to its maximum extent the noise was deafening as the plasma energy did battle with our two separate portals. Then, would you believe it… there was a loud bang as, before our very eyes, our two portals came together, forming one larger portal that was now back to its normal white colour and therefore useable. Everyone in that room must have thought the same as I did – that this was what the ancient Kultarn prophesy must have meant, ‘And those two Guardians will then come together as one.’
Chris then shouted, “Go through now, it will only hold for a few seconds.”
We needed no prompting and both stepped through the portal in unison like a pair of ferrets down a rabbit hole and hence into the unknown as the portal then began to collapse in on itself. Chris, who was visibly relieved, shut down the whole system before it overloaded and burnt out.
The Professor then turned to him. “Well done my son, you have done what no one else thought possible.”
“Thank you,” Chris replied.”
Alana then approached and gave Chris a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations, I knew you would succeed. I just knew it.”
As Chris turned red with embarrassment the Professor smiled, no doubt thinking it was about time someone made the first move.
The Prime Minister then spoke. “Chris, Alana, well done. As for you, Commander Vadoran, by your tireless efforts over the last few years you have given them the means, but only God can give them the courage to carry out the mission. I suggest we all now retire for the evening and have a good night’s rest in readiness for tomorrow’s momentous events. Unlike the Kaytons, who will be into their third day of drunken behaviour… hopefully, that will work to our advantage.”
With that, everyone dispersed as Kronos and I emerged through the other side of the portal.
Seventeen
What confronted us was a large walled garden full of trees and exotic plants and the realization that we had completed our one way journey to Tyros as our portal collapsed behind us. I now realized there was no going back; it was a case of all or nothing. Everything depended on the outcome of tomorrow’s events.
A man approached us. It was Adema. I thought straight away that he reminded me of the man who wrote Downton Abbey. Looks can be deceptive; to look at him, you wouldn’t think he was one of Commander Vadoran’s best agents.
“It’s so good to see you, Kronos,” Adema said. “I thought this day would never come.” They shook hands and embraced.
“Good to see you too, Adema,” Kronos replied. “Now this is John, who has agreed to help us in our fight against the Kaytons.”
Adema shook my hand firmly. “It’s good to finally meet you, John. I cannot thank you enough for your help in our mission to bring down the Kaytons.”
“It’s good to finally meet you as well, Adema,” I replied. “I have heard so much about you and the efforts you have made over the last three years to make the mission possible.”
“Yes. Everything is now coming to its inevitable climax.” He led us out of his garden into his villa proper.
“Is this all yours?” I asked as we entered the main living area.
“Yes. This is what you get when you sell your soul to the devil. I even have staff to maintain the place but I gave them the weekend off, for obvious reasons.”
Adema then invited us to sit down and provided refreshments for all three of us.
“Are things as bad as the Kayton propaganda are making out?” he asked Kronos.
“Yes,” Kronos replied. “The Hellertrons are in full retreat. The Prime Minister only narrowly won a vote of no confidence in Parliament. If the situation deteriorates any further he would not win another one. Now, John, if you are in agreement and seeing that Adema is risking his life tomorrow in part to help you, I would like to reveal the reason why to him.”
I nodded in agreement and Kronos continued. “John’s home planet is Earth and a Kayton battle squadron is less than a day and a half away from occupying it. That is the main reason why we are making the attempt tomorrow.”
“I wondered why the attempt was being made so soon after John arrived on Sontral,” Adema said. “I assumed more time would be spent on his training for the mission. We will have to make doubly sure we succeed.” He then laid out the blueprints of the Drone command bunker on the table for Kronos to inspect.
“Oh,” said Kronos, “that magnamite shield casing protecting the power generator relays is a lot thicker than I expected. Are you sure the charges will be strong enough to sever the connection?”
“What I have done,” Adema replied, “is re-engineered the charges into a shape charge, so it will punch deeply in one direction instead of dissipating in many different directions. All the computer simulations I have run confirm my calculations but the charges must be placed correctly to ensure success.”
“Have you got that, John?” Kronos asked.
“I certainly have,” I replied. “I won’t let you down. The charges will be placed correctly, you can be assured of that. What is magnamite, though? I have never heard of that metal before.”
“Magnamite is the hardest metal alloy known,” Kronos replied. “That’s why the Kaytons are so interested in Earth because it has rich deposits deep within its crust.”
For the rest of the evening we relaxed and talked more about personal matters than what lay ahead. On Tyros itself, the population was coming to the end of its three days of national celebration that had been declared by the Supreme Council to mark the crushing victory they had just achieved over the Hellertrons. In vast night clubs, people were dancing on the huge dance floors that were surrounded by tables and bars. The constant, repetitive thump of the music was blaring out in ever increasing volumes. In the middle of each table a holograph was being projected of a scantily clad woman dancing the night away. Mind you, there were plenty of real women to be found, as well of hordes of drunken men, all celebrating now they thought the war was as good as over. The sheer excess of it all was reminiscent of a scene from Sodom and Gomorrah.
In a special V.I.P. area off the main dance floor, Drakos was sitting with his son and, shall we say, four ladies of the night. Wesker then approached and as he did so, two of the women got up to meet him, one on either side of him, putting an arm around him.
He was not amused. “Go away; make tracks.”
“Oh, lighten up, man!” Drakos shouted. “All work and no play makes Wesker a dull boy. Have you met my son, Daymar? He has just been promoted to the Citadel guard.”
“Yes, I’m pleased for you,” Wesker replied, “but if you don’t mind, I would like a word in private.”
“Go on, son,” Drakos said. “Take the girls for a dance while I have a chat with grumpy old Wesker. Now then, what can I do for you?”
“I have been worried since the arrival of the second Guardian,” Wesker replied. “One of my contacts on Sontral, a former secretary, has come across a top secret project called Majestic that involves the guardians. She reckons less than ten people even know of its existence.”
“But what makes you think Majestic has anything to do with the Guardians?” Drakos asked.
“Because there has been a flurry of activity surrounding Majestic since the arrival of the second Guardian on Sontral. Also, he has been seen a lot with a woman who trains their agents in the use of weapons and explosives and then he disappears off the grid altogether for long periods of time.”
“How much did you pay her for that piece of information?”
“A lot,” Wesker replied. “She took great risks to get me the information; you certainly don’t want to know how much I paid.”
“The Kaytons will, though, and when they do they will be cutting your money down because you have been conned. I have had no reports from my agents on Sontral about anything being in the offing. You have been given a bum steer.”
“Yes, but your contacts are in the military not the scientific directorate—”
“No, you are wrong, Wesker,” said Drakos. There
is nothing going on and as for the guardian disappearing off the grid, well so did Kronos when he went over to the Solarans. Maybe they are training him for behind the lines operations, but that is not going to make any difference now at this late stage in the war. The Kayton military have been informed to prepare for the rapid occupation of the remainder of the Hellertron empire, due to their worsening situation. The only thing reliable in this unreliable Galaxy is the unreliability of the Hellertrons. After the Hellertrons surrender, the Solarans will be suing us for peace. They will not continue the war without allies, especially with all their raw materials running out.”
“Do you remember,” Wesker said, “when we were at school all those years ago, we were taught the stories about the ancient Kultarn and their written prophecies they read… And those two guardians will then come together as one and help prevent a terrible darkness from descending over the galaxy.”
“And that’s all they were,” Drakos replied. “Nothing more than stories that were passed down through the ages to captivate and amuse the young.”
“Yes, when we were young that was a valid argument, but look what has happened since both Guardianships have come into existence and chosen two Guardians who have both joined the Solarans.”
Drakos chuckled to himself. “What are they going to do? Come together and sing us to death like the Guardian did at the theatre the other night? Did you see