Chapter 22: Fiancé

Roy doubted there could be a moment more perfect than this one. There beneath the invigorating light of a GIII type yellow sun, standing at attention, wearing his dress uniform, he and the other 22 were officially decorated in recognition of their heroic deeds. However, that he was the one receiving the Navy Cross was not the source of this feeling that made him almost explode with pride. It was the fact that Admiral Stahl, commemorating his Marine roots and wearing an old fashioned but still quite similar uniform rather than his usual Fleet black, was the one decorating them and that there was Uncle Sam, Charles, Partner, and Tanya in the audience watching. That neither his mother nor his father was there was completely unimportant to him.

He did however notice the tall old man in the crowd of guests. It was Aaron Berezovsky, his Great-grandfather.

The man and the woman standing right with the old and famous professor were strangely familiar to him, but for the life of him, he could not place them. He was almost as tall as his grandfather and he too wore a dark business suit. While the woman, a stern-looking human female, wore Union Fleet black with the rank insignia of a Commander, there were no identifying patches or unit icons anywhere on her uniform. He really should know who she was he thought, her face looked so familiar.

But then he more or less forgot about them. With an arm resting on Partner who was sitting next to her and her famous father behind her, there she was in a short summer dress, lissome legs to the moon; hair that shone in a precious golden tone; the one he loved more than anything: Tanya.

The ceremony was winding down. The last Marine and officer candidate had received his commendation and the OCS School commandant had delivered a few words of praise and thanks.

That even this dignified, high ranking Marine officer sounded like a breathless fan with a face full of respect, and an almost religious admiration was easily explained as he thanked Admiral Stahl for coming.

Stahl told the group that his military career began right here, a good 3000 years ago, before the very same facilities, long before Earth’s humanity even knew there was sentient life beyond their planet’s orbit.

Stahl concluded, looking like God himself had appeared wearing Dress Blue, “Yes, while they made me an Admiral commanding ships, fleets, and spacers and I have worn Fleet black much longer than Marine Corps Blue, I was, I am and I always will be a Marine first until I die. No other branch in the history of mankind and now in the history of all beings that make up our glorious Union, has brought forth more heroes than the Corps.”

Roy was certain, there wasn’t a dry eye or an unconstricted throat among the assembled marines.

The OCS commandant finally spoke after several minutes of silence, “Thank you for your outstanding commitment and accomplishments. As we are in times of war, beings with leader qualities are needed indeed.

Please be here at 0900 hundred sharp on September 15th.”

A sergeant called the candidates from at ease into attention once more, while the Admiral and the Commandant saluted them and then they were dismissed.

Roy rushed as fast as he could towards Tanya but stopped as he saw Sam. The broad-shouldered big black man had a silvery streak down the left side of his cheek.

Roy said to Tanya. “One moment my love.” And then without inhibition slung his arms around Sam. He wasn’t ashamed of his tears either. “Sam, I made it. I am a Marine just like you!”

Sam bear-hugged the now fully grown young man and he too wasn’t ashamed of the tears trickling out of his eyes caused by the deepest love and pride, just as if that young man was his own flesh and blood. “I knew you would make it, Roy and now you are going to become an officer to boot.”

Sam’s hand touched the Navy Cross on Roy’s chest and then saluted after he untangled himself. “I am so very proud of you. I could explode!”

Charles also saluting said. “One is proud as well.”

“This is the best surprise ever. I missed you too very much Charles.”

Roy hugged the fierce war machine with great affection. Charles’ fists, able to crumble Ultronit like paper, softly rested on Roy’s shoulders.

Now Roy embraced Tanya, felt her soft arms around him, smelled her intoxicating scents, and then they kissed.

After a while, Roy turned to Sam and Charles still holding Tanya, while his other arm rested on Partner who overloaded Roy’s mind with deep warmth of utter affection and kept on licking Roy between his dry sneezes.

“Sam, Charles, please meet Tanya. She is my love and my fiancé.”

Sam smiled deeply. “We talked briefly just before the ceremony. I am very happy for you.”

Rex Schwartz also joined the small group. “I never thought she would ever find someone I would approve of. I always believed she was still too young and would have many choices before she found some rich Neo Noble. But I approve of you Roy Masters.”

Roy blinked. “Thank you, Sir.” To Tanya he said. “What is a Neo Noble?”

She hugged him. “Everything you are not.”

“I am not rich for sure.”

Rex Schwartz took off his tinted glasses. “Son, I don’t want to toot my own horn but compared to us, everyone is dirt poor. I prefer character and honesty.”

Now Roy turned to the old man he knew was his great-grandfather. The last time he had seen him was on Phantas.

The old man said. “I am a scientist and there was part of me, who wanted to see you following this family tradition, but I changed my mind. I am very proud of you.” The old man beckoned the two strangely familiar people closer. “I don’t think you have seen your grandparents in person. This is Moses Berezovsky, my son and his wife Sarah Steyn. They came all the way from the Andromeda galaxy to be here today.”

Roy wasn’t very enthused. “Are those the same grandparents who didn’t return the calls of Ranger Salomon and Union Social Services?” He did remember when he had seen those faces before.

The man introduced as his grandfather said. “I understand your sentiment, Roy. Your parents did not make it very easy to keep contact but we know we did not act like grandparents should have acted.”

The stern woman said. “I am very proud of you, grandson. You are at just the beginning of your military career, but I am an officer and understand the path you have entered. When we were contacted, I was deployed and could not take care of a grandson. I am happy to learn that Martha and Paul’s son turned out to be such a hero.”

Roy shrugged. “I don’t really care anyway. Uncle Sam and Charles were all the family I needed growing up and now I have my own family with Partner and my Tanya.”

--””--

Alexandre returned to the hotel. “Your eminence we should reconsider. That human has no emotional connection to his mother and was raised by Sam Brown.

We might be able to circumvent Union officials, but not Phil Decker and now it is clear that this marine is going to have Rex Schwartz as his father in law. You can’t offer me enough incentive to go against him, Sir.”

“You are useless then. What do we have to fear from a businessman? He is not even Thauran. Isn’t he the CEO of the Good Company?”

“I am loyal to you, and we have been lucky in Canada for not being caught. However, no matter what Union authorities would have done to us, it would be nothing compared to what SII could do.”

It was clear that the Blue Bishop was not convinced and Alexandre prayed that this holy man who was of course a high priest of the Necro Cult would see the light and heed his warning. Not even the Necro King himself could compare to what SII could do.

--””--

Roy learned that the Schwartz family and Rex himself originated on Earth and thus maintained their oldest and perhaps most modest residence on this old world. That meant nothing special to Roy or Tanya for that matter. Roy was born on Green Hell and considered himself to be a greenie. Tanya was born on Onyx if he understood her somewhat cryptic and vague explanation of her birth correctly, yet sitting on a bench; in the elaborate and meticulously kept park sprawling for many acres and across soft rolling grass-covered hills and neat rows of old trees, holding the slender hand of his girl felt about as right as could be. He was used to the gravitation of Green Hell and grew up under the light of Maxwell, also a yellow star and yet his body or whatever distant memory retained in his body’s cells told him that this was not just any other planet, but Earth indeed, and the cradle of his species. There was no way he could detect the wavelength and mix of light spectrum beaming down from this cloudless, baby blue Virginia sky, yet every fiber in his body told him it was perfect to the last photon. The air filling his lungs was of a perfect mix of atmospheric gases.

However, he had no eyes for the soothing beauty of this old park or the impressive façade of a 3000-year-old villa behind him. His eyes rested on her face and tried to burn even the most minute detail deep into his mind.

--””--

Sam Brown held the maple wood cue stick, resting the base on the oak parquet floor and looked past the ceiling-high windows, while Rex Schwartz was bending over the green felt and masterfully sinking number three into the corner pocket he had indicated a moment before.

Richard Stahl, puffing on an enormous cigar looked up from a game board of chess pieces between him and Phil, the old detective. “They will be fine, Sam. I know that boy is like a son to you.”

Rex Schwartz joined the black man staring out the same window. “I can’t deny I’m feeling that certain protective notion undeniably within the core of every father when he sees his daughter with a young man and realizes there is another man in her life, but I think she has chosen well.”

“How long have they been out there?” Sam asked.

Charles, standing by the drapes said. “Two standard hours, six minutes.”

Phil grunted. “Teaches me to play chess with the best strategically minded person in the universe.” as Richard moved his Bishop and declared checkmate.

A blonde woman entered the game room. She wore a gray dress and everyone here knew her despite the mask she wore. It was Rex Schwartz who said, “You must be Cherubim. No one else should be able to waltz right in here, past all my security.”

“Or mine.” Stahl grunted.

The masked woman gracefully inclined her head. “Not even I could have circumvented such complete security measures. Especially since Alycia herself has set up a perimeter. I had help.”

She scanned the room. “Phil Decker, Richard Stahl, Rex Schwartz, Sam Brown, and Charles. What an exclusive collection indeed. O’Brock will be so jealous if he hears about this impromptu meeting of the most powerful immortals.”

Richard sighed. “I had hoped I could forget who I was for a few hours; they are Earthers and I’ve known some of them for an awfully long time. I don’t necessarily call them all friends, but long-time associates never the less. You couldn’t give us that little moment?”

She silently laughed. “Richard, I am from Earth too and if anyone has earned a few moments of leisure among like-minded people it is you guys for certain. It is not my timing you must blame, but his.”

A deeply shrouded being shimmered into existence; Richard immediately recognized the Narth Supreme. Despite the shroud which could have covered just about anyone, he was certain beyond doubt.

“One must apologize for this. One is not accustomed to the ways of corporeal children of this realm.”

Richard would have corrected anyone else calling him a child; not the Narth Supreme however. They all knew they were nothing but infants compared to that being.

“You, the one they call the Warrior. You have been to Narth Prime and thus know of me. The others present may never have received knowledge regarding the Narth or know of one’s existence.”

The Narth Supreme moved further into the room. “One is the Narth Supreme. One is all that is Narth. Narth is Union and Narth will participate in times ahead when we will send our first new Narth to participate in the corporeal experience. Narth comes before you to entice you to assist Cherubim. In this matter, she is not the Huntress, but indeed the Guardian of Earth. In this matter, one is not Narth Supreme but acts upon behalf of the Voice. One knows the limitations of corporeal mortals as to comprehension of such causalities but know this, the Rule has been broken. It must not be further damaged before the Decision can be made.”

The Narth paused while they all stared at him. Rex, who was, despite all his evil and ruthless ways, a being of great intellect spoke. “You are the Narth Supreme, your nature is not in question. I accept your assessment of our limits of understanding. However, you speak of conditions and concepts that do not relate, as this is my first exposure to Narth.”

Richard sighed. “I was exposed alright, yet I too fail to associate the terms with anything I have heard before. You act on behalf of the Voice? Who’s voice?”

Phil crossed his arms. “I am inclined to help, but you speak of broken rules. Who’s rules?”

The shrouded alien responded. “One is not yet able to comprehend corporeal conditions. While one can see your minds and all they contain, one is bewildered by the chaotic non-structured, non-linear thought process; this is the core reason Narth has chosen to remain isolated from others that are Union. One anticipates increased understanding once Narth has sent the Young one among you. Until then one hopes the one called Cherubim will be able to explain.”

Cherubim sighed. “Only because I have been to a place I don’t understand and heard the voice of a God makes me understand many of the details, so here I go.”

The masked woman sat down on one of the upholstered old fashioned chairs. “This Universe is only one of many and everything is contained within something the Narth Supreme calls the Metaverse. It includes all the many realities and parallel dimensions, the Upper and lower realms, and even something he calls the Anti-Verse. And all that is, is governed by something called the Rule.”

Phil took a brief break in her explanation to ask his question again. “What are those Rules? Can they be put in words?”

Cherubim poured some water from a carafe into a crystal glass tumbler and took a sip. “Yes, Mr. Decker it can. The Rule, so I understand is both very simple and infinitely complex. It states: • Universal time manipulation is prohibited • Trans-universal contamination is prohibited • The Balance must be maintained • Going beyond the final veil is prohibited • Nothing that exists shall be made not existing While I have no idea what the first two rules mean, I learned that the third one, the Balance thing has been disturbed and thus caused this Rule to be broken. The last one mentioned is equally hard to understand. It is the one about the Final Veil that concerns us now, and what caused me to be summoned to a place Narth said was the Plane of Eternity. It was there a disembodied voice spoke to me, calling itself the Voice of the Rule.”

She took another drink and waved her hand. “Don’t ask me to explain what it was, but I had been on that Plane before when I was asked to become the surrogate as Earth’s Guardian and received the gift of immortality and a long list of tasks and responsibilities. During that second visit to that plane, I met the Narth Supreme. I learned that this Voice had chosen a host of different beings to become Guardians of their respective planets and societies. The core task of us Guardians is to assure all the conditions are met so the Rule can be restored in this Universe that Voice called the Prime Reality. The Voice summoned me and the Narth because conditions develop that threaten to compromise yet another aspect of those rules. It has to do with the final Veil and if I understand it has something to do with death.”

Phil said. “I think I begin to understand, we are talking about the Necros, right?”

Cherubim nodded. “Not the Necros per se, but a device conceived by the First Emperor able to resurrect someone who was dead. However, an entity calling himself the Necro King through his agents is seeking to gain access to a fully functional resurrection device.”

Now Stahl spoke. “One such device was the device I destroyed along with the First Guardian, right?”

Cherubim looked at the now empty glass of water and gave Charles a nod of thanks as the robot filled it from a different carafe. “That is what I believed to understand, Richard. But the Narth Supreme told me that there are five pieces or five parts to this device. Each capable of performing only a part of the task, like providing perfect clone copies and filling their blank brains with the memories of the originals. Some of these copies worked out, some did not. Because they were copies and while they had a facsimile of the original person’s memories they developed their own personalities.