On a warm day in July, two men sat on an old wooden dock fishing. It was just like the good ole days. The sun was shimmering down on the lake and shining beautifully on the trees that lined the lake shore. The birds chirped and some fish caused ripples across the otherwise still lake. It brought back memories of all of the other times they had gone.  The times where they would sit out until well past midnight and see the expanse of stars and galaxies. It truly was a beautiful place.
“Wow, this place brings back memories.” His father said slowly
“Yeah, it sure does. Especially that time you lost your favorite pole.” Duke laughed
His father laughed, “That was my favorite.” He said staring at the water.

"You know, if we had been fishing the new way, you wouldn’t have lost it that day, dad.” He responded sarcastically

"I know. I like the old way and even if that means I’ll lose a pole here and there." His dad sighed

"You do catch a lot more fish the new way though, which I find more fun." Duke sighed

"You don't really get the time to sit back and shoot the breeze with your old man though." He said through a smile “And you don’t even have time to crack open a VD cola.”
The older man opened up his cooler and passed Duke one. “It’s still your favorite, right?”
Duke smiled, “Ya, it still is.”

The clouds blocked the sun and the calm water produced such a beautiful painting of the trees and heavens above. His father stared intently at the beautiful scene on the water below, while Duke's gaze soared upward to the sky.

"You know son, it's amazing to think that the world has unified in such a short amount of time." The older man said

"Yeah, it is truly amazing." Duke said with a smile

"It is a good thing but giving such power to a small group is still a scary thought." His dad spoke with concern in his voice

"Why do you always have such a fear or anxiety towards the World Council? It seems like every time I come here, it always comes to this anymore…" Duke said

"Because, absolute power.." His father began

"I know, I know. It 'corrupts absolutely' but you don't know the council like I do." Duke scoffed.

"So does that mean you have made your decision?" His dad asked

"Yes, yes I have. I have decided to join the TAA and become a pilot" Duke boasted adamantly. 

"I see." His dad said stoically and continued looking out on the water.

They both sat quietly next to each other, neither making a sound or looking at one another. Only the sound of the clicks from a reel could be heard. It was a topic that had driven them apart on so many similar occasions.
Duke stood up and started to walk toward the shore.

He paused and said, "I leave tomorrow for the Foundation."

He stood there for a few moments and began to walk again.

"Son," his father said

Duke continued walking and his father’s words were swallowed by the silence all around them.

______

Duke woke up with a start. He put his face into his hands. “Dad,” He said.
As he became more aware, he began to notice the monitors on his arms and the infusion tube.

"Where am I?" He asked 

"You are in the hospital Mr. Bailey." A voice said to his left.

He looked to where the voice came from and there stood a nurse.

"How long have I been here?" He asked

"You've been here for about a week." She said softly.

He looked around and then noticed the television. It had the black orbs plastered across the screen. He tried jumping out of bed.

"Razor." He said as his legs gave out and he fell flat on his face. "Razor," he said softly.

"Mr. Bailey! Doctors!" The nurse exclaimed. 

The doctors rushed in and got Duke back up on the bed. A few other men came in and restrained him to the bed.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Bailey but we have to do this... there are simply too many people here to have to repeatedly restrain you. Please calm yourself." The doctor expressed coldly

Duke tried seeing the television through the crowd of people around him. As the doctors and other men moved away from him, the reporter came on and began to speak.

"Can you please turn the tv up nurse?" Duke asked

"Sure." She said sadly.

"can see behind me, the orbs appear to be holding above the ocean. Crews from around the world have reported similar scenes." The scenes on the screen changed to bodies of water from across the globe.

"There must be millions of those things.." Duke said quietly.

"The orbs do not appear to be dangerous. Scientists have been studying them but have not come up with any answers about their origin or intentions."

"Not dangerous." Duke scoffed. 

A woman in a full dress uniform walked into the room.

"I'm glad you're awake, Duke. I'm so sorry about Razor."

"Ma'am." Duke tried raising his hand to the side of his head, his eyes sunken with the news

"No need to worry about formalities. What can you tell me about those things?" She asked

"They ripped through our I-5 like it was nothing. That's all I know really." He said 

"That's unfortunate." She sighed

The reporter on the screen began yelling, "The orbs are moving closer to the water's surface. They... they are.." The water underneath began shooting into the orbs. "They are sucking up the water!" 

Images from around the world flashed across the screen. Water was flowing upward into all of the orbs. The reporter stood there in shock as he watched one of the most precious resources of the planet being stolen. Four I-5s roared past him and fired tungsten rounds straight at the closest orbs. The reporter ducked and the rounds hit the objects. The water below the orbs fell to the ocean below.
“Did we stop them?” The reporter asked as explosions rocked and threw him to the ground. The four I-5’s exploded in a fiery mess and the feed cut to black. The words “Signal lost,” sprawled across the screen. It cut back to the news desk, and the anchor sat there shaking and without any words it cut to commercial.