Guardians Of The Deep - Part II

GUARDIANS OF THE DEEP - Part II

Rona was walking through the hall with her breakfast tray from the cafeteria when John and Ned entered. Ned kept in step with John, but turned his head with eyes glued to Rona’s form strolling through the corridor. Amused, John watched Ned walk right past him and through the open door of the chief’s office. Ned turned his head just as he was about to smack into Mr. Unger’s desk.

“Well, Agent Young! What brings you to my desk so early in the morning?”

Before Ned could fumble with an explanation, John hurried in and pulled Ned away, saying, “Sorry, Chief, but we found the papers, so there’s no need to drag you into it. Problem is solved!” To Ned he said, “Let’s go before we’re late for the briefing.”

In unison, John and Ned blurted out, “See you later, chief.”

Mr. Unger just shook his head and slammed his office door shut.

The briefing was scheduled for 10 that morning in the chalkboard room, so John and Ned grabbed some coffee and donuts in the cafeteria before the meeting.

“That was a close call, you jerk,” said John as he sat at the nearest table. Ned followed along carrying his own tray.

“I can’t believe I did that. I don’t even like Rona, but she is something to look at.”

John smacked his friend’s shoulder in agreement, but then teased, “You don’t have to get carried away. And for God’s sake, behave yourself in the meeting room later. Maybe, we will get our assignments today.”

Rona sat on top of a student desk in the back of the room. There was a group of about 15 male agents and recruits in attendance that morning. At the front of the room was special agent, Timmons, a veteran of many years in service to the Federation. He had served his time with plenty of action, but now he was desk bound. He could have retired from service gracefully, but he never married and had no one to share his remaining years. He was a balding, stocky, but well muscled specimen of a man. You would hardly guess that he was over 70 years old. He had no outside interests. His whole life centered on his life long work. There were good times and bad times when the main objective of preserving life and property for the welfare of mankind and the nations of the world was jeopardized by treachery and dissent. Perseverance and loyal workers like Timmons came through to save the day time and time again. When he was offered a choice of staying on as the overseer of new recruits and chief instructor of assignments, he jumped at the opportunity.


Timmons was pointing to various red circles on a large map and marking notes on the blackboard. The room thinned out as each man was given his assignment, or told to report for the next meeting. The others were instructed where to go whether it was for a new project or to report for schooling in a specialized field. The agents who received project assignments were usually ushered into private rooms for final tech talks and given orders regarding exactly where they will be going in order to keep security at a premium even among their own agents. It wasn’t unusual for them to travel to another state or country, but they knew their project would be underwater. Agents, John Travers and Ned Young sat at the front, but only Ned was called forward and handed material containing his instructions. Rona had already been selected for a Pacific Ocean assignment at a similar meeting, a week earlier, but final orders were not given to her yet.

Rona smiled at John as they all left the room. She admired his handsome dark complexion and dark brown eyes. Sudden thoughts of, 'Wouldn’t we make a striking pair? Me with my red hair and milk white skin and he….' She dismissed the thoughts in mid sentence. Instead she waved, and then remarked “I’ll see you boys at the next meeting.”

Ned bounced back, “Well, I’ll probably not be around much longer. I just received my assignment this morning. I’m waiting for final orders as to where I will be going.

Forcing herself not to roll her eyes, since she was at the same meeting, too, Rona chimed in “That’s OK. I may get my orders soon, too. Good luck, wherever your adventure takes you.”

On their way to Headquarters a couple of day later, Ned told John about his final orders.

“I’m going to be part of a team scheduled to scour areas for looting and sabotage in and around a major portion of Narrow Island. I’ll be off on the mission in a couple of days."

The subject was a sore spot for John. He wondered why he didn’t get an assignment like that. The Island had finally sunk a few years back. Some sections were at the bottom of the ocean floor, and some parts were on the ocean shelf.

“It’s ironic that you got that assignment, Ned. I was born on that Island in Solfork County in the town of Solden, which was east of the Island.” Then the words flowed from his lips.

”I had a happy childhood with parents who loved me. They sent me off to college, and I lived on campus until my graduation. I came home whenever I could during holidays and vacations. After graduation, I got my own apartment in the city to make it easier to seek employment. With the chronic rising of the waters over the years on the Island, I tried to convince my parents to accept the government’s monetary offer to rent or purchase a home off the Island, but they refused and persisted in staying in their own modest home practically to the very end.

It took over 20 years for Narrow Island to sink and break away as far west as Hacksville. The rest of the boroughs in the Metropolis were left intact. For years, there was a steady exodus of people leaving their homes because the Island was slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean. The waters rose higher and higher. Countless millions were evacuated to other parts of the country and some even left the country for refuge abroad. Many people applied for emergency aid and for loans.

Finally, one day when it became obvious that my stubborn parents would not leave their home, emergency workers evicted them, and they didn’t wait for permission. The rescue workers hoisted them over their shoulders and took them out of the house to a waiting boat. Had they remained behind, they would have drowned inside the house.”

At this point, Ned and John arrived at Headquarters and headed straight to the Cafeteria for breakfast. After settling down at a table stocked with egg sandwiches and hot coffee, Ned inquired, “So what happened to your parents after the rescuers took them away?"

“Oh, they’re fine", John answered. “My parents were soon settled into a semi-retirement home. They are in their middle 80s now. Actually, they were sent to one of those assisted living apartments where seniors, feeble of age, but witty in mind could still fend for themselves and socialize. All that they needed was meals and medical supplies delivered to them. Caring personnel look in on them frequently. They have transportation to and fro to shopping malls, doctors, entertainment, and much more. The grounds have all the amenities that they desired, such as a meeting hall, an exercise room, a massage parlor, a beauty salon, and whatever was necessary for their comfort.”

Ned and John finished their breakfast and parted for the day’s work. John headed for the exercise room first, picked up the morning’s paper and read about the progress with the new lottery.

It was common knowledge throughout the earth that some of the very rich all around the world started investing their money in a lottery that would help finance the building of a great city in the sky. It was to be the first of many such cities to be built in the years to come. The Federation had smaller space stations scattered in space above the earth, where they held meetings and conventions from time to time. This endeavor, however, would be the supreme undertaking of all the powerful nations in the world. It would be a choice of life vastly different than that on earth. That would be a good thing if the predictions cosmologists and other experts held proved to be correct and one day the earth would not be suitable for life.

The winning ticket holders would have the first selections for apartments and job opportunities in the space city. Construction was already in progress, although it would be many years before the work was completed. By then, many who had bought the lottery tickets would have passed on. The Federation of Nations evenly shared this giant undertaking. Each country would announce the winning numbers on a monthly basis. The names and credentials of the winners would be documented and passed down to a surviving family member should the original winner become deceased. The lucky winners and their families would someday be the first colony of pilgrims to make their homes in space.


Now you can read part III "Guardians Of The Deep - Part III"