Afterglow

Chapter 5 - Answer

Mr. Hawk is indeed a seasoned professional who knows what he's doing. When it comes to how to assist me during a mission or in war, he has put in a lot of practice time. One of the things he has put in practice is tending to me if I am injured.

It was Father's intention that Mr. Hawk would become my lifelong companion. Dad made certain that Mr. Hawk is capable of assisting me with a variety of assignments, regardless of the danger they may entail.

And, as a result of Mr. Hawk's complete healing of my bleeding ear, the ringing in my ears has disappeared as well. In addition, the dizziness I'd been experiencing earlier has disappeared as well.

"Thank you, Mr. Hawk," I said, to which Mr. Hawk responded with a screech almost immediately. "It turns out that I'm not wasting my time here after all."

I pushed myself up from the wooden chair I was seated on. When I realized that my garments were once again covered in dust, I just groaned and began to remove some of them.

Mr. Hawk screeches as he flies to the other side of the wooden chair, presumably to inquire as to what has happened.

"Hmmm... what happened?" I said a s I reflected on what had just occurred, I went deafeningly quiet.

I'm not sure if I should tell Mr. Hawk the truth or not. I'm confident that I'll be a laughing stock in his presence. Mr. Hawk has a knack for knowing exactly when to push my buttons. He has his own set of characteristics, one of which is particularly irritating to me.

"It's a trap that has been set here so that when someone comes here, they would be quickly killed," I explained in response to Mr. Hawk's question based on the facts at hand.

Mr. Hawk's screeches again, this time in a strange way, reminding me that I had fallen into a trap while completely unaware of it. His screeches made me massage my temples.

"Is it really that important? This thing blew up and I was hurt, so it's over now!" I burst out furiously, enraged at Mr. Hawk, who is now screeching as if he was laughing at my outburst.

Before shaking my head, I let out a sigh. This is complete bullshit. We're squandering our time by being here. Given the fact that the White Steorras' bomb had previously exploded, it was reasonable to assume that this location had served as a White Steorra hideout.

The fact that this location has remained deserted for months, if not years, indicates that they planted the explosive because it still contains traces or other types of information that I can use to piece together a piece of extremely important information about the White Steorras' movements or activities.

"Mr. Hawk, let's not waste any more time on this discussion. There was something we didn't notice. Is there a corner? Is it possible that there is a little compartment?" I stated before taking a peek around the basement. "Mr. Hawk, let us do another search. We are not leaving this abandoned house until we see something that we can use."

Mr. Hawk has just responded to me with his shrieking once more, agreeing that we should not spend our time, but I am aware that he is still up to his old tricks. As he flaps his wings, he elevates himself in the air.

"Move up. Mr. Hawk, do a thorough search of every nook and cranny. Make use of all you have to look for clues. Heat sensor, ultraviolet light, or even an x-ray. Go!" Mr. Hawk promptly responded with a nod before soaring up the stairwell and leaving me alone in the basement.

"Now, now. Come to think of it " I murmur to myself as I take a look around the cluttered basement. "Since they were using the entire house as a hideout, why would they only put an explosive here if Mr. Hawk and I had already investigated the place and did not face other explosive."

It's possible that they're concealing anything else as well. That there is nothing to be found above, and that the only thing to be found is here in the basement.

I smirked as I raise my left wrist to press a button on my watch that releases some small cross-shaped saucers before pressing a circular button that is sticking to my skin at the back of my right ear.

I can now see what my saucers are seeing since the visual field that my saucers are viewing is now in my eyes. It's due of the contact lenses that we, Steorras, wear on a regular basis. It was when I pressed the button behind my right ear that the saucers' camera was enabled, which is what I'm seeing now in my eyes.

"Initiate search mode," I said before the ten saucers in front of me began to move on their own volition.

All I can do at this point is wait. Even if I appear to be lazy by using the saucers while I am not working, these drones are worthless if they are not in use. After all, they are more than just some drones. They are also connected to my thoughts, which makes the drones more efficient when they are being utilized to collect data.

They act in accordance with whatever I'm thinking. They move as if they are interested in what I am thinking as well as I am. They are the ones who will discover the solution to the question I posed.

I groan before opting to take another seat in the middle of the basement while the saucers throughout the entire basement take their time moving about the area where I'm now sitting.

I only had to wait a few minutes before one of my drones spotted a crumpled piece of paper with some information on it and the name Dr. Williamson, which I recognized.

"Doctor Williamson?" I said this before getting to my feet and walking in the direction of the drone that had discovered the crumpled piece of paper.

I approached the drone and used its metal hands to pick up a piece of paper before the drone flew out under the table and handed it to me. The paper I hold

"All right, why would a doctor's name be on a location where the White Steorras are hiding?" I said before turning on the light on my watch and putting the crumpled piece of paper above the table.

The document only contains a little amount of information concerning tests with different persons and their DNA. Dr. Williamson is the one who is in charge of facilitating the tests, and all of the humans who are taking part in them are aware of what is going on. It displays the probability of being linked with something they named Project Splice in percentage terms.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I realize that what I've just learned maybe a hint to something. Apparently, there isn't any other explanation for why an earthling Doctor would become engaged with the White Steorras. Because the White Steorras never attempted to conceal their identities, I would assume that this Doctor Williamson has already experienced firsthand how the White Steorras act themselves in difficult situations.

We, the Steorras, are benevolent beings who have existed since the time of the Ancient Steorras' unexpected disappearance. We don't resort to violence in our daily lives. If we desire something, we communicate calmly and efficiently to get it. We don't have any lawbreakers on our planet as a result of this. When a Steorra is in need, we assist them without regard to the resources we will be sacrificing in the process.

However, following the division of all Steorras, the White Steorras have lost control over the process. It was only after some Steorra began to believe that it was not only the Ancient Steorras who possessed the powers they were granting to our planet that violence was brought into the picture. Some of those who shared this belief are now members of the White Steorras, which explains why the White Steorras are all driven by a desire for power as well.

The Steorras who are now known as the White Steorras are no longer considered to be the inhabitants of Steorra Planet in the eyes of the Black Steorras. We, the Steorra people, are deeply concerned with the preservation of life, and hence murdering was never our way. In spite of the fact that the White Steorras have already slain a large number of our own species, their actions and cruelty in not caring about the lives they have taken have inevitably sentenced them to become the official fugitive of our planet.

The only thing that makes me nervous is if this Doctor Williamson is still alive at some point. Due to the fact that, if this earthling is already deceased, I'm afraid there is nothing else I can obtain other than this piece of paper. I am convinced that discovering his name on this piece of paper signifies something, particularly given the fact that the sheet of white paper I am holding has information regarding tests.

This is the only piece of information I have, therefore I must get it back and send it to my father in order for it to be more clearly identified and search through. I only wish it contained knowledge that would allow the Black Steorras to make a move against the White Steorras.

While I would like to brag about the Black Steorras' forces, the truth is that we have begun to be completely clueless as to what the White Steorras' next moves are. They have been rather calm this year, and the number of attacks has decreased. Only that their presence on Earth continues to grow without putting up a fight, which seems strange to us at this point.

We are the ones who are in charge of protecting the planet. The Black Steorra battleship is located in the exosphere, which is the outermost layer of the Earth's atmosphere. For months, we stood guard, deflecting every attack launched against us by the White Steorras fleet. And even if we are successful in saving Earth from the catastrophic devastation that the White Steorras have inflicted on us, there have already been reports of White Steorras entering Earth without our awareness.