The Vanguard

by Jeffrey Ellis

“You owe us nothing. We helped you because it’s the right thing to do. We would welcome the chance to learn more about you though. The lamia are legends. We thought you little more than stories until today. By the way, I have been rude and failed to introduce us. I am Trish. This is Boudicca and Xavier.”

  “I am Phaedra,” said the injured female. “This is Detal and Oran, my mates and my sisters Shaba and Welan.”

  “We are pleased to…” said Boudicca then stopped as Xavier knocked her to the ground with a telekinetic force and an arrow passed through the air and missed her head by inches.

  He then turned and fired two shots as he drew his pistol and lightning arced from his fingers. By the time the rest had time to react, four satyrs lay dead at the edge of the tree clearing.

  “Your mate...I suspected he was strong to have two concubines but to possess the powers of Zeus...you are Olympians!” said Phaedra.

  “Olympians? Zeus? I don’t think so, but I do like the idea of these two being my concubines,” said Xavier with a grin.

  “In your dreams. The electrical blasts would be my guess why they think we’re Olympians. Zeus was said to control lightning,” said Trish.

  “That makes sense. Stop bowing. I’m no Olympian. It’s just magic. I saw you charge your spears,” he told the lamia.

  “We can produce small charges to help with subduing game but to do what you did...only an Olympian can do that,” said Phaedra.

  More satyrs rushed into the clearing near the cave entrance. Their weapons were primitive, and they seemed wild and erratic. They swarmed the area as lamia formed a perimeter around Phaedra. The lamia fought well but their fishing tridents and serpentine bodies made them no match for the fast and agile satyrs and were quickly becoming overwhelmed. The Vanguard, however, was a different story.

  Xavier jumped through the air, landing in the middle of a group of satyrs. He avoided fire magic due to the dry woods and was only using telekinesis and energy attacks instead. His blade hummed with energy as he slashed and cut through the satyrs.

  Trish was back to back with Xavier and was doing as much damage. She hardened her skin into sarsen and between her sword and stone hands, the satyrs were falling fast. She called vines from the trees that entangled more and more of the satyrs and held them dangling.

  Boudicca, having left her weapons on the ground to heal Phaedra was unarmed so she grabbed the spears from two of the lamia faster than they could react. She growled, sounding like a lioness and charged into the fray. The two spears were spinning and twirling like deadly batons. Her speed was a blur.

  As the number of satyrs thinned quickly, they broke and retreated.

  Boudicca went over to the ones in the vines and used the same spell, so she could speak with them and released the vines on one of the satyrs. “You will be freed and allowed to leave. You must never attack the lamia again. They are under our protection and free to hunt these woods. Do you understand?”

  The satyr bowed deeply. “Yes, goddess. We understand. Please forgive us the slight against your chosen.”

  “I’m not a god…” Boudicca started to say but Xavier stopped her.

  He arced lightning between his hands. “These forests are protected. No violence must occur. Now go. Tell the rest of your people this and no longer attack any sentient creature.”

  The vines released the rest of the satyrs and they ran off.

  “Xavier...you’ve gotten good. The last time we sparred you were nowhere near that fast and didn’t have that much control over energy,” said Trish.

  “I’ve been training with Sebastian and Chelsea in my free time. With them, it’s either improve or get your ass kicked. I’m getting better but still in the getting my ass kicked phase,” he replied.

  “Tell me about it. I was a walking bruise the last time I stepped in the gym with Chelsea and that’s with my stone armor,” said Trish.

  “You saved me. Thank you. I let my guard down and nearly paid with my life. If you not for you…” Boudicca said.

  “Think nothing of it. We have each other’s backs. It’s what we do,” he replied.

  “I will think everything of it. Thank you again. We will talk more about this later but for the moment, we have new friends to speak with,” Boudicca told him.

  “Why did you allow them to believe we were gods? That’s wrong,” Boudicca told him.

  “Because we can’t protect these lamias all the time and they can’t protect themselves. They have been isolated and don’t know how the world works. I don’t like it but it’s the best choice for the greater good,” Xavier replied.

  “I have heard those words spoken before. They have been spoken by Merlin and Ra and Alexander and me and many others before the Seal. It’s how Masters become gods. We cannot go down that path again,” said Boudicca.

  “It’s not a path. It’s a onetime thing and we’ll come back and fix it once this war is over,” Xavier replied.

  “Xavier please listen to me. I was there for the first war. I have seen it myself and been guilty of it myself. We cannot put ourselves above others as gods. We cannot use our magic to manipulate people’s beliefs be they human or fey. We cannot let ourselves be above others. Promise me you will never do that again and will do everything you can to undo the damage you have just done to their culture,” Boudicca told him.

  “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” said Xavier.

  “You sound like Merlin,” said Boudicca. “The end cannot justify the means. That line of thinking has caused more deaths and more suffering than all the wars combined. The Egyptians, Greeks, Babylonians, nearly every ancient culture’s mythology was started by powerful wizards using their power to manipulate and control through fear and worship. Those creatures now believe gods walk among them. They’ll start building a religion around us.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the ramifications. I’ll take care of it as soon as the lamia are safe,” he said.

  “I will hold you to that. We must be better than the old Masters were. We can help and save people without needing to manipulate beliefs. Make this right and it will be forgotten,” Boudicca told him.

  “You have my word,” said Xavier.

  They returned their attention to the lamia who were bowing.

  “Uh...why are you bowing?” asked Trish.

  “You say you are not gods but command the powers of the heavens. Only gods can do that,” said Phaedra.

  Xavier looked at Boudicca. “No, my friends, we are not gods. You control your own destinies and have no need to bow to us or anyone else.”

  Boudicca nodded her head at him in approval.

  “I'll be back as soon as I track down the satyrs,” Xavier said and left.

  “You're going now?” Trish asked.

  “Why not? You two have things under control here and this is my mistake to fix. It's better to do it sooner than later,” he replied and left.

  The group went into the caves with the lamia and spent some time bringing them up to speed. They explained the Masters, the Seal, Mordred and the basic idea of the world’s status.

  They also learned much of the lamia. Less than five hundred had survived. Their home was a network of caverns inside the mountain and the quakes that spared them when the Seal was formed were devastating when it was broken. Most of their clutch, as they called their society, was destroyed. Their nesting cavern was spared so in a generation they would be able to rebuild their numbers but for now, they were an endangered species. Their leaders were killed, and Phaedra was among the most senior ranking. They didn’t have much need for leadership anyway as they were a communal species and worked together.

  “That is quite a lot of information to absorb,” said Phaedra. “The world has changed much during our seclusion.”

  “There is no reason to be secluded anymore. We can help you relocate to a safer place. These caverns aren’t stable anymore. They have significant structural damage and will continue to collapse so we need to get your people and
your eggs to a safe place,” said Trish.

  “You would do this?” asked Phaedra.

  “Why not? You’ve proven friendly and our leader has the ear of President Yassim,” said Trish.

  “But you said your people, this Vanguard, hunt my kind,” said Phaedra.

  “Not exactly. We hunt those who are a danger to others. You and your people have shown me you’re not a hostile species. You would be welcome in our world,” Trish told her. “If you’ll excuse me a moment I need to speak with Sebastian.”

  “You’re wound is mostly healed but you will be a bit weak and should refrain from hunting until your strength has returned,” said Boudicca.

  “I would if that were an option, but I cannot. We must have food and though we have only started to hunt since...what was the word you used...the cataclysm, I have no choice. Many of our survivors are very old or very young. Some are wounded or sick. We have many who cannot hunt and those of us who can provide for them with our supply of fish no longer available,” said Phaedra.

  Trish walked back. “I have some good news on that front. I just spoke with Sebastian and several shuttles of provisions will be here within a few hours. It will also include medical supplies. We were going to include medicines, but we need to learn your physiology first. We wouldn’t give you something that might fight infection in a human but be poisonous to a lamia. A group of GloCom troops will also be deployed here to guard you against more satyr attacks. Unfortunately, they can’t stay long term, but it will be long enough to either help you relocate or at least get your people healed and able to stand on your own again should you choose to remain, which we do not recommend,” Trish told her.

  “Where would we go if we left? We have known only these caves for thousands of years,” said Phaedra. “Would we be welcome again in Greece?”

  “The grounds at Camelot have room for temporary housing. We can have prefab shelters set up in a day's time. GloCom is very efficient and we have a good relationship with them now. Sebastian spoke with them and they offered to help. That will suffice until a safe location can be found for you. That will take a bit longer,” said Trish.

  “Large flying machines are going to land outside the entrance. Don’t be afraid. They’re bringing you the supplies. We'll get word to the leaders of Greece and see what they say. We can't make any promises on that.”

  Xavier returned a couple of hours after he left and found his two companions. “The issue is settled. I explained and apologized for manipulating them. They say they'll leave the lamia alone but to be honest, I'm not sure I trust them. They're very wild for lack of a better term,” he told the women.

  “What is important is you did what you could to correct your mistake,” Trish told him.

  The first shuttle arrived and unloaded several large pallets of food and supplies in addition to a dozen well-armed troops. Xavier helped with the unloading while Boudicca and Trish explained what they were giving them. The three then boarded the shuttle and headed back to the town at the insistence of Boudicca.

  “Why not just go back to Camelot?” asked Trish.

  “I want to learn more of this area and have more of the creamy tubes,” said Boudicca. Boudicca then whispered something in Trish’s ear and the two women giggled.

  “You can’t be serious?” said Trish.

  “Why not?” said Boudicca. “You said you have before.”

  “Yea, so what?” replied asked.

  “Then what is your hesitation?” asked Boudicca.

  “Sure. Why not?” replied Trish still giggling.

  “See you ladies back at Camelot,” said Xavier as Trish and Boudicca got off the shuttle.

  “Come on Xavier, join us for dinner,” said Boudicca.

  “We have food at Camelot and it’s barely an hour away even on one of these lumbering cargo transports,” said Xavier.

  “But we don’t have the...what did you call them...cannoli,” said Boudicca.

  He thought a moment then jumped down out of the shuttle. “Sure. I can catch a local shuttle back after dinner,” said Xavier.

  The three of them ate together, talking mostly about the lamia and drinking copious amounts of wine.

  “That was delectable. Now for dessert,” said Boudicca as she kicked her shoe off and started rubbing her foot along Xavier’s thigh.

  “I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink,” said Xavier.

  “I think I want another cream filled tube,” said Boudicca.

  “You ate at least half a dozen of them already,” said Xavier.

  “I’m not talking about some cannoli,” said Boudicca grinning at Xavier and moved her foot further along his thigh.

  Trish walked over behind him and ran her hands over his chest and bit his earlobe. “We are your concubines after all,” she whispered.

  “Ladies, this is like a dream come true but you’ve both been drinking, and I think you probably need to get some sleep,” Xavier said. “You should head to bed.”

  “Oh, we’re going to bed, but we won’t be sleeping. Tonight, we are both yours,” said Trish.

  “Not exactly,” said Boudicca. “What she means is tonight you are ours. As far as the wine goes, this was planned before we started drinking so your conscience is clear.”

  “I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to make our working relationship awkward,” he said.

  “Limited time offer. You can go back to Camelot and sleep alone or you can spend a night with us and not sleep much at all. Choose now,” said Trish.

  “I saw an inn a couple of blocks away,” he replied with a smile.

  The two women pulled him up and they walked arm in arm on either side of him down the sidewalk towards a small inn, paid for a room and went to the elevator. As the doors closed, Boudicca pushed him against the wall and kissed him, practically shoving her tongue down his throat.

  When they got to the room, the two women threw him down on the bed and slowly undressed each other. They spent as much time making out as they did removing clothes. When they were done, they slowly removed his clothes.

  “Looks like someone is happy,” said Trish as she climbed up on the bed and stood naked over him, looking down.

  “I should say so. This has got to be the best thing...Ooohhhh,” he said as Boudicca took him in her mouth.

  “You talk too much,” said Trish as she lowered herself onto his face.

  The three of them spent a rather torrid night and morning together. It was nearly noon when the room’s video panel started beeping.

  Trish activated the wall panel and it was Sebastian.

  “You didn’t check in this morning. I wanted to make sure everything was okay and your last check-in you told me you were staying here,” he said.

  “Everything is fantastic,” said Trish.

  “Have you seen Boudicca and Xavier?” he asked.

  “They’re here. They’re still asleep. We had a rather taxing night,” she said.

  “When you see them ask them to check in,” Sebastian told her.

  “Give me a second, you can tell them yourself,” she replied. She adjusted the viewing angle until it was pointed at the bed. She walked over to the bed and joined Boudicca and Xavier. “Hey sleepyheads, wake up. The boss wants to have a chat,” she told them.

  “The three of you...I mean I didn’t realize...we can talk later,” he stammered and signed off.

  #

  The next day, the Vanguard Marshals minus Chelsea, Merlin, Ra, and Nefertiti were assembled in the C&C of Camelot.

  “So, mate, what’s our game plan now that we don’t answer to the Wardens anymore?” asked Bruce. Bethany’s labor turned out to be false so they were back at Camelot.

  “Same as always Bruce. Nothing changes. We were mostly independent already now it’s just official. We have a new name but we’re still who we always were,” Sebastian said.

  “Anna and William are joining us as soon as they finish briefing their replacements and packing. We have a new face though to mos
t of you. This is Samantha. She’s a weapon and equipment specialist and is signing on as one of our first two Base Marshals, along with Bethany. Some of you have met her, for those who haven’t, say hi. I myself haven’t met her before now but she made an impression on Chelsea and Xavier and that’s good enough for me. She is going to work with Bethany as our C&C,” Sebastian said. "We’re going to be more active in the field so we’re going to have a permanent command group here to coordinate things for us.”

  The group took a moment for introductions. The woman was cordial and not at all bashful when meeting new people.

  “Where is Chelsea?” asked Bethany.

  “She’s outside at the shuttle pads. She said she has a surprise for us and will be here once she picks it up,” Sebastian replied. "I’m as curious as you are. She wouldn’t tell me what it is.”

  Almost on cue, Chelsea came in with a cart and several large boxes. She put one on the table and was smiling ear to ear. "Guess what? We’re getting berets!” said Chelsea enthusiastically.

  “Excuse me? What is a beret?” asked Sebastian.

  “I thought, new name, new titles, a new symbol, we should also have a new look. Since our symbol is an homage to something from the past I thought our look should be as well. I dug through old military photos and ran across a beret, it’s a hat that soldiers used to wear before the Unification War. They’re adorable,” said Chelsea.

  She started handing out the hats to everyone and gave them a demonstration on how to wear them.

  “Oh, they are indeed adorable!” said Bethany.

  “I love these. We should wear them all the time,” said Trish.

  “Now this is the hat of a warrior,” said Boudicca.

  “So, it’s all about the hats then? Not fighting for the greater good. Not helping people. It’s about the hats,” said Sebastian.

  Chelsea didn’t respond but walked over and put one on his head, then stepped back and looked at him. "Something is not right,” she said.

  Boudicca walked over and turned it slightly, so it was off center.

  “Much better,” said Chelsea.

  “I’m not so sure,” replied Trish who moved the hat on Sebastian to a slightly different angle.