In the room sat a lady who had her back to them.
"Yes?" she asked.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am," said the guard, "but I found these two outside the citadel limits. They told me a tale which I disbelieved at first, but then they mention Earth."
"Earth?"
"Yes, ma'am. Outside of your inner council no one on Erata knows of Earth. I thought you'd want to see these two yourself." The lady turned around to face them. She stared long and hard at them.
"I don't know either of them, Revare. Have them executed."
"Yes, ma'am." Dave looked at Jo.
:::How does she know of Earth?::: asked Dave.
:::I've no idea. I'll sort this out.::: Jo said. "Ma'am, we are travellers from another dimension. I am Josephine Geneva-Goldfish, Chief of Staff at C&C, a planetary security installation on my planet. This is my husband David Goldfish, Chief of Operations at C&C."
"Your point is?" enquired the lady.
"My point is you must believe us. We can help you."
"No, I think you are spies. Your master must be getting more powerful if he can eavesdrop on the royal court, yet more foolish if he expects us to believe this story. I've never heard of this 'C&C'."
"But I have," said a new voice. Dave and Jo turned to see someone standing in the corner of the room. The lady and Revare got on their knees.
"Majesty," they said.
"It is you," whispered Dave. In front of them stood Sapphire de Silva. "Hello, Dave," she said, a cold tint to her voice, that made Dave wary. "It's been awhile, lover."
:::Lover?::: Jo cried in to Dave's brain. :::You didn't mention that::: Dave could see this turning nasty if he didn't do something soon.
"Sapphire, it's good to see you again. We thought you'd been slain in the attack on C&C."
"No thanks to you, Goldfish."
"I didn't ask for you to come after me," said Dave, angry and hurt at her accusation
"I thought you'd been badly injured in a crash?" asked Jo.
"That's half true," he admitted. Jo did not know this story, and Dave had never told her what really happened about the attack on C&C all those years ago.
The sentinels were coming from what looked like a temporal rift. C&C had a part to play in the oft prophesied Dawn of the Sentinels, a nightmare scenario where mutants were hunted down and separated from humanity by these sentinels, either by death or by being placed in to registration camps. Much of the super being populace were dead by the sentinels hands to prevent further mutants being created, but there were some who managed to escape detention and act as a resistance group operating from C&C, which contained enough information on other mutants to be of great value to either side. The sentinels themselves could not get close to the complex and so decided the best way of preventing the information being used against them was to destroy it at its source. The attack failed and also led to the upgrading of the complex's defences against sentinels, and whilst there would be many more attacks before C&C became the unbreachable fortress it would become, it was generally accepted that it was that attack that had started it on its way and the only the resistance group knew that, for the information was stored in the computer systems there, and provided a reason as to why they made no attempt to prevent the sentinel attack. Sapphire was, by now, in her own attack vessel and flew to Dave's aid on seeing him enter a nose-dive, but was shot down by the sentinels, plummeting through the spatial displacement caused by the appearance of the Storm Hawk and, in a state of flux entered the time rift, causing a massive explosion which destroyed the time stabiliser device that the sentinels used to remain in the era and they disappeared. The Storm Hawk splashed down in the lake just outside the complex and Dave was hospitalised for several months. The truth about the sentinel disappearance was not generally known, even amongst C&C senior staff as the government staged a massive cover up about the whole affair and Dave only found the truth out when he took command of C&C years later. By then it was all over and done with and he had left it at that.
"I should have realised that we had unfinished business, Cloak."
"You don't have the right to call me that. Not anymore."
"What is your problem? We all thought you were dead."
"If there's no body, don't presume death. That was one of the mantras we drilled in to you in training. How would you feel if you were presumed dead by your nearest and dearest. Was there even a search for me?" Dave shook his head. "And you wonder why I'm upset. I just hope it happens to you, one day."
"My friends wouldn't do that." He turned to Jo. "Would they?"
"Your message to Blaquesmith probably won't help," she said.
"Damn, I'd forgotten that. He'll shoot C&C in to space as well."
"Why?"
"He probably won't have time to run it. He and Crys are having a few difficulties at the minute. I hope they can work it out 'cause if they split up, the Fringe will have a hell of a time. One of them will quit, for sure. Perhaps even both."
"Excuse me," said Sapphire. "Will you shut up? Now, why are you here?"
"Well, there..." Dave started but never got to finish his sentence as an explosion rocked the citadel.
"LadyQueen to the Bridge" came a voice from nowhere. Sapphire touched a metallic pad on her arm.
"On my way," she said, turning to Revare and the lady. "Come on, we've got a problem."
"Can we help?" asked Dave, before Jo could stop him.
"Follow me," said Sapphire, in an even tone.
:::Hey, D::: sent Jo. :::Does the fact your powers are fading bother you in the slightest?:::
:::Look, she's an old friend..:::
:::Lover:::
:::Lover::: Dave acknowledged :::who feels I let her down. I want to make amends:::
:::You know your trouble?:::
:::What?:::
:::You're always right when you want to be. Let's go, just don't expect me to like her::: They made after Sapphire. Dave was a little annoyed at Jo's reaction. They'd never met one of the others ex's and this was uncharted territory for the pair, but he hadn't expected this. He wanted to know her reasoning.
:::What's your porblem with Sapphire? Are you jealous?::: Jo didn't answer. Dave decided to drop it before he caused any more trouble. Sapphire knew exactly what she was doing when she called him lover. On the bridge, there were people running around all over.
"What happened?" asked Sapphire to one of her staff.
"The first missile assault was just a test. They fired some more which breached the shields. The main power core is damaged and there is an assault force at the gate."
"Damn," said Sapphire. "Revare, take a team and fend them off. Elisha," she said turning to the lady, "take over at tactical."
"Cloak," said Dave.
"Don't call me that," she said.
"Sorry, Sapphire. I want to go with Revare and try to stop this assault. You're gonna
need all the help you can get. Jo can take over on one of the consoles." Sapphire nodded.
"Do it. Jo, take over on co-ordination. You're Chief of Staff at C&C so this shouldn't be too hard for you."
:::I'll have her::: said Jo.
:::Leave it, sweetheart. Hold the fort till I get back:::
:::Yes, Dave::: Dave ran after Revare and Jo took up position at the console. She surveyed the forces that they had. The enemy outnumbered them 2 to 1, she thought and shook her head.
"Is there a problem?" asked Sapphire.
"Not for much longer," said Jo and started to get to work. Meanwhile, Revare summoned his troops. They were kitted out with weapons and body armour.
"Okay, let's go," he said and they marched out. Dave was last to leave behind Revare. He'd picked up some kind of energy blade and a plasma rifle. If his powers only affected the iron in his bloodstream, he'd have to make sure that he was careful, and more inventive than he had been in the past. Outside the enemy banner flew outside. Dave stared at it and something in the back of his mind clicked. He began to understand why this place looked familiar, but now was not the time to solve puzzles, even though this war might just be his own fault. He entered the battle with a cry of anger, directed mainly at himself. More unfinished business, he thought to himself. This is just turning in to one of those days. He leapt at the nearest opponent he could find and the battle was joined.
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