<USS Avalon> "History of the Future: Bringers of Apocalypse"

History of the Future:  Bringers of Apocalypse
Part 1 - The Orphanage, Year 2829
Elissabeth Marksbury


"But... they?re children!"

"Nothing like children to herald an apocalypse."

"Your sarcasm does not amuse me, Commander Brooks."

"It wasn?t meant to. So, tell me what you think of our little project."

"I think you?re all insane."

"Well, the worst that could come of it is a new species of human telepaths - 
super soldiers, even. The best... well, apocalypse."

"You speak as though it?s a blessing, Brooks."

"In this life, it very well is."

 

***



Two little boys sat in the center of the room on their knees, rear ends plopped 
on the floor, legs sprawled out to their sides, as only small children can find 
comfortable. The room was austere, minimalists in everything, seemed to be the 
policy of the orphanage. The walls had faded to a not quite harsh white, as 
opposed to its original clinical colour of two shades brighter. No carpet, but 
instead, a tile that seemed to be self-cleaning. 

A large window was the room?s redeeming grace; the faculty of the orphanage no 
doubt having nothing to do with its building and design. The structure many 
years ago had indeed been a school, but at this point, nearly a century later, 
no one thought about it, and even less cared. The fact was that, here and now, 
it was an orphanage.

A very bland and cold orphanage.

No curtains graced the window facing the open plain and nothing decorated the 
walls save one chronometer displaying its blue image, never failing in its 
mission to drain the seconds from the minutes from the hours of the day. 

"Your turn," the first little boy announced to the other.

Thomas placed his holo-emitter in the floor and activated it, bringing up a 
small starship. Hyrum then took his turn selecting which ship would battle the 
other and sat his on the floor as well. The two devices interacted, creating a 
large display between the children. Thomas shifted, allowing more viewing 
space, and palmed the control.

"You really shouldn?t send a Martel Destroyer against a Ravv?n War Cruiser," 
piped up the voice of a third child in the room. A little girl, four years old.

Hyrum, having had second thoughts about this decision himself, didn?t like 
being told he was in error by a child two years his junior. And a girl no less. 
"Stronger weapons, greater range, and invisibility. The Ravv?n is no match," he 
defended.

"Only if you blindly refuse to take into account the better maneuverability of 
the Ravv?n, and Thomas is smart enough to use it against you. Three moves," she 
countered, pointing at the surrounding space. "Here, here, and here. A feint... 
here. And then firing on your Martel here, dismantling your I-shields, which 
also disrupts your Kelton phasers. A flaw in the design."

Thomas looked on, wide-eyed. He had actually been impressed with Hyrum?s choice.

"But," the boy continued to protest, "you forget that my forward Ks will be 
targeting his aft shielding, which is weak."

"Yeah, if he was dumb enough to expose them to you. And even if he was, you?d 
have to target him first, and even then," she took a breath, not quite sure if 
she was right, but confident enough to pretend so, "it?s a calculated risk. He 
can take several hits and if he?s aggressive enough, he?ll beat you to the 
turnaround."

"Why don?t you just tell him how to win?" Hyrum asked, scooping up his 
holo-emitter and stomping out of the room.

"You ruined the game," Thomas told her.

"I was just trying to help. He was wrong."

"You don?t even play this game, so how could you know?"

"I watch you everyday," she explained, as if that should pacify him.

***

"Did you hear her today?" 

"I watched the vid, yes. Her continued development is most impressive, 
especially her speech patterns."

"Her knowledge of tactical skills on a game she hadn?t ever played, sir, that?s 
what I was speaking of."

"That?s no surprise. She has been trained for it, even if she?s not aware of 
it."

"More so than the others?"

"They?re all specially trained in something. She is able to observe and 
assimilate information quicker and will subconsciously know when something is 
amiss.  Highly analytical."

"The others?"

"Not my concern at the moment. The little girl is the one I want to work with. 
I?ve decided."

"They?re all hyper intelligent, they?re all being trained. Why her?"

"Because..." Captain Loris Mensano paused. He wasn?t going to explain about his 
daughter and her untimely demise during the Epoch skirmish. He couldn?t explain 
the fact that he knew where the child had come from, though the records stated 
otherwise. "I choose to. Simple enough."

"May I protest?"

"On deaf ears, Gerard."

"I think you should start with one of the older ones. It?s not fair."

"Not fair because I?m going to destroy any childhood and any chance of 
happiness the child might have? Yes, I suppose you?re right. But it?s a 
sacrifice for the greater cause. A much greater cause." 



                
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!

Other related posts: