Rescue Mission to the Stars Page 3

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  Across from the space port, in a small apartment building, a tall swarthy man with brown eyes that were filled with the despair sat at a table, also sitting there were five other men all of various colourings but there for a similar reason. That by coming to Earth and following whatever orders might be given to them they would enhance the lifestyle of their families.

  They were led by a commander based many miles away, who communicated to them in code via the internet. Up to a couple of months ago, he had wanted them to report on the people of planet Earth, about their cultures and beliefs and of their technological progress in all of the sciences. When the proposed flight of the Blazer Explorer into deepest space had first made the headlines, their masters had decided that now was not the time for such a flight to be made. It would have come too close to their troubled world, and just two months after the uprising had been put down by the rulers of their world. For such a planet as Earth to reach Mazere at this period in Mazeren history, especially from a culture with a history of freedom for all, well it might well prove explosive amongst those people of Mazere who were not so free. Therefore, he had called his operatives together from across the globe to work on this one project, a project that had already killed at least one man.

  This small group of espionage agents lived together in this small apartment, which offered a good view of the spaceport, and even if it was a little noisy, it was ideal for their present aims. They were talking over their past successes and failures, and planning their next attack on the Blazer Explorer, and the people associated with it.

  “Our commander has given us just one order, and that order is to ensure that the Blazer Explorer does not set out on its next mission. Three times now, we have attempted to stop the starship from leaving this planet to explore the area of space that is so dangerously close to our own world. We have tried to kill the captain of the starship and its owner, but both men still live. The captain was saved by the actions of another while the owner was saved due to circumstances beyond our control. Today we saw our latest attempt fail. Our brave friend was to board the starship and destroy the ship`s engines with a bomb, unfortunately he was unable to do so. Our next attempt must not fail, our commander has an informant at the spaceport who has told him that they have already arranged for replacement parts to be delivered to the spaceport, to replace those that were damaged in the explosion, and that the ship is still scheduled to take off on time, we must prevent this. We will target both John Blazer and Richard Charlton at a location of our own choosing, and this time we will not fail, listen carefully for our commander has given us the ideal time and location to ensure that we succeed.”

  Rohr Javari looked at the six other men sat around him, their attention centred on him alone, for he was the man chosen by their commander to lead this team of assassins on their mission of death. He was tall and slim with black hair slicked back and brown eyes, his nose was crooked, it had been broken when he had been much younger and never set back just right. He also had a neatly trimmed beard, which he had grown especially for the mission. In his breast pocket was a photograph of his young family, taken the moment before they entered their new house, which was the day before he left for Earth. His happiness at the thought of them living their new life was dampened by the thought that in all likelihood he would never see any of them ever again.

  Next to him was Leor Amharic, he was the team’s explosives expert; he was also a Nadir, a holy man. He was the tallest of the group with a beard that fringed his chin and a neat moustache, his eyes can only be described as beady, that became mere slits; he now spoke the thoughts of the other men with him.

  “We must succeed in this endeavour my friends, for to allow the barbarians of this primitive planet to come to our world would be to betray our families, even our own deaths would be more acceptable than that.”

  Amharic was the odd man out in this team for he was the only one who had made a success of his life, but an accident earlier in his life caused by a Non Citizen of his world had taken his family from him. Unknown to Javari and the others he passionately believed that all inferior beings should be kept in their place, and severely punished if they ever thought about leaving it. This was his reason for being on Earth, for he firmly believed that it was his duty to stop any of this world`s beliefs from contaminating his own world. When the rulers of Mazere had made their decision regarding the Blazer Explorer, he had begged to be the one to bring the order to Earth, just so that he could participate in the undertaking. His was the complete opposite view to the other members of his group, for by their actions they all hoped to be able to win a better lifestyle for their families. Their families who would all be living the life of Non Citizens on Mazeren now, if they had not agreed to come to Earth and follow whatever orders were given to them. They also knew that their families could all too easily lose their new status should they not follow any of their commander’s orders.