Chapter 2: Monitor.
Griseran Forest, Forvirretia, Planet Dehzahk:
Loud panting. Clear sound of a human and a dog running. Twigs snapping and leaves crushing under their feet. "Faster, Greg! We have to hide!". Gregory barked in response. A loud howl. Deafening. something that would pause your heart for a second. "It's closing in on us, buddy! Faster!", begged Fred. He couldn't run any faster himself. Every bone and muscle in his body ached. He was nearly out of breath. His lungs begged him to take a break. His feet could take no more. But fear drove him. He knew he had to hide. He looked ahead. A side of a safe zone that brought tears of joy to his eyes. His underground bunker. The wolf was close. Dangerously close. Suddenly, it lost sight of both the human and his companion. It's searched around. It looked up the trees. It could do nothing but leave in vain. Fred and Greg sighed heavily. Within moments, Fred passed out of tiredness.
Elppa temple, borders of Griseran Forest, Four hundred and fifty three kilometers from Fred's bunker, Raeffonoz, Planet Dehzahk:
"Hey Skarr! What's the status up there?"
"All systems up and running, sir. Connection established with the satellite. Beaming complete. We are now in contact with the base."
"Where's my display at?"
"The second monitor on your right, sir. I've pinged your call. We'll be hearing back from them in Six….. Five…. Four….. Three….. Two….. One….. Connection established; Network secure; Audio and Visual systems check; The base can hear you now, sir."
"Hello comrade! How are things up there?", Rivermont spoke loud and clear from the other side of the screen.
"I miss Earth. I miss home."
"Oh, calm down Ray! It's been, what?…. Three months? Even lesser I believe. All we want is to find survivors of the radiation from the asteroid. Speed up your progress, and you can get back home soon!"
"Easy for you to say from there, Riv. Who's that behind you? Is that Stefan? And… Is that… President Mr. Fox? It's an honor, sir, to finally talk with you!", Ray's legs started trembling. He had never met or talked with the POTUS ever before. He felt heebie-jeebies.
"What's going on, Rivermont? Who is this guy?", enquired the president.
"I'm sorry we hid this from you sir. From both of you actually. But along with the shuttle to Uranus, we had attached a special carrier, "The Vampire" and set it's course to Dehzahk. We found out that the asteroid that collided with the planet emitted huge amounts of radiation. A type of radiation that is directed only towards humans of that planet, a.k.a. Aliens on Dehzahk. If we find any survivors, it will help us in an astronomical as well as medical breakthrough. We were unable to pass up on the opportunity.", replied Rivermont.
"And you did this with the consent of…?", the president's eyes lit in rage and confusion.
"If it's any consolation, sir, I have found one survivor.", Ray was ready to build his image in front of the president. His baby steps worked.
"What are you saying, Mister?"
"Ray, sir. Ray Walter. I fitted the first dog I found on this planet with an eyeball cam. It's eyes are now both our eyes and ears to our Alien survivor. The radiation has now settled down and doesn't affect anyone anymore. So, it doesn't affect me either. As soon as I found this with the help of my bot Skarr here, I set out in search of survivors. That's when I found this guy. I followed him to his bunker. When he set out, I erased the dog's memory of pain from fitting those cameras and left it inside the bunker. I can now monitor each and every move of his now. He calls himself as Fred Guiseas. He has developed a bond with this dog. He's on my screen even now, sir. The dog is licking him to get him out of his sleep."
"Rivermont. Minus five hundred points on the promo book for hiding this mission from me. But since this thing is a success, I'll give both you and Ray a thousand. Ray, come back with our new find and remind me to give you a post somewhere in the cabinet.", the POTUS left Zone Phoenix to the White House.
Stefan stared at the screen. "Ray, buddy. We've known each other since we were thirteen. You hid this mission from me? Was this why I was unable to reach you?"
"I'm sorry Stefan. River made me promise."
"All the best mate! Remind me to give you a treat when you return." Stefan and Rivermont left Zone Phoenix. Stefan shut down Code Fury for time being.
Underground bunker, Griseran forest, Forvirretia, Planet Dehzahk:
Fred woke up. "Stop it Greg.", he said with a smile. "Go fetch me some water, will you?"
Gregory had now learnt to do a few things. Fetching water was one of them. He took a vessel from the shelf at one end of the bunker, dipped it into the bucket of water to fill it and carefully clutching the vessel in his mouth, he bought the vessel to Fred. Not a drop of water had been spilt. "Good boy!"
Fred suddenly heard a pair of boots thudding the forest ground. It was dark. Nine seventeen in the night. He took out his night vision goggles and looked around. He could see a wolf. It hadn't glanced back at him. It was steadily staring at the top of a tree. Fred looked up. His eyes started filling with water. Tears of pure joy and happiness. He was unable to believe his own eyes. What he saw, what he was staring at right now, he felt like a lifetime passed by waiting for such a situation, and here it was.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone