Meltdown Ophilion - Book One

45_REALITY IV

They entered the com-lift and descended forty-three flights to the seventy-eighth floor. As they exited the lift a group of men on one side of the hallway stopped talking and watched them walk by. Orion tried to ignore them, pretending that he knew what he was doing, but they were clearly out of place here. He led the Chiefs around a corner and to the end of the hallway. On the last door was a metallic plaque marked 'H-44-G'. He knocked three times, as he was instructed. A scanner above the door activated and a green laser brushed his shoulder. The com-lock clicked and the door opened a few centimeters.

Orion slowly pushed the door open and peered inside. The room looked and smelt as if it had not been inhabited for many years. There were a few pieces of old furniture; they were faded and had obviously been well used in a former epoch. The colors in the room were washed-out, faded, like a picture in an old book.

The diffused light from Hanthran, which entered from the only window in the room, highlighted an empty blue cupboard and a dusty-orange, cheaply built couch. The apartment was completely silent. Orion felt an unexpected sense of foreboding. He glanced back at the four Chiefs who stood looking over his shoulder, wondering when the Merenthaal would materialize. A buzzer sounded by a door on the opposite side of the room and Orion felt himself jump back a step. The door clicked open. Orion instinctively walked toward it, disregarding his unease.

He pushed on the door and was, suddenly, face to face with Arthur and Maria.

They stood in the center of the room, in a shaft of soft light, looking much as they had the first time he saw them, on the other side of the Elen-Tron's escape hatch. The pilot's apprehensions fell away and the Antarions' familiar smiles brightened. Orion felt himself being drawn to them. His vision became blurry. He felt his arms embrace Arthur's strong frame and Maria's soft, shapely frame. Their arms were around him in a three-way hug that lasted long enough for the Chiefs to enter the room and stand politely, and somewhat awkwardly, waiting for them to conclude their rather intimate reunion. Orion pulled back to look at the Antarion. He blinked to focus on their faces, ignoring his moist cheeks.

"We are so proud of you," Arthur said quietly. "Thank you." And the scene from his dream of the previous night flashed into his mind. Orion nodded and remembered that the Chiefs were present. He tried to think of something to say, but it was difficult to break eye contact and speak. He took a deep breath and attempted an introduction.

"This is... Carlin... Roshil... Science Chiefs..." he suddenly realized that he did not know the names of the other two Chiefs.

"This is Nelah and Tamek," Carlin said, respectfully, in a voice tinged with awe.

"This is Arthur and Maria," Orion said quietly and proudly, "of the Order of the Merenthaal. Commanders of the Antarious."

The Chiefs nodded to them. They recognized that these were people of influence, and, from what they had seen of their reunion with Orion, people of compassion and goodness. They could also plainly see that they were aliens. This was a great moment of truth – of some kind. Carlin felt as if the world had stopped spinning – that he might be floating. These people – Merenthaal – were unlike anyone he had met. This could be the most important moment of his life. He would listen carefully to their proposals, and probably accept them.

A similar scene was played out three more times, after which, all participants of the meeting were in one room. A shabby room in a run-down apartment building. The room had probably been a bedroom at some point. The window was grimy in the extreme; the sunlight filtered through the streaky patterns of brown and gray.

A collection of mismatched couches and chairs circled the room. There were just enough seats for everyone present. The distance between them was ideal for speaking in low voices. None of them had ever been in a place bleaker and dingier than this, and yet, it was the perfect place. The fact that they were there together made it perfect.