AECUS

In a universe far, far away, there lives two types of people. One who live happily and free, and the other who fear their leader, live without freedom and are forced to do bad things.

On Aecus, the grass is always green, the weather is always good. The people live peacefully in their huge spaceship, protected from evil. But this wasn’t  the case in Skar. Dr. Doom ruled all of Skar. He ridded the ship from all things nice and turned it into a place where you were trapped and every aspect of you was controlled by other people.Aecus was a huge ship but in the inside it looks like a normal planet like Earth. In one small, little house lived the Emperor of Aecus, a fair man who was kind. He also had a son, named Jacob Freeman. He was a 19 year old boy who wished to work for his ship.

“Jacob, we’ve got to get you ready. Come on!”, shouted Ray. “Alright, I’m coming! Keep your pants on!”, replied Jacob hurrying down the stairs with his backpack. Ray shot Jacob with a look of annoyance. Jacob started to play with his Ryper, a small, silver pen that could turn into a gun or a sword in just one touch. As he ran out of the house, he got on his SegFra, a red flying motorbike. He put the key in and it lifted him up off the ground. He went all the way to school, carefully dodging passers-by. The wind was like a racing car, going very fast and blowing the autumn leaves away.

Jacob walked through the large entrance of the school and sat in his seat, at the back of the class. The teacher stood at the front. Mr Hanbury was like an evil, mean dragon but in human-form. Jacob hated him. “Alright, boys and girls, get your things out and be quiet,” demanded Mr Hanbury, angrily. “We’re going to be learning about the art of jets and spaceships.”, said the teacher. As Jacob fell asleep, he tried to hide himself from the frightening teacher. “Zzzzzzzzz…”, snored Jacob. “Wake up, Jacob! You’re not at home.”, shrieked Mr Hanbury. Jacob stared at him in despair, angry that he hadn’t let him sleep. Soon enough, the bell went and Jacob ran straight out and went to the Battalion HQ.

Jacob walked in through the double doors, the lights turning on slowly as if they were stalking him. He saw his father at his office, looking tired and sad. He wondered what he could be thinking about. “Hi, Dad. What’s wrong?”, asked Jacob. Ray looked up at Jacob, preparing to speak, his expression seemed very worried. “Three of our jets were blown up today. The men who survived think it was that evil Dr. Doom.”, replied his father, distraught. Jacob was stunned by his father’s words. He had learnt about Dr. Doom in school but hadn’t really paid much attention. “Our me  were carrying precious bloody emeralds and gold from the Planet Skra!,” shouted Ray, pushing things off his desk, his face had turned red. “Father, we must strike back,” exclaimed Jacob. The room went quiet and Jacob stared at his father, waiting for him to say something. “Ok, ok. We will. Get me Graham and Stebson,” ressured Ray, “Tell them to come here immediately. We will strike back but we will do it the smart way.”

Graham and Stebson came through the big black doors and into the war room. Graham was a short man and he had a face full of hair. Stebson, on the other hand, was very tall and mysterious. He was Ray’s right hand man. “Gents, thank you for meeting me here on such short notice. Yesterday, at midnight, three of our airliners were blown up. We were carrying 53 people and very precious emeralds and gold. There were two unknown aircrafts and they just so happen to be Doom’s planes,” said Ray. “What are we going to do?” asked Graham. “We’re going to hit their weapon supplies aircraft, tomorrow,” said Jacob, “We’re thinking of sending S.W.A.T 3 to do it. We need to carefully plan this”, asked Ray, wearing a black suit and tie. “We can take Route 37. We can hit them at 0345. It’s the best way,” replied Stebson. Everyone agreed by nodding and they all left the war room apart from Ray. He stood there and wondered how life would be if he hadn’t destroyed Planet Yerv. If he hadn’t Dr. Doom would’ve never been a bad person and would be living with his family in peace. It hurt his conscienceto think that Dr. Doom was pretty much created by himself.

At Skar, the dark headquarters room had a very pungent smell. Dr. Doom sat in his chair, thinking. The long, black scar across his left eye to his mouth made him unable to smile properly or show any kind of emotion. Dr. Doom had a metal right hand. The room was dim and the place was very untidy. As he was gazing through the large office window, Professor Gray came in. He was wearing a long, white lab coat and his glasses were just about hanging on to his face. “I want you to create Operation 287. Do not involve or tell anyone else anything they don’t need to know. Do it right. Whatever you need ask Shevu,” screeched Dr. Doom. Doom turned to look at Shevu, who was a cyclops. Just above his eyebrows, he had a big, gruesome eye. He was gathering crates of green, glowing crystals. “Yes, my Lord. Anything else?,” asked Professor Gray. “No,” commanded Dr. Doom. He stood there in absolute silence and then turned to sit down at his desk. With his long iron right hand, he opened the drawer with his key and took out a small bottle. He also took out a large, pointy syringe and injected himself in the vein of his only human arm. “Ahhhhh”, he moaned. He then slowly drifted away, his eyes shutting, into calm sleep.

Jacob walked through the long road of Evergreen Street and arrived at his house. He opened the door with his hand and walked in. Suddenly, he saw a large man sitting on the sofa, relaxing. He stood up and said, ” You must be Jacob. I thought you’d be a bit shorter. Anyway, tell your father that he will regret the day, he crossed paths with Dr. Doom. Something’s coming,” said the tall, lanky man. Jacob realised a way the man spoke, with utter confidence. “Who are you? What’re you doing in my house? How’d you get in?,” asked Jacob. “It doesn’t matter. Just sending a word of warning from an old friend,” said the big man, coldly and calmy. “Bye bye, Jacob.”

In the cold operations room, there were a team of clever, smartly dressed operatives. The room was heavily packed. “Have you got it all set or not?”, asked Ray. “Yeah, it’s all set. S.W.A.T 3 are near the target. They should meet in 27 seconds,” replied a female operative, “Bow-Fly 16, do you copy?”. “Battalion 1, this is Bow-Fly 16. We are near the target. Going quiet in 3, 2, 1…” replied the man. The room was very silent until the radio crackled in a matter of seconds, “Battalion 1, this is Bow-Fly 16. Operation Swat the Fly has been a success. Preparing to change our route to 51 and will arrive back in approximately 47 minutes,” answered the man. The radio message was met with cheers and the room was alive. “Yes! Well done, Bow-Fly 16”, said Ray, happily. Jacob ran in, wanting to know about the mission. “It’s done. We did it.But the ship is soon going to be in lock down”, said Ray. His face was glowing with happiness and relief. Jacob joined in with the celebrations.

Days went by, then weeks and there was still no sign of any type of attack. In the large living room, Jacob said, “They haven’t attacked us. What are they planning?”. “I don’t know, son. Don’t worry.”, said Ray in a calm manner but Jacob knew he was worried. At that moment, Stebson and Graham came in through the double doors and said, ” We think we might know what they’re planning!”. They all waited for his answer. “In the report of Operation Swat the Fly, we found that one of the supplies in the aircraft was Urama. It’s a green rock, capable of doing damage to a whole planet,” said Graham, out of breath.  “I’ve heard of it. It’s a chemical compound which is used for making black holes. It’s very deadly,” replied Ray, quietly. “Not only did they find Urama, but they found 300 tons of it. That’s enough to swallow a ship the size of Aecus.”, said Stebson. “Oh my”, exclaimed Jacob.

The noisy room was very hot, with fumes from the large factory machines engulfing the area. “Is it done yet?”, asked Dr. Doom, his metallic voice hurting the ears of workers nearby. His clothes wete very dirty and ragged but he didn’t seem to care. “I’m happy to say that after lots of hard work, we completed it,” answered Professor Gray, in awe of what he’s created. Dr. Doom attempted to smile but he just moved his lips weirdly in a crooked position. He stood there imagining the wreck of Aecus once his weapon of mass destruction had eaten it whole. He was overjoyed. “Unleash it. Ray Freeman will rue the day he killed my beloved family and created me into who I am today, a half metal and half human”, whispered Dr. Doom quietly.

“Jacob, I have to go. There seems to be trouble at the Battalion. You stay here”, said Ray, in a hurry. “What? I’m coming with you. You might need the help,” exclaimed Jacob. “No, you’re not”, answered Ray. Jacob looked at him in shock and began to moan. “Ohhh, okay”, said Ray. As they went in the car, on their way to the Battalion, Ray’s phone rang loudly. He turned it on and answered, ” Hello?”. “Boss, it’s Graham,” he said, out of breath, “We’ve spotted something unknown flying right towards us”. “It’s not an aircraft. It’s a black hole. He’s sent it already,” said Jacob solemly. They both went quiet and sat the rest of the car journey in silence.

“Is it there yet?”, asked Dr. Doom, his voice sounding like the screech of a cat in distress. He was sat in his dark and dim room. “It’s almost there. Don’t worry, Master,” replied Professor Gray. Dr. Doom cackled crazily, wondering what Ray’s face will look like once he has blowed up all of Aecus and killed his son.

“It’s coming right for us, Sir. What should we do?”, asked the female operative. ” Don’t do anything and don’t alert the civilians. I don’t want to cause a panic attack in the city,” said Ray, in reply, ” Also, get me Stebson, Graham and my son and tell them to come to the war room immediately,” commanded Ray. “May Jacob Freeman, Graham Billington and Mark Stebson please report to the war room immediately,” said the operative, speaking into the microphone.

“What’s up, Ray? You needed us?”, said Stebson. “I have a plan. It’s very risky but it may be our only option. Of course, I know that here in Aecus we hold a vote. I completely understand if you don’t accept my suggestion,” said Ray. “Okay, but what is it, Dad?” asked Jacob, eagerly.

“Everyone get to position at your battle station. Jane you need to take control of the wheel,” commanded Ray. “Sir, the black hole is very close now. We need to act fast,” said an operative. “OK. Jane, if we were to move would the black hole would it follow us?”, asked Ray. “Yes, it would. Doom programmed it to,” answered Jane. “Alright. Good. I want you to head straight for Skar and then just when we’re about to hit them, I want you to go underneath them. The black hole would swallow them and not us if we’re fast,” ordered Ray. “But, Sir, the risk is too high, are you sure? We could crash into Skar, killing us and them. The probability rate of dying is 83% and we only have a 13.156 second window,” said Jane. “Don’t worry. We can do it,” replied Jacob, standing near the entrance, listening carefully.

“Your Highness, Aecus has turned on their engines and are getting ready to move,” said Professor Gray. “What’re you doing, Freeman?”, whispered Dr. Doom to himself.

“Head straight for them. How long till we reach them?”, asked Ray. “33 seconds till impact. We will have to duck under them in 20 seconds and counting, Sir,” answered Jane. “Alright, everyone brace yourselves.”, said Ray. “4, 3, 2, 1…”, counted Stebson. The ship went right underneath Skar and it drifted wildly…

“What are they DOING?!!! Stop the black hole, now!!!!”, shouted Doom. ” I can’t. It’s not made to stop!”, said Gray, frightened of what he might do to him. The black hole engulfed the ship into the darkness of the black hole and it suddenly stopped. Silence. Everywhere was noisy with sIrene alerring the area…

“Is everyone okay?”, shouted Stebson. Jacob looked around quickly, dust and dirt all over his face and clothes. “Where’s my Dad? Dad!!?? Find him!”, screamed Jacob. In tears, Jacob pushed a large metal boulder. His father lay there, eyes closed. “Dad? Dad, wake up!”, shouted Jacob, in tears. “He’s gone now, boy. You must lead Aecus now.”, said Graham, his face masked with dust. Jacob stood up, everyone looking at him in awe and shock at the same time. “My father is dead. But Aecus lives. We led Aecus away from the black hole and saved millions of lives. He would’ve liked that.”, said Jacob, solemnly. The room was quiet. Everyone bowed their heads. The ship lived to see another day.

The End

By Ramin Wahid 8W2S