ACTIVATION 1
The Green Knight: Activation
Thomas A. Druschke and Christopher C. Sams
Prologue
"Sire! They've breached the inner wall!"
The cry came from a page manning a surveillance screen.
Arthur Pendragon, King of the Britons, rose slowly from his throne in the citadel of Castle Camelot and approached the screen.
The Separatists had only been a mild nuisance up to this point, but suddenly became a major threat to the kingdom. They now had weapons matching the capability of his finest soldiers. The Knights of the Round, his elite guard and indeed finest generals, were having problems dispatching these newly empowered foes.
In deep contemplation he stood, looking around the room. He imagined losing his wife, Guinevere, and his daughter, Leliana.
His decision was made.
The Green Knight: Activation
Chapter I"Activate Project Lodestone!" Arthur bellowed.
Ancient machines that had lain dormant for many years suddenly sprang to life as if they had last been booted yesterday. A long-forgotten AI whirred to life, and a flickering image of a venerable old man manifested before them.
"I am Merlin, the omnipresent, the all-knowing! What brings you to activate these old circuits, Arthur Pendragon?" the image stated.
"Merlin! I require access to Lodestone; the kingdom is in great peril. These Separatists have come into possession of new technology they've programmed into their infantry's mechanical armor! The Citadel could be breached at any moment!"
"Fear not, old friend," Merlin calmly relayed, "your kingdom will yet be saved."
"How?" asked the king.
"Gawain." said Merlin.
"The Green Knight? How are we to know if that will even work? It's never been activated!" said Arthur.
"Still and insolent little boy at heart, I see! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you? I designed the him! Of course, he will work!" Merlin bellowed.
"My apologies, my wise mentor. I did not realize Gawain was one of your designs."
"He's part of Project Lodestone, I designed the whole damn thing, you young snippet!"
The image paused momentarily, as if Merlin was collecting his thoughts, before speaking again.
"Anyways, as I was saying. We need to activate the Green Knight."
"How are we to do that, Merlin?" the king asked.
"It is fairly simple, really. Do you see that slot over there, in the middle of that old pylon?"
"Yes…" the king trailed off, walking towards it.
"Simply grasp Excalibur and insert it, blade first, into the opening. The rest will take care of itself."
Arthur approached the pylon with much apprehension and trepidation, unsure of the events to follow. His memory drifted back to his childhood as a pupil of Merlin; remembering in particular his former teacher's propensity for causing things to explode.
Once he reached the pedestal, a voice emanated from it as he inserted Excalibur into the slot.
"DNA sample required to confirm Pendragon lineage."
The message repeated several times.
"What does it mean, Merlin?" asked Arthur, puzzled at the machine's request.
"It means it needs a sample of your blood to prove who you are. It's a failsafe I built into Project Lodestone and Codename: Gawain to ensure that none but yourself or a direct descendant of yours could activate these systems. They're too powerful and dangerous to allow just anybody to have access to it."
Arthur nodded and removed one of his gauntlets. He ran his thumb across the blade, cutting it open to let the blood flow freely. The pommel stone glowed red once the blade was fully inserted in the pedestal. The king instinctively pressed his bleeding thumb to it, feeling a little silly.
A chain reaction of pneumatic hisses sounded off in the previously silent chamber, followed by the disembodied mechanical female voice again.
"Lineage confirmed. Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon, of the Pendragon Bloodline."
The floor around the pedestal began to sink, forming a stone spiral staircase descending into blackness. Arthur cautiously set foot on the first stair. Floodlights sprang to life with each echoing step of his boots as he crept warily into the unfamiliar room below the Citadel.
When he reached the bottom, a series of small, pale green lights hummed to life, illuminating a narrow walkway leading up to a massive figure cloaked in shadows. From what could be seen, the figure appeared seated and motionless.
Fear gripped at Arthur's heart as he slowly approached the immobile figure. He jumped when another digital representation of Merlin appeared.
"Getting a little skittish in our old age, are we, Arthur?"
"You startled me, is all, Merlin. This place is unfamiliar to me. I thought I had seen every room there was in Camelot."
"There is much you don't know about Camelot, Arthur. But you will come to know them."
"When, Merlin?" breathed the exasperated king.
"In due time, my boy, in due time."
They reached the base of the plinth the figure was seated on. The figure appeared to be a man, yet not a man. A monstrous web of wires and cables from untraceable origins extended from the rearmost depths of the chamber, terminating in hundreds of leads into the seated being.
"What is it?" Arthur questioned.
"Not an it, but a he, you judgmental fool!" bellowed Merlin, "This is Gawain, the Green Knight, the one who will save your kingdom and preserve your bloodline."
Unbeknownst to Arthur, young Princess Leliana had snuck down the staircase behind her father, curious to know what wonders this hidden chamber might hold. She watched in awe as her father conversed with the ghostly apparition. The floodlights slowly illuminated the gigantic figure before them. She stifled a small gasp as low-powered fluorescent lights flickered to reveal the features of what appeared to be a giant of a man, in obviously very heavy armor. A helmet she could almost use as a small end table, pauldrons bigger than the heads of three grown men, a breastplate nearly half a meter thick, ending in boots and greaves that were collectively as tall as her chest!
The giant's strange, hollow eyes seemed dead and lifeless; his chest not rising or falling as if taking breath either. She sneaked in closer, creeping as quietly as she could muster, quickly as she dared, hoping not to catch either her father's or Merlin's eye.
Then, as the last light hummed its way to life, she saw it. The sword. It was a monstrous thing with a menacing beauty about it. Nearly twice as long as she was tall, so massive she thought anyone capable of wielding such a weapon would be able to cleave a castle in two!
She stifled yet another gasp, not wanting to be found out until she heard who this mysterious Gawain was; and why had he been down here all this time; and why did no one seem to know about him?
She continued to listen.
Merlin stood silent as Arthur examined the hulking mechanical figure. He knew Leliana was here, his sensors had picked up her presence the moment she started down the stairs through the targeting system of the 30mm automated cannon tucked behind a false wall not even the king had knowledge of. Merlin appeared to breathe a sigh of relief in his digital form. Had anyone but a member of the Pendragon bloodline come down those stairs, there would be naught but a mess of red paste to clean up afterwards.
"Merlin?" asked Arthur.
"Yes?"
"This question may seem a bit silly, but how do we activate him?"
"Well, Arthur, we don't do anything. You, on the other hand, must go to the terminal in front of Gawain, place your hand on the scanner and read the phrase posted above it for the voiceprint."
Arthur cautiously approached Gawain and the terminal, followed the instructions given by Merlin, and read aloud the phrase that was all too true.
"Gawain! The hour is at hand where you must protect your king and kingdom! I accept your fealty and require your service! Activation: Commence!"