Chapter 1: Apocalypse.
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Author: Arya
Moon. A heavenly entity which revolves around a fixed orbit around the planet. For years this heavenly entity has been a place yet to be conquered by man. Humans have always looked at this entity and wondered what secrets it held? But not anymore….
“Base to Columbiad. Do you copy? Over…………” There was an eerie silence in the control centre. All you could hear was a static from the receiver.
-Bzz Bzz-
The control centre had lost all communications with the moon lander. Everyone inside the room had an expression depicting nervousness and worry.
20th July, 1969. Earth. Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador.
A mountain situated in the Andes mountain range with an elevation of approximately 20,548ft above sea level. The mountain is considered as one of the tallest mountains in the world and also the one closest to the moon.
The top of this seemingly tall mountain was retrofitted with a state-of-the-art communication antenna for the sole purpose of providing an uninterrupted communication gateway to the Apollo 11 moon landing. The most historic yet dangerous moment for the world and the astronauts on board the Apollo. For the world the Apollo landing was a step towards development, but the mission didn’t go as it was planned.
At the same time, the control centre at Houston lost communication with the moon lander. The antenna situated on the top of the mountain received a communication packet containing an encrypted message from the moon lander.
The message was forwarded to the United Federation Council.
United Federation Conference Room. After the Federation received the encrypted packet, the council was summoned for a meet. Inside this conference room sat ten people each shrouded in darkness. The atmosphere was tense as the small message was being decrypted.
All of a sudden, a static was heard.
-Bzz Bzz-
“Bzzz…. Eagle to Command. Bzzz…. The structure seems huge and untraceable to any known element. Bzzz…… Over”
-Bzzz-
The heaviness in the room deepened as a sigh reverberated in the room with a seemingly unfathomable fact.
“Sigh… It seems we are not alone after all.”
************
The world has been a cruel place to live. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Although there exists law and order, then again who are we kidding. This law and order exist only for the rich to manipulate the poor. The law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest still prevails in the present. The so-called high-class people are those who abuse the law, feed on the agonies of the poor and so-called low-class people. Even though the world may have advanced, it’s only externally. The law of the jungle remains the same, what has changed is resources, instead of personal strength financial strength has become more important. The person who has immense financial power can achieve almost anything. There exist many clans and groups, although not known, yet are powerful to the extreme. In all there are 10 such clans and groups who are hidden but active on the planet. Among them the topmost and the foremost is the Jackson group. Jackson group, the most powerful group in the world. Even though it’s ranked first the second one isn’t even close to it. The difference between first and second is like the difference between heaven and earth.
Jackson group was the only group tied to the United Federation. The services this group offered to the world was only one. Research and development. The group excelled in science and technology. Especially in the field of weapons. Although it only offered services to the United Federation. Its power was not to be underestimated.
Even though many organizations tried to undermine the founder of the group and its HQ no one had been successful yet. Its sole contact was a man named James and this was only known to the United Federation not anyone else.
************
“Sir, I will be reaching the mansion in about 10 minutes.”
A man with white hair and white beard the one which appeared with age, kind of white, dressed in a suit spoke to a person on his intercom. This man was James, the one responsible for the Jackson group.
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean existed an island the size of a decent sized city. The island was beautiful, full of minerals and natural vegetation. There existed an ancient Roman style palace on the centre of the island which was connected to the port on the eastern side. The palace was grand with walls surrounding it. There was a fountain in the front and rows of luxurious cars and vehicles were parked in the front. The backyard of the palace had a pool and on the western side of the palace was a mini airport with four helipads and two airstrips, a central air traffic control tower and few garages for private jets.
-Swish-
The sound of a jet engine reverberated in the sky. An Antonov AN-178 approached the runway.
-Screech-
The breaks hit the plane as it landed. A black Rolls Royce Phantom approached the aircraft with its sleek body and luxurious vibe. James alighted from the plane and boarded the vehicle. The jet turned, roaring its engine it took off and flew away. Meanwhile inside the Rolls Royce James sat on the front seat seemingly indulged in some thought.
The car reached the palace and stopped.
-Click-
The car door opened with a click and James alighted the vehicle and entered the palace. The palace from inside seemed simple yet gave a dignified aura. The palace was adorned with simple wooden furniture stained with time and care.
Meanwhile inside a seemingly ordinary bedroom in the palace sat a man seemingly in his twenties with short hair and a fair complexion wearing a bathrobe drinking tea leisurely from his cup, savoring each and every sip. The eyes of the man contained a hidden charm along with a touch of wisdom, yet in the depth of those eyes existed a ferocious anger. If unleashed would not care of the consequences. The attention of the man was diverted to watching some videos on the projection displayed in front of him. Although it was a projection there was no screen, indicating it was a holographic video projection. The man was Percy the real mastermind behind the Jackson group and also its founder.
-Knock-
While Percy was busy watching the projection, a knock was heard on the door and James arrived in a manner which if seen by the authorities from the United Federation would frighten them literally to death. As the man who was domineering and arrogant yet with a noble attitude behaved and presented himself like a Butler.
Indeed, James was the butler and guardian of Percy and his only family left alive.
“Young Master, I am back” James bowed and greeted Percy.
“Uncle James, welcome back. How was it? Did those old bones agree? ” Percy asked James as his attention was still diverted to the video while taking yet another sip from his cup seemingly not bothered by the answer.
Percy had sent James with a very important mission.
“About that young master, although they did not decline the results and the aftermath, they refused to accept your plan. And they have also asked us to lend them the resources for this endeavour.” James spoke with a tone that depicted frustration and sadness.
“Those fools…. sigh alright transport the required resources. I guess it’s time to proceed with the other alternative. ” Percy seemingly anticipated the result as he murmured under his breath. Those eyes which contained a hidden anger suddenly flared for a second which sent chills to the nearby James as he found his back soaked with sweat.
The mission delegated to James was tied to the fate of the planet.
It all began when a scout mission to the moon discovered the remains of a ruin on the moon. The spectroscopic scanning showed no possible match to any known element. This became the reason for the Apollo moon landing. Since the Jackson group had an integral part in this plan, they knew the confidential mission given to the astronauts.
The mission resulted in a loss of communication for a few minutes to the world, but an important piece of message was sent over to the highest authority in the world. The United Federation. The portion of the ruins visible to the eye was situated inside a crater on the moon. After the mission was completed. The Federation decided on focussing its development to explore the ruins. Thus, began the developmental phase. The Federation began the project of ruin exploration. Since then it has been a decade. Lots of funding and planning made several probe missions possible to collect data and verify the content of the message.
“Uncle James” Percy locked eyes with James and spoke with a neutral tone.
James was scared stiff by the tone, as it depicted an uncontrollable anger and frustration.
-Gulp-
“Yes, Young Master.” James gulped his saliva and answered.
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