Home (Book of the Guardian 1)

by Ben Winston

  “He’s not only sneaky, but he’s fast too!” She grinned back. “So, I guess you wouldn’t have any problem getting the food bars then would you?”

  John waggled his eyebrows at her. “Since I’m certain he’s going to ask one of us, where would you like to see your new Bio-Molecular Research Center?”

  “My what?”

  The couple was still sitting at Bernie’s talking when Gloria found them there. She smiled and felt a thump in her heart as she watched them together. Would she be losing her best friend, or gain a new one?

  She also said that when she had told John she wanted him to be her boyfriend, he had admitted to having feelings for Gloria as well; he refused Mary because he hadn’t wanted to hurt Gloria, and wanted to explain his feelings and the decision.

  She had to admit, they looked like a couple in love. For an instant, she was afraid that it would end her friendship with Mary, and her new friendship with John. However, once they saw her approaching them, her fears crashed down around her feet. Both Mary and John stood and gave her a hug that was more than that of welcome.

  “Gods, I needed that! Say, did you see that luxury barge parked outside?” Gloria asked in an attempt to get control of the butterflies in her tummy.

  Mary pointed to the barge, clearly seen through the open wall on the pier. “Actually, we were both there when she was launched.”

  “That had to be some show! I think she’s the largest craft ever launched here,” Gloria replied and turned to her best friend. “You didn’t say anything about it earlier. Who does she belong to?”

  “She didn’t tell you that the owner had asked her to christen it for him?” John asked teasingly.

  Gloria gave them both the hairy eyeball. “Okay, spill it! What’s going on?”

  “Well, I think you should sit down. We have a few things to tell you,” Mary said, pointing out the fact that Gloria was still standing beside the table.

  “Actually, I think this conversation would be better suited to another table,” John replied, and winked at Mary.

  “I think you’re so right!” she said and stood with him.

  A confused looking Gloria took a step back to give them room. John took pity on her, and took her hand to lead her over to the gangway to the barge.

  “Wait, won’t the owner get upset if he finds three strangers on his fancy new barge?” Gloria asked.

  “It’ll be okay, just follow John’s lead,” Mary replied and motioned for her to walk onto the shiny deck of the barge.

  John lead the very confused looking woman into the dining area, and after Mary entered, closed the glass doors so they could talk privately.

  Once Gloria was seated, Mary went to the galley and came back with drinks for all three of them. John took Gloria's hand. “Gloria, Mary and I have already spoken about this, but I wanted to explain it to you. I know you were the first person I met when I arrived here, and I was even thinking about asking you out, but today, when I asked Mary to christen the barge, I realized I felt a deeper connection with her. I still want you as a friend, but I would like to see if Mary and I can build a relationship together. I hope you can understand that.”

  Gloria smiled and nodded, but she had tears in her eyes. “I can understand it, yes. In fact, while I would have went out with you, I don’t think we could have built a deeper connection. Don’t get me wrong, I like you, John. I like you a lot, but there just isn’t that... spark, that could become a deeper bond.”

  “I think I understand what you mean,” John replied. “I do feel that with Mary. I think that was the deeper connection I mentioned earlier. I hope I haven’t hurt you, because I do still want to be your friend.”

  Gloria smiled. “John, most men I know wouldn’t have even tried to explain their feelings to me. I think this is the nicest rejection I’ve ever had. No, you haven’t hurt me. I would be honored to be your friend. That is, I will on the condition that you tell me what the deal is with this beautiful yacht.”

  “Do you remember John telling us that his Uncle Mark was going to send him a fishing boat?” Mary asked, and Gloria nodded. It was one of the things they had discussed when Mary and Gloria helped John clean his house.

  John held up his hands. “It was delivered this morning. Mary christened it ‘Remembrance’.”

  “THIS is the fishing boat??” Gloria asked incredulously.

  “Yup, this is the fishing boat,” John replied grinning.

  “John and I are going to go out on the lake for a few days. Kind of a shakedown cruise, as well as a getting to know each other better thing, so I’ll be gone for a bit,” Mary explained.

  “You’ll be at the party though, right?” Gloria asked.

  John nodded. “Yes. We’ll be there. I told your father that the medics could use the bunkroom as an infirmary. I imagine he’ll tie off to us, since I have a fully working communication's center.”

  “You have a ... uhm, can someone give me a tour. I’m starting to get a little overwhelmed,” Gloria asked.

  John turned to Mary, “Could you show her around? I need to use the head.”

  “Sure, Glory; you're going to scream when you see the master suite! Come on!” Mary said taking Gloria's hand and pulling.

  John had sent a request to Mark while the girl’s had been talking. Luckily, he responded as they were leaving on the tour. While he talked to Mark, he ate a ration bar to get him through to dinner.

  “What’s up, John?”

  “Sorry to bother you yet again, but I forgot to ask you if you’d run a background on Gloria as well? Mary’s giving her a tour at the minute, so I thought I’d give you a shout,” John said.

  Mark chuckled. “At this rate, we’re going to need to leave the comm open! But to answer your question; no, I haven’t yet. What’s her last name?”

  “Wow, you mean you don’t know?” John said jokingly. “You’re slippin'! Her name’s Gloria Saint. She’s the daughter of the local Deputy, Constable Bailey Saint. She works for the Royal Postal Bureau as a courier.”

  “Okay, we have her. Wow, she’s really pretty! Uh... Since her family are basically all public servants, this shouldn’t take long. Hmm. This is odd. Her family isn’t native,” Mark said cryptically.

  “Uh, not to be a smart ass, but no one’s native. This was a colony remember?” John said.

  “I know it was, but what I’m saying is that Gloria is only the third generation. Her grandfather immigrated there as Postmaster,” Mark said, puzzled. “The problem is, Gustav Saint is listed as missing and presumed dead. The transport carrying his family was hit by raiders three days out from Bethel's Anvil.”

  “Okay, so if he’s dead, then who was Gloria's grandfather?” John asked. “For that matter, who’s the guy I shook hands with this morning?”

  “Both are good questions. Unfortunately, I can’t give Gloria a clean bill of health until they’re answered.” Mark said. “You would also do the Royal Postal Bureau a great service by answering them. It would save them the price of an investigation. I’ll withhold this from the local Constable’s Office for now, but I can tell you, once they find out, you won’t make any friends; the Royal Constable Service is a clannish lot. They take a dim view of outsiders investigating one of their own for any reason.”

  “Yeah, and I’ll lose Gloria’s friendship if I have to kill her father for treason,” John replied. “I just hope Gloria herself isn’t part of it, I like her.”

  “I understand, and I’m sorry for the task I asked of you. You know, we can have one of the others come visit you for a week or so...” Mark began.

  “Won’t work, Sire. I accepted the orders, I can’t back-out now. Besides, I think the people here have accepted me, even after one day. They treat me like I’ve lived here my whole life.”

  “Look, this really could just be nothing. Rim Worlds like Bethel's Anvil have been ideal places for displaced and forgotten people to reintegrate back into civilization for years. This could very well be simply a case of refugee�
�s fleeing a small civil war, or something else. In a realm this size, there is always something that can cause people to flee anonymously,” Mark explained.

  John sighed as he heard the girls coming back. “I hope your right, Mark. The girls are coming back. I need to get ready for dinner. Talk to you later?”

  “I’m sure you will,” Mark said chuckling. “Have fun.”

  “Your Uncle has to be rich or something. This had to cost at least a megacredit!” Gloria said, as she and Mary entered the room from the hallway to the Foul Weather Bridge.

  “Well, I suppose he is; he’s been in the Marines long enough to make it to the Royal Guards,” John replied, eliciting a questioning look from Mary.

  He smiled sadly and shook his head at Mary. He continued speaking though, so Gloria wouldn’t misinterpret the gestures. “I’ve never actually met him, but since he gave me this, now I wish I had.”

  “But, I thought you talk to him all the time?” Gloria asked.

  John nodded. “Yeah, I do, but I’ve never actually met the man in person. In fact, I honestly don’t know if I’m actually related to him. I think it more likely that one of the retired soldiers that knew him had a family, and asked him to keep an eye on them for him after he died.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter to me, but I still wish I could have met him.”

  John got up to reopen the sliding windows. The Hostess had waved to him to signal that they were ready to begin dinner. He answered Gloria. “It looks like Dinner is about ready, we should get changed.”

  Chapter 06

  While the wait staff set the table for dinner, John went to his room to change while the girls used the other bedroom to get ready.

  Not surprisingly, John was the first one to return to the dining room. He was dressed in a suit that had been tailored to fit his size. It was a retirement gift from Major Chlodine Diamond; one of the Temporal Guardians that had been his closest friend and usual lover.

  He had felt a moment of loss when he put it on. The closest thing to love he had felt while serving was for Chloe. He knew she’d felt the same way because they spent the entire night before he was to be decommissioned making love in Guardian Park. When he almost died on the table, she would have come through the wall if it hadn’t been made of battlesteel.

  He knew she would be in orbit to support him in a few days. He hoped she would be happy for him in his present relationship. However, it was hard to forget the love they’d shared. The definitions of words like ‘love’ are radically modified in the reality of hundreds of centuries spent together. The simple fact that she hadn’t decided to join him, however, made him question those feelings. It never once occurred to him that she might have been waiting for him to ask her.

  Thoughts of Chloe remained with him all the way back to the dining room. When he noticed the Hostess watching him, he smiled back and nodded to her. She waved for him to join her, and he walked off the barge to her station in the restaurant.

  She pulled out a pile of flowers from her podium. “Geoff asked me to make sure you got these before the ladies came down.” She put a small beautiful flower in his lapel, and handed him the two other corsages for the women. All three flowers were different, but matched perfectly.

  “Nice suit. Turn around please?” She asked, and he obliged. “Really nice, it fits you perfectly. Was it tailored?”

  “Kind of,” John said blushing. “My father bought it for me when I graduated primary school, but my sister had to alter it to fit. She’s pretty good, and has a nice side business going.”

  “I’d say! It’s too bad she’s on another planet, she’d have more work than she could do if she were here. Best get back over there, your ladies will be down soon,” the woman said, and brushed an imaginary speck of lint off his shoulder.

  John nodded and looked back at the barge. “Thank you. This whole day has been like a dream coming true. I just hope it never ends.” Smiling at the Hostess, he returned to the barge and sat at the table to sip on his drink.

  The table had been set for a formal dinner complete with candles made of Beetle Bee Wax. The naturally fragrant wax was native only to the second and forth moons of a remote planet named Chelsea in the Galacian cluster, on the other side of the Realm.

  The plates looked like fine, bone china, which it could have been. While nothing like plates and such had made it off planet, the knowledge of how to make it had. Sitting beside the iridescent white plates were shining golden flatware. John remembered when gold used to be the most precious ore on earth. It lost its value, however, when man had found that it was pretty common on other worlds.

  The center piece had to have been made of Talosian Crystal. The crystals took in the colors of the surrounding flowers and slowly changed their appearance in a way that had a slight hypnotic affect. However, the beauty of the centerpiece was nothing beside the visions that entered the room from the starboard side.

  John stood. He couldn’t help but stare at the two ladies for a few moments before shaking his head, and approaching them. “Wow. You’re both so... Wow.”

  He couldn’t seem to say anymore, but that was alright with the girls. His reaction to them had been enough. In awe, he came around the table took both women by the hands, and led them to the table. He seated Mary first, then Gloria before retaking his own seat.

  “It’s going to be a long night if you remain speechless, John,” Gloria said, teasing him.

  John blushed a little. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass either of you. It’s just that you are both so beautiful, it’s literally indescribable.”

  Before they could really get started talking, the appetizer was served by waiters in full livery right down to the white gloves. Apparently, Geoff was going all out in this dinner.

  “Wow, I didn’t know Geoffrey had formal attire for his staff,” Gloria said.

  Mary nodded. “He sprung for the costumes after the second visit by Governor Yastlin. Since then, the staff normally only wear them once a month; when the governor comes for dinner.”

  Gloria shook her head. “I know for a fact that the Gov is off planet. He’s attending some conference somewhere about soldier's rights.”

  John’s ears perked. “So, what do you think on that issue, Gloria?”

  “What issue? The waiter’s suits?” Gloria asked looking a little confused.

  “No, the issue of equal rights for enhanced soldiers. Do you think they should be allowed to live among civilians without being unenhanced?” John asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never met any active duty marines. But from what I’ve heard, most of them are little more than animals after ‘enhancement’. But I don't know if I believe that either, I mean, how could they chose to retire and be unenhanced if they were animals?” Gloria shook her head. “There’s just too much gab out there for me to make a rational decision about it.”

  “After enhancement, typically, the marine is insane from all the new sensory input. After all, who wouldn’t be? Basically every sense and aspect of their humanity has been enhanced to almost unimaginable levels.” Mary described. “Considering their strength and speed, I’m not sure I’d like a newly enhanced marine living close by. However, I’ve heard from other doctors that most regain their ‘humanity’ after they make the adjustments required of the enhancements.”

  Gloria listened to her friend, then looked back at John. “What’s your opinion?”

  “I’ve talked to a couple of enhanced marines, and they both seemed pretty sane. I mean, we have an enhanced King for crying out loud! Would we have an insane man ruling us? No, I don’t think people are as afraid of the Crazy Supermen as they are of the sane ones,” John said.

  “What do you mean? Why would they be afraid of the sane ones?” Mary asked.

  “Think about this. Why was a no name soldier, one that had been in combat for hundreds of centuries, elevated to the throne when there were literally millions of other, better, choices?” John explained. “He isn’t a puppe
t of the parliament that many claim he is. There have been so many well publicized battles between the crown, the Lords, and the Commons that no one can say he’s anyone’s puppet. So, why him?”

  Both women looked at a loss for an explanation. Several theories had been put forth, and the most common was Marcus had been the leader of a successful coup d'état, and simply took the throne. But no one really believed that either; the rest of the military would have stopped him.

  Gloria shook her head, but Mary answered for both of them. “I have no idea. The history books say that as the head of the Intelligence Service, Marcus simply took over, and started running things. He just then progressed into being the King.”

  John shook his head. “Marcus Candlewood never rose above the rank of Colonel in any branch of service. So why was he not only allowed to take the throne, but encouraged to?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m wondering what this has to do with Marine’s rights?” Gloria asked.

  “I’m getting there. My theory is that he was made King for the very reason no one wants to give the rest of them equal rights; because he was enhanced. What if those bright boys that developed enhancement so many thousands of years ago forgot to mention one of the strongest side-effects of being enhanced?” John said. “Mary said it herself; almost every system in the human body is enhanced to the edge of imagination. After a thousand plus years of living in a hyper-enhanced body, what if the mind became hyper-enhanced too?”

  Gloria looked thoughtful, but Mary was looking a little frightened. He pointed at her. “There! That’s the real reason soldiers don’t have equal rights!”

  Gloria looked at her friend and took her hand. “Mary? Are you okay?”

  Quickly regaining her composure, Mary nodded and smiled at her friend. “I think John might have a point. But I don’t think he’s thought it out all the way. Could the enhancements have triggered an evolutionary alteration in the long-serving soldier, making it impossible for them to be unenhanced? I’m willing to bet that’s exactly what happened to Major Aster!”