CHAPTER 5
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 Aditi, 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 Eastern coalition troops had advanced towards our enemy’s stronghold. Casualties on both sides were counted in the thousands per hour. Asia had been fully released but there were still points where Arab enemies were posing resistance. Cities such as Abu Dhabi 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 Sri Lankan troop had escaped before the bombing.
The West Coast of the India 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 India Air Force. The African continent was dominated by the English forces and no activity had been reported some four hours now.
One of the main leaders of the Arab enemy forces, had been killed, with all his men in Zimbabwe. Many cities in South India, 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 Myanmar and Indonesia 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 35,564 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 Bangalore. 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 Singh 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 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, Brigadier?
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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