A.N. Just a quick teaser from the first few chapters of Haven Hero, I should start posting after I come back from a trip I'm leaving on so around the end of August will see the first instalment of Haven Hero going up on Hope to see you all there.

Go With God

The Visionary

Haven Hero

The hall was one of a dozen in Haven City Palace that matched the throne-room for size, the same high, vaulted ceiling showing a clear night sky but the bright light inside muting the stars. Along one edge a buffet table was laden with the food of the rich and powerful, chandeliers of glittering crystal lighting the entire room bright as day, catching on the jewels that bedecked the clothing of most of its occupants. The annual Haven Guard ball brought out the great and the good, nobles rubbing shoulders with Executives and Senior ranks of the Guard. Other venues throughout the city would hold their own parties for the different precincts and provide the rank and file with their own celebration but the privileged were allowed to show their faces here.

At one end, opposite the high, double doors a raised podium housed almost a complete orchestra, expertly played classical music providing a pleasant backdrop to the buzz of conversation. Along the wall opposite the buffet tables a row of balconies ran the length of the room, the glass doors open and a pleasant summer breeze wafting in, the evening air cool rather than cold despite the altitude the palace provided. Against one wall, standing apart from the rest of the party-goers the most celebrated couple in Haven City, Governor Ashelin and her fiancé, Commander Torn, leader of the Haven Guard conversed in low tones.

She was a tall, striking woman in her late twenties, her features sharp with quick, amber eyes. Her hair, a dark reddish hue was pulled back into a neat, almost military braid, a testament to her earlier years as a member of the Haven Guard before she had led them in a coup against her father. Her body too showed evidence of this past, sleek and well-muscled with a tight bust and hips. She wore a militaristic uniform, the cut of the dark blue material suiting her character, a pistol slung at her hip and her grace making it obvious that her office had not diminished her capabilities in the least. Twin lines ran down her face from each eye, thick lines of semitransparent dark ink that made her past all too obvious.

Torn's office meant that he had no need to don the full armour that combat troops used and he wore only a breastplate, fore-greaves and armoured boots over his dress uniform. It was a sleek black suit of military cut, slight touches of decoration added but his lack of stomach for pretentiousness meaning that for the most part it was utilitarian. His face showed the heavy tattoos of a Haven Guard officer, semitransparent marks of dark ink covering his entire face in sleek but bold patterns, tracing his career from the rank and file right to the top of the command chain.

Of course when he had risen it had been in the Krimson Guard, Baron Praxis' brutal army of enforcers and drug-fed sociopaths. It had nearly killed him to do what he had had to in order to rise as far as he had, far enough to join with Ashelin and overthrow her father. For almost a year turmoil had gripped the city, a power struggle raging back and forth before together the two managed to restore order, creating the Haven Guard from the ashes of the old regime. It was odd to think that just three years ago when the name guard was spoken it had meant terror almost as much to the people of the city as to the metalheads. Changing that in the eyes of the populace had been almost as much of a battle as gaining the throne.

A lifetime of giving orders had left his voice with a hard edge even when he spoke to his wife-to-be but she had long ago learned to love it. 'Are you sure it was wise bringing him here? He looks a little out of his depth.' He nodded toward a young guard easily ten years his junior as he struggled to deal with the ring of nobles that surrounded him, each of them talking happily to him, seemingly oblivious of his bewilderment.

Ashelin smiled and sipped the drink in her hand, champagne tickling her throat as it went down. 'Yes I'm sure. It's just the boost the Guard need in the eyes of the nobles. It'll help to grease the wheels when I move to expand the Guard budget in a month's time. Although, I'm gonna have to start selling them on it while I've got him here. Tell me about him.' She spoke smoothly, confident that her lover would have the information on hand. As she expected he reeled it off without missing a beat.

'Private Jak Doe, 18 years old, we don't know an exact date of birth but we estimate it at about 20th of the blue month. Weird kid, has amnesia, can't remember a thing before he was taken into the Haven orphanage at thirteen, the records there show that he had a pretty tough time, got into a lot of fights but won most of them from what I can see. He was a wastelander for a while in recent years, joined at sixteen, good one too according to our bounty records. Spent the last two years outside the walls collecting trophies before the recruitment campaign caught his eye. Graduated before most of the new recruits so he's got about three month's service under his belt, made about a couple dozen arrests in that time, mostly small stuff, a couple of brawls and the like. Nothing above level two until he brought the senator and his daughter out of the jungle.'

Ashelin nodded slowly, her lips pursed in thought. 'Good, sounds perfect. Make sure he's in the next round of sergeants so we can give his name a nice ring to it.' She watched him as he laughed nervously at a noble's joke, taking a long sip from his drink to steady his nerves as another dignitary enveloped his hand in a shake.

His most distinctive feature was a wild plume of blonde hair, his locks swept back, a natural green tint streaking them at his forehead and temples. His features were rugged and handsome and marked him as no more than eighteen at the most, his eyes a piercing blue. His dress uniform bore much of the armour he would wear on the street, his breastplate, greaves, boots, braces and even the heavy shoulder pad on his right arm all polished to a sheen so that they would not seem out of place against the black, military cut material made up the rest of the suit. His black weapon belt was a new one bought specifically for this function so that his used and worn leather holster would not seem out of place, his fire-lance retracted into it's passive form as it hung from his hip. On his shoulder, beneath the Seal of Marr on his shoulder that marked him as one of Haven City's protectors a single red lightning bolt showed him to be no more than a private. Upon his chest two medals gleamed as he nodded absently at yet another comment or reminisce from the assembled nobles.

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him and turned to find Governor Ashelin standing in the ring of nobles, a smile on her face as she sipped at her drink.

'You must be Jak, congratulations you on your actions out in the wasteland two days ago. The way I hear it Senator Samos and his daughter would be dead if it was not for you.'

He had received a hundred congratulations just like it that night but most of them had been from faceless dignitaries whose names he had forgotten after five minutes. Ashelin was a woman famously reluctant to indulge frivolities and praise from her was not something to be taken lightly. Before he could stammer out a thank you however she had turned him so that he stood alongside her, her voice commanding an immediate audience from the nearby nobles, each turning to take her in and the boy at her side.

'You're a tribute to the Haven Guard Jak, a sign that things have truly changed.' Though she spoke to him her words were for the nobles and a crowd gathered around her, just as she had wanted. 'It is only a pity that Senator Samos and his daughter could not be here in person to thank you but I know that they are very grateful for what you have done, the whole city is. I'm going to make it my mission to see that people like you get the support and backing they deserve, no expense will be spared in ensuring that the rebirth of the Haven Guard will continue to produce such dazzling recruits.' The evening droned on in this fashion as Jak suddenly found himself as the face of the Haven Guard. Ashelin espoused his virtues and the daring of his escapade to the guests with an ease that made it plain he was merely a prop in a speech that would have gone ahead with or without his deeds and his presence. It took him almost a half-hour to make his excuses and leave her side, retreating to one of the far balconies, finding a haven there from the swirl of politics within. He sighed as he leaned against the rail, if he'd known it would cause him this much trouble he'd have left the pair of them where he found them, being chased down by two dozen metalheads. The face of the daughter flitted through his mind, a memory of when he had swept down on his zoomer and plucked her to safety, the relief, the gratitude, the beauty, all had captivated him. God she had been beautiful.

He ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against the rail, undoing a half hour of pristine styling by the palace's staff as he let it regenerate into it's normal swept back locks. He hooked a finger into the collar of his dress jacket and tried to give himself room to breath again before he settled for undoing the high-buttoned collar, letting the cool night air hit his skin with a sigh. Turning his face upward he let the breeze drift over his features, closing his eyes as he savoured the sensation for a moment. He opened them again and let his gaze drift to the city below and then onto the wasteland beyond, smiling as the peace of altitude calmed him.

'You know usually the guest of honour at a party is supposed to stay right till the end.' He jumped at the sudden voice behind him letting out a cry of alarm as he span, one hand automatically scrambling for the fire-lance at his belt. A blush crept onto his cheeks as he found himself staring into the eyes of a slight woman no more than a few paces behind him on the expansive balcony. She giggled and covered her mouth with a demure hand, her eyes sparkling with good humour as she moved to join him against the rail, leaning out beside him. He felt his blush deepen, it was Keira.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.' Her voice was youthful, energetic, her soft yet intelligent stare an eye-catching aquamarine in the pale moonlight, set in a face of soft, attractive features, bee-stung lips touched with red. He felt a twinge of concern at the dark stain of a bruise on her cheek that her light make-up was unable to hide, it had to have come from when he'd rescued her, he should have been more careful. Her dress was a light blue, traditional, high-necked and silken affair clinging to her body in just the right places to accentuate her figure without appearing overly provocative, her full bust and round hips part of an athletic frame.

He groped for words as he leant back once more, trying to regain at least a little of his dignity, 'I, no, um sorry, I just wanted to get out of there for a while. I'm… not good with crowds. I… I thought that you and uh… Senator Samos weren't at the ball.'

She shrugged, 'Officially we're not, he doesn't even know I'm here. I just wanted to thank you for saving me and Daddy.' Her manner was not that of someone high-born yet Jak's ingrained awkwardness with those of higher rank still managed to make him stumble over his words, the fact she was possibly the most attractive thing he'd ever set eyes on didn't help matters either.

'Uh, yeah, um, sorry about your cheek.' He backed away a step, unsure of what to do with himself after failing to give a proper greeting in the first place

She smiled and raised a placating hand. 'You were saving my life, I think I can forgive a little bruise. Your name's Jak right?'

'Um… yeah.'

'Well thank you again.' Before he could stop her she'd enclosed him in a brief hug, her slim arms wrapping around his shoulders to squeeze him affectionately for a moment.

He backed away another step, stopping abruptly as he hit the railing on the balcony edge, he ran a hand across the back of his neck nervously as he tried to return her smile, bowled over by the pace of events. 'I, um, you're welcome. It's… it's my job.'

She turned from him to lean against the balcony rail once more, staring out across the city, 'I can understand why you came out here actually. It's a little much in there.'

He rejoined her at the rail as she glanced at him in invitation, 'I know what you mean. I couldn't even understand half of what they were saying.' He said with a rueful grin.

She laughed, a light, musical sound, ' Yeah, I think most of it was good but Senator Marcus lost me after "concordantly". My dad never much saw the point in talking like you've swallowed a thesaurus. Some of the words they used aren't even in the dictionary. I should know, I used to try to look them up so I could figure out what was going on.' This time he laughed with her, a little of his anxiety wearing off, she may have been a high-born but she did not seem to mind sharing a joke with a street-bred.

'So tell me Jak, have you been with the Haven Guard long?'

His eyes rose to take in the panorama of the city below them, 'No, not really, just three months.'

She raised here eyebrows a fraction, 'Well I must say I'm impressed, I saw the way you handled the speeder out there, it was great flying, especially with me and dad as passengers.'

He smiled appreciatively at her praise, 'Well I was a wastelander for a couple years before I joined up and since I had a bit of experience the Captain let me have one instead of giving me foot patrol.'

Her eyes caught the lightning bolt on his shoulder, 'That's Captain Michael's right? Of Storm Squad?'

Jak grinned proudly, everybody had heard of Storm Squad, they were the best the Haven Guard had to offer, he would be the first member that had not fought in the Praxis Wars as a member of the Underground. 'Yeah, he hand-picked me from the last batch of recruits.'

She grinned, 'Then that means you'll be getting issued your speeder soon right?'

'Yeah, why?'

Her grin widened as pride sparkled in her eyes, 'I make 'em.'

'You?' Jak's surprise was plain on his face.

She smirked at him playfully, 'Yeah, what's the matter? Can't believe that a little girl like me could build something like that?'

'I, uh, sorry, it's just that… well you're father's Senator Samos, I just…'

'You thought I'd be one of those boring noble women that sit in their palace suite all day?' She shook her head, 'Tried it, didn't like it. I've always been good with machines so I spend a lot of time in the Guard Garages, I custom build every single Storm Squad speeder. Captain Michaels would have probably introduced us in a few weeks anyway. Although I have to say I'm glad we met when we did, Jak.' She smiled again, a hypnotising curve of her full lips. Pulling something from the confines of her sleeve she handed him a small card. 'Here's my number, if you've ever got a free night I'd love to meet up with you, maybe take in a race.'

He could not nor wanted to stop the grin that spread across his face as he pocketed her card, trying desperately to hide some of his excitement. 'Sure, uh, I'd… I'd like that.'

Another smile as she turned from him, her eyes staying on his as she looked back over her shoulder, 'Me too.'