dismissed all giving the order to meet
there again within four hours. I was about to leave
when the man's voice asked me to stay. All officers
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Joseph Thomas
had left, only I had stayed alone with him. The man
sat down on the right side of the oval table. He
gestured with his face denoting high concern while
staring me in the eyes, until he finally spoke:
- You have news about the attacker, Colonel?
I was about to reply when over the intercom in my
right ear, the voice of one of my soldiers telling me to
I was needed at level two of the ship, urgent.
- It’s something on level two of the ship, General. -
That was my quick response before leaving as quickly
as possible to the place where I had been called. The
man did not wait for my response, said nothing,
picked up his gun from a drawer and went behind me.
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Apol o 918 The trip of no return
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Joseph Thomas