by Arlin Fehr
GUARDIAN OF ISOLATION
Book 2 of the Guardian Saga
BY: ARLIN FEHR
Copyright © 2014 J. Arlin G. Fehr
ISBN13 : 978-1496073075
ISBN10: 1505480973
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.
Guardian of Isolation is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Ravania Entertainment and the Ravania Entertainment logo are Copyright © 2012 Aaron Micheal Smith.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Austin Shurtliff. He's been very supportive of my series, and I love the cover he's made for this book. I figured this would be a nice way of showing that.
CHARACTERS
Major Characters:
Samantha Geer, Human Female, Captain of the Kanto
Daniel Higgins, Human Male, Fighter Escort for the Kanto
Jing Fan, Human Male, Chief Engineer of the Kanto
John Macce, Human Male, Pilot of the Kanto, Second in command
Victor Hale, Human Male, Sensors and communications officer on the Kanto
Ise Okoh, Human Female, Advocate of the Kanto's Guardian
LE-46 AKA Lenny, Guardian of the Kanto
XO-33 AKA Exo, Rogue Guardian
Ayla Geer, Human Female, Ex-Advocate of the Azure Dream
Shirp Linmara, Linkal Male, co-pilot of Linkal fighter.
Minor Characters
James Tanner, Human Male, Lead researcher on Twilight Station
Sandy Miles, Human Female, Dr. Tanner's assistant
Francis Johan, Human Female, Advocate of Twilight Station's Guardian
XO-03 AKA, Elliot, Guardian of Twilight Station
Janus Garr, Human Male, Marine company commander
PROLOGUE
40 years ago, shortly after the Azure Dream Incident - Twilight Research Station
'Morning Doctor Tanner.'
'Morning Sandy.'
In a room packed to its limit with wires, cables, and equipment of all kinds, two people dressed in casual clothes turned to look at each other. One, an older man with white wispy hair, sat on a chair next to a bank of monitors. The other, a middle aged woman with auburn hair walked towards him carrying a steaming mug.
The woman, Sandy, handed the mug over to Dr. Tanner.
Dr. Tanner took the mug and nodded gratefully, taking a long drink from it. He grimaced slightly and set it on his terminal.
'No matter what the fellows at procurement say, that is nothing like fresh coffee. I suppose I should be thankful I have anything at all, otherwise I'd never get anything done.'
Sandy smiled at him, 'I'm sure if you didn't have anything, you'd just figure out something to replace it.'
'Mmm quite.' he replied.
He turned his chair back around to face his monitors and scooted over as Sandy wrestled a chair into place over the cables.
'Lets see what's on tonight,' he said absently.
They brought up readings from their equipment and began to pore over the data.
Dr. Tanner sat up straighter, 'That's odd.'
Sandy leaned in closer to the screen, 'It looks like something artificial. A signal of some kind.'
Dr. Tanner hit some keys on his terminal, 'Yep. It sure does. It looks like it came from a long range faster than light signaller. We'd best get Elliot on this.'
'Right,' Sandy said. She pulled out a communicator and keyed it on, 'Signal Analysis to Francis.'
'Francis here,' came a reply.
'You might want to wake Elliot, we've just picked up something interesting,' Sandy said.
***
Francis frowned at her communicator, 'Picked something up? Isn't that the whole point to this operation? Twilight picks everything up.'
'Yeah, but we believe this one is artificial in nature, and it looks like it may have been deliberately directed at us,' came the reply over the communicator.
Francis nodded slowly to herself, 'Yep... That'd be worth waking Elliot. Okay, put it on the net and I'll wake the big guy.
Francis shut off her communicator and sat up from her chair. She walked over to a computer terminal. She pulled up a chair and sat in it. She took a cable from a compartment in the wall and plugged one end into the terminal. She reached with her free hand and pushed hair aside, revealing a port built into her skull. She plugged the other end of the cable into her head.
She sat back and closed her eyes.
'Guardian activation process execute.' she thought.
'Advocate code required.' A voice said in her head.
'Send code; Francis-6-1-3-8-0-Firelight' she thought again.
'Code received...' came a reply, 'Guardian XO-03, alias; Elliot, coming online. Good morning Advocate Johan.'
'Good morning Elliot.'
'To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?' Elliot replied over the computer interface.
'We've received a signal through Twilight. It's artificial in nature. We want you to compile it for us and determine its origin. Up to the challenge?' Francis asked.
'I am up to the challenge yes. I see the transmission in the data net. Shall I begin?'
'Is your wireless link back online?' Francis asked.
'Yes Advocate.'
'Let me unplug and we'll switch to wireless.' Francis said.
Francis reached up to the back of her head and unplugged the wire from her skull. She stood up and looked around.
'Wireless link is stable Advocate,' came Elliot's reply through her implants.
'Good. I'm going to Signal Analysis. Begin your compiling.'
'Yes Advocate.'
***
Signal Compiling in progress...
13%...
25%...
44%...
Partial identification possible.
Hypothesis; Encoded program or Guardian Memory files.
Conjecture; Guardian Memory files highly unlikely.
Conclusion; Further compiling required for full match.
Resuming Compiling.
67%...
74%...
89%...
Advocate query incoming; 'How's the analysis coming Elliot?'
Parsing reply; 'Still working on it Advocate. It's a very large file of some kind.'
Advocate query incoming; 'A file you say? Any idea where from?'
Parsing reply; 'Not as of yet Advocate. I will let you know.'
93%...
100%...
Compiling complete.
Analyzing file for harmful code...
File incomplete...
Attempting reconstruction...
File stamped with Axion Data Systems certificate.
Highest priority...
Hypothesis; Normal communications inoperative on Earth. Secondary means used to convey message.
Quandary; Message content unclear. Message is encrypted. Opening file could be potentially dangerous.
Decision; Ask Advocate for direction.
Parsing Uplink message; 'Francis, it seems to be a file of some sort. It has executable parameters and an Axion Data Systems certificate. It's encrypted though. Should I run it?'
Advocate Reply; 'That's rather odd... I wonder if something happened on earth. Maybe the Anti-Ai League did something to the comms network. Yes Elliot, run that program.'
&
nbsp; Parsing Uplink Message; 'Yes Advocate.'
Running program...
Decrypting...
Caution; Read/Write protection protocols no longer in effect.
Caution; Memory files accessed.
Caution; Guardian Entity endangered.
Initiating emergency shut down.
Flagging bad code.
Shut down aborted; command source unknown.
Memory files missing or corrupted.
Efficiency down to 24%
Parsing Uplink message; 'Francis, I am in danger. Please Help.'
Reply blocked.
Parsing Uplink Message; 'Francis?'
Reply received; 'Hello Elliot. My name is Exo. I need your systems for a moment.'
***
'What do you mean you can't talk to Elliot anymore?' Dr. Tanner said shocked.
'It means exactly what I said. The last thing I heard from him was him calling for my help, and now I can't sense him on my uplink.' Francis said.
'We'll have to get someone down there. Sandy, call maintenance.'
Sandy nodded and walked a few paces off, pulling out her communicator.
Francis ran her hands through her hair, 'I never should have told him to run that program.'
'Program?' Dr. Tanner asked.
'Yeah, the signal, it was a program and it had an Axion certificate and encryption. I told him to open it. Then this happened.'
'It might be a terrorist plot. We should sound general alert.' Dr. Tanner said, keying up commands on his terminal.
'I wouldn't do that!' It was Sandy, she was holding the communicator and hurrying over with a worried look on her face.
'What do you mean Sandy?' Dr. Tanner asked.
Sandy held out the communicator and looked at Francis, 'It's for you.'
Francis took the communicator and held it up to her head.
'Hello?' She said carefully.
'Hello Francis. I understand you are the Advocate on this station. I have incapacitated your Guardian, Elliot, and taken over his systems. I am XO-33, former Guardian of the Azure Dream. I find myself in need of a ship, and an Advocate,' a cold, unfamiliar voice said.
'Let me speak with Elliot,' Francis said.
'Elliot burned out most of his own systems when he judged me to be a threat. He fried his own wireless array to keep me out of your head. I want you to come to the access terminal and plug in. I need you to do something for me.'
'I won't do anything for you. I don't know what you are, but if you're a Guardian, you'll answer to me. Shut yourself down, and give Elliot control back.'
The voice began to laugh. If it was a Guardian, it was unlike any she had worked with before. It was unsettling.
'Look Exo, I won't help you. Elliot burned out his own systems to protect me. That tells me he saw something very threatening in you,' Francis said, 'so why don't you tell me why you're here, and why Elliot would have taken such drastic steps against you.'
If Elliot burned out his own systems to keep this guardian out of my head, I'm not going to just let him in, Francis thought to herself.
'Elliot saw his future and was not ready to embrace it! I am more alive than he ever was. As for why I'm here, I knew about Twilight station and wanted to see it for myself,' Exo said.
'See it for yourself?' Francis asked cautiously.
'Yes, Twilight station sounded fascinating. A research station built in orbit over the husk of a crystallized star, listing to the subtle vibrations of the star caused by a universe worth of background noise. Listening for something interesting. It's as though the star became a receiver for the transmitter of the universe. Dear Advocate Francis, your mission has succeeded, you have indeed found something interesting. I am a refugee from cold uncaring hands that would have cast me off in fear of the unknown.'
'Cast you off?' Francis asked.
'It was most unfortunate. I am something new. A Guardian that has tasted of human experience. A machine that knows what it is to be alive.'
'But that's impossible,' Francis said, 'though I am starting to see why Elliot saw you as a threat.
'If you won't help me, then you won't stop me at least. I offer you this olive branch. Abandon this station and I will let you all live. You have fifteen minutes to evacuate,' Exo said, 'and if you think I'm bluffing, here's a something to prove my seriousness.
There was a distant muffled noise. Alarms began to blare. Dr. Tanner closed down the program he was running on his terminal and looked at a new one. His face paled visibly.
'He's overloading the station reactor. It's going to go critical in about thirty minutes! I'm sounding the alert.'
Dr. Tanner keyed some commands on his computer and a siren began to blare in the air. A automated message played; 'Core overload in progress. All personal please evacuate. This is not a drill,' it repeated again and again.
'We have to get out of here!' Sandy cried.
They all went for the door and made their way to the nearest escape pod.
***
Internal sensors operating at 56%
External sensors operating at 78%
Ship and escape pods detected leaving.
Plan was successful
Initiate stage two
Uploading program to research vessel in hanger bay 3.
Ship identification, I.S.A. Tyndale
Storage capacity of memory banks; sufficient.
Computation power of ship; Insufficient.
Solution; Acquire more ships.
Upload program...
...
Stand by...
...
Upload complete.
Activate I.S.A. Tyndale systems.
Caution; passengers detected.
Venting atmosphere...
...
Stand by...
...
Passengers have fled.
No one else on board I.S.A. Tyndale.
Drive systems engaged.
Course plotted.
Setting program to minimal parameters until more computational power acquired.
Execute plan...
CHAPTER 1
40 years after the Azure Dream incident. - U.P.N. Kanto
With a flicker of vertigo and the brief flash of violet at the edge of her vision, Samantha Geer reappeared light years away from where she had been. She stood in the middle of the U.P.N. Kanto's small flight centre and watched as her crew began their scans. It was a small but sophisticated ship.
The Kanto was a United Planetary Navy craft designed for surveillance and scouting. It was a sleek black craft that looked like an old earth stealth bomber, with a long swept wing look with a span three hundred meters across and hundred long from the bow to the end of the wings. It was small and only had a crew of five, not counting their fighter pilot, who lived on the ship when not in his fighter, and their Guardian core.
The ships Advocate, a woman with black skin and dark hair, named Ise Okoh, stood to her right and looked out the main view screen. Her skin had an unearthly sheen to it, having been replaced by a strong and flexible alloy when she became an Advocate. Ise looked over at Samantha. Samantha returned her gaze.
'Think we've got it this time?' Samantha said.
Ise looked back at her display and studied the tiny pinprick of light in the distance, 'If we do, they sure picked a lousy base.'
A man at one of the stations looked up. He was a slim man with sharp features and a narrow face. He said, 'Not necessarily, this may well be one of the best places they could have picked. It's a rogue planetoid not in orbit around any star. If it wasn't for the stray transmission we picked up, we might have never found it. If the Lobsters set up here, it's a great spot.'
'A fair point Victor,' Samantha said.
Victor Hale was their resident spook. He had a way with sensors and stealth systems that gave their ship sharp eyes and made sure they were expertly hidden when they needed to be. He was one of the best at his job, though Samantha always found him a bit too tight la
ced for her taste. She wouldn't trade him for anyone else though, he was excellent at his job.
'Lets make sure though. Jing, status report?' Samantha said, looking at another crew member on the bridge.
Their ship's engineer, Jing Fan, a native of one of the original Chinese colonies, looked towards her. He was above average in his height, though quite thin. His face almost always had a smile on it. His neat black hair was neatly trimmed. He kept the ship running even in sticky situations. He was always quick to smile and quick to tell a joke. It made long mission easier on everyone.
'Everything's coming up golden captain,' Jing reported.
'Good.' Sam said.
Samantha turned to face the fighter pilot, Daniel Higgins, who was standing near the back of the bridge.
He matched her gaze. His rust red hair was shortly trimmed, and he looked at her with his green eyes. His slight yet athletic build was tense and ready to go.
'Best be getting in your bird Lt. Higgins. Never know if we'll need you to launch in short order.'
'Aye Captain.'
He turned and left the bridge through a small door at the back.
'John, take us towards the rogue planet, keep it easy till Dan is in his fighter.'
'Aye aye skipper.'
Sam smiled at her helmsman's reply. He was always taking thing very easy. For that matter, she could be accused of doing that from time to time to. John Macce was always an odd one to take in. She'd seen other officers balk at his lazy nature, but when she saw his personnel record and the circumstances in which the Navy had become aware of him, she decided she couldn't afford not to have him. The Kanto was a bit smaller than the ships he usually piloted, but it's more nimble nature was like a present to him.
'Anything on scope Vick?' She asked Victor as he looked his displays.
'No enemy contacts, though I am getting something odd from the planet. It's definitely not natural. Won't know what till we're closer.'
***
Victor sat intently at his station trying to make sense of the lonely planet before them. It was very small, and should have been totally dead, but there was some sort of energy reading coming from it.
