All the usual disclaimers apply. If you're a bible thumper, you'll have apoplexy by the time you finish this. If you are easily offended or queasy of stomach, reading this will be hazardous to your health. All the normal people out there, you should enjoy the story if I did my job right. Have fun, and I welcome all feedback from you!
My thanks once more to Ed. Without his careful perusing, this story would have some glittering generalities, fallacious statements, incorrect references, and would not have a lot of continuity. Behind every good author there's an even better editor. Believe it!
New Feature! Quote of the Chapter. (A quote I feel pertain to this chapter fairly well)
Most of the greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was false --Bertrand Russel
Shapers' War -- Chapter 9 -- The Pain of Truth
'Life is good' Justin Ackeman thought in the relative privacy of his mind. Of course what he was doing right now had to be the worst part of his duties as Lord of Asher Province. It was once again Appeals Day, and as usual the Hall of his manor house was full. He sat in a chair adorned with intricate woodworking on a small dais. In front of him were the current set of claimants, appealing the decision of a regular court to the region's Lord.
The rest of the Hall was packed with about 200 people, mostly from Asher Province, who were spectacting. Justin's Chief Adjutant had quietly informed him last month that Appeals Day was quickly becoming an unofficial holiday with tickets to the Hall being sold at a premium. Justin had frowned at that and thought "Great, I'm becoming Judge Judy." Too bad no one but D'vad was still alive who'd have understood the reference.
He was only half listening to the two families appearing before him. Their minds had already yielded up all the information he needed, and his decision was pretty much made. He was just waiting for them to finish up their prepared speeches, for some reason they put a lot of stock in those speeches and he didn't want to hurt their feelings more by cutting them off. His decision would cause enough grief as it was.
Instead he thought about the past year since he'd taken the oath for Lordship. It wasn't bad. High Lord Jerod had recognized his need to get out of the Palace, and had assigned him a regional Lordship here, near the outback. Justin had packed up his stuff, including his new son Tyler, and left that day. He still returned monthly for the three days of General Session at the Lords Council.
His relationship with the twins had evened out, too. Now they were all friends, and he found that he preferred it that way. They'd changed so much over the thousands of years he'd been trapped in rock. Maybe someday the passion between them would reignite, but for now it was dead.
He also made sure to go see his old friend D'vad in the Shapers Republic. Once a month D'vad would visit him, and the next he'd visit D'vad. Their friendship had been re-established nicely over that time and was a source of comfort for Justin in this world gone mad.
Ok, not mad, just different. Five thousand years had passed since his last memory of conciousness, on that San Francisco hillside. He and the twins had been ambushed by a man named J'Stan, who'd managed to encase Justin in laval rock, deep beneath the earth. Then the man had disappeared, only to reappear years later and kill Bjorn, founder of the Shapers' Republic. With his lover, Adam Morgan, J'Stan had founded the Guardian's Federation, naming it Ackeland (boy did that make Justin mad-that part of his name would be used by the bad guys).
He'd learned all this from the twins, and from his friends Bester and Jerod (the current High Lord). Justin had also sat in on some strategy sessions over the upcoming attacks that were planned. If all went well, the Guardians would soon cease to be a factor on planet Earth.
With a start, he realized that the last member of the two families had finished speaking and they were now staring at him, waiting for his response. He leaned forward, steepling his fingers in front of his face, elbows resting on the arms of the chair. His crew-cut blond hair glistened in the sunlight from the skylights.
"As I understand it, neither couple was able to have a child on their own, so you entered into an agreement whereby the fertile partners would sire one child for each family. The first birth resulted in twins. The couple designated for the first child did not want to split the twins up, so you petitioned for custody of both. The doctors determined that the mother was also unable to bear further children."
Both couples nodded, and he could see the worried looks on their faces as he lowered his hands to reveal a deep frown on his face.
"Then under the terms of the Agreement, the first couple is in breech of contract. As stipulated under the terms of the Agreement the second couple is awarded full custody of both children. I further order that the first couple shall apply at the Mill's Children's Ward for adoption of two children and shall raise those children as their own. No visitation rights are granted. Dismissed."
The two couples bowed and left the room, muttering all the while. They did not like his ruling, since the second family only wanted one child, not two. Too bad for them. He didn't like people who reneged on agreements for child care. There was no need for it, they could all have adopted children. There were plenty children waiting for that now.
Fortunately, that was his last case of the day, and he ended the session with all the usual pomp and circumstance. If people were enjoying it, he might as well give them a good show. He ended by vanishing with a flash from the dais.
He reappeared in the section of the manor he'd identified as "private". A smile formed on his open face as he received his usual greeting from the blond tyro that ran out of the next room. He bent down and unwrapped his son from his leg to give him a big hug, and ended up having the boy wrapped around his neck instead.
At five, Tyler had shot up in growth, and was bigger than some kids two years older than him. Justin couldn't help smiling at the exasperated look on the governess' face from the doorway. He shrugged at her as he took Tyler back into the nursery. The next hour passed quickly as always. He spent at least one hour each morning with his son, an hour in the afternoon, and most of each evening.
He knew his morning time with Tyler was up when his chief Adjutant opened the door to the nursery and motioned to him. Carefully, Justin put Tyler down on the floor and closed the book he'd been reading with the boy. Tyler started to pout a little, but stopped when Justin gave him 'the look'. He ruffled the boy's hair and smiled at the governess as he joined the Adjutant at the door.
"Ok, Kell let's get the day started." he told the average looking man who served as his adjutant.
"There's a change in your daily schedule, m'lord." Kell told him in a heavy voice.
"I don't like the sound of that." Justin said, trying to lighten the man's constantly bad mood.
"Well, you're going to like what I have to tell you even less." Kell responded. "While you were with your son, Lord Belson arrived. He's been waiting in the receiving room for you to finish your time with Tyler."
"Why didn't you inform me sooner?" Justin asked sharply.
"From what he said, this might be your last regular time with your son, sir. I'm not going to be the one who shortened that." Kell said just as sharply. No matter what Justin may think, he admired the love Justin had for his son, and made sure that his feelings were known in that moment.
"It's started, then." Justin said softly dreading what the words meant.
"I think so, m'lord." Kell said softly this time as they reached the door to the receiving room. "Before you go in, sir, there's something I want you to know. I've served under 3 Lords here. Most of them view it as kind of an exile, or an onerous burden. You've been different. I appreciate that, as do the people. We're glad to have you as our Lord, and all pray for you to safely come back."
"Thank you, Kell." Justin said. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and smiled at him. "This isn't the first time I've gone to war, you know. I've always seemed to make it through somehow, and I look forward to coming back here. I think I'm gonna make this my permanent assignment."
"Thank you, m'lord!" Kell exclaimed, bowing his head to Justin and retreating down the hallway.
Justin took a deep breath and opened the door. Lord Belson was sitting in a comfortable recliner, sipping on a glass of juice he'd been given. When he saw Justin come in, he rose to his feet and gave a slight bow of his head.
Justin returned the bow and motioned for Lord Belson to sit back down. He took a seat across from the man and smiled. Belson had been a frequent visitor over the last year. Justin had met him during a planning session with Jerod and Bester and the two had hit it off as friends instantly. That was one of the reasons why Belson was sent as the bearer of bad news. Justin always took it better when it came from a friend.
"So, since they sent you I take it it's bad?" Justin said when Belson had resumed his seat.
"Fine juice you get here." Belson answered indirectly.
"I was just getting comfortable!" Justin whined a little.
"Gotcha!" Belson exclaimed with a smile. His laughter filled the room as Justin's face went through a series of expressions. "Seriously though, we have what looks like a probing attack taking place right now. High Lord Jerod wants you to take a look at the tactics they are using."
"That's not too bad. Shouldn't be more than a day or two." Justin said with a sigh of relief.
"True. By the way, I just got word. When the big fight comes and you get sent to the front, I've been assigned to take your place here." Belson informed Justin.
"That's good news. I don't know who else I trust to take care of this place while I'm gone."
"You really like it that much? Stuck out here in the boonies." Belson asked with a weird smile.
"Yes. It's a good place for Tyler to grow up, surrounded by normal people. Not just pages and Lords. More than that, I work directly with people here. I can see their daily lives unfold. I like it a lot better than the isolation of the Palace." Justin expounded.
"Yes, yes, I've heard you say that before, but I just don't believe it. Well, to each their own. I'll be more than happy to suffer here than on the front lines. I'm not the warrior that you are."
"All to true. So you gonna stay here while I'm gone? It'd be a good time to get you use to the routine and to my staff."
Belson let out a long sigh and nodded his agreement. "Might as well get it over with."
The two stood as Justin sent a mental call out to his Chief Adjutant. "You'll fall in love with the place like I did. Then we'll have to fight over who gets to stay."
"Naw, we'll just get married!" Belson joked. The two men left the room, arms wrapped around each others shoulders, laughing hard.
"If you ever tell me a few weeks, I'm gonna pack for a year!" Justin told Belson a few weeks later. They were sitting in Tyler's playroom, and Tyler was busy showing off all the new things he'd made while Justin was gone.
"How was I supposed to know it was going to take you so long?" Belson asked with a laugh, trying to look persecuted.
"Whatever. I just missed my son during that time, let me tell you." Justin said, reaching down to ruffle Tyler's hair. The boy smiled up at him and it felt like the sun was coming out from the clouds.
"I bet, well he missed you too." Belson said. "So, what did take you so long. Us back-country lords don't get all the latest gossip, you know."
"Well, what looked like a test of our defenses actually turned out to be a major thrust against the Shapers Republic. I must say that this Adam Morgan knows tactics pretty damn well. Everything D'vad and I came up with to counterattack their probes seem to have been anticipated. It took us two weeks to stop their advance, and get things stabilized."
"Yikes, that doesn't sound good. You two are the best strategists we have." Belson said in a low voice.
"It's not good." Justin said slowly. "As near as we can figure out, when we make that big offensive, D'vad and I are going to have to be at the front. That's the only way we stand a chance. These Guardians are just too good."
"Well, at least we have you now." Belson said with a grin. For some reason that made Justin's stomach flip a little, but he soon forgot it as Tyler chose that moment to show him his newest finger painting. The rest of the day passed quickly for him as he met with Belson and Kell and got up to date on the happenings in his area.
The entire time had been spent in Tyler's playroom. Justin could not stand the thought of leaving his son so soon after returning. The constant interruptions by the five-year old seemed to irritate Belson and Kell, but they brought smiles to Justin's face. If they didn't like it, too bad.
Finally, as the sun was beginning its final descent below the mountains, they came to a close. Tyler was passed out in Justin's lap, taking a nap after an exhausting day with his dad. Kell's stomach was growling from hunger, and Belson's eyes were glittering with his desire to get back to the Palace. Justin stood, lifting the sleeping Tyler in his arms as he did so, and started walking towards the room's door when a messenger appeared in the doorway itself.
"M'lords," the man said to Justin and Belson. "There's been an incident on the outback border. The local Guard commander asked for your attention in the matter."
"Another one!" Belson exclaimed.
"What do you mean another one? You didn't say anything about any incident" Justin said sharply, facing Belson.
"It's just those savages making raids outside their zone." Belson said, his face almost a sneer at the thought of the `savages'.
"You mean the aboriginals?" Justin asked curiously. He had a vague impression of meeting one of them when he first woke up here, and memories from television in a life that was now long dead.
"Yes, them." Belson said with a snort. "The treaty they made a few millenia ago strictly forbids entry into each others territory without prior approval. The penalty is death, so the border guards have orders to kill on sight."
"That's a little strict!" Justin said angrily.
"It's not our part to question the orders of the Council, only to enforce them!" Belson said hotly.
"A point of contention between us, my friend." Justin said after taking a deep breath and calming himself. "Some of the greatest massacres in history have been done by men who were 'following orders'. It was decided long ago that those following orders are just as guilty as those giving the orders."
"I've never even heard of something like that!" Belson exclaimed.
"The twins have. It's one of the reasons we rebelled against the Amercian government so long ago." Justin said with a sigh.
"The twins? They never...uh...said anything like that." Belson said with a frown on his face.
"Well, it's probably never come up." Justin said. "I'm going to the border, which guard station was it?"
"Three twenty." Belson said, then followed quickly with "But I don't think you should go. It's not a big deal, really."
"It is to me." Justin said and disappeared, followed closely by Belson.
When Justin appeared in front of the guard post, the first he realized was that it was most definitely hotter here. At least the green and brown robes he wore as a Lord were somewhat cool. The guard at the post snapped to attention and gave a bow to him when he moved towards the small building.
The commander of the detachment appeared out of the small building and quickly made his way to where Justin was standing. He bowed to Justin, and to Belson who had appeared a moment before with flash of light. Justin frowned at the ostentatious appearance by Belson. It seems more and more of these younger Lords were giving in to showy displays when appearing before the ungifted.
"M'lords!" the young commander said as he bowed. He was dressed in a version of desert camoflage that was somewhat comforting to Justin. He'd worn similar uniforms once, thousands of years ago. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry to have to bother you with this nonsense."
"Death is never nonsense." Justin told the man. "I always want to be informed in these types of situations. Preferably before lethal force is used."
"Yes, m'lord" the officer said as he snapped to attention. Justin smiled thinking that maybe those years in the service had done some good after all. His smile faded as he remembered a lecture from Henry about 'command voice'. He missed the man who had been a commanding officer and friend to him. His killers would pay one day.
"So, explain to me exactly what happened here earlier." Justin said as he came out of his reverie.
"Well, earlier this morning, just as the sun was a peekin' over the horizon, this old dark lady came out of the zone. We ordered her to stop and she just wouldn't listen to us. When she crossed the border line, we obeyed our orders and shot her. She fell dead and then disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Justin asked, a touch of incredulity in his voice. "How does she just disappear...unless she was gifted. If she was gifted, then how could you kill her so easily."
"Questions that can only be answered in private, Justin." Belson said after a moment. The Guard Commander looked at Belson and took a breath before continuing.
"After she disappeared, Lord Ackeman, this was lying where she fell." The scared officer said, his voice shaking as much as the hand that was holding a piece of parchment. Justin took the yellow-brown paper and opened it to read, when Belson's hand blocked his view.
"We should just deliver it to the Lords' Council." Belson said gently.
"Move your hand, friend." Justin said just as softly, his mind sharing his warning with the man who bordered on breaking his friendship. Belson heeded the warning and removed his hand. Justin opened the note and read the spidery script, written in English, not the current language spoken.
You should have listened to my advice, boy. You must see the truth before it is too late or we are all doomed. Go, find your love. He loves you still and regrets what he did. It is not too late.
As he read the last line, Justin felt something rearing up inside of him, and the world around him spun for a moment. It soon stabilized, and he felt himself leaning into Belson, the man was whispering that everything was ok.
"What happened?" Justin asked his friend, ignoring the weird looks from the Guard Commander.
"You blacked out for a moment. I think you're still strained from the recent combat. How about we get you home. I'm sure Tyler's awake by now."
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go." Justin told his friend, eager to hold his precious son again. Moments later he was home and his five year old son was rushing into his arms.
The next few months passed quickly for Justin. He settled back into his routine easily and forgot the combat that he'd been involved in recently. It was just good to be home, caring for his people, and spending time with his adoptive son. Of course by now, Tyler was his son, period.
As he usually did in the early evenings, Justin was spending time with Tyler. They were playing a game of marbles, something he'd remembered from his own childhood. Tyler would scream with delight every time either of them managed to knock another marble out. The smile on both their faces was genuine, and the governess standing in the corner could feel the love rolling off of the two. It was contagious.
Justin knew that he was probably the most popular Lord ever assigned to this district, and he wondered why it was considered a bad assignment. Sure, it was far from the corridors of the Palace, and the holder of the assignment was thus more removed from the happenings there. Yet, the people here were real, genuine human beings. They worried about the weather, their crops, their taxes.
Funny how some things never changed. It gave him a great sense of continuity between the world he remembered, now long dead, and the world he had reawakened in. A major difference now, though, was he could do something about the weather, about the quality of crops. These people depended on him for these things, and in return the happily gave him a beautiful mansion, staff to support him, and plenty of time with his son.
While he'd been uncomfortable originally with this 'Lord' thing, he saw the advantage of it now. Since they were gifted, the 'Lords' provided the use of their abilities to maintain good weather, sustain life, and provide a basic order. Elected Local Councils and Mayors ran the day to day affairs. Local judges tried most cases, and only those who wished to were brought before a 'Lord'. With his abilities, he knew that those cases he judged were fair and impartial.
For the time and circumstances, the system worked. He actually found himself happy with it. He'd still had reservations when he took the Oath of Lordship. Now those doubts were gone and he had given himself fully into his new role. That and the care of his son.
He cheered Tyler when the boy made a particularly good shot. A few more months, and the boy would be challenging Justin for real in this game. The thought losing a game against his son made his heart swell with expected pride. His anticipation turned from joy to dread, though, when several men he knew well entered the room.
He hid the dread behind a smile as he stood to greet the men entering the room. The first two through the door made him smile, even if they were no longer lovers. There would always be a bond between them, no matter what names they went by. The figures behind them brought a smile to Tyler's face as he looked at the sound of the door opening. His small blond figure darted to one of the men behind the twins and he leaped into the man's arms.
"Uncle Bester! Uncle Bester! Look! I'm beating Da!" Tyler shouted to his favorite uncle.
"Really, Tyler?" Bester said with a grin, hefting the boy in his arms until they were face to face. "That's good. If you can beat him, you would wipe the floor if I played with you."
"You foolin' with me." Tyler cried with glee. "You play better than my dad!"
"Now, what gave you that impression?" Bester said.
"Im..Impreshun? What that mean?" Tyler asked, screwing his face up as he tried out the word. Justin smiled and quietly greeted the twins, Jerod, and D'vad, who was the fifth and last person entering the room. Bester always took time with Tyler and always introduced him to at least one new word whenever they met. Of all his friends on the Council, Bester was the one who never failed to welcome Tyler as warmly as Justin did.
"Think about how I said it, Tyler." Bester told the boy patiently. "You can figure it out."
Tyler's face screwed up as he thought about it for a few minutes. The twins were getting impatient, they never did like kids. D'vad and Jerod, however, looked on with smiles on their face.
"IDEA!" Tyler shouted with glee. "What gave you the IDEA!"
"That's it, mate." Bester said as he set the boy down on the floor and ruffled his blond hair. "You're a smart lad. How about you go play with your nanny while we talk to your dad?"
"You gonna take him away again?" Tyler said, his face scrunching up, this time with threatened tears.
"Just for a little while, then he'll be back. Just like last time." Bester promised, kneeling down to look Tyler directly in the eyes.
"Promise?" the boy said, his voice cracking.
"I promise."
"Ok!" the boy said, a smile replacing the threatening tears. He ran over to Justin, who had tears in his eyes. He jumped into Justin's waiting arms, and Justin felt his own heart doing flip flops in his chest. Tyler was a warm bundle in his arms, and pure, unconditional love flowed into him.
"I love you, Tyler." Justin said after a few moments, blinking back tears in his eyes.
"I love you, Dad. You be back soon, Bester promised." Tyler said, then pushed himself down and ran over to his nanny. Justin moved over to his friends, the threatened tears rolling down his cheeks.
"He's a good boy, really smart." Bester said, clasping Justin's shoulder.
"Yes, he is. I almost wish he wasn't gifted." Justin said in a whisper.
"Gifted!" D'vad nearly shouted, but remembered to lower his voice so Tyler wouldn't hear. "What makes you say that?"
"I can feel it in him, just like in those kids I found in the Phoenix Processing Station. What ever happened to them, by the way?" Justin asked, suddenly curious about the fate of the other children he'd once had.
"Most of them died in the events surrounding that time." Kelly said, speaking for the first time.
"The others died of old age, well cared for." Frank said as his twin finished.
"I wish I'd known them." Justin said as the group made their way out. He led them to his office. That was the best place for the meeting about to take place.
"You have Tyler, now." D'vad said, his voice gentle. "Isn't that enough?"
"Yes, yes it is." Justin said with a heavy sigh. He put thoughts of long dead children he'd never known out of his head and focused on the business that had brought this group here.
"I take it things are ready for the next phase?" he asked the group once everyone had settled into the chairs arranged in a circle.
"Yes," D'vad said, his face a mixture of eagerness and reticence.
"We've managed to recover from our last engagement, and are definitely ready to proceed with our attack." Jerod said after D'vad's brief statement.
"Your plan seems to be working quite well." Bester told Justin, grinning a little. "Amazing how someone who's been dead for thousands of years can come up with a plan like this."
"Well, it's the fact that these cities and main continent are linked like an archipelago." Justin explained, pointing to the map on the far wall. "It reminded me of the island hopping campaign the United States used during World War II. Their first attack just set things up for us to do this."
"Yes," D'vad said slowly, shaking his head a little. "But you're the only one alive in this day and age who took the time to study those campaigns in detail. I was Army, not Navy. I studied the European campaigns, not the Pacific."
"Well, that just means that our enemy shouldn't know what to expect either." Kelly said with nasty smile.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Justin warned his old lover.
"Why not?" Frank asked, tilting his blond head in a gesture long familiar to Justin. A gesture which brought a pang to his heart, even though he was no longer in love with either of them.
"This Adam Morgan seems well versed in naval combat tactics. It was almost like fighting myself the last time. There are several things he can do to disrupt the attack, and if he does, well, we'll fail."
"Plans rarely survive the first engagement." D'vad quoted an old saying.
"Yes. That's why you and I will have to be at the front for this one." Justin told his old friend. "You know the land tactics for our forces to use. I know the naval tactics, even if the ships fly now, those are much the same."
"Except we use boarding parties." Bester said grimly.
"Yes, boarding parties to kill their gifted." Justin affirmed.
"But that's been done before." Jerod interjected.
"By them, not by us." D'vad said.
"If they're prepared for it, we'll know it soon enough and can change the tactic." Justin told them all.
"Well, is that it? Shall we head to the fleet staging area? Go over the plans with our squadron commanders?" Jerod asked.
"One more thing." Justin said as everyone else began to rise. They sat back down to listen to him. "It's a little personal, but I just want to make sure. From our Order of Battle, it looks like every gifted member of the Southern Alliance will be with the fleet. Almost every Shaper too. Is that correct?"
"Yes" D'vad and Jerod said at the same time.
"What are we doing with the ungifted members of Lords' families?" he asked them.
"There are only a few dozen people that qualify that way." Bester said with a frown on his face.
"Wouldn't they make excellent hostages for our enemy?" Justin asked them. He could see the looks on their faces as they realized he was right.
"We'll take them." D'vad said after a moment's thought. "Shaper Xen Hu is going to be safeguarding our capital during the fighting. It's the most likely place for retaliation strikes when the Guardians realize they're losing, so we're protecting it with one of our best Shapers."
"Ok, Jerod, can you have Belson pick Tyler up and move him and his nanny there before things start?"
"I'll do that myself." Bester said with a smile. "I'm really getting to like that tyke. I might even have to get me a kid myself."
That broke the room up in laughter and all the men stood, their faces assuming a thoughtful look as they melded their minds together, and disappeared from the room. Justin's eyes took in the panoramic view as he reappeared on top of a mountain. His breath caught in his throat, even though he'd seen this sight before.
The mountain was the center of a large island, surrounded by the deep blue of ocean. Above him sat hundreds of airships, resting at their anchors. Most of them had the ribbed sails and blocky designs of the Shapers Republic. Ships meant to stand the test of time, weather, and combat. Battleships meant to deliver a lot of firepower, and to take a beating while continuing to fight. Smaller in number, but just as deadly were the sleek forms of the Southern Alliance ships.
They had been designed more along the lines of Guardian airships, and were, to Justin's thinking, ideally suited for war in the air. Fast, sleek, manueverable, they still packed good firepower. Actually, they reminded him of the Constitution type vessels, first commissioned for the US Navy in the 1800's. Idly he wondered if the USS Constitution had survived until the cataclysm that destroyed Boston along with most of the world.
He shook his head, that was neither here nor there. Despite the fact that more than five thousand years had passed in the world, for him only little more than a year had passed since he was a Lt. Commander in the US Navy, and only a little over a decade since he'd been a very junior enlisted man in that same navy. Now he was preparing to command a fleet the size of which had not been seen in millenia.
To say that he was scared was an understatement. Kelly and Frank must have sensed it through the bond, which still existed on a very basic level. They came up to him and pur their hands on his shoulders, giving what comfort and encouragement they could. Their faith in him bolstered his self-confidence and in moments he was prepared to take the next step. He spotted the large ship, Anaconda, that was to serve as his flagship.
Seconds after spotting it, he reappeared on the main deck of the ship, with everyone but Bester following right behind. Bester had left to take care of relocating Tyler. A gong sounded when the crew spotted their arrival, and most of the men there bowed low to them. D'vad had appeared in the full regalia of the Head Shaper, while Jerod wore the coronet of the High Lord. From the raised stern deck, a knot of officers broke off from a larger group and made their way to Justin's group on the main deck.
The officer in the lead was a graying man in his fifties. He wore the sky blue pants and ruffled white shirt with grey jacket of a Shapers Republic naval officer. The thick gold braid on his sleeves proclaimed him to be the Fleet Admiral, and Justin had come to respect him in the last year or so.
"M'lords, Great Shaper, it is on honor to report that our forces stand ready for your commands." The Shaper Admiral stated formaly.
"Lord Shapers, High Lord, Southern Alliance forces also stand ready." Said the man behind the fleet admiral. He was dressed in the green uniform of the Southern Alliance and was a General.
"Admiral, good work." D'vad said, motioning for his man to rise. "From now, until the end of the engagement, command of the fleet and all embarked forces is given to Lord Justin Ackeman of the Southern Alliance. You will obey his commands as though they were mine, for they are mine."
"As you command, Great One." The Admiral murmured with another bow.
"General," Jerod said, his voice firm and strong. "You have heard command of the fleet is given to Lord Ackeman. I command that so long as they are embarked, all forces will answer to his commands as they would mine. Once deployed on land, all of our forces will answer to Head Shaper D'Vad. Is that understood?"
"Yes, m'lord." The general responded, his bow more grandoise than his counterparts.
"Excellent!" Justin said lightly, rubbing his hands together. "Let's get started in the coordination center. We've got a lot to get hammered out."
The flagship's coordination center was huge. It easily fit Justin, his fellow Lords, D'vad, and four senior Shapers, Admiral Koors, General Harken, and their command staff. Scattered about the room were consoles manned by crew members who struggled to catch every word being uttered while looking disinterested. Justin had to smother a laugh when he noticed that and remembered doing the same thing years ago.
"S'okay," he repeated again to the Admiral. All of the senior staff was standing around a large map table showing force deployments. "Explain to me again why you don't want to use three ship groups."
"Uh, sir, if you order it we'll do it." The tired admiral said for the fifteenth time.
"Admiral, when we are in the heat of battle, I expect that attitude. When we are planning this engagement, I want to hear all ideas. Understand?" Justin said, letting the irritation in his voice show.
"Yes, m'lord." Everyone at the table said, except for the gifted. They just smiled at Justin.
"Fine, then explain your opposition." Justin said, some of the edge going out of his voice.
"Well, sir. I'm not sure the three ship elements are enough firepower. We outnumber them, so we should be making them come to us in a fight. Instead of hunting them out in little groups, we should line up and roll over them like a tidal wave!" The Admiral said, for the first time in an hour giving voice to the reasons behind his opinions.
"A classic response when you have the firepower to do so, Admiral." Justin said slowly.
"We do have the firepower, sir!" the Admiral exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table.
"Yes, we do. We know that, and our enemy knows that." Justin explained slowly. "So they will refuse to line up and stand in the way of the tidal wave you want to use. Instead they'll use breakers to blunt the force of our strike. Sure, they'll lose their ships, but they won't be the best. Just good enough to get the job done.
"Meanwhile, the rest of their ships, and forces, the best they have, will be hiding behind every nook and cranny they can find. When we pass by, they'll nip at our flanks and weed us out bit by bit. Then when the odds are close enough to even, they'll take us on."
"M'lord, how can you possibly be sure?" General Harkin asked.
"Because of that little dust-up a few months back. This Adam Morgan thinks a lot like I do, it's weird. But he does. I just figured out how we'd defend against this attack and then postulated a method of foiling that defense." Justin paused for a moment as weird looks passed on the faces of most of the people in the room. He recognized the look, it was one of fear. He wondered why they were afraid at what he said, but shrugged it off.
"So, we approach in a manner that convinces the opponent that we're doing a massive frontal attack. At the edge of visual range, our forces will split off into three ship elements and execute hunter missions for enemy forces. More than likely they'll be in groups of two to three ships like ours. When we've created a big enough hole, the transports will move up from the forward staging area and begin dropping troops."
"Why three ship groups, m'lord?" Admiral Koors asked, his voice gaining confidence in the plan.
"Well, each group will be two Shaper ships and one Alliance ship. The Alliance ship will act as scout and blocker. The Shaper ships, with their more extensive firepower will provide back-up. In a straight on duel, one of our 3-ship elements can take on as many as four Guardian ships and survive. We have firepower on our side. This way, we use the various abilities of our different ships to their maximum potential."
"What about the gifted?" D'vad asked.
"We have enough gifted between the Lords and Shapers to put one of us on every ship, with a score left over for supporting the troops." Justin reviewed. "However, they like to board ships and kill off the gifted there. By keeping our ships in elements of three, we can safely assign one gifted to each ship.
"Guardians usually attack in groups of two or three. Since we can normally hold off such an attack for a few minutes, that will give the other gifted in the element time to join the defense. My recommendation is two defend against the attack, the third goes back and destroys the unguarded ships with their abilities. Once that is done, they can join the defense, and hopefully help to kill off the attacking Guardians."
"Quite a plan, there, love." Kelly said. "Do you think we can pull it off?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be proposing it." Justin told them all.
"Good enough for me, " Jerod began before being interrupting by a crewman.
"Sirs!" the excited man said. He was an older sailor, in his mid-thirties and not likely to be excited over trivialities.
"Report!" Justin barked before anyone else could respond.
"M'lord, we are receiving a signal from the enemy. It is a request for communication! It appears to be coming from their capitol, directly." The crewman answered.
"Put it on screen," Justin said, ignoring the sudden sense of apprehension he felt rising in the room. He could feel a blur around him as the twins did something. Speaking directly to his mind they explained they were disguising him so the enemy would not know who their commander was. When the disguise settled in place, the screen came alive with the figure that was known as Adam Morgan. The trademark black hair he'd seen in pictures was now silver, and wrinkle lines filled the face. Justin smiled, knowing half the battle was over. The enemy was tired, as evidenced by his choice of appearance.
"High Lord Jerod, Shaper D'vad," the man began his voice cracking. "This does not have to happen. We can stop it before it begins."
"This day was fated long ago, killer." D'vad said, his voice little more than hoarse whisper, rage burning in his eyes. Justin was startled at his friend's vehemence.
"Nothing is fated, D'vad. You know that as well as I do." Adam Morgan said from the screen. His shoulders appeared to slump some more. "All I ask for is J'Stan to be returned, unharmed. I don't know where you're hiding him, I don't know what you've done to him, but return him to me and we can end this."
"You're the one who let him go!" Kelly laughed at the figure on the screen. Justin felt the room spin a little until Frank put his hand on his shoulder.
"I was wrong." Adam said, sadness evident in his voice and posture. "In one moment I let jealousy get the better of me."
"Not our problem." Bester said confidently. "You are right though, no fight has to take place. Surrender yourself and your forces now, and we will allow you whatever moments of meditation you desire before you join your lost love in death."
"Death?" Adam whispered, rocking back for a moment, eyes closed. When he opened them his entire form shimmered, returning to the youthful look he'd worn in the pictures Justin had seen, except for the eyes. The rage that burned there dwarfed the rage he'd scene in D'vad a few moments ago. "So you bastards used my mistake to kill him? Well, I'll make you sorry for that!"
The transmission ended, and Justin felt the disguise around him fade away. The people around him all had apprehensive looks on their faces as they stared at him. Those looks concerned him. Could they be that afraid of one person, no matter how powerful this Adam Morgan was?
"Well, I think our plans have just changed." He told them when the silence became unbearable.
"Why?" Admiral Koors managed to croak out.
"Because we no longer are dealing with a rational creature. You saw the look in his eyes. He is mad with rage. Good job on that Bester, I'm glad you thought of it. It'll make my job a lot easier."
"What now?" Jerod asked, worry tinging his voice.
"Admiral, move the fleet out." Justin ordered by way of answer.
"Aye, Aye, sir." Was the only response vocalized.
The opening moves of the battle went almost as Justin had planned. It seemed that Adam Morgan's rage had infected every ship, every crewmember of his fleet. That rage gave them a ferocity in the opening movements that nearly shattered Justin's plans, and the fleet. It was last minute manueverings by several ship captains that kept the small groups of Guardian ships from wreaking total chaos as the larger Shaper/Alliance fleet broke up into the designated smaller units.
His flagship, protected by twenty heavily armed Shaper warships, floated near the rear of the battle zone. Looking down at the map below him, he watched the patterns of the fighting taking place and gave orders for ships to move. Less than five hours into the battle, things were beginning to look better.
The rage that infected his opponents was now working in his favor. There was less cohesion to their units, less coordination of their attacks. Meanhwhile his responses were well coordinated between various element groups. At this rate, the battle would be over in a matter of hours.
A quick thought verified that the twins were up on the main deck, acting as the ship's main protection. This far back though, there was little danger of boarders. Bester and his twin Jerod were in thick of things, acting as forward commanders for a squadron. Justin didn't like having the High Lord so exposed, but at this point every gifted was needed at the front. D'vad was up there too, leading a small strike group and acting as bait for the enemy.
His board changed a bit, and at first the change was so subtle that he almost missed it. A minor element had disappeared in a quadrant that had been otherwise quiet. It was near the remains of what had once been the Guardian city Caledonia. The entire element disappeared, with no report of contact with enemy forces.
A moment later, another flicker announced the disappearance of another element, and the gifted that were guarding it. Not even a peep escaped. So far, even when they lost, the groups had always been able to report engagement. Admiral Koors pointed the latest disappearance out and a troubled expression grew on his face.
"Many more of that, m'lord, and we won't have much of a fleet left." he said to Justin.
"How do you think they're doing it?" Justin asked him.
"Not sure, I'm not one of the gifted, remember?"
"That doesn't mean anything, Admiral. You have a mind, help me with it."
"They have to be hitting those ships fast and hard, killing them instantly." the Admiral offered up.
"Or could they be doing something else?" Justin wondered aloud.
"Well, Morgan was one of the originals who went into space." Admiral Koors said, almost to himself.
"What do you mean?" Justin asked sharply.
"He led the movement to colonize other planets, other stars."
"What happened to them?" Justin asked.
"It didn't work, that's all I know. But I remember hearing Lord Shaper D'vad talk about the first ships they used to send colonists there. They didn't have engines capable of breaking into space. Something about..uh.."
"Gravitational pull" Justin supplied from memory. He'd always wanted to go into space.
"Right, m'lord. Well, anyway, the gifted used their abilities to push the ships into space. Then they used fuel rockets to get them there."
"Which is what they're doing now, except that our ships aren't built for vacuum, and the gifted aren't prepared for it. Well, they are now." Justin reasoned out, and sent a mental warning to all the gifted in his fleet. Moments later he was rewarded by the report of one of the elements. They'd been pushed into space, but the gifted onboard those ships were ready for that and protected themselves and the crews. A few moments later they had brought those ships back to earth and were moving back into position.
A few more attempts were made, with no more success. Justin sighed in relief and began ordering those ships to scan for electronic signals. There had to be cameras giving away their positions and enabling Guardians to do their push tricks. Soon they were finding and destroying those cameras, removing that tool from the Guardians arsenal.
The Admiral had just finished congratulating Justin on the counter when a sharp mental cry caused Justin to almost collapse on the map table. A junior Shaper stationed behind Justin rushed to his side and supported him while he tried to clear his head. The call had came from High Lord Jerod!
"Admiral, you have command of the fleet, Shaper Tomliss will relay your orders to the gifted. I'm needed elsewhere." he informed the startled man. With a brief look at Tomliss, he willed himself to the location of Jerod and his brother, Bester.
As Justin's surroundings changed from the coordination center to the main deck of Jerod's ship, the old fear of impending combat raised itself and disappeared as he reappeared. Calmness, readiness flowed through him as he took in his new surroundings in a split second.
Jerod was floating a few feet above the deck, surrounded by golden fire, which streamed back to its source, a dark haired figure dressed in the brown and white of a Guardian. Bester was trying to pick himself off the deck as two more Guardians prepared to blast him again with a wall of force. The smoking remains of their Shaper guards, and the remains of three other Guardians littered the deck. The crew were nowhere to be seen.
Justin let loose his own blast of force, knocking the two Guardians into the mainmast while simultaneously cutting off the flow of golden fire surrounding Jerod and sending a mental call to the twins. Their help was needed.
Two more Guardians appeared on the deck and immediately launched an attack on Justin. His shields held against the purple blasts of power they aimed at him, and his answering strike flattened both of them. One of them landed on a divet and looked surprised at the metal sticking through his chest. Moments later, Justin could feel the life leaving the man.
His appearance had given Bester the moment he needed. No longer surprised by the sudden appearance of the Guardians, he launched two strikes. One, a line of fire threw the two Guardians who had bested him back against the mainmast they'd just pushed off from. The other blast joined one from Jerod, striking the dark-haired Guardian simultaneously. The Guardian ignored their attacks though and was staring at Justin, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Thought I was lost forever, did you?" Justin sneered at the man as he launched another attack, this time a cone of pure vacuum around the other Guardian who had survived his initial attack. The man's lungs burst and he died instantly.
"It...it can't be!" Adam Morgan whispered, shock evident in his voice and stance. Bester and Jerod switched their attack from Adam Morgan to the two surviving Guardians, killing them quickly and without mercy. Now Adam stood alone, with the three of them surrounding him.
"What, thought you'd imprisoned me forever? Well, some of us don't die so easily." Justin said, contempt dripping from his every word.
"What are you talking about? I would never.." Adam started to say confusion apparent in every word. He was cut off by simultaneous blasts of energy from Jerod and Bester. At that same moment, Frank and Kelly appeared on the deck and instantly joined their powers into the attack.
While the four of them pressed an attack with energy, Justin prepared for his attack. It started by stimulating Adam Morgan's nerves. Soft ripples as if a feather was brushing his arms. He could see the man's arms twitch slightly. Then the feather touch turned to needles, and the man realized it was an attack.
It was too late though, Justin had made the connection and the needles turned into flame. Adam Morgan screamed in pain at that, and his concentration was diverted just enough. It was Kelly's energy blast that penetrated his shields first, quickly followed by the other four. In seconds, the once-handsome features of Adam Morgan became little more than blackened husk. His body slumped to the deck, and Justin moved forward to stand over the fallen man.
Excitement filled him. He'd managed to help kill this evil bastard who'd helped break him from his two loves. Two lovers now lost to him forever by the changes they'd gone through during the millenia he'd been imprisoned in rock. His blood boiled in his veins at the feeling of power he felt. Then it froze in shock when he realized that the spark of life was still in Adam Morgan.
As Justin stood next to the charred remains, the eyes opened and a blackened hand grabbed his leg. He tried to jump back, but he felt something reaching into his mind, pulling him towards something. Justin tried to reach across the bond to get support from the twins, but it wasn't enough, the bond was too weak.
The ship around him disappeared, to be replaced by a greyish void. He floated in this void for a time, not remembering much. He recognized this place. He'd first been here, this void outside of time and space back in the days he first was learning about his gifts. Henry was lying burnt on the training room floor, and here he'd met Alan Mills. Tears filled his eyes at the memories of the irrascible old coot, long dead for millenia.
"I wish I'd known him, my love." A voice said from behind him.
Justin spun around and found himself staring into the face of the villain Adam Morgan. The man's body was whole, his black hair waving gently in an unfelt wind. A gentle smile filled his face and Justin felt the knot of anger in him dwindle under it.
"I'm so sorry I reacted the way I did. There was too much of the immature teenager in me so soon after our reawakening. I remember waiting so long for you to return my love, I let my jealousy rule. It's my fault, don't blame yourself." Adam said gently.
"What are you talking about murderer?" Justin demanded angrily.
"What..what do you mean?" Adam asked, his voice registering shock.
"Release me!" Justin demanded.
"I, I just wanted to say goodbye. Haven't I earned at least that much being your partner for millenia?" Adam asked in a hoarse whisper, tears in his eyes.
"You! ME! Together? That would never happen! What kind of delusion are you under?" Justin shouted at this man he'd been told was partly responsible for his imprisonment.
"What did they do to you?" Adam asked quietly.
Before Justin could reply, he felt something like a vise grab his head. Quicker than he could respond he felt a wall coming down in his mind. A partition that had held something back collapsed and...memory flooded into his awareness.
The void around them trembled and he screamed in agony as he remembered. Thousands of years flowed into his awareness and he remembered it all. He could feel the remains of the wall that had held his memory back, the controls that had shunted him away from any thought that threatened that wall. He looked back at the dark haired figure now floating inches from him in the void.
"My love! What have I done!" J'Stan cried as he wrapped his arms around Adam.
"What you thought was right, my love." Adam said gently. His voice muffled because his head was pressed into J'Stan's chest. "You always do your best to support any cause that you believed was right."
"Let's go back, I'll heal you." J'Stan whispered into his lover's beautiful black hair.
"It's too late." Adam sobbed through tears floating down his face. "I stand on the edge of the great unknown. I can never go back."
"Then we go together." J'Stan said softly, steeling himself for the one thing he was truly afraid of...death.
"No." Adam said softly.
"What do you mean, no?" J'Stan asked, stunned.
"Our bond is back, do you feel it?" Adam asked quietly.
"Yes." J'Stan said as the memories of Adam's past year floated through. One thing was clear through it all, Adam had never stopped loving him and had searched for him as much as possible. The attack he'd made last year was actually an attempt to rescue J'Stan based on information proven to be false.
"We have a son." Adam said softly.
Tyler! An image of the golden haired boy appeared in J'Stan's mind. Love filled him, as strong as his love for Adam. Could he really leave the boy behind to be raised by the people who had done this to him?
"You can't" Adam said softly. "It wouldn't be right, and you would only betray everything you have ever tried to do by leaving him now."
"But, but how will I live without you?" J'Stan said, now sobbing as well.
"You will. You are a survivor, my love. When this world ends there will be nothing but cockroaches and you!" Adam said, laughing softly at the last.
"It'll be lonely without you."
"You managed well enough this last year without me or the 'twins'" Adam said softly, a trace of anger and regret suffusing his voice.
"But that was only because I couldn't remember you." J'Stan sobbed.
"Remember our happiness, our joy, and raise Tyler well. That will make all this pain worth it." Adam said. The void was changing. A force was tugging Adam away from him.
"I love you!" J'Stan shouted to the receding form of Adam.
"Never forget, I love you forever!" Adam's voice shouted as if from a great distance. "Oh my love, you have nothing to fear, here!"
The void receded around J'Stan to be replaced by the deck of the Shaper warship. Tears dropped from his face onto the charred remains of his love. He shut his eyes to try to keep the image of the charred body being his last thought of the man he'd loved for millenia. He raised his head and opened his eyes, focusing on High Lord Jerod of the Southern Alliance.
"He's dead." he whispered as a gentle breeze lifted J'Stan's blond hair. Tears glistened on his face as he stared at Jerod, who had a look of joy on his face. Anger welled deep in him at that look.
"Glory be, we've won!" Jerod shouted.
"No" J'Stan said softly, reaching with mental fingers, wrapping them around Jerod's mind. "You've lost."
With that he tightened those fingers and ripped the mind of Jerod to shreds in mere fractions of a single second. As the lifeless body slumped to the ground, a scream of pain erupted behind J'Stan from Bester. He was feeling the effects of the bond with his twin being shattered. J'Stan turned to face the sons of his first lovers, who had impersonated their fathers to deceive him.
"Your turn" he told them. Fear filled their faces and as he reached out they disappeared. It didn't matter, thanks to the remains of the controls they'd placed in him, and that bond they'd used to enforce those controls, he could find them anywhere. He turned back around to see Bester cradling the limp body of his dead twin. For a moment, pity filled him. But for only a moment. Bester's mind was in tumult and grief filled it. As J'Stan prepared to rip his mind, he looked up into J'Stan's face.
"I'm sorry." Bester said in a heavy kiwi accent.
"Sorry doesn't cut it." J'Stan said icily.
"I don't care now. I'm ready to die. But there's some things you need to know, to understand." Bester said between the sobs that wracked his body.
"Say them quick, then. This is all your fault, you know." J'Stan said.
"Yes, when I went back in time, to save Jerod." Bester replied.
"Don't think you can try it again." J'Stan warned.
"Don't worry about that. The price is never worth it. Death comes anyway."
"Yes it does, was that all I needed to hear?"
"No. But it is related. You know David disappeared after that, only to reappear as D'vad. What was done to you, by the Parkers, was done to him as well."
"So, you've been pulling his strings all this time? I find that hard to believe. When he destroyed Europa, he destroyed your colonies as well."
"Collateral damage. We didn't expect that result." Bester said quietly.
"So, is that it?"
"No, please understand why we did. We've always been the smallest of the three powers that survived the cataclysm. The Shapers were going to swallow us and we knew you Guardians couldn't prevent it. If we could have, we'd have supported you, but you weren't strong enough. Please understand that, and forgive us."
"You misjudged us if you thought we weren't strong enough." J'Stan said firmly. "As for forgiveness, ask Adam when you see him. I'm too angry to forgive. But I think I know what your concern is. Don't worry. I did swear an Oath to the Lord's Council as well as to Ackeland. I will protect the people of the Southern Alliance as well as the people of Ackeland. Those duties do not have to be mutually exclusive. You however, are among those who have a price to pay."
With that, he ripped Bester's mind. He barely noticed Bester's body slumping down next to his dead twin's. He didn't even notice the ship beginning to descend to the ocean below it, out of control. His attention was focused inward. He traced the Parkers to where they had run. It seems they are seeking protection. Well, thanks to Bester they were about to find that protection was little more than a lurking danger to them. He left the ship, filled with nothing but the dead to crash into the ocean far below.
He appeared a moment later on the deck of another ship. He could see the last of the crew abandoning ship to parachute to the ocean far below. Standing before him were Kelly and Frank, with D'vad between them. They faced him as soon as he appeared, and he could see D'vad's face twist in a rictus of anger and hate at the sight of him.
J'Stan had chosen to reappear wearing the brown and white uniform of a Guardian. His hair was longer, down to his shoulders and waved in the gentle wind blowing across the deck. He crossed his arms as he faced the three people at the core of the current situation. Anger filled him towards Kelly and Frank, but he felt commiseration for D'vad.
"So, the villain returns!" D'vad sneered. "I told them their trick wouldn't last. At least this way I get to take revenge upon you. I hear your precious lover is dead at your own hands."
"Yes, he is." J'Stan said quietly, suppressing the surge of grief that filled him. "But I wasn't the only one they tricked."
"What do you mean?" D'vad shouted, as fear filled Kelly and Frank's faces. They launched an attack against him, which he ignored.
"Do you really think I was the first person they pulled the trick on?" J'Stan asked his one time friend.
"Who else would they need to do that to?" D'vad asked, also ignoring the attacks the two Lords were pressing on J'Stan.
"You" J'Stan said, reaching through D'vad shields and tweaking his mind just enough to bring those walls crumbling down. D'vad collapsed with a shriek of pain, and the two Lords pressed their attack against J'Stan so hard he could no longer ignore them. As he fought for survival against the two, he lost track of what was happening with D'vad.
Until he felt the intensity of the attacks cut in half, then disappear altogether. His ability to see what was happening returned, hazy at first from the brilliant light that had been thrown by the attacks he'd survived. D'vad was standing there, the body of Frank Parker dangling from his outstretched hands. With a growl he threw the body to the deck and both he and J'Stan turned as one to Kelly Parker.
"You've lost" J'Stan told the surviving boy, who was now shrieking in pain from his sundered bond.
"Why?" D'vad asked gently. "It never had to be this way."
"It was the only way! We were meant to rule the world, together, but you. You both always stood in our way!" Kelly shouted.
"What makes you think you were meant to rule the world?" J'Stan asked, shocked that the child of his first lovers could ever think such a thing.
"Bjorn told us that, before you killed him!"
That statement shocked J'Stan. He could feel the long arm of the man who'd killed his first loves reach out from the grave. No matter how much time had passed, it seemed the world still suffered the effects of that man's ego.
"He was wrong." D'vad said softly reaching out, preparing to attack.
"Leave me alone!" Kelly shouted. "If you attack me you'll be sorry!"
"Why?" J'Stan asked. "You've already taken everything that's precious to us."
"Oh yeah?" Kelly Parker sneered. "Well, if we can't rule this planet, I for damn sure won't leave you two to do so!"
"We have no desire to rule." D'vad said, confirming his statement with a look at J'Stan. The two moved to stand shoulder to shoulder against the surviving Parker.
"But you'll never rule either." J'Stan said quietly.
"If I can't rule, there'll be nothing left for anyone to rule!" Kelly Parker shouted.
J'Stan could feel him reaching out, doing something with his abilities, but it wasn't a direct attack. Somewhere, deep inside himself, J'Stan felt as if something tearing, but he wasn't sure what. Whatever it was, it needed to be stopped. At the same time as D'vad, J'Stan reached out with his powers and prepared to rip the mind of Kelly Parker as he had the others.
He encountered a shield which blocked him at first. But he wasn't the only one attacking. D'vad let loose with blast of energy that dwarfed anything seen before. The force of it ripped into Kelly Parker, ending his existence in a flash. Not even dust particles remained to float to the deck.
J'Stan turned to the man who'd once been his friend and looked deep in his eyes. There he saw concern..and friendship. A deep sigh escaped him and he collapsed into his old friend's arms. Pain, guilt, terror all welled up into him and released in the form of tears soaking his old friends clothing. He could feel his own shoulder grow wet as D'vad joined him in tears.
Time passed unknown to them. Neither knew how long they cried into each other's shoulders. But, the tears did end eventually. They lifted their heads and looked again into each others eyes. Pain was still there, but so was understanding and friendship.
"What was it he was trying to do at the end?" J'Stan wondered aloud, not sure where the thought came from.
Horror spread across D'vad's face at the question. He stood abruptly, pulling J'Stan with him. His mind opened and J'Stan could see the horror revealed there. Together the old friends disappeared from that ship, hoping desperately that there was something they could do to save Earth from the doom that had been set loose by an egomaniac with an angelic face.