Okay you asked for it, I'm going to try to upload faster and get this thing in gear without catching up with myself. If it slows down a bit you know that life or the story has caught me up and I'm working on it. Thanks for the words, just wanted to see if it was moving fast enough.. ;/
(O)(O)
\native language spoken\
FEIN// FIVE
As the lift ascended, lights flickered on and off. Duo felt the uneasy heat of a med scan going over his flesh and heard the almost silent beep as it completed it's review of the occupants. It was a quickly put together security option, little used in this dehil and time, but for a city now under limited resources it was perfect and alerted the scanner who was of what decent.
The lift opened to the control room in the upper tier, a stark contrast to the chaos below. Men and women in uniforms of various colors and rank moved around a room filled with quickly put together consoles and com systems. Everyone moving around in assigned tasks, doing their duty as if everything were still normal. In the center of the room was the hub, a large console was laid out with hard copies and holo-maps with several people standing over them.
"Command is running at optimal efficiency and we have established some communication outside the city limits." The Patrol Commander continued to gush as he lead the group off the lift. "We have been linking up with the rescue shuttles on the outer reaches as well as the vistar squadrons sent out to patrol."
"Commander Uroff." A young woman meet them as they stepped off the lift. Her eyes were light gray and her hair was a twisted mass of reddish gold, tendrils coming loose from the twists that fell to either side of her head. She was dressed in a snug uniform of blue-green which placed her in the med guild and carried a med com , but it was obviously not her uniform since it was too tight and the name and rank had been removed.
"This is medical tech Sally Po. She is from the outer reaches. We're very fortunate to have her." Patrol Commander Uroff pulled the young woman to his side and puffed out his chest as if he had personally something to do with her medical knowledge. "She helped install the med scan in the lift so that we could detect not only enemy forces but any injuries or biologics. She has been invaluable."
The young woman looked decidedly uncomfortable as she slowly extracted herself from Uroff's grasp. She tapped the medicom she carried and began to read from it.
"The Council members are cleared of any injury or disease, as are you Commander." Uroff beamed. "However, the cadet has sustained two fractured ribs, sprained a healing wrist- right hand-, a slight concussion, and several other minor cuts and abrasions that should be seen to."
Fermeldon was shocked by the list of injuries. Turning, he pushed back his hood and looked really good at their protector. For the first time he noticed how badly torn the boy's clothing was. There were stains of blood from new and old injuries along the torn areas on his legs and arms. He'd never said anything about pain nor did he display any, then or now.
Duo stood as still as possible hoping against hope that the Council would not take this woman's words to heart. He'd known about his injuries, known about each of them upon receiving them. The ones that had been healing he knew he'd strained, but he'd shut out the pain just as he always had. In time they would heal, he was quick to do so, but if they insisted on him going into a med then he would have no choice but to comply.
"If you will follow me, cadet, I have a med unit all ready for you." Sally motioned for him to proceed her and was surprised when he did not. She turned to see him standing almost at attention, not really looking at any one or anything in particular.
Fermeldon was not surprised when the boy did not immediately follow the med tech. "Protector, you must have your injuries seen to."
Duo took a breath and relaxed his shoulders in acceptance to the softly spoken order. Not for a mirac did he delude himself into thinking it was concern for his well being that spurred the words as he turned and followed the young med tech. After all a protector could not do his job unless he was at full strength and though he knew he could, they didn't.
"Our Protector is very strong." Ahl Boren's words were soft and meant only for Fermeldon's ears as the two watched the young protector go with the young woman. "He is not at all what one would expect."
Fermeldon had to agree. In all the thyerox they had served as the Council between this Alliance and the Dawntian Empire they had searched for that one who would lead. They had heard the rumors and checked the reports as time and again a worthy soul would be brought before them. They had all failed and in their darkest dial a single light had flickered and their Naijor, the all knowing of the Order of Protection, had found what they, themselves, had been seeking.
A true New Born. The true Nahjet.
(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)
"Please remove your tunic."
The room was just as Duo suspected, cold and white. It was meant to give no comfort to the needy but to effectively repair any damage before sending them away. It was like all the other rooms he'd ever been taken to.
"Cadet?" Sally drew an uneasy breath when the cadet turned to look at her. He was quiet, emotionless, his face impassive. He reminded her of the warriors who'd returned from battle, hard and unrelenting and while she'd like to reassure him, she just didn't have time to do so.
Duo slowly undressed and placed his tattered tunic on the table before allowing the med tech to place sensor pads on his chest and arms. He knew the drill backwards and forwards, the sensors would locate the ill and the machine would send in tiny microscopic mechs to repair the damage. Sometimes he felt like he had so many of them inside him that he was not even human any more.
Sally tried to remain calm as she placed the senors on him. Even injured he was a sight to behold. His hair was dark, long passed his shoulders which was in itself unusual, but that braid he kept it in made it more so. His body was that of an athlete, strong and sculpted, smooth to the touch. He was, in her opinion, beautiful.
Turning, she gasped. One of the hooded figures had followed them and had silently been behind her, watching. "C..can I help you?"
"No." The voice was soft and deep, invoking automatic trust. "I am merely here to keep vigil."
Duo was surprised by the Councilmon's answer, but did not take it to mean anything other than he was once again on a short leash.
"My apologies, Councilmon, but there is little room as there is and . . ."
The cloaked figure moved swiftly and was in a corner seat before she could finish speaking. "I will simply sit and observe."
Duo's narrowed as he looked at the deceptively compliant creature. He knew the Serrian was doing more than observing, but that's all it would look like to the medical.
\wanting to keep an eye on me?\ he spoke in the Councilmon's native tongue as he allowed the woman to lead him to the medunit.
\not at all.\ Ahl Beron was surprised that the boy could speak the complicated language of his people, not many even tried to learn more than a phrase or two as a courtesy. \you were injured in the act of releasing us. I am merely seeing to it that you do not deny yourself the treatment you need to become whole again.\
Duo frowned at the figure as he took his place on the med unit's slanted board. He stiffened as Sally placed the restraints over his wrists and angled the light onto his chest. This unit was not enclosed which was the only reason why he was still here, still it reminded him too much of how it was in the past. As the hum of the machine began to vibrate through him, he felt the healing sleep come over him. He had to force himself to give into it, the eyes of the Councilmon locked on him from his seat.
(O)(O)(O)(O)
Derris Rehn was a top pilot but a less than stellar diplomat. When word reached them that the Alliance Council had been found alive and well, he was more than happy to relay the information to the Red Star. He even stepped aside to allow them the use of the communications array so that they could contact the Grace to let them know they were well, but he refused to bow to them when it came to the decisions of his men.
"Councilmon, I understand your position, but you have to see that the city has to be cleared before any ships are sent off world. We can't risk that the Sadow would transmit a signal."
The Council had requested, then demanded, to be allowed off planet. The Grace and the Empire both were behind the demands and there was little that Rehn could do about it. He couldn't spare the ships it would take to protect them.
"We have a Spectronian Battle Cruiser out there somewhere and only three Starfighters close enough to look for it." Now he would try reason. "If we spare the ships to escort you to another planet then we stand a chance of losing our grid and that Cruiser coming after you again."
Fermeldon had let Councilmon Drahzzahs take over when the Grace had demanded that they leave the planet. He sided with the pilot, there was no reason to leave here except for certain member's fears that they would be attacked again. He would let them fuss before re-asserting his position of High Council to control the situation.
"I demand that you follow orders, pilot, and get us a shuttle!" Drahzzahs' voice gain volume with each word he spoke. He was a man used to getting things done and done quickly. "We want off this planet now!"
"You won't be safe off world."
The words were spoken from behind them and in a tone that brooked no argument. All eyes turned to see the Protector, his body was healed and his voice was dead calm. "There will be no shuttles leaving this world until the Starfighters clear their passage."
While Drahzzahs would have argued with the pilot, even with the Starfighter Commander himself, he would not and could not raise his voice to the Protector. No one spoke against the Protector's will as it was meant to keep them safe. It was the first law the Order had laid down when assigning one to them.
Duo swayed a little as he walked into their midst. He'd awakened a few triax ago healed and weak. Ahl Boren had been there to see that he was well before the two had stepped out of the med to hear the raised voices. Duo assumed his position as protector once again, knowing it was the only thing that would stop the reckless fear of the council.
"The Grace sends their greeting and honors, Protector."
Once again the ceremony of Fermeldon's words caused Duo to frown. He had taken on this role only to finish what the Naijor had started, once that was done he fully expected to be freed. What he would do with that freedom had yet to be determined, even if he was, in fact, free to go.
"Pilot Rehn was just informing us that the Starfighter Red Star, from which he comes, has detected a Battle Cruiser in the area." Fermeldon used his stature to inform the young protector of what they'd learned knowing full well that Uroff would never have allowed it. "He believes that they will be engaging the enemy in no time."
Derris Rehn eyed the young warrior. Caufay and Baily had checked in with him after they and the other members of Satray squadron had taken out the Sadow cannons. They had told him about the pilot's uncanny skill and almost spooky sense of knowing. They had been shocked when he'd told them that the pilot was currently in med with a series of injuries and that the council had named him as their protector. Now looking at the boy, and that was surely what he was, he could not see any battlefield experience written on his face and yet. . . there was something in his eyes that spoke volumes.
"The Red Star is coordinating with the Black Star and the Andrometha. They think they've found a vapor trail and a confirmed sighting." Derris frowned, trying to figure out why he was sharing this information with the youth. There was something about the boy that made him want to make sure that he had all the information he needed, whether he was due it or not.
Duo nodded and stepped closer to the table to look at the maps. His mind was quick to memorize the grids and the locations of each of the Starfighters, but as he tried to place the Battle Cruiser where they had he kept sensing only black.
"With the Red Star in pursuit it should be no time at all before the Cruiser is destroyed and you can leave the planet." Uroff strutted as he stepped toward the table. "We can get a shuttle ready to launch in a matter of triax."
"The Red Star has the Cruiser placed in grid ish-ish-och." Derris pointed to the area in order to show the young cadet exactly where the ships would converge. "They're coming in a standard bavry pattern. If the Cruiser doesn't get a lock it will be caught unaware."
Duo nodded as he looked at the map. He placed a finger on the coordinates that Rehn gave, still he sensed nothing. Giving the pilot an appreciative glance, he stepped away from the table and allowed Uroff to once again take center stage.
Derris watched the young cadet move toward the large windows and away from the group. He suspected something though there was nothing concrete to put his finger on. Feelings only counted in battle and in space; this was neither. Besides how would he explain to his Commander that a feeling had lead him to giving charge over to a mere cadet. With a shake of his head he returned his attention to Uroff and the Council to reassure and over ride any erroneous plans.
Duo let the conversation wash over him as he stepped up to the window. He watched the activity on the field as the Commander talked to the Council and the pilot about the procedures to be followed in eradicating the city of the Sadow.
"Serra."
The word was barely a whisper and yet the vistar pilot heard him. "What?"
Duo turned meeting the pilot's eyes, hardly aware that he'd spoken aloud. "What about the dark side of Serra? Has it been scanned?"
Uroff was tired of the young cadet always butting in. You would think that he was the leader here and not himself. "The Commander of those Starfighters know what they're doing. I think we should be glad that there are experienced pilots up there to protect us. Gratitude is all they require from us."
Duo ignored the man's harsh tone and shut out all the control room as he turned back toward the window. He was aware of Derris Rehn's eyes locked on him or the Council's stilled patience, but he knew that neither of them could do anything. For thyerox the Facility had honed his gifts, his curse, making him into something they could only barely control and now he would use that training to help his people. They had wanted a weapon, a future warrior to fight so that others would not have to, but he had fooled them all. He wasn't a mindless drone to do as told, they had not broken him. The Alliance Council had named him their protector but in his heart he was the protector of all of Teirsa. He would do what had to be done with everything he had and the Facility had equipped him well.
Uroff continued to talk, pointing at the map and trying to gain the attention of the Council and the vistar pilot. He was aware that they were only half listening, paying close attention to what the boy was doing. When he looked up all he saw was the kid standing by the window gazing out at the field with blank eyes; a child given over to mind dreams. He could not understand or fathom why these illustrious individuals would give some one of obvious youth any attention.
Taking a few controlled breaths, Duo focused beyond his surroundings, beyond the city scape, beyond the planet itself. He continued to breathe slowly, deeply, as his senses searched the grids in his mind to find that which he could not see, pushing himself further than he ever had before.
Then he saw them. The Starfighters were converging in a standard bavry maneuver as he'd been told. It was a classic wave of attack pinching the enemy between forces he could not or would not think to see. There were three moving slowly around the area they wished to attack, with a fourth coming in from the outer realm. However, in this case it was the hunters who would be surprised, for the Battle Cruiser wasn't where they imagined it to be.
The Spectronian Battle Cruiser was cloaked, their standard procedure when entering into their enemies's arena. In this stealth mode they could easily slip in and out undetected, hitting anything they wanted yet keeping themselves from harm. The Starfighter Commanders would have taken this into consideration using the latest in technology to search a trail, one that was thin and not easy to hide; only this time the enemy had found a way to disguise itself.
"It's not there." His words were a whisper and not meant to be heard as his senses touched the place where the Starfighters thought the enemy to be. It was black, still darkness, empty space. The Battle cruiser had used their technology against them and had planted a trail for them to follow away from their intended target. The Starfighters were following false echoes and not looking for any of the anomalies which would mark the ship's true path. This was where their arrogance got them, computer guidance followed blindly with no regard for the secondary checks. They had been lead astray and did not even know that their enemy was even now getting ready for another strike.
He knew they would not listen to him, Uroff had all ready said as much and the vistar pilot would not believe what data could not back up. The Starfighter armada waiting in formation, had taken the course that would lead them toward Tor, but the Spectronian cruiser was not going that way. Echoes had taken the armada away from them and, like a dark specter going in for the kill, the cruiser would reach Serra in less than two dials.
With a shake of his head, he made his decision. As the named protector he would do what he had to, what had yet to be demanded of him. Without speaking or looking at anyone in the room, he left the command center as quietly as possible. He'd waited for just the right moment, when the Council's attention was drawn away by the pilot and his was taken up by Uroff. No one would see him leave nor would they know that his intended destination as the vistar waiting on the tarmac below.
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FYI- Some of the names within this story are actually names from other GW series or mangas- Found a whole list and decided to use them. Thus if you see () then you will know -I hope I remember this- that this is a GW name. PS- I HATE IT WHEN MY KEYBOARD STROKES WON'T SHOW UP!!!!
