Her mother watched her with a curious expression on her face. “Aesia, what is going on?”
“Mother, what you are about to hear must not leave this room. If anyone finds out, it would put Tristain’s life in danger.”
Her mother looked concerned. “Should you tell me then?” Aesia nodded. “Yes, as we may need your help.”
“Who do you mean, we?” her mother asked.
Aesia turned to Tristan and said, “Mother, I would like you to meet Tristain’s father, Tristan. Tristan, my mother Ewain.”
Tristan stepped forward. “I am very pleased to meet you, Madam.”
Ewain’s eyes went wide; her hands flew to her mouth. “But Aesia, you told us he was dead!”
“I thought he had been killed on the ship that rescued us ,but after they shipped me back home he escaped.”
Ewain turned to Tristan “I’m sorry, I forget my manners.” She held out her hand. “Hello Tristan, I have heard a lot about you.” She paused. “I can see where Tristain gets her eyes from.” Tristan took her hand for a moment and remained silent.
Aesia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Mother, as you know, Father and I went as part of a peace delegation to open negotiations with the leader of the League.”
Ewain frowned. “Yes, I know that.”
Aesia’s voice cracked as she rose and went to kneel by her mother, taking her hands. Tears formed in her eyes. “Mother, none of us knew about a plot to kill the League leader. One of the aides had been a hurried replacement for Teresian who suddenly took ill. Unfortunately, he had a bomb surgically implanted. We believe he planned to detonate it once the negotiations had started. League security discovered the bomb so he tried to kill the members of our peace delegation.” She took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her mother’s hands. “All three senior delegates, including Father, were killed in the blast. I’m sorry.” Ewain gasped. Aesia leaned forward, put her arms round her mother’s shoulders, and held her.
After a short while Ewain asked, “What about the League leader? Did you still meet him, Aesia, and explain, or will this war go on forever?” She shook her head. “I had hoped this meeting was the beginning of the end and that your father would bring home the chance of peace.”
Aesia dropped her arms and rocked back on her heels. “Yes Mother, I met the League’s leader, Admiral Clayandrian. He is extraordinary. He has telepathic abilities as we do, only far more powerful than any of our species has ever been.” She threw Tristan a quick glance.
“So where is he now? Is he going to continue with the war because of this and destroy us?” Ewain shuddered.
“No, Mother, he’s here. You have just met him. It’s Tristan.”
Ewain’s jaw dropped. “You’re not serious! Tristain’s father is Admiral Clayandrian?”
“Yes, I am serious.”
Ewain shook her head. “I don’t believe it, I can’t believe it - Aesia what have you done? You have taken probably the most powerful being in the known galaxy for a mate!”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that, but yes, Mother.” She turned and smiled at Tristan. “Yes.”
With eyebrows raised, Ewain took Aeisa’s face in her hands and stared intently at her. “I can see the bond is strong and fruitful.”
Aesia flushed, a shy smile on her lips. “Mother!”
“Your Father will be…” A shudder shook Ewain’s body; she fumbled with her hair for a moment. “Would have been fascinated and proud.”
“Oh Mother.”
“I’m all right, Aesia. I will mourn later.”
With a sigh, Aesia rose and returned to her chair.
Shifting in her chair, Ewain turned to Tristan. “So what are you doing here, and what is someone like you doing with my daughter?”
“Madam,” Tristan replied. “I have come to try and end this war and stop the needless killing and destruction.”
Ewain shook her head. “How can Aesia be involved?”
Aesia interrupted, “Mother, it is a long story, and we do not have time now. Tristan has blocked all news of the bombing from getting out. So far, the plotters know nothing. They will be reluctant make a move until they are sure the League leader is dead. As far as they are concerned, the only person who knows anything is me. The plan is I will lead them to Tristan, who will take the necessary action.”
“What, on his own?”
“Yes, Mother, on his own.”
“Then why is he posing as a slave?”
“So he can move freely about with me, and no one will take any notice of him as a slave.”
Ewain shook her head again and run her fingers through her hair. “So how do I come into all of this?”
“The first and most important thing is Tristain; you have to protect her at all costs. If anyone were to get the slightest suspicion that she has anything to do with Admiral Clayandrian, she will be in grave danger. No one is to take her. Whoever comes and whatever they say, they will not be from Tristan or me. Next, Mother, I need as many names as you can think of. I know some, but there are many I don’t. Father must have mentioned those who were against him. Also, did he mention anyone he could rely on?”
“You can rely on me, Aesia. You know I will guard Tristain with my life.”
At that moment they heard a soft knock on the door. Tristan pulled back his hood and returned to the corner.
The two women composed themselves and turned to the door. “Come in.”
It was Tristain. The little girl walked into the room a serious expression on her face. “I’m sorry, but I was bored, and I want to see my Mummy.”
“Of course dear,” said Ewain.
Tristain clapped her chubby hands together, ran to Aesia and climbed into her lap.
Once she had settled, she looked at Tristan. “Who’s that man?” Tristan felt the power of the child’s mind against his shield. His mind block slipped for a second as his daughter looked straight at him.
Guardian? A voice filled his head. The power of it was almost overwhelming. His shield collapsed. I knew you would come; the voice continued. Tristan gasped and fell to his knees.
Aesia, holding Tristain close to her rose from her chair. “Tristan, what’s wrong?”
At the same time, Tristain wriggled to get out of Aesia’s arms. “It’s my Daddy! The lady said he would come!”
“Tristain! Hush about your imaginary lady! Stay still,” Aesia hissed.
Tristan put his hand up and shook his head. “A… a… moment, Aesia,” was all he could say.
Who are you? Tristan asked.
I am a servant of the Guardians, was the reply.
Where are you? Tristan asked.
Here, Guardian.
Where? Show yourself!
As you wish, Guardian.
The shimmering figure of a human female, around 30 years of age with dark hair pulled back in a clip, appeared in front of Tristan. She was wearing boots, trousers, and a long, close-fitting blouse, all in a light green colour. “Guardian, I have closed off the room, if that is acceptable to you?” she spoke out loud.
Tristan rose to his feet, trying to control the shaking that was racking his body. He heard Aesia gasp, and with his shield down he felt her fear mingling with his confusion. “I don’t know - yes, yes I suppose so.”
Tristain was jiggling up and down in Aesia’s arms. “Look Mummy, I told you there was a lady!” Aesia held her tighter. “Shush Tristain.”
The woman pointed at the seat next to Aesia. “I will tell you everything, Guardian, but would you prefer to sit first? It will take a while to explain.”
Tristan stumbled forward and sat down next to Aesia. Tristain wriggled out of her mother’s arms and threw her arms around Tristan’s neck.
“Hello Daddy, I’m Tristain!” She squeezed hard.
Tristan grunted and kissed her on the forehead. “Hello Tristain.”
Aesia moved closer and put her arm round Tristain. “Now sit quietly, Tristain, please, while we find out what is going o
n.”
Tristain nodded. “All right, Mummy.” She sat down on his lap.
The woman faced them and smiled. “My name is Dionysia, and I am the Guardian Artificial Intelligence for this planet and surrounding area. Many millennia ago there was only one technologically advanced race in the galaxy. They called themselves Lantians. The Lantians had explored most of the arms and the core of the Galaxy and found no other sentient species. They were alone. There were many inhabitable worlds with primitive life forms; however, none showed any immediate promise.
“They decided to use their own DNA to genetically alter the most promising species they had found on other planets. As they accelerated the development, the Lantians taught and shared their knowledge with the other species they had nurtured.
“Unfortunately, the Lantians had not taken into account they had millions of years of development and were peaceful. The new species were young and violent. There were several disastrous and bloody wars between some of the different species, which took the Lantians by surprise. To prevent any re-occurrence, they set up a system of genetically enhanced Lantians they called Guardians, who would police the peace, mediate disputes, and prevent war. The Lantians built powerful Artificial Intelligence computer systems such as myself.” She paused for a moment inclined her head then continued. “On strategic planets scattered about the galaxy to aid the Guardians in their task. Peace was restored, and despite territorial disputes and misunderstandings between species, the Guardians maintained the peace. Unfortunately, there were never very many of them. One day, over 20,000 years ago, most of them were gathered on their HQ planet, as they did on a regular basis, when they were caught by a natural disaster. Most of Guardians were killed, and the main central AI computer destroyed. There were too few Guardians left to police the galaxy, and there were not enough of them to maintain a viable population. The Lantians themselves had long since moved on, many had disagreed with the DNA manipulation. They left for a deserted region of the Galaxy to get away from the genetically modified species. As the Guardians died out, the galaxy slipped into a dark age. The different species warred with one another, setting themselves back sometimes to a stone-age existence. Without Guardians the artificial intelligences shut down.” She nodded towards Aesia.
“The Sicceians were the first of the new species and the only ones who possessed a rudimentary telepathic ability. They slowly recovered their technology and eventually returned to the stars. I watched for thousands of years, but without the special DNA key sequence of a genetically enhanced Guardian I could not interfere or help. Unable to break my core programming, I went into standby mode to wait in the hope that one day Guardians might return.”
The woman’s gaze swept the room. “A little over a year ago, my monitoring systems detected a powerful telepathic presence. I woke from my long slumber. When I located the being that had tripped my monitoring devices, I was confronted with a Guardian.” She paused for a moment and smiled at Tristain sitting quietly. “To my surprise it was a child, a product of Lantian and Sicceian mating.”
“Wait! Are you telling me that I’m a direct descendant of one of your Guardians?”
“Yes.”
Tristan shook his head. “How is that possible?”
The image shrugged. “I do not know. Strangely, both you, Guardian, and your daughter, have an almost perfect genetic key showing less than three thousand years degradation. The image wavered for a moment. The odds of that happening randomly are so minute as to be impossible.
“Anyway, if there were a child of a Guardian, then there had to be a Guardian somewhere. I have watched over her ever since. If you had not arrived, I would have taught her what she was and waited until she was old enough to take control. However, I sensed you when you momentarily dropped your guard.”
Tristain was wriggling about on Tristan’s lap. “Daddy, come and see my toys now?”
“Shush, sit still Tristain,” Aesia whispered. “Let the lady finish then Daddy will come and see your toys.”
“Oh all right then.”
The AI continued. “Since being activated, I have monitored everything going on. It is apparent all surviving species have forgotten their history, their common origins and the Guardians. I did however calculate a high probability that the common unifying force behind the war to overthrow the Sicceian dominance would be the Guardian that had fathered this child.”
“What!” There was an edge of anger to Aesia’s voice. “You knew Tristan was alive?” The AI stood motionless as if Aesia did not exist.
Tristan glanced from her to the AI. “Why don’t you answer?”
“My programming prevents me from interacting with the Sicceian unless you order it, Guardian.”
Tristan frowned. “All right, I order you to interact and obey the Sicceian sitting on my right named Aesia.”
The AI looked at Aesia. “Yes, as I said before, there was a high probability that the father of the child and the Admiral Clayandrian of the League forces were one and the same.”
“Then why…?” Aesia paused then answered her own incomplete question. “Of course, you could not interact with me.”
“Correct.”
Tristan moved his daughter to his other knee to stop her wriggling about. “This is all well and good, but how come I’m a Guardian?”
“You were born one; of course.”
“There is a flaw in your reasoning, computer. I have an implant in my brain which gave me these abilities. Tristain must have inherited her abilities from her mother.”
The AI was silent for a moment before replying. “The implant is not functioning. It is a fact that you are a direct descendant of a genetically enhanced Lantian, and practically a pure blood without any DNA contributed from other species. You, as a Guardian, shut down the implant yourself.”
“I did not; it fused on its own.”
The AI shook its head. “No your mind rejected it.”
Tristan sighed. “This is not getting us anywhere.”
“No, I’m afraid it is not. You must now come with me. You have a lot to learn.”
Before Tristan could reply the room lurched, his guts churned, and twisted. He tried to shout but all that came from his throat was a strangled grunt. The room disappeared. He found himself laying on a bed in a white room, Dionysia bending over him.
“I’m sorry, Guardian, but to stop the war and maintain the peace, you must have the necessary Guardian training.”
Tristan tried to sit up but he could not move, his whole body now paralysed. He needed to breathe but couldn’t, and his head started to swim. On the verge of passing out he felt something touch his neck.
Chapter Eighteen: Training a Guardian
Tristan woke. His head throbbed, and with a groan he opened his eyes, squinting against the light. He found himself in a small but pleasant room, lying on a bed. He rubbed his eyes, but he had no memory of going to bed the night before. Strange… Sunlight streamed through open curtains. In the far corner sat a chair with neat, dark green clothes folded on it, and underneath the chair a pair of dark green boots that matched the clothes.
Tristan sat up and swung his legs round so he could stand. He tried to remember where he was, vague indistinct memories tumbled in his memory like autumn leaves blowing in the wind. His family for countless generations had been Guardians. Now, he was old enough for his training to begin. The whole family had gathered at the space port to see him off.
The memory of his family proudly waving tumbled into his mind Why can’t I see their faces? He shook his head to clear it. He had a vague notion they were not really his, not part of him. A strange giddiness and whispering filled his mind. He shut his eyes the room had started to waver, causing nausea to rise in his throat He swallowed back the rising bile.
A light flashed. The moment of doubt passed. He laughed softly. He remembered his family waving him off. Looking round he noticed an open door on the far wall of the room; it led to a small bathroom. He went in, washed, shaved,
and then returned to the bedroom. He picked up the clothes and put them on. Dressed he walked to the window and looked out. Manicured gardens gave way to meadows and woodlands. In the distance, he could see the tall towers of the great Guardian city of Troyantis.
He shivered, and butterflies launched themselves in his stomach. This was his first day of five years training. He opened the main door, and walked out into a long corridor. Other students were emerging. Some had collected in small groups along the corridor and were talking and laughing together. Tristan followed the gathering crowd, down some stairs, and out into an open area with fountains in the middle. People sat as couples or in groups, on seats scattered around under small trees A gentle breeze carrying the scent of late summer flowers ruffled his hair. They walked past the fountains to a large glass building, through the double doors to the registration area for new students.
He found his name badge, signed for it on the registration sheet, and handed the sheet to a bored-looking receptionist.
“Third door on the left, Tristan,” she said in a mechanical voice.
Tristan nodded and went through the door she had pointed out to him. He found himself in a classroom with about thirty or so desks all placed in pairs. He noticed that names had been placed on each desk. About half the students were already seated. There was a low buzz of conversation. No one took any notice of him as he walked in. He quickly found his place and sat down.
He gazed round at the other students, and many of them knew each other. A pang of homesickness gripped him. For a moment, he felt detached from the others in the room. He looked down at his hands resting on the desk. What am I doing here?
“Hello.” Tristan looked up. A young, dark-haired woman stood in front of him. “I think that is my seat.” She indicated the empty chair next to him.
“Oh OK.” He moved his chair forward so she could get past and sit down. She turned to look at Tristan and smiled. She had a radiant smile, which lit up her whole face, and her dark eyes seemed to shine. She leaned forward to put her bag beside her chair. Tristan noticed she had the first few buttons of her blouse undone, revealing an ample cleavage.
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