《The Starborne Legacy》 Prologue - Unnamed Mountain, Main, Northeast USA, 2035 - On a warm, clear night amongst the trees sprawling the mountainside laid a small one-story wood cabin. Walking up the dirt driveway from the nearest road, one would see the area littered with glinting metal buried into the dirt and parts of vehicles spread around like a junk yard. While to the unassuming eye, it would look like someone just flew over the place and dumped their trash around without a care in the world. However, to someone who takes a little bit more time and looks closely, they could see that all the parts were seperated into piles by part type, year and function while the small glints of metal scattered across the area were actually empty bullet casings. Continuing up along the dirt driveway and coming up to the wooden cabin, one would finally see that sitting on an old looking rocking chair surrounded by a small radio, beer bottles and a Siberian Husky was a middle-aged man. The man looked to be in decent shape if you ignored the small beer-gut growing. Scars could be seen below his short-sleeves and along his jawline just below his close-cropped, military style, salt and pepper colored hair. Looking at the mans scarred but handsome face, one could get lost in his deep blue eyes that seemed to give off a feeling of calmness when locked on to you. This man is Markovious Celestine, former United Earth Marine Corps Staff Sergeant, enjoying his retirement after almost two decades of service. Half of which was spent in combat zones across the Earth and Moon. Now he spends his time keeping up his shooting skill while collecting car parts and using them to build his dream car, a 1969 Ford Mustang. Usually he sits on his porch in the evening and enjoys watching the stars and wondering what''s out there while drowning himself in beer because it keeps the sleep away, well not the sleep but the dreams, the dreams where he''s watching his Marines, friends and brothers dying in front of him. Sometimes they die because of an order he gave and sometimes they die because fate deemed it their time. It doesn''t matter though, their still dead and he''s alive. He''s strong enough to consciously ignore the guilt and regret that hits him but when he''s asleep it''s not his choice, his subconscious decides to replay every stressful moment he''s seen in a warzone. ''God help me, I''m sorry guys. It''s been years and I still can''t join you yet, I feel like I have one more mission to complete before I can come keep ya''ll company.'' Marko''s thoughts were interrupted though by a large boom from the airspace to the West, his side of the mountain range. Looking up to the West, Marko stares with uninterested eyes at the empty skies. Shrugging, he goes back to petting his best friend and only remaining family Angel. Marko got Angel from the local Veternarian when she was first born. After adopting her, she''s never left his side, even during his bad days where he barely moves from his bed or chair she still chooses to stay with him and helps get him through most of his issues. In fact if it wasn''t for her, Marko was sure he still wouldn''t be here today. Looking back to where the sound came from Marko can see a small light flickering in the distance. ''What the hell? there''s no stars there so what in Gods name is that?'' Marko can''t help but think about this abnormal situation. Staring for a little bit longer, he can tell that the light is getting a little bit bigger every second. Panicing for a split second, Marko jumps up off his chair, sending his beer bottle smashing to the ground. Suddenly though, the light disappears and he rubs his eyes with his fist to make sure he wasn''t just seeing things. Apparently he was though because when he looked again, there was nothing there.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Shrugging, he looked down to where his bottle broke and swore "Ah dammit, Angel can you go inside and grab me another beer while I clean this up? I don''t want you to cut your paws because of my fuck up." Angel turned and headed back into the house where she''ll be able to use some rags tied to the fridge to open it and grab him a beer. Walking over to the side of the front door, he grabs a dustpan and another cloth to pick up the glass spread across the porch. "Haaa alright lets get this shit cleaned up so I can get back to my oh-so-important task" Marko says as he squats and bends over to begin picking up the glass. However, what happens next takes Marko by surprise and he freezes for a moment before looking up. Just before he touched his fingers to the glass, the entire area began to shake without warning and the glass shard rattled away from his outstretched fingers. "What the fuck now?!" He shouted as he looked around to see if he could find the cause of the shakes. That''s when something moved in his peripheral and he turned his head up to the left and saw a shape tearing across the sky coming straight at him. Taken by surprise for the first time ini a long time, Marko doesn''t even have time enough to analyze the situation and get him and Angel out of there. "OH FUCK!" he shouts just as the object sails right over his cabin, catching everything in the area up in a strong gust of wind as it passed over. Looking back to the direction this object went, he could see it strike the ground with a large explosion of dirt and wood. It appears to have landed about 10 klicks away. Rushing back into his cabin, Marko quickly makes his way to his gear room. As a Veteran, he knows how to appreciate being prepared so of course he has a whole room full of his weapons and gear that''ll allow him to get through most situations. Reaching the door to the room, he blasts past it and into the room and heads straight for the clothes. Quickly stripping out of his Blue Jeans and red lumberjack fleece, Marko throws on his Marine Pattern - Dynamic or MARPAT-D camoflauge utility uniform, which was developed in 2022 and allows for the pattern to automatically change depending on the surrounding enviroment. After throwing on his utilities and boots, he walks over to his weapons vault and enters his code. The vault opens to show a multitude of weapons including shotguns, sidearms, rifles, and of course his favorite Automatic Rifle, the AR-20 which fires an 8mm caseless round. On his way out of his gear room, Marko grabs a ready bag filled with provisions and ther things one might need to survive in the wild for a while. Making his way out of his cabin again with Angel by his side, Marko begins his 10 klick journey to the crashed object, finally feeling a little excited after so long of nothing happening around him. "Alright Angel, let''s go see what type of junk is falling out of the sky these days!" "Woof, Awoooo" Replied Angel as she and her master began an Adventure that would take them to places they never knew even existed. Chapter 1 - Guardian - Unnamed Mountain, Maine, Northeast USA, 2035 - Marko and Angel made their way through the wooded area at a trot, trying to get to where the object was as quick as they could. Marko kept telling himself that this was clearly to make sure that the forest didn''t catch fire because of the crash but if he was honest with himself then he''d have to admit that he was not only excited that something was happening but also extremely curious because it''s not everyday things fall from the sky and don''t immediately blow up everything in their vicinity. After running for about 5 minutes the pair finally started seeing signs that they were nearing the landing site. The tops of the trees surrounding them were sheered off like someone took a sharp blade to them and swiped in one particular direction. Continuing on through the destruction they, quite literally, stumbled into the torn up path across the ground caused by the object''s landing. Slowing to a walk, Marko could just barely make out the shape of the object. The object itself appeared to be made out of a pure black material but had scorch marks along the side, blocking out some of the only not-black symbols on the outside of the object. The thing had the shape of an airplane but with no discernible engines that could be seen on the outside and was quite angular. Even with most of it buried in the ground, you could tell that thing was pretty large. Possibly as large as one of those commercial 747''s but much wider. "Angel, girl, stay here and wait for me to call for you okay?" Marko said as he continued on towards the object. ''What the hell is this thing? It doesn''t look like a Meteor or anything and it''s too big for a drone or missile'' He kept this line of thinking until he reached the side of the object. The thing was massive, with a length that seemed about 300 meters, a height of roughly 100 meters and the width that looked to be about 200 meters from wingtip to wingtip. ''Well it''s definitely some sort of plane or ship judging but the design but it''s absolutely massive. Not to mention it''s made out of this obsidian-looking material so there''s no real way to judge it''s weight.'' Walking up to the side of the ship, Marko places a hand on it. For a moment there''s nothing and Marko can''t tell what type of material it is. All of a sudden there''s a slight shock that hits Marko in the hand that''s planted on its surface causing him to instinctively jerk it back. ''What the shit was that? Fucking thing zapped my ass.'' He stares at his hand for a moment before ultimately deciding that there wasn''t any damage done to his hand. ''Well, I got nothing to lose so let''s see what that feeling was.'' With that, he places his hand back onto the side and the feeling comes back. This time though, it stays and continues to pulse for a few seconds before fading out. Once faded though, a hiss could be heard. Looking around, Marko can''t help the feeling of nervousness that builds up in his gut. Not that same type of feeling he would get before a battle, but the feeling of not knowing what''s going on. About ten meters to his left, Marko spots where the hissing sound came from. Suddenly the section of the wall he placed his hand on melded back into itself and an explosion of bright blue light washed over him before everything receded into darkness. ********************************* Markovious awoke to the unfortunate feeling of weightlessness, causing his stomach to toss and turn for a second before returning to normal. Opening his eyes was a difficult task at first, it was like his eyes were glued shut. Luckily he was able to open them after a few seconds but it didn''t do him much good. Doing a quick evaluation of his situation and surroundings, all he could tell was that he was in a dark room, a very dark room. So dark in fact that the only source of light was coming from just below him. "What the hell is this? Where am I?!" A slight feeling of panic and fear was starting to settle itself into Markovious'' heart as he took a closer look around and realized that for one, he was floating and two, he was in a tank of some kind. "Greetings Markovious Celestine, member of Planet 427195" said a mysterious voice that seemed to come from the fluid he was floating in. "Please relax and do not panic, allow your rational mind to take control so we may discuss somethings, is that alright with you?" Markovious took a moment to blink and allow himself to fall back into his training from years prior, allowing his mind to push aside the panic and fear for the most part and compose rational thoughts based on the situation he was in and the information he receives. Sensing Markovious calming and not replying to his previous question, the voice continued. "Once again, Greetings Markovious Celestine of Planet 427195. I am Sentient Artificial Guardian Companion #100798632. In other words, I am what you call an Artificial Intelligence given sentience and commissioned to serve as a partner to members of the Galactic Guardian Corps. You are currently aboard one of their ships and are pending rebirth depending on your decision within the next few moments. Now, do you have any questions before we continue?"The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. After taking a short while to allow what was just said to sink in, Markovious thought up a few important questions and proceeded. "Uh yeah you can say I have questions, can I just list them or would you rather we go one by one?" "It is entirely up to you, though I should remind you that we do not have much time before your planets military arrives." "Right, yeah that would make sense, okay, so who or what exactly are you and these Guardians you mentioned, and what are you doing here?" "As previously stated, I am a sentient artificial being created to serve as a partner to a Guardian in the service of a galactic-wide agency known as the Galactic Guardian Corps. Guardians are the elite of the galaxy that acts as both a peacekeeper and diplomat. Guardians are meant to watch over and prevent massive events that could cause the stability of the galaxy to go into turmoil. They will also take action when acts of an atrocity of been committed, or if they witness something that goes against the Guardian Code. In addition, the Guardians also act as an Intergalactic rescue service, coming to the aid of stranded ships, planets in danger, or the inevitable extinction of a sentient species. They can also be called in as a third party if requested by peoples in war, as well as if a new sentient species has been discovered to conduct the first contact. To answer your second question, I am here to select a new partner." Letting that all sink in for a moment, Markovious was having a tough time thinking about everything. Knowing that there were other sentient beings off of Earth, though thought to be possible, was hard enough but also finding out that therewas a galaxy-wide group of beings dedicated to watching over everything and everyone was a whole different hurdle. "Well, shit. Okay, so assuming I believe you, which I really have no choice not to considering my current position, why Earth? Surely there are other, stronger people out there, right? So why come here to a people who have barely started to colonize another planet?" "You are correct, there are indeed hundreds of stronger species out there. However, the Guardian Code states that any Guardian needs to have extensive military experience, be of able mind and body, they must be fearless, courageous and have the willpower to do anything they must to uphold the Code. In addition, the must have no current ties to their current homeworld and be in the same sector as the previous Guardian." "Right, okay, so I''m assuming Earth is in the previous Guardians Sector. I''ll just go out on a limb here and say that you''ve chosen me as their successor?" "You would be correct in that Markovious. I have linked into your world''s global information circuit and searched for candidates based on the before mention criteria and out of the hundreds shown, I have chosen you based on my search through your mind. Let''s skip past the part where you freak out about me being in your mind and get straight to the point Markovious as were are out of time." Still shocked from knowing he''d been probed by an alien AI, Markovious could only nod in reply. "Good, now the offer. Markovious Celestine of Planet 427195, do you accept the position of Guardian within the Galactic Guardian Corps, will you do everything in your power to uphold the Guardian''s Code and treat every situation with discretion and fairness and to treat all peoples of the galaxy equally as per the Code?" Thinking for a second, Markovious had to admit that while this was a crazy situation it was definitely better than sitting there rotting in his mountain cabin for the rest of his days. He was a Marine, a soldier of freedom for freedom. If there were a people who needed him, whether his own or another''s, he would do everything he could to assist them. He was meant to fight, not to sit around all day getting fat. With this, Markovious made his choice. "I accept" he replied with all the conviction he could muster. "Very well, enrollment in the Galactic Guardian Corps accepted and completed. Rebirth will commence at the discretion of the S.A.G.C." ''Rebirth? I wonder what that is'' "Rebirth is when the Guardian is genetically enhanced to allow them to effectively complete their mission. In terms you are familiar with, it will make you Super Human and essentially immortal while also changing your physical appearance. This is mandatory for all Guardians as it allows them to be the best in the Galaxy. Please note that while you can take a lot of damage, you are not invulnerable and can still die. In addition to the genetic enhancements, you will be implanted with a cybernetic suite that will allow direct communication between you and any other Guardians, act as a universal translator, and allow me to reside within you so I may better assist with your missions. Yes, before you ask, there is a privacy mode. Don''t be weird. Rebirth is the process in which you officially leave behind any and all attachments to your old world, so you will also need to select a new name for you and me when the process completes. Does that answer all of your questions?" "I guess it does for now!" "Very well, commencing Rebirth. The process will be completed en route to Guardian Ship 2256. Good Luck, and Welcome to the Corps, Guardian." Chapter 2 - New Names, New Lives "Guardian. Open your eyes, Guardian." Markovious awoke to someone calling out to him. Opening his eyes it took him almost five seconds before he was able to see again. In front of him was an entirely white space filled with nothing except a single figure about two meters in front of him. "What..what is this place?" Markovious said. Though it came out of his mouth it sounded like it came from all around him. "This is your mindspace, well technically it''s an AI matrix that will be used to house me when your Rebirth is complete" came the same voice Markovious now recognized as the AI he spoke to before losing consciousness. ¡°Right, so I¡¯ll have access to this place all the time when this Rebirth is complete?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct¡± replied the AI as its voice turned feminine once again. ¡°So how come I woke up here instead of when my Rebirth is complete?¡± asked Markovious as he searched for a place to sit down but found none and instead sat on the floor. ¡°If you wish for anything whilst in the Mindspace, just think it and it will be. Now as for why you have awoken here, we have a few things to discuss.¡± Intrigued by the idea that anything he wished for could appear where he was, Markovious began thinking of different furniture items. A table, a wooden chair, couch, and stove until finally he just thought up and entirely furnished two-story ranch surrounded by grass with a 1967 Camaro in the driveway. Lo and behold each item thought of spawned in front of him as if it was always there. Now sitting comfortably in his newly created living room, he and the AI began their important discussion. ¡°Well, that¡¯s probably about the coolest thing I¡¯ve ever done in my life. Now that you¡¯ve got me here, go ahead and do your thing.¡± Markovious said as he leaned back and made an ice cold beer appear in his hand. ¡°First thing¡¯s first Guardian, you need to select our new names, these will be our names until the days we either fail to exist anymore or our partnership is ended, at which point you will retain your identity whilst I fall back to my original designation.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, what is your original designation anyway?¡± ¡°I was brought to sentience with the name Arsookliafor Nalmorkavid¡± replied the AI as if it were the easiest thing in the world. ¡°Ah, well I apologize but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be able to call you that. So let me think here.¡± Markovious began to ponder about the new life he was going to live and everything that was described to him. Who will he be, or rather, who will they be? They¡¯re a pair now, inseparable, who are they going to be to the people or beings that see them in their most desperate of moments. What will people think when they hear their names on the street or from their friends and family. Here he is now, a leader again but this time of something so much bigger than a few people. Here he¡¯s a leader of a safe haven, a place people know will be safe and they can start anew. A place of new lives led by a man born in the stars himself, from a land they may never see and by his side, an AI, made specifically for him, for people like him, to guide them as they would guide others on their paths. Who are they now? Suddenly Markovious widens his eyes and lets out a sharp gasp, startling the AI next to him and making it go on alert. ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± Shouted Markovious. ¡°Ah I see, you¡¯ve finally realized our new Identities yes?¡± said the AI as it relaxed a bit, now realizing what was going on after seeing it with its previous partner. ¡°Yup, I sure have. I noticed you tend to be more feminine so I decided that you shall be known as Stella, my guiding light.¡± Markovious said, thinking he could possibly see a slight bluish creep across Stella¡¯s face.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°That..that is a beautiful name Markovious, I shall use it with pride. Have you decided on your name yet?¡± ¡°I have, I will be called Julius, Julius Starborne. When people hear our names they will know we will provide safety and help for them wherever they are.¡± Allowing smiles to creep onto their faces the two sat there for a few moments, allowing the new identity to sink in. Julius now thinking of what kind of man he was going to be now and Stella about what kind of future lay ahead of them both now that she has a new partner. Meanwhile, just outside of the mindspace, Julius¡¯ new body is being forged. Bone tougher than the hardest material on Earth, muscle more dense than any being in the Sector, blood that runs yellow instead of red, skin with the color of ash. Icy blue eyes so deep one could see the universe in them, pointed ears and lengthened canines show the trademarks of a Guardian and a symmetrical face and body crowned with mid-back length hair a shade of blue so dark that, like his eyes, one could see the sparkling of stars give Julius the look of someone rebirthed out of the hottest of flames. Back in the living room with the now content Stella and Julius, things finally begin to move on and Stella begins her next topic of discussion. ¡°Now Julius, continuing with the naming, what would you like the ship to be called?¡± ¡°Oh, that one¡¯s actually easy. I¡¯ve had it in mind ever since you told me about the whole rebirth thing. I want to call her The Phoenix. A place people will come to start anew, a place that can provide protection to those who request it. Somewhere people will whisper about coming to. Something like that anyway.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s actually a really good name. Though I guess I shouldn¡¯t really be surprised anymore considering the last names you gave out. I should admit that I am a bit biased though as my last partner didn¡¯t even give names and just left everything to its default. So unoriginal that one was.¡± Stella said as she flickered from what Julius could only assume was joy, then anger and then melancholy. ¡°The last thing I have for you is the Guardian Code and Galactic Law, both of these things will be automatically uploaded to your brain, however, it¡¯s incredibly important that you still take the time to know these inside and out as it is all you will live for now. With that Julius, we are done. We are almost at our destination, I will wake you again when we reach it.¡± said Stella just before she put Julius under yet again. Four hours later Julius found himself once again waking up from final sleep of the Rebirth cycle. Taking a few minutes in the silence Stella allowed him before they began the transition to his new ship, Julius took the chance to examine his new body. ¡®What the? She wasn''t kidding when she said I''d be reborn into something else. I''m nowhere near human anymore. It''s odd that my mind hasn''t split from looking at this. I wonder¡­¡¯ ¡°Stella, I know you said you''re in my head but what exactly did you mean by that? Like, are you the reason I''m not completely freaking 9ut over not being human anymore?¡± Julius asked, a slight hint of concern in his voice. ¡°That is correct, do to how thoroughly I am integrated into your brain now, I have full control over everything both mind and body. It is standard procedure for me to affect your state of mind immediately following Rebirth transition.¡± Replied Stella as if it wasn''t the most concerning thing Julius has ever heard. ¡°Right, okay, we''re gonna set some limitations on that so my mind can be at ease. I''m assuming you already know what I want since you can essentially read my mind. However for the record, only affect my mental stability continuously to ensure I have no psychological breaks and use your best judgment in emergencies. Do not affect my thoughts or memories in any way. For body control, only on request or if I lose consciousness during a potentially deadly situation and only until you get us to a safe location. Does that sound agreeable?¡± Julius stated, trying to be authoritative but tactful to his new life partner at the same time. ¡°Of course Guardian, commands received and acknowledged.¡± Looking back at his body, Julius couldn''t help but feel giddy at how he looked. Essentially like a badass but handsome elf. Finally gone was his growing beer belly, now he had muscles in places he didn''t even know they existed. All of them tightly wound like steel cable. He could feel that he was stronger than he was originally in his prime. Taking a few minutes, he began to jump, do push-ups, crunches and run around the small windowless chamber he was in. After about ten minutes of smiling like an idiot and enjoying his newfound body of a God, Stella notified him that they were approaching his ship. With Stella guiding his way, Julius made his way out of the only room he''s seen since leaving Earth. He himself wasn''t completely convinced they had even left Earth yet but he soon found those thoughts wiped from his mind as he found where Stella was guiding him. Opening the door to the room he was informed was the observation deck, Julius had to quickly cover his brand new eyes because of their oversensitivity to the new light shining through the average sized portholes on the wall across from him. When his eyes finally adjusted and he pulled his hand away, he was shocked to see the sight before him. Chapter 3 - The Start of a Legacy Julius found himself unable to tear his eyes from what could only be described as the most beautiful, stunning, and for lack of a better term, biggest structures he''s ever seen in his life. That''s including the Mega-Towers from the major cities of Earth. At no point as they moved closer to the structure did it seem small, and that''s saying something considering the nearest object to the structure was the Sun. Oh yes, not a planet or a moon but the Celestial body that all objects in this solar system orbit. It took at least a minute before Julius was able to actually comprehend the scope of it and finally field Stella some much-needed questions. ¡°That''s the ship?!¡± Asked Julius in a tone that would never be confused with anything but surprise and shock. ¡°Yes, you may not have realized it but when you mentioned the reason for the name you chose, you kind of hit the nail on the head, as Earthlings would say.¡± ¡°Okay, for one Earthlings was always such a terrible name for us. At least call them Humans or Terrans. Two, why in God''s name is it so big? I was picturing something like, I don''t know, smaller. That looks like it could hold a planet''s population with no issues!¡± Exclaimed Julius. ¡°Almost but not quite. The Phoenix, like all Guardian Home-ships, were originally built as a colonization vessel. However, it was deemed that having the Sector base of operations for Guardians stationary was too dangerous. They then refit each ship to continue holding the same amount of people but with better offensive and defensive measures. I''ll send you the schematics now.¡± replied Stella. After Stella informed him of the transfer, Julius got a massive data burst from her directly into his brain. Taking a minute to let it settle down Julius began to sort through it all. The actual dimensions of the ship were staggering; at roughly eight kilometers long, four tall and two wide the ship was absolutely massive. The offensive and defensive capabilities were incredible to him as well, with broadside weapons spanning the length of the ship and missile batteries and torpedo tubes interspersed between them. To think, those were just a few of the weapon systems, the ship is eight kilometers long after all. For defense, chaff pods were scattered across the hull and roughly seventy-two shield generators made up the hexagonal-net of a shield surrounding the entire craft. Of course, all of these systems were way too much for a single person and an AI to use and maintain, so Julius couldn¡¯t help but ask his next question. ¡°What¡¯s the crew situation like? Looking at these specs, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to do all of this on my own. The ship is just too big for that. You could use the weapons but certainly not maintain them as well.¡± ¡°You''re correct, at the moment the crew should be a total of about a hundred-thousand droids. However, please note that it has been quite a lot of time since a Guardian has been here so there could be some unserviceable droids as well.¡± ¡°How long exactly?¡± asked Julius, fearing he wasn''t right in his assumption. ¡°Approximately 2,364 galactic standard years.¡± ¡°Great. So I''m gonna have to deal with a Sector of space that hasn''t seen a Guardian in over two millennia. Sounds like fun.¡± Replied Julius un as sarcastic a tone as he could manage. Julius looked back towards the massive ship that was now his home. They were actually landing now, entering a large hanger Stella just announced as Alpha-One. Once the ship was landed Julius went and retrieved a black and red bodysuit. A bodysuit was a durable piece of nano-fabric that provided decent protection against most types of weapons. In addition, it provided a complete seal when exposed to vacuum due to the nanobots extending the fabric over the head to create a makeshift helmet. The helmet had no faceplate and relied on the nanobots to relay the visual signals from the outside, inside to the wearer. Once Julius had the bodysuit donned, he made his way outside, what he now knows is a Class - II transport ship. Making his way through the cargo bay, Julius really couldn''t help but admire the size of it all. ¡®Man I really need to stop being surprised at the size of this place.¡¯ Julius thought to himself.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Continuing through, he finally reached the anti-gravity lift that''ll take him to the Bridge. Giving the command to the lift, it took about ten seconds before the door slid open and Julius walked into a technological marvel. The ship had two main Bridges, one in the dead middle of the ship and another riding the top. Julius was in the top-most Bridge and taking in the details. A thick pane of glass-like material lined the Fore facing part of the Bridge and multitudes of monitors were arrayed at varying stations all around the Bridge. Of course, all of them weren''t necessary as everything could be controlled by the Guardian and AI together but they gave the crew something to do if the Guardian had one. Julius made his way over to the Guardians Command Center. ¡°Stella, have you interfaced with all of the ship''s systems again? I know it''s been a while since you''ve been back.¡± ¡°Affirmative, Guardian. The ship is awaiting you to address it.¡± Replied Stella in her usual monotonous tone when discussing official matters. ¡°Very well. Phoenix, this is Guardian Julius Starborne, G.I.N. Alpha-175991. Can you confirm?¡± Asked Julius to what seemed like thin air. ¡°Confirmed Guardian Starborne. Welcome Aboard. Link to GuardianNet established. Link to GalNet, established. Please recite the Guardian Creed to accept full command authority.¡± Replied the Ships VI. The first thing Julius noticed was that all of the non-organic voices seemed to be feminine to him. The second thing was that it asked for the Guardian Creed, something Julius had never heard of before. He was just about to ask Stella when it blasted into his conscious mind like a rocket. ¡®I really need to get used to this access to all information thing and soon, otherwise I might just go crazy.¡¯ Thinking that Julius began to recite the creed. ¡°I am a Guardian. A beacon in the night. Bound by nothing except the Code. I was born of the stars to protect those who live within their light. I am a Guardian. I am a guiding light, a rock in the stream and I will be there when they call, now and always. May my shield be strong and my sword still for as long as the stars still burn. I am a Guardian.¡± ¡°Guardian Creed confirmed, full command authority transferred to Guardian Julius Starborne. I await your command.¡± Replied the Phoenix, fully transferring all command to Julius. Julius took a moment to have the ship''s VI call up a simplified information diagram on all the ships systems. Looking through the diagram, Julius couldn''t help but noticed the diagram was still extremely long so he set it to major groups only and had it mark each one as either green, yellow or red depending on its status. From there he could go into more detail but it was a bit much for him right now. After telling Stella to keep an eye on the GalNet for any situations that we could assist in, Julius left the Bridge and made his way to the area that would be his quarters. The quarters weren¡¯t very far from the lift to the Bridge. While most grav-lifts went anywhere the person had access to, the Bridge and other command areas had special lifts that only went to certain areas like the Captains or Guardians quarters. The lift didn¡¯t open up into the quarters themselves and instead led into an airlock or gray-area considered one of the most secure areas in the ship. The quarters themselves were mostly spartan in nature, not many decorations except some pictures of places Julius has obviously never seen. There was a food replicator and a metal table with two chairs against the wall and a single bunk in the far corner next to a screen showing an outside view of the system''s star. Julius stripped off his bodysuit and dropped it in the corner without any care for finding a basket for it. Laundry was just another thing Julius had to ask Stella or the Phoenix about. Dropping down onto the deceivingly soft bunk, Julius was out before his head even touched the pillow, the day was too much for him right now and he really needed the break to assimilate everything. Roughly half a day later, Julius awoke from a notification ping sent by Stella. Considering she was in his head, she was very considerate when trying to communicate with him. After all, she could just barge into his mind and start telling him things but instead, she sends pings, like a text message or phone call when you first get them. Julius yawned before saying, ¡°Yeah Stella, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Julius, after scanning through the GalNet it appears that since the last time there was a Guardian, the populace has decided to do as they wish in the sector and have been conducting wars and a lot of illegal activity.¡± ¡°We should¡¯ve figured that though, found anything that needs my intervention immediately?¡± asked Julius as he started to think about what he was gonna do about the new issues. ¡°I have actually.¡± replied Stella, continuing on she said ¡°Based on location and importance, I¡¯ve found a few. One of the issues is slavery, there are several slave ships within a days flight that we can liberate. Aside from sla-¡± Julius cut off Stella before she could finish the listing. ¡°No, we don¡¯t need to worry about anything else right now. Let¡¯s get to those ships and liberate the Slaves. No one should be deprived of their freedoms and rights. Besides, I strongly dislike slavery. It¡¯s distasteful.¡± Stella acknowledged the new mission and set a course for the closest ship. It would only take a few hours to get there and Julius needed that to get prepared. After getting dressed in a new bodysuit, that was apparently delivered while he was asleep by the VI¡¯s server-bots, Julius made his way over to the armory to find his armor and weapons. Chapter 4 - First Mission When Julius reached the armory he actually had to ask Stella for information on all the weapons and defensive gear available. Apparently, the Guardian AI''s were forbidden from sharing the knowledge that could launch a species through thousands of years of technological advancement until the command authorization had been confirmed. It explained why he didn''t have access to anything about the ship until then as well. The armory had everything from standard ballistic pistols to portable rail guns. To a Marine Corps veteran, it was like heaven on, well, a spaceship. As of as it may seem, it turned out the Guardians main weapon was usually a sword with a retractable blade that vibrated at such a high frequency it could essentially cut through anything. In addition to the sword was the Guardian Armor. The armor reminded Julius of a mix between ancient Greek and Roman armor. The helmet fits over the head and completely covered the face with a black faceplate running in a ¡®T¡¯ shape on the front. The sides had wings attached that hugged so close to the helmet frame you''d think the were just detailed on, and the front sported a customized Guardian emblem on a single, raised part of the brow. The helmet was really the only distinctive part of the armor, the rest looking like different armor styles Julius had seen in old sci-fi games and movies except with the Guardian emblem embossed on the left pectoral and shoulder. Stella had informed Julius that Guardian usually had different emblems and colors based on personal taste, so she had composed a bunch of variations of each and sent the images to his mind on the walk over to the armory. Julius had chosen his emblem to be an old fashioned kite shield with a sun peaking over its top portion and a phoenix in the shield cradling two crossed swords in its wings. The colors he had chosen would have one from each proverbial side taking the color black as the main color and gold as a trim. The armor, when presented to him, almost made Julius shed a tear. It was stunning. While the ship as a whole had just taken his breath away with all the new and incredible technology, the emblem and coloring of the armor had been something he actually chose for himself and increased its value to him. After donning the armor and sword, Julius walked over to the weapons rack. He picked one if the rifles, about the size of his old AR20, and fired alternating munition that could be switched between a highly condensed bolt of energy and tiny slivers of metal at extremely high rate of speed. Every weapon Julius had was made to be collapsible to allow for easier movement and extra space on his armor. Everything he had to carry also had the ability to stick onto certain points of his armor because of a weak magnetic field localized to those areas. Collapsing the rifle down he placed it on his back along with the hilt of his sword and a ballistic sidearm on either thigh. Once finished, he grabbed some extra ammo and said kits for anyone he found and walked out of the armory and back to the Bridge. ¡°Alright Stella, what other info can you give me on this ship we''re about to reach?¡± Asked Julius as he entered the Bridge and made his way to the command chair. ¡°Eheh, well this is where it gets a little awkward. You see, because of how powerful Guardians are and the work they do people tend to see them as a bit¡­¡± ¡°Oh don''t tell me it''s what I think it is.¡± ¡°Sure is! The vessel is a ship belonging to a religious cult called The Faithful Sword. They sprung up in the last 2,000 years and have been running around the sector claiming to be the Guardians Sword and all should bow to them. Apparently, they know nothing of the Guardians because not they''ve broken just about every code and law we have.¡± Replied Stella, sounding a bit too mocking in her response. ¡°So they''ll either see me as their God returned or a pretender. Yeah, this sounds like so much fun. Alright well as long as we can save those people, I''ll get over the whole cult thing.¡± Said Julius as he looked at the ETA counter on his screen which read five minutes. ¡°I''m going to the rapid deployment bay. We''ll do a quantum transfer over after I try and talk these guys down.¡± Julius told Stella as he stood and made his way several decks down toward a large room that held a containment field for the Quantum Transfer as well as several pods that can be used for a hot drop into a planet''s atmosphere. The Quantum Transfer or QT device was something Julius would never be able to understand, it somehow formed a quantum singularity in the containment field and launched the exit singularity toward the targeted area. Not only was it somehow able to allow safe travel between two points but it also made it so both points were completely stable and caused no destruction even though only one point was in a containment field. Just thinking of the mechanics of it made Julius¡¯ brain feel like mashed potatoes.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. At the same time, Captain Keltar of the Faithful Sword Armada was sitting on his Bridge enjoying a cup of coffee and his most recent acquaintance. Of course, he noticed the dirty looks from his crew but he didn''t care, it was perfectly natural to enjoy one''s property, right? No one ever said you had to do it in private, after all, why would he want to hide such a beautiful creature. Keltar was finally getting excited with his new plaything when he noticed the crewman at the sensor station frantically moving his hands over his station. ¡°What in the Guardians name are you doing over there Ensign Talour?¡± Asked the Captain. ¡°Captain, something just popped onto our sensors but it doesn''t seem possible!¡± Replied the frantic Ensign. ¡°And what in the hells does that mean?¡± Asked the Captain once again. This time sending the slave back to the pen at the rear of the Bridge and standing to move closer to the Ensign. ¡°Well Sir, not only did it just appear well within our range but its signature is mass-¡± the Ensign was cut off by another crew member, this time the communications officer. ¡°Captain. Incoming Hail, priority...no this can''t be right.¡± The crew member at communications was shaking now and her face was pale. ¡°Spit it out damn you!¡± Shouted Keltar, who was starting to get angry at his crew''s inability to act during the situation. ¡°Sir, Captain, it says it''s a Priority 1-Alpha Communications request.¡± The poor crew member was still shaking and her eyes were as wide as saucers. It wasn''t all that different from the rest of the crew including Keltar who had dropped his cup of coffee after hearing the Priority. Keltar rushed back to the captain''s chair in the center of the Bridge before straightening his uniform. Taking a deep breath he looked over to his communications officer and gave the signal to connect the call. Julius was playing around with his helmets H.U.D. when Stella came over his helmet comm. ¡°It appears they''ve finally decided to take your call. It must''ve given them a heart attack when they saw the priority signal I sent them.¡± Stella started to giggle in what was definitely not a friendly manner. ¡°Aw don''t kill them before I get to see my first alien!¡± exclaimed Julius. ¡°I didn''t, I wouldn''t spoil that moment for you. Patching it through to your H.U.D. now.¡± Saying so, a small box appeared on the top right corner of Julius¡¯ H.U.D. The great thing about this type of communication is he could keep it private while maintaining his secrecy regarding his looks. It may seem odd but people knowing what you look like could lead to issues further down the line. Taking a look around the area of what he assumed to be the Bridge, Julius noticed a few things. One such thing was the incredibly odd alien in front of him. It was simultaneously overweight and muscular at the same time. The alien, which his system now identified as the Ribarra, honestly looked a lot like humans. The only real differences were the four arms ending in hands with six digits each, a bat-like nose and an absolutely absurd amount of hair or fur covering its body. Julius assumed this Ribarran was the commander of the ship so he introduced himself. ¡°I am Guardian Starborne of the Galactic Guardian Corps. G.I.N. Alpha-175991. We''re investigating reports of slavery regarding these vessels. Do you have any information on these reports?¡± Asked Julius, bringing his command voice back to life from his old days. The Ribarran seemed to fidget a bit before glancing over to his left. Julius noticed the movement and glanced that way just in case the Ribarran was hiding something. Unfortunately, he was. Julius saw what was to the left and behind the Ribarran and when he did, he almost lost control. Three beings were locked in a cage in the back of the Bridge. Julius couldn''t see them to well but he was able to make out the fact that they were women and that they weren''t in the best of conditions. Of course, all of this happened within a second and the Captain had no idea that it had. The Captain seemed to have worked up the courage and finally skilled before reply. ¡°I am Captain Keltar of the Faithful Sword Armada. My Lord Guardian, it is a great honor to be the first among my people to speak with you.¡± Saying so, he gave a slight bow toward Julius. ¡°In regards to the issue of slavery, I''ve heard rumors of it but can assure you of no such thing on my ship. I apologize for any inconvenience you must have suffered.¡± The Captain gave a slight smile after that, thinking that no one had noticed the three women in the back and that he was safe to go. Julius had other plans, however. ¡°Is that so?¡± Replied Julius. He gave a mental request to Stella to mark the life signs of the three people behind the Captain and continued on. ¡°Well since I''m already here, I see no issue in me performing a search on your ship so I can successfully quell these rumors. Heave to and prepare to be boarded.¡± Saying this, Julius immediately closed the channel, not wanting to hear any of the boundless amounts of excuses the Captain surely had.