Chapter 17 – The Council [Part 2]

“He doesn’t look all that impressive” An elderly woman whispers to the other six and President as they all watch the hologram of the waiting room.

“If he wasn’t in uniform you wouldn’t think he was even apart of the military.” A woman, daughter of the elderly says.

“Are you losing your touch Mr President?” a younger man asks insincerely.

Waving his hand the President shuts down the younger man’s terminal, excluding him from the conversation that they were having.

“Why do we have that man?” the fourth member of the council, again male but seemingly middle aged, asks.

“He…knows people.” The fifth, wearing a golden mask that blocks everything except his eyes from view answers with a rough voice.

“He needs to be put in line.” The sixth and last, but equally as important as the others state.

Waving his hand again the younger man’s image re-appears in the meeting.

“Bring him to the meeting room” The President tells the guard waiting in his room.

“Sir!” the man replies and moves immediately out.

“The meeting will convene again in fifteen minutes” the president states then turns to face the younger man’s projection, “And you” he says steadily, “Don’t do that again,” before waving his hand to shut down all terminals, concluding their semi gathering.

Alone in his room The President swirls on his chair to see out and below at the City of Noiizia. Before he came into power the Leadership was extremely rocky. Too many people put up resistance for any change, both for the better and for the worse. The leadership was in a gridlock where nothing was being done and the rich were only getting bigger whilst everybody else were getting smaller.

His rise to power was a hard fought battle, one that involved many threats, many deaths and many attempted assassinations. The first generation he governed was the hardest, but it got easier as each new generation came. Force conscription to the military for 5 years was something that helped his rule, once you join the military you learn things, you see things that no civilian would. It changed people, it made the majority of people think alike.

Not many people knew what the city was like before his rule. Not many people were still alive from that time. The President was approaching his 330th birthday. He had past the average life span of the Aeternus, and he knew that he wasn’t going to be alive for that much longer. Each day he felt weaker, each day he felt tireder.

Four of the six members upon the council knew what it was like though, and those four were The President’s most loyal followers. The two others though, they were young, young in comparison, but still old if you were to compare it to the life span of the first humans.

The younger woman was nothing more than an immature girl in the president’s eyes, she was nothing he worried about. He could tell the she was after his seat, but he could also tell that she wouldn’t get it until he passed. Her mother wouldn’t let her. However the woman was learning quickly, she was almost competent enough to take his role. She was the most logical person to pass control over to.

However the younger male had him worried. He was an upstart man who avoided the compulsory 5 year military service. Those who avoided military service were usually despised by the populace, generally kicked out of the country, but not this man. He instead had the favour of a large selection of them.

How he gained this favour The President had some small inkling to it, but he had nothing concrete. To prove to the people that they were a democracy he had to let him into the council, forcing one of his own to retire earlier then he would have liked.

Turning back to his desk he watches the last few minutes of the conversation between The Zulu and his daughter, Delia. He had been training her since she was just a girl, training her to take his place. Never letting her have a moment of peace, always teaching her, caring for her when her mother, his wife past.

Pausing it at the moment she yells he unconsciously smiles, being reminded of two things. The first is that with her auburn hair colour, green eyes and her slim physique she looks very much like her late mother, his late wife. The second is the falling out that they had.

All that he had done for her, she had thrown it away. All that training, all that knowledge, she refused to use it to help him. Instead she chose to stay in the military after the five years. Seeing her mad when he is not ultimately made him happy.

Waving his hand the terminals re-alights, five of the six council members are there and waiting.

“Where is he?” the middle aged man asks, irritated at the absence.

Looking at the clock the president stays silent, he had activated the terminals 30 seconds early and so refrains from commenting.

“Hello” the young man appears with a second to spare, carrying a mug with some hot beverage in it. Obviously trying to irritate The President.

“What are you doing?” the daughter asks.

“Enjoying a nice cup of coffee” the man replies sipping it.

“Put that away” the elderly woman demands “The Zulu is almost there”

Eyeing the elderly woman he takes another long sip before placing it down out of view.

A miniature projection of those in the meeting room soon appears upon the table. Its position made so that the Council had a diagonal downward view of the Zulu.

“Welcome” The Middle aged man states with a slight smile “I hope the wait was not too long”

The Zulu stays quiet at the welcome, instead choosing to just look around the room that he and Delia are in.

“I am sorry that it is so dark” the young man says, “but it is a security precaution of sorts…As you refuse to give up your weapons.”

Still looking around the dark room “You cannot fool me” The Zulu says “If you will not meet me in person then we will not have a meeting” He states turning and leaving immediately.

Pressing a button on his table “Bring the Zulu to my office” the President states before releasing it and turning back to the council.

“So he too…can see in…the dark.” The man in the masks speaks out, sounding hoarse.

“It appears so.” The sixth member replies.

“Do we really need him?” the Daughter asks.

“I don’t see why we do,” the young man says “He isn’t all that impressive.”

“You two know history.” The elderly responds “Don’t ask senseless questions.”

“Senseless?” the young man replies “All I see is one man, skilled in destroying, but just one man”

“Gather in my office” The President says to them before again waving his hand, shutting down the terminals.

Bringing up his keyboard he types Zulu into it.

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He sighs at seeing the result upon the display screens. The Zulu was in the system. Removing the blackening out effect of anything that directly states the unit has been something he has tried and failed to do for a long time.

He had grabbed files that were military only, reclassified the system; changed the programing language that all of Noiizia’s technology ran off and yet still failed. Nothing that they had was secure. The Zulu has them in his hands and yet the daughter and young man do not realise this.

“Fools” the president says quietly to himself

“Fools?” The masked member of the council repeats walking into the office.

Looking up at him “You know who I mean.”

Taking the closest seat on the left wall “The Daughter…and that i…diot”

“They don’t see how much a threat the Zulu is.”

“They…are young.” His voice sounding raspy.

“Don’t strain yourself”

“Hmmmm” the man nods.

Giving out a sigh “Do you remember the last Zulu.”

“How can I…Forget”

“Sorry” the president apologizes “I still find it amazing that you survived.”

“She…wasn’t aft…er me.”

“Either way when we first met her none of us would have thought she would do that.”

The man nods and stays silent.

“I still remember her eyes as she went into this tower.” Shivering without meaning to “Red, bright blood red, but dark at the same time.”

“I…Still have Night…mares”

“I still don’t understand why she let this tower stand when she destroyed the other two”

“Nor…Do I. “

“I don’t want a repeat of that.” He sighs “If we can somehow control this Zulu’s moveme”

“Zulus” the man interrupts “…can’t be con…trolled.”

“You know what I mean.” The President responds “This one seems a decade younger than the last one, he seems less experienced, and I had thought him to be easier to deal with,” resting his head against the palm of his hand “but now I think he may be more trouble than we’re prepared for.”

“Good afternoon Mr President, Sir” the daughter says, entering with her mother.

“When was the last time we all gathered for one person.” The elderly woman asks quietly taking a seat next to the masked member whilst her daughter stands next to her.

“You remember very well when the last time was.” The President answers.

“It’s…Ironic…in a way”

“Ironic?” the daughter asks.

“The last time we gathered was for the previous Zulu.” The woman smiles at it “Before she went mad.”

“Why do we not be rid of him then?” the young man asks talking to the last two members as they enter.

“For almost two and half centuries there has been no traces of a Zulu.” The middle aged man speaks out taking a seat on the right wall, closest to the president. “If we do that what would the other Zulu’s do to us.”

“And we don’t know how these Zulus work.” The Sixth member says as he limps to take the last seat next to the middles aged man, ultimately making the young man stand next to him.

“You are the one who failed to bind him to our cause Mr President” the young man mutters “I would not have.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying” The middle aged man says back loudly “You weren’t there when the last Zulu appeared.”

“I do not believe in those stories that you as a group have made up.” The young man leans against the wall “Everyone else believes them because they are blinded by you all.”

“Zulus are…Dangerous…That is not…a lie.”

“We have an army. One that is both large and strong. We need not fear him.”

“So you would have him killed?” The sixth man speaks out

“I’m not a coward like The President. I do not fear one man.”

“Then how would you deal with the other Zulus, if and when they appear.”

“That will not happen.” The young man says full of stupid confidence.

“And how do you know that?” the daughter asks. “The President is taking the right precautions. The Zulu is a threat to us all.”

“Quiet!” the President demands making them all go silent as he looks upon the screen to find that the Zulu was at the Door.

Pressing a button “Send him in.”

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A/N

I hate using the word “tireder” but I had to get a word that rhymed with “weaker”, just didn’t feel right otherwise.

So who is the real bad guy? Mwahahaha, Remember in people’s own mind, they are always right. A man would never say that he is evil, hence in this chapter I tried to make it out that The President is a good guy. Did i succeed?