{"id":381,"date":"2015-07-13T12:45:34","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T12:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=381"},"modified":"2015-07-14T12:13:20","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T12:13:20","slug":"legacy-of-the-guardians-part-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=381","title":{"rendered":"Legacy of the Guardians – Part 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legacy of the Guardians<\/span><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 20<\/span><\/p>\n

Sam walked around a bit finally finding the police captain. After talking some more they finally had a plan, and that he would meet Sam in a couple of hours. So he had some time and went back to go over any additional information he could find.<\/p>\n

It seemed most of the information as useless, filled with misinformation and information that contradicted itself. He felt unsure what to believe but somehow he felt closer to the solution than before.<\/p>\n

Sam looked up at a knock on the door. The captain was early, but Sam didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I come in?\u201d the captain asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Sam replied, opening the door enough to allow the man into the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019ve been busy,\u201d the man said. \u201cI\u2019m Ishaad, top recruiter for Egypt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain Sam Uliki, special forces,\u2019 Sam replied, as they sat down.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like you\u2019ve developed quite an obsession here,\u201d Ishaad said, holding up at book at looking over at Sam.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, yeah, you could say that,\u201d Sam said, seeing Ishaad\u2019s eyes scan the room. \u201cOkay, yes, I seem to have an obsession, and I\u2019m not even sure why.\u201d Sam said, explaining to Ishaad a short version of the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have no idea who this shadowy character is?\u201d Ishaad asked, finding Sam\u2019s story fascinating.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not a single clue, only that it keeps appearing when I fall asleep,\u201d Sam replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it keeps guiding you here, to the Sphinx,\u201d Ishaad said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but once I\u2019m there, that\u2019s where everything stops. I have to do something, but what I don\u2019t know,\u201d Sam said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I have so much stuff about Marcus Johansson, but after everything only a vague idea of what I might need to do. I also have reason to believe he was here as well before World War Two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you want to be in the same spot?\u201d Ishaad said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be done, but you\u2019ll have to be patient,\u201d Ishaad said. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll have to stay away for a couple of days, allow me to set things up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d Sam said, with a bit of a sigh. He would wait, though it might be hard, it was his only way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll contact you later on the channel captain,\u2019 Ishaad said, standing up. \u201cBy the way, how are things along the border?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTense, we\u2019re at war again with the Skartians,\u201d Sam said. \u201cWas part of a team to help out the operation in Afghanistan, last I heard there they captured some Skartians, and I got a message to keep an eye out for any.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThought so, I got the same message, thought I haven\u2019t seen any lately,\u201d Ishaad said, heading to the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish you luck captain,\u201d Sam said to Ishaad.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you to,\u201d Ishaad replied, leaving the room. Sam went back to sit down, now all he had to do was wait.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Space around Independence Station was still crowded, as Fleet R had yet to receive any new orders. No new intrusions into Sol space had happened A group of ships had been deployed to the asteroid belt, to both patrol and give the illusion more ships were there. Everyone waited to see what the Skartians would do next.<\/p>\n

In the cafeteria on the station Greg and Karen ate lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a message from my mom today,\u2019 Greg said, watching her look up.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me guess, wondering if we\u2019ve chosen a date yet?\u201d Karen said, with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, she\u2019s really on my case about us setting a date. I think even Admiral cave is wondering about it,\u201d Greg said to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about it,\u201d she said, taking another spoonful of her soup. \u201cHow does the week after Christmas sound to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill there be enough time to get everything together?\u201d Greg asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you kidding, the way our mothers\u2019 have planned everything, all they need is the date,\u201d Karen replied to him.<\/p>\n

Greg had to agree with her, they had done almost everything for the wedding, including the dress.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you get off?\u201d Karen asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can, barring a complete invasion by the Skartians, yeah,\u201d Greg said, thinking about how the admiral probably would allow him off.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like a plan,\u201d Karen said, looking at the time. \u201cI need to get going, see you after your shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCount on it,\u201d he replied, watching her walk away from the table.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain,\u201d Ahmed\u2019s new second in captain said, causing him to look over at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust received word, the construction crews are done, they are going to be leaving the ship soon,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat, get me Admiral Dinen and begin preparations for a shakedown run,\u201d Ahmed said, watching the crew begin to work. A few seconds later the admiral appeared on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain, what can I do for you?\u201d George asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWanted to let you know the Moscow has completed repairs and preparing for shakedown trial,\u201d Ahmed said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood news,\u201d the admiral said, \u201cProbably ready to get out of the dock I see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Ahmed said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m actually glad you called, I\u2019ve gone over the ships for the patrol squad, some good choices there,\u201d the admiral said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you sir, I wanted ships that were stealthy, not powerful, heavily armed ships,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cFirepower should be with the fleet, the scouting party needs to be invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue, but each ship is capable of defending themselves,\u201d the admiral replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, but our job is to inform, and if we\u2019re spotted then we can\u2019t do that job,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cThe group with the better information usually has an advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSound advice, you\u2019ve been trained well,\u201d the admiral said. \u201cOnce the Moscow has finished the shakedown I\u2019ll have the ships\u2019 captains report to you and a spot for you to patrol.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Ahmed said, signing off. Now all he had to do was complete the repairs by testing the systems out and he\u2019d be back on patrol. His mission planet-side was exciting, but he decided he enjoyed space better.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Jack sat in his chair, looking around his office. All around were pictures of him and buddies during the war, some died in battle, others lived and retired. Many had died in battles in the sixties, during the fiercest fighting of the war. One of the most violent was in sector T-2, which after the \u2018Terminator\u2019 movies had been renamed the Terminator battle. They won that battle, which ended up being one of the turning points of the war.<\/p>\n

He looked over, seeing an old picture of him from the fifth air squad of the old carrier Essex, destroyed at that battle. So many good men and women killed in the war and no one ever knew why the Skartians had attacked them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral,\u201d Greg said, walking into the room handing the message to Jack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Jack said, taking the message, seeing Greg hesitate a second and looked up at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve set a tentative date, sometime in the week after Christmas,\u201d Greg said. \u201cThat is if we can both get time off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack nodded feeling pleasantly happy they had finally selected a date. He knew Karen\u2019s mother would be happy about that then address his concerns. \u201cYou\u2019re worried that the Skartians might attack at that time,\u201d Jack said watching Greg nod his head yes. \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know, I think the Skartians will make a move sometime in October, but beyond that I don\u2019t know. I think we can survive a week or two without you two here. Consider it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks admiral, and try not to take my temps head off,\u201d Greg said to Jack, who took a moment to reread the note then scribble a reply. He watched Greg head off with the reply before leaning back looking at the pictures once more.<\/p>\n

It seemed the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. He could recall his own nerves asking his commander for time off for his wedding, and got the same answer. Only a full-scale invasion would stop the time off, and if that happened, a lot of things would have changed. He turned back to his reports hoping to get something done.<\/p>\n

End part 20<\/p>\n

Continued in part 21<\/a><\/p>\n

Comment below or send to AJMarks01@aol.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legacy of the Guardians by AJ Marks Part 20 Sam walked around a bit finally finding the police captain. After talking some more they finally had a plan, and that he would meet Sam in a couple of hours. So he had some time and went back to go over any additional information he could […]
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