The Vanguard

by Jeffrey Ellis

  “That was impressive William. I did not know you have managed that level of arcane talent,” said Nefertiti.

  “Neither did I. I saw that it was about to hit the shuttle and thought about losing Anna and me just...I knew what I had to do and did it without thinking,” he replied. “I guess that was just my rage and grief expressing itself.”

  “It was neither. It was love and you should remember that feeling. Emotions are powerful motivators for magic and can lend you the strength to achieve great things. The trick is knowing when to do so and which emotions to use,” Nefertiti told him. “When I find Mordred, you will see rage.”

  “I should have been on that shuttle with her, but I know she's in good hands and my place is here. We took the main hangar for this base. The other hangars are in rubble, so our objective is done but we can't rest. I know you want to be with Ra as much as I want to be with Anna but as you said, you're a warrior as am I. Our place is here. If we don't win this battle we can't hope to win the war. If we lose the war, we lose Anna and Ra and everyone and everything we fight for. We make a stand here and now not because we fight for ourselves but because we fight for them,” William told Nefertiti.

  “Your words speak to my heart, William. Arthur, or rather Sebastian, has always been good at reading people and has made a good choice in making you one of his generals,” Nefertiti replied.

  “I'm no general. I'm just a man doing what needs to be done to help others and make the world a better place,” he told her.

  “That may be true, but you are a general in this war. Sebastian is a de facto king, our king, and commander in this war and you and I and others who sit at his table are the generals of that war,” Nefertiti told him.

  “I doubt he would be happy being called a king but regardless, we have a mission to complete. We've finished this objective. I say we move on to the C&C. Bruce's team will handle the armory but based on the chatter on the comm, they've hit some trouble with the command center. It's more heavily fortified than expected and they might need some help or at least another target for the enemy's guns,” William told her.

  “Agreed,” Nefertiti replied.

  “Sebastian, this is William, do you copy?” he asked over the Vanguard channel.

  “Sebastian here. How is Anna? I just got the report from command,” Sebastian replied.

  “I don't know. She's hurt badly. She took a plasma shot to her chest and lost an arm. She's strong. All I can do is hold out hope and finish this fight for her. That's what I'm inquiring about. We're finished here. We have the main hangar, freed the civilians and GloCom can hold it from here. Nefertiti and I are coming to help you. Where do you need us?” William asked.

  “Chelsea, Xavier and I are about to go airborne and hit the roof entrance. The main doors are heavily guarded so we're going in from the top. If you can get to the roof, you can join us there. If not, join Bruce's team at the armory if you can get there. If you can't manage either, check with GloCom see where they need reinforcements,” Sebastian replied.

  “We are in a large room full of flying machines in various states of repair. I am certain William can make one of them fly,” replied Nefertiti. “The command building is large. Which part of the roof should we meet on?”

  “There is a shuttle landing pad near the northeast corner. There is an air conditioning tower on the south side, about ten yards from the main roof entrance. That tower has a concealed door that goes to some escape tunnels for command staff. That's our destination. We'll be on the roof in about seven minutes,” he said.

  “Then in seven minutes we will storm the air conditioning with you,” replied Nefertiti.

  They heard Sebastian laugh then reply, “If you can get there we'll meet you otherwise use the other options as fallback contingencies.

  “How exactly are you going to get us there?” asked William.

  “Look around you. We have chariots in no short supply and is this not a building where they repair such things? Perhaps one of them is repaired and may take to the skies,” replied Nefertiti.

  “That's a pretty good idea, Nefertiti,” William said as he surveyed the shuttles.

  “That one,” he said pointing at one. “It's a small tactical shuttle. The model is old but it's fast and maneuverable. It doesn't have much armor and will be a bit cramped but it's very fast and will be hard to track in the chaos above us. Most importantly, the maintenance logs on the computer indicate it's in working condition except for its guns,” William told her.

  “That is our chariot,” said Nefertiti as they walked to the shuttle.

  “Sir Jonathon, stay with GloCom and keep this area secured and those civilians safe until GloCom can reinforce this position,” Field Marshall William ordered as he and Nefertiti walked to the shuttle.

  #

  Bruce and his team charged into the fray. Boudicca was already on a killing spree, eschewing her sword for claws that had grown from her fingertips. She was a hurricane of destruction in the middle of the undead and enemy troops, leaving a bloody mess of mangled corpses in her wake. She was extremely fast with incredible agility and the few enemies who managed to get a shot at her in the melee missed badly, usually to the loss of a limb or worse.

  Her allies hit the outside of the fight and were cutting their own path through the mix of living and dead enemies. Part of the danger was the recently deceased. As they were struck down, there was a chance they might rise again to refill the ranks of the undead. Of all the old legends about the undead, zombies needing their brain destroyed was one of the true ones but fortunately, the transmission was not as common as in the old vids. It was far too difficult to get clean shots in with the chaos around them, so the Vanguard and Wardens had switched to swords while the GloCom troops were shooting outliers anytime they could get a clean shot.

  Trish's skin had hardened into sarsen and her reflexes and speed were still phenomenal despite being covered in stone. Bruce, though he lacked the hardened skin of Trish, was able to augment his strength and physical attributes significantly making him a force in his own right. She and Bruce were side by side as they cut through the horde to Boudicca.

  Once the control was broken, the zombies turned on the ALF almost instantly and the unprepared soldiers were taken by surprise as the undead overwhelmed them. By the time the strike force had fully engaged most of the terrorists were dead or turned. This was fortunate for the Vanguard and Wardens. The zombies were slower than the living, so they made short work of the creatures.

  After several minutes the horde was dead, and Boudicca stood face to face with Bruce. The claws on her fingers were long, even cutting through the gloves of the biomesh polymer that made up their armor. Her teeth were elongated into fangs. She was growling quietly as she walked menacingly towards Bruce. She swung a clawed hand at him, which he caught and then grabbed her second arm when she went for his throat.

  “Field Marshall Boudicca, at ease,” ordered Field Marshall Bruce.

  She continued to struggle against his grip and was smiling. The growling intensified.

  “Boudicca. Stand down. That's an order,” Bruce said as he released her.

  She stopped and stared at him then flexed her claws. She bent down like she was about to pounce.

  Trish ran over to her and stood between the two. “Boudicca. Listen to me. Listen to my voice. You guided me back when I was lost to the spirit of nature and now you're the one lost. Come back to me. I need you,” she said walking slowly towards the Master.

  Trish reached out and Boudicca stopped. She bent down on the same level as the crouching redhead. The blue stone of her skin faded, and she looked Boudicca in the eyes. She reached out and put her hand on Boudicca's and slowly stood up, pulling Boudicca up with her. Boudicca shook her head like she was trying to clear it. The claws on her hands started to recede. Trish embraced her and the two kissed.

  “Hey! You bit me!” said Trish.

  “Sorry, it must have been the fangs,” replied Boudicca.


  “You don't have them anymore,” replied Trish.

  “Maybe not but I can still be an animal,” she replied with a grin.

  “Later, ladies. We have an armory to take,” ordered Field Marshall Bruce.

  “Sir, yes sir!” Trish said as she snapped to attention and saluted him trying not to laugh.

  “Very funny. Now if we're done playing I have some terrorists I need to kick the shit out of,” Bruce told them.

  “Let's commence to kicking,” replied Trish.

  The armory had numerous entrances, from large bays to small single doors. “They seemed to be focused on guarding this entrance so let's see why. It’s locked up tight. GloCom, you lads have a key?” asked Field Marshall Bruce.

  “Sir, I brought a master key,” said one of the troops as he walked up to the door and took off his pack. He walked over to the bay door and started putting putty along the edges of the door. The rest of the group covered him while he worked except for Bruce who was serving as a human stepping stool to help him reach the higher parts of the door. Once he was done, he had a line of the putty around the door and had attached a detonator.

  “We need to move to a safe distance,” said the Corporal.

  “We don't really have any cover and we're out in the open. We can go back across the lot but that's a long distance and the explosion may attract a crowd,” said Field Marshall Bruce.

  “I can handle that,” said Field Marshall Trish.

  She walked back about twenty feet from the door and put her hands on the ground. The ground rumbled a moment and several large sarsen stones sprang up. They were barely big enough to hide everyone, but they would have to do. The group got behind the stones and the Corporal opened the cover on the detonator.

  “Fire in the hole!” he shouted and hit the switch.

  The explosion wasn't as bad as they expected and other than a ringing in their ears no one was injured. Trish took her hands off the ground and the stones receded. As the dust cleared, the doors were still standing.

  “Well, shit,” said Field Marshall Bruce as he walked up to the door. As he approached it, the doors started falling over in his direction. He backed up a step then turned and ran at full speed back to the group as the doors hit with a massive thud to the ground, only missing him by a few feet. He jumped at the last second and landed poorly. He wasn't hurt but his landing was less than elegant.

  “Open, says me,” said the Corporal as the group was laughing at Bruce.

  “Laugh it up,” said their Field Marshall. “The door is open, let's invite ourselves in. It looks quiet. Approach from the side. Let not walk into an ambush.

  As they approached the corner, Field Marshall Boudicca yelled, “Run!” and headed away from the door. She headed in the opposite direction as fast as she could, which was extremely fast, and the rest of the group followed.

  They heard a grating noise, like heavy metal being dragged along the concrete. From inside the armory, a large creature that looked to be made of stone was walking towards the door. The thing was about fifteen feet tall. It was a carved white marble statue that looked like a soldier carrying a very large, very real, heavy laser rifle and dragging a long metal chain with an anchor on the end.

  “Holy shit! That's a memorial statue of Admiral Baker, commander of the Atlantic fleet. He was one of the five commanders credited with winning the Unification War. That chain and anchor is from the first boat he ever served on, a small gunship on his first assignment. He should be in the parade grounds with the rest, not walking around,” said one of the GloCom soldiers.

  “They went too far this time. They desecrated a memorial to a hero of the Unification War. These assholes just made this personal,” said Corporal Jameson. He grabbed a rocket launcher from one of the nearby ALF corpses and started firing. The statue lumbered back from the first blast then shattered on the second.

  “I didn't realize you were such a patriot, Corporal. Nice shooting,” said Field Marshall Trish as the group started walking carefully back to the armory.

  “It's a family tradition. My great, great, great grandfather was the commander of the PacRim forces and the line of soldiers in my family predates him and has continued all the way to my own father, General Morrison and now me,” replied the Corporal.

  “General Morrison is your dad? You have big shoes to fill,” replied Field Marshall Trish.

  “I know. That's why I use my middle name instead of my family name. I don't want most people to know so I don't get preferential treatment. You're not military so I don't see it hurting anything,” replied the Corporal.

  “Did you know the PacRim commander, General Adamson, was a Warden?” asked Field Marshall Bruce.

  “I did not. I didn't think the Wardens ever got involved with political wars,” replied Corporal Jameson.

  “He was a Warden and he did get involved in the war as well as his wife. Both were Wardens but were kicked out when they joined the Unified Military as the conflict was starting to heat up. They were adamant that the Wardens should be more proactive in their approach and that we should be about helping everyone not just protecting them from fey. The Directorate didn't agree. They gave them an ultimatum and they chose to leave. Their story is taught at the Warden Academy as a precautionary tale about getting involved in what the Wardens consider to be politics,” replied Field Marshall Trish.

  “That's kind of ironic considering where we are now. Lord Marshall Sebastian doesn't seem to care much about the old rules. He seems to have not just ignored the barriers between the Wardens, GloCom, and UniGov but torn them down and stomped on them,” replied Corporal Jameson. “He's a good leader.”

  “You should be in his presence. He has a strange habit of getting people to listen to him. If he wants to talk people tend to be willing to listen. If he gives an order, people obey it. I am pretty sure there is some magic to it, but I don't think he does it consciously and may not even know it or be able to control it. Take Camelot. When we were first recovering it, he and Merlin got into a dispute and he told Merlin to obey him. So not only did that old gray-haired bastard bow and pledge loyalty but every one of us did and none of us know why. I think...” but Field Marshall Bruce stopped when they heard another sound coming from the armory as they got close to the door.

  “How many statues were in that memorial?” asked Field Marshall Boudicca sounding concerned.

  “The five generals from the Unification War,” replied one of the other soldiers.

  “How many rockets do you have left Corporal?” asked Field Marshall Bruce.

  “One. We have some grenades. We still have some plastique but that's not battle convenient,” replied a trooper.

  “They move kinda clunky. I doubt they can jump,” said Trish as she put her hands down on the ground and cracks radiated out from them. In a semi-circle surrounding the large entrance, the ground cracked and sank down. A gap about ten feet wide and ten feet deep appeared surrounding the entrance.

  The statues came from the back of the armory in ranks of two by two. They lumbered out the door and to the edge of the pit. The two statues in the lead stopped and looked at the pit then at the group across from them. The statues bent down then leaped and landed just on the other side of the pit. The ground sunk in under them as their weight impacted it both where they launched and where they landed. They kept walking towards the group and moved the laser rifles to a firing position. The two in the back followed them.

  “Take cover!” yelled Field Marshall Bruce as the group scrambled away from the incoming heavy laser fire.

  Field Marshall Trish stopped running and raised several sarsens around the statues as the rest of the group ran towards their original cover points several hundred yards from the armory.

  “Trish, RUN!” screamed Boudicca.

  “GO! I just need a moment,” Trish yelled back at her as a blast from one of the heavy rifles caught her in the abdomen. Her bio weave dissipated some but not all the energy as the bolt passed through her armor
and her sarsen skin. She grimaced but she continued to channel. A complete ring of stones formed around the four statues forming a corral.

  Trish turned to look at the group and smiled. “I bought you some time. Boudicca, I love you,” she said then collapsed.

  “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” screamed Boudicca as she and Bruce ran to their friend.

  When they got to the woman, blood was already pouring from the hole. The blue stone was fading outward from the wound, turning to normal skin. The laser blast was heavily mitigated by her armor but still strong enough to pass completely through her and out her back. She was conscious but in shock.

  Several of the GloCom troops were already starting first aid. “Body temperature dropping fast. Blood pressure dangerously low. Breathing shallow. Heart rate faint. She's dying. Get me the surgical kit,” said the Corporal.

  Across the pavement, they heard loud thuds on the stones.

  “Those things are trying to break through. You need to hurry so we can move her,” said Field Marshall Bruce.

  “Move her? I don't even know if I can save her,” replied Corporal Jameson.

  “How can I help?” asked Field Marshall Bruce.

  Corporal Jameson was busy working on the wound while another trooper was prepping a syringe, “If you are trained medically I could use your help. I'm a passable field surgeon but it's not my field of expertise. If you're not trained medically keep those walking statues from doing any more damage.”

  “You heard the man. Form a line. If they get those stones down they do not reach Trish,” ordered Field Marshall Bruce and grabbed his rifle then headed towards the statues.

  Boudicca was beside Trish holding her hand. She had her eyes closed.

  “Field Marshall, I know she means a lot to you, but you can't do anything here. If you care about her, help stop those things,” said Corporal Jameson as he worked on the wounds.

  “You don't know magic if you think there is nothing I can do,” Boudicca replied.