The Vanguard

by Jeffrey Ellis

  “Hmm, not sure,” replied Boudicca.

  “That’s because you’re having him wear it like a woman,” said Bruce who moved the hat, so it was pitched slightly forward and put his own on the same way.

  “Oh, that’s good,” said Trish.

  “Are you all finished yet?” Sebastian asked trying his best to remain patient.

  “Nope. I even designed some uniforms for us. One in red and gold to match the Pendragon crest for dress purposes and one in black for field work,” Chelsea said pulling the demos out of the crate.

  “I’m impressed. These are tasteful and well done,” said Sebastian looking at the dress uniform.

  “Why does that feel like an insult?” asked Chelsea.

  “Because,” said Xavier laughing, “If you design something to wear, we all expect to have about 90% less material.”

  “It’s not an insult at all. We spend so much time fighting and dealing with politics and bureaucracy we have little time for much else. I sometimes forget how talented you are in other things. You never cease to amaze me,” Sebastian told her.

  She smiled and started to say something then just grabbed him and kissed him.

  “Don’t you two ever stop?” asked Bruce.

  “I’ve seen them together since Caerleon and they haven’t stopped yet,” said Xavier.

  “Make that since Camelot and no, they haven’t stopped at all,” said Boudicca.

  “Should we start another pool?” asked Xavier.

  “I heard about that,” said Bruce. "I’m up for winning some money.”

  Sebastian stopped kissing Chelsea and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

  "Start your timer,” Chelsea said as he carried her out the door.

  #

  A few minutes later, alarms started going off and Bruce tapped his comm. “Damn, okay...Fortress protocols authorized. Charge the guns and activate all perimeter defenses...no, Sebastian and Chelsea are not available now that leaves me as the ranking Warden and that’s an order so bloody follow it!” he said.

  “Ladies and gents, we have a situation. We don’t have numbers yet, but we know a force of unknown size is coming our way,” Bruce told them as he was pulling up satellite feeds on the monitors and the rest of the group sprang to action while the Masters just sat looking confused.

  “I’ve got British locals on the line,” said Bethany. “They’re sending a tactical assault division, but they won’t be here for about twenty-five minutes. They’re not happy about an unknown military force in their backyard and are sending help but they have to scramble crews,” she said.

  “I’ve got the Warden Directorate on the line,” said Trish. “Warden air assault craft are in route, ETA fifteen minutes. The nearest Warden crafts are in Munich and launching now.”

  “Satellite recon data is being pulled and we’re tapping British local surveillance. Reports of tanks, aircraft and infantry troop vehicles are reported and are marked with the ALF logo. ETA is less than five minutes. Due to the tree cover, the vehicles were dropped outside by air relay, but their aircraft will be here much sooner,” said Bethany as they heard explosions outside.

  Sebastian and Chelsea came through the door.

  “Assessment,” Sebastian said.

  “We have what looks like an ALF attack underway. They have heavy equipment incoming and aircraft already on us. Warden air is ETA fourteen minutes and the latest update from the Brits is their ground force will be here in twenty-two minutes. They’re launching fighters from GloCom’s London field and they’ll arrive in ten,” said Bethany.

  “Bethany is coordinating communications, I was just about to head out and prep for the assault force,” Bruce said.

  “Good. You heard Bruce. Bethany has the Command Center, we’re going frontline,” Sebastian said.

  “Any idea where they launched from? They could have more incoming,” Chelsea said.

  “Their vector would indicate southwest. There’s a storm off the coast and that could have hidden them enough to get close. The storm has a high amount of electrical activity, so it could definitely be masking more but that’s a lot of equipment to transport on ships,” Bethany told him while looking at charts on a monitor.

  Sebastian tapped his comm. “Warden Command, this is Lord Marshall Sebastian of Camelot Facility. We need recon of a storm to our southwest. We believe that’s the approach vector of the attacking force and need to check the storm for hidden ALF craft. They had to launch from somewhere.”

  They heard a loud crash as they headed to the main entry.

  “What the hell was that?” asked Chelsea.

  “Downed plane, ma’am. The EMPs got one and it hit the north wall,” a Warden trainee told her.

  “There is nothing we can do until the aircraft are handled. It’s suicide going out there right now,” the trainee continued.

  “There’s something I can do,” said Sebastian.

  He walked out the doorway as a plane buzzed them with laser fire hitting the shielded walls. He walked out in the middle of the courtyard as another plane passed over. He put his shield up and it blocked the laser fire. As the plane passed he turned and focused his energy into the shield and the same white light that he used against the Tormentor in his dream fired from it. It hit the plane in the wing and smoke poured out, but it didn’t go down.

  He was firing that as fast as he could, and Chelsea had joined him when they heard an explosion on the south wall. They rushed in that direction and saw infantry pouring in as the Wardens headed out to meet them.

  Bruce was heading the charge into the infantry with Xavier, Trish and the Masters behind him. As they went, fire and lightning came from them along with energy weapons cutting into the ranks of the ALF before they even reached them. The ALF’s return fire wasn’t penetrating their bioarmor, at least not yet. The fight was arduous and the ALF tenacious, but the training and equipment of the Wardens paid off.

  The ALF had managed to acquire vehicles and heavy weapons but didn’t have the training needed to use them appropriately. Eventually, the infantry ranks were down and the planes in the air were being met by Warden and GloCom aircraft. The general transport shuttles the Wardens had on-site at Camelot only had a small laser that would be no match for attack craft, so they kept them grounded and waited for support.

  The ALF was shelling the castle from the trees with rounds from their heavy rail guns, giving them, some cover and making it harder for the friendly aircraft to target them. British GloCom air support would reach them soon they just had to hold out.

  The shielding was holding, and the laser turrets were helping with the closer range artillery but some of the enemy craft had a longer range than their laser batteries did. The longer-range cannons stayed several miles away, inside the forest, and continued the assault where the lasers could not target them. Camelot took several solid hits and several Wardens were killed or injured.

  Sebastian received a message on his comm then relayed to the group, “The Brits are engaging the artillery and the Warden attack shuttles are strafing the ALF vehicles as well. The ALF lines are broken and retreating but they have nowhere to go. They're cut off on all sides. I want everyone in the command center in five minutes to assess and debrief.”

  The group assembled in the C&C. “Damage assessment underway. It’s mostly superficial from what I’ve seen with two wall breaches as our only real structural damage. The plating held nicely, and the castle's inherent magic helped. Casualty count still coming in. So far twenty-three injured, fourteen dead,” Bruce said.

  “It wasn’t just us that was hit,” said Bethany. “We have reports that five other facilities were hit. The GloCom submarine team indicates they found and captured a small carrier in that storm,” she said.

  “A carrier? How the Hell did they get a carrier?” asked Sebastian.

  “What is a carrier and why is it significant?” asked Boudicca.

  “It's a huge, flat military ship that carries aircraft. They're n
ot used much anymore but a few are still around. It's significant because they're rare, large, expensive and well-guarded,” Xavier told him.

  “As far as how they got one, we're not sure. After the Cataclysm, we lost a lot of military vehicles and some ships. What carriers we have left are well built but even they can’t survive a tsunami, and some were sunk but the reports from the GloCom team that captured it indicate this carrier was undamaged. I checked the logs and the military has no official reports of a carrier missing and all the ones that sank in the tidal waves are accounted for. The rest of the vehicles and artillery are probably salvaged from the quakes and fires according to my military contacts. I tried again to get more information on the carrier but GloCom denied access to classified files,” Bethany said.

  “That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Sebastian said and continued, “For a while at least, I expect we’ll see an increase in groups with military hardware they’ve salvaged or stolen from bases that were decimated. I’m surprised we haven’t already seen it. A carrier though...that’s an anomaly. If one sank, the effort to either recover or decommission it would be massive if for no other reason than the reactor and weaponry. Salvaging one secretly would be outside what a small terrorist group could do.”

  “It would have to be repaired to make it seaworthy again,” said Chelsea.

  “Or it would require a group that has access to the powers of a Master wizard,” said Xavier.

  “Good point,” said Sebastian. “If they’re working for Mordred as we believe they are, then we should assume that he’s helping them. I don’t know what the upward limits of a Master’s power may be though and bringing up a sunken carrier would still be a feat. We can figure that out later. Right now, the important thing is damage assessment and making sure our casualties are taken care of. Once that is done we go on the offensive. We’re going to need information and I have some ideas about where to get it.”

  “After today I’m all for taking out the ALF What’s our plan?” said Bruce.

  Sebastian pondered that a moment. “We can’t just attack them. The main reason is we aren't authorized to do so. We cannot step on GloCom's turf. Things are precarious right now and with the world under martial law, they have a lot of power and influence.”

  Chelsea added, “Even if we had the authorization, they’re not an army. They don’t have central facilities that we know of but if they’re collecting and repairing hardware, they’re gonna need a place to do it. The only places with the equipment and facilities to repair heavy artillery, planes, and tanks are going to be manufacturing facilities and military bases. They haven’t had time to build their own and they’ll need one with port access since a carrier was involved. The manufacturing facilities would be a government priority to get our military back up to full strength and that would make it unlikely ALF would try to usurp those.”

  “There were a number of bases completely wiped out during the cataclysm and one of those bases, somewhere considered not worth the risk is right up their alley, somewhere the government and military have determined is beyond hope…that is is where they're at,” Sebastian replied.

  “You’re thinking Tokyo, aren’t you?” asked Trish.

  “I'm thinking Tokyo. Now we just must get the government to okay it. We’re not an anti-terrorism task force so we can’t just attack the ALF, even though they hit us first. There would be political repercussions and right now, we need UniGov, GloCom, the Wardens and Vanguard united and can't go driving any wedges between us. I need to speak with the president and I know I can convince her to give us the okay to go after them,” Sebastian said.

  “And why would she meet with you?” asked Bruce.

  “I have a story to tell if you'll indulge me. Chelsea knows this already but in the interest of not keeping secrets with my friends, I want you to know. Most of you know I was in GloCom and most of you know I was stationed on the moon,” Sebastian said.

  “Sebastian, wait. You know the repercussions if it gets out that you told anyone. Are you sure you want to do this?” Chelsea asked him.

  “Absolutely. What you don't know is that I didn't leave the military voluntarily. I was kicked out after I refused to kill civilians. Does everyone remember a few years ago the story on the news about losing Tranquility Colony to a malfunction of the atmospheric processor?” he asked then went on to relate the story of the incident on the moon.

  “That Senator whose daughter was killed was elected president. After the incident occurred, I had a chance to talk with her and told her the truth about how I tried to save her daughter and how we were both wronged by GloCom. She’s an honorable woman and will help, I think,” Sebastian told them. “I just hope I can get her to agree,” he said.

  “I know I covered up a tragedy and could have gone public, but I felt then and feel now I made the best decision I could make at the time. You've seen today how dangerous the ALF is and we couldn't take the chance on them seizing the opportunity to gain more support,” he told them. “I understand if you lose respect for me, but I won't apologize for my actions. It was the right thing to do at the time.”

  Bruce spoke. “Mate, I think I think I can safely speak for everyone here when I tell you that we would have all done the same thing and stand behind you completely.”

  #

  They continued cleanup and rebuilding of Camelot when Sebastian received notification he was being granted an audience with the president. President Yassim had offered the invitation to Sebastian and his senior command as well as the Masters. They traveled to the new headquarters of the Unified Earth Government in Montreal.

  Montreal was barely touched by the cataclysm and with so much reconstruction needing done, the President felt the resources were better used on other projects rather than shuffling bureaucrats around and rebuilding the old facilities. Montreal was also close to the GloCom's primary command center, so it made logical sense to just relocate the government permanently.

  The complex was a veritable fortress. It was heavily guarded by the military and had a private security force on top of that. The group was stopped at security and had to go through multiple checkpoints. At each one, they reviewed their documentation to make sure they were cleared. The biggest issue was the weaponry. The Wardens had the authorization to carry weapons in any building at any time but with martial law in effect, security refused to allow them through. They were finally cleared by direct order of the president.

  High Lord Alicia was already in the office and introduced everyone to the president then introduced president Neala Yassim to the assembled group.

  “I wanted an opportunity to meet those of you I don't already know. Welcome,” the President told them.

  “Neala is a fitting name,” said Boudicca.

  “Thank you,” said President Yassim. “You know of it?”

  “It’s a Celtic word. It means champion so it’s a fitting name for the leader of your government. Are you Scottish?” Boudicca asked.

  “Scottish ancestry but it’s been many generations since any of my family were actually born there,” she replied then turned to Sebastian.

  “It’s good to see you. My time is stretched thin so talk,” she said smiling.

  “It’s good to see you and I was very sorry to hear about Vadim. I liked him a lot,” Sebastian said.

  “Thank you, Sebastian. His loss still hurts. Many of us have lost someone from this tragedy,” she replied.

  “I never thought I'd meet the President. It's good to have a leader who knows your boss,” said Bruce.

  “I don’t know the President. I know a great woman and a loving mother who lost her daughter in a situation that could have and should have been avoided and that woman also happens to be an elected official,” Sebastian said.

  The President then took her seat behind her desk and addressed them.

  “Everyone please take a seat and we can discuss the matter of the ALF and Tokyo. You’re not asking a small thing. GloCom is very territorial and th
e commander responsible for the Rim doesn’t like you in particular Sebastian. He was the Admiral in charge of Lunar Ops. After the issue on the moon, he was demoted, reassigned ground side and he’s not on your side.”

  “I’ve considered this matter, but I wanted to talk to you myself and since it will likely involve the Wardens to some degree, I invited Alicia. Tokyo is a dangerous place. After the catastrophe the death toll there was extraordinary. The people who are left are scared, hungry and have formed into small gangs for protection. There is no grid of any kind, and both water and power are out. Most of the city is rubble. The reports from GloCom say the base's reactor is unstable making it a potential radiation risk and the site has been quarantined. What exactly do you plan to do?” asked the president.

  “Strictly recon at first. I know we have satellites and flyovers but if the ALF is good at anything it’s hiding. I think we need a small ground excursion. We take a few people, reconnoiter the old military base and get out. Based on what that group finds, we plan further or drop the issue altogether. To be honest, we could get a group in and out and if all goes well no one would have even known but now is not the time to burn bridges. If something goes wrong, it’s best to have everyone informed,” Sebastian told her.

  “And why not just have the military do it? They have stealth drones and other intelligence gathering methods that are quite effective,” said President Yassim.

  “Can I show you a trick?” said Sebastian.

  “That’s not exactly the response I was expecting but okay,” she replied.

  He took paperweight sitting on her desk and held it. He focused on it for a moment and it disappeared.

  “Nice trick but we’re not talking about paperweights. We’re talking about industrial sized military buildings and heavy battlefield equipment,” said the president.

  “I’m only learning and if we’re right and Mordred is behind the ALF and the attacks on the Wardens, then this is nothing. His power is way, way beyond mine,” Sebastian told her.

  The paperweight became visible again and he placed it back on her desk.