Here is the first chapter of the fourth installment in The Guardians series. Hope you enjoy!
The Guardians
Freedom’s Children
Chapter 1
COLD, dehumidified air flooded the featureless back halls of the Cuomo Convention Center, sending a chill through Lilia Strong and raising goose bumps on her skin. Her heart thudded in her chest; chilly air was only a minor inconvenience compared to the real problem facing her. This section of the convention center was also empty.
Empty enough that had she been anyone else, Lilia might have been concerned about just…disappearing.
Her palms were sweaty inside her elbow-length navy blue gloves, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that except scrunch her fingers in her evening gown’s matching shimmery skirt. She immediately let go; the gown was too pretty to ruin. A slim sheath that flared out from her knees, it had short, filmy sleeves to hide the scar on her left upper arm from a fight with a would-be assassin a few months back.
Her heels made sharp clicking sounds against the smooth white floor, a counterpoint to the steady, thudding footsteps of the squad of security officers escorting her through the convention center’s back halls. Lilia was tall and slim, with angular features, violet eyes, and chin-length dark brown hair pinned away from her face. Her heels made her taller than several of her escorts, but that didn’t seem to bother them.
Everyone else in the building was gathered in the ballroom to celebrate the Tri-World Tournament’s Closing Ceremonies Gala. It was a massive celebration; the city of Atalia in Sta’Gloa’s Sector 8 was thronged with people from all three inhabited worlds in the Sta’Gloan system. Only a few people even knew Lilia had left the ballroom.
Fortunately, she had two major things in her favor. One, her grandfather was a Representative sitting on the Triumvirate that governed the Sta’Gloan system, otherwise known as the Coalition. And two…she was part of the Nanotech Coalition Defense Corps, NCDC for short, a special civilian defense group whose members were called Guardians.
Guardians’ bodies were infused with millions of nanites. Some of these facilitated mental Guardian-to-Guardian comm channels, while others formed several different kinds of highly effective body armor. At the moment, Lilia had a layer of stealth-armor beneath her lovely evening gown.
So, no, she couldn’t just disappear. Not tonight.
Even if she was under arrest on charges of high treason.
A slow-burning bubble of panic lodged in her throat, but Lilia held her head high and did her best to swallow it down. We did the right thing.
She and two of her brothers had done the only thing they could do, given the circumstances.
Narrowing her eyes at the black ponytail of the man leading their little procession, Lilia broke the stiff silence. “Where are you taking me?”
Alan Birch spared her a look over his shoulder and the ice in his green eyes almost gave her frostbite. Every centimeter of his tall, lean form radiated smug satisfaction mixed with cold fury—a strange combination, if ever Lilia had seen one. Also a Guardian, Birch ranked high enough at the NCDC to have become a provisional officer with the authority to arrest people.
“You’ll see soon enough,” he said dismissively.
Lilia wanted to scowl at him, but forced herself to maintain an impassive expression. He can’t be taking me out of the building. Not when I haven’t even spoken to the Triumvirate yet. She had no doubts she and her brothers would be giving an account of themselves soon enough.
After two more turns—one right, one left—they stopped in a hall lined with numbered doors on both sides. Birch opened one of these doors, revealing a large mahogany conference table surrounded by matching chairs, and beckoned to Lilia. “Have a seat.”
Lilia eyed him warily for a second, but she knew she really had no choice. Either I enter of my own volition, or they bodily shove me inside. She bit the inside of her lip. I’d prefer the more graceful route.
Reluctantly, she entered the conference room, sliding past Birch without touching him. The walls were a rich burgundy, and the air in here felt stuffy and humid compared to the hall. Edging around the large table to put some space between them, she watched in alarm as Birch waved the security officers away and closed the door. The hair on the back of her neck prickled; they were alone. “What do you think you’re — ”
Birch pulled a small, silvery device from seemingly thin air and shot her before she could finish.
A ball of electricity the size of her thumbnail hit Lilia squarely below the v-shaped neckline of her evening gown, just between her breasts. Searing pain exploded in her chest and traveled outward in a starburst along every nerve-ending. For an instant, she felt frozen—her diaphragm unable to expand to allow her to draw a breath.
Then the sensation passed, leaving a strange sort of numbness in its wake. Her knees chose that moment to decide they were off-duty and would no longer bear her weight. Staggering, Lilia grabbed for the nearest chair and leaned heavily on it, trying to convince herself she could still breathe.
“I did tell you to sit down,” Birch chided.
Lilia ignored him. That felt like it burned straight through my armor. She was almost afraid to look at her chest, but she forced herself to glance down. Instead of the charred spot she expected, her bodice only bore a faint singe mark.
That did not make Lilia feel better. He has to know I’d materialize stealth-mode nano-armor in a situation like this. Swallowing with an effort, she lifted her gaze to Birch. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Restraining you.” Birch gave the device in his hand a look of deep satisfaction. “You’re a Guardian, Miss Strong, a Guardian under arrest, and we can’t take the chance that you’ll escape.”
Her heart sinking into her stomach, Lilia gaped at him. She had wondered why he hadn’t bothered to place her in restraints earlier. “What is that thing?”
His expression turned cold and smug again. “Try Nancomming your brothers. Tell them I just shot you.”
Okay, he’s starting to scare me. Lilia swallowed again, eying Birch distrustfully. I really don’t want to be alone with him. She also didn’t want to believe a word he said, but telling her to contact her brothers was…strange…given the circumstances.
She tried to open a Nancom channel to her twin brother Kevin…but nothing happened. Her mind remained silent; she could no longer feel the channels in her mind connecting her to her brothers, who were also Guardians. It felt like her mind had been closed off, the mental connections she’d grown accustomed to having since she became a Guardian amputated. A cold chill skittered down her spine. What did he do?
Eying Birch defiantly, she attempted to open a channel to him. Still nothing. Her grip tightened on the back of her chair. Oh, no…
Birch was smiling now, and it did absolutely nothing to reassure her. “Disconcerting, isn’t it?” He folded his arms across his chest, still smiling.
Horror flooded Lilia; for a second, she thought she might be sick. That electricity…She’d seen something like this before.
Once.
Azaren Carn.
That was not a good sign.
Azaren Carn was a Guardian who had been the sole survivor of a failed rescue mission on Lanx, the third inhabited world in the Sta’Gloan system, right after Galactic Union Admiral Chesnee blew a hole through Lanx’s planetary shield and captured her capital city. Lilia and her brother Kevin had been part of a second team sent in to rescue a trio of scientists responsible for inventing a machine capable of opening wormholes for instantaneous travel. When they’d encountered Carn, they had learned that high voltage electricity could render a Guardian’s nanites inert.
They’d also learned that the loss of her nanites had not been good for Carn’s mental health.
Lilia tried to dematerialize a section of her stealth armor, but nothing happened. She might as well have never undergone the infusion process. This part, however, she had experienced before. That’s not something I can tell Birch, though.
Through dry lips, she said, “You just fried my nanites.”
“Yes, I did.”
Terrible scenarios began racing through Lilia’s head, each one worse than the last. It took a tremendous amount of effort to keep her voice even as she asked, “Permanently?”
Birch’s lips twisted into a cruel smile, but then he shook his head. “It’s not permanent. You should be grateful for that.”
She was, tremendously so, but this was hardly the time to savor her relief. Instead, she nodded to the device in his hand. “What is that?”
Shrugging, Birch held it up. It was cylindrical, and reminded Lilia of a too-short silver drumstick. “The NCDC calls it an ‘impactor’.” He nodded to her. “You’ll notice nothing else works either. No armor, no ISF, no Nancom.”
“I’ve noticed,” she said dryly.
Birch gave her a sharp smile. “Guardians are entrusted with a great deal of power. We have to be able to control rogues like you and your brothers.”
Lilia wanted to roll her eyes at him, but a large part of her was afraid he’d simply shoot her with the thing again. “That was unnecessary. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ve certainly not gone rogue.” As if to prove her point, she yanked the chair she was holding onto out from the table and sat down in it.
“You’ve proved you can’t be trusted.”
Like you trusted me before, Lilia thought tartly. Aloud, she said, “How long has the NCDC had those things?”
Birch made a scoffing noise in the back of his throat. “You don’t think the NCDC would give people—even vetted individuals—access to technology like this without putting some kind of fail-safe in place, do you?”
Lilia wet her lips. She’d never really thought about it before, actually. Fine, next question. “How long will it last?” She lifted her chin. “I need to use the ladies’ room.”
Birch gave her another unpleasant smile. “Long enough for me to transport you back to Sonela for a disciplinary hearing.”
Lilia blanched. That…sounds like it’ll at least be a couple of hours. She hadn’t exactly counted on not being able to dematerialize her armor the rest of the night.
Birch held out an imperious hand. “Your comlink.”
Lilia barely suppressed an incredulous snort. He should have asked me that before he shot me. “It’s in my ISF.”
An interdimensional storage field—known simply as an ISF—was a byproduct of the infusion process she’d undergone in order to become a Guardian. An electromagnetic field surrounding her body capable of holding an amount equal to her body weight in weapons and gear, no one else could see it or access it, and no mechanical scanner would register its existence. She’d slipped her comlink into it for safekeeping earlier in the evening.
“Is that so?”
Lifting her chin, Lilia held Birch’s gaze and slowly extended her gloved arms to either side. “Does this dress look like it has pockets?”
Birch gave her a long, hard look before he apparently decided she was telling the truth. “I hope you enjoyed your exploits this evening, Miss Strong.” His voice dripped icicles. “It’ll be your last evening as a Guardian.”
An unexpected peal of laughter bubbled up in her throat. If only you knew! She choked it down with an effort, eying Birch’s tall, disapproving form. “What makes you so sure?”
“You honestly think the NCDC will keep you after you just helped your brother smuggle a Tarynian Ambassador onto Sta’Gloa?”
Words rose to the tip of her tongue; Lilia held them back. Her oldest brother Michael’s voice echoed in her mind. Don’t say anything.
Instead, she folded her hands in her lap—to hide their sudden trembling—and fixed Birch with what she hoped was an impassive look. “I want to see my grandfather.”
“You’re not in any position to demand anything. The NCDC will be dealing with you.”
It was Lilia’s turn to give him a sharp smile. “Not before the Triumvirate wants to see me, I’m sure. I can’t imagine that will go over well.”
Birch slammed a hand down on the conference table, making her flinch, but he stopped himself before speaking. His eyes took on a distant cast Lilia recognized. Somebody had Nancommed him.
I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
Slowly, Birch straightened. “I suggest you take this opportunity to reflect on a few things. Remember tonight — ” he nodded to her gown, “ — it’ll be the last time you wear something like that anywhere for a long time.”
With that parting shot, he whirled around and stalked out of the conference room.
Lilia wanted to slump in relief that he had finally left her alone, wanted to slump down on the table and just breathe, but she didn’t dare. If there were cameras in here monitoring her—and there probably were—she didn’t dare show signs of anything.
Instead, she straightened her back just as her grandmother had taught her so many years ago and sat primly in her chair. She knotted her fingers together in her lap, willing herself not to twist them together, and prayed. Without access to Nancom, tendrils of panic curled through her; she felt alone and adrift.
In all the furor of figuring out how to get Ambassador Kedis in to see the Triumvirate, we didn’t exactly think about what would happen afterward.
In hindsight, that might have been a mistake.
________________________________________________
The Guardians: Freedom’s Children is © 2018 by E.R. Paskey
Ebook Available Globally: Here