General Ashton sat in his illuminated office, designed with rosewood panels that absorbed the rich, radiant light that poured in from the tall ceiling and side walls.
The rosewood, while soaking in the brightness, cast a sense of warmth mixed with secluded isolation, almost reserved atmosphere yet the space still shimmered with a refined glow.
Despite its elegance, the air inside carried the weight of duty. The environment was heavy with the pressure of command, filling the room with a quiet gravity.
A massive portrait of the General hung on the wall, radiating a strong sense of responsibility and stature.
A soft mechanical hum whispered in the background, blending with the gentle glow of the computer screen on his desk. The screen's light bathed his stern face as he scrolled through excerpts of records.
Suddenly, a notification flashed on the screen. Without hesitation, he minimized the documents and shifted his full attention to fragments of classified data that had just appeared.
His eyes narrowed, the dark circles beneath them deepening as anger flickered across his face. He leaned closer, scanning through the transcript. Each line he read tightened his expression. Fury began to surface slowly, tightening his jaw and creasing his forehead. He clicked through each page with steady control, but the fury in his gaze climbed with every word he read from the intelligence report.
He bit his lip as a surge of mixed emotions flooded his mind. It was a transcript a conversation between Dr. Rhode and Dr. Lena. His brows furrowed. He didn't like the direction things were going.
Fuming, he snatched the telephone on his desk and connected to his secretary.
"Hello, General," his secretary answered.
"Book an appointment for a meeting with Dr. Rhode, the Head Bioengineer of the Sovereign Hand. Immediately. Time: 1:30 p.m.," he ordered, slamming the phone back down.
1:30 P.M. — MEETING
Dr. Rhode walked into General Ashton's office, already irritated.
"I was told you needed me. What's the occasion this time?" Rhode asked, voice laced with anger.
"What's your progress with Dr. Lena? When are you two going to do what I asked?"
Rhode gave a short, mocking laugh. "I knew you were going to ask that. Well, too bad. It's taking ages to convince her," he said, leaning casually against a nearby bookshelf.
"You're not doing a good job. You need to act fast. Don't forget the luxuries that come with this."
"Ashton, she's my girlfriend. I genuinely love her. We'll have to wait until she's in the right state of mind before doing your bidding. I can't force her into something like that."
"Oh, I see. The way you two talk about trips, or what color would be best for the living room you plan to share. Oh, wait, I've got one, you even discussed how many children you want to have. How is that supposed to happen when the Earth is filled with a nuisance of a population?"
Dr. Rhode stiffened. The detail in Ashton's words startled him. He straightened up and stepped away from the bookshelf.
"How did you know about our recent conversation?" Rhode asked, his tone now cautious.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you stop with the sweet talk and get her to agree to what we want."
"It's not what we want. It's what you want. Because you're a selfish and self-centered."
"Say it how you like," Ashton barked, standing up. "But if you don't act fast, we are left with facing resource scarcity, economic collapse, ecological disasters, you name it!"
"I don't care what happens," Rhode growled. "Lena will act when she's ready. I love her, and I will protect her."
"You have no right to listen to our conversations! I don't know who you think you are, but you're not God. And I'm not scared of you like the rest."
"I will replace you if you don't do the needful," Ashton warned.
Rhode laughed coldly. "Like I care. You and I both know I'm the best you've got in both trust and expertise. Give my position to someone else, and they'll blow your whole operation wide open."
Dr Rhode sparked up as he turned to leave, fury in every step.
"It was all just a plan in the beginning, wasn't it?" Ashton called after him. "But now you've actually fallen in love with Lena. How do you think she'll react when she finds out your entire relationship was just a pawn move on a chessboard?"
Rhode stopped in his track almost close to the exist door, with his back still turned.
"You know all you do is threaten me," he said, without looking. "But I'm doing a damn good job loving her and trying to convince her even if it's not in the way you like. You know I'm doing well" he said turning to General Ashton "I dare you, Ashton replace me. Go on, tell her everything. You'll only end up ruining your own plans."
He paused, voice hardening.
"So let me do what I do best. It might take a while, but you'll get your damned bidding and she'll do it perfectly. Just remember one thing: I never supported your idea. It's going to flop. And then it'll fail."
With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Ashton's face fell. He slowly lowered himself into his chair, hands trembling as he pressed them to his desk, lost deep in thought.
FLASHBACK ENDS, GENERAL ASHTON'S OFFICE, THE SOVEREIGN HAND HEADQUARTERS, PAXVILLE, EARTH, 3065.
General Ashton sat alone in his office, feeling low and unhappy after being haunted by painful flashbacks. He leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk, and rubbed his temples with tired fingers.
"You were right, Rhode. I wish I had listened to you," Ashton muttered with a sigh, staring at nothing in particular. "I guess now I got what I wanted and more, but with a destroyed Earth. And yet, I find it hard to listen to you again." He heaved a deep breath, his eyes heavy with regret.
Just then, Dr. Christainia Clay walked into his office after knocking briefly. When no one responded, she waited for a moment, then entered anyway. Ashton, still lost in thought, didn't notice her at first.
The moment he saw her, Ashton quickly straightened up in his chair, adjusting his posture.
"Today, we will take three survivors for window observation, we will get them infected with the virus and observe the proceedings" Christainia said calmly, her eyes scanning the general's office with interest.
She walked further in, her heels clicking softly. Though it wasn't her first time in the office, she seemed to admired the feel of political power that aligned the panels of arrangement.
It made her feel like she belonged to something more than a member of the Sovereign Hand. It amazed her how far she had come, now standing as the head virologist.
Ashton sighed again, deeper this time. He looked unsure, weighing the decision in his mind. Christainia noticed his hesitation immediately. Her brow creased slightly.
She disliked seeing the once-feared general looking broken. She had seen him in low moments before and didn't enjoy witnessing it again.
"General, are you okay?" Christainia asked gently, her voice laced with concern as she stepped closer.
"I am good," Ashton replied quietly, then paused. He picked up a pen and reached for a notepad on his desk.
"Dr. Clay, do you think we moved too fast with our decisions in our last meeting?" he asked, tapping the pen slowly on the paper. He was trying to pull himself back together, hoping a serious conversation would lift his mood.
"In what aspect do you mean, General?" Christainia asked, tilting her head slightly, her tone calm but curious.
"In everything," Ashton said, his voice heavier now. "I mean, does infecting these survivors with the virus just to find a cure really make sense? Why can't we be patient until we have the black archive"
"You're beginning to sound like Dr Rhode," Dr. Christainia Clay said sharply, narrowing her eyes. Suspicion grew on her face as she studied the general closely. She couldn't believe the general was letting Dr. Rhode's words get into his head.
"Do I sound like him?" General Ashton asked, raising one eyebrow, his voice low and thoughtful.
"we could observe the virus under a microscope, like Dr. Ethan did." Dr Christainia Clay began with an imitating voice of Dr Rhode, she talked like Dr Hode as she paced slowly within the office continuing her voice rising high with each word
"He never needed to use innocent survivors, he tested samples from the already infected." Dr Christainia Clay finished imitating Dr Rhode breathing hard with anger simmering on her face while looking at the general deeply, she swore she could tear him apart right now.
"That's how you sound general Ashton, exactly like Dr Rhode always interrupting and and kicking against our decisions"
Deep silence dominated the room, general Ashton was dumbfounded watching Dr Christainia Clay's fury, suddenly his face fell; in shame. she noticed, she had crossed the Line with The General immediately she straighten up, letting lose her anger.
"General, I think you're just stressed," she said, stepping around the desk and folding her arms. "You're a fierce leader. You shouldn't let your subordinates make you weak. We've dominated the world. We must keep it that way. The elites are counting on us for a second set of cure, it's either the black archive or we develop a new one," she added firmly, her expression hardening.
A brief pause filled the room.
"If we infect these survivors, we can track the Virus recent behavior before the observation window closes," she added, her tone now more businesslike.
"So you're saying it's necessary we do this?" the general asked slowly, looking at her with serious yet tired eyes.
"Of course, it's necessary. Even Dr Rhode will benefit once we have the cure," Clay replied confidently, her hands resting lightly on the edge of his desk.
"I don't know… It's just that Rhode is right sometimes, and I'm scared we'll fail again. He'd laugh at us," Ashton muttered, shaking his head as he wrote short notes.
"Oh please," Dr Christainia Clay said, rolling her eyes. "It's just a coincidence. Don't let Rhode's anger get to you just because he doesn't have Lena anymore. He lost her and now he's venting."
"Whatever happened to Lena, we're yet to know. She just seemed to vanish even though we got rid of her, Ashton said, frowning.
"I assure you general Dr Lena is no more, let's stop drooling over her. She is in past"
"But if truly she died why don't we have a body, all the dead coalition of scientist are accounted for except Dr Lena, why is she such a hard knock" general Ashton said
"Lena was at the front of world domination, but she failed the moment she became stubborn. So I guess what you did to her was right," Dr Christainia Clay added, walking slowly and slyly from one spot to another. She picked a trace of dust with her index finger and flicked it away.