The Guardians of Sol Read online

  I must have fallen asleep at some point, because Rachel poked me awake right before we made a sharp turn that might have toppled me out of the truck were it not for the covering shell. I looked around and only saw snow-covered flatlands with the occasional copse of evergreens. The Yellowstone park reserve was on the other side of the state so there wasn't too much interesting to me about the surrounding 'wilderness.' The turn did, however, take us onto the Cartwright's property. The road to the house was lined with fences high enough to keep horses from jumping them, as well as snow breaks to keep drifts at bay. Getting closer to the house, we passed a series of green houses connected to a small but ultra-modern building that I took to be where Rachel's mother did botanical research and development for both the Mars and Venus terraforming projects.

  Rick parked the truck and retracted the cover, allowing me to hop out. I had been a little concerned he wouldn't do it right away and try to do the intimidating father thing. Rachel led me through the house, showing me the meeting room, the living room, dining room, kitchen, and so forth. It was a surprisingly large house for a farm, but then, I suppose that with construction costs as cheap as they were and as large a family as Rachel had I shouldn't have been so astonished. Rachel took me to her room and bid me drop both of our bags there.

  "Not that I'm complaining, but isn't going to be a tad awkward sharing a room in your parents' house?" I inquired.

  "They won't mind. Besides, when the rest of my family gets here there wouldn't be anywhere else for you to go. Unless you wanted to take my dad up on his offer of the barn, of course."

  "Fair enough. Brought many guys in here, have you?"

  She looked aghast at my suggestion. "I'll have you know that I was a good girl when I lived here. Might have been because all of the boys around here were complete morons, but that is beside the point entirely!"

  "I'm sorry for teasing you, darlin," I said as I gathered her in my arms. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

  "I'll let you think about it. I'm going to go take a shower."

  "Want some company?" I called to her back. Her laugh was the only reply I received.

  *****

  Later, Rachel was helping her mother with some mechanical difficulty in the greenhouses, and I was in the living room with her sister and sister's children. Abby was bouncing a toddler on her knee, and I was lifting a five-year old like a dumbbell while his older sister marveled at my flexing biceps.

  "Is there somewhere particularly romantic in the area? I mean, even in winter?" I asked her.

  Abigail gave me a smile that said she knew too much. "There is one place. It wouldn't be advisable to hike there, but I'm sure Dad will let you two take some horses. Just tell Rach that you heard Mike and me talking about Guernsey point, down by the river and that you'd like to go see it. She'll take the bait."

  "And what would I be baiting her for? I just want to be romantic."

  "What indeed?" She replied slyly. "I haven't been a mother so long to forget the excitement of dating. But don’t mind me. I should go see about getting dinner started."

  *****

  Rachel gladly took me on a ride of a few hours to Guernsey point. I was just getting into the rhythm of the ride when we finally arrived. I got off gingerly, treating my sore buttocks and overstretched thigh muscles as tenderly as I could. I must have been quite a sight because Rachel giggled at me relentlessly. It was a good thing that she had made it very clear through actions and words many times that she loved me as much as I loved her, or my feelings may have been hurt. Nevertheless, she grabbed the picnic basket and let me off the established path to an area that only her family was seemingly privy to.

  The snow grew thinner, and the trees became greener. My winter coat began to be uncomfortably warm, and I shed it, feeling not the winter's chill but rather the moist warmth of spring. When Rachel finally stopped, we found ourselves in a rather cozy hollow, covered by branches, protected from winter, and warmed by a steaming hot spring. It was even more romantic than I had been led to believe.

  First we saw that the horses were fed, watered, and brushed, before hobbling them in a corner of the hollow. Then we spread a blanket over the still green grass and ate a lunch of simple, but delicious, fare. It didn't take us long to eat, and after we packed the remains of our food away we laid on the blanket enjoying the silence, the warmth, and each other's company. She fell asleep first, but I didn't tarry too far behind.

  When we woke up it was dark out, but Rachel had thought ahead and brought out a lamp that cast a warm glow across our little hollow. After stretching, Rachel went and gave the horses more food and water. When she turned around I was right behind her down on one knee with the ring extended just as one is supposed to do. She stopped dead in her tracks, her gaze flitting between my face and the ring. The ring was a relatively simple affair, though fancier than a plain band. A small diamond, clear and bright, as flanked by two equally lovely rubies (red being her favorite color) set into a band of woven gold and platinum.

  "Rachel, there is nothing I can imagine ever giving meaning to my life like you do. Will you marry me?"

  She didn't say a word, didn't breathe, for a moment before leaning down and whispering: "Yes, forever yes," as she kissed me gently, and lovingly. I swept her off her feet and swung her around, just the once, holding her tightly to me as the kiss became a little more passionate. Once I set her down she just held me close for a minute, one of the happiest minutes of my life.

  "I don't think we should to go back until morning, do you?" She asked me as she led me over to the hot spring, shedding clothing along the way.

  I muttered something as intelligent as "Nuh-uh" as I followed her example.

  27

  December 24, 2289. Sol System

  Rachel and I were cuddled comfortably in her parents' den with the rest of her family, hands intertwined, and watching some movie they traditionally watched on Christmas Eve when the screen fuzzed out and crudely animated snowmen and animals were replaced with a scene darkly lit and centered on a man with a cruel face. The man's nose had obviously been broken several times in his life, and several wicked scars ran across his face, barely missing his eyes. The scars were thick enough, and long enough, to make me think that perhaps one of Vadasz's people had done the damage. The man wore a black and red uniform that seemed to be an almost mocking replica of a Guardian's. He was flanked to either side by men in the viciously spiked armor that only Centurion Legionnaires wore. The man stood from up from his seat, and the light in the feed shifted to provide more illumination to his features

  "People of the Sol system, our race has long stood as a house divided against itself. In this system as well as others we continually struggle amongst ourselves and weaken the whole. I am here to tell you that this will end soon.

  "Know that I am Admiral Kar Granos. I bring you peace, and all I ask in return is your submission. I am here to bring you into the geography of the galactic scene. Your worlds are but a few of those inhabited, and humans are but one of many species. Submit. Find peace. And know that in that peace and submission will be the strength to find our own place within our Galaxy."

  The man took a breath and stared intently at the camera. His pale eyes communicated pure intimidation.

  "If you refuse to accept my kind offer, then your worlds will burn, your peoples will suffer, and all that you have built will be destroyed such that even history will not remember you. I know that your worlds are not united in leadership or purpose, even now. As a final kindness to you all, I will give you one week to consider my proposal. Your leaders may broadcast their replies on this band from your Saturn installations. We will be listening."

  "This is not an offer lightly given. We have seen your strength and your potential. Join it to ours. Already our civilization spans a hundred systems across hundreds of light-years. With you, or without you, the Century Empire will span the galaxy. Whether you are forgotten or a part of the Empire's glory is up to you. Choose wisely."
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  The scene faded out, and the Cartwright's movie phased back in as if nothing had happened. The siblings with children were comforting them, but even the adults were obviously troubled by what had just happened.

  "I guess that means my days of ease are over for the time being," I tried to quip. But it only earned me a sad look from my Rachel. "A frown doesn't suit you at all, love."

  She ignored my smile and closed her eyes, visualizing what we had just seen. "They were on a ship. They are either from outside of our solar system or they want us to think that they are," She opened her eyes and looked at me straight on. "Given their statements, the obvious conclusion is that they are the ones who were introducing new technology to nations in order to destabilize the status quo, weakening us and making us more amenable to parlay."

  "Then they obviously miscalculated. I've fought some of them hand to hand, so I know, and people more important than me know, that their soldiers aren't any more powerful or effective than mainline Castigars are. Their main tactical ground strength is probably the mutated Farkas, and who knows how many they have left. Not to mention that even with the war in Europe, the Guardian fleets are almost untouched and the Japanese fleet is as powerful as ever. I can't see either the Confederacy or the Empire giving into Granos' ultimatum anytime soon. The question is what the Republics and Zulus are going to do."

  "I don't care. I know that Earth will come out just fine, and this might even bring more nations into the Confederacy," Rachel replied quietly. "I just want us to come out of this intact. So that means nothing foolish on the battlefield. You do your part to come home, and I'll make sure your equipment is up to the task. Deal?"

  "Deal," I promised, kissing her gently. The kiss, of course, elicited the appropriate "ews" from the now calm children we were distracting from the movie.

  28

  January 5, 2290. The Forge.

  I set down the dossiers of the three men in front of me on my desk. The first, the black-bearded madman I'd barely beaten in the boxing tournament stood there with his stupid grin on his face, The second was a fellow a little older than me, a very experienced Vindicator who wanted to try something else, and the third was a knight from the newly inducted Nordic nations who sported a truly magnificent drooping mustache.

  "O'Niel seems to think that you three would fit into my squad better than just about anyone else. I know Hektor, so I'm willing to give him a go. I'd be happy to have you too, Rick," I said, addressing the Vindicator. "Thing is, I've already got a damn good lieutenent, and his team is all full up. I need to know if you are willing to follow the orders of a mere sergeant. Honestly, I think your experience could be good for him, and I want to maintain the chain of command as it is."

  "Sir, I'll be happy to serve where ever you want me. I knew when I requested a transfer to the Castigars that I probably wouldn't get a post equal to my rank, but when the chance to serve in the Specials came I couldn't pass it up. Pride isn't in my nature; I just want to serve the best that I can where I'm able."

  "Good. You're on the third team then. What about you, Sigurd? What brings you to my humble little squad?"

  "Since the Nordic states joined the Confederacy, it was decided that their best knights should join high profile squads to promote unity or the like. Honestly, I don't care about the politics. The Specials get the best fights, and I want to get in on them."

  "You don't have a death wish, do you?"

  "No. Not as anyone would recognize. I am looking for a worthy death, but that does not mean I am afraid to live. You will find that I won't die easy. I have survived direct conflict with the first Specials squad on several occasions. If they didn't kill me, you'll have to find me much better enemies to do so. Mostly I just enjoy a good fight."

  "That's an attitude I can appreciate. You’ll probably end up on team three as well. Hektor, you're on my team. So that I can keep an eye on you."

  “Why do you need to keep an eye on me?” Hektor asked, sounding a little hurt.

  “Remember how you started a barroom brawl with my men last year? Your file is filled with more of the same. I don’t want a repeat of anything even a little like that,” I told him, and addressed all three. “As my men, your actions reflect on me and the squad, and I want the Tenth to have the most sterling of sterling reputations. I think we’ve covered all the bases. Welcome to the family. Now go to the special projects engineering bay to get measured for your new armor, and I’ll see you at the briefing tomorrow morning.”

  The men saluted me and left. I collapsed into the chair at my desk and rested my eyes for a moment. Rachel told me that they were doing a massive overhaul on the entire team’s armor, and she wanted to show me the designs while the actual work was finalized. That, of course, would have to wait while I finished filling out paperwork. The Guardian Corps may have been founded on ideals and efficiency, but bureaucracy seems to find its way into any system. Still, the whole thing was managed by making sure there was only the very minimum of desk jobs required. Almost all of the real work was done either by combat officers, or by organizational AIs. I keyed up the remote access for my own AI.

  “IRIS, call lieutenant Freed and sergeant Mace to my office,” I told the construct. I’d been contemplating changing its name, but nothing special had come to mind. After a few minutes, which I used to finish filing the new guys’ transfer orders, the door’s chime sounded.

  “What did you want us for, boss?” Jimmy asked as my two friends walked in without waiting for me to answer the door.

  “Just some squad organization. Have you met the new recruits? Two of them seem like they’ll be a good fit. The third one is Hektor Alkaios.”

  “Wait, Hektor is joining the squad? I know that his combat scores are ridiculous, but it seems like a bad idea to work with a guy who enjoys using the captain as a punching bag,” Jimmy replied.

  “He’ll behave. And if he doesn’t then I’ll personally drum him out of the squad. And that’s why he’ll be my new partner on team one. As for the other guys, John’s team has the most holes, so simplest solution would be to just put the other two on his team. If we do though, I think that we should pair Gripe with John, or move him to team two so that he’s completely surrounded by familiar faces. Thoughts, John?”

  “Gripe’s a good soldier and I would hate to lose him, but I think that moving him to team two would be best. If you pair him with me and give me the two new guys then it wouldn’t give quite the same integration, you know? Besides, losing a sibling, let alone a twin, would mess with anyone’s head. Team two will do him good, and keep him effective. My opinion, best thing to do would be to fit one newbie on each team.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll trade you Stick and Tinder for Gripe and the wannabe Viking,” Jimmy said. “What do you think, Boss?”

  “It works for me too. Draft the new roster and post it on the board in the barracks. See you guys in the morning. My fiancée has some tech to show me so I have to go now.”

  The great and surprising thing about saying that is that, for once, my friends grinned but didn’t even attempt to tease me. Maybe they were finally starting to grow up.

  *****

  The display showed what looked like an enhanced human musculature.

  “What am I looking at, exactly?” I asked Rachel, smudged by grease and glowing with excitement.

  “This is the design schematic for a nanomusculature system. I’ve been working on the design for years but I wasn’t able to perfect it until I had access to the resources here. This is the biggest upgrade we’re giving to your armor. Your squad will actually be the first to use it. Think of yourselves as field testers,” she replied with a smile. “We’ll be outfitting your armor with second generation plasma cores as well. They’re smaller and generate more power, but personally I think the NMS is the more interesting upgrade.”

  “It certainly seems like it should be. What exactly does the NMS do that’s so exciting?”

  “Well, for one, it should produce at leas
t a one hundred percent increase in strength and speed amplification over traditional hydraulic systems. It’s also capable of limited self-healing and segregated action, which means that if a section is damaged, the other sections will continue to work just as efficiently, and that after a little while that section should resume full functionality. And to put the proverbial cherry on top, the fibers that make up the techno-organic structures were built on the nano-molecular scale so they act exactly like any other bulletproof material. In this case, it protects the system and the wearer against small arms fire. Larger calibers will still cut through it, but that’s what the exoskeletal plating is for.”

  “So basically, you’re ushering in the next generation of armor,” I said as I hugged her from behind. “I’m so proud of you. Of course, this does let me know that you’re far too smart for a guy like me. It’s a good thing for me that there’s no correlation between intelligence and wisdom.”

  “What are you talking about?” She replied slyly. “I’m only using you for your body. You know that.”

  “Alas, I’m foiled again by my good looks and perfect body,” I lamented dramatically.

  “You two! Either get out of my engineering bay or get back to work!” chief Ruiz yelled at us from across the room.

  “Well, the old man has spoken,” I sighed. “I’ll see you for dinner. Don’t work too hard.”

  *****

  That evening after dinner, I was sitting on the floor in front of Rachel’s couch playing a video game about vengeful gods. Once it received the world setting data pack, the rudimentary AI in the game console allowed for many adventures beyond those originally programmed and conceived of by the developer. I had heard of games being played for years with a single character on a single play through. It honestly made me feel bad for past gamers who had to be content with a set and finite level of content for each game instead of worlds that actually grew and evolved with each decision. The games and saves didn’t even take up that much storage space since the AI could choose to save only what was important to the game and extrapolate the rest from that.