Chapter 1- The Arrival
“Sir,” the navigational officer called from the bridge communication center, “we will be entering Earth’s solar system in approximately ninety-two minutes according to the A.I.”
Captain Savaric was sitting at the mahogany desk in his quarters, one of the last relics his ancestors had taken with them when they left Earth, and he keyed the com to issue the bridge their orders.
“Good, make sure our shields are fully charged and be on the lookout for those damned Seeker Satellites. If one of those things even so much as smells us, we can all kiss our asses’ goodbye,” Captain Savaric spoke with his eyes narrowed.
“Yes sir,” the navigational officer replied.
“Keep me informed of any and all activity. I doubt I need remind you of the importance of this mission.”
“No sir,” the Nav Officer retorted the only way a well-seasoned officer should-short and precise.
“Good, I’ll go and personally talk to Dr. Gracer in the Cryo Ward and have her begin waking the Guardians. I’ll be on the bridge in thirty minutes to take command.”
Captain Savaric took the lift three floors down to the lower levels of the shuttle. After passing through three sealed doors, and three separate contaminant sprayers, he reached the white walls of the Cryo Ward. The pods were lined in successive rows sitting on the floor to either side of the corridor, and were able to retract into the wall if needed. Captain Savaric strolled through the corridor with his hands behind his back, circling his thumbs in a nervous manner.
“Captain?” Dr. Gracer called looking up from her clipboard.
“Oh, yes Dr. Gracer, sorry to bother you.” Captain Savaric said trying to clear his throat. Dr. Gracer was a beautiful woman with brunette hair pulled tight in a formal bun. She wore small wire-rim glasses and was constantly blowing a single strand of hair off her forehead.
“You are not bothering me; I felt the ship slow from hyper-drive and figured I’d come check on the Guardians one more time before waking them.”
“Yes indeed,” Captain Savaric said pulling at the collar of his uniform, “how are their vitals?”
Z, the ships Artificial Intelligence droid spoke up in response to Savaric’s query.
“All vital signs seem to be within normal ranges Captain; I will run diagnostic procedures and begin the wakeup in approximately five minutes.
“Thank you Z, I will be heading to the armory to speak with Lieutenant Jurgg. Please send the Guardians to be placed in their combat armor when they are fully waked.”
“Yes Captain, I will follow protocol as always.”
Chapter 2- The Wakeup
Talon awoke trying to gather his senses. His eye lids were being forced shut, and when he tried to move his extremities, they were impeded by a gel-like substance suspending his body. There was no light, and the only thing he could hear was muffled voices speaking, too quiet and unclear to make out properly. He tried to swallow, and felt a tracheal tube flowing down his esophagus. He had been given a feeding tube.
Was I in an accident? Where is Captain Savaric? His mind was racing in circles. His brain began searching for some memory, any memory that could help decipher his surroundings. Fear began to envelope him as the confusion intensified and he began to panic. A loud suction sound reverberated through gel, and he could feel it being pulled out from below the chamber that held him. In one swift flow, the gel released from beneath him. His body fell limp on the chamber floor, and the effects of gravity began to take its effects. He lay naked and wet on the chamber floor, body convulsing from the cold. As he lifted his arm slowly to reach up to his face, he could feel the tracheal tubes protruding from his throat and running toward the top of the chamber. Moving his hand slowly toward his eyes, he felt not tape, but a small lightweight device covering both eyes. His heartbeat began pounding in his ears, every muscle and fiber in his body ached as he began grasping at the medical device covering his eyes. Too weak to remove the device, a female’s voice echoed through the chamber.
“Talon, Talon can you hear me?” the voice called.
Talon attempted to speak, only to be impeded by the tracheal tubes. Gaging, he turned his head to vomit up the same gel that had suspended his body.
“Talon you won’t be able to speak for a moment. Please relax; you have been in the Cryo Ward for some time now. I’m going to ask you to raise your right hand if you understand my queries, okay?”
Talon raised his right hand in acknowledgement. Cyro? He thought. Cryo Ward?
“Talon my name is Dr. Gracer. Ninety-six days ago you were placed into a cryogenic sleep during transport. Do you understand?”
Talon feebly raised his right hand.
“It is important you stay calm. Z is watching over your vitals, and I am going to open your pod, but it is important you do not resist or fight while I remove your tubes. It can be very disorienting to wake from cryo sleep, but it is imperative you stay calm.”
Talon once again raised his right hand.
“Ok, good. Z, please key in the command to open pod number 116.”
“Yes Dr. Gracer, keying now,” an electronic voice called back.
With a hiss, Talon could hear mechanical servos whining as the pod door rose up and exposed his naked body to cold air. Dr. Gracer stood above him and began removing electrode sensors from his body. A medical droid used its protruding graspers to attach themselves to the tracheal tubes and slowly removed them. Talon gagged, coughed, and expelled the gelatinous substance as the tubes were removed, allowing him to breathe on his own.
“Doctor I…”
“No! No Talon you should not vocalize yet. You have been asleep for a very long time, and I’m going to need you to be as healthy as possible. Just rest while I run through the memory exercises, okay?” Dr. Gracer said.
Talon raised his right hand again, but this time he was beginning to gain more strength. His hand no longer felt like it was asleep. Still naked and cold, his memory was working properly enough to realize his embarrassing situation. Being cold and naked in front of the female Dr. Gracer was a problem. Cold and naked-never good, Talon thought. Feeling his face reddening as she began the memory recall exercises, he attempted to cover himself with his hands.
“Alright Talon, just as before, you will raise your right hand if you understand my questions. Much of the memory recall consists of statements, but I will ask a few questions as well. Understand?”
Talon raised his right hand.
“Good,” Dr. Gracer said holding a clipboard and taking notes as she spoke, “let’s begin. Your name is Talon Verge. You live on the planet Tyyfore along with the other colonists. You have no mother, nor father. As a young boy you were placed in the Guardian program, and have been training for this very day ever since. Approximately ninety-two days ago you boarded this ship, The Reclaimer, along with one hundred and twenty other Guardians, and left for planet Earth.”
Talon’s eyebrows narrowed in thought. The name Guardian had stirred something in him, and like the morning fog at mid-day, the haze was slowly burning away.
“We have lived on Tyyfore for many years, but our forefathers lived on a planet called Earth. This planet is three times the size of Tyyfore, and contains over fifty million different species. Earth also contains eighty percent water, and should we reclaim it, we will never go thirsty again. This planet was taken from our ancestors, and now, you will lead the Guardians to reclaim it. Your codename for the mission is…”
“Titan,” Talon coughed.
“Good, very good Talon,” Dr. Gracer said with a large smile curling her lips. “I believe you are going to be just fine.
Chapter 3- Armory
The armory was located near the aft section of the transport ship, nearly three standard flights of stairs below the Cryo Ward. Still suffering the physical complications from the stint in cryogenic sleep, it took nearly all one-hundred and sixty-two of the Guardians five minutes to traverse the stairs. At the base of the stairs, dressed in white medical robes, each Guardian formed a long single-file line. The Armory was a great expanse of mechanical ingenuity. Mechanized arms, BioSkin machines, one large conveyor belt, and several medical droids were just some of the machines visible. Talon leaned out of his place in line to get a better look. He could see hundreds of long mechanical arms protruding from the ceiling, reaching down to either side of the conveyor, many holding steel objects of all shapes and sizes. Several others were welding different pieces together, sending molten sparks falling to the floor in a cascade of fire.
Near the front of the line the medical droids were removing large syringes from a table nearby, and then rapidly turning to thrust the needled end into each Guardian’s neck muscle. After receiving their injection, each Guardian promptly turned to fall into standard formation lines in front of the conveyor. When Talon reached the medical droids, he turned his head, making sure to not look at the needle. He had always hated needles, and these seemed to be gruesomely long. The droid turned and Talon’s throat muscles gave an instinctual recoil.
After receiving the injection, Talon immediately felt better. His muscles were no longer cramping, and he realized the injections must have been to help reverse the physical effects from the cryo sleep. He took his place in formation and waited.
“Welcome Guardians!” Captain Savaric’s voice boomed over the armory’s loud speakers. “Today is the day we have all been waiting for. All your training, all your sacrifices- all come down to this very moment. As you can see, you are about to be placed in your custom Ensconce Armor Suit. The Ensconce Armor is lightweight, strong, and it will be your lifeline. Without the Ensconce, you will be nothing. Your exoskeleton armor will be capable of a variety of defensive measures, along with an overwhelming offensive system. It will all be controlled through your helmet’s Heads Up Display or H.U.D for short. Just like in training, only these suits are the real thing, and the situation is no longer a simulation.”
Many of the Guardians shot each other quick glances, and several others gave the man next to him a nudge on the shoulder approvingly.
“Although you are familiar with other forms of exoskeletal armor, the Ensconce suit is our new prototype- capable of bringing down even the strongest of enemies with one offensive maneuver. Due to its top secret nature, we have waited until now to inform you of the armor change.
“Hell yeah buddy! It’ll take some sort of fucking super tank to take us down.” the Guardian standing next to Talon said using some favorite expletives of most Naval grunts.
“You will first be placed in the BioSkin,” Captain Savaric’s voice interrupted over the loud speaker, “and will then step onto the conveyor. Once fully suited, you will stand in formation near the forward Drop Pod Deck. Is that understood?”
A loud chorus of “Yessir!” followed Captain Savaric’s query, echoing throughout the Armory room. Talon stood amazed before the conveyor, wide eyes reflecting the sparks from the Guardians’ suits being welded around them.
“Sir, your BioSkin suit please.” a droid spoke in Talon’s ear. The droid stood next to a small square platform with two foot prints molded into the top of the box. The droid on Talon’s left removed his robes, leaving him completely exposed.
“Please step forward onto the BioSkin dispenser.” the droid commanded.
Talon stepped forward and placed his feet on the position markers indicating he should do so. As he did, two electro-magnetic locking mechanisms swung over the top of his feet to hold him securely in place. A warm sensation touched the arches of his feet, and when he looked down, a tar-like substance was climbing up, pouring over his body in reverse. Instead of pouring down like liquid must do when gravity is present, the substance was pouring up, encasing his body. It crawled and weaved over every crevice of his body, as though it were an organic organism looking for a place to hide. Eventually it sealed over his fingertips, crossed over his elbows, and reaching his neck, it sealed itself and stopped. The Bioskin swiftly calibrated and adjusted to 98.6 degrees as the electromagnetic foot restraints released their grip, allowing Talon to step down. Talon twisted his wrists, examining his new suit.
“The Bioskin should calibrate and adjust to your core body temperature sir. The skins purpose is to regulate temperature and communicate even the slightest muscle movements with your Ensconce Suit. Once on the conveyor, please stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and outstretch your arms.” the droids mechanical voice translator said.
Talon did as requested, and stepped forward onto the conveyor. The mechanical arms began poking and prodding, attaching and welding around his body. Each mechanical arm was holding a small part of the Ensconce armor, some placed and held, while others grabbed and pulled, attempting to manipulate his extremities into their desired position to fit each piece. He noticed most of the other Guardians were fitted with the same color armor-black, but a few had been placed in white armor. White armor seemed odd; the intended landing area on Earth was not covered in snow, nor did it have a backdrop of white terrain. The landing zone, codenamed “Quarry” was a heavily forested area, well hidden and located three-hundred kilometers north of the aliens’ major military command installment. The mission was to climb into the landing pods, three Guardians to each, and be launched from the shuttle into space and toward the planet. The pods would break through Earth’s atmosphere, and once ten-thousand meters above Earth’s surface, the pods would deploy their automated Ground Bubble, allowing the Guardians to bounce safely on the ground.
The armor consisted of over one-thousand individual pieces; each precisely cut and formed to its intended wearer. The first thing Talon noticed was how oddly light it was. He felt as though he was wearing a shell of lightweight plastic, and nothing more. Talon was more than half-way down the conveyor, and his body was almost completely covered in the Ensconce Armor when he looked down. Sighing heavily-he was covered in white armor. Great, this is just great. I’ll be a sitting duck out there. Reaching the end of the assembly line, a droid called to Talon- “Head forward, chin up.” Talon obeyed and tilted his chin slightly up. The Ensconce headpiece was slammed down in one swift movement, and Talon was thrust into complete darkness. Two small earpieces protruded from the core of the helmet, form-fitted to his ears, and inserted themselves, allowing some outside ambiance to be heard. For another few moments he was in complete darkness, then a soft beeping tone could be heard, and finally, a soft female voice spoke in a polite tone-
“Activating startup sequence,” the artificial female voice toned.
The sound of servos and mechanical instruments firing could be felt throughout the suit, and he could begin to feel the Ensconce’s power for the first time. A smile slowly curled the edges of his lips as he stifled a giddy laugh. Then, suddenly he was thrown into a world of color. The Heads Up Display powered up, immersing the inside of the helmet projector display with lights and colors. The woman’s voice was saying words like “calibrating, activating, adjusting,” and Talon’s perspective of the world was now seen through guidance systems, targeting systems, and a holographic projection screen.
