Guardian Generations

by C. Osborne Rapley

  Octavian was shaking his head. “I really don’t believe this. It’s impossible—”

  Cassiopeia interrupted, “I have analysed the genetic key between you and the Taylors, it is identical. You are indeed members of the same family.”

  Octavian sat down.

  “All right.” He started from when he had been shot.

  It was late in the evening before Octavian had finished his narrative and Tristain was ready to leave. Her grandmother wanted her to stay, but she wanted to return to her ship and review what had been discovered. She agreed to stay for the evening meal, and they invited Tristan’s sister over to tell her what had happened and to meet her niece. She was relieved to hear that James may well be alive.

  It eventually came time for Tristain to leave. She promised to return and bring her father in the near future now the location of Earth had been discovered.

  Tristain and Cassiopeia walked back to the field accompanied by her grandfather. He wanted to see her off. She would have invited him onboard, but the cloaking system was vulnerable to close inspection so she wanted to minimise the time on the ground.

  The old man watched as she climbed the ramp and disappeared into her ship, turning back for a final wave. He felt the vibration under his feet as the ship rose. He waited a while looking up into the night sky. After receiving the artefact from his father, he had always believed there were others out there. When his son had mysteriously disappeared, he half suspected the relationship between his family and the ancient object might have had something to do with it. When his grandson had also disappeared in mysterious circumstances, he was convinced something was going on. He felt privileged that after the countless generations he was the one to find out the meaning of the items handed down for so many countless years.

  He sighed, turned, and walked back to his home. He knew in his heart things would never be the same for his family. Especially as he had a complete set of grandchildren he had never met and who were unbelievably half alien.

  Tristain clenched her fists as she walked into the control room with Cassiopeia close behind. Octavian turned to them as they entered. Tristain frowned at him. Her head was swimming; this man was her distant ancestor but was only a few years older than her. The fact that he had been with this Seonaid woman thousands of years ago in her past but only months in his time galled her. She glared at him again to hide her confusion. She was angry and somehow felt betrayed. Why do I feel like this? she asked herself. She shook her head and sat down.

  Octavian looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry about what has happened, but it was long before we met.”

  “Sorry! Are you so weak and unprincipled that you take advantage of every woman who comes along?” Tristain felt her voice start to rise. “Still, it is nothing to me how you conduct yourself, Guardian.” She almost spat the last word.

  Octavian shrugged. “What can I say? It was not at all as you are suggesting. But, it is obvious you have made your mind up about me. Don’t forget though if it were not for me neither you nor your family would exist. Think on that, miss high and mighty!

  Tristain wiped her eyes and hoped Octavian was too stupid to notice how upset she was. “OK. Point taken. Let’s drop the matter shall we?”

  They sat in silence for a while as the ship settled into orbit above the British Isles.

  Octavian was the first to speak. “Tristain, with your telepathic power can you see whether the Cartigian AI is recoverable. I seem to remember hearing somewhere that the AIs have a special backup power supply which is used to prevent the memory from being lost in the event of a main power failure.”

  Tristain nodded. “OK, but it will hurt you if you don’t keep your shield tight.”

  “That’s fine, I’m ready.”

  Tristain pushed her mind towards the area where the AI should have been.

  “I can feel a vague presence, that’s all, but it might recover if we can get power to it.”

  “Cassiopeia, what information can you get from the sensors?” Octavian asked.

  “Well it seems the cavern you used to get out of the bunker has long since collapsed. The blocked entrance is also under water forming part of the river bed. We will have to break our way in which, bearing in mind present circumstances, would attract unwanted attention.”

  “I agree with Cassiopeia, Octavian. We should leave the AI for now and head back to League space and wait to see what unfolds.”

  It was Octavian’s turn to nod. “I agree, there is nothing further to be gained here.”

  Tristain turned to Cassiopeia. “Plot the course back to Sicceia please.”

  After a short pause, Cassiopeia replied, “The flight will be five and a half weeks from here. The course is laid in, Tristain.”

  Tristain hit the Star Drive and the ship winked out of existence in the normal universe. She turned back to Octavian, who was looking at her with a strange expression.

  “Tristain, we have to live together in this ship for the next five weeks. I don’t want to spend the whole time with this atmosphere between us. Life on board a ship during Star Drive flight is bad enough as it is. I don’t regret what I did because if I had not, you and your family would not exist. Please remember that it all happened before we met.”

  Octavian chanced a smile and added, “Long before you were born; in fact. Can’t we put it all behind us?”

  Tristain frowned for a moment then the frown passed and she sighed. “All right, I agree to put this all behind us and not let it cause an issue during our journey.” She turned and walked to the galley. “I’m going to get something to drink, do you want anything?”

  Eighteen: Research Planet

  Tristain returned from the galley to find Octavian in conversation with Cassiopeia.

  “What’s going on?”

  Octavian turned. “Cassiopeia has identified a Lantian colony world on our route back to your home planet from my computer logs and asked me about it.”

  “Well?” Tristain unsuccessfully tried to keep the irritation out of her voice.

  Octavian sighed to himself and thought, this voyage will be difficult!

  He spoke out loud, “I remember the planet in question. It was out of bounds to Guardians. It was part of some cloak and dagger research as far as we were aware. The only reason I had for visiting it,” he added hurriedly, pre-empting Tristain’s question, “was to drop off a scientist as a favour. The main space port was open, but it was not possible to get anywhere else without being challenged. Most of the planet was desert and uninhabitable anyway.”

  Cassiopeia waited while Octavian finished then added, “The strange thing is I have nothing on this planet in my database; I have accessed the nearest active AI and she has nothing either. I just wondered if you thought it might be worthwhile checking it out?”

  Tristain thought for a moment. “OK, if we are passing close to it we might as well take a look.”

  It was a few days ship’s time before they arrived at the planet. Octavian was relieved as it would break up the trip and make a change from the routine on the ship and the frosty atmosphere. Cassiopeia would chat to him such that he found it difficult to believe she was a machine. Tristain avoided him and their conversation was limited, so he had difficulty in believing that she wasn’t.

  The Star Drive shut down, Octavian had assumed control of the weapons system and used the sensors to scan the unnamed planet. There were no ships in sensor range. The planet was as he remembered – a single large continent consisting of mostly barren desert. The vast ocean had a few primitive life forms, but had far too much dissolved minerals and salt to support a thriving eco system.

  There were ruins of three large cities clustered round a large river delta. The river’s source was a mountain range that formed the centre of the continent. There was a thin strip of green which followed the course of the river through the desert. They were drawing closer to the planet as Octavian broke his link with the sensors. He looked round at Tristain to ask where she intended
to land when Cassiopeia interrupted his train of thought.

  “There is still an active power source; it seems to be centred on the largest area of ruins. It is quite low level, but it seems to be forming some sort of field covering the area.”

  “A force field?” Tristain asked out loud.

  “No, it isn’t a force field, Tristain. I have to admit that I don’t know what it is.”

  Tristain turned to Octavian. “I think that gives us somewhere to land. We can put the ship down on the edge of the field and investigate. What do you think?”

  Octavian nodded. “Yes, it’s as good a place as any,” then thought to himself, That’s the most she has said to me since leaving Earth!

  Tristain brought the ship round and started the descent into the atmosphere. She carefully avoided the anomaly which Cassiopeia had plotted for her and brought the ship to rest on a rocky outcrop projecting out of the sea of sand, about a mile from the edge of the strange electromagnetic field covering the ruins. During the descent, Octavian noticed that only the outskirts of the city was buried in sand dunes. Towards the centre of the city, the sand gave way to ever-thicker vegetation until the edge of the river where it became a thick jungle.

  Tristain cut the engines. “Is the atmosphere still breathable, Cassiopeia?” she asked.

  “Yes, it is a little down on oxygen and the pressure is slightly low but otherwise there is no problem.”

  “Cassiopeia, while we are gone please keep the ship secure and watch for anything unusual,” Tristain ordered.

  “Yes, Tristain.”

  Tristain rose from her chair. “Right, let’s go and see what we can find. Can you download the coordinates for the centre of the field into our tactical computers please, Cassiopeia.”

  “It is done, Tristain. I should warn you both, the field seems similar to a dampening field the Sicceians used against your father, during the closing stages of the war.”

  Tristain nodded. “OK.”

  Octavian looked puzzled. “Dampening field?”

  “The Sicceians tried to counteract my father’s telepathy and isolate him from the Artificial Intelligences using a force field which prevented him using his abilities,” Tristain replied.

  “Oh, I wonder what it is protecting then?” Octavian muttered almost to himself.

  “Well that is what we are going to find out!” Tristain retorted over her shoulder as she walked over to the weapons rack. She buckled on her armour utility belt, and then reached for two weapons Octavian had not noticed before.

  “What are they?”

  “They are machine pistols,” Tristain replied as she buckled one on each thigh, adding four spare clips to each holster. “They were designed by my father, much more effective than a laser pistol. The disadvantage is they cannot be used on board a ship. They would destroy the hull integrity.”

  “Hmm, I think I will stick with lasers and my swords.”

  “Fine.” Tristain made for the airlock.

  “Before you go I recommend you both take radio communicators. You can keep in contact with each other and me. If you get split up I will still be able to monitor your location through the field.”

  “Yes, I never thought of that,” Tristain retorted as she returned to the weapons rack. The emergency radios were kept on a shelf above the weapons. They were primarily used if one of the ship’s complement happened to be one of the non-telepathic races. She took a radio for herself and handed one to Octavian, checking the frequency settings as she did so.

  “If you need to talk to either me or Cassiopeia press this button.” She indicated the transmit button on the side of the radio. “You need to fit this round your ear.” She handed Octavian a small oval-shaped object with a small curving clip. “It is an ear piece, and microphone combined, OK?”

  Octavian placed the clip behind his ear with the oval earpiece resting against the outside of his ear. “Like this?”

  “Yes, that’s correct. Is it comfortable?”

  Octavian nodded. “Yes, not too bad.”

  “Good, let’s go then.”

  Tristain turned back to the airlock. Octavian followed and they stepped in together. Because of the slight difference in pressure, the airlock had to be cycled. They waited the few moments while the inner door closed and the pressure equalised.

  Octavian worked his jaw to help clear his ears as the pressure dropped. He heard them pop as the pressure reduced. The outer door opened, and they were hit by a blast of hot air.

  “Phew, I couldn’t put up with this heat for too long,” he remarked.

  Tristain laughed. “No problem for me – being half Sicceian has its advantages! Come on.”

  She stepped out and walked down the ramp to the sand. It was quite dense and firm so her boots only sank a little way in. “At least the sand is not fine and soft to make walking difficult.”

  Octavian stepped on the sand behind her and agreed with her assessment. They walked together down the sandy slope towards the ruined city below them.

  “The centre of the field seems to be that large complex of buildings where the sand starts to give way to vegetation.” Tristain pointed it out to Octavian.

  “It looks about an hour’s walk,” Octavian sighed, looking up shielding his eyes against the sun’s glare.

  They made reasonable progress down the slope. They both received Cassiopeia’s warning: You are about to enter the field; I suggest you go slowly as you might suffer some disorientation.

  They stopped. Octavian looked across at Tristain. “I will go first, Tristain, then if there are any adverse effects you can pull me back.”

  “OK.”

  Octavian stepped forward. Nausea caused his stomach to churn and his mind felt numb. He swallowed trying not to retch as tried to access his tactical computer, but it was almost as if his thoughts were travelling in a thick treacle. It was impossible to make a link. He noticed the nausea passed if he shielded his mind, he could then function normally but without any telepathic communication. He turned and noticed a look of concern on Tristain’s face. He stepped out of the field.

  “It’s a bit weird, but if you hold your telepathic shield then it seems bearable. You might feel a little sick if you don’t. It is not possible to access your tactical computer. It would be impossible to activate your armour as well.”

  Tristain smiled a wry smile. “Let’s hope there is nothing nasty in there then!”

  Octavian smiled back. “Yes, let’s hope. Now go and see how it feels.”

  Tristain walked slowly into the field. Octavian watched her closely; she buckled over and was immediately sick. He grabbed her and pulled her back. He felt his hands shaking; she was as white as a sheet.

  “Tristain, are you OK?”

  She nodded. “Ye… ye… yes I think so, that was unpleasant and unexpected.”

  “I can go and take a look if you would prefer to stay here?”

  Tristain shook her head. “No, Octavian, now I know what to expect I can block it. Let me try again.”

  Octavian looked into her eyes. “If you are sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “OK then, have another go.”

  He stood and watched, ready to grab her as she stepped into the field. This time she controlled the nausea and turned to face him.

  “It’s OK this time; I can shield against it. Come on, let’s find out what’s causing this.”

  Octavian followed her into the field, and holding his telepathic shield he avoided any unpleasant effects.

  They picked their way through the ruins. The sand had buried the streets making it easier to walk as they didn’t have to pick their way over piles of rubble. Tristain suddenly stopped and looked to her right – the ruins were now rising above them. Octavian thought they must have originally been several stories high.

  “What’s wrong, Tristain?”

  “I thought I saw something move over there among those buildings.”

  Octavian looked where she pointed. They stood still for seve
ral minutes watching, nothing moved.

  “Maybe it was my imagination.”

  “Maybe,” Octavian replied. “But there is something about this place,” he shuddered. Tristain nodded. “Yes, there is.”

  Octavian thought she sounded uncharacteristically nervous. “Hey, are you all right, Tristain?”

  She turned to him. “I have a strange feeling that I cannot put my finger on, and it disturbs me.”

  Octavian shuddered. “I know what you mean, there is something about this place and it isn’t just this damn dampening field!”

  Tristain fingered her pistols. “Well whatever it is, it’s in for a nasty shock if it attacks!”

  Octavian smiled at her. “Yes, I’m sure of that.”

  They moved on to the centre of the field. As they worked their way down the slope towards the river, more and more of the ruined buildings were exposed until they were practically walking at street level. The complex of buildings they were making for stood apart from the rest of the city. Ruined walls surrounded it. They made their way across a large open plaza towards what looked like the main gates to the complex. One gate had fallen; the other was swinging on its hinges. They would once have been strong and formidable. They were flanked either side by what appeared to be a guardhouse. Whatever had gone on here had demanded extra security. Considering the security surrounding the planet itself, whatever it was must have been very important.

  Octavian noticed Tristain shiver and, considering the heat, he knew for sure it was not because she was cold! “Are you all right, Tristain?”

  She turned to him and smiled. She noted the concern in his voice. She was finding it difficult to stay angry with him.

  “No, there is something I can sense, dark and foreboding. Can’t you feel it too?”

  Octavian tried to sense what Tristain was describing but all he could feel was the cloying morass of the field on his mind.

  “No, all I can sense is this damn field like sticky treacle enveloping my thoughts.”

  Tristain drew one of her pistols as they walked through the gates. The buildings closed in around them seeming to be less ruined than those outside the walls.