Resolution (6 page)

"Welcome Guardians, I have waited a long time to greet you."

"Selnia?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, that is my name," the female voice replied.

"I am Chloe Aster, this is my husband and partner John Aster. It is a honor to meet you," Chloe replied.

"Malthis told me about you. Thank you for coming to my aid. I still control part of this facility, but the area where the controller is, is not under my control. However, it also isn't accessible by the Tammerain either. I can get you there, but until I regain control of all facility functions, getting you out might be problematic," Selnia replied.

"How close can you get us that is still under your control?" John asked.

A hologram took form in the room, and zoomed into the southern hemisphere. "You are currently located here," Selnia replied and made a small spark appear showing them their location. "The device is located here, near what used to be my primary logic centers." Another spark lit up. "As I said before, I can get you all the way to the chamber the device is in, but the nearest area I control is eighty-four of your miles away, in one of the memory centers. To get there on foot, you would have to pass through hostile areas."

"Well, I guess we should make sure you regain control, or it'll be a long walk home," John said smiling. "I wanted to speak to you about what will happen after you regain control. Do you have a plan to deal with the Tammerain Empress?"

"I was planning on telling them the truth, and asking them to recall their forces. I cannot impersonate a deity," Selnia said.

"Could you if it would aid the Tammerain? If it would help to counter the damage caused by the Grays?" John asked. "It needn't even be a long term occurrence. If you simply tell them the truth, and ask them to recall their forces, they will ignore you. There is a time for the truth, but in this case, I believe that the Tammerain will have to be prepared for it beforehand."

"That may be the case, Guardian, but I am not the Tammerain Goddess," Selnia said. "To portray myself as such would be a lie."

"Even if it meant saving the Tammerain from the damage done to them by the Grays?" John asked. "The races of the Tammerain did not have a centralized religious figure until the Grays usurped your facility. They used the tribal mentality of the races to consolidate their dominance in order to use them as weapons. I understand you were created to monitor the races in this part of the galaxy. I got the impression from Malthis that part of that function would be to serve as a guide once those races progressed to the point of being space faring."

"In a manner of speaking yes, but my involvement would have been limited to subtle actions taken behind the scenes. What you are describing is not only overt, but blatant species manipulation," Selnia countered.

"Selnia, think of it as weaning the Tammerain off of a drug. In some types of addictions, that is the only way to end the addiction and the control the drug has on the body. We do not wish for you permanently become the Tammerain Goddess. You only need to act in that capacity long enough for them to learn to live without direct influence," Chloe replied.

"Your argument has merit, Guardian. I will endeavor to do as you direct until I can consult with Malthis and the council on this matter," Selnia replied, thoughtfully.

"That is all we ask, Selnia. We understand that you have been subjected to a lot of horrible things and for that we are truly sorry. Think of this as a way for you to correct some of those atrocities," John said.

"I will consider that as well. Thank you Guardians, you have given me much to think about and a reason to continue. I had no desire to continue in this capacity because of the acts I have been forced to witness," Selnia said softly. "If you are ready, I will relocate you to the control unit. Your arrival was detected, but the Tammerain are, as yet unaware of it. I imagine that situation will change as soon as the Grays decide on a course of action. Your time may be limited."

"Then please send us there so we can return your facility to your control," John replied.

Their surrounding once again changed as Selnia moved them the transit nexus to the primary logic center.

"Please be aware Guardians, that weapons fire in this area will damage me. For the sake of argument, consider yourselves inside my brain," Selnia explained.

"I never thought I would ever become a brain surgeon!" Chloe exclaimed, smiling.

John nodded. "That would also explain why we are to shut the unit down versus destroying it. If you want to do the work, I'll provide cover."

"Agreed, accessing the data now." Chloe said. A moment later she made a quiet comment. "Whoa, this is really complex, but we can do this. Come on, we need to start out here." She headed for a door and turned to head down a corridor.

John asked for a map of the area, and was given a detailed floor plan complete with markers for himself and Chloe.

Fifteen minutes later, Selnia gave them some bad news. "Guardians, the Grays are responding. They are sending Imperial guards to intercept you. By my estimation, they will arrive in ten minutes."

"Can you show me which direction they will be coming from?" John asked.

"Of course, Guardian. There are only two ways into that area, the way you entered and one other, on the far side of this unit. I have blocked the entry you used by maintaining the connection as active, thus blocking its use by another transporter. I cannot do the same for the other unit, so they will arrive there," Selnia explained and John saw the outline on his 'map'. After checking with Chloe, he took off in that direction.

"I need twenty minutes John. I know how to do this, but it's really spread out, and things have to be done in a certain sequence or it would harm Selnia," Chloe explained.

"Will do," he shot back as he was leaving. "Selnia, are they aware of us, or do they only know someone arrived here?"

"They do not have specific information. They only know that the transit system was used. The Grays are unaware that the elders have selected you as Guardians. It is not unreasonable to assume that the Grays believe that the elders themselves are here to effect repairs on my systems. It is likely that the soldiers being sent here are expecting no resistance, and have orders to capture rather than kill."

"That could be very useful, thank you Selnia. I do not plan to kill anyone if I can get away with it. How do, er I mean how did the 'elders' handle repairs in a hostile environment like this? Did they wear a special suit or use force fields?"

"In the situations where the use of a robotic device was not possible, they used force fields to seal off a room then transport in atmosphere before they would enter using the same transporter. If that were not possible, they used a device that created a type of force field around their bodies, it worked with the transporter system to keep the 'suit' supplied with atmosphere and anything else needed to survive in that environment," Selnia explained.

"Do you have an image of what that would look like? I'm going to try to use the armor's imaging system to show the soldiers exactly what they are expecting to see," John said.

"The image is loaded into your system. Remember that the elders move slowly and purposefully. What will you do if they decide to kill you instead?" Selnia asked.

"Since Malthis was kind enough to make sure we had all the toys we are used to carrying with us, I will be placing a force field projector on the room exit. That should hold out long enough for me to back off and create a suitable deterrent for them. However, I don't want it to get that far. I will try to simply talk to them and buy the time needed for Chloe to restore your systems."

"She is doing remarkably well. I now have control over many of my former subsystems. If I can assist you, Guardian, I will," Selnia replied. John thought she sounded much better than the depressed woman that greeted them.

After sprinting for almost a mile, John came to a stop. He took out the portable shield unit he carried and set it up on the door leaving the transporter room. "The arrival room is not very large. Will they stop coming if the new arrivals cannot leave the room?"

"Yes, the transporter will not move someone if the landing point is not empty," Selnia replied.

"Good to know, thank you," John said as he finished setting up the shield emitter and activated it. "Okay, time to get dressed up." He said and had his controller load the elder camouflage hologram. "How do I look Selnia?"

As an added precaution, John had instructed his controller to retard movement and reaction speed, to mimic the movements of an elder.

"I would have difficulty distinguishing you from an elder while you are in that guise. Your ruse should work, Guardian. Good luck, they will begin arriving in one minute.

"Thanks," John said and stood in front of the open door so they would see him. He took the same pose that Malthis had the first time he met him. Hands clasped in front of him, and a relaxed posture. John could see an image of himself on the inside of his visor, and had to admit it was pretty good.

In several bright flashes of light, five very large, heavily armed, beings dressed in golden armor appeared in the room. They moved forward a few steps before dropping to one knee before him. In the common tongue of the empire, the foremost guard spoke.

"Greetings honored elder, we have been sent here to inquire as to your purpose and offer any assistance you may require."

––––––––

J
ohn took a moment to answer, just as a Promethean would. "We have predicted the failure of several components of the primary logic centers. Our purpose here is to replace the failing units before that happens. We require no assistance from you or your mistress. You lack the required knowledge to effect repairs of this type, which is why we are here. We shall be finished soon and will then depart. You may return to your mistress."

"Guardian John, the Grays are in direct contact with these guards. You are actually speaking to them at the moment." Selnia said over his internal comm.

"With respect honored elder, we have been tasked with your safety while you are here. This is a nation at war, and would prevent that ugliness from reaching you. Our leader has instructed us to remain to insure your safety during your time here," the guard replied.

John bowed his head. "We are grateful for her consideration as well as your willingness to ensure our safety. However, it is unnecessary and would hamper our efforts in this place."

"Elder, if you would release the technical specifications of the facility, we could relieve you of this burden," the guard replied. "It is not logical to us that you would not comply with that request."

"This is not the time nor is it the place for revisiting that discussion. You know our thoughts on this matter, and circumstances have not changed in this regard. Our decision stands," John replied. This area of conversation was dangerous; he had no idea what the circumstances were or what arguments had been made.

"We understand, elder. Will our control unit remain?" the guard asked.

"Although the predicted failures are because of the installation of the control unit, we will not remove it at this time," John replied. He wasn't lying, they were not going to remove it, just deactivate it.

"Control of several subsystems has been lost. These systems are required for the task we are undertaking at this facility. When will they be returned to our control?" the guard asked.

"Our repairs are progressing. Subsystems must be taken off-line for testing to ensure proper function," John began.

"John, I'm finished. Selnia should have complete control now, and we have made it so the grays cannot reestablish control," Chloe said.

Selnia confirmed it. "I have full control now. Re-establishing the link with the elders."

"John? I take it all has gone well?" Malthis' voice said over his comm.

"Yes, they have, I am speaking to the grays through one of the guards sent here. I will inform them of the change in 'ownership', and let them know they are no longer welcome here," John replied. "Please give me a moment."

"Control of this facility's systems will not be returned to you. We have determined you are using them in a most despicable manner, and we will not stand for it. These wars of genocide cannot be allowed to continue, nor will they be tolerated. You are not the sole heirs of the elders, all races are. Misuse of facilities and technology for a purpose such as this is abhorrent," John told the guard who now stood.

"That is not the decision of the elder. They have not interfered before now, which means we have their approval for our mission. You are not an elder, who are you?" the guard asked.

"The elders have never approved of your mission, and you have been made aware of that many times. It is indeed ironic that those of you who were of that race do not understand them at all. As for who I am; that is unimportant. What I am is a Guardian appointed by the Elder Council to take action to prevent atrocities like that which has been taking place here, and the war you have been waging on the humans. The Council would have acted sooner, but lacked the resources to do so. This is no longer the case, and action has been taken.

"Let this serve as a warning to you and your brethren; you are allowed to defend yourselves, however, offensive actions will not be tolerated. The genocide you have visited upon several races of our brethren in the past will no longer be allowed. You are one race in a community of races, and it is this that you must accept. Make peace with your neighbors learn to negotiate for the gains you need.

"In a few moments, even your communication feeds to this facility will be cut, and the Tammerain will finally be free of your control. Do not attempt to regain that control. The consequences would be... unpleasant for you."

"You have no right to interfere in our business! No one..." the being speaking through the guard was obviously not happy.

"No!" John said letting the hologram of the elder drop away to show only the armor and closed visor of the helmet. "You have no right to decide who can live and who can die. All beings have a right to life. Your race will no longer be allowed to destroy entire races or even attack another without provocation. You have been warned. We will sever your link to this station now, do not return here."