The Vanguard

by Jeffrey Ellis

  “Alexander, what do you know about Mordred? Do you have any information that might be useful in finding him?” asked Sebastian.

  “I do not. I have tried to predict his patterns based on his prior actions but that proves fruitless. He was obsessed with destroying libraries before but now all information is available electronically. There are very few buildings with books and the ones that do exist already have digital archives. Information and knowledge can't be destroyed anymore. I will have to ascertain a new pattern.”

  “Using the ALF was a good tactical decision. Their randomness has made them hard to predict. I would have been able to predict Tokyo being used had I the necessary information, but I was in the dark. Julius is not privy to discussions involving the military and Wardens but hopefully, Alexander is. Knowledge is the key to victory,” Alexander said.

  “Assuming everything you told us is corroborated by Morgana then I don't see that as a problem,” said Sebastian.

  “Why was he destroying libraries?” asked Chelsea.

  “We don't know for certain, but I believe he was destroying ones with information about Atlantis. The ones attacked were repositories of ancient knowledge. He was being trained in Atlantean magic. Morgana and I spoke about it several times. We wanted to find the source which we now know was Socrates who in turned learned from the drebs though their long game is still unknown.”

  “We don't know exactly why but it seems they have been disseminating lies about the downfall of Atlantis to their chosen supplicants. The sympathetic approach is probably what appealed to Socrates. He was wronged by his own government and I would suspect he felt a kinship when they fed him their lies of betrayal but it's merely speculation,” Alexander told them. “Socrates' own library contained a wealth of knowledge but was all lost.”

  “What if it's not a lie? What if their side was correct?” asked Xavier.

  “It isn't. I have enough fragments of memories to know that much. I can remember the surprise attack. I can recall the slaughter,” said Chelsea.

  “I get that. What I mean is what if it was predicated. What if there is more you don't remember that pushed them to that point?” Xavier replied.

  “What could make someone murder innocent people. Even if there was a dispute of some kind, that does not give them license to murder. If they had a beef with the leadership, they had the element of surprise. They could have killed the ones in charge and spared much of the carnage, but they chose not to. They killed without mercy and that's not the mark of someone on the right side of a dispute. Their goal was to eliminate everyone in Atlantis including the dragons,” Chelsea replied.

  “Not to change the subject but I have a question about the libraries. How do we know for sure he destroyed them? How many of them did you personally survey?” asked Sebastian to Alexander.

  “I personally saw the aftermath of most of the major libraries' destruction. There was nothing but ash,” Alexander replied.

  “What if he didn't destroy the knowledge but instead stole it and the destruction was just to hide that? Ancient tomes going missing would be noticed but ash is just ash. You also said most. What ones did you or someone you trust implicitly not see?” asked Sebastian.

  “Damn it. How did I miss that? I've gotten soft since I stopped leading armies,” said Alexander.

  “Socrates' own library was only witnessed by Socrates. It was the first one attacked, and we thought it was just an attempt to kill him. Now, in retrospect...” Alexander said, lost in thought.

  “Where was it?” asked Sebastian.

  “In Greece. It was on an island off the southern coast. After he ascended he left the mainland but didn't want to leave his homeland completely, so he chose a small uncharted island and spent much of his time there,” Alexander said. “I think we need to go to Greece.”

  “Not yet. I still want to speak with Morgana first. Can you give me your word you won't go alone but will wait for us to plan this as a Vanguard action?” asked Sebastian. “We can't have any more rogue Masters. Merlin is enough.”

  “You have my word. I am not Merlin. I know the value of an army and this is a matter for the Vanguard, not just a personal issue. The island is likely empty but if it isn't then we need to be ready for a fight. Understand at least one thing about Merlin. Mordred is his son, and while this is not a personal issue for you, this is a very personal issue for him. I think somewhere, deep down under that loathsome exterior is still a father who hurts at the idea his son might have to die,” Alexander told them.

  “What can you tell us of the scepter that we captured from Socrates? I feel a personal connection to it and it had no effect on Sebastian and myself. I can feel its power, but I can't make it do anything,” Chelsea said.

  “I don't know much. Morgana told me of a stave and scepter she created for the line of Atlantean monarchs. They held a lot of power but how to activate that power is beyond my knowledge. I know they will not hurt anyone of the bloodlines of their monarchs and only someone strong in that line can use one. I am afraid you will have to ask her. I can tell you one thing she told me. The stave is in two parts now. Merlin carries one and the headpiece is missing. She gave the staff to Merlin for safekeeping but was not able to recover it after the Seal was formed,” Alexander told them.

  “So that means that both Merlin and Socrates are descended from Atlantean monarchs,” said Bruce.

  “Does that surprise you? Atlantis existed thousands of years before either was born and both are from the same general region. There are probably hundreds of thousands of people or even more around the world with that lineage. Considering the number of times these two have been reborn,” he motioned to Sebastian and Chelsea, “They could even be descended from you. Morgana said the protection applied to the bloodlines of any of the Atlantean monarchs and over the course of Atlantean history, there were many. Consider they chose a new king every seventy-six years and the nation was well over a thousand years old. That's a lot of families and there have been many thousands of years for those families to spread. Not everyone died that day.”

  “I think the library is our next course of business. I need to speak with the rest of our Marshalls first before we take any action, assuming we can do so. Xavier and I will go to Montreal. William and Nefertiti are both there. If Anna is conscious I don't know if she's up for talking or not. Chelsea, you take Bruce, assuming Bethany is okay. Take Michael as well when if he is finished unpacking and settled in,” Sebastian said.

  “May I recommend a change of strategy?” asked Alexander.

  “I'm listening,” Sebastian replied.

  “Send the rest but you and Chelsea should stay here and start training with me. Socrates was beating you until you managed to find your old selves and even then, I can't be sure you would have won even two on one. When you both attacked me, I dispatched you with ease. You need to learn to harness your power if you want to beat Mordred. Your track records so far have been mediocre at best. Poisoned by a beither, nearly beheaded by a vampire, crushed in a cave in... quite bluntly your performance has been horrendous. I don't blame you. You have been operating on a lack of information, knowledge, and training. Merlin was teaching you only what he wanted you to know not what you needed to know,” Alexander told them.

  “You're right,” said Chelsea. “We've stumbled a lot because we've been walking in the dark since the Seal broke. What do you think we need to learn?”

  Alexander smiled. “Everything. I will not withhold knowledge. When the end of this war comes, it will be one worthy of songs and history books and it is my intention to be on the victorious side. Morgana believes only through you two can this be won, and I believe her. I have a vested personal interest in making sure you are ready. I didn't conquer the known world through half measures,” Alexander told them.

  “If you want to be on the winning side, why not throw your support behind Mordred? With your combined power and the resources and equipment of Macedon Machines, you would be unstoppable,” Seba
stian said.

  “A military victory is not always a win. A world with Mordred sitting on the throne is not one I would want to live in. Once I had a taste for conquest, but I was young and hadn't tasted the world. It's a much more pleasant place without tyrants,” Alexander replied.

  “When do you want to start?” asked Sebastian.

  Alexander extended his hand and a concussive wave of force flowed from it knocking both Sebastian and Chelsea against the wall. It shattered the chairs they were sitting in and knocked the rest of the group to the floor. “We already have. Your first lesson is always be ready,” Alexander said.

  Sebastian picked himself up and helped Chelsea to her feet. He looked at Chelsea and then at Alexander. “You two are going to get along very well.”

  “Field Marshall Bruce!” yelled a man rushing into the room. “You're needed in your quarters. Base Marshall Bethany sir...she's in labor.”

  Bruce ran out and down the hall followed by the rest of the people in the room. When they got there, two GloCom medics and Camelot's medical chief were already attending her.

  Sebastian was on his comm. “This is Lord Marshall Sebastian. Have the medical transport we have on standby readied to depart.” He paused a moment. “Yes. She started labor. Doc Fox is already here. Just get that shuttle ready to go.”

  “That's not going to work, sir. This baby is coming now,” one of the medics said.

  Bethany was screaming.

  “What's wrong!” said Bruce sounding very worried.

  “The baby isn't turning. It's breeched,” said the doctor.

  “How can we help?” asked Chelsea.

  “You can clear the room. Only medical personnel and the father. Everyone else out,” the doctor replied.

  #

  The group waited patiently outside the room. A little while later, the doctor came out. Everyone stared at him waiting for him to say something.

  “Bethany and the baby are resting. It was hard on her, but both are okay. She'll be leaving on a medical transport for London in a few minutes. She said it's okay if you come in but keep it brief,” the man told them.

  “Thank you, doctor,” Sebastian said to the young man.

  “I believe I will take my leave at this point. This is a personal affair and I know neither the mother nor father, so I should excuse myself,” Alexander told Sebastian.

  “Can you hold that thought a moment? I want to see Bethany before she leaves, and we still need to talk,” Sebastian told him.

  “I actually have some business to attend to. I still have a company to run,” Alexander told him and disappeared.

  Sebastian walked into the room and Bethany was laying on her bed. Bruce was sitting next to her. It was rare to see a man of Bruce's usual serious demeanor with a smile and smile he did. He was beaming.

  Chelsea, Xavier, and Samantha were all surrounding her, and everyone was focused entirely on the baby and Bethany. He smiled to himself to think that in the world they lived in, dark magic, monsters, terrorists and all the other terrors of their lives yet people could still find happiness.

  He walked over to the group and shook Bruce's hand and gave Bethany a light hug. She was exhausted, so he didn't want to push her much. Handshaking was an antiquated custom, but one the Warden's still used it even as most of society had abandoned it.

  “Do you want to hold the baby?” asked Bethany.

  “Me?” Sebastian asked.

  Chelsea was currently holding the baby and she carefully handed him to Sebastian. She showed him how to hold the baby because he'd never held a child before and was nervous.

  “He's amazing. What's his name?” asked Sebastian as he looked down at the tiny little person in his hands. The baby had his big brown eyes open and was smiling. He drifted off to sleep almost as soon as Sebastian took him.

  “Bruce Sebastian,” replied Bruce. “We hope you're okay with giving him your name as his middle name.”

  “I'm honored,” Sebastian replied.

  “We were hoping you and Chelsea would do us the favor of being the godparents. I know it's an old tradition but I'm British and old traditions are what we do,” Bruce told them.

  “I don't know what to say,” said Chelsea with a tear in her eye. “Of course.”

  “I can't think of a more esteemed privilege,” Sebastian said.

  “Okay everyone, sorry to break up the moment but we need to get her to London,” the doctor told everyone. “Despite the complications, the delivery went smoothly but we still need to get them checked out at a proper medical facility.” He took the baby from Sebastian and handed him back to his mother after putting her on a gurney. They all said their goodbyes as the family left.

  #

  Sebastian and Chelsea were sitting in their quarters at a table when the comm beeped. “Go ahead,” said Sebastian.

  “Sir, the Scottish government is on the line. They are requesting a conference with you regarding unusual activity at Stonehenge,” said Lt. Mavis. “They asked you to meet them at the site. They want you to see this in person.”

  “Did they say when?” asked Sebastian.

  “One moment, I'll ask,” the Lieutenant replied. A moment later he came back on the line. “They asked if you could meet in three hours. They indicate they have the area zoned off from the public and someone can meet you at the police checkpoint on the north side. They'll have a diplomatic envoy prepped and sent to greet you,” Lt. Mavis told them.

  “Thank you, Bobby. Do we have any recon on the area?” Chelsea asked.

  “Yes, ma'am but it doesn't look like Stonehenge, at least not how we know it,” he replied.

  “Send it through and thank you, Bobby,” Chelsea said.

  “Patching it through. Lt. Mavis out,” he said and the comm went dead.

  “The reports from the lamia relocation program came in. GloCom indicates the last of the lamia have been moved to the prefabs on the edge of the castle grounds. They clear-cut a small portion of the growth to give them more space. The cave system has been cleared of their personal possessions and detonated. The stone was unstable, and they didn't want anyone wandering in there and getting hurt. They're also learning our language quickly.”

  “We'll have to go meet them. The team said they were nice if a little skittish. Not surprising considering they were in isolation for at least twenty-five centuries as best we can tell and the last humans they dealt with were power hungry Masters masquerading as gods,” Sebastian said.

  “Good idea. We can do that as soon as we get back from Scotland. Speaking of which, the data transfer is done,” Chelsea said as she brought up the satellite feeds and both stared at the screen. “What the Hell has Boudicca done?”

  In the middle of Stonehenge was a large structure that looked like a dome made of sarsen stone. It was covered in moss and vines with flowers and saplings growing on it. The dome looked to incorporate the keystone. The outer ring of the henge was edged by a high, thick bramble wall.

  “What has Boudicca done?” asked Sebastian.

  “I don't know but international incident comes to mind,” Chelsea said.

  “Technically she's Scottish so I think this would be considered an internal affair. It's going to be an interesting evening,” Sebastian told her.

  “That's one word for it. We have a few hours to burn. We could go meet with the lamia or finish going over personnel reports,” she told him.

  “We could,” he said as he grabbed her by the waist.

  “We could get in some training,” Chelsea said as she kissed him.

  “We could,” Sebastian replied as he lifted her up and sat her on the table.

  “We could...” she said but her voice trailed off as he kissed her neck and started taking off her shirt, “Do this instead.”

  “Good idea,” he replied with a smile and pushed her onto her back on the table.

  #

  The shuttle landed on the pad at the checkpoint. Sebastian, Chelsea, Xavier, and Michael got out. They could se
e the hedge ring around the henge from where they were and just like in the images, over the top of the brambles they could see the sarsen dome. It was about ten feet tall and had a diameter of about twenty feet.

  “Lord Marshall, good of you and your team to come. I'm Deputy Minister Windhall from the Scottish Parliament. We're not sure what's going on here.”

  “What do you know so far?” asked Vice Marshall Chelsea.

  “Well, Vice Marshall, see for yourself. It's the strangest thing I've ever seen, and I think it falls in your domain. When our morning patrol found this, we pulled the security feed,” said Deputy Minister Windhall.

  “Let me guess. Three people showed up. A blond man, a redheaded woman and another woman probably unconscious and possibly on a hospital bed. The blond man left. The redhead did something and this appeared,” said Vice Marshall Chelsea.

  “That about sums it up, but it didn't appear so much as grow. Our main concern here is the preservation of the landmark and the safety of the people inside,” Deputy Minister Windhall told them. “We're going to keep the area closed until this is dealt with.”

  “I don't think the people are in any danger. Are you familiar with Master Boudicca?” asked Lord Marshall Sebastian.

  “I am. We took a great interest when one of our legends returned. It's a bit hard to believe though,” Deputy Minister Windhall said.

  “It's really her and she's the one who did this. She probably cares more about Stonehenge than you do. To you, it's a monument but to her, it's a sacred site she helped construct. She also cares a great deal about the woman with her and brought her here to heal her. I don't think it's possible she could harm either the site or her companion,” Vice Marshall Chelsea told him.

  “We're going to go check it out,” Vice Marshall Chelsea told him.

  “Xavier, Michael, stay here,” Vice Marshall Chelsea told them.

  “That's not happening,” Field Marshall Xavier said. When he saw Chelsea's face at refusing an order, he elaborated. “Both of those women are good friends. If either needs help, I'm going to be there to help.”

  Sebastian put his hand on Chelsea's shoulder and whispered, “I'll fill you in later.”