ISH/one

The smoke and dust had turned day to dusk. The hazy skyline, for the first time in genernes, was lighted by the natural sun and it wasn't enough. Cries and moans echoed around the dark area that was once bright with light and laughter. Blood and flames decorated the building once thought to be the most beautiful in the city, as survivors began to pull free from the rubble. Most just stood shocked at the sight before them, the devastation the enemy had wrought had left few things recognizable. What had been a beautiful salon in the palza's center was now only marked by the fountain, it's white marcon stone marred with blast burns and cracks.

Four men worked frantically to clear the rubble off the injured. When they'd heard the cries from beneath the pillar they's wasted no time in trying to free the poor souls who'd been trapped in th e sublet dining hall. Two wore the tanned jumpers of city workers, the other two wore the robes cloaks of business officials; yet they worked side by side coming together to help. All were covered with dirt and their clothing bore the tears and marks of their own frantic escape from the destruction.

"The fliers are returning!"

The distant hum was clearly recognizable. Vipers, the messengers of death and destruction, were returning for another attack. It would be the third such attack in the last dial, all unopposed. The sound was enough to send those able, running.

"We'll never get this off!" the stout business official cast a fearful glance skyward. They were open targets for the enemy to pick off. "We have to get out of here!"

Before the two city workers to say anything, the two business officials took off running, chasing after those fleeing for cover. They looked at one another, both were determined to free their trapped citizens no matter what. As they leaned down to try again to pull at the pillar, blasts began to shake the ground. The Vipers had begun their next attack.

"We're never going to get this thing off in time."

"Keep trying."

Members of the Industry for most of their grown lives it was not in either man to give up. Muscles strained and sinew screamed as they attempted to lift the pillar of macron stone again.

"Could I help?"

Both men turned to see a dirty faced boy wearing a tattered tunic and pants. The color could not be determined since it had long since turned grey with soot and dust. His hair was long, passed his shoulders, and dark, but whether that was from nature or soot they could not tell and while his right arm appeared to be injured the rest of him seemed fine.

"There are people trapped below." The taller of the two motioned toward the hole beneath the pillar and the cries coming from within. "The foundation won't take any more hits. It's now or never."

The youth nodded and stepped up. Four grown men had not been able to budge the large stone pillar and now they were just two and a boy. Their task was almost impossible. Yet, somehow the heavy pillar began to slowly shift and with a few more hard grunts, it moved.

"By the Father!"

The people below scrambled out, thanking the men by handshakes and pats on the backs. Once everyone was feed, the men looked around for the boy but he was already gone.

Rescue ships began to land as fires broke out across the city. Fuel bunkers, that had been brought down from the moon base, began to explode as survivors slowly made their way out of the rubble. At the edge of the city the Sadow, Spectronian ground troops, began their death march. Those trapped were left for the dark hoard as those able, fled for their lives.

Like a shadow the boy stumbled through the ruins of the city. Rubbing his forehead, his body aching from the cuts and bruises he'd received when the palza had crumbled. Even now every blast and explosion was like a physical hit as the nightmare continued to rain fire and death down upon them.

Moans alerted him to more injured, more trapped people half buried in the rubble. Oblivious to his own injuries, he began to dig until the last of those visible were free of the rubble that had once been the great Amphitheater.

"It's gone! The Governing Center is gone!" A man shouted the words as he ran away form the sounds of explosions and the cries of the injured. "They destroyed everything! We're doomed!"

"May the Father bless you son." The woman grabbed hold of the boy's arm as she pulled herself from beneath the last of the debris, but the youth wasn't listening. Instead his eyes, the color of darkened lapis, were already cutting through the smoke and fire toward the area where the heart of the city had stood. Slowly he walked toward the heart of the destruction, his eyes taking in all that was around him in shocked silence.

The Great Halls of the Calodonie Capital building had stood for cenrons in the center of Govern as testament to architectural ingenuity. Great columns had stood by the entrance hall, marking the beginning of man's hopes, his dreams to be at peace with all around him. It's walls of crystalline glass and infrastructure of precious amberious metal was the marvel of all the joined worlds. It had earned it's builder many awards and notoriety. It had been the place of many important meetings. The signing of the Alliance Declaration had taken place there, as well as the unification of the Colonized worlds of Terrax. Laws of man had been written inside allowing for the betterment of them, but now it was all gone. The attack had completely decimated the Governmental Centra, leaving only the beautiful veined columns to mark it's place.

There was no way anyone could have survived, yet he still forced himself to scan the building for life. His father and the other Councilmen would have been at high dial session discussing some great city matter when the attack occurred. Now no one would be taking the people's argument; the great structure had become their burial pyre.

"Sadow!"

The scream forced him to turn and look at the people coming toward him. Most wore the tattered remains of their citizen robes, their wounds barely slowing them as they made their way through the rubble. Their fear of him overrode by their fear of the dark Sadow.

"The Sadow are coming!"

He could hear the metallic sound of their armor as the injured rushed passed him. The Sadow would leave no survivors in their wake and there were few who could stop them. Armies had fallen before the dark tide of the Spectronian Sadow forces and cities had been turned to dust under their feet. They were unfeeling; following only the orders given them, stopping not even for their own wounded.

He turned to join the retreating group when a flash of white caught his eye. Making his way through the panicked crowd, he found a woman huddled behind a wall, her injured child wrapped in her arms.

"Can you move?"

The woman gasped. The boy looked like an apparition, his eyes seeming to glow with some inner light and an aura seemed to surround him.

"My baby."

He knelt before her, allowing her to see that he wasn't the death spirit she feared. His hair was long, shades of amber and brown peeked through the dirt held in the loosening pony tail, his clothing, a tunic and pants, were perhaps once white, and his skin while possibly tanned was thick with dirt. He touched her with a gentle hand, checking both her and her child's injuries.

"Who are. . .?"

"Shh." His head turned and he caught sight of the mark she'd not expected to see. The mark of the governing house. He was a Maxwell. "Sadow." he whispered and moved blocking her view.

The metallic sound grew louder as the dark forced moved closer. Nothing stood as they fired upon the few survivors unable to move or free themselves. The boy pushed against her as they got closer and she knew it was only a matter of time before they, too were cut down.

The boy turned to her and smiled, his calm reassurance making her believe they would survive where the others had not and then he stood. She screamed as the Sadow caught sight of him and fired. The blasts bounced off him as if he were wearing some form of personal shielding, returning to the dark warriors. As the boy moved forward to meet the Sadow, their own weapons became their deaths. Every shot fired reflected back onto them, cutting them down and filling the area with their death wails.

When he reached the first fallen, he stopped. Raising both his arms, he directed the shots with a flick of his hands. Blood flowed freely down his arm as he fired at the dark hoard. The anger he'd felt upon finding his father dead rose up in full force to take out the invaders of his home.

"Nahjet!" The curse caused him to pause long enough for the Sadow to hit him in the shoulder. The woman screamed as the boy staggered before making a sweeping motion and laying the remaining Sadow to waste. Behind him he could hear the Alliance ground troops advancing, their weapons joining the fight. The warriors drove the remaining Sadow back enough so that the med techs could get to the woman and child.

"Get that kid down!"

As the warrior reached for him, the boy let out a blood wrenching scream, making all of them stop cold. Arms flung back as the sound still echoed, a wave a energy surged from the boy destroying all that stood before him.

"By the Father!"

For a few mirax the smouldering armor of the Sadow stood like dark statues before falling to the ground. The warrior barely registered the devastation as the boy fell limp in front of him. What ever he'd done, it had taken all everything he had to do it.

O()O()O()O()O()O()O

"Rayer shows no sign of Spectronian Battlecruisers."

Odin frowned. "What about the vipers?"

Trella checked her screens again before speaking. "All I'm getting are minute traces of formytle. By these readings, the attack happened yarns ago instead of a few dials."

"The city of Calodoine is reporting Sadow troopers." Wufei announced. "And the Rising Star is at the outer marker."

"The Unian medical vessels are enroute but the nearest Starfighter is the Barroke in Vega Meich Dou." De'mon told him. "The Dawntian Empire has two fleet ships, but their about a dial behind the Rising Star."

Odin could only nod at the information being fed to him. None of it mattered it wouldn't get them there any faster nor offer assistance any sooner. It was still a matter of speed.

"I want squadrons ready to fly once we reach orbit. Grid searches to eradicate the Sadow and trace that formytle."

"Aye, Commander."

"We ran taggers on most of those here. This one came up under classified status."

Keeping his eyes closed and his breathing deep, he felt the two men move closer. He'd become aware of his surroundings only moments before when the cry of a child had pulled him from the darkness. He knew by the smell that he was in a medical facility and that his wounds had been treated.

"How classified?"

"Level ninh or above."

"Get GovTem Janox to approve the search. How are his wounds?"

"Superficial. The med techs did a good job repairing his arm and ribs. The blast wound is sealed, but will take at least a yarn to properly heal."

"What about the woman and child he was protecting?"

'Their wounds were minor. They were treated and released to a shelter."

"Did she?"

"No, she said he came out of nowhere to help them. With her story we checked for head wounds as well but found nothing."

"Hm. Stress from the attack I've no doubt. Check him every half dial and let me know when he's identified."

Opening his eyes to mere slits, he watched the two medicals move away. He waited for them to get out of sight before slowly removing the contacts that monitored his body. When no alarms sounded, he quickly got up and searched the area for security. He'd been dressed in a new tunic and pants, the telling emblem replaced so that he was clearly identifiable again. Grabbing some shoes, he made his way quietly out of the enclosed building. While he was grateful for their help, there was still others he needed to search for.

1657683541643215465

"How did you hear about the transmission?"

"So it is true?"

Tri Commander Rashid Kurama nodded slowly. It was one thing to be caught with napping; it was quite another to have been fore warned.

"How was the message sent?"

Treize Kushrenada was the liasion between the Alliance and the Dawntian Empire. He was reknown for his sharp mind and brilliant tactics. He had reached his rank faster than anyone could imagine and was quick to let people know that it hadn't been handed to him.

Rashid sighed and looked hard at the Unian. "The message was sent on an obsolete carrier band. The language wasn't even known once it was decoded."

Treize frowned. Rashid was of the old Academy, he'd fought in many of the more famous campaigns before retiring to the sentry seat. With anyone else he'd believe there was more but Rashid was known for being truthful and blunt.

"I still don't understand why it was ignored."

Rashid's face hardened as anger colored his words. "The message was not ignored! We received it only two yerons passed. It took a team of shor another yeron to properly decode it. When we realized the language wasn't in the matrix, we pulled all the top linguists together and set them to work. Not even they could agree on what it was!"

"Then when . . .?"

Rashid rose from his desk and turned to look out the window. If he hadn't come to Una on business, he would have been in Catheria organizing rescue plans. "The message was only fully translated three dehils ago." Sighing, he ran a hand over his face. "Even then it was only verified this passed dehil."

"Why did it have to be verified?" Treize watched Rashid's shoulders slump. The man was looking older with every question he asked and every report he received from the home world.

"There was a linguist attached to the Gov Tem Facility. He took a copy of the message back to his lab."

Treize waited before he completed the thought himself. "Someone else translated the message who was not on the team."

Rashid nodded and with a heavy sigh, he returned to his desk. "There was a young cadet in the Facility we were not aware of. The linguist left the message out, the cadet saw it, and translated it within a dial."

Treize leaned forward puzzled. "You're telling me that a cadet translated an unknown language in less than a dial? Without ever having seen it before? How is that possible?"

Rashid hesitated before pulling out a hard copied folder. In this dehil and ergo it was uncommon for any information to be placed on sheets much less enough to fill a folder.

"The cadet's name is Duo Maxwell. He's the only son of a prominent family. He was at the Facility doing special studies."

3165465416321

His shoulder throbbed and his arm was weak but he was free. For the first time in more than drehm thyerox Duo Maxwell was without a keeper . . . and his world had been destroyed.

Taking a deep breath, he headed for the city's palza. The attack had occurred at almost high sun thus most of the citizens would have been there. It would have also been the hardest hit and would need the most help.

Keeping an eye out for Alliance warriors, he made his way slowly to the centra palza. Building that had once been considered marvels of modern architecture were now mere memories. The only thing still recognizable was the sky walk hanging loosely from its remaining pillars.

Duo took his time picking through the loose debris that was once the grand hall where the great murals of the Borrax had covered the walls. Muted colors still clung to the stone of the few walls still standing but fire had forever marred their beauty; it was a sad testament to the loves of those who once lived.

As he stepped over a fallen marker, hands grasped him pulling him down. He struggled only to have fingers dig deep into the skin of his healing arm making him freeze.

"Help me."

Duo jerked before turning to see an Elderman crouched behind the wall, hiding. His face, what there was to recognize, was distinguished. Eyes of clear cut blue looked back at him with clear hysteria and madness as he turned to revealed the charred flesh of the rest of him. His robes were barely recognizable as those of the burgundy colors of a Gov Tem Nova, a man of power and prestige.

"The Sadow are coming." the man wheezed as he fought for each breath. "They're coming, I can hear them."

Duo tried to cover the pain that shot up his arm as the man's grip tightened. He couldn't hear the mechanics and as he closed his eyes, briefly, he knew that he would not feel the cold darkness he had come to associate with the black Sadow killing force. He gasped as the man pulled at him again, breaking his concentration.

"They killed everyone." the man whispered, his voice coming faster as he pulled on Duo's arm. "I am too important to fall into their hands. They mustn't find me."

"They're not coming." Duo tried to reassure the injured man, hoping that soon the Alliance search force would find them. "There's a Starfighter in orbit, the Specs are gone."

"I'm Gov Protem Noverrem! I'm important, quasi!" The man's harsh voice was now shouting as he cursed and struggled. "I've got secrets! I know truths!"

Once again Duo tried to free himself without hurting the man further, but his grip was too strong. "There are Alliance warriors coming, everything will be all right."

"I know truths!" The man shouted again and jerked on Duo's arm. "I saw faces! I know what they did; I know what they planned! I heard their words!"

"The shuttle is coming." Duo could hear the soft pull of the engines as they made a slow pass toward the palza. "They'll get you some medical."

"I know you." His words were slurred as he slowly leaned forward to get a better look. "You're the one that Merris spoke of. The one they couldn't control. You're the Nahjet!"

Duo fell back as he was suddenly released and images pushed at him from Noverrem's mind. He'd heard the word before, had felt the fear associated with it, but what he was seeing now was nothing like he'd dealt with before. Imagines of testing and tactics; of schematics and weaponry, until it all settled on an image of him laying strapped to the exam board of one of the Facility's many rooms of white.

"They sent you! They knew I'd be here! They sent you!" Noverrrem pushed himself away from Duo as fast as he could crawl. His words becoming more and more hysterical as he moved away.

"Wait! Stop!" Duo tried to halt the man's frantic climb over the debris wall they'd been hidden behind but the man only became more crazed the closer he got. "Stop!"

Duo made one last grab for the man's robes, but Noverrem was beyond rational thinking and threw himself over the edge, away from Duo's hand. His screams echoed along the stone as Duo climbed to the top and looked over. Below the Gov Tem's broken body lay in the empty concave of what had once been one of the palza's many majestic fountains. Closing his eyes, Duo made a quick scan, all ready knowing that the man was now dead.

"Stay where you are!"

Duo jumped and turned, catching sight of a fully armored Alliance Defender, his weapon aimed at him.

"Climb down slowly."

The Defender had been sent with his unit to insure that no one looted the palza, but once they'd seen how unlikely that was, their Commander had chosen to recon the area instead.

Duo kept his hands visible as he slowly made his way back down to level ground. The rubble hadn't seemed so high when he was trying to reach the Gov Tem, but with a gun pointed at him it now it was like scaling a mountain.

"I've got a survivor." The Defender pulled the gun down as the boy reached him. Taking in the boy's appearance with one quick glance, he was surprised to see a Facility emblem on a clearly Institutional issued tunic. "What was your purpose here?"

Duo drew in a relaxing breath and lowered his hands. "I was looking for survivors."

The Defender lowered his weapon fully and angled his head to get a better look at the boy. "This area is strictly off limits to all but Alliance Defenders and Rescue Units. We've had reports of Sadow activity and sabotage."

"There are no Sadow here." Duo spoke before thought. "As for sabotage, the only I've seen so far is the garrett, someone's rigged the door."

The Defender threw another look at the boy before asking, "I need your name, rank and cast."

Duo sighed. The next words he spoke would surely end his freedom. "Duo Maxwell. Cadet. Alpha cast. Facility Omacron Dra."

He waited as the Defender relayed the information back to base and was not surprised when he said, "I have orders to take you to the base set up at Delfin Polls."

O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O

"Satray leader reports a temporary base command set up at Delfin Polls. Lead Graham and the last Defender Unit are all ready reporting there." Major Karl Normbreux scrambled to keep up the frantic pace set by his Commander. Karl was the best records analyst in the fleet, but at times he knew he could be as annoying as a kats fly. "I've recommended that Satray squadron remain on planet to insure rescue formation."

Odin nodded, he'd heard most all of this once all ready. He'd even approved the plan to be implemented the mirac they cleared the belt.

"Karl, what about the grid search?"

Karl visibly swallowed. Since he was so thin it wasn't a wonder the bobbing of his throat was so noticeable, moreso when he shuffle his feet as he was want to do when nerves overcame him. "The Rising Star has nothing to report and are now heading this way. Fleet has spread out in active formation and are approaching from far side. They have found nothing to report."

"What about the residue trail?" Odin was getting tired of hearing the same old thing.

"It's dissipating much faster than it should." Karl shook his head and looked away. "Trella regrets to report that we probably only have another few triax before it's completely gone."

"And the Unian ships?"

Karl consulted his board, even though he all ready knew the answer. "They were recalled.'

"What?!"

Karl pulled himself short to keep from running into his Commander when Odin came to an angry stop in the middle of the corridor.

Swallowing again, he forced himself not to look down but answer. "The Unian Gov Tem feared they were the next target and recalled their ships."

"Dorden Tretar!" Odin cursed angrily and stormed down the corridor headed for the bridge. "I want a com link locked with Delfin Polls and another with the Rising Star! I want those durden Specs and I want them now!"

(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)

Once they got their orders the Defender squadron moved quickly. Duo kept silent as he followed the lead Defender, he could tell by their speed and focus that something more than just a search for survivors was happening. A faint click alerted him to the Defender receiving a message and the group abruptly changed direction.

"Stay in my tracks and don't be more than two steps behind me." The Defender ordered as he powered up his weapon. "Keep quiet and don't do anything stupid."

Duo refrained from telling the Defender that he was not stupid and could take care of himself. Following the man's orders so that the warrior wouldn't be distracted, he kept his own eyes open just in case. A few triax later he was surprised to find that he recognized where they were. They were near the Grisage Point, a mecca for fine dining and extravagant wares when the Defender came to an abrupt halt.

Duo gasped as cold assaulted his senses and forced him to his knees with a gasp. "Sadow."

The Defender turned to look at the young cadet. If he didn't know better he'd think the boy was in shock. The boy's eyes had become unfocused and his face hard as he watched the boy lift his head to look beyond the leader at something none of them could yet see.

"Sadow! Three clicks set." The call came over the com as the boy abruptly stood up.

Before he could get to him, the hum of a rapton filled the air and an explosion covered the open cathedral in dust. When he looked back at his charge, he was shocked to see him standing completely still, the dust moving around him as if encountering a protective shield.

"What is he doing?" the shout came from the Commander as the boy stepped out from behind the protective cover of the fallen wall.

The Defender made a move to grab him, but the boy was fast. Before any of them could react the boy had made his way into the open area of the cathedral. The Defender once again made a move to return his charge to safety when a yell stopped them all.

"Rapton cannon rise covered!"

The unit ducked again and covered themselves as another barrage rained down on them. When they were clear again, the Defender looked for the boy, but he was gone.

(O)(O)(O)(O)

Duo felt the sting of the micro pebbles shift through the force around him. He knew the Sadow were gaining ground but it was something else that forced him from the safety of the wall. It was like a light blinking from a dark place, calling for him to come to it.

Walking through the dark, smoke filled ruins, he made his way slowly back toward the palza Crown Hall. The last attack had reduced the remnants of the once brightly lit area to rubble. The shadow of what remained of the promenade marked what was not two dials ago a bustling shopping centre. There would be no survivors within the rubble of the great multi-layered complex. The whole of the building had collapsed in on itself. The one place where the Council's protector would have felt safe in taking them if he'd been informed of the shelters below the structure.

Picking his way through the fallen debris, he found a small hollowed out place below the remains of an entertainment tower. Stepping carefully, he began to find his way through the dark area. Placing his hand against a large stone piece, he balanced himself to step over a fallen pillar when a hand snaked out of the dark, grabbing his wrist and throwing him off balance. Flipping over as he landed, he grabbed at the dark figure above him only to find himself pinned to the stone wall beneath him.

"Cease your struggles, young Teirsan. I am Naijor. Protector member of the House of Drend Mentrat. Guardian of the High Council of Allies."

The deep voice was raspy but strong as the strength behind the dark shadow held him firm. It took his eyes a moment to adjust from the smoke and dust, to focus on the dark form of a Naijor, the Council's protector.

The Naijor pulled the young Teirsan up and deeper into the ruins, bringing him to a stop near the student centre so that he could get a good look at him. It had taken all of his special training to hear this one, he had moved so silently. It was hard, even for the greatest of warriors to deceive the senses of a Naijor, for they were trained from birth to hear that which could not be heard, to feel that which could not be felt. They were genetically encoded to be the best hunters, trackers, and protectors in the whole of the known universe. It was why their kind was in such demand, by the good as well as the evil. But this young Teirsan had been almost upon him before he'd even heard him and then it had been his breathing that had given him away, not any sound his boots made.

"Who are you, young Teirsan?"

The boy swallowed, lack of water and too much dust and smoke had made it hard to breathe let alone speak. But with a shake, the Naijor demanded an answer to his question.

"Maxwell. Cadet Duo Maxwell." His voice once found sounded forced and made his throat hurt.

The Naijor released the cadet and stepped back to get a better look at him. The boy stood perfectly still, not wanting the Naijor to mistake him for an enemy when there were so many all ready within the city's arena.

"You are very brave to venture forth to this place. It smells of death and destruction." The Naijor spoke these words deliberately, he had to know what the young warrior was made of if he was to be the one to take on the task needed to be done.

"The entire city is nothing but death and destruction." Duo murmured as he watched the Naijor with wary eyes. The dark warrior took several steps to the side of the rubble to look deeper into the ruins.

"You are not safe here, cadet." The Naijor heard the crunch of the Sadow's boots as they advanced into the area. "Safety is in the other direction, away from this place."

Duo couldn't have agreed more, but safety was the last thing on his mind as he, too, heard the clank of the Sadow troops advancement.

"The Sadow are coming."

The Naijor's head tilted slightly to one side to indicate that he, too, knew of the danger they were in. The young cadet would have to prove himself before this one would move.

Duo felt the darkness claw up his back as the sound of the Sadow troops got closer to their hidden position. A strange sort of calm surrounded him as the Naijor simply stood out in the open waiting for the darkness to reach them.

The sounds of gun fire and death screams of those who were trapped echoed through the ruins. The Sadow were doing as programmed and sterilizing the city as they marched through it. Those not fortunate enough to flee were eradicated.

Using the wall as a shield, Duo pulled the gun from behind his back. Taking a second to adjust his sight, he turned to fire at the advancing troops. They seemed to freeze as their sights set on the exposed Naijor, who stood silently awaiting them.

"Move!" Duo's shout came too late as the Sadow fired and the Naijor took a direct hit to the chest. The warrior, however, did not fall, but calmly removed two deadly tri-stargs and threw them toward the advancing troops, taking out five with one throw.

Instinct took over as Duo placed himself between the injured Naijor and the rest of Sadow advancement. He fired indiscriminately, hitting each dark target he aimed at, destroying it. The first wave lay littering the ground before his finger stopped pulling on the trigger.

The Naijor dragged the boy back into the ruins. Without hesitation he had laid the Sadow to waste and when they had wounded him, the cadet had placed himself between him and the Legion. It was unthinkable for anyone, especially a young cadet, to think of protecting a Naijor. Wounded or not, they were considered dangerous and deadly. No one thought to protect one for they were trained to be the protectors. But this young cadet hadn't thought twice about placing himself in harms way. This one could be the one.

Duo fell to the ground next to the wounded Naijor once they'd reached the hidden alcove in the rubble. He tried to determine the warrior's wounds, but his armored body suit and hood made that next to impossible.

"We will be safe here for a few triax." The Naijor could feel his life's blood seeping from the wound in his chest as he faced the young cadet. The boy had more than proven himself and there was so little time left. He had to be the one.