The Guardians of Sol (3 page)

Pushing his generator into overdrive, the Falcon darted in and out from between his opponents so fast he had inflicted a thousand tiny wounds upon them before they realized what was happening. In their hurry to take down this sudden menace, the Tortoises actually did more damage to each other than to their adversary.

If his saber had been at full power, then the match would have ended immediately, however, the needs of its overdrive mode made it so the beam saber could only maintain a half-meter long blade at full power. The Tortoise that was already damaged went down swiftly, taking a plasma blast to a section where the beam saber had cut it open. Seeping hydraulic fluid, the last Tortoise activated all his weapons in one final attack.

The disparate beams of energy and plasma converged with the launched rockets with devastating effect. However, when the smoke cleared, the last Falcon was still standing, albeit now on a glass stained plain. With a rush that now seemed slow by comparison of what went before, he rushed in and decapitated the mechanical body of his smoldering enemy.

“See! Now that is a sport!” My lieutenant yelled, drawing looks from all over the pub. My look was a bit worse than any of the other patrons though. I don't like drawing attention to myself. I blame the alcohol for the severity of the look I gave him, though. “No men grabbing each other awkwardly, just good old skill and explosions!”

“You shushed me.”

“Well you were distracting me from the big match!”

I laughed, as soused as I was (I didn’t stop drinking when the match started) I couldn’t think of a comeback, so I suggested we head back to the barracks. Between us we managed to lift Shot-put and stumble back to our beds, after putting him in some compromising situations. Not that bad of a day, albeit a much stranger one than usual.

May 23, 2289. Von Braun City, the Moon

I checked my watch and swore quietly, continuing my rush to the shuttle, leaping over luggage carts and unsuspecting children. Slamming into the boarding desk, I handed my pass to the attendant with a grunt as I slammed into her kiosk. She giggled and waved me forward. I gave her my most cocksure smile before climbing the ladder to the launch deck.

In an almost unprecedented show of unity, my whole squad decided to take their R&R on the Forge with me and, while our armor was already loaded on the shuttle, we weren’t fortunate enough to have said shuttle to ourselves.

“Shuttle Flight 301 launching in 10 minutes, all passengers please find your seats and activate restraining devices,” came the automated announcement from the speakers on the deck.

Needless to say, I got onboard as fast as I could. It wouldn’t do to be left behind. My bag barely fit into the overhead storage. Curiously, my row was still empty. I had been told that the flight was full yet it seemed the other passengers had had second thoughts, or were even later than I was.

“Sleep in again, Rhys?” Jimmy’s voice was filled with mirth. “It’s a wonder you’re not still in California. Brother, can’t you ever be on time? Aren’t you the captain? Set an example, man!”

I looked behind my seat to see my whole squad already strapped in and grinning at me. “Remember that mission in Belarus? Were you on time? I got shot in the ass because you thought
that
was a good morning to sleep in!” I would normally have tried for an even more amusing comeback, but I was still tired from a sleepless night and a late start. Fortunately, late night or not, my reply still made the dregs grin even wider. I was a little slow this morning, but I still understood that they were just teasing me. I gave them the scowl they wanted before settling into my seat. Thank the Light I was sitting a few rows ahead with my back to them, so I wouldn’t have to put up with much more teasing until we landed. I closed my eyes and silently cursed the sleepless night that made me so tired.

Someone finally sat next to me but I didn’t bother to open my eyes. I did however sigh, not for any particular reason, but I did it. Maybe I had started to think I would have the whole row to myself? However, that unconscious act let the person next to me know I was awake. From boredom, nervousness, or void-spawned insanity, they took it as a sign that they could talk to me.

“How can anyone sleep with all of that racket going on?” asked a sweet feminine voice to my left.

Still not opening my eyes I replied. “They can’t. They just do their best to tune out the morons. At least it isn’t as loud as a battlefield. I’ve slept on a few of those. Sure they’re louder but somehow more peaceful. The vibration from the explosions kind of just lures you to sleep. If you’re not too worried about dying. Heh”

“That is… a different perspective from what I usually hear.”

I finally cracked an eyelid. What I beheld was the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen in my twenty-some years of existence. Flame red hair, porcelain skin with a smattering of freckles, delicate perfectly proportioned features, and eyes as green and potentially stormy as the Mediterranean. My oh so trained eye also noticed that she was decked out in the grey, many-pocketed jumpsuit of the engineering corps, though she only had the patches of a technician instead of a full engineer. I blame my scattered brain for noticing those little details when I should have simply been awed into silence. Nothing on her ring finger, at least.

“I guess you spend too much time around engineers then. They might be smart but I haven’t seen too many with a proper appreciation for nearby deadly explosions.” I chuckled, and I am afraid that a good deal of my fatigue crept into that laugh. Looking back, I am actually quite grateful for the previously sleepless night, because the weariness that it engendered kept me from getting too excited about the gorgeous woman sitting next to me and doing or saying anything too terribly stupid. This has, unfortunately, been a problem in the past. As it was, I was thinking just slowly enough to “play it cool.”

“Then you must not know enough of the right engineers.”

“Touché. Well, Miss…?”

“Cartwright, um… Rachel Cartwright.”

“Well, Miss Cartwright, might I ask what’s bringing you out to the Forge?”

Still looking at her with that barely cracked eye, I saw her burst into a lovely smile that showed perfect teeth and made something inside me go all warm and squirmy.

“I’m transferring to an engineering bay where I can finish up my certification for mechanical and quantum engineering. Someday, I’ll be the one designing the armor that you thumpers wear.”

“In that case, I hope you know what you’re doing when you get to it,” a sudden and very obvious thought struck my addled brain. “Oh, right! Don’t want to be rude, do I? I’m Rhys.” I sat up, opened my other eye, and reached out a hand.

She took it and shook it. A… jolt? Like a tingle of pure energy. I guess that would be the best description for it. A jolt went up my arm when she touched my hand. I noticed dirt under her fingernails and grease on the sleeves of her jumpsuit. I had a good feeling about that. Who likes a prissy girl, anyway? I don’t think she noticed the effect she was having on me. An effect I was truly hoping was something other than hormones left over from puberty.

“Rhys… what?” She asked me with a sly smile. “Or do you think you’re famous enough that you don’t need a last name?”

I laughed, genuinely, I laughed. “Castle. You’re, uh, not going to start stalking me now, are you?” I was finally starting to wake up. I decided to open my eyes and actually engage her like I should have from the start.

“Only if you really want me to. I can just see it now, the Captain who saved the research base will be mine!” Again, that dazzling smile. I wondered if everyone she talked to got to see so many.

“Now how would you know about that? I was under the impression that whole debacle was still under wraps.”

“Oh please, anyone with network access knows about it. You’re the hero of the hour, Mr. Castle.”

“I would hardly call myself a hero. And I wasn’t even close to being the only one there. Half the survivors are behind us making that ruckus. If anything
, my fellow Captain and his squad saved me and mine from the crush of numbers. Not that any of my Anvil guys would admit that.”

“But your squad held the beach while they got there! If you hadn’t done that then those beetles would have waltzed into the base and all that critical research would have been lost.”

“I just think you’re giving me too much credit is all. I don’t even know exactly what they were researching. You really got all that information on the net? The battle was only a week ago.”

And again, the smile, this one conspiratorial. “I’ll tell you a secret: I was on one of the teams that examined those tanks you fought. There was some interesting stuff in there… although I can’t talk about that just yet. Still classified and everything. You understand, right?”

“I’ve been around for a few years,” I grinned reassuringly. “I think I know what you’re getting at.”

“All passengers strap in.” The pilot ordered over the intercom. “The shuttle is about to launch and I would rather not spend my break scrubbing anyone off of the bulkheads. ETA to the Forge is approximately thirty-two minutes.”

“I guess that’s that, eh?” I said to her as I pulled my crash straps into their secure and ever so proper position. “So which engineering bay did you say you’re transferring to?”

*****

The Forge is an enormous construct positioned at a fairly gravitationally stable Lagrange point between the moon and the earth. The gigantic wheel consists of twelve huge blocks that house thousands of people, the academy, engineering facilities and the headquarters for the Guardians. In a hub central to all of the blocks are two particle cannons that are the big brothers to those onboard the Redeemer satellites. The only manmade thing in the system that’s larger is Jupiter station.

“That’s a piece of art that you’re looking at, Rhys,” Rachel said, stirring me from whatever reverie I was in. She gently placed one of her hands on my arm and pointed.

“It’s a good giant work of engineering, sure, but I don’t know if I’d call it art.”

“Of course it’s art, silly. Every block there is capable of supporting life. Each one has its own fusion generators. Six of those blocks house everyone that works or lives there, that’s over two hundred thousand people, Rhys. Two blocks contain hydroponics bays and livestock. Two others are construction blocks, if you look over there you can see a mark two Bastion-class battle cruiser that’s almost complete. Then you have the academy block and the administrative block where the Sentinel lives. Twelve interconnected constructs so complex that each one requires a full team of engineers just for maintenance. Do you have any idea the delicate balance that has to be kept so everyone doesn’t die? How can you not call that art? All that life, moving, working, just plain living! In space no less! Maybe you should think about more than armor for once, Captain.”

“I actually have an apartment there, you know,” I said defensively. “Besides, I consider more things than power armor as art. Like comic books. Or video games. You have to love playing the hero. My favorite is Thor. Something about someone that hits bad guys with a hammer just gets on my good side. And the graphics and writing just keep getting better in both mediums. Better than real life sometimes.”

“You’re such a shallow nerd.”

“I guess you'll just have to teach me better,” I grinned, squeezing the hand that was still on my arm. A tremor went through the shuttle as it came up on its landing approach. “Must be a new pilot,” I said. Even with the inertial compensators active, you can usually feel it when a ship decelerates, but inexperienced pilots tend to make it a more jolting experience more often than not.

The shuttle passed through the purplish-pink cold plasma field that holds in atmosphere, and then touched down with another bump. The standard exiting instructions came on over the intercom, but I wasn’t listening. Instead, I helped Rachel with her things and grabbed my own pack.

“Well, I have to go report to my new superior officer,” She said. “It was fun talking to you, Rhys.”

“Yeah, it was. Say, got any lunch plans tomorrow? I know this great café over in block seven.” I gave her my most charming smile. At least, I think it should be charming. For all I know my smile could be truly terrifying, but for my sake I choose to think it’s charming.

“I should be free, see you then!” She slipped a torn piece of engineering paper into my hand before sauntering off to block twelve. I watched her go, a smile still stretching across my face. Her personal com sequence was on the scrap.

Haywire walked up and gave me a friendly blow to the back that almost bowled me over. “Looks like you made a new friend, Rhys. You’re not going to brush off the rest of us are you?”

“Calm down, Jimmy,” I elbowed him in the gut. “I’ll always have time to play with other children. Come on, let’s stash our stuff and go hit Stacie’s restaurant in block eight.”

“I can’t wait to get my hands on that spicy couscous dish.”

“I’d rather get my mouth on it, all things considered. Hopefully there’s not a food shortage we don’t know about,” I turned back to the rest of my squad. “See you around boys, and stay out of trouble! You coming, John?”

My sergeant gave me a rude gesture without turning from his conversation, but then softened it with a smile. He finished up his exchange with the twins Dumper and Gripe, and caught up with me and Jimmy. “You get your way too often, Rhys. You’re way too impatient.”

I clapped him on the back with my free hand and shoved him towards the doorway airlock to the rest of the block. “But that’s the best part of being in charge, Johnny. That’s when you can afford to be a bit impatient.”

We walked out of the hangar, jockeying for position and just enjoying being loud young men who didn’t have responsibilities for a few days. We passed an intersection on our way to the tram that runs between all the section blocks. Someone cleared their throat.

“Captain Castle! Good timing, I was beginning to think you’d decided to stay in Von Braun City.”

My friends and I looked at the handsome Specials captain calmly leaning against a pale blue wall. “Captain McCulloch, it’s good to see you again,” I introduced the men next to me. “This is James Freed, my lieutenant, and my sergeant Jonathan Mace.”

“Haywire and Shot-put, right? You’ll have to tell me how you got those nicknames some day. But not right now, of course. Rhys, will you come with me? We’ve got a meeting to attend.”

“I… yeah, sure, I just have to put my bag in my apartment first and I’ll be right with you.”

“One of these fine men can do that, can’t you guys? This is a rather important meeting. I’m sure Haywire wouldn’t mind.”

I looked at my best friend. “Well, Jimmy… you know the code, you want to drop my bag off? I’ll meet you guys at Stacie’s when this is over with…”

“Sure, Rhys, I can handle it. You want us to order you anything?”

I thought for a second. “If I’m not there in half an hour get me some fish and chips to go, I’ll stop by your place to get them later.”

“Works for me, bro.”

“Alright, I guess that’s taken care of,” I said to Christoph. “Let’s go.”