Resolution (5 page)

"You got it Boss. Go end the war, we'll make sure breakfast is ready for you when you get back," Tami replied.

"I'll go grab a couple of ration bars for us," Chloe said grinning.

"Here, take these," Wanda said and pulled four bars out of her thigh pocket. "I tend to forget to eat sometimes because I get too focused, so I have taken to carrying extras."

"Thanks!" Chloe said and tossed two of them to John. "Ready when you are, Sweetheart."

John nodded and turned to Malthis. "Okay, let's get this done."

Malthis bowed, and both John and Chloe disappeared in a flash of light. "We will make sure their data feeds are sent to you. We do our best to keep them safe," He told the two remaining women as he began to fade out.

"Thank you Malthis!" Tami replied before he could disappear completely.

"Well, I guess we'll find out pretty quickly if they're duplicitous or not," Wanda sighed.

"Yeah, and if they are we'll have lost the two most powerful and respected Guardians we have," Tami replied.

"Data feeds incoming, you take John, and I'll take Chloe," Wanda said.

"Deal," Tami replied and got to work.

––––––––

C
arl and Alice arrived at the mess hall before all the rest had assembled. Although the Flyer usually carried more troops than it currently had, the mess was still crowded because the troops were all still wearing their armor.

"Okay, I see we're all here. Folks, John asked me to talk to all of you about something very important. For this meeting, none of us hold any rank; we are all equal for this. We have arrived at a Promethean facility deep in the Gamma Quadrant." Alice had to hold up her hand to stop the exclamations of shock and panic.

"We were brought here by the Prometheans so they could ask us to do something for them. The 'something' is pretty major. So major that only as individuals can we make the decision to do it. Before we give you the whole story, we need to tell you that each and every one of us have been released from our oaths to the Kingdom for this purpose. If you chose not to accept the mission that the Prometheans are asking of us, you will still be bound by the Kingdom oath. Do you all understand?" Alice asked.

"Will the Prometheans return us to our own quadrant if we chose not to do this?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Yes, they will. They let John and the rest of us speak to His Majesty about it, and that's how we know about the oaths. There are no conditions here, you are not being pressured, or coerced in any way. If, once you've heard the whole story, you decide this just isn't for you we'll make sure you are returned home safely," Carl replied.

"Why isn't John telling us this?" someone else asked.

"John and Chloe are doing a favor for our hosts at the moment," Alice replied, "which is the primary reason he asked us to talk to you guys. He also didn't want you to be influenced either way by his own decision, which he has directed me not to tell you, until after you have made your own. This is important, and has to be something you either believe in or don't. This isn't a change in duties so much as it is a change in your ethos, your beliefs. In a moment, you will be meeting a Promethean named Georgia. She will present the request to you.

"Before I call her, there are a couple things you need to know about. All the Prometheans here are in a form of stasis, and the being you will meet is a computer analogue of her personality. Simply put, in order to stay alive long enough to make this offer, they copied their personalities into a computer and placed their bodies into stasis. The Promethean are a dying race."

"Are they the ones responsible for the war with the Tammerain?" Greg, the Captain asked.

"No Greg, they're not. The explanation for that is part of their story, so I'll let Georgia fill in the blanks for you," Alice called for Georgia to join them, and the tall hologram took from in the mess.

"Good morning, everyone, I am Georgia. I will do my best to tell you our history, and of the task we have asked of you. I will endeavor to answer any questions you may have. Before I begin, are there any questions?" the being asked, speaking slowly in the Promethean way.

––––––––

O
ne minute they were on the bridge of the
Flyer
and the next they were in a white room with subtle pinks and blue colors. Rising from the floor were two couches.

"Welcome to our home, Guardians." Malthis said. "If you will each lie down, the procedure will only take a moment. Currently, your Doctor Marebella St. Andres is not in range of a transporter, or we would bring her here to monitor and observe."

"I'm please to tell you that she has agreed to become our mate, Malthis. She and I have taken John's last name," Chloe replied.

"That is indeed most pleasing news. I believe congratulations are in order," Malthis replied, and he bowed his head. Although it was hard to detect, considering his facial structure, it looked like he was smiling. "As I outlined before, the procedure itself is quick; however, you might feel a few moments of discomfort followed by a brief period of disorientation while your controller reinitializes. Please remain still until the changes are fully integrated."

John and Chloe nodded acceptance as they lay down on the couches provided for them. It did only take a few seconds, but it did hurt. Strangely the pain eased and disappeared before the controller finished rebooting. In less than five minutes, both of them were back on their feet and ready to go.

"The information you will need to disable the Grey’s control device will be available in your enhancement controller’s memory. Simply ask for it, and it will be displayed for you as a visual overlay.

“Once the control device has been deactivated, future data requests can be handled by your enhancements in much the same manner as you are currently familiar with. We are preloading the information we think you will need because the control device the grays implanted would detect the information exchange. That would alert the Tammerain troops as well as the Greys that you are there to disconnect the control device. There is little doubt what would happen in such an event," Malthis explained.

"Won't it detect our arrival then?" Chloe asked.

"Yes it will, but there is nothing it can do about it as Selnia still has control of that area. When queried, Selnia will report a transit system test initiated from our control unit. If you will accompany me to the surface, you may test fire your weapons so you understand their destructive potential. We will to the embarkation center from there," Malthis explained.

"I was going to ask if there was a place we could do that. If I'm carrying a weapon, I want to know how much damage it can do in case I have to use it," John replied. 

"That is good knowledge to have. What you are carrying could be considered projectile weapons in that they fire a compressed 'pellet' of high-energy plasma. You have the option to adjust the amount of energy the plasma contains..." Malthis explained the controls and how to use the weapons John and Chloe now carried.

Malthis lead them to a wide-open plain on the inside surface of the great sphere. John was surprised to feel that it was just like being on a planet, except the horizon curled up slightly before disappearing in the haze of distance.

"As you can see in the distance, there are several blocks. The blocks are composed of different materials but all of them are solid. The white is your concrete; the gray is plas-crete. The remaining three types are dull black - steel, black with red marking is battle-steel, and the last is the same alloy we use as outer armor on all of our facilities and vessels. We ask that you do not go above a setting of five on the weapons as that may cause significant damage to the structure of this area," Malthis explained.

John nodded his understanding and activated the rifle, setting it to 'one' on the power meter. He took aim on the concrete and fired. The four-foot by four-foot block of solid concrete exploded violently into small fragments.

"Whoa!" Chloe said softly.

John nodded to her, and took aim at the plas-crete and got much the same result.

"You're on setting one, right?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, I didn't want to blow open the world in my first shot," John replied.

"Even on level 'ten' the weapons you carry would not puncture the sphere in one shot, however, if you are in space, that level could be used against vessels at distance. Your armor would function as a targeting computer for that use," Malthis explained.

"An infantry weapon that can be used as ship to ship weaponry? That may be a little too powerful," Chloe said.

"Our goal was to create a tool that would be of use to you in as wide a variety of situations as possible. We were unsure of how to go about such, and did not think to limit the power of the weapon. Is this something we should consider implementing if we make more of these in the future?" Malthis asked.

"Possibly, I'd like to get a better idea of what our mission will actually be once we get going. However, I would like to make sure that these cannot fall into the wrong hands, so if you could include a unique user code into them so only its authorized user may activate and fire it, that would be good be good for now," John said.

"That is easily accomplished. Would you like the weapons you are currently carrying to be replaced?" Malthis asked.

"I think that would be a good idea, Malthis. These are very dangerous," Chloe suggested, and John agreed.

"It will be done. We will not make any more of this type of weapon until you make your decision about the power levels, John," Malthis said.

"Thank you Malthis." John said and fired at the metal blocks. On level one the steel block ended up with a round hole the size of a bowling ball most of the way through it. The Battle-steel was dented inward at least four inches, and the hull armor was unscathed.

"Okay, that gives me a good idea on level one, I'll go up one level until I do telling damage to the hull armor," John said mostly to Chloe.

"Good idea. I can tell you right now, that I will be leaving mine on level one most of the time!" Chloe replied. "Anything higher, and it's just too much damage."

Malthis actually smiled. "We are relieved you feel that way, Chloe."

"That's why you chose us isn't it? Because we've matured?" Chloe replied.

"Yes, that is the core of our decision. However, you still retain the ability for violence without letting it overcome you." Malthis gestured towards John. "When confronted with the horrible atrocity committed on the world of Haven, John did not seek death nor vengeance. Instead, he waited until he had regained his mental stability and spoke to your people of the horrors he has seen. By doing so, he has created a standard by which your people are striving to adopt for themselves.

"The rest of you are equally influencing your society in more subtle, yet still effective ways. It is because of you, vengeance and retaliation and all other such reactionary impulses are declining in your people."

"I don't know if I would count them as completely gone yet, Malthis. Even if we manage to end this war and get the Tammerain forces to return home, there will be those people that lost loved ones that will demand something be done. It will be our job to make sure they don't do anything rash and get more people killed," John replied.

"I think you will find the same issues on the other side of the border as well, John. Many clans have lost many fathers and sons in this war. Some will not accept that it was their 'goddess' that was the one that actually killed them," Malthis replied. "Vengeance is not an emotion exclusive to humans."

John nodded. "There will be much that needs to be done. Have you considered that we are viewed as demons by the races of the Tammerain involved in the war effort?"

"We have. There is a function of your controller that will act as a type of camouflage, or perhaps a holographic imaging system that is capable of showing a different visage if you so desire it. There are many tools available to you that you have no knowledge of as yet. When you return, we can discuss arrangements for your education as well as how you wish to structure this new organization," Malthis said.

"That would be good, there are non-enhanced people that wish to be part of this, our wife, Mary, for one. I'm sure there will be others," John said.

"That is a good thing. Marebella Aster will be a great asset to all our people," Malthis nodded.

At level three, the rifle john carried to a two-foot square chunk out of the armor block. Both Chloe and John were satisfied that they had a feel for the weapon, and asked to continue the mission. Malthus agreed and led them to small room. "This is a node of our internal transportation system. It will take you to the transit nexus. I will meet you there. It is already programed to take you there, simply walk toward the wall, and you will arrive at the nexus."

Both John and Chloe nodded and walked forward... and stepped out into a larger room that smelled of fresh air, with a hint of ozone. It reminded John of Earth after a thunderstorm. A few feet in front of them, Malthis stood waiting for them.

"Please follow me," he said and turned to 'walk' across the large floor.

What they arrived at looked like an airlock with an extended hallway between the doors. Malthis stopped and explained its function. "This is a spatial bridge currently connected with Selnia. It is not necessary for you to seal your armor for this transit, but I would recommend it. Selnia has been keeping the other side in a vacuum to discourage explorations by the Tammerain. Please remember, I will be monitoring you, and can send anything you may wish to you, but I will not be able to communicate with you until the controlling unit is disabled." The first door cycled open, and Malthis indicated the portal. "Guard us well, Guardians and safely return."

––––––––

J
ohn and Chloe walked through the open door and activated their armor in sealed mode. Both carried their rifles at the ready, but pointed downward. It looked like a short walk of about ten meters, but was slightly further in reality. As they neared the door, both of them were a little disoriented, but not to the point of it affecting them. When they got up to the door, it opened and a new voice was heard on their communicators.