X-Calibur: The Descent

by Jackson-Lawrence, R.

  Gwen and Lance had been made similar armour, moulded to fit their different body shapes, each also bearing the design on the chest plate. “Merlin, this is,” Gwen began, until she spotted the final gift Merlin had prepared.

  Beneath the last piece of armour, she spotted the protruding hilt of a sword. Lance had already seen his, and was lifting it from the table in awe. Lance’s sword was longer than Gwen’s, though of a similar design. They both bore a striking resemblance to Excalibur, and they each hummed gently as the hilts were gripped. Lance turned away from the table and took a few practice swings, while Gwen continued to stare at her own sword in disbelief.

  “Knights of Camelot need appropriate weapons and armour,” Merlin said proudly. “I had some assistance with the decoration to your armour, and the swords are the equal of Excalibur. May they serve you well.

  “Lance, I have named yours Arondight, a replacement for the sword you once wielded. And Gwen, I do not recall you having a sword of your own, though you have proven yourself more than worthy of wielding one.

  “As I thought upon a name, I recalled the story of Queen Boudicca, a great warrior of Ancient Britain. She waged battles against the occupying Roman Empire, leading tens of thousands of warriors to victory over the invaders. It is said she called upon the goddess of victory, Andraste, to aid her in battle, hence the name I have given your sword.”

  “Andraste,” Gwen said to herself, feeling the weight of the sword in her hand. It was the shortest of the three swords Merlin had forged, but perfectly balanced and with an edge which would never dull nor break.

  “Thank you, Merlin,” Lance said. “This is, it’s incredible.”

  “Truly,” Arthur agreed. Gwen continued to smile to herself, eyes never leaving the blade in her hands.

  Merlin bowed slightly at the praise. “Come now,” he said. “Gather up your gifts and return to the ship. Destiny awaits!”

  Chapter 3

  First Impressions

  Earth Year 6239

  Two days into the journey, Gwen came to Arthur is his cabin, knocking politely before entering. Arthur was sat on his cot, reading one of the many books Merlin had recommended. There was so much to learn, not only about ruling and the Knight’s Code, but also battle tactics and strategy. His head ached so much, he was happy for the interruption.

  “Gwen, is everything okay?” he asked, seeing the look of anxiety on her face.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” Gwen replied, rubbing her eyes. “Every time I closed my eyes, I, what if we don’t have anything to go back to?”

  “I don’t understand?” Arthur asked, sitting up and putting the tablet away. “Come, sit down.”

  Gwen hesitated before sitting on the edge of the cot, looking away from him. “What if the Mori-Gran-Ra attacks while we’re away? What if Camelot is gone and everyone is killed? What about Veronica, her child?”

  She was close to tears, Arthur noticed, as he sat up and moved to sit beside her. He placed his arm across he shoulders, hesitantly at first, waiting to see if she would shrug it away. When she relaxed into him, he pulled her close, squeezing her gently.

  “It’ll be months before more ships reach Earth, assuming the Mori-Gran-Ra sends any,” Arthur reminded her. “Gar-Wan assured us. We’ll be back by then, and we’ll be ready, you’ll see.”

  “We don’t know though,” Gwen replied. “Not for sure. What if another hive ship is close enough to jump? What if the engines are repaired on the ship we escaped?”

  “Then they’ll do what they can,” Arthur said honestly. “The shield should be almost finished, and Merlin left instructions on how to build more cannons. Celeste and her crew are in orbit as we speak, watching for any sign of an attack. If she sees anything, she’ll contact us straight after she contacts the surface.”

  As Gwen began to cry, Arthur hugged her tightly, stroking her hair as he did his best to reassure her. Gwen was saying something over and over, whispering to herself, though between the sobs and the muttering it took him a moment to make it out. “It’s all my fault,” Gwen mumbled to herself. “It should have been me.”

  “No,” Arthur said. “Don’t say that. It wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t have known.”

  “You don’t understand,” Gwen said, pulling herself away from Arthur and meeting his eyes for the first time. He saw such sorrow there, such sadness, it broke his heart.

  “When the ceiling came down,” Gwen continued, “in the infirmary, I was so scared. I hid under the examination couch. I hid there, with Veronica, and I tried to be brave, but I was just so terrified. My legs wouldn’t move, and Veronica was crying, and I asked myself, what would Arthur do? You’d have saved them, got them out, but not me. It was my fault Sam died.

  “I should have pulled him under the couch, when the ceiling came down, but I was only thinking about myself. I was so scared, I just saved myself and now the baby won’t have a father.”

  “You did everything you could,” Arthur insisted. “You did the only thing you could.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Gwen insisted. “When I went back, when I found him. He was dead, I could see it from the door, but I checked his pulse anyway. When I held his wrist, when I knew for sure he was dead, I thought, just in that moment, that I was glad it wasn’t me. He was dead, and all I could think was that I was alive, not him, and I was pleased. What does that make me? What sort of monster does that make me?”

  “That doesn’t make you a monster,” Arthur assured her. “That just makes you human. Did you think I wasn’t scared, back on the hive? That I didn’t just want to turn and run and hide until it was all over?

  “So many people died, not only on the hive but back in Camelot too. We survived though, you and me, and there’s nothing wrong with that. We won’t forget those we’ve lost, but we shouldn’t blame ourselves either. You saved Veronica and her child, and without you they’d all have died. Don’t feel guilty about surviving, embrace it, and make sure you do something to honour those we’ve lost each and every day.”

  Gwen began to cry again and Arthur continued to hold her, tight against his chest, until at some point she stopped and finally fell asleep.

  *****

  The final jump brought the scout ship to the outskirts of the Teleri system. Three planets orbited the large, bright star at the centre, and Merlin had informed them the Teleri lived on the second planet.

  “Are you picking anything up yet?” Arthur asked as they advanced. The third planet was a large gas giant with swirling storms and electrical discharges from the upper atmosphere. If they hadn’t been so nervous about approaching the Teleri home world, they would have noticed how beautiful it looked.

  “Nothing at all,” Gwen replied. “It’s strange, there’s no background radiation, no electromagnetic signals, nothing.”

  “This is the system in the records,” Merlin added. “I do hope this hasn’t been a fool’s errand.”

  “You don’t get it,” Lance said. “It looks like the scanner’s being blocked somehow, we’re not even picking up background readings from the star.”

  “Oh, that is strange,” Arthur said. “Just keep looking.”

  As the gas giant grew smaller behind them, the ship’s communicator suddenly sprang to life. “Tol garey. Hlesh dundus garan. Res mar. Orin de res sadut.”

  “Where’s that coming from?” Arthur asked. “What are they saying?”

  “It’s coming from, well, everywhere and nowhere,” Gwen replied with confusion, pressing icons on her console as she attempted to determine the location.

  “I’ll try to translate it,” Merlin added.

  “Just stop the ship until we know what they want,” Arthur said. “It was probably a warning of some kind.”

  “Yes,” Lance agreed sombrely. “Leave now or we will destroy you.”

  “Hmm,” Merlin said thoughtfully. “Not too far off by the looks of it.”

  Lance groaned as Arthur asked, “Can we talk back to them? Tell them who we are, th
at we’re not a threat?”

  “I can try,” Merlin replied.

  “Do it, please,” Arthur said.

  Merlin analysed the transmission before responding on the same frequency. “Teleri. Friends is we. Help wanted green, star far away, freed. Orbit yellow smile?”

  “Alien vessel,” the communicator said, speaking in the language of the Mori. “Depart this system immediately. This is your only warning.”

  Arthur reached down and grasped the communicator. “Please,” he said. “We’re not your enemy. We escaped the Mori hive ship and we’ve come to seek your help. We know you defeated them before.”

  “Depart this system,” the Teleri replied, “or you will be destroyed.”

  Arthur felt the weight of his rule upon his shoulders, driving him down. He knew it had been a long shot, but to turn them away before hearing what he had to say was too much. The people back in Camelot, his people, were relying on him, and he wasn’t prepared to turn around and leave, not without a fight.

  He’d seen the anguish in Gwen’s eyes, the fear that they’d return to nothing but ruin and death. They’d survived, and he was going to do everything he could to ensure those left behind would survive too. His face grew red and his throat tight as he turned towards Lance and Gwen.

  “What now?” Lance asked.

  “We’re not leaving,” Arthur said defiantly. “We came all this way to ask for their help, and we’re not leaving until they hear us out.”

  “You’re sure?” Lance continued

  Arthur nodded and spoke again into the communicator. “We’re not leaving,” he said. “We’re no threat to you; you must be able to see that. We only want to talk. If you hear us out and say no, we’ll leave, but not before.”

  The communicator remained silent as they collectively held their breaths. Merlin smiled as he looked upon his king, proud of his determination and dedication to his people. Gwen thought about what he had said to her, about honouring those lost, and smiled up at him as she thought there was nothing he wouldn’t do for those back home.

  “Stand by,” the Teleri on the communicator said at last.

  As they began to relax, a large vessel appeared in front of them, seemingly out of nowhere. It was almost a mile in length and silvery-grey in colour, with a larger, squared front section and narrower, curved rear. The front of the craft seemed to be lined with weapons, including an enormous front-facing barrel which dwarfed all the others, with further weapon platforms along each side of the body of the craft.

  “Follow the escort ships and land in the docking bay,” the Teleri on the communicator ordered. “Any deviation will result in destruction.”

  As they watched, a section on the side of the large vessel opened and four small craft flew out. They were diamond shaped and similar in colour to the main ship, and quickly took up positions around the Mori scout ship. Gwen kept pace with the lead ship as they were escorted towards the landing bay.

  As they approached, Gwen and the others were able to make out more details of the main Teleri vessel. The surface of the craft shimmered slightly as they looked, almost like a heat haze, and looked entirely smooth apart from the protruding weapon barrels. There were also thousands of tiny windows, allowing those inside to look out, though it was impossible to see if anyone was observing them.

  Gwen followed the diamond shaped ships as they turned and flew back into the Teleri vessel. The inside of the ship was bright and open, like an enormous hangar, with thousands of the diamond shaped smaller crafts visible all around them. Gwen touched down within the circle of escort ships and powered down the engines.

  “Remain aboard your vessel until ordered to disembark,” the Teleri voice said.

  *****

  Arthur and the others looked out from the cockpit with wonder. The floor of the docking bay was white and lit from beneath, filling the whole hangar with light, while the diamond shaped ships floated a half-metre above it. Gwen waited to see what the Teleri looked like, though no one seemed to disembark from the escort ships as she watched.

  Their first sight of the Teleri was of six armoured individuals, emerging from a platform which rose from beneath the floor. They stood a similar height to Gwen, though broader about the shoulders and much narrower about the waist. The armour covered them from head to foot, interlocking white pieces with a black visor hiding their faces. Each of the Teleri held a stylish, curved rifle across their chest as they approached the scout ship.

  “Allow my guards to board your vessel,” the Teleri voice demanded through the intercom. “Once they’re satisfied, they will bring you to me.”

  Gwen looked to Lance and Arthur, who were watching the approaching guards warily. “Let them aboard,” Arthur said at last, turning away from the cockpit window.

  Gwen moved her hand along the console to her right, lowering the gangway. The guards moved quickly up the ramp, two lines of three quickly taking up positions to cover the corridor and cockpit. Arthur raised his hands, showing he was unarmed, though it only seemed to agitate the guards who raised their weapons towards him.

  “Mul Gralak!” one of the guards barked, waving his rifle towards the cockpit.

  “Lower your hands,” Merlin translated. “They appear to have taken it as a threat.”

  Arthur lowered his hands and smiled lopsidedly towards the guard, though whether it had any effect was hidden beneath the visor.

  While the two guards continued to cover the cockpit, the remaining guards removed devices from pockets on their armour and began to walk along the corridor. Gwen watched as a pale light shone from the devices in long, sweeping arcs which covered the walls, floor and ceiling. As the guards moved along the corridor and out of view, the light continued to cast long shadows back along the walls and floor.

  “What are they looking for?” Gwen asked aloud.

  “Weapons. Bombs. Hidden crew members,” Merlin suggested. “Probably all of the above.”

  “It’s lucky we’re all alone and unarmed then, isn’t it,” Lance remarked sarcastically.

  The guards returned along the corridor before the intercom announced, “Follow my guards from your vessel. Do not deviate from the path. There will be no warnings.”

  As three of the guards stepped down the gangway, Arthur said quietly, “Merlin, stay here and watch our backs.”

  “Of course, my King,” Merlin replied. “You can count on me.”

  “And try not to get us killed,” Lance added as he stepped from the cockpit.

  “I’ll try,” Merlin said with a smile.

  “Thanks,” Gwen replied. “I only hope Arthur does the same.”

  *****

  As they stepped from the gangway and onto the hangar deck of the Teleri ship, they were struck by a strange sense of buoyancy, as though the floor beneath their feet wasn’t entirely solid. It wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, just disorientating, and Gwen would have loved to have knelt down and feel the floor with her hands, if not for the fear of being shot as soon as she’d done it.

  They followed the three guards who led them between the diamond shaped vessels, while the other three guards brought up the rear. Gwen was struck by the majesty and beauty of the Teleri vessels, sleek shapes of a silvery-grey material which seemed to flow before her eyes. It was almost as though the ships were entirely made of mercury or a similar liquid metal, though they held their shape perfectly. There were no obvious doors, weapons or engines, and it was only when one of the rear guards shouted, “Mul Gralak,” that she noticed she was reaching out to touch one of them.

  “Lowering my hands,” Gwen said to herself as she slowly and deliberately brought her hands to her sides.

  As they stepped from the hangar and into a corridor, the floor suddenly felt much more solid. The corridor was wide and similarly bright, with lights and symbols flowing along the walls in red, green and blue. The floor was the same silvery-grey as the outside of the ship, while the ceiling was darker with regularly positioned spotlights. The guards marched
ahead without a word, turning left and right at intersections as they escorted Arthur, Gwen and Lance deeper into the enormous vessel.

  They had been walking for almost ten minutes when Gwen realised she hadn’t seen anyone else aboard the ship except for the six guards. They had taken several turnings and she felt like they had been walking in circles, but she was yet to witness anyone else at all. Did they really suspect her and her companions to be so dangerous that the rest of the ship was in hiding?

  Her thoughts were interrupted as the forward guards stopped dead and Arthur nearly walked into the back of them. They turned towards the wall, where the flowing symbols merged together and formed the outline of a door before flowing to one side.

  Once the door was open, the guards stepped back, making room for Arthur and his companions to enter. Arthur looked apprehensively towards Gwen and Lance before stepping across the threshold, where he found a table with three chairs waiting for him. The table and chairs were simple in their design, made of a smooth metal and the only contents of the otherwise empty room. Once they were all inside, a guard stepped forward and pulled one of the chairs back, motioning them to sit.

  As soon as they were sat, they were shocked to find the guards grasping them from behind, forcing their heads towards the table. Arthur tried to fight back, tried to sit up, but the guards were too strong. As his right cheek pressed hard against the cold metal of the table, he heard another door open, across the room where he couldn’t see.

  “Get off me!” Arthur demanded.

  “Let me up!” Gwen yelled, though she was outside of Arthur’s field of vision. All he could see was Lance, trying in vain to straighten his back as the guards pressed down harder against his struggling.