by Ben Winston
"Yes, if you don't have a replacement for this idiot by the time the ATC releases you, proceed to your refit station. I'll have another Fleet Commander for you by the time you're finished getting worked on." Mark replied.
"As you command, Sire," The Captain said.
The former Admiral looked pole-axed. "Sire?"
"Thomes, during peacetime, you were a good commander. However, this little exercise showed how totally unprepared you are for an active command. I'm just really grateful to any deity that happens to be awake and listening that we discovered this without someone getting killed because of your incompetence. Gentlemen, you have your orders. Dismissed." Mark said and closed the channel and turned back to John. "Madam Controller, if you have any more issues with the fleet, please call my aide immediately. You don't need to put up with shit like that on top of everything else."
"As you command, Sire. Thank you very much for your intercession in the matter. My name is Stephanie Howe, Majesty," the woman replied.
"Thank you for all the good work, Controller Howe. You shouldn't have any more problems. Now, John; is there anyone else you need me to scare the shit out of, or can I get back to sleep?" Mark finished.
"Nope, that'll do it, Sire. Thanks for the assist, rest well." John replied, grinning.
"I'll try, see ya in a few hours," Mark replied and closed the channel.
John noticed that the ATC was still on line. "Controller Howe, is there something else?"
"Yes My Lord, you said there were a couple of things I could help you with, may I ask what the other was?" the now much less stressed woman asked.
"Oh! I did say that, didn't I? I was going to ask what's up with all this 'My Lord' and 'My Lady' crap. You've dealt with us before, it was always Major Aster, not all this super-formal crap. What's up?" John asked.
"Since His Majesty declared that all of you are knights that makes you Lords and Ladies. That means a change in title, My Lord. The paperwork has already made the rounds," She explained.
"Uhg! Just when I was starting to get used to being called Major, they go and change it!" John said. "Thank you, Controller Howe. I'd like to add my compliments to that of His Majesty on the good work you and your people are doing. Thank you."
"It's all part of the service, Sir. Now, with your permission, I'll get to work getting this mess straightened out," the woman replied.
"Certainly! Thank you for the assistance, Main ATC. TG Flyer is out," John replied and closed the channel.
Chloe snorted. "Just further proof human idiocy is still alive and well."
"That man should be placed under a mandatory procreation restriction!" Lieutenant Carmichael said.
"He's pushing retirement anyway, so I imagine if he were to have children, he already has. Mark will probably just quietly retire the man to some meaningless desk job where he can't actually hurt anyone," John replied.
Chapter 25
"I think I'm going to make a new law that if I get woken in the middle of the night, the person responsible will be shot!" Mark yawned. His aide, Ford, was still on duty, and sat a steaming cup down next to the King.
"Will that be all, Sire? Hanna is about to come on duty," Ford asked.
Mark shook his head after taking a sip of the hot beverage. "No, thanks a ton, Ford. Go get some rest."
"I have weapons recertification later this morning, Majesty," Ford replied smiling. "Somehow, I don't think the Weapons Master would accept a Royal Order to get some rest as an excuse."
"That’s the truth!" Mark replied, "That man is worse than the drill instructors I had before I was enhanced!"
"Don't forget, Sire, you have recertification coming due yourself. I left a note for Hanna to schedule it for you," Ford replied.
"Oh, that should be fun!" Mark replied sarcastically. "Even though I'm his King, that man still makes me re-qualify on every one of the weapons I've been trained for!"
"Good!" John said, and nodded thanks to Ford for the drink. "You may be our King, Marcus, but you're also still a soldier. You need to maintain your certifications just like the rest of us."
"I don't know; if I remember correctly, you weren't all that good of a shot, Mark!" Chloe added. "Have you improved yet?"
Mark snorted. "After three thousand years, you'd think I could score better than eight-hundred on the range!"
"You did once right after we were trained on the Breckett Mark Twenty sniper rifle, remember?" John said.
"Yeah, but that was because the Mark Twenty had an independent targeting system. All anyone has to do with that rifle is point it in the general direction of the target and pull the trigger!" Mark replied.
"Don't the standard issue assault rifles have the same system now?" Chloe asked.
Mark nodded. "The point of qualification is to evaluate the soldier, not the weapon. So, the system is disabled during qualifications. It was deemed that it gave the soldier too much of an advantage during qualification. The way things are going, very soon all a soldiers will have to do is push a button, or just hold the weapon and try to not get hit in return."
"Yeah, Mary was yelling at us for not staying upgraded," Chloe replied. "She does have a point, but some of that new crap they come out with sounds like it was designed by an insane chimpanzee!"
Mark chuckled. "I'll be sure to tell the folks in R and D you said that! Seriously though, she does have a point, by and large, all of us older soldiers have a tendency to avoid controller upgrades. You all do need to upgrade to at least the Delta series controller. There have been a lot of advances made since the last upgrades."
"I just don't want to have to go through the whole dying thing again," John replied casually. "That was not a pleasant experience."
"I don't imagine it was. John you know they simply switch you over to a remote controller while they replace the outdated one. You won't have a terminal error during replacement. No seriously, you're missing out on a lot of improvements and really cool toys," Mark replied.
"Like what?" Chloe asked.
Mark lifted his arm and accessed the implanted holographic control panel. Suddenly, he was covered in a grayish materiel up to his neck. "Meta-Materiel Armor. The techs call it 'Hardskin'. It doesn't replace the standard armor you wear into combat, but it'll work with a suit of armor to cover wounds, and begin healing. With the optional helmet device, it can function as an EVA suit for a short period. Also, this is always with you, for example, if the palace was attacked right now, this would give you at least light armor to cover you until you can either get to the armory, or back to the Flyer. It'll stop most projectile weapons, and even absorb two or three energy weapon shots.
"John, if you had this when you fought that Lizard on Bethel's Anvil, it couldn't have even scratched you. It is a function of your enhancements, so it works with the strength and speed boosters you already have," Mark explained. "That's in addition to the upgrades Mary told you about, and is the reason Gunny Skarsgaard got to play decoy for you."
"Fighter flight suit?" Chloe asked.
"For enhanced pilots, yes," Mark replied. "We have several projects in the works to try to allow our soldiers to be able to stand against the forces of the Tammerain without being enhanced to the point that they are now. So far, every system we've come up with still has the soldier being enhanced in some way, We are working on it, but the fact is we just haven't been able to get past that requirement." Mark looked at his two visitors. "Say, Mary wanted to talk to me when she gets here, do either of you have any idea what she has planned?"
John shrugged and shook his head, but Chloe answered him. "I don't know, but it has to have something to do with enhancement, since she asked to have Manny here at the same time. Are they still on schedule?
Mark nodded. "Yeah, they didn't get a transfer point like you lucky fuckers did. No, they're still on course, and should arrive here around five tomorrow night."
"Speaking of Gunny, did you get that list I sent to you?" John asked Mark.
"Yes I did. The sol
diers you requested will be sent to you. Once you do your thing with them, I'll make it official here, and you'll have new Guardians. What are you going to do about the rest of the older Marines?" Mark asked. "You can't make them all Guardians or you'd be the largest force we have."
"I know, I'll be sending out invitations to those that have excelled in some way. If they accept, we'll take them in and foster them for a while, then decide if they should join us, or not," John said. "I'm looking for a specific type of personality as well as a proven dedication to our people. I noticed you didn't say anything about the one controversial name on that list."
"No, I didn't." Mark paused to think about his words. "John, I'm refusing the honor. I don't want the Guardians to become a 'Royal' thing. I'm not an active member of our forces, so I don't believe I should be considered for a posting. When I started this, I wanted it to be something special, and just for you. No amount of gratitude can repay any of you for all the years of hell you have chosen to go through for the rest of us." He held up his hand to stop John and Chloe from objecting. "I know I'm still enhanced, and technically a Marine, but I'm also the 'youngest' marine on that list by at least five hundred years. Perhaps if I am ever allowed to step down, and I'm still qualified, maybe then I'd accept, but not now. Not while I'm still the King."
"Okay, also, I wanted to talk to you about this whole 'My Lord' crap that everyone is doing now. Mark, is all of that really needed?" John asked.
"Well, the official declaration doesn't specifically say you have to be addressed as 'My Lord'. The person saying has a choice, but you are to be addressed with an honorific. For you they can choose 'My Lord', 'Lord-General', 'Captain-General' or 'Knight-General'," Mark replied. "I would imagine they are simply using the one they feel the most comfortable with using."
John groaned. "You made me a General?"
Mark shook his head. "No, the Senate did. I was fine with leaving you at the rank you were because I know how you feel about it. I even argued with them on your behalf, but they insisted that the leader of the new force should be at the least a General. They actually wanted to go the whole royalty route, you were all to be given holdings, and made Dukes, Barons and the whole gambit. I did get them talked out of it, and this was the compromise reached. Sorry, John, I did what I could for you folks."
John nodded. "Okay, you were right, it is better than becoming a noble. I'm a soldier, not a politician."
"You're a leader, John. One of the best we have," Mark said reasonably. "I had to drop my request to abdicate because the only way I could do it was if I named one of the Temporal Guard as my successor."
"That's ridiculous!" Chloe said. "Why does the King have to be enhanced? Up until recently, they didn't even want us to be free among them."
"Mary has a theory that our enhancements triggered an evolutionary advancement in us, and that's the reason we cannot be decommissioned. The people tend to see us as a form of demi-god because of our abilities, and while that's good for ruling them, it's not so good to have as a next door neighbor," John said.
Mark shook his head. "Your decommissioning produced a lot of data, John. We discovered that your body did change, but it changed only so far as to not be able to function without the assistance of the enhancements. In all other ways, you are still just as human as anyone off the street from a medical stand point."
"I think she was speaking of a meta-physical advancement, Mark. I don't know if I can credit her theory though, because I really don't feel any different now than I did when I was still on Earth, living with my folks on the farm." John replied.
"John, you are only one of two people that remember Earth. Very soon, you will be the only one out of five hundred billion souls that has even set foot on that planet," Mark said quietly. "Parliament named you as my successor a thousand years ago, for that very reason. If I were to step down, you would be called to become King."
"Why didn't you ever tell me, Mark?" John asked.
Mark chuckled and finished his coffee. "I didn't think you really wanted to know, and I was afraid you would talk me into staying here if you did."
John shook his head. "No, I would still try to help you, but don't they realize they can't simply force someone to become King?"
"I do not believe it's that simple, My Lord-General," a young woman entered. "Sire, would you or your guests like more coffee?"
"That would be wonderful, Hanna. Could you see if there is any cream cheese Danish? I'm feeling a bit peckish," Mark asked. "But first, could you please explain what you mean?"
Hanna bowed. "I do not wish to presume knowledge where I have none, but I believe the issue is simple yet complex. Simply put, everyone knows that long serving, enhanced soldiers do not have their own agenda. If you did, then you would not be a Marine, not a living one anyway. The same cannot be said of a non-enhanced candidate. There is also the simple fact that you have been alive for so long. You actually remember the past, you didn't learn it from a computer. You were there, you understood the circumstances and the situation of the time. That is a quality that is simply not possible for an unenhanced person to have. Lord Aster is actually the only living being that helped to rebuild our history and our knowledge of Earth and pre-fall times.
"The current members of the Temporal Guard remember the times before and immediately after the fall. They remember them, and they understand them. Many historians of today would love to be able to sit down with any of you in a setting just like this one and discuss history. There is a group of historians that have called certain sections of recorded history into question because our actions at the time don't make sense to them. The fact is, they live and understand a completely different society then what we had back then, and they refuse to believe that it ever was any different than it is now.
"The people believe in the Guards. You remember our past, and we believe it will be you that will keep us from reliving it. You have the experience to see, long before most of the rest of us, when we are making a mistake. A prime example of that is happening right now. Four hundred years ago, there was a strong movement to reduce our military and the funding and materials we were putting into it. It had become the belief that, if we destroyed our arms, the Tammerain would leave us alone.
"You all knew that was a mistake, and that the Tammerain would be back, in force. You knew that the treaty with the Tammerain would last only as long as it took them to rebuild their military into something they believed would finally destroy us. Now they're back, and we are again threatened with extinction." She poured fresh coffee for all of us from a carafe she got from a cabinet. "Not one person believes that they would stop with simply killing all of our enhanced soldiers, which would leave us completely at their mercy. However, the disarmament faction has again reared its head. Although small, they are gaining followers." She smiled. "But the point I was trying to make is that you all knew they would be back, and you knew that destroying our weapons would have been a huge mistake. Those disarmament folks may get some followers, but they won't get very far."
"In the Guard we trust, huh?" John said. "They're still deifying us."
"Not intentionally, General, but that is the basic motivation for wanting one of you to hold the crown. You serve the people; politicians serve only themselves and those that could pay to get them elected," Hanna finished.
John chuckled. "The more things change, the more they stay the same!"
Chapter 26
Chloe's comm beeped at her, and she answered it.
"My Lady, the ATC has assigned us a transit time of fourteen hundred hours. Is there anything you need from the ship before we go in for upgrades?" Lieutenant Carmichael asked.
Chloe looked at John who shook his head. "I brought all my stuff with me."
Chloe nodded and replied to the pilot. "We're good, Lieutenant. Are you sure you'll be okay taking her home by yourself? Two days alone in a ship that big might be unnerving."
Carmichael chuckled in reply, "It won't be two days, My Lady. Th
e transit point has been installed. All I have to do is fly her out and land in her birth. I'll catch a shuttle back to Prime and be home before bedtime."
"Dammit! Now I want to go with you!" Chloe said. "Be safe, Lieutenant."
"Will do, Ma'am" the Lieutenant replied before Chloe closed the channel.
"It's really pretty neat. We have people that commute to work now," Mark replied. "That was supposed to be a surprise for you, Chloe."
"I wonder if the ATC folks would give me a tour," Chloe asked rhetorically.
"Sire, you have court in an hour, and a meeting with the defense consortium afterward," Hanna replied.
Mark sighed and rose. "Thanks Hanna. I need to get a shower before work, guys. Thanks for coming over this morning, I really enjoyed just being able to talk to someone."
"It was our pleasure, Mark," Chloe replied as she stood.
"Thanks for all your help on Bethel's Anvil by the way, I know you didn't have to do that personally," John said.
"You're welcome. You guys should go see the city; there's been a lot of new stuff built since your last visit," Mark recommended as he left the room.
"I know it's still a little early, but maybe we can still get reservations for dinner tonight. We haven't went out to dinner for a while," John suggested.
Chloe chuckled. "Somehow, I don't think that's going to be much of an issue."
"Huh?" John asked. "Why?"
Chloe held up her hand and curled her fingers in a countdown. When her hand made a fist, Hanna entered the room from her office. "My Lady, My Lord, I hope you don't mind, but I made reservations for you at Nuyork Grill for eighteen hundred. I also made arrangements for Lady Diamond and yourself to tour the transit facility, the shuttle is waiting for you on pad four."
John grinned at Chloe. "You've either developed psychic abilities, or you had that one figured out!"
Hanna seemed to look a little confused, and Chloe took pity on her. "I anticipated that you would make these arrangements. Thank you, Hanna. You're too kind!"