Four Years Later
Indoraptor Year 1277, May, Gaia Prima...
In the Ludvik residence, Raizex was filing his work papers when his dad came into the agent's room without knocking.
"Good morning, my son! Any news from your girlfriend as of late?"
"Hmm?" Raizex lifted his gaze from the unfinished documents.
The agent found his dad's current habit of interrupting his work displeasing. Farrell coughed and repeated his question, "I was wondering whether you have proposed marriage to your girlfriend or not. How is she, by the way? I haven't seen you hanging out with her for years now."
"No, sorry."
"What was her name again?"
"It's Lyra, and she's no longer my love interest."
Those papers could wait, Raizex thought as he shifted on his chair to see his dad face to face. "The truth is, we've stopped seeing each other in the eye ever since Year 1275. Apparently, my sweetheart… or should I say, my former sweetheart, had fallen in love with some other guy in Lemuria. From then on, I guess you could say we are no longer a couple," Raizex told his tale, much to Farrell's mirth.
Oh well, Farrell reflected, it seemed that years of serving in the Union's intelligence agency, as well as participating in a handful of interspecies conflicts, had taken its toll on his son. Upon coming back from that slave liberation mission at the disgraceful mollusks' empire, Raizex had been more sullen than usual. Scars and bruise marks lined the usually immaculate scales of the young Indoraptor. Eh, no, perhaps calling him young wasn't appropriate anymore; in a month, Raizex would be celebrating his twenty-seventh birthday. He might choose to continue working in the intelligence agency, but judging from Raizex's own confession, he wanted to quit and find another job, preferably somewhere close to home.
"I think you need to stay away from those papers, my boy. Why don't we go out and have a little R&R?"
"Sure, I could use some fresh air anyway," Raizex replied, getting up from his chair to snatch his brown field jacket, "Maybe the Green Pine Memorial Park would be a good place for our conversation?"
Farrell nodded. The Green Pine Memorial Park was a spacious public space where the Indoraptor Union built a lot of memorial plaques to honor those who fell in the war against the Sylvon Assembly of Akantorin. A restaurant or a coffee shop could've served as a good spot for this awkward father-and-son bonding, but on a personal level, Raizex felt the memorial park would be more appropriate.
The streets were noticeable busier than usual, Raizex noted. He was slightly intrigued upon learning that some aliens were present on Gaia Prima; they were most likely tourists, judging from their excited conversations with the local Indoraptors. As far as Raizex could tell, news channels on TV hadn't mentioned the likelihood of Gaia Prima receiving alien immigrants anytime soon, whether by individuals or by the hundreds, although several channels did discuss the possible benefits and detriments of letting aliens live alongside the hybrid dinosaurs.
The park wasn't located too far away from the Ludvik residence. Contrary to Agent Ludvik's expectation, the memorial park was somewhat crowded. Groups of aging Indoraptors could be seen paying their respects to the fallen soldiers, either alone or with their grieving families. Certain memorial plaques were decorated by fragrant flower bouquets left behind by whoever mourned the fallen.
One plaque bore a name on it.
Vion Hyperion, a loyal soldier, and a beloved friend.
"Damn… It'd be nice if I bought a bouquet for this one…"
"What's that, my boy?"
"Nothing," the agent avoided his father's gaze, not wanting to speak about the war. Thankfully, he overheard three familiar voices which distracted him from his father.
"Alright, gentlemen, we are now entering the Green Pine Memorial Park, built in honor of brave Indoraptors who lost their lives defending the sovereignty of the Union. This plot of land was originally going to be turned into a commercial zone, but we already have a lot of shops here and the public wants an open space where we can hang out in the open and have something to remember the fallen, and so the memorial park was born!" That had to be Lea talking to some visitors, the agent was certain.
"Ah, a wise decision on the developers' part!" Now came a synthetic voice which oddly felt pleasant.
"So it means this park is actually a national park? As in, this place is looked after directly by your government?" The third voice must've belonged to a Human.
"Correct! But most of the money required to keep the park clean comes from donations."
True enough, when Raizex approached the communing people, he could identify his friend Lea, his Human associate Commander Liam O'Brian, and the Human-made AI Unit 47. Was Lea working as a tour guide today? The other Indoraptor's bright clothing seemed to confirm Raizex's thought. He could see Liam wearing a black leather jacket, a plain grey shirt, a pair of blue pants, and dark brown boots with zippers. The humanoid AI, on the other hand, dressed in a formal office attire that was so immaculately tidy he could be mistaken as a company CEO; even his wingtips were shiny and well-polished.
Lea spotted Raizex almost right away. With a hand wave and whistle, the other Indoraptor jogged closer to his longtime partner and gave him a fist bump. "Hey! I never thought you'd be here too! Sorry about these two, by the way; our Republic buddies here need a guide and I'm the only one who's familiar with them, so why not?" He then turned to see Farrell and greeted him as well, "Hello, Professor Ludvik! It's a pleasure to see you today. Would you like me to introduce my charges? This is Liam O'Brian, a Field Commander from the Human Republic's Space Navy, and this is his AI friend, Abraham."
"Greetings, Agent Ludvik, Professor Ludvik. My earlier designation was Unit 47, but ever since the establishment of the AI Rights Concord in the Republic Space, I've requested to legally rename myself as Abraham."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Abraham!" Farrell shook the AI's metallic hand, "You may call me Farrell, but 'professor' is also fine."
"Very well, professor."
"So, what are you two doing here?" Raizex's dad asked.
"We are currently here as tourists, Professor Ludvik. Now that our respective governments have officially established bilateral relationships, both Earth and Gaia Prima have seen quite a lot of tourism-based business. We decided to pay a visit to your home planet during our shore leave if only to get to know more about our fire-forged friends," Abraham explained, "Also, for your information, the Sylvon's corrupt Assembly has been legitimately dissolved and replaced by a parliamentary government composed of multiple political parties."
"Plus, we get to see dinosaurs up close!" Liam exclaimed, "I mean, with all our technological advancement, we still couldn't properly clone extinct animals, and then here we are, on a planet where dinosaurs are still around for people to see…"
"Heh, I appreciate your enthusiasm, Commander O'Brian, but these creatures were actually cloned by people who looked very similar to you Humans. They were here millions of years ago, but then they disappeared, but then they return to the world. Who knows, maybe those long-lost primates really were Humans themselves, seeded by some primordial alien race from deep space, but don't quote me on that!" Farrell quickly explained while holding his hands up. His son nudged him with his tail.
"Heh, I hope you're not overwhelmed with this guy…" Raizex commented, looking at his friend.
"Eh, don't worry about it! I may not be a teacher, but I know the tips and tricks to be a tour guide, even for one day!" Lea smugly added.
He then looked at his watch and said "Pardon me, but I've got errands to run. Do you mind if I leave these two with you?" At Lea's remark, Raizex nodded and led the Human and his recently-named AI partner to a picnic table in the park while the other Indoraptor excused himself away from the group. During the brief walk, the soon-to-be-former agent looked down and noticed how O'Brian walked stiffly, seemingly unable to move his right leg as smoothly as the other leg.
A long-lasting wartime injury, perhaps?
Interested, Raizex asked the Human commander as soon as the group settled down on the picnic table, "O'Brian, I saw you having difficulty walking around. I didn't notice before, but now that I see it…"
"If you are wondering whether he was injured and or crippled after the war, then the answer is yes, Agent Ludvik," Abraham the AI nodded immediately.
Liam didn't need to be told; a sideways glance from his synthetic friend was all it took for the Human to start unzipping his right boot and rolled his pant leg up, revealing a prosthesis made of aluminum where his organic leg should've been. Farrell and Raizex whistled in astonishment at the sight of the metallic prosthetic leg, which must've cost the commander a lot of money to purchase. "Good God, my man…"
"Yeah, I know it's kind of a big surprise to you guys, but… Okay, the story goes like this; years after the fall of the Sylvon Assembly, black market dealers from various races began to spring up, selling either dangerous stuff stolen from the Assembly's now-defunct factories or services like cross-species prostitution and child trafficking. One day, my team was raiding a space station where alien children were being sold as sex slaves in some random space night club. Doors were hacked or kicked down, glass shattered, people got killed or arrested, you know the drill. Eventually, we cornered the 'kingpin', as we called the shady club owner, inside his office. I led two of my team members to breach the room and arrest the guy, but alas, the target had already booby-trapped the whole place with mines. My soldiers escaped with nothing more than cuts and small burns while I took the brunt of the explosion."
The AI spoke following Liam's explanation, "We managed to evacuate the commander to safety after the mission was over. The situation was dire; Commander O'Brian fell unconscious and was losing blood fast and if we failed to provide first aid immediately, he would have died. Fast forward two weeks later, after the capture of the club kingpin, O'Brian regained consciousness. He woke up feeling a sensation of being prickled and prodded at his leg, only to witness firsthand that the bothered leg was amputated just above the knee."
"Oof…" was all the agent could say.
"I know right?" Liam snickered, "I've known quite a lot of war veterans who lost their arm or leg in the line of duty, but I've never thought I'd be one of them."
"Are you going to continue serving in the front line?" Raizex's dad asked while glancing at the prosthesis once more.
"No, professor. I'm planning to train at least three successors to take up my mantle. It won't be instantaneous, however; the training can take up to two years, maybe even three years. As for me, I plan on opening a garage where I could fix cars and whatnot."
"Yes, the commander here has a fascination toward exotic vehicles. I will instead return to one of the Republic's colonies and help the locals set up a stable wireless internet connection, or perhaps a laboratory" Abraham explained as he watched Liam put his boot on, hiding the mechanical leg from view. Raizex admittedly hadn't been planning about his own retirement despite his claims of wanting to do something new for a change. He liked writing both fiction and non-fiction short stories, but would it be enough to sustain himself until later? He also knew how to fix computers and radios, having just enough experience to be a mechanic, but would he be able to work in formal settings like an office or a factory? Maybe it'd be better if Raizex stuck with informal jobs that he could do wherever and whenever he wanted.
An hour passed as Liam and Abraham told tales of the Republic's successes and failures, the development of new colonies, as well as the search for new habitable planets and sapient civilizations, with the occasional commentary from Raizex's dad whenever appropriate. Currently, both the Union and Republic claimed ownership of seven extraterrestrial colonies and over four dozen space stations scattered across their respective territories. The other three species' developments were following close behind.
"My, how time flies! I think we've been talking for an hour now!" Abraham exclaimed upon checking his PDA. With a nod from the commander, the two visitors excused themselves from the park, promising to come back sometime later with more stories, and if possible, gifts from the other Earth. How generous of them, Raizex considered.
A brush on his side suddenly reminded the agent of a particular object he kept in his pocket.
"O'Brian!"
"Yes?"
"I want you to have this. Think of it as a gift," Raizex pulled out a circular object from his jacket and handed it to the Human.
"The White Lotus relic!" Both Liam and his AI friend recognized the item Raizex gave them.
"No, it's just a copy of the real thing. The actual relic now resides in a museum in England, my England to be precise. But several years ago, before I handed over the relic to the authorities, I was tinkering with the White Lotus and its contents, wondering if I can create a duplicate of it just in case the relic was stolen or broken. I think it'll do better being in your hands instead of just sitting around in my house."
"Oh wow, I don't know what to say…" Liam couldn't express his feelings, but the Indoraptor shook his head regardless. "You don't have to thank me, really. Take care of the object, will you?"
A knowing look from him convinced the Human and the AI that Raizex meant it. The White Lotus duplicate was theirs to bring back home.
"Alright, then. Stay safe, Agent Ludvik. Hopefully, we'll meet again."
"You too, commander, and Abraham."
And with a nod of appreciation, the Indoraptor family and the two Republic citizens parted ways, hoping that one day they'd be able to meet again to share more tales, preferably with their other longtime allies.
FIN
