“Who do you represent?” President Derlin asked.
“Many. Likely most of those you can think of, if not all.”
Derlin nodded in understanding. It seed this was inevitable, a tide he could not stem.
Seeing that Derlin was beginning to grasp the situation, General Monroe finally revealed his offer: “Mr. President, after your term ends, the military would like to hire you as a political consultant. Our structure greatly lacks soone of your caliber. At that ti, you might continue your leadership journey elsewhere.”
The offer was tempting, but Derlin wondered if it was poisoned. Regardless, he had little choice but to accept.
“General Monroe, what did you an earlier by the right timing?”
“All you need to do is wait. When the ti cos, you’ll understand,” General Monroe said cryptically, a faint smile breaking through his stern expression. “You’ll like it. It will even solve a major problem you’re currently facing. Consider it a gift from us.”
Though Monroe’s expression was sowhat unsettling, Derlin didn’t press further. He stood and extended his hand.
“Pleasure working together.”
Their hands clasped firmly over the desk.
“Pleasure working together.”
Ti flew, and six months passed in a blur. Initially, President Derlin anticipated the promised opportunity daily, eager to uncover the source of General Monroe’s confidence.
However, months of calm followed. Nothing resembling a breakthrough occurred.
If not for subtle hints from his secretary, Ram, confirming Monroe’s visit that day, Derlin might have thought it was all a dream.
As ti wore on, his curiosity diminished.
The Riken had a ho planet and three major colonies, with a total population exceeding 20 billion. As the nominal supre leader, Derlin’s workload was imnse.
Recently, the Trinbrian District’s escalating provocations had severely disrupted his daily life and work, leaving him perpetually overwheld.
Surprises often co unannounced—or in this case, shocks.
A small asteroid, three kiloters in diater, inexplicably evaded layers of defense and monitoring systems. By the ti it was detected, it was already within 300,000 kiloters of the ho planet.
At that distance, it could close in almost instantaneously.
Before the Riken leadership could get out of bed and reach the war room, the asteroid entered the atmosphere. The resulting fiery blaze was visible across an entire hemisphere.
The military scrambled to intercept it. However, the suddenness of the incident left only limited forces within range. Streaks of red light shot into the sky as small-caliber anti-aircraft weaponry chipped away at the asteroid’s surface, inflicting minimal damage.
While the ho planet had orbital defense systems, these energy-intensive weapons required significant ti to charge. The unexpected nature of the event rendered them useless.
Under normal circumstances, with the Riken’s advanced observational technology, an asteroid like this would have been detected billions of kiloters away. Its trajectory would have been calculated, and defenses prepared well in advance.
But this asteroid was detected far too late, leaving most defensive asures unavailable.
As experts sat down to discuss the environntal impact of detonating a nuclear bomb in the atmosphere, the asteroid pierced through and barreled toward the surface with overwhelming montum.
The military activated ergency protocols, bypassing all approval processes. Several special operations teams were deployed, launching over a dozen man-portable tactical nuclear missiles at the asteroid.
Amid deafening explosions, the sky seed to sprout additional suns. The remaining two kiloters of the asteroid’s core were successfully shattered.
Most of the asteroid’s structure fragnted into hundreds of pieces, creating a teor shower. Many fragnts were too small to pose any threat.
However, a portion of the asteroid, approximately 500 ters in diater, comprised a tallic core further tempered by intense heat. This section struck the ground with devastating force.
The impact ripped the earth apart, sending dust soaring skyward. A mushroom cloud rose into the air, and the shockwave ravaged an area over 100 kiloters wide.
“Rest assured, Mr. President. Security levels here have been raised to the maximum. All surveillance devices are offline. Even if you were to run around naked, no information would leak,” General Monroe said calmly, watching President Derlin inspect the office for hidden caras.
“Are you insane?” Derlin roared, leaning close to Monroe and hissing through clenched teeth.
The incident had multiplied his workload overnight—coordinating relief efforts, investigating the cause, and addressing the dia. It was a nightmare.
Yet Monroe had suddenly appeared to ask if he liked their “gift.”
Derlin wanted to shout, “Like hell I do!” but the sheer audacity of these lunatics made him hold his tongue. At the sa ti, he finally understood what Monroe ant by “opportunity.”
These madn had obliterated the Trinbrian District—the cesspool of cri and corruption that had been his worst headache—using an asteroid. Half an hour earlier, it had been reduced to history.
Initially, Derlin truly believed it was an accident and secretly felt overjoyed. But Monroe’s words revealed the truth—it was deliberate.
When Derlin first heard this, he thought it was an April Fool’s joke. But Monroe’s deadpan expression made it hard to dismiss as such.
“You weren’t worried about hitting the wrong place?”
“No,” Monroe replied confidently. “The entire operation was ticulously calculated. The asteroid’s selection, modification, flight speed, entry angle, and the detonation sites were all monitored. Even the weather conditions were simulated hundreds of tis using supercomputers to ensure success.”
“Mr. President, you should be pleased with this gift. We’ve solved a major problem for you.”
In so ways, Monroe wasn’t wrong. But while one problem had been resolved, it created a far greater one.
This incident had irreversibly tied Derlin to their cause. If he refused to align with them, he might find himself scapegoated for the entire plan by morning.
Evidence, witnesses, and testimony would conveniently surface, leaving him defenseless.
Derlin couldn’t say whether cooperating with these madn was the right choice, but he no longer had a choice.
“What happens next?” Derlin asked, dejected.
“Just carry on as usual. Everything will fall into place. Rember, we have many allies. Everyone will contribute,” Monroe said, gesturing a wide circle with his hands.
“Let’s hope so.”
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