Chapter 19: A Guardian Returns

A sudden lurch left his stomach in his boots. He found himself standing in the remains of a room surrounded in chaos; the furniture was scattered about, one of the windows was missing, and there was a woman's body in a pool of blood lying to one side. With his heart in his mouth, Tristan went over to the body, knelt down, and gently rolled it over. Ewain lay dead, with a laser burn through her head and multiple stab wounds in her chest. From the amount of blood splashed round the room she had put up a valiant struggle before she was killed.

He stood, emptiness in the pit of his stomach, hands cold and sweaty. Dionysia, where is Tristain and Aesia?

Tristain is in the kitchen, Guardian, alive and unharmed. The Sicceian female has been taken to a manor house twenty leagues from here.

Why didn't you stop this or get me out earlier?

The training program is a very delicate and processor hungry program. My monitoring systems were off line.

Death and destruction greeted him as he made his way through the house. The servants were lying where they fell. There was no sign of the attackers. He quickly located the kitchen. He stepped through the door and stood silently listening. There was no sound except for the regular drip of a tap.

Dionysia where is she? I can't sense her here. There was a shimmer and Dionysia appeared in front of him. "I am picking up her life signs behind that cabinet."

Tristan walked over to where she had indicated and pulled the cabinet away from the wall.

Tristain, shivering in a small alcove, let out a small cry and blinked in the sudden blaze of light. "Daddy!" She stood and flung her arms around him.

"What happened, Tristain? Where is your mother?"

"Lots of people came this morning and broke down the door. Mummy told me to hide in my hiding place and not make any noise. I heard them shouting, and they searched, making an awful noise." She shivered. "I think they took Mummy." She started to cry.

"Don't cry, Tristain, I will find her."

She nodded her head. "Please be quick or they will hurt her."

Tristan looked at the shimmering form of Dionysia. "Can you take her to your bunker and look after her please."

Dionysia nodded. "Yes, of course" The projection firmed up, being replaced seamlessly by an avatar.

"Tristain, while I'm looking for your mother, I want you to go with Dionysia OK?" The avatar held out her arms.

"No I want to stay with you and help." Tristain squeezed his neck harder and shook her head.

"Tristain, when I find her I will have to fight the bad men. I want you to be safe."

Dionysia's avatar smiled. "You have not seen my house yet, Tristain, and I have lots of toys. You come with me so your father can get your mother."

The child sighed. "Oh all right. What toys do you have?" The avatar took Tristain in her arms and disappeared. The projection remained.

"Can you get me close to where Aesia is being held?"

"I cannot differentiate between individual Sicceians. But, I can get you to the outside of the building."

"I need you to scan it and get dispositions of the guards and sentries please."

"Yes." There was silence for a moment. Tristan noticed a strange expression pass across the face of Dionysia's projection. "Oh!"

"What is it, tell me?" Tristan frowned. "Dionysia!"

"I have identified a small cluster of Guardian DNA.

Tristan felt his face start to flush "What do you mean? It's over three days since we..."

"No!" Dionysia interrupted him. "It's embryonic."

Tristan swallowed his mouth suddenly dry. "Oh my God! Can't you get her out of there then?"

"No, it is of insufficient mass. It would rip her apart if I tried to transport her."

"Bloody hell! Get me as close as you can, now!"

"You will need a tactical display, your armour belt and weapons. I suggest a laser, knives and battle staff. You don't want to advertise your presence with anything noisy to start with."

"OK." Tristan stood still while the weapons, armour belt and tactical display materialised around him. The display clipped over his head with a small transparent screen covering one eye. He checked the tightness of the belt and adjusted the laser holster on his thigh. "I'm ready."

There was a lurch and his stomach heaved. The kitchen faded to be replaced by a windowless corridor. He pressed himself against the wall. The tactical showed his location and the rooms branching off the corridor he was in. Using the AI as a telepathic amplifier, he cast his senses outwards. There were many minds, but he was searching for one in particular. He recognised Aesia almost immediately. He touched her mind: Aesia, where are you? She was on the edge of unconsciousness.

He sensed her pain and distress. Fury like a hot desert wind filled him. If the perpetrators were standing in front of him at that moment, he could have ripped them apart with his bare hands. He took a deep breath, forcing his pounding pulse to slow. He had to be calm and think clearly. The red cloud of anger would not help.

He sent the message as gently as possible, but sufficient enough to break through Aesia's pain. For a moment, there was no response, then she came alive. Tristan?

Yes, hold on, I'm coming to get you.

Tristan, how can you reach me in this way?

The AI is acting as a telepathic amplifier.

He sensed her shake her head. Leave me. You have to find the commanding officer. I think they are planning a military coup. You have to stop it.

Aesia, just be ready.

OK. Tristan is Tristain...

She is safe, don't worry.

He terminated the connection. The tactical showed a corridor branching off to the right. Halfway along a room where Aesia was being held.

Two guards were posted outside her cell door. Tristan dare not use his telepathy to destroy their minds, Aesia was too close and the technique could be indiscriminate. He paused a moment then stepped out into the right hand corridor.

The two guards looked round and started to draw their guns "Hal..." Tristan shot them both cleanly in the head with the near silent laser before the closest one could finish his challenge. They slumped to the ground without making any further sound.

He checked for any movement close by, and then went to the door. He tried the handle; it was not locked. With a push, the door swung silently open.

Aesia faced the door; tied to a chair, rope round her neck and hands. "Aesia?" He stepped quickly into the room and drew the knife strapped to his shin. He cut the rope binding Aesia to the chair. She stood rubbing her wrists. "Are you OK, Aesia?"

"Yes, but for a few bruises. Who is looking after Tristain?"

"Dionysia has her."

"The computer, are you sure she is safe?"

"She is in a hardened bunker hundreds of feet below the surface. No one can get to her."

Aesia sighed. "Good." Her eyes flicked over Tristan, appraising his weapons. Is that a battle staff on your back?"

"Yes why?"

"Best for close quarters fighting. Give it to me." She held out her hand. Tristan unclipped the staff and held it out to her. She hesitated. "I can't fight in this." She pulled at the fastenings of her dress and stepped out of it.

Tristan's eyes went wide. "Aesia! You are practically naked, you can't..."

She touched his cheek with her fingers. "You are funny, Tristan." She paused, looking into his eyes. "You are my partner, and anyone else who sees me will be dead before it registers, OK?"

"No, not really." With a shake of his head, he handed her the staff.

Laughing, she turned towards the door. "Come on," She ducked out of the room and started up the corridor. Tristan hurried to keep up. Three guards appeared round the corner.

Before he had time to even raise a pistol she had attacked them. Tristan froze as Aesia became almost a blur. Within the space of three breaths all three guards were lying dead, skulls and limbs smashed.

She skipped over the bodies and darted up a wide corridor on her left. "This way, hurry up." Tristan was hard pushed to keep up with her.

They came to a large door at the end of the corridor. Aesia pressed her back against the wall and put a finger to her lips. Tristan skidded to a halt and stood silently waiting.

Aesia knelt down and put her ear to the door.

"What are you doing?" Tristan whispered.

She turned her head towards him a frown on her face and put her hand up. "Shh," she hissed through her teeth.

There was steel cold hardness about her Tristan had never sensed before. He shivered involuntarily.

She moved back from the door, moving silently like a cat and came to him. She pulled him down close to her so she could whisper. "There are five men ranged just inside the door. Plus the ringleader of this little nest of vipers is in there. He is the one you need to interrogate. You get to him and the couple of guards round him I will deal with the rest."