{"id":359,"date":"2015-07-12T12:23:29","date_gmt":"2015-07-12T12:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=359"},"modified":"2015-07-13T12:33:17","modified_gmt":"2015-07-13T12:33:17","slug":"legacy-of-the-guardians-part-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=359","title":{"rendered":"Legacy of the Guardians – Part 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Part 15<\/span><\/p>\n

Jack sat looking over the documents of the Seydlitz along with Steve. In truth, both men were looking at the reports while waiting for reports on the operation at Earth. They heard about the call from Captain Ahmed, now they waited to see if the plan worked or not. Questions about how many Skartians were on Earth kept running though Jack\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoa,\u201d Steve exclaimed drawing Jack\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Jack asked, wondering what Steve had read and he missed, or not gotten to yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you check out the report on the power and weapons test?\u201d Steve asked, holding up the paper in question. Jack frowned not recalling seeing that test, but knowing it would strain the ship in combat situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, don\u2019t think I\u2019ve gotten to that one yet, why?\u201d Jack asked, curious about het results now that Steve said something. Everything he read so far the ship performed beyond expatiations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot even a drop in power, the cooks in the gallery could even prepare the even meal while the tests were going on,\u201d Steve said, reading the report in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing for full energy consumption,\u2019 Jack said finding the report for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge decided to let them continue to cook and not tell them the test was underway,\u201d Steve said, as Jack found the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn, look at that power readout,\u201d Jack said, pointing to a figure at the bottom of the page. He felt much better with such information about the latest ship. The design had been justified, and so far, the ship outperformed the new Paris class which would have two ships by the end of the month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to General Ginal, and he said with such positive results the funding for the second ship probably won\u2019t be pulled this time,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would make my day,\u2019 Jack said, a smile of satisfaction on his face. \u201cNow, if the rest of the day goes as well I\u2019ll be pleased.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral, Captain Ahmed is here,\u201d Jack\u2019s secretary said. He looked over at Steve before replying.<\/p>\n

\u201cShow him in,\u201d Jack replied, watching as Ahmed strode through the door a few seconds later. He looked to be not too bad for whatever happened on Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome back Captain,\u2019 Steve said, returning Ahmed\u2019s salute and gave him a handshake.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlad to be back sir,\u201d Ahmed replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt east captain,\u201d Jack said. \u201cI don\u2019t like to do debriefing formally, I find it makes people uncomfortable, and they leave things out when that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it you\u2019re all right and can return to duty soon?\u201d Steve asked, glancing over at Jack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe med team wants me to report back to them to check for a concussion, so I don\u2019t know,\u201d Ahmed replied. \u201cIt\u2019s possible, I was knocked out twice, so anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, we\u2019ll let us know about that after their report,\u201d jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Steve asked, directing the conversation towards the debriefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, pretty much went according to the plan, what plan we had. It took me less time than I thought to contact my brother. I arrived at my parent\u2019s house to ask them, and warn them, when he showed up. It did not take long before me to realize this was the group behind the attacks. Once I had that, it was a matter of trying to get in touch with their leaders. The second time I was introduced to another person, and I noticed he was Skartian\u201d Ahmed told them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what led you do deducting there were more?\u201d Jack asked, recalling the message that there were several Skartians on Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u2019 the Skartian I saw seemed to have little power, and that made no sense to me,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cHe was higher up in the organization, but obviously not the inner circle. The logical conclusion to me was the leadership was Skartians, or at least a couple of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet the leader of the group,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that case, hopefully we got them all,\u2019 Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I could think about was a situation like World War Two, all over again and I could prevent it,\u201d Ahmed said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, this time if it happens there is no clear lines like that war,\u201d Jack stated. What country would they fight? During the war there were clear countries allied with each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had to get as close to the top as possible before calling in the troops,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cAnd I still wanted to see Osama bin Laden, to see if he was a Skartian or not. It was then they decided to abduct my parents when they could gain no knowledge from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat operation went very smoothly, though some of our units did engage the kidnapping group,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo men were killed in the exchange fo fire, but the team got out safely and your parents are safely in Canada and at your house in Vancouver,\u201d Jack said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought so, but their rescue solidified my cover that I was part of a secret organization, not that I was lying much,\u201d Ahmed said, with a slight chuckle. \u201cI just didn\u2019t tell them what type of organization. It did get me into their compound and I saw bin Laden himself. He wasn\u2019t a Skartian, but there were a few others who seemed to be the leaders of the group on Earth. So I decided to signal for you to come in. The rest, well you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be interrogating the prisoners as they come up and are prepared,\u201d Steve said. \u201cAnd a request by your brother to join us. What are your thought about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

They both waited to hear the recommendation by Ahmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he has seen what is going on,\u201d Ahmed said, thoughtfully. \u201cHe can be stubborn, and pig-headed, but thoughtful. I always wondered how they were able to brainwash him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell them what they want to hear,\u201d Jack said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to remember that when it comes to playing emotions, the Skartians are quite clever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery true,\u201d Steve replied.<\/p>\n

Jack paused thinking about something. He felt sure they still had more planned, ever since that first attack. What bothered him was he could not think of anything that might happen they had not covered already.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething wrong?\u201d Steve asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, just thinking,\u201d Jack replied back to his friend, giving him a later look that he knew his friend understood. What bothered him was not worth talking about in front of others.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d Steve said. \u201cI was about to let the captain go unless you had more questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, I\u2019m sure the report will be detailed,\u201d Jack replied, watching Ahmed nod.<\/p>\n

They watched as Ahmed left the room before Steve looked back over at Jack.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I won\u2019t push you, but answer me this, are you thinking about eth Skartian prisoners?\u201d Steve asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way Steve, it actually deals with a much larger picture. I can\u2019t put my finger on it yet, but something else is going on,\u201d Jack said to him. He knew that answer would only partly satisfy his friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s getting late, I\u2019ll see you in the morning,\u201d Steve said, standing up and making his way o the door. \u201cAnd Jack, get some sleep would ya.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will, just going to finish up these reports,\u201d Jack said, pointing to the stack of paper in his office on the Seydlitz.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, then I\u2019ll see you in the morning,\u201d Steve said, walking out and back to his own office to shut down for the night.<\/p>\n

Jack quickly read through the rest of the reports that he only skipped through earlier, but his mind kept going over recent events. He wondered how may Skartians had fled after World War Two. He know realized they had missed more than a few, and they continued to be a problem.<\/p>\n

Jack looked over the reports feeling redeemed by backing her design. The battlecruiser outperformed any other design, and if all out war came, then such ships would be needed. He felt glad his ideas in the design were proved to be correct.<\/p>\n

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

Steve made it back to his desk, quickly going over several things he would need to do when he arrived in the morning. Setting up several stacks he shut down his computer and turned off the light walking back to the cafeteria, passing Greg and Karen who were also having supper. He felt glad to see people getting on with their lives despite the chaos around them.<\/p>\n

Flipping on the light in his quarters he checked the computer for e-mail, seeing nothing important. He had one e-mail from his brother, who checked up to make sure he was all right. He said everyone was okay. Steve read on learning one of his nieces had been in the tower that day, but was on a lower level and evacuated. Realizing he had been too busy to call, he picked up the phone and called.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello,\u201d a familiar female voice said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmy, is Richard there?\u201d Steve asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a moment Steve,\u201d Amy said. Steve had to wait only a few seconds before his brother picked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell bro, about time you called,\u201d Steve heard Richard say. Steve had not told his brother what type of work he did, only that it was confidential.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, been quite busy lately. A lot of top-secret operations are underway requiring a lot of time,\u201d Steve said. HE had told his brother that he was in the military doing top-secret ops and such.<\/p>\n

\u201cI figured you were, but it\u2019s still nice to hear from ya occasionally. You got the message about Marnie,\u201d Richard asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, what happened?\u201d Steve asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was meeting with a client there, like the fifteenth floor or something like that. When the attacks happened I thought Amy would go crazy. Fortunately they evacuated when the first plan hit,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bet Amy was frantic,\u201d Steve said, unsure how he would react to such a situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, so, have you captured bin Laden yet?\u201d Richard asked, changing the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t\u2019 know who you\u2019re talking about,\u201d Steve joked back. Even if he denied it all, his brother was smart enough to know his group would be after the leader of the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cFair enough, are you going to honor us with your presence this year at Christmas?\u201d Richard asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, my vacation is scheduled for that week, so unless things happen to prevent it, I should be there,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll look forward to it,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll try to be there, no promises,\u201d Steve told him, knowing that the current situation could turn into an all-out shooting war. That would spoil his vacation plans for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, well, I let you go, and keep in touch,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll try,\u201d Steve said. \u201cI\u2019ll know if anything comes up in a couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFair enough,\u201d Rickard said. \u201cThis time, give us a bit of warning before showing up on the doorstep, like you did a couple of years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGotcha, talk to you later bro,\u201d Steve said, as they hung up. He went over to change before going to bed. He still had a long day ahead of him.<\/p>\n

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

Sam stared at the ceiling of the hotel, trying to sleep. Each time he fell asleep the mysterious figure seemed to enter his dreams. He started to think he had gone crazy. Several times the mysterious figure led him to the same spot, one he had been at the previous day.<\/p>\n

Finally he gave up on sleep and pulled out something to read. However his mind kept going back to the fact the figure seemed to be leading him her for a reason. Sam wished he knew what that reason was.<\/p>\n

The book didn\u2019t interest him and he put it down picking up another one and flipped through it finding a debate on the age of the Sphinx. He read though it thinking they were all wrong. The purpose of the monument also seemed wrong to him. He did not know why he felt so strongly, only that the experts were wrong.<\/p>\n

The idea of an underground area intrigued him, and felt that was the key. He did not know how, but only that he had to find that underground room. Same looked over and decided to take a tour of the area to see if anything grabbed his attention.<\/p>\n

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

Ahmed finished his phone call to his parents, glad they made to his house all right. He smiled at the conversation, and his mother\u2019s first question. Who did he work for that got them out of the country so easily? He had to fudge and answer, basically telling them he could not say, and that it was top-secret.<\/p>\n

His mother wanted to see him, but he said he was in off on another duty and informed her he would try to return as quickly as possible. He mentioned that Aziz might show up, and that if they needed anything to call him. He gave them his number and said their good-byes.<\/p>\n

The doctor came in to check up on him once more. Ahmed waited patiently for the scanners to do their job before he was pronounced healthy and could return to duty. He felt glad about that, but knew he had a report to write up.<\/p>\n

The doctor said for him to stay awake tonight if possible, and he could return to work after a final check-up tomorrow morning.<\/p>\n

Ahmed finished his report back in his temporary quarters. With the Moscow still under repairs for the foreseeable future he was uncertain about his assignment. A knock on his door interrupted the report, and got up to answer it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir,\u201d Ahmed said, seeing Vice Admiral George Dinen standing there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019re still up captain, good,\u2019 the admiral said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, doctor\u2019s orders,\u201d Ahmed replied. \u201cI see you\u2019ve been promoted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I actually came by to ask you a few questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, go ahead,\u2019 Ahmed said, curious about what type of questions the admiral might have for him. Ahmed did not think it would involve anything about the latest operation, but would wait to see.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to put you in command of the Moscow and her patrol group.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the captain?\u201d Ahmed asked, knowing that he had survived the battle. He did not want to take over what had been someone else\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s also getting a promotion, sort of, I\u2019m making him captain of the Seydlitz, the new flagship of the fifth battlcruiser fleet. The Moscow and her group will be part of Fleet R, directly under my command. Fleet R is made up of the first, second and third patrol groups, the fifth battlecruiser fleet and the Saratoga and Midway carrier groups. It\u2019s operational mission is to respond rapidly to any and all threats between the neutral zone and Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the other fleets?\u201d Ahmed asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all have certain operational zones. Admiral Cave set it up this way to be flexible and have a cohesive defense unlike previous times. If the first patrol group had not been there to slow down the Skartians, we could have lost Earth,\u201d Dinen sad to him.<\/p>\n

Ahmed knew how many lost their lives, and thought it over a bit before another question came to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long till the Moscow is operational?\u201d he asked, knowing it had been damaged quite severely in the battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe should be ready by the end of the week, the damage wasn\u2019t as extensive as first thought once the crews started the repairs. They originally though one whole engine would have to be replaced, but that was proven incorrect. I am bringing up other ships to replace the lost ships of the group. By the time the Moscow is operational again you\u2019re squad will be back to full strength,\u201d Dinen told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cReport to Admiral Cave once you are completely cleared by the doctors, then to the Moscow,\u201d Dinen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I accept sir,\u201d Ahmed said, both excited and fearful.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Dinen said. \u201cWell, still a lot to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that Ahmed watched as the admiral left his quarters and allowed the promotion to sink in. Captain of not only the Moscow, but the patrol group. Was he ready for that? He sure hoped so, after all, he had finished a solo mission and before that, taken over the patrol fleet when the captain had been injured.<\/p>\n

He took a moment to feel the sense of accomplishment in his life. Tomorrow would be a new day, one he hoped he was ready for.<\/p>\n

End part 15<\/p>\n

Continued in part 16<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Legacy of the Guardians by AJ Marks Part 15 Jack sat looking over the documents of the Seydlitz along with Steve. In truth, both men were looking at the reports while waiting for reports on the operation at Earth. They heard about the call from Captain Ahmed, now they waited to see if the plan […]
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