Sir Sebastian stopped her. “What about the old man?” he said.
“I said he’s coming with us. He seems to be able to defend himself and we can’t leave him alone and we can’t spare anyone to guard him, so I see no other choice,” she replied.
“Excuse me but can someone tell me where we are going?” asked the man.
“I don’t necessarily believe you’re Merlin but I’m going to call you that until we get your real name after an identity scan. As you’ve seen this is a prison, or a dungeon as you called it. We contain threats to humanity we can’t otherwise stop. A few hours ago, a series of earthquakes rocked the planet and we’re making sure more cells were not compromised. Some were, as you’ve seen, and you seem to be able to kill them when we can’t so as I see it, you’re an asset right now. Considering we only have one cell left, our biggest and most dangerous prisoner, you're coming with us,” she told him.
They moved through the cells to the large one at the far end of the prison. All the diagnostic panels were green. Structural integrity at 100%. No breaches in the environmental containment. “So far so good,” said Lady Chelsea. “Let’s open it up, do the visual inspection quickly and shut it again,” she ordered.
“Wait,” said Merlin. “I sense something horrible inside that chamber. I know what it feels like, but I don’t want to fathom it survived all these centuries and you have it here,” he said backing up.
“Merlin, what do you think is in there?” asked Sir Sebastian.
“The Tormentor. Mordred’s last effort to stop us and the thing that killed me,” he said.
“Merlin, what do you know about it? Can it be hurt? Can it be killed?” asked Sir Sebastian.
“Its essence is pure darkness. It’s evil incarnate. When Mordred realized we were sealing magic, and we're going to cut his connection, he poured all his anger and hatred into creating that thing. We could slow it down but never stop it,” he said.
“I’m sorry Merlin but we have to know it’s contained,” said Lady Chelsea. “Open it.”
The doors opened, and the Tormentor was as it always was. It hung in the air in the middle of the chamber, pulsing and undulating but showing no indication it was anything other than a cloud of black smoke with lightning running over its surface. There were no indications of any damage or breaches and visual inspection confirmed the monitoring devices’ readings. Merlin was visibly shaken. “Close it up,” she said.
Lady Chelsea received a communication over their internal relay. “Your report is overdue,” said Facilitator William’s voice. The cadets are here and will be down in minutes. We’re clearing them now and getting them access to the cells. Are my prisoners contained yet? I also saw an intruder alarm that was silenced. Was that a malfunction?”
Lady Chelsea’s replied over the private channel. “They’re handled. It’s hard to explain and we should debrief in person. Sir Sebastian, myself and a guest instrumental in containing the escapees will be up to your office once I give the cadets their assignments.”
“What do you mean a guest?” asked the Facilitator. “It’s hard to explain sir. Sir Sebastian and I will both vouch for him. See you in a few minutes,” she said and cut the channel.
As the cadets arrived, they were split into groups and assigned a senior guard to each group. They were given patrol assignments and Sir Sebastian and Lady Chelsea escorted Merlin to the elevator.
“Get in Merlin. We’re going up,” she told him. Merlin reached out to touch the glowing panel on the elevator, but she stopped him. “Don’t do that. Not only will you prematurely stop the elevator but without a Warden security implant, the resulting electrical shock will knock you out and at your age maybe kill you.”
Lady Chelsea stopped the elevator and hit the button for the living quarters. Sir Sebastian asked, “Why are we going there? The Facilitator is expecting us.”
She looked at Merlin. “He’s wearing robes. Stinky robes. Really stinky robes. At least I hope it’s the robes. Let’s get him some actual clothes. He’s about the same size as William so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we borrowed one of his suits.”
Merlin sniffed at himself. “I sense no malodorous emanations.”
“Grandpa, you stink. When is the last time you took a shower?” asked Chelsea.
“A shower of what?” Merlin asked.
“A shower. A bath. Soap. Shampoo. Maybe some deodorant. Maybe a lot,” she replied as she sniffed him.
“And how do you plan on getting into his quarters?” asked Sir Sebastian, changing the subject.
“Sweetheart, do you remember when you received your upgraded access and I told you that meant full access to every place in this building except the Facilitator's and Coordinator's offices? That literally means just that, and their quarters are not their offices,” she told him as they got to the suite. She keyed open the door and they walked in. She went to the wardrobe and picked out a suit, pulled out some socks and underwear and got out a pair of shoes. “William definitely has good taste,” she said looking at the suit. “Did you know these ties are real silk?” she asked Sebastian.
“I don’t know if Sir Sebastian knows but I do. They’re handmade and very expensive. Now do you want to tell me what you’re doing in my quarters or do I need to call security?” asked the Facilitator over their communicator.
“Just borrowing one of your suits,” replied Lady Chelsea.
“And why are you borrowing one of my suits? Sir Sebastian is taller than me and I think you’d find my blazers a bit tight in the chest,” said the Facilitator.
“It’s for our guest. His clothing is a bit out of date and rancid so I’m lending him one of your suits,” she said.
“And who authorized you to do that?” asked the Facilitator.
“I did,” she said smiling. “We’ll be up as soon as he’s dressed. Lady Chelsea out.”
Sir Sebastian helped Merlin figure out the nuances of wearing a suit. He was fine with not wearing the robe but refused to leave the staff behind.
They finally got to the conference room and the Facilitator was waiting for them. He did not seem pleased. “Sit down. All three of you. Who is he? Why is he here? Talk,” said Facilitator William.
Lady Chelsea and Sir Sebastian looked at each other. “Well sir... uh... he’s...” started Sir Sebastian.
“What he’s trying to say is this man is...well...it’s complicated,” she said.
“I am Merlin. Head of the Council of Mages and founder of the order of the Wardens. I am pleased to meet you good sir and thank you for the use of your clothing. My escorts informed me it is your wardrobe they usurped,” said Merlin.
Facilitator William looked at him. “Pleased to meet you, Master Merlin. We were wondering who the first to awaken would be after the Seal was broken. I understand you assisted with escapees in the cells. Thank you.”
Sir Sebastian and Lady Chelsea exchanged glances. “You believe him?” said Sir Sebastian.
“Of course. He matches the description of Merlin in the Warden records and the Seal is broken meaning the Masters will start waking and who else could get into the middle of a secure Warden prison facility? I’m not surprised at all he showed up,” Facilitator William told them.
“You knew about the Seal and didn’t tell us?” asked Lady Chelsea.
“We only just confirmed it. We suspected from the beginning but now it’s no longer in doubt. The Seal of Solomon is broken, and magic is returning to the world in force. It's no longer the little leaks we’ve had for centuries,” said the Facilitator.
“There’s more,” said Sir Sebastian.
“Our friend here is convinced that Lady Chelsea and I are the reincarnations of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere,” said Sir Sebastian.
“Well now, that’s...interesting,” said the Facilitator. “I can’t say I believe that but I don’t see it being relevant or not, so it really isn’t important unless it impacts our current issue.
“I don’t see that it does,” said L
ady Chelsea.
“What is our current plan?” asked Sir Sebastian.
“Well I have some good news for you on that front,” said the Facilitator. “We have a broadcast message on repeat and as of a few minutes ago when it started, there were ten survivors from the building collapse and your father was the one broadcasting. I’m not surprised. He’s a tough old bastard. We have plenty of shuttles but no team for extraction. The area is in ruins, there are numerous fires burning and people are panicked and rioting. The city doesn’t have the forces to contain the riots, so we need a team who can go in hot and extract our Wardens. Do you know of any volunteers?” the Facilitator asked.
“Do I even have to answer that,” said Sir Sebastian.
“Don’t jump too hastily. The shuttle will be at capacity with the survivors and with rescue and crisis response we don’t have any backup support. You’ll need to take medical supplies and will have enough room for one more, which I am sure is going to be Lady Chelsea since you two can’t be pried apart lately but it’s going to be dangerous. You’ll be in a civilian area, so you can’t go in with guns blazing. The cities infrastructure is in tatters. There's no security where you'll be, and the building is, best case scenario, about to collapse and likely either currently or soon to be impacted by the rampaging fires. Hopefully, you don’t encounter locals but if you do casualties must be kept to a minimum. Our friend here can stay with me and we can talk about the Council,” he explained.
“Uther Pendragon lives? This is good news indeed. Arthur’s father was a fine man, but he died many years before the Seal. How is this possible?” asked Merlin.
“Uh, not exactly,” said Sir Sebastian. “Facilitator William will explain it to you.”
Chelsea and Sebastian geared up and headed to the shuttle. It would take less than thirty minutes to get there at the shuttle’s best speed. They loaded medical supplies and provisions on the shuttle, set the autopilot destination and launched.
“Shuttle pulse guns to low yield. Stun batons only. No blades,” said Chelsea.
“I know the drill,” he replied. “I can’t believe he’s alive. That man is either the luckiest or toughest man that ever lived,” he continued.
“From what I saw, I would say he’s tough like his son. You survived my training and that’s a hell of a lot tougher than some fey monster or military action,” she said smiling.
“We have a few minutes to talk for the first time all night and I have so much racing through my head I don’t even know where to begin,” he told her.
“We could start with a ring. It’s an old tradition but I like it,” she said.
“Of course. In all the chaos that’s happened tonight, natural disasters, my father dead, prison escapes, global upheaval, Merlin, the Seal breaking, my father alive, with all that you and I are the one thing that isn’t on my mind,” he said.
She looked a bit annoyed at that.
“It’s not what you think. I don’t have any thoughts about it because I have no doubts, no concerns. You and I being together is the only thing I am certain about and that is my happy place right now in all the crap raining down on us. The things on my mind are the things I need to figure out,” he told her.
“Well when you put it like that,” she said and got out of her chair and kissed him. “I don’t think I believe we’re reincarnated and destined to be together forever, but I do believe that right here, right now, in this lifetime we are,” she told him. “Anything beyond that is for philosophical debate.”
They got into L.A. and Sebastian switched off the autopilot and went to manual.
“Why did you stop the autopilot?” Chelsea asked.
“We’re almost there so I'm switching to manual because of the damage to the area we could have unforeseen problems and with martial law in effect military flights might be an issue. You want to fly us in or me?” he asked.
“You take the helm,” she said.
“Okay, you take the searchlight and scanning systems. We don’t know exactly where they’re at. I’ll track the beacon as close as possible, but this place is a mess,” he said looking at the fires and damaged buildings as he switched on the radio.
“This is Sir Sebastian of the Wardens on board Warden Shuttle Alpha-Alpha-Tango-7-1-8 broadcasting on all Warden and military frequencies. We are on a rescue mission and requesting any special instructions for this air zone. We are in route to the Warden facility in grid 16-47.”
“Roger, Sir Sebastian. This is Captain Johnson with the Global Patrol. We’ll clear your flight path. Do you want an escort sir?” came the reply on a coded military channel.
“Negative unless you have any hostiles in the area. This isn’t a combat shuttle and our armament is light,” he said.
“No hostiles, sir. At least not airborne. I don’t recommend going to ground though, that’s a different story. We have no ground forces anywhere near that grid. You’re on your own once you get there,” said the Captain.
“Acknowledged. No need for escort then. Thank you, Captain. Shuttle Alpha-Alpha-Tango-7-1-8 out,” he said and headed towards the building.
“You sound so official, so military,” said Chelsea.
“I should. I served two tours with Global Command,” he told her.
“You told me but not really any details and your files are empty, either redacted or encoded,” said Chelsea.
“I was in Lunar Ops. It’s all classified. Wardens can get the files but only by special access. Coordinator Anna reviewed the data and cleared me. I don't talk about it not just because of the classified rating but because I don't remember it fondly. It's a part of my life I try to forget,” he told her.
“Really? You should tell me about it. I know you keep saying classified but if we're going to get married, we can't have secrets. I am the one person you can trust in this world and no matter what, I would never betray that trust,” she said.
“You're right. I can't keep secrets from you but it’s not much. I was stationed at the Insularum laser defense banks. It was mostly quiet but all military ops on the moon are classified. The only action I saw was being part of the division that retook Tranquility Colony when Trip-L seized it. I was a corporal in spec ops and we managed to retake the colony with no civilian casualties and minimal Trip-L casualties.”
“That’s amazing,” she said. “I had heard rumors of laser banks on the moon but never any details. It must have been incredible.”
“It’s not as great as it sounds. No one wants to be stationed on the moon bases because it's boring and fighting Trip-L isn’t exactly difficult. They took an unarmed civilian vacation colony with no defenses and only a few security guards to keep people from shoplifting at the gift shop. Their list of demands included gems like stop raping the moon and free the moon from military control,” he said. “They got there by buying tickets on a vacation shuttle. They got a few laser rifles on board by bribing the pilot. We’re not talking about professionals here. When we captured them, the rifles were still turned off because their people weren’t trained in them and couldn’t figure out how to start up the micro-fusion sequence. They were just a bunch of activists with no clue. They were just some deluded kids,” he said.
“I remember when Tranquility Colony was lost due to the failure of its atmospheric controls. They said it blew out the dome,” Chelsea said.
“Yea...horrible tragedy,” he replied. “We're approaching the target grid.”
As they got to the area, they saw fires burning unchecked in many of the nearby buildings and the skyscraper that served as the Warden’s West Coast North America headquarters, a.k.a. Facility 26 was no longer a skyscraper.
“Oh my,” said Chelsea as she looked at their facility.
The upper two-thirds of the building had sheared off and collapsed into a nearby building. The bottom third was missing most of its windows and showed signs of heavy structural damage. The building was smoking like it was on fire, but no flames were visible.
Sebastian played
the message again.
“This is Director Abraham of the Wardens. We are at Facility 26 in Los Angeles. Our building has partially collapsed, and we are trapped on the 14th floor. We have injured and are requesting medical evacuation as soon as possible. Initial assessment indicates the only stable landing point left is on the 16th-floor shuttle pad. This message will broadcast with an emergency locator beacon on Warden frequencies. Use extreme caution.”
Sebastian maneuvered around the building and Chelsea hit the searchlight across every visible point they could see that might show the interior but there was too much smoke to see anything clearly. After they finished the second pass, they went to the pad indicated but it had been sheared off by falling debris.
“This must have happened after he recorded the message. Let’s keep looking,” Chelsea told him. They scanned the building and found the pad on 10 looked stable so he touched down gently, making sure it could hold the shuttle’s weight before killing the engines.
They grabbed their gear, Sebastian took the medical pack and Chelsea took the food and other supplies. They reviewed the building’s floor plan on their data feed and repeatedly tried broadcasting on various frequencies to reach someone in the building but could only find the repeating message.
“Stairwell on the Southwest corner should get us to 14 he told her after they reviewed the floor plans on their data link. Keep sharp. The doors on the ground showed evidence of breach so we could have civilians in the building. Let’s always maintain a direct commlink and if possible maintain visual contact. Prep your oxygen filter. The building was smoking from some points, we could encounter breathing hazards,” he said.
“Yes, my king,” she replied and he realized his mistake.
“I am so sorry. You’re the senior officer here and I’m giving orders like I’m in charge. I did not mean to overstep my authority,” he told her.
“It’s okay. I might be the senior officer but you’re the one in charge. You may not be a king like Merlin says but you sure as Hell carry yourself like one. You keep this up you’ll go far in the Wardens. You might even climb the ranks faster than the Coordinator.”
The Seal of Solomon Page 13