"I got the impression he was calling up every resource he had," Dona answered. "Your people are all packing up as we speak."
I was feeling pretty confused now. I had the impression I would be the human sacrifice in this series of events. I quickly went from confused, to irritated. "I don't care what Madias said!" I snapped loudly at her. "None of you are going! I'm not kidding! I won't risk anymore of you in this fight."
Dona began to look a little angry herself. She started to lose her temper, and loudly said, "I don't take orders from you! If you have a problem, take it up with Madias when you see him."
I clamped my mouth shut. I was just going to start an argument here. I debated for a second, and then simply said, "I'm sorry! I don't mean to start a fight." After that, I walked back into the house. Koda and Tim were at the door to the house, and I walked right past them.
I walked through the house, back to my room, got undressed, and took a shower. The water was so hot, it was almost scalding. I got cleaned, dried off, and started to get dressed. I put on the full combat uniforms that Guardians usually wear, and got ready to leave. I could see I needed to talk to Madias. I had decided to go find him.
I could hear a lot of activity as I came out of my room. I headed toward the kitchen, and found two uniformed Guardians just walking in the front door. As I looked out, I could see at least fifty more out in the yard. They were forming lines, and standing in formation. In less than an hour, the whole place had become an armed camp. I stepped out the front door, and could see two formations already complete. At least two hundred Guardians were here, and I suspected more were coming.
I waved one of the men over, and asked, "What's going on here Guardian?"
The man looked closely, and said, "We were ordered to prepare for departure as your security team."
I demanded to know who had issued the order, and the Guardian sheepishly answered, "Prefect Dona Carter gave the order. She's got the entire area on alert. Judge Misca Madias has ordered her to muster all resources in this area." I nodded to acknowledge the comment, and released the man. I wanted to talk to Madias right away. Without another thought, I focused on Madias, and folded space.
Chapter 14
Blinded
Madias was on a space station. The place was huge. The size of a major city, perhaps twenty miles across. I didn't see him, but I knew he was here.
What I saw, was awe inspiring. A glass window, the length of a football field, ran down one wall of the area I was standing in. Outside that window, was a planet with three moons. The entire scene was both serene, and scary as hell, both at the same time.
The planet was being bombarded from space. I’ve seen a lot of wild things since I joined the Chosen, but this takes the cake. The planet appeared to be shielded. Thousands of ships in space were fighting. Many were firing down onto the planet's surface. I’ve never dreamed of planetary warfare on this scale.
One of the moons was on fire. It appeared to be leeching open, and its molten core was spilling into space. I could see that if it exploded, the planet would be devastated in minutes. I stood, transfixed, staring at the vista.
Suddenly, from behind me, I heard Madias yell, "What are you doing here? Have you lost your mind?" He came striding toward me, with two Guardian warriors right behind him. He stopped right in front of me, and asked, "What is your purpose here?"
"I needed to talk to you." I replied. "Somehow, it doesn't seem as important now."
Madias followed my gaze as I stood there. He seemed to relent for a moment, and said, "The death of a world is a terrible thing. It appears, we are about to lose this solar system."
I knew better, but I asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
Madias shook his head slowly, and said, "The assault is too brutal to resist. They’ve lost ships at a three to one ratio, and they just keep attacking. We are better off fighting as we withdraw, and trying to pull them away from here."
A large ship, several miles long, was falling into the planet's atmosphere. The ship was on fire, and appeared out of control. The burning vessel was falling stern first, but its giant engines never fired. The entire ship burned bright and brighter as if fell into the gravity well of the planet. Perhaps a minute later, the ship disappeared in a brilliant flash. A dozen smaller ships were vaporized when it exploded, but the battle simply continued on."
Madias turned to one of the uniformed Guardians behind him, and said, "Report to Tucker! Tell him I said, he must order the withdrawal now!" The man nodded, and folded space, leaving on his mission.
Madias turned back to me, saying, "There is nothing you can do here! Please return to Earth! I will join you when I can!"
Someplace on the station I was on, a large explosion occurred. The entire place shook violently, and the floor started to list to one side. I could hear screams in the distance. As I glanced out the huge glass window, I could see a ship turning toward us. It was gaining speed as it moved. It began in a higher orbit than us, and with growing concern, I became sure it was headed straight for us.
It appeared Madias saw the same thing I did. He turned to the Guardian behind him, and gave a command I couldn't hear. The man ran off in a big hurry. As soon as the Guardian was gone, Madias seemed to brace himself, and start to focus energy where he stood. I could feel a static charge begin to build in the air, and I could smell ozone.
There was no doubt in my mind now. The ship was headed straight for us. I looked about a mile long, and I figured it was large enough to destroy the station if it hit us. It was evident that a thousand weapons were firing on the ship as it charged us. With a violent motion, Madias threw his arms up, and I felt the static charge burst out toward the attacking ship.
The charge seemed to hit the nose of the enemy ship, and run down its length, throwing off a bluish haze as it went. There was no violent explosion, but the ship seemed to lose way, and start to list toward the port side. It still had a great deal of forward momentum. On fire, and being slammed over and over with weapons fire. It began to tumble and spin.
It was still headed straight for us.
Madias turned to me, and said, "It's time to leave!" He had a look on his face that left little doubt he was serious.
Someplace on the enemy ship, something gave way, and the whole thing turned into a bright flash. Madias was etched in my vision as he stood there with shock on his face. I guess for once, he hadn't seen a disaster before it occurred.
I was blind, but my last image was the ship headed straight for us. I could feel heat, from a fire or explosion, I don't know which. Out of instinct, I stepped forward, and grabbed Madias. Without thinking, I folded space for the place I knew best.
Home.
I was still blind. I released Madias, and felt him slip through my fingers. I could hear shouting, but everything around me was in a bright white cloud. Then familiar hands gripped my arm, and I heard Kathy ask, "Mike? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I noted. "I just can't see a damn thing!" There was lots of confusion, and running going on.
Tim’s voice was suddenly close, and he said, "I've got you Bud!" He started to lead me toward the house.
I stopped, and asked, "Is Madias alright?"
"He's as blind as you. Otherwise he looks fine," Tim replied. "Lisa's with him. Watch your step." We stepped up into the house, and I could sense where I was from the sound of the voices around us.
Lisa yelled out, "Set them down."
I heard the kitchen chairs being moved, and Tim said, "Sit down Mike."
Small noises filled the room, and Lisa quietly asked, "Can you see this Mike?"
"I can't see anything but a bright fog," I responded. "If you're pointing that damn little light in my eyes, I can't see it!" I heard her sigh deeply, and felt her move away from me. She repeated the same questions with Madias, and got much the same responses.
I've never been blind before. It's pretty damn scary. There was a comic side. I could link, and see myself through the eyes of another person
, but it was very disconcerting. I sat there, looking very blind. It just drove home that I was in big trouble.
After about an hour, Madias and I were transferred to a medical facility in the Rocky Mountains. Lisa felt they were the best people to fix this. The tests went on and on. In the end, the assorted doctors said our retinas were burned. We had witnessed a fusion blast at close range, and with no shielding. Blindness was the usual result.
The day wore on, and it became obvious I was going to be blind for a while. I had to confront the concept that I might never see again. It's funny, how much we take our sight for granted. It had never occurred to me how much of my life was centered on visual stimuli. Vision affects every moment of our lives. Wear a blindfold for a few hours if you don't believe me. Don't get hurt! You can kill yourself falling over stuff.
It was on the third day, that Kathy showed up, and pushed to take me home. Lisa seemed to agree, and I got the feeling the hospital staff were finally going to sign on to the concept. I was sitting in a wheelchair, next to Madias. At least four doctors were talking at once, when I heard Madias quietly ask, "Are you worried Mike?"
"Yes," I acknowledged. "I'm freaking out!" We were talking aloud, but everyone else was ignoring us.
I could sense as Madias leaned closer, and said, "I can see you further down the timeline. Your vision will return. I see no other road open. There is no blind version of you in the future."
It's funny. I believed him at once. Perhaps I just wanted to believe it was true. For whatever reason, I suddenly felt a lot better. I was still blind as a bat, but I wasn't freaking out about it as badly.
By the next morning, I was returned to Kathy's. The following day, we were told that Madias was starting to regain his vision. Two days after that, I began to see shapes again. I started to actually recover.
I was blind for a total of almost two weeks. My body finally healed itself, and I was ready to return to duty. It was another dramatic reminder that I could still be injured. I could still die. I'm not immortal in the classic sense.
I just gotta be different! Story of my life!
As my sight returned, I seemed to see the world a little differently. My sight was another thing I took a little less for granted.
In the end, I was released by Lisa and the other doctors. I had complained about being on restricted duty repeatedly, and I suspect they were tired of my lack of cooperation.
As I went walking through the house that morning, I was aware that everything was changing rapidly. Guards were posted now at the front door. Uniformed Guardians were all over the place outside, and I about went into shock when I realized that armed Government agents were involved with the Chosen. I attended two meetings with security people my first day back on duty.
It was at the second meeting that I was introduced to Special Agent Calvin Vargas. Madias walked in as I was talking to Kathy and a half dozen Guardians. I hadn't talked to Madias in several days, and was curious to know what he was up to. He introduced me to the Agent, saying, "I believe Agent Vargas will be able to help you coordinate your departure from Earth."
The man was a real professional, and made me nervous as hell. I scanned him for a second, and had to admit he could probably help us secure the house. I had talked to Mr. Vargas for several minutes, when he suddenly said, "I've updated your official file to show your death occurred over a years ago. That will knock you off the grid. Nobody will bother you from now on."
Of course, I liked this guy at once. "You have the authority to do that?" I asked.
"The computers run everything," Agent Vargas responded. "If the computer says you're dead, people just believe it’s the truth."
He had a valid point, but I was still a little incredulous. "Are you sure about this?" I asked.
The man smiled broadly at me, and said, "I've been ordered to give you any assistance possible. I've spent the last two days, doing just that." He handed me a heavy bundle of paper. I could tell it was top security materials. I leafed through the first few pages, and saw enough to know this was the man for the job.
"You can secure the entire property without alerting the local authorities?" I asked.
"We own the local authorities," Calvin replied. "The state people haven't got a clue, and I'm the Federal Agent in charge of this area." He winked at me, and said, "I got this covered."
We all stood talking for almost an hour. The Guardians had each been given their assignments. Finally it was just Kathy and I talking to Madias and Calvin. Kathy asked how long we had before departure, and Madias said, "I thought you understand. Mike leaves today."
I saw the surprise register in Kathy's face, and then she said, "No problem. I'll get ready to go."
"Mike is leaving with me," Madias said forcefully. "You must remain here to secure everything till we return."
Kathy's face went a little red, and she quietly said, "Tim can stay and secure the house. I'm going with Mike."
Madias glanced over at me, and then looked back at Kathy. "We shall be gone for less than a day. When we return to Earth, it will probably be for the last time. You need to do as much as you can to prepare."
"You're coming back right away?" Kathy asked.
"Yes!" Madias confirmed. "One last time!"
As he said it, the words sank in. In effect, this would be my last day on Earth. I had known this was coming, but I suppose I had ignored what was coming.
"Can you tell me where we're going?" I asked.
"You have been requested to appear before Satu-Ra," Madias replied. "We will be going to a planet named Signey Octurus. It is the current seat of government for the Governing Council of First Ones. In old Earth legends, this place was known as Camelot."
"You've got to be kidding!" I scoffed aloud.
The old man gave me a cold look, and said, "You shouldn't be so dismissive of Earth's legends. Any time a story lasts for over a thousand years, you can suspect there is some truth behind it." His stern appearance softened slightly, and he continued, saying, "It is a wondrous place. You’ll enjoy the visit."
"I'm going to Camelot!" I noted sarcastically. "Why should I be surprised?"
He rolled his eyes, and said, "You shall be joining some of the most brilliant, talented people in this Galaxy. Please try to not get in any trouble."
That struck me funny. I gave him the look, and said, "The entire Universe is at war, and you're worried I'll get in trouble?"
"As bad as things are," Madias observed. "They could get worse. I repeat! Please stay out of trouble!"
Deciding to move the conversation forward, I agreed, saying, "Fine! I'll stay out of trouble. Can you tell me why we're going to meet these people? Why do your leaders want to talk?"
"They have been receiving reports ever since you joined the Chosen," Madias noted. "They have been searching for a special warrior, and needed to make sure you were the man they were seeking."
"Fine," I replied. "Why talk? If they’ve received reports, they know what I do. Give me the target's location, and set me loose."
Madias grimaced slightly. He quietly said, "I follow a leader with scruples. The Guardian Satu-Ra won't send a man on a mission like this with looking into his heart first. He wishes to know if you do this by your own free will. If he felt otherwise, he wouldn't allow you to go."
The concept of a leader with scruples almost made me laugh. Then it dawned on me that this wasn't some twit Politician on Earth. These people were different than anyone I had dealt with in the past. I needed to rethink my outlook while I dealt with their leaders. It began to sink in that this is what Madias was talking about. I had lost faith in Earth's leaders. I needed to reset my trust levels if this was going to work.
Abruptly, Madias said, "I must go on an errand, and when I return, we shall leave."
"I'm tired of waiting," I said. “May I just leave with you?"
Madias hesitated, and then said, "Very well. If you have no final arrangements to make, than I suppose we can just leave from here."
Kathy had been quietly listening to all this. She suddenly announced, "I want to go too!"
Madias was adamant. "Absolutely not!" he snapped. "There will be no time to watch both of you. We should return within a day. Mike can tell you what happened when we get back."
Kathy was fuming, and I didn't need to scan her to know what she was angry. "I don't need a babysitter." she growled. "I don't see why I can't go with Mike."
"Because he was summoned, and you were not!" Madias snapped back. He seemed to catch himself, and with a deep sigh, he said, "Please don't harass me. I am following orders, and I'm on a schedule. I don't have time to 'babysit' as you call it. Even if you feel you don't require supervision."
Agent Vargas suddenly said, "I could really use your help here." Kathy focused on him, and he continued, saying, "If you are leaving with Mike eventually, I suggest you have things to do before you go."
That seemed to click with Kathy, and she gave me a dirty look as she said, "You better come back, or I'll come looking for you!"
I smiled widely, because I knew she meant it. "I'll be back soon." I said, "I imagine Calvin's right. You have things to do here."
Twenty minutes later I left with Madias. Kathy was pissed, but this needs to be done, so I guess she'll just have to get over it.
Chapter 15
Visiting the Moon
I folded space with Madias, and found myself standing in a section of the Grand Canyon. I had expected to be on some other planet, and asked, "What are we doing here?"
Madias smiled slightly, and said, "Personal business." We were on a sandbar along the river, and I saw no sign of life. Madias had turned, and started to walk away, so I just started to follow him. Stepping around several large sections of stone the size of houses, I found myself standing at what looked like an old mine entrance. The place looked older than me.
"Are you sure this place is safe?" I asked. Again, Madias just smiled at me, and waved me to follow. We entered the mine, and went back about a hundred feet into the Darkness. As we walked, I began to realize I could see a faint light issuing from deeper in the tunnels. We went a little farther, and suddenly, I noticed an opening in the rock. An Elevator door was embedded in the stone.
The Koda Files Boxed Set - Books 1 & 2 Page 30