The Vanguard

by Jeffrey Ellis

  “Wife? That’s a bit forward isn’t it?” she said.

  “It is,” he said and reach forward to kiss her and she returned his advance with her own. "My duties are many and I am not often given the luxury of spare time, so it might be a long courtship. Assuming you’ll have me, of course,” he said as they stopped kissing.

  “I will,” she said as they embraced again. “You are still infuriating.”

  “There you go again. I am not infuriating. I am Captain Arthur,” he said with a smug grin.

  “Shut up...just shut up,” she told him and kissed him again.

  #

  Sebastian and Chelsea sat in the C&C looking at the monitor. They were having a video conference with President Yassim, High Lord Alicia and General Morrison.

  “Are you sure you’re on board with this General? It seems unusual coming from GloCom. You’re not usually one to put people you once called glorified mercenaries in a position of critical importance. Do you really feel we need this?” asked President Yassim.

  “I think it’s necessary now. We have these god damned fey creatures showing up more and more often and we have groups like the ALF using magic. The world changed on us when that fucking Seal was broken. Our enemies aren’t playing by the old rules and dammit if we can afford to any longer. Have you read the reports, Madame President? The dead are walking the streets of Amsterdam and the city is lost along with several others in similar situations. We had a terrorist attack against the UniGov building in Rio perpetrated by humans with unnaturally augmented abilities shooting fire out of their hands and that wasn’t an isolated incident. We have fey suddenly supercharged all over the place. The world has changed, and we have to change with it,” General Morrison replied.

  “High Lord Alecia, what are your thoughts?” President Yassim asked.

  “When the General first approached me with the idea, I refused outright. The Wardens are and always have been a solitary group. We handle the things that require...special handling. That has served us well since our inception. He’s right though. That was the past and the world changed whether we wanted it to or not. We saw in Syracuse how well we can work together and making that cooperation permanent as a new unit is a good idea. Combining GloCom’s superior numbers and heavier hardware with our special training and skillset is needed.” replied High Lord Alecia.

  “I’m not sure. Coordinator Sebastian, this falls on your shoulders to implement if I green light it. What do you think?” the President asked him.

  “I’m in a rare position to see this from both sides. I’ve served with GloCom and I’ve served with the Wardens. When the High Lord told me what she and the General were planning, I was very much surprised. I thought it over and discussed it with my advisers and we agree it’s the right thing to do,” Coordinator Sebastian replied.

  “I’ve given this some thought already as well. I will green-light this, but there will be some conditions. The proposals submitted by both the Wardens and GloCom were well laid out. The transfer of several units of the special tactics units from GloCom will be immediate. The General has chosen groups he thinks will be a good fit. First, Coordinator Sebastian, this will be completely under your command and you will report directly to me for now. Once we’ve established the unit and proved your need, you’ll report to the Wardens as a special division answering to the Directorate but otherwise outside of the normal command structure. Your supplies, gear and other needs will still be supplied by the Wardens and GloCom. I want you to have sole discretion in recruitment and I will fast track anyone you want on your team. You’ve shown good judgment in the past,” the President said then paused waiting for the backlash.

  “Now wait one damn minute, Madame President,” said the General. "This needs to be a military division. It’s a tactical strike force and that is my domain.”

  “To the contrary General Morrison, I believe President Yassim is correct here. This is going to be something new and we need a new command structure for it. They can’t operate under our normal bureaucracies,” said High Lord Alecia.

  “There’s more,” said President Yassim. "I’ve done a high-level financial review of both the Wardens and GloCom. GloCom has a tight budget and an exhaustive review process. The Wardens do not. Effectively immediately, I’m reallocating ten percent of the Warden’s operating budget to the new project. I’m also freezing another twenty percent of it that will be allocated to the new project as needed and until then, held in a reserve fund. As the size of this new unit grows, that percentage may further increase,” she continued.

  “That’s hardly fair. We need that operating budget,” said High Lord Alicia. "We need a flexible budget for unpredictable things. You can’t slash our operating funds.”

  “You’re right, you need that budget for unpredictable things and this new unit is one of those unpredictable things. They will have a ramp-up process and need the discretionary spending. It's already been reviewed by the Warden oversight committee in the Senate and they made it official. That is final on the subject,” the President replied.

  High Lord Alicia was visibly angry but said nothing more.

  “As I said, recruitment will be at the discretion of Coordinator Sebastian. All personnel currently assigned to Camelot will be part of the new division as well as the General’s tactical units. Any recruits he desires will be vetted through my office. A liaison will be appointed to operate as my voice when I’m not available. If the request is reasonable and valid, it will be approved,” the President told the group.

  “On that note Madame President, I have some recruits in mind already assuming they agree to join me. I would like Coordinator Anna and Facilitator William from Warden Facility 14,” Sebastian told her.

  “No. You’ve already taken a huge portion of my budget you can’t expect me to willingly give up my command staff as well,” said High Lord Alicia.

  “With respect, High Lord, I don’t answer to you right now and the President did say it was at my discretion pending her approval so it’s her I’m asking not you,” Sebastian replied.

  Chelsea smiled at that.

  “I understand your concerns, High Lord but he is right, and I see no reason you can’t promote from within to replace them. If they accept, the transfer is approved,” replied President Yassim.

  “At the moment, I only have one other request. I want Facilitator Samantha from the Warden’s Munich R&D facility assuming she agrees to the transfer,” Coordinator Sebastian told the President.

  “Why would you want her? She’s shown magical aptitude but isn’t a combat trained Warden. She’s a scientist and bureaucrat,” High Lord Alicia said.

  “I’ve reviewed her files. She is an expert on all ordnance and weaponry, was the head of the Warden’s R&D division before moving to command and as you said, she’s a bureaucrat. She knows protocol, command structure, she’s a model officer and not everyone needs to carry a weapon and fight. I’ll need people like that,” Sebastian told her.

  “I see no reason not to ask her,” President Yassim replied.

  “You’re an asshole,” came Alicia’s voice through his internal communicator. "You’re taking my money and my people.”

  “Alicia, let’s be realistic here. You came into this expecting to rid yourself of a rival. You thought the issue with some of the Directors wanting to put me in charge of the Wardens because of the old rules would go away if I wasn’t part of the Wardens anymore. You got what you wanted. To be honest, I never wanted nor would have sought control of the Wardens. My place is the front lines in this fight. I’m not taking your people either. I’m putting the best people in the best place to save the world. As to the money, I had no idea I would get such a large budget, but it will be needed. I must equip and maintain a force capable of fighting against some of the nastiest things in history. My people are going in first, not yours,” Sebastian told her.

  “Besides, it’s not permanent. We’ll be coming home sometime in the future. The President is scared. She hid
es it well, but she’s frightened at what's happening in the world and thinks having my unit under her direct command will give her an edge. Once this is all over, my unit will report back to you and you’ll have a stronger operation for it,” Sebastian told her.

  “We have to be allies here. We are on the same side we have always been on and that is the side of life. We must be united now more than ever. We’re still going to need you. Your archives, your researchers, your help in fights, we’re still a team we will just have a new name,” Chelsea added to the internal comm.

  “You’ll have what cooperation I can give you. I can swallow my pride and put that aside for the greater good. It is what Wardens do. Don’t forget who you are,” said High Lord Alicia.

  “Never. And you’re right, it’s who we are. We’re the guardians of Earth and it’s time we protect our charge,” said Sebastian.

  “Do you have a name for your new unit yet?” asked General Morrison forcing them to abandon their private discussion.

  “We do. It was taken from something one of the Masters said to me. She told me that we were the vanguard against dark magic and so that’s who we’ll be: The Vanguard,” Facilitator Chelsea replied.

  “What about ranks? We keep calling you Coordinate and Facilitator. Are you going to emulate the ranks of the Wardens or something different?” asked General Morrison.

  “We talked it over and are going to use titles as old as the Wardens. Our leader, currently me, will be Lord Marshal. Our second, Chelsea, will be Vice Marshal. I will have a command staff going by the rank of Field Marshal. Non-combat officers will be Base Marshals. Beyond that, we will add as we see a need. We’ll be using a red dragon on a gold shield as our symbol, an homage to the Pendragon family. We’ll keep everyone here up to speed on our personnel changes, ranks, etc.,” replied Lord Marshal Sebastian.

  #

  Boudicca, Trish, and Xavier exited the shuttle in the mountains northeast of Milan, Italy. Xavier was already there and waiting for them. The small village was quiet with a light rain falling. The cool rain was welcome in the heat of the noonday sun. Xavier sat under a canopy at a small table at an outdoor diner. He was just finishing a plate of pasta and about to bite into some cannoli.

  “You have to try this wine. The owner tells me it’s pressed and vinted locally. The food here is fantastic. You should eat before we get started,” he enthusiastically told the ladies as they approached.

  The two women placed an order with the waitress and had a glass of wine while they waited.

  “So, we have something new. It’s been a while since we ran into something, not in the archives,” said Trish. “I did some research and there are numerous references in folklore to half-snake, half-human hybrids. The abilities are fairly diverse, so we should probably be prepared for anything.”

  “Maybe we can narrow it down,” said Xavier. “What do we have from this location? Naga maybe?”

  “Naga are more far eastern. The Greco-Roman pantheon and some of the local cultures have a lot of references to various creatures that could fit the description. I wish Bruce were here. He knows this crap better than we do,” said Trish.

  “Yea me too but he’s at the hospital with Bethany. I hope the labor goes okay,” said Xavier. “How cool is that? There’s gonna be a baby at Camelot.”

  “The birth of a child is the most amazing gift Gaia can bestow,” said Boudicca suddenly seeming very sad.

  “I’m sorry, Boudicca. I forgot. I didn’t mean…” started Xavier.

  “Please, don’t worry about it. It still hurts but that was a long time ago and the Roman Empire is dead and gone. It’s just that being here, in the birthplace of their empire, it reminds me of what they did. I’ll be fine,” Boudicca replied.

  “Do you have any insight on our unknown fey?” Trish asked Boudicca.

  “None at all. I had never visited Italy prior to today. I know very little of its fey,” she replied. “What do we know?”

  “An earthquake had cracked open a fissure and something came out. So far, there had been no casualties, but the creatures were viewed by multiple eyewitnesses using magic. The locals weren’t sure exactly what the creatures were, but they described them as a human with a snake body from the waist down and they said they were slaughtering the local wildlife. They said the creatures ignored them and focused on their slaughter. There were no records in Warden archives matching that description. The fact that it is a new, or at least undocumented fey, combined with the magical abilities prompted them to send this one our way,” replied Xavier.

  “Then I suggest we finish this meal and go see this fissure for ourselves,” Boudicca said to the other two as she ordered a third cannoli and second glass of wine. “These little creamy tubes are delightful,” she said with her mouth full.

  #

  The trio headed through the forest in the direction of the fissure. They approached the area and found a section of the mountain opened into a long slit where a shelf of rock had collapsed and fallen. The rock revealed a long passage that went down into darkness. Outside of the entrance were long trails through the ground that looked as if giant snakes had crawled in and out of the cave.

  They heard noises from the tree line ahead and saw several creatures slither into view. There were five of them. From the waist up, two looked like male humans and three like female humans. From the waist down, they were serpentine with long snake-like bodies. The two males and two of the females were carrying several game animals with them.

  “Looks like we found our fey and they’re definitely killing the local animals,” Trish whispered to the other two.

  The creatures turned in their direction and started coming towards them. They surveyed the area for a moment then one shouted when it noticed the Vanguard.

  Trish and Xavier pulled their blades in one hand and pistols in another and jumped out. Boudicca was more hesitant but did so as well. The creatures backed up and drew the spears strapped across their back. They were long with a small trident head on them. The creatures stood in a line with the females in the center.

  “Spears? Are you kidding me,” asked Trish? “This is gonna be a slaughter.”

  The spears started buzzing and crackling with energy as large arcs raced across them. The Vanguard and creatures stood facing each other.

  “Trish, next time you have a thought like that...shut up,” said Xavier.

  One of the creatures was acting differently than the others. Boudicca looked at it closely as the two groups faced each other. Boudicca dropped her weapons on the ground and walked forward with her hands out to her sides. The creatures backed up a bit but made no hostile actions.

  “Boudicca, what are you doing?” asked Trish.

  “They’re not slaughtering. They’re hunting. Those spears are not suited to combat and one of them is hurt,” Boudicca replied. “She’s bleeding. The rest were carrying game, but she wasn’t. She is injured and needs help. We fight only when we must, and they have not attacked us even though they had the opportunity. They have also refrained from attacking any of the locals. Think about all aspects. Fight when you must but only when you must. Learn this lesson well, Trish. You may not be my apprentice, but you would stand to learn this lesson as well, Xavier.”

  She continued to walk forward and approached the one she thought was injured. The creature balked at first but stood her ground. Boudicca approached the injured creature and examined the injury. She placed a hand on the wound and though it was beyond what she could heal quickly, she was able to stop the flow of blood and close it somewhat.

  “Xavier, can you please apply a bandage to this wound?” asked Boudicca.

  Xavier cautiously approached the creature and put a dermal patch on the incision. “The cut is rough. It wasn’t made with a weapon. I think there is some muscle damage as well,” he told them.

  The creatures were talking to them, but their language was unfamiliar.

  Boudicca closed her eyes and a glow formed around her. The glow s
oon spread to encompass everyone present including the creatures.

  “Can you understand me? I have cast a spell that will allow us to speak to each other. We mean you harm,” Boudicca said.

  “You are an Olympian. Did Hera send you?” said one of the females sounding panicked.

  “From all accounts, the Olympians have been dead for a long time. We are with the Vanguard,” Boudicca told them.

  “We do not know of this Vanguard. Are the Olympians truly dead? We feared when our sanctuary collapsed they had found us,” said one of the males.

  “Collapsed? I bet the quakes from the Seal did it,” said Trish.

  “Why are you here if you are not agents of Hera? We have been in hiding for so long we thought the world outside had forgotten us. The sanctuary collapsed, and our power returned. We feared the worst,” said another of the males.

  “Thank you for tending my wounds,” said the injured female. “Our healers were killed during the collapse. I feared the festering.”

  “What happened?” asked Xavier.

  “We were attacked by satyrs. They claim these woods as their own. They allow the humans to pass freely but would not allow us the same passage. We are forced to hunt and have no choice,” said a female.

  “Why are you forced to hunt?” asked Trish.

  “We have lived on fish until recently. The collapse also closed our access to the underground river where we caught fish. Fortunately, it opened the passage to the surface, so we did not starve,” said one of the males.

  “What species are you? How did you get here? We have not seen your kind before,” asked Boudicca.

  “We are lamia. We are originally from Greece but fled here after Hera took offense with us. We had magic but not enough to contend with an angry Olympian, so we ran. We found passages in these mountains and then located the underground river. We sealed ourselves in and hid,” said the injured female. “Come. We don’t have much but will share what we have. You have helped me, and I am indebted to you. What I have is yours.”