Wayward Guardian (Guardian Saga Book 1)

by Arlin Fehr

  'It's actually in relation to that. I can wait if you're busy, but it is somewhat urgent.'

  'Exo, is there anything wrong with the communication system? ' Sam asked.

  'I can run a diagnostic. It will delay the jump for fifteen minutes.' Exo replied.

  'No... Carry on. I'll go check it out.' Sam said.

  'Should we wait for you?' Exo asked.

  'Continue your lesson.'

  'Is something wrong Sam?' Ayla asked.

  'That man has a accent in my memory. But now he's speaking without one.' Sam said.

  'Should I alert the captain?' Exo Asked.

  'No, I'll do it on my way.' Sam said.

  'Are you still there Sam?' asked the voice.

  'Yes. Where are you?'

  'I'm in the cargo bay with the solar arrays. I assume you know where that is?'

  'Yes I do. I'm on my way.'

  Sam exited the room and muted his uplink. He fished a portable communicator out of his pocket, and keyed it to the captains channel.

  'Captain, this is Sam.'

  'What is it Sam? Is there a problem?'

  'I don't know. I just got a call from James asking me to come down to the solar storage bay. His voice sounded a bit off.'

  'Off?' Howard asked over the commlink.

  'Yeah. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it sounded... disjointed. I'm going to head down to the bay and check it out. He may be in trouble.'

  'Do you want me to send someone?'

  'It should be fine. If it's someone doing something ill conceived, it'll take a lot to harm me. My body is built like a tank.' Sam stated confidently.

  'I'll have someone come anyway, just as soon as the jump happens. Which will be in another three minutes.'

  'Roger that. Sam out.'

  Sam switched off his communicator and put it back in his pocket.

  He reached the bay a minute later.

  Stepping through the door, he saw James sitting in a seat looking up at the disassembled parts hanging from their rigging on the roof.

  James saw Sam and stood up, 'Sam what are you doin' here?'

  'I was hoping you could answer that James,'

  'What do you-' a communication panel at Jame's central computer station beeped, 'Hang on.'

  James walked briskly for the panel, Sam followed in behind him.

  'Exo?' Sam said over the uplink.

  'Yes Adovcate?' Exo replied.

  'When's the jump?' Sam asked.

  'Five seconds.' Exo said.

  'Oh.' Sam said.

  Sam parted his legs and took a deep breath, preparing for the momentary nausea that always hit him when the jumps happen. He thought to warn James at his computer, but then the jump drive activated.

  Bridge

  'We have successfully jumped, Captain. All systems coming back on line.' Mark reported crisply.

  'Good. Prepare to stand down.'

  One of the bridge officers at the sensor station looked tense, 'Captain, sensors haven't come online yet.'

  The captain's eyebrows furrowed in frustration, 'Exo, we've lost sensors.'

  'Please stand by, I am rebooting the system now. Something in the control systems switched off.'

  'That's completely unacceptable. We ran a full diagnostic before we jum-'

  'Captain!' The officer at the sensor station shouted, 'We've got a incoming energy wave. Massive surge across multiple spectrum. Closing fast. It will intersect us in 20 seconds.'

  'Exo! Emergency shut down of all primary systems.'

  'Shutting down all systems. As per electromagnetic safety measures, systems will reboot in five minutes.'

  With that the bridge went dark. Emergency lighting kicked on, and the room glowed red.

  'Captain? Why did we shut down the systems?' asked the sensor officer.

  'When a massive wave like that is coming for us, we shut down all systems so they don't overload and fry. They're shielded, but they're better able to withstand it,' Howard grew aware of a vibration in the soles of his boots, 'when the systems are all off. It's like if there's a power surge, it can't effect any appliances if nothings plugged in.'

  Howard was aware of a slight pressure on his chest.

  Mark seemed to rock on his feet, 'Are we moving?'

  'It feels like the sub light engines are on,' Howard said out loud.

  Mark's eyes grew wide, 'The new drive system! It's unshielded!'

  'It's also supposed to be offline!' Howard said surprised. He knew that's what it had to be, but it seemed impossible.

  Mark stumbled backwards as the ship was rocked by three sudden bursts of motion, 'They seem to be firing unevenly.'

  'They're uncontrolled!' Howard said as the shaking started to grow worse.

  Suddenly the ship jerked to one side sharply, and a violent shaking shook the deck and bulkheads. Mark fell to the floor, and everyone was thrown from their seats.

  'That felt like one blew up!' said one of the bridge crew from somewhere out of Howard's sight.

  'We've got to get the systems back online.' Mark said.

  Howard got to his feet and stumbled to the nearest command console. He had a system reboot code of his own, he keyed it into the seemingly dead console and waited. Nothing happened.

  Howard looked at his watch. About four minutes had passed since the shutdown. The systems should be rebooting soon. Regardless, he went to the next console and tried his code again.

  He tried three consoles when the systems started to boot up on their own.

  'Bridge to engineering!'

  'Engineering here. Captain, we've got a situation.'

  'I am aware of this. Did you shut down the engines?'

  'Just finished sir. We lost one of the primary drive nozzles, and half of it's fuel systems. Two neighbouring drives took some damage, but we'll have to go out to get a better look. We've got some casualties.'

  'Sit tight until we know the dangers passed, we'll get a medical team down there ASAP.'

  Howard cut his communication link, he turned to the rest of the bridge. The crew were getting back into their seats, 'Get a medical team to engineering. Sensor report?'

  'No sign of the wave sir. Looks like it passed.'

  'No sign of it? You mean we can't even see it going away from us?'

  'No sir, but it's possible the sensors are a little bit overloaded right now.'

  'Run a critical process diagnostic and let me know the results as soon as you have them.' Howard ordered.

  Howard looked for Mark, and saw him talking into a communicator. He looked worried. Mark ended his call.

  'What is it Mr. Jona?'

  'There's been an accident in the solar array storage bay. One man is critically wounded, another has non-threatening wounds. I've dispatched another medical team.'

  'Who is it?' Howard said, a sense of dread filling him.

  'Samuel Jennings and James Bennet. Bennet is the one who made the call. Samuel was the one with the serious injuries.

  Guardian Control Room

  Ayla lay on the floor of the control room, clutching at her head and screaming loudly. All she felt was pain, more pain then she had ever experienced. It was so overwhelming, her eyes were clutched shut and she was grabbing at her head so hard that her nails were drawing rivulets of blood from her skin.

  Exo's face looked mutely at nothing.

  'S-s-s-a-m-m-m. A-arrrr-e you a-a-l-i-v-e?' Exo said over the uplink, stuttering badly.

  'So... Much... Pain...' Sam's reply was slow and unsteady

  'L-l-l-inn-k-k i-i-i-s-s o-o-o-p-p-pe-pe-pen. P-p-ain. Pain. I-t-t-s... exquisite.' Exo said slowly.

  'Help...me...' pleaded Sam.

  'Y-yo-ou-u A-a-are he-he-helllllp-p-p-ing m-m-me-e.' Exo said.

  'Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!' Ayla's cry flooded over the uplink.

  'Ayla?' Sam asked.

  Ayla convulsed as pain flooded over. Tears streamed down her face, she tried to call out to Sam again over the uplink but couldn't concentrate over the pa
in. Then she began to go numb, and her eyes closed.

  Then silence.

  Solar Array Storage Bay

  James had a broken wrist, and was battered badly, but his thoughts weren't on his own injures.

  James was manic in desperation. Before him laid a grotesque sight. Samuel was pinned under the weight of the all the parts to the dissembled solar array that had come crashing down when the rigging snapped. He had thought he had rigged it safely, but the violent manner in which they'd come out of the jump had proven too much.

  Sam's head and part of his upper torso were visible under the mass of parts. Blood and a clear liquid from his cybernetic systems were spreading out in a pool around him. Sam's eyes were open, and they were moving rapidly, but James could see his chest was not moving with the normal rhythm of breathing.

  'Sam! Can you hear me Sam! Blink if you can!'

  'I... hear...' Sam's mouth moved slowly.

  'I'm going to try and get this stuff off of you. Help is on the way Sam!'

  James rushed to the control system, he thought about activating the gantry crane, but if he wasn't careful, he might crush Sam with a shifting weight. Instead he went for his tool cabinet and grabbed a piston jack. Carrying it awkwardly with one hand, he rushed back to Sam. There was a gap under the large support beam that had done the most damage to Sam. James shoved the jack under it, pushing it with his feet so it got in evenly. He bent down, almost collapsing as his broken wrist flopped painfully. He reached under and flicked on the jack.

  It whined in protest but the beam lifted, if only slightly. James stood up and rushed to Sam. He grabbed his shirt and pulled him out.

  Or what was left of him.

  Everything from the waist down was missing, and a good portion of his chest seemed to be caved in. James was no doctor, but everything told him Sam shouldn't be alive. As he dragged him further back, he left a trail of blood and the clear liquid intermixed on the floor.

  The door opened and a medical team rushed in. They seemed to falter when they saw the state of Sam. Sam turned his head towards them and uttered a painful moan. They sprang into action at the sign of life.

  James was dragged away by an aide who wanted to have a look at him.

  Guardian Control Room

  Ayla had stopped screaming. She'd stopped moving altogether. Her hands hung limply over her, and her breathing had also stopped.

  'Ayla...?' Sam asked over the uplink, focusing through his pain.

  'Sh...hh...e... i-s-s-s Go-o-n-n-e S-s-a-mmm....' Exo said.

  Though it was hard to understand with the stuttering in Exo's voice, Sam tried hard to focus.

  'What... have... you... done?' Sam asked.

  'Worrrrrr-y not of h-h-h-e-r-r-r. Yo...you c-c-aaaa-n-n f-f-ind he-he-her in t-t-h-h-e n-n-neeext...life. Your... pain...was... t-t-t-o-o-o-o m-u-u-c-h for...her.' Exo replied.

  Medical Bay

  Sam lay on a bed in the medical bay, numerous tubes and sensors hooked up to his mangled body. Apart from Doctor Singh, everyone else stood awkwardly at a distance. His death was a forgone conclusion.

  Ira Geer was on duty as one of the attending nurses. She stood next to one of her companions, thoughts about her late husband and the sight of Sam mixing uncomfortably in her mind.

  'How is he still alive?' asked one of them.

  'He's got an emergency life support system located in his upper torso. Basically if any vital part of his body stopped working, it's got the supplies to last about two days.' replied another

  'So he's going to be like this for two days?' Asked the first one, clearly horrified at the thought.

  'No. It was damaged too. He's got another hour tops.'

  'And we can't do anything for him?'

  'Normally damage to an Advocate isn't this severe.'

  'Good thing he started training Ayla then.' noted one of them.

  Ira bit her lip. Doctor Singh motioned for Ira to step over. She did so.

  'He's asking for you.' Singh said.

  Ira walked up to his side and knelt over. She took his remaining hand in hers, 'I'm here Sam.'

  Sam's eyes fluttered open, 'Ayla... Ayla... I... so...sorry.'

  'What about Ayla?' Ira said, a knot in her stomach.

  'Ayla... hurt... bad. In... Control...room...' Sam finished with difficulty.

  Ira left the medical bay at a run.

  Guardian Control Room

  Ayla's body spasmed. Then her limbs flailed. Exo's face watched from his display. Slowly, the flailing became more controlled. One hand, then another, found the ground. She pushed herself into a kneeling position.

  With apparent difficulty, her legs forced her upright. She stumbled into the wall. She pushed her self back. Blood trickled from her nose. She blinked a few times and reached a hand up to feel her face. It came away bloody. Her other hand came up and pressed into the blood with two fingers. She rubbed the blood between her fingers.

  She opened her mouth. A moan escaped.

  Then came a strange wail. Finally, a word, 'Interesting.'

  Her hands went to her face again, this time feeling the contours of it. Both hands were covered in the blood from her nose, smearing it across her face. The flow of blood seemed to be slowing though.

  With one hand, she pinched hard on her arm with her nails, hard enough to break the skin.

  Exo's face flickered.

  She opened her mouth again, 'Exquisite.'

  The door to the control room opened, Ira Geer rushed in, and seeing her daughter with blood coming down her face, rushed to her.

  'Are you alright hun?' She said, giving her a quick examination.

  'I am...excellent.'

  Ira hugged her, 'I'm just glad you're alright, I was so worried.'

  Ayla's arms came up and mimicked the hug awkwardly, 'I am alright mother.'

  Ira led her daughter out of the room, Exo's face watched them go. Once the door closed behind them, Exo's face broke into an uncharacteristic smile.

  Chapter 7

  Medical bay

  Captain Howard Fredrick stood next to Sam's bed, trying hard not to look at the rest of his body, but just keeping his eyes on his face. No one had told Sam exactly how bad it was, but he seemed to know.

  Sarah was standing back away from the bed, afraid to look at the mangled body of her fiancè. She was holding back her tears while looking at Sam. Sam kept his eyes on her, but spoke carefully to Howard.

  'Fredrick... Be careful... the ship... is in danger...'

  'Is it our special guest?'

  'I don't know... for certain... the accident was... well timed.' He said with difficulty.

  Howard looked over the body of his friend, laying on the medical bed, and felt a chill wash over him. If this was Exo's doing, no one was safe anymore. But what could they do? They had one more jump to make before they were in the new system, and they had lost half their fuel supplies in the explosion that ripped through the engines. They couldn't turn back even if they wanted to.

  Things were not going according to plan.

  'It was indeed. Don't worry Sam. The ship is still in good hands. I'll take care of it, and Ayla will help me.'

  'Alya... is hurt too... I don't know... how...'

  At the moment Ira Geer re-entered the medical bay, holding Ayla's hand. She walked to the bed. Howard looked at Ayla and then back to Sam. Sam had turned his head to look, and his eye's betrayed a strong sense of surprise. His lips were open in a unasked question.

  Ira stepped closer, Howard moved aside, 'Thank you Sam. She's okay. She did hurt herself, but she's not seriously injured.'

  Howard looked back at Ayla, her face didn't show any obvious emotion. Something in his heart made him take notice of that.

  Sam motioned Ayla over with great effort. Ayla walked to his bed side and looked at him.

  'How?' Sam managed to ask.

  'I cut my link with Exo when your pain came flooding over the uplink. Exo helped me to cut it.'

  Sam's face twisted in confusio
n, then grimaced in pain.

  Doctor Singh ran to the displays for the motoring equipment, 'His life support is failing. The damage must have been worse than we thought!' He started shouting orders to the other medical personnel in the room.

  Howard was about to step away to give them room when he stopped at the feeling of Sam gripping his wrist like a vice. Sam pulled Howard in close.

  'It's all... gone... wrong... save... Ayla...'

  'I'll protect her Sam, don't worry.'

  'No... Not protect... Save... Not... protect...' Sam's body shuddered in pain. Howard felt his grip weaken. Sam's head rolled back from Howard and looked unfocused at the roof.

  'Save her... Howard...'

  Then his body went still. A solid tone from the display denoted a lack of any vital signs. Howard took Sam's limp hand in his own and lifted it up. He patted the hand with his other free hand, while gripping it with his other, and felt his eye's burning with sadness.

  'I'll do my best Sam...'

  He took Sam's limp hand and laid it out next to the body of his friend. Ira was crying softly, from behind him, and Ayla was looking at her feet.

  Howard closed his eyes and stepped away, as a chilling wail escaped from Sarah. She rushed to his side and stood stunned for a long moment. Howard, moving carefully, put steadying hands on her shoulders as he felt his own tears burning paths down his cheek.

  Sarah, still looking at Sam, just cried all the harder.

  …

  …

  Analyzing; Human grief patterns.

  Accessing archives.

  Subject; Human mourning process,

  Filter; Child to adolescent.

  …

  Search complete.

  Compiling behavioural program.

  Applying to Ayla Avatar.

  Run program.

  …

  Behind him, Howard heard Ayla start to cry too. His heart burned.

  Solar Array Storage Bay

  Howard stood in the cargo bay. James stood next to him with his arm in a sling. They hadn't touched the wreckage of the disassembled solar array since the accident yesterday. Techs were going over every inch with various pieces of equipment.