Ascension Day

Finally after all my hard work it's happening. The door to the Command Center opened to reveal more than a dozen people scattered around the large concrete room busily performing their tasks. The heart of all our effort. Monitors of varying size cover half the room with information of every sort, while people with tablets and communications devices track and record all our progress. As excited as I am to finally be promoted and permitted into the highest level of command it pales in the shadow of Ascension Day. Our people have worked so hard and sacrificed so much, Now it is here.

I walked into the nerve center of our civilization I still can't believe it's all happening, it's really happening. A woman with a tablet makes her way to me maneuvering around small groups of technicians conferring with each other, their tablets and the monitors. She stops short and looks at her tablet, "Are you Jess?" Eyeing me up and down evaluating my uniform. To what purpose I can't be certain as we are all wearing with exact same gray polyester nylon uniform. Everything in our lives is uniform, we dress the same, eat the same, sleep the same. Every ounce of our focus and creativity for the past thirty years has been to one purpose. The continued survival of our species.

"Yes, I am to attend the President for the last few hours before the Ascension." I am trying very hard to contain my excitement and be professional, but I can hardly keep myself from jumping up and down. To think how far we've come in only the last thirty years since the Visitors came. Some people still resent the fact the Visitors reduced our world to ash and eliminated very nearly all our people, but it was necessary. A test of our will and we have succeeded in their challenge.

Addy introduced herself and began a short tour of the Command Room directing my attention to the monitors tracking our progress and consoles I should never under any circumstances touch. Overlooking the room on a raised railed platform stood our savior, President Rosland. Her actions during our greatest time of need are beyond inspiring. She lead our great undertaking, guiding our purpose.

She stood there statuesque with one hand on a large waist high console with the fingers of her other hand cradling a gold heart shaped locket hanging at her neck. Only her eyes moved darting from one monitor to the next. Through her leadership we were able to meet the challenge of rebuilding our technology to meet the requirement for Ascension and receive our reward for our sacrifice.

Once the Visitors had completed their destruction of our planet they issued a challenge to the survivors. They would return in thirty rotations to evaluate our peoples ability to overcome near extinction, if we had advanced our technology to a sufficient level we would be allowed to join the Galactic Community of Planets. Since that day our people began the great work of recovering and rebuilding everything we needed to achieve our goal and now the day has arrived.

It had taken time to rebuild the technology we lost. So few people understood the workings of even the simplest of computers and machines they had used on a daily basis. Then there were the Traitors. Those foolish enough to believe we should stand up to the Visitors and refuse their gifts. The thought caused a tinge of guilt at my own father's betrayal. The president herself had lost two small children in the purge. To throw away the lives of those few who remained. To deny the remnant of our race a place among the larger galactic community. A tinge of guilt and a great deal of anger.

The tour ended at the raised platform. "Madam President, may I introduce your interim aide Jess Harlow. Jess, of course you've heard of Madam President Rosland Tindle."

"Madam President it is a tremendous honor to meet you", not really able to keep the shrillness from my voice. President Rosland turned her head to me with scrutinizing eyes flicking up and down with a slight nod returned her focus to the myriad of monitors. After a pause she sighed, "I'm afraid I wont have much for you before the Ascension but you will have the best seat on the planet."

Besides security personal the President herself carried a side arm. Though an attempt hadn't been made in some time the Traitors had become desperate in the past to stop the great undertaking.

Addy excused herself and scurried off to her other duties while I was left standing next to the single most important person in the world. I followed her gaze to see one of the monitors showing a shuttle being prepped for launch. it contained our knowledge and examples of technology we recovered and developed in the years since the Visitors last came.

Alarms began sounding off and lights flashing. a group of technicians began to issue orders and frantically tap the interface of their console screen. a large monitor in the center of the room broadcasted a dark image of space speckled with stars from a satellite orbiting our planet far above. Suddenly a massive vessel glided into view. "They have arrived!" A side glance from President Rosland suggested I may have been louder than I intended.

"They're earlier than anticipated. No matter, begin the shuttle launch sequence." President Rosland spoke in a slow commanding tone, deepening the embarrassment of my earlier outburst. With in moments the shuttle was beginning it's ascent, among our many technological advances were the much improved plasma propulsion engines. Less than five minutes pass before the shuttle had flown beyond our atmosphere and adjusted it's heading toward the waiting vessel of the Visitors.

Through out all this excitement I had to force myself form bouncing with glee, mostly successfully. President Rosland remained stationary with one hand gliding around the console interface in front of her while her left hand still held the heart shape locket at her neck. "Begin docking procedures," her voice almost betraying the excitement I felt. How could it not? This was the single most important event in the history of our people.

Standing slightly behind President Rosland on her left I saw her open the locket with trembling hands. Inside was a picture on each half of the locket. A very young curly haired girl with a shy smile and a freckled face toothy grin of a boy of about the same age. She brought the locket up to her lips and kissed it. She then dropped her right hand to the console almost slapping it. Suddenly the large central monitor flashed white.

The aired seemed to be sucked from the room. The light faded. The monitor showing the Visitors vessel now only showed an expanding bubble of debris that soon moved beyond the monitor's view. President Rosland whispered to the locket, "Isn't it beautiful." She then pulled her sidearm placing the barrel under her chin and pulled the trigger.

The End.