Chapter 95   An evening with a documentary and pizza

"Welcome to the History Channel, this week we're looking at one of the darkest chapters of our modern era."

Nad grinned.

"I'm curious, last week was about the rabbit."

Teheen still looked at her questioningly. Nad grinned.

"Look, you'll learn something."

" Hmph."

The picture changed and there were destroyed areas of land.

"These are pictures..." 

Luke looked at Liz's cell phone, which started buzzing. She picked it up, there was mom on it, picked it up.

"Is absent."

"What do you mean, absent? " Came from Gitte.

" George isn't here so she can do Zen time. "

" Hhmm...."

Luke glanced at the holo-TV.

The echo of footsteps sounded again and he had to say the sound system was good.

"What was that?" came from the cell phone.

" Documentary channel."

"Older generations, describe having worse memories of those footsteps. Even though ..." Luke hung up, looked at Gino, who was looking pale at the holo-TV.

" Gino, what's wrong?"

" The footsteps ... They mean death ..."

On the television, soldiers were marching in columns down a street. Teen stared spellbound at the image.

"When I was researching, everything just led to a group of soldiers who were on duty during the liberation of the First Wave. seemed to be the source of this fear."

Luke took a drag on his cigarette.

" The Omegas " Liz sat bolt upright, staring at the television.

" No one can say for sure." 

The gate buzzed and Luke stood up and walked out. The food delivery man was at the gate.

" Yo Luke, your food from the plague palace. " came from him.

Luke grinned and picked it up.

" I thought I wouldn't get it for half an hour."

"Pffff, they only do that to make Busy look busy. Actually, they do that shit in half an hour and some things are still from the day before."

"Thanks then."

The delivery guy whizzed off and he went in with the bag. They were still staring at the TV. Luke went to the table and took everything out of the bag and put it down, putting the other things away. 

"We found an interview in the archives that hasn't been used yet." 

The picture changed, the quality was old and the date, Luke guessed. Even before the status quo. It was a café, Uther from the BDU was sitting at a table, smoking a cigarette and pouring himself a coffee.

 Sitting at the table with him was a nervous journalist. The low rumble of cannons could be heard in the background.

"They can postpone it too, they knew that. That there's still fighting here?" she said. Luke grinned. Uher's voice could be heard again. Liz looked spellbound. Teheen gave her an irritated look, then Luke. Gino had come closer.

"The devil. " came from him.

The journalist pulled herself together.

"No. It was hard enough getting permission to come here."

Uther sipped his coffee, looked into the cup. Put it down, looked to the side.

" Tell them to burn the coffee here from the camps."

" Uh sir, but..." came a voice from the side.

" Now!" 

Hurried footsteps could be heard. The journalist looked at him in confusion. Uther took a drag on the fag.

"But people here drink that all the time.

"Right, and the health score is 40%, so what was your reason?"

"This is a documentation project, we want to preserve history for future generations and you are the first personality to respond."

"I personality Ha ... that's good," he blew a cloud aside. 

"They are, we've spoken to hundreds of survivors. Their name and that of their soldiers is the most frequently mentioned. "

Uther tipped ashes into his coffee cup.

"Well, for generations. So, what do they want to know? "

" First, because so many say. Your soldiers are marching and the footsteps ..."

Uther grinned.

" Yes, they do, on purpose."

" But why?"

" On the one hand, it attracts the infected, and on the other, it's psychological warfare against the warlords."

" But civilians..."

Uther looked at her.

" Civilians... they don't exist here. These are survivors who have fought hard for their lives. If they want to see civilians, they go to the safe areas. Imagine how they feel when they've survived, when they've built their own little empire, and then? The army is there, huh? "

The reporter fell silent. Uther leaned back and folded his hands.

"There are a lot of people who are glad to finally get out of the rut. Not having to think every day about what they have to do to survive. And then there are those who are glad that the old world has come to an end. That's where we get in the way. "

He took a drag on his cigarette.

"If they had done their homework better, they would have read that the regular troops have the most casualties from the survivors, not the infected. My soldiers are marching so that even the last idiot understands. That their world is coming to an end. I go where the high command says it's too dangerous, it can't be done, etc. etc.... What a joke. "

He let the cigarette disappear into the coffee, looked at her.

"The problem is that those who tell it keep telling it, dramatize it."

" What about the executions?" 

" Security protocol, so that no infected people get into the zones."

" But the research departments working on infected people..."

" Research from a distance"

" But there is the research ship Eklion, which according to insider information has infected people on board."

Uther stared at her icily. 

" In which region? "

The journalist became meek.

"Off the coast of Denmark ..." 

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cell phone, dialed a number, looked at the display. When no one answered.

" You can't be serious ... "

He dialed another number. 

" Want to know who gave Eklion the green light. Really? All of them yes? Out of pure interest, thank you," he hung up and stood up.

"Uh, where are you going? " 

He looked at her with a grin. "Come with me and you'll see. "

The image changed as it was taken from aboard a cruise ship, everything looked deserted, the image panned across the ship, pausing on the reporter and Uther looking at the ship.

"Uhh... Shouldn't there be soldiers here...?" came from the reporter. Uther looked from the ship to her. 

" Do you know why there are regulations for remote research?" 

" No..."

Uther continued.

" Because no one followed the safety regulations. The standard is that exosoldiers take over the guarding or robots. " 

The camera followed them, past blood-smeared portholes. 

"Then everyone here is dead..." came from the reporter in a frightened voice.

Uther stopped in front of an airlock, typed in a code and the lock opened with a squeak.

"Won't you ..."

He pulled an old Dessert Eagle from its holster and opened the door.

What Luke saw was what was taught in the armed forces as the basis for combat techniques against infected in close combat situations. 

It was eerie to see him take out the infected, it looked so easy. The camera follows him through the corridors lined with dead infected.

 They came to the bridge, which looked like a slaughterhouse, Uther executed the infected without comment, walking over to a console and tapping away on it, the image closing in on him, screens were seen showing surveillance cameras, corridors full of infected, judging by uniforms, crew. 

Then a laboratory with open cages. Uther typed something into the console and the screen rewound footage that seemed to reverse the outbreak. He tapped stop, looked at the image. Typed something in.

"What exactly are they doing?" the reporter asked.

 "Finding out the why."

The picture went black and you saw images from the air, you saw the line cruiser bobbing in the water, then it was ripped apart by explosions, then the picture froze.

"Holy shit, he doesn't hesitate for long ," came from Nad. 

The image changed and showed the council chamber, in the middle of which Uther stood before the council with his arms folded behind his back.

"Are you so degenerate that you actually agree to shit like this?" 

"What do you want Uther? Are you the one blowing up a research vessel?" 

Uther spread his arms.

"Exactly, a ship full of infected people." The monitors showed surveillance images of corridors and laboratories teeming with infected people. 

"If you want to explore these things, follow the rules! This," he pointed to the monitor.

"People died because of you, because of what? Huh?"

They fell silent.

The image froze. The journalist's voice rang out.

"Unfortunately, we didn't manage to speak to him afterwards. The research revealed. That he had clashed with the Council more than once and that the Council was never a great supporter of his. "

Pictures and recordings of Uther emerged, showing him in war zones. Or how he made a slug of the Council.

" We never found out who Uther really was. "

One cut and Tes was sitting on the chair in sportswear, looking at the journalist, who seemed somewhat irritated.

"I did..."

Tes smiled.

"I invited him and his wife to a luxury resort and wanted to see who puked all over the helicopter anyway."

The reporter was still looking at her with irritation.

Tes looked at the camera.

"Judging by the pilots, she just puked all over herself the whole way back on the ship. "

The reporter pulled herself together.

"And then when they get here, do you want to interview them?"

Tes seemed to be thinking.

"Hm, who is it about?"

"About her husband?"

Tes looked at her.

"He's getting a documentary? "

"That's planned ..."

" Hhmm " Tes leaned back and clasped his hands together. 

" Good, so what do you want to know? "

" Well, first of all, who are you?"

Tes looked at her.

" Me? I'm Tes, the wife of the man people talk so much about. Mostly nonsense, but they do talk."

" What are you doing with him? "

Tes looked at her.

"What am I doing with him?

Tes tapped his lower lip with his finger. "Sex, as a pillow..."

The journalist rolled her eyes.

"I meant what you do with him professionally?"

Tes raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing at the moment, too many girls in my squad have become pregnant. So I'm roaming around, studying a bit, annoying acquaintances a bit."

"Acquaintances..."

Tes nodded.

"Good, a little less now. Because she's got a paunch. "

" Then you didn't follow the trend?"

Tes leaned back.

" Trend? Pppff people just floated as victory news went through. While the population fucked their brains out. My husband was roaming the catchment area of the north block."

"It sounds like they're..."

"Well, you're not making a documentary? On his behalf, toxic waste areas were cleaned up, nature and wildlife rebuilt. Partner states let him in. There are so many people screaming, the lands are overgrown etc. etc. etc. But the question is, who should live there? They have become accustomed to the metropolitan areas, to the settlements. They howl when they are attacked by mutant animals."

"Why doesn't your husband kill the mutants?"

Tes grinned.

"Because he thinks they have a right to exist. After all, flora and fauna have adapted to the plague and its consequences. "

"Back to your daughter, because never ..."

Tes raised an eyebrow.

" Do you have any pictures of my husband here?" 

" Uh yes ..." 

The reporter gave hand signals and pictures were played on a monitor, Tes looked at them. Then she pointed to Teresa in almost all of them.

"There, almost all of them, so why shouldn't she ever be visible?"

" That's..."

"Yes, she has a master's degree in politics."

"But you never see her face..."

Tes put his head to one side. 

" Hhmm " She took out her cell phone, turned it on, clicked on it. Looked to the side.

"I need a cable..."

" Ma'am, you can also send on monitor," came from the side.

"Hhmm," she clicked again and looked at the monitor. The image of female soldiers with pain-wracked faces appeared, Teresa in a tracksuit standing in their midst. You could see the resemblance between Tes and Uther in their faces.

 "So, here's a picture without the poncho, she took apart the women's squad of the north block. "

"Are they allowed to show pictures of her husband in private? I mean. So far you've only seen him on duty."

Tes grinned and Luke reached in front of his face.

Teheen looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing, we'll see about that. "

Teheen looked at him questioningly, looking at the holo.

Tes clicked on his cell phone. A picture appeared of him running on a treadmill. There were weights on his arms and legs and a thick weight vest.

"Training here." 

The image changed through different training phases. 

"What are those things on him?"

"Weights, he said he needed the challenge and unlike the president, who was more of a lazy sock. "

" But the president is fit, we've all seen him."

Tes waved him off. 

"The President, like most generals, is refreshed, which has pushed his health up."

"And what about Uther?"

"He didn't care about the issue. Hold on."

She clicked around on her cell phone. A video appeared on the screen of Uther sitting in an army canteen with Alex sitting opposite him. Uther had a cigarette in the corner of his mouth tapped against Alex's forehead.

"What were you thinking when that little bastard did that to you?"

Alex leaned back.

"It happened so fast and then..."

Uther blew out a cloud.

"I know what you did afterward."

Alex grinned.

" Why didn't you ever come to the appointment like the others?"

" Appointment for?"

" Genetic refresher Uther, will save our ass from the infected."

Uther looked at him.

"The only thing it takes away is you getting infected. If a mob catches you anyway, you'll be as dead as before. "

"You'll stay young and healthy longer."

Uther lifted the coffee and the cigarette.

" Here, this keeps me young and fit. Cigarette and coffee."

" Oh come on ..." 

Tes stopped the video.

"To get the president to finally shut up, he had an injection, but he's one of the candidates for whom it never worked. So no, he's not genetically refreshed in that sense. "

"And what about them?"

Tes looked at her.

" Why? I'd rather be old and have my husband than young and a widow."

" But they can ..."

Tes looked at her sternly.

" I'm perfectly happy with my husband. Do you know how difficult it is to find someone who balances you out completely? Very difficult. For all the blasphemers, yes, I've read your rumors. Uther is a workaholic. Whenever I'm not around to distract him with something, invite friends over etc he's working. The women who scream the loudest in the media have seen him from afar and that's it. They were the closest and what did he do?"

"Uh... Just talking on the phone or writing something on his laptop or..."

Tes grinned.

"But you have to say, he's very distant towards people." "He and..."

She called up pictures of Uther. In one, he was sitting at a poker table with Alex, Will and other officers. Then one of him standing in the ruins of L.A., with burnt Hollywood signs in the background. One where he was carrying a sleeping Teresa in his arms. Then one where he is surrounded by Buddhist monks in the Himelya. A pool where he was pushed in by a hunky Swede and redhead. 

"They're even better here." 

Picture of Uther kneeling before the queen and her placing a sword on his shoulder. Another picture that showed Uther wearing a thick Alex. 

"Putting aside the fact that he's only been dealing with people who are aggressive or antisocial lately, yes. But he can be more charismatic than the president."

" Examples? " 

" Population of St. Petersburg is the best example and then "

a picture of Uther in St. Petersburg appeared, standing among people.

A commercial break came on. 

"She's quite fond of her husband, though," came from Teheen. 

Liz nodded.

"A few guys have tried to get her, but failed straight away. I think the umpteenth man she liked, apart from Uther, was Luke."

"Is that true?" Teheen asked, looking from him to her. Liz nodded. 

"She could always control him."

"Hmm and how?" 

Liz looked at her.

"She held him to her breast like she's always done since he was a baby. But" Liz continued to look at her.

"You..."

The commercial ended and Tes was back on screen. The journalist looked exhausted. 

"I'm sorry," came from her.

Tes nodded.

"It's all right, but are you sure you can finish this? I mean, you're pregnant."

The reporter nodded.

" Okay, so where were we?"

" You were talking about your husband."

Tes grinned.

" Right, well. I have a teleporter too. "

"Teleporter? Like in the movies?"

" Hhmm yes, something like that, it's still in its infancy. Would you like me to demonstrate it?"

 The reporter wanted to say something, but Tes ignored her, tapped something on her bracelet, it flashed brightly and the image flickered.

Teheen frowned. 

Uther stood in the room, towel wrapped around his waist, looking at Tes.

"Remember I told you it uses the energy of seven nuclear power plants?"

Tes grinned, walked towards him and pressed against him.

"What would have happened if I had brought you here five minutes earlier?" 

" I was in the shower then..." 

Tes grinned. 

Luke looked at Uther's upper body, which was completely covered in scars.

The reporter cleared her throat and Uther looked at her.

"Oh, the reporter, I hope my wife didn't do too much."

"No. But what did your wife mean by teleporting..."

Uther tied the towel around his waist.

"Well, that's what you mean, a body is transported to another place."

"But didn't you say that such a thing is not possible... I mean with a soul etc..." 

Teheen looked intently at the holoprojection.

"I would also like to know where this technology comes from."

Uther grinned.

" I have plundered the laboratories of all the former governments of Earth, passed on everything that is suitable for mass production, kept the crap. "

He walked over to the chair took a fag from the reporter and sat down. 

"So you've been hoarding? "

He lit the fag.

" No, there's nothing left of it at the moment. It's all been taken apart and put into other technology we have. The thing that most things fail is the energy. The energy cores were a big step, but that will eventually end up as mass waste."

"So any of us can teleport? And..." 

Uther took a drag on the fag.

"Someday yes, now no, I salvaged this from an alien shipwreck. " He raised three fingers.

"After that there were 3 possibilities, 5 actually, since the ship is defective. The first, the object is broken down into its atoms, transported to its destination and reassembled. "

He took a pull on the butt.

"That's what's seen in the movies and discussion with soul comes here. In addition to the energy issue, there's the data storage. All the data of the object must be stored, then calculation of location etc. Deviation and object is merged with ground or object. Is more suitable for transportation from object to fixed coordinates. "

He blew out a cloud. He raised his second finger. 

"Second option, object is bound and transported in energy field, less storage but more energy. You don't realize where you land. The energy field eats it up. "

He raised his third finger.

"Third option, a mini portal opens where the object falls or moves. Eats up even more energy and data storage. "

He ashed into an ashtray.

Teheen stared at the holo in silence.

 He raised his fourth finger.

"It's in the genetic code, the creature can then teleport to where it knows the location pi by thumbs. And only a certain range. "

Luke heard a crunch beside him, saw teheen clench his teeth.

Uther raised his fifth finger. 

"And last resort, you reach such a high status through evolution that you can teleport at will. "

"But ... "

Uther waved it off, took a drag on the fag.

" Take a look at the Bible or other religious writings or some scifi or fantasy stuff. So in short, a god-like being. "

The journalist was irritated.

Uther grinned.

"You believe in God? I mean, you've never seen them together in a place of worship. " 

Uther looked at her.

"Of course I believe in something higher, it's not for nothing that there is freedom of religion in the North Block, every religion has suffered in the plague and all believers have been put to the test. None is better or worse than the others. Let's move away from our planet, there are religions there too, so you can't say that it's only like that here and" he pointed at Tes, who was snuggling up to him.

"Something like the laws of nature? Very difficult." 

Tes looked at him. She seemed to be thinking about something.

"There's been a lot of rumors since they've been here. You and other women..." came from the journalist. 

Uther looked at Tes. 

"You have other women? " 

" She means you."

He looked at the reporter.

" No, just something with her cousin. "

Luke rubbed his nose.

The reporter looked at him for a long time. Typing something into her tablet, a picture appeared on the TV of Tes in a club, with another woman. Where she resembled Tes in the face, had twice as much bust, was drinking to compete. 

Uther looked at the TV and took a drag on his cigarette. 

"The cheese monarch?" 

" If you ignore the winemaking, yes. " 

"But the two of them are supposed to be hated rivals." 

Tes grinned. 

Pictures appeared showing Tes arguing with the monarch. 

Uther looked at the pictures.

" Well just boredom, let's get back to the previous topic. "

"Okay, but only briefly, because we got a lot of comments. They claimed that since they were no longer in the North Block forces... " she began.

Uther looked at her.

"There was nothing left for me to do there," he rolled the cigarette between his fingers and looked at her. 

"But. South America and Africa ... "

Uther looked at her from the cigarette.

"People can live in both, quite well in fact, but they have to play by the rules. They can get safely to any settlement that has a corporate headquarters or secure areas in both with fixed transportation routes."

" But they are areas managed by their corporation. "

He grinned. 

"Without the corporation there would be nothing there, just warlords and infected, pure anarchy," came from Liz, who was staring spellbound at the holo. 

Uther took a drag on the fag.

"My point is, if I wasn't there, there wouldn't be any consumer goods left that the population would consider normal, and I mean the world population, not just the North Block." 

He tapped the table.

" I had to switch 80% to automate because of the reproduction swing and have the north block rebuild robots thrown on scrap. So before anyone comes and acts up. I haven't seen anyone from the free states or north block doing relief work there, running schools, retirement homes etc etc. I give local people jobs, welfare, the opportunity to move up and escape to glorious states," the last part was very tongue in cheek. 

He blew out a cloud.

"For example, the energy cores that are used everywhere come from there."

The reporter looked at him. 

" Ah teleporters, but can't that work with the energy cores too?"

" No. We are able to make spaceships fly in fractions of a second. To be able to get from our star system to another, we have to have more energy to get to the psychic limit, otherwise we have generation ships, etc. "

"Didn't you say you were a wreck..."

He took a drag on the fag, nodded. 

"Of course there was good information too, but there are pieces missing. Minerals that we don't have. Take the drive, for example, which is simple in principle. In practice, it fails because we can't achieve the same stability with our minerals. You need to be able to cope with the energy output."

Teheen grabbed Luke.

"Nad said you've already reached the quality."

"The recording is old."

She looked at him, then at the holo.

"So we'll never be able to go into space?"

Uther grinned.

"Not at the moment, and we still have too much to do here. Something like this is expensive, which means Earth has to be under a government and there has to be a planetary mission. The ships have to be manned by people who see themselves as inhabitants of Earth and not of an ideological territory."

"Well, if you're being completely hypocritical, you could say they're stopping people from doing that."

Uther took a drag on his cigarette.

"If you look at the Earth from space and see where we are. We're the lowest province. To the creatures out there, we're primitive."

He tipped the ash into the ashtray.

"But, could then ..."

"No. Our planet is lucky in the sense that we're far out of the way, we're not economically viable, we have no strategic value. Do you seriously think that the creatures out there don't tick like we do? Arrogance, greed, envy, hatred. "

Teheen continued to stare. 

"Suppose a superpower suddenly takes an interest and comes here. What would humanity do? "

He blew out a cloud. 

"They pick on the weakest, manipulate them for their own interests and turn them against others. We've done no different with primitive peoples."

"Then why aren't we..."

" The planet has been categorized as a Level 3 Contaminated Planet and our species as Primitive, but with potential for improvement. "

"That means?"

"If we die from the infection, an orbital cleansing will be performed and recolonized. Otherwise, they wait until we are able to trade, to talk to major representatives. And talk I mean we talk to them and not through third parties and apart from that we are lucky to have civilized neighbors and no regime of radio silence there. "

Teheen looked at Luke.

"What does he mean by radio silence?"

Luke cocked his head to the side, thinking.

"The weak are wiped out directly by the strong."

"Hm..." came from her.

He took a drag on the fag.

"So our planet is still contaminated, the population is divided and divided, the economy is lacking, not to mention immune systems for other planets, translation devices to speak of. Actually, at least 100 years until we can think outside the box. But since there are always those in a hurry who want to try before then. Go ahead. "

"You don't want to stop them?" 

Uther grinned.

" No."

The roar of engines could be heard. Armored soldiers soon appeared in the picture. Terror was written all over the reporter's face. She turned pale as a very large soldier came in, a mountain of armor.

Tes looked at him.

"Otto! You've grown again!"

Only a grunt came from him, holding a bundle of clothes in an armored hand that looked tiny. 

Teheen looked at Liz.

"Who's that?"

Liz seemed to be thinking. Teheen looked at Luke.

" Otto was a follower of the 1 squad. Tes said he was always afraid he'd ruin everything. "

The image changed and showed John sitting in a chair, more uncomfortable.

"You're making a documentary about the weirdo?" came from John.

The reporter sat in the other chair.

" Yes, of all the great personalities."

John sighed. 

"What does she want from me?"

"Just what they can and will say about him?"

John looked at her.

"Well, if I could dispense with my personal grudge against him."

"Grudge?"

" Yes. He's my enigma. A bully who doesn't give a damn about what happens, as everyone has noticed. Infected? Pah! Peanuts, warlords? Pff, did he tell them he'd march his bloodhounds and make people shit their pants? "

The journalist nodded. 

"Just put it another way..."

John waved her off.

"It's the same thing, he's the reason people think the military is doing it."

"What else are they supposed to say about him?"

John looked at her.

"He's an asshole, that's all. If he wasn't such good friends with Kaiser, we'd be living in a police state right now. Compared to that, the tyrant states of the past are a joke. "

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

John looked at her.

"In your research, what did you notice about the numbers in his assigned sectors?"

" No crime..."

John waved it off.

" Peanuts, people just didn't dare. I've seen reports that even the sickest psychopaths were afraid of him, and I'm talking about the real tough nuts. Best example, the pseudo-regent of Berlin."

"I experienced him, I was there as a survivor." 

"Then you know what a shithole it was. Uther left it to Kaiser, except for one thing."

She looked at him expectantly.

"Well, as you know, the Regent got pretty freaked out towards the end."

She nodded.

"Yes. He became paranoid and saw enemies everywhere."

"From what I understand, Uther threatened to put a head between the Regent's legs every day. Which he did, every day, even on the day of the conquest. All close associates of the regent. Our coroners have examined the bodies. They say the victims all died the same way."

"Which way?"

"He tore their heads off, with such force that they couldn't even react. He tore off their heads, put them between his legs. Entered the city. When Kaiser asked him why, he just said. He told the regent and the city was full of holes anyway. Which turned out to be true in retrospect. "

"Then the president has a lot of influence over him?"

John laughed.

"He ... Influence him? Girl No one can influence Uther. "

"But what about the claims that his wife ..."

" Oh his wife, she's no better than him and she's tame with him. She's a psychopath!!! and if you hear this later. You are one!!! Do you know what you did to me by dragging Betinna to yoga!!!? Huh? Tes?! I have to do this shit because of you!!!" 

He was getting more serious.

"Fuck it, it's healthy! It's only because of you that I'm in more pain than complete breakout time!"

The picture changed and showed Jannet sitting on a chair, heavily pregnant. The journalist looked exhausted.

"You don't look well?" came from her. 

" Too many have canceled, you're the last one who wants to talk about Uther, the president said no interest..."

Jannet nodded.

"Well, it's a touchy subject, to him Uther is a friend."

"And you?"

"Well, since I met him late in life, I can't share the experiences of the others. "

"Okay, how did you get to know him?"

Jannet thought about it and folded his hands.

"When he came to Area 51 with the President, he would have executed me on the spot if I had done anything to the President and I was wearing an exo-suit. Aside from the fact that he looted Area 51..."

"So he's dangerous?" 

"Well, he's always in the field with his troops, not like others who just sit on base. He's an active fighter yes."

"Then what's the other side like?"

" From a billionaire, so the attitude. "

" What do you mean?"

Jannet sighed.

" Your first interview with him was in a café, wasn't it?"

" That's right ..."

" If you put commanders in offices, then Uther is a café where he sits and drinks coffee like it's Saturday lunchtime. No matter what bad things people have said about him so far, he's never tried to claim the world for himself. Alex... I mean the president said to me. That Uther attracts everyone's hatred. The free nations hate him, most of the Council does too."

" We were witnesses when he was there about the ship. "

" That's right, after that he made a mess of the president. You have to think of it this way, the North Block is the people's refuge. Where they can start over, no matter where they come from. Not a fascist state that wants to conquer the world."

"But haven't we conquered?"

" True, but only the territories that were not occupied by the free nations. "

The image flickered, then a picture appeared of Uther sitting on a tar terrace overlooking Hawaii. The reporter sat in another chair, clearly aged. 

" Hhmm that's pretty new..." came from Luke, Liz looked at him.

"What makes you think that? " 

"The buildings in the background."

" Hhmm..." 

The reporter coughed. 

" Thank you for fulfilling my last wish and allowing me to finish my project."

Uther blew out a cloud.

" Of course, after all these years. What's burning on your mind?"

"Why they did it and then just left, leaving the others in the spotlight ..."

Uther smiled.

"Look at the city behind them, when this shit started, no one believed it. That we could have something like this again, even when the second outbreak happened. Zack back in panic mode. "

Luke mused, this sounded familiar, he went white as a sheet.

Teheen looked at him scrutinizingly.

"I did it because I could and so we could have a better world. Politics isn't my thing, so I stayed out of it as much as I could. Just spoke my mind when they messed up. Which they often did. "

He took a drag on the fag. 

"But they're portrayed so negatively in the history books, even though their group accomplished so much."

" True, but I don't care. The legacy I will leave behind will remain. "

A shout rings out, the camera turns hastily, you can see a young Luke being thrown to the mat by Tes.

"Come on, you've been neglecting training." 

His younger self scrambled to his feet, ran at Tes and attacked. What amazed Luke the most was the quality of the camera, he could see every bruise on his body.

He grabbed his face. 

The camera panned to Uther.

" Family, you see. Over the years, my family has grown bit by bit. "

"Tes, please don't!" came from his younger self. 

The camera panned back. 

Until the image froze, showing Tes pressing his head against himself. Then the picture switched to pause.

Luke stood up and walked to the table with the food.

"Let's start with the food then. " 

They looked at him.

The TV picture appeared again, a shaky shot showing T's back. 

Luke looked at it.

"Where's that?" asked Nad.

"More like where that was... that was the corporate headquarters before they moved to Hawaii," came from Luke. Liz looked at him.

"How do you know that?" 

" You weren't the only one who had to go to Omega training. "

" I did it voluntarily." 

Luke looked at the TV.

" I had to."

Liz looked at him.

" Ah, so you were almost undercover, according to John."

" Ha. He talked himself into that. He got a mission order to send me somewhere. "

He pointed at the picture. The corridors were sterile white, occasionally decorated with plants. 

"But still, why were you at headquarters, the training center was somewhere else. "

Luke went to the stove where Gino had shoved the pizza and Lassange.

"The facility was already dismantled."

Gino stared at him.

"You're ..." 

Luke took a drag on his fag.

" I'm the ehamlige Pr mascot of the corporation yes, also the main killer of the corporation. "

The image changed to a view of a huge hall, where a gigantic army of armored soldiers stood in perfect rows, the back of Uther could be seen stepping up to the railing. A steady echo of soldiers standing at attention rang out. 

Uther looked at the soldiers with an emotionless face.

"Back then, when the world won the victory over the infected, they said. You are no longer needed! We! We! will provide security."

His voice echoed darkly.

"And what have they done? They've become lazy and decadent! Now they're not even capable of protecting a country! Not even a city!"

"What the... " Liz began.

The image panned to the ranks of soldiers looking up with full helmets. 

"The world is sinking into the shit it's brought on itself! Remedy? Ha! They only made it worse, they said they could control it!"

An eerie silence fell. 

"Let's march! Make these idiots remember who we are! Remember where their place is on this planet! "

Teheen looked at Luke.

"They look different from what I've seen."

" That was Uther's main squad, 100% soldiers loyal to him..." came from Liz.

"Uh-huh..." came the reply. She looked at Luke.

"How good?"

Luke pondered.

"Better than me, if you want a comparison. One of them has about the same combat potential as seven elite guardsmen." 

" Hhmmm" She looked at the picture again.

Silence fell.

"The new ones are supposed to be tougher, faster and more robust. What are we supposed to do with them?"

A sea of voices rang out. And only one word was heard: " Destroy." 

It sounded sinister. 

"No infected will be spared! I don't give a damn what he was before. What family he has left alive! Understood?" 

A collective "YES" rang out."

"Good, let's get started! Let's go!"

The image showed the soldiers turning and marching off in synchronization, images of heavy war equipment being driven into vans, exo-suits being loaded. Uther reached for the camera.

"You go too, make sure nothing happens to the family." 

"Understood father," it sounded, a poncho flew over the railing. 

The image changed, several scenes from the air showed Uther's soldiers destroying swarms, marching past wagons of survivors or scattered soldiers. It showed the unpleasant, cold truth that the world was not ready and had no chance. Simply the cold reality of the unfiltered cruelty that was the second outbreak.

Images of Omega soldiers slaughtering their way through hordes of infected, freeing trapped soldiers or civilians. 

Their footsteps always echoed as they marched silently and inexorably towards the infected.

Teheen's eyes were wide open, staring at the images. 

The last scene was Vienna, you could see normal soldiers from the north block standing around loosely, Uther standing with the bodies in the main square and an officer came up to him.

"Sir, we're in trouble, we lost a platoon trying to clear the underground. Because of the secondary shelters."

Uther looked at him.

" Fall back with the ones that are still alive, we'll take over. "

" Thank you sir, what do you want me to tell high command? "

" Whatever is said, it has been resolved. Who actually screwed up here?"

"Eh, sir, I think it was Sarge."

Uther looked at the bodies in silence. 

"Burn them." 

"But sir, we have orders ..."

"Burn!"

He reached for a skull, which began to bite.

"It had infected in it, so..."

The officer stared at the skull. 

"The bodies in the square! Infected contact!" 

Uther put his head back and reached for the radio.

"We're going under the city!"

The last images showed screaming infected in claustrophobically narrow corridors, rushing towards armored soldiers. 

Then Uther again on the terrace with the journalist. 

"But they are portrayed so negatively in the history books, even though their group achieved so much."

"That's right, but I don't care. The legacy I leave behind remains. " 

The program ended with this sentence. 

Teheen stared spellbound at the television. Nad too. 

Luke took the pizza and lassange out of the oven and put them on the table. He opened the order packaging.

"Gino?" 

He blinked, looked at him, then at the food. He came closer and looked at the delivery. 

"This is what you got from my restaurant?" 

" Yep." 

" Gina come here!"

She came in silence. 

He took a fork and tasted it. Let her go.

" Grandpa what is it?" 

" Try it ..."

Gina did, chewed and looked at him questioningly.

" Tastes the same as always." 

Nad came closer, grimacing when she saw the lassange of the delivery.

"Whoa, Luke, why did you order that. That looks better," she pointed at the homemade. 

"I know it's better, Abdul told me when I used to get dragged to Yussuf's. That Gino is a great cook. Better than him or Yussuf. Do you understand why I asked you if you'd tasted it yourself?"

Gino stared at him, then at the lassange. Teheen appeared next to Luke, pulled up his shirt, inspected his back. Nad took a slice of pizza, chewed on it.

"Teheen, is there a reason you're looking at his back?"

Teheen looked at her.

"Yes. I want to know why this back is so similar to the other one and yet so different."

Nad smiled.

"Because Luke was young then?" 

Teheen looked at her, looked at Luke.

" Yup. That was me when I was a student. "

She cocked her head to the side. 

"And why did you let yourself get pushed around like that?"

Luke picked up a fork, took some of the homemade lassange and popped it in her mouth.

"Well, that was at the beginning of the second outbreak, when we were brought here to Hawaii and my family was allowed to supervise my training."

"I see," she chewed on the lassange and looked at Gino.

"It tastes better than the one at the store, why?" 

Gino looked at her.

"Because I cooked it ..." 

Teheen pulled a crystal out of her pocket and typed something in.

"Good, then who made it yesterday?" 

Gino looked at Gina.

"Alfredo the chef..." 

Teheen typed diligently and put the crystal back in her pocket. 

" What did they do? " 

Teheen grinned.

"Wiped out his career in the future." She grabbed a slice of pizza and bit into it while looking at Luke.

"It's better than the one we ordered." 

" Then eat. "

She looked at him.

"You're up to something again ..." 

Gino sat down on a chair. 

Liz looked at him questioningly.

"Gino, what's going on? A bit of work and your store will be up and running again. "

"No. Gina married Alfonso and worked her way up. He owns the store. " 

He looked at Gina.

"We're leaving." 

He got up and left, Gina following him in silence. Luke led her out and went back into the house. Changed his clothes, went jogging and swimming. When he came back, they were lying on the sofa. There was nothing left of the meal except what they had ordered. Luke sighed, threw it in the bin, cleaned up. Looked in the fridge, which was very empty, took the keys and went shopping. Bought himself a hot dog which he washed down with a Pepsi.