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Crystal Guardian

Arc 1: Between the Darkness and the Light

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Chapter 3: Progress

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After the meeting the Council of Elders called a general address, they told all the Crystalans what had occurred at the meeting, three members of the Council of Elders addressed the Crystalans. The members of the Council of Elders were Gaurdius, Isis and Cyris. Gaurdius, Isis and Cyris were former Guardians so they had personal understanding of the risks that those who wear crystal armour would have to confront.

And they said this in closing;

Gaurdius: " Crystalans; my heart ways heavy as we bring you these news, we as a people are at a crossroads, we can choose to hide and do nothing, but that would only postpone our confrontation with the Hand of Destiny (HOD), and with every moment we waist the Hand of Destiny grows stronger"

Cyris : " The Hand of Destiny has told us in no uncertain terms that we must either submit to them or be destroyed! There are questions we need to answer about the HOD, we must collect intelligence on the HOD, and we need to measure their capabilities. We don't know how long our conflict with the Hand of Destiny will last, but we do suspect that there may be more of them than there are of us!”

Isis : " Because of this, we must ask that we begin Vanguard training much earlier than we did in the past. Therefore all Children over the age of 7 will be equipped with training armour, the training armour will not be a fighting tool but a training tool designed to produce a highly trained Vanguard by the age of 18. The training Armour will be equipped with an attack limiter to prevent the children from harming themselves or each other. With the Spirit Stone protecting Crystalorb we don't expect that Crystalorb is in any immediate danger but we must plan for the worst. May the Source give us strength!”

- - -

After the General Address the Council of Elders summoned Nalen and Esara to the Council chambers. Nalen was Head of the research Units, and Esara was the head of the Expeditionary Units.

Isis : " Esara you have served Crystalorb with great distinction, you have shown great courage and discipline, since becoming the Head of the Expeditionary units the units have become our trusted eyes and ears on the frontiers. This is why we look to you in this our hour of greatest need”

Esara : " Honoured leaders I am ready and willing to serve in what ever way the council sees fit!”

Isis : " We need intelligence on the Hand of Destiny, to this end we ask you to go into the world and survey the disposition of their forces. We need to know just how many of them there are”

Nalen : " Lady Isis; if I may!”

Isis : " Yes!" after a brief pause as looks at the other Elders "Nalen; Proceed!”

Nalen : " There may be a way to ascertain that number, I have been experimenting with some of the communications capability of the Spirit Stone. With the Council's help we can connect the Spirit Stone to the internet, with this the Spirit Stone will be able to collect all the knowledge we seek from any place in the world. The Spirit Stone can access any computer provided that the encryption has not been placed beyond the limits of computation. We can access the database of the Department of Home Affairs and collect information on anyone who has the Surname Ralefa"

Cyris : " Great thinking Nalen, you are hereby authorised to proceed!"

Isis : " Esara; once Nalen collects the Information you must deploy your Vanguards to observe some of them and collect what ever Information you can gather. However in the end we'll need to get an accurate measure of the fighting capabilities of a member of the Hand, you will have to fight on of them. Your physical capabilities are the highest of anyone I have ever seen your age, even in Vanglead Armour you generate more than twice the energy level of other Vangleads. We should have promoted you to Guardian a long time ago but because of the red crystal on your chest we were not sure how the rest of the armoured units would react, and there are those who view you with suspicion."

Cyris : " Nevertheless your Promotion to Guardian has been Approved, and since all Armour is person specific in the next hour we will begin the ceremony where we will call upon the Spirit Stone to absorb your Vanglead Armour and replace it with a Guardian Armour. As from today you will be the first ever thirteenth Guardian.”

Nalen : " My Lord!”

Cyris : " Yes; Nalen”

Nalen : " I would also like to ask permission to begin experimenting with some upgrades to the crystal armour; modifications I have been designing."

Isis : " The two of you are an incredible pair, one is an amazing warrior and the other has a tireless mind that will not yield.”

Gaurdius: " A true testament to Your grandfather’s Greatness; I knew him you Know? Many forget that it was he that gave us the crystal armour, Olen would be proud of the two of you."

Cyris : " When one becomes a Crystal Guardian the Spirit Stone arms you with the Guardian Compass! It's a spiritual connection to other Crystalans, but it sometimes extends to other beings that have a deep connection to Crystalans. It's the Guardian Compass that allows Crystal Guardians to hear Crystalans calling out to them. It triggers the protective instinct of a Crystal Guardian! Some believe that this ability predates the Chest Crystal, and it is in fact a human ability!"

Esara and Nalen left the Council Chambers embolden by the words of the Council of Elders. They knew that hard times lay ahead but together they would face anything that came their way just as they did when they were kids. On the way home they had a conversation about Esara's promotion.

Esara : " So what do you think? Me a Guardian?”

Nalen : " Congratulations my Love, you deserve it!”

Esara : " It’s a great responsibility, will I be strong enough!”

Nalen : " I don't know anyone stronger; the Hand of Destiny will never know what hit them"

Esara : “But!”

Nalen : “But nothing, with you in Guardian Armour; they don't stand a chance”

- - -

An hour later the Promotion ceremony began. Nalen, Casara and little Naole were in attendance; also in attendance were all the members of the Council of Elders and the other 12 Guardians. Each Guardian protects a sector of space around Crystalorb; the space is divided into 12 sectors like the hours of a clock, with each hour representing one Guardian’s area of operations.

When all the guests had gathered at the top of the pyramid, Gaurdius, Isis and Cyris touched the Spirit Stone activating the crystals on their chest, then they began to commune with the spirits in the Spirit Stone.

Gaurdius: " With the Crystal fragment on my Chest I unlock the seal!"

Isis : “ In the name of all Crystalans I call upon the spirits of those who have left us!"

Cyris : " Mighty spirits awaken and hear the call of your children!"

Isis : " Esara; Step forth and say your Oath!”

Like most Crystalan women Esara was tall with a lean muscular physic. Esara stepped forward holding her Vanglead Armour which was encased in its power sphere.

Esara : " I am the light on the hill!" the Crystal Armour sphere reacts as it recognizes Esara "The line in the sand!" Light energy increases "Here and no further!"

Then electrical energy flowed from the Spirit Stone hitting the crystal on Esara's chest, a beam of light from the Spirit Stone hit the Vanglead Armour forcing it out of Esara's hand, the sphere containing the Vanglead Armour then floated towards the Spirit Stone, upon contact with the Spirit Stone a bright light emanated from the Spirit Stone, then in a flash the Armour sphere reappeared.

Isis : " Go ahead Esara; Touch your destiny"

When Esara touched the Armour sphere it began to glow bright red, the sphere opened to reveal Esara's Guardian Armour. Then Esara produced a beam of light from her Chest crystal, and when the light hit the activation node on the armour it moved towards Esara and started assembling its self on her body. When the assembly process was complete Esara began the power up sequence which then activated the energy coupling with the retractable Lance.

Esara's Guardian Armour was different from that of other Guardians. The Normal Guardian armour was formed from clear Crystal; with (1) a Dense dome Armour Chest Crystal for Chest Energy blasts, (2) two other smaller middle finger Dense crystals for Fist Energy blasts, (3) a helmet with a communications crystal on the forehead and (4) a Crystal Lance. Guardian Armour Crystals are 25% larger than that of Vanglead Armour.

The Vanguard and Vanglead Armour were not equipped with the communications Helmet and the Lance, also the Armour sphere was 40% smaller than Guardian Armour. The main difference between the Vanguard and Vanglead Armours is that the Vanglead Armour Chest Crystal is 20% larger than that of the Vanguard Armour. For Esara the Crystal Lance, the helmet and all the Energy blast Crystals were red.

Because of the differences in the Armour energies there were also differences in the Armour amplification of physical strength. Vanguard Armour multiplied a Crystalan’s strength a hundred fold allowing the individual to lift over 80 tons, or the equivalent of 50 small cars. Vanglead Armour increased the physical capabilities by more than twice that of the Vanguard Armour. A Guardian would gain more than twice the physical capabilities of Vanglead Armour through the use of Guardian Armour.

As a Crystalan gets older their Chest Crystal gets denser and more powerful, and that meant that their Armour would need to be upgraded so that the Crystal forming the Armour is identical to the Chest Crystal. The fact that the Chest Crystal and the Armour's Crystal were identical allowed the Crystalan’s body to perceive the Crystal Armour as part of the body, this is what gave Crystalans the ability to intuitively control the Crystal Armour, with the Chest Crystal linking the brain to the Crystal Armour.

Olen did not design the armour as a weapon system but and ability enhancer, his intension was not to create a stand alone weapon but a tool for amplifying a Crystalan’s natural ability. The helmet and the two smaller middle finger dense crystals for fist blasts were all additions created by others as improvements to the original design.

When Esara was finished powering up the ceremony continued.

Isis : " Warriors of Crystalorb I give you the first ever Expeditionary Guardian! Tasked with the protection of Crystalorb's interests that lie beyond the territorial range of Crystalorb!"

And with that the ceremony was complete; Esara had been inducted into the Crystalorb warrior elite. Esara's children Casara and Naole were very delighted at the prospect of being the kids of a Guardian; they thought that it meant the teasing by other children would end.

- - -

A few days later Nalen completed his search for details about the number of the members of the Hand of Destiny (HOD). Nalen had discovered that at a minimum there were 9500 living descendents of Ralefa. This meant that the Crystalans were gravely outnumbered these were pretty bad odds for the survival of the Crystalans.

When Nalen presented this information to the Council of Elders and the Guardian Council they wanted to know why there was such a difference in the procreation capabilities of the two groups.

So Nalen answered:

Nalen : " My Lord the answer to that question lies in the very make up of a Crystalan, I suspect it has to do with the Crystal induced electrical energy in every cell of a Crystalan's body. When my son Naole was having difficulties as a baby I examined his body chemistry relative to known medical data, comparing Naole's, Mine, Esara's and other Crystalan samples to known Medical data."

Isis : " What were the results?"

Nalen : " Well, the electrical energy contained in a standard Crystalan cell is more than 10 times that of a normal Human. Red chest crystal Crystalan contained more than 3 times the electrical energy of a normal Crystalan and Naole having a blue chest Crystal contains more than 6 times the electrical energy of a normal Crystalan”

Cyris : " What does any of this mean?"

Nalen : " Experience has shown us that for Crystalans the male is the carrier for the active genes that form the chest crystals, but even though the female's genes are passive the female Crystalan is the other critical component in ensuring fertilization. We have seen in the past that Crystalan women could successfully have children with normal human men, but Crystalan men had trouble conceiving with normal human females. At the heart of the fertility problems is the energy in the cells of the sperm. The sperm of a Crystalan male has so much energy it destroys the egg while trying to penetrate the egg. In 99.8% of cases the attempt ends in failure, but the egg of a Crystalan female is not destroyed by the sperm because it contains a comparable energy component. However the egg from Crystalan female being immobile does not generate the extra energy compared to the Crystalan sperm, thus the Crystalan egg does not nearly always destroy the sperm from a normal human; resulting in fertilization in 32% of the circumstances!"

Isis : " By the Source!"

Gaurdius : " So what about the Hand of Destiny, don’t they have the same problem?"

Nalen : " From the historical records of the day Lesedi and Ralefa received their abilities; Ralefa only came into contact with a microscopic fragment of the crystal on the skin. That is why the mutation was centred around soft tissue, but for Lesedi the mutation was centred around bone tissue, the end result is self evident. Other records also indicate Ralefa's abilities were more physical than energy based. We believe Ralefa being exposed to such a small amount of the crystal allowed his body to manage the transformation process more effectively than that in Lesedi. For Lesedi the transformation was dominated by the crystal's requirements resulting in higher energy levels. The cells in our bodies operate at these high energy levels because the crystal in our chest operate more efficiently at these electrical energy levels"

Isis : " Is there anything we can do to increase our birth rate?"

Nalen : " Yes Lady Isis!" after a brief pause "But we have more immediate concerns. In trying to give an estimate on the physical capabilities of the members of the Hand of Destiny we came upon something disturbing."

Cyris : " What?"

Nalen : " After the Meeting you held with the Hand of Destiny we collected the chairs used by the Viceroy and his associates so that we could collect any skin follicles or other residual DNA material. From the skin samples we have been able to collect we found that their skin contains a form of metallic crystal similar to our crystal but fundamentally different in its properties"

Gaurdius : " What does any of this mean?"

Nalen : " Well, their crystal does not display hyper conductive electrical properties, but seems to act more like skin reinforcements; they increase the strength of the skin to yet unseen levels. Their crystal uses a different kind of energy to increase some body activities; we suspect it has something to do with Ralefa's need to absorb Life-Force energy. Records show that Ralefa did not absorb the energy of humans because human consciousness distorted the energy, so he preferred the energy of non-Sapient animal life, we believe that it is this energy that allows their crystals to multiply and store this energy."

Isis : " I still don't see the point?"

Nalen : " It was the chairs that gave us the final clue, at the base of each of the legs of each chair there is a plastic material covering the end of each leg. Since all the chairs were new, the deformation of the plastic gives a relatively good measure of the weight of each person. We have thus been able to calculate each of their weights. We already know that Crystalans are on average 257% heavier than normal humans of proportional size. The Members of the Hand of Destiny have been calculated at 4 times the weight of a normal human, that is 300% heavier, and the Viceroy in particular is 5.5 times the weight of a normal human of his size"

Cyris : " By the Source, what implications does that hold for us?"

Nalen : " Their weight has implications as to their muscle density. From the ease in which they moved we can safely say that their strength is in proportion to their weight. If I were to give an estimate they could be between 10 to 30 times the strength of a normal human not taking into consideration the potential for even higher levels due to life-force energy absorption."

Gaurdius : " Are you saying that they are stronger than us?"

Nalen : " Not exactly, we also have some of their capabilities. I mean, we are also descendents of Ralefa; his two daughters married Naole and Nalen. The difference comes up because of the chest crystal; it is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Even without Armour the crystal allows us to reach strength levels greater than ten times that of a normal human, but that strength comes at a price, it uses so much energy that it cannot be sustained for long periods of time, and that is why we need the armour. We think that their strength is constant and permanent!"

Isis : " But we still hold the advantage?"

Nalen : " That may not be true; we still don’t know what the Viceroy meant when he said that they have found a way to increase their power!"

Cyris : " In any case they don't have the Spirit Stone to guide and protect them."

Nalen : " That may not be enough, with access to advanced weaponry they may be able to reach even here in Crystalorb. To survive we might have to take the fight to them, wherever they are!"

{Onala another member of the Council of Elders enters the discussion}

Onala : " Is our future truly that bleak? Come on son of the great thinker Shanela! I have watched you since you were a child, I know you’ve probably started thinking of a way to give us back the advantage!"

Nalen : " I have some Ideas that could give us the advantage we need to survive! Some of my Ideas and concepts are risky, but may help to tip the balance in our favour"

Isis : " Well! Let's here them"

Nalen : " First, we need to address the numbers problem, there is just too few of us to wage a successful campaign. We need to start recruiting from the normal human allies to help in the fight, and to this end I will begin work on Armour that does not require a chest crystal to operate it. I expect that the armour may only reach 20% of Vanguard armour, but it will give us units on the ground. Second, I have been experimenting with ways for us to use our armour to generate a protective energy field to shield us from enemy physical or projectile attacks, but to be effective I will require combat data."

Cyris : " I don't know about Armour for normal humans? If we build such Armour we run the risk of it falling into enemy hands or worse that of governments! Should world governments gain access to our armour technology it could be catastrophic for all human kind. They would use this new found power to make war on each other!"

Onala : " I agree, we can't risk Crystalan technology ending up in the wrong hands. If others use the technology to do Evil we would be responsible for the chaos that follows."

Nalen : " You just don't understand the gravity of the numbers that are against us? Looking back at our historical records we know that Ralefa's sons had multiple wives. One of Ralefa’s sons had 37 wives and a total of 189 children, and all the males also had multiple wives. By 1970 the HOD was paying hundreds of women throughout Africa to have children for them. In short we are looking at thousands of them, possibly tens of thousands."

Gaurdius: " I agree with Cyris, that risk is too great, but the shield sounds like just the thing we need"

Nalen : " There are some complications with that"

Onala : " What complications?"

Nalen : " Generating the shield drains the Crystal Armour’s reserve energy, making the practical applications of the shield minimal. Fortunately I have designed a plan to solve the energy problem. Incidentally the answer to increasing the Crystal Armour’s reserve energy comes from a device Esara and I created for our son Naole to aid him with his energy reserve problem. However there is a little problem with integrating the energy reserve system into the Armours, this may require a complete redesign of the Crystal Armour energy management systems."

Gaurdius : " Nothing is ever simple with you is it Nalen? How long will it take?"

Nalen : " 6 to 12 months my Lord!"

The Council of Elders now turns their attention to the Guardian Council.

Isis : " Guardians; what progress can you report?”

Kolen the Guardian Council chairman referred to as Guardian Commander gives his report.

Kolen : " Honoured Council; we can report that our preparations are moving ahead smoothly. Training has intensified, and all our units in other territories are mobilizing as we speak. We stand ready for an attack!"

Gaurdius: " Esara; What of the intelligence we require on the fighting capabilities of the Hand of Destiny?"

Esara : " We are monitoring a group of the members of the HOD operating in a small mining town in Namibia; we hope to receive actionable information from their activities"

Onala : " Good!"

Cyris : " What do the Guardians make of Nalen's Assertions that we may be in big trouble?"

Kolen : " With all due respect Nalen is being overly pessimistic about our situation."

Esara : " Guardian Commander; if I may!"

Kolen : " Go ahead!"

Esara : " I am eager to hear from my Husband as to when his research on the Expeditionary transport Aircraft will be complete."

Nalen : " Well, I have determined that the Aircraft are no longer necessary!"

Kolen : " What?"

Cyris : " Indeed; on what authority did you make such a decision?"

Gaurdius : " We the Council of Elders make the decisions on what’s necessary!"

Nalen : " The whole thing was impractical! The Expeditionary units will just have to acquire the aircraft from the international market, we have more pressing issues!"

Esara : " The ability to rapidly deploy our Expeditionary units is critical to our security"

Nalen : " I agree!"

Cyris : " Then why have you acted to stop the development of the aircraft?"

Nalen : " My analyses of the situation led me to believe that the development of these aircraft would detract from our main objectives. Even with stealth capabilities the operational usefulness of these aircraft would be limited. That is why I am designing an alternative to the Aircraft!"

Esara : " What alternative?"

Kolen : " What are you talking about? There are no alternatives!"

Gaurdius : " Let the man speak! He always has such inventive Ideas!"

Nalen : " I think the way to go is to make the Crystal Armour flight capable!"

Onala : " What?"

Cyris : " We've tried that before it had disastrous results!"

Nalen : " Perhaps that was because you didn’t have me working on it for you!"

Esara : " Honoured Councils; please forgive my Husband, sometimes his ego gets the better of him!"

Kolen : " Making the armour flight capable could give us standoff attack capabilities. This may be the boost we need to gain the initiative!"

Gaurdius: " Another one of your big Ideas Nalen?"

Nalen : " The previous attempts at flight failed because the premise was wrong, I have better Ideas about that. My preliminary designs are of an electromagnetic air compression system. We compress air and then release it through several thrust vectored nozzles. It's simple when you think about it!"

Gaurdius: " Of course, by using electrical energy you avoid the need for a standard fuel!"

Isis : " Gaurdius don't encourage him!"

Gaurdius: " Isis; you don’t understand, this might actually work"

Kolen : " How much lift have you been able to generate"

Nalen : " So far the testing of the compressed air nozzle has produced 9820 Newtons of thrust from a single nozzle at 25% of projected Vanguard Armour power"

Gaurdius : " What are the energy requirements?"

Nalen : " Well there are some energy requirements. That is why the energy upgrades to the Armour are so critical; therefore the redesign of the energy matrix for the shield will take into account the energy requirements for long term flight needs. We have made the necessary calculations and we are confident that we will be within operational limits!"

Onala : " In the mean time will use our company to acquire Plaines and helicopters for use by the Expeditionary units!”

Cyris : " Agreed!"

Isis : " Yes!"

Gaurdius: " Nalen; The fate of our people rests with you and your research team!"

And with that the meeting was concluded.

- - -

After the meeting Esara went to talk to her husband about some concerns she had about some of Nalen's assertions. Esara knew her Husband; she could sense that he was greatly conflicted about something. He had been quiet for days now and very busy in his laboratory working harder than usual.

Esara : " Husband; what troubles you?"

Nalen : " It's nothing, I'm just stressed out."

Esara : " Nalen I know you, talk to me!"

Nalen : " I can't talk to you about this!"

Esara : " Why not, I am your wife, unburden your Heart!"

Nalen : " But you're not just my wife, you're a Guardian. You have a responsibility that extends beyond the concerns of your husband"

Esara : " I still need to know what’s in your heart, I love you! Thoughts of you never leave my mind and my heart."

Nalen : " I am afraid!"

Esara : " We are all afraid my love, these are dangerous times for all Crystalans"

Nalen : " My fear has a specific focus on you! Ever since I have been able to estimate the Hand's strengths I have been worried for your safety. The Council of Elders seems far too eager to send you into battle, far to willing to sacrifice your life! They may be willing to loose you but I'm not!"

Esara : " You're not going to loose me!"

Nalen : " This is why I have been working so hard. I have been developing all these knew ideas to protect you, but I'm worried that it won’t be enough!"

Esara : " Why do you think that?"

Nalen : " The thing that concerns me the most is what the Viceroy said, what did he mean they found ways to increase their power? My suspicion is that they have created Armour comparable to ours."

Esara : " By the Source! That can’t be true!"

Nalen : " Each member of the Hand of Destiny is all but Indestructible, Armour would make them invulnerable. Should the need arise for you to engage them ...!"

They embrace.

Esara : " I will be fine"

Nalen : " If you have to fight, go for the quick victory, no build ups, fight at near maximum power!”

Esara : " You mean fast and Hard, Just like when we were kids! It’s a pity you never had the stomach for violence, you could have been an amazing warrior! I see Naole is the same way."

Nalen : " Thank the Source! He can grow up to be a great Mind just like his father."

Esara : " There goes that ego again."

Nalen : " Come let us go home to our children"

And so they went home.

- - -

Nalen immediately started work on the upgrades to the Crystal Armour. The work was intense with many pitfalls. The hyper conductive crystals could generate a very powerful electric field which then generates a powerful magnetic field. The design is such that the electromagnetic fields contain the pressurised air in multiple chambers.

The thrust vectored nozzles were placed with two at bottom of each foot, two on the back at waist level, two on the back at chest level, two on the either side of his Armour Chest Crystal and another two on the shoulders. The vectored nozzles are capable of a maximum range of movement. That meant that vectored nozzles could be pointed in any direction, this allowed the operator to change direction instantaneously.

Preliminary testing showed the potential for very advanced flight capabilities. Before full testing could begin the shield designs had to be perfected. Nalen wanted to make the flight safe, for him the main fear was that without the shield a crush at the projected high speeds could kill the operator. Nalen's main concept was to use the shield configuration systems as part of the flight system.

The shield design was based on a number of different properties. The main concept was to trap a gas between two different electromagnetic fields. The preferred gas was helium, but atmospheric air proved to be a more realistic option. The electromagnetic fields were such that they attracted each other thus compressing the air between them, therefore creating an air barrier around the armour.

Generating sufficiently strong electromagnetic fields proved very difficult because it required a massive amount of electrical energy. This led to the armour core energy reserves being increased to 100 times the original. This increase was achieved using the designs learned from Naole's energy sphere. The side effect of increasing the Total reserve energy of the armour was that the weight of the armour was multiplied by 4.

In the end taking into account all the flight and energy enhancement the weight was 5 times that of the original armour.

- - -

Nalen had been working for nearly five months to produce his prototype. When Nalen finished his preliminary testing of the prototype he approached the Council of Elders to ask them for their approval for the use of the Spirit Stone to absorb the design to create a Full crystal upgrade to his own Vanglead armour.

So the full Council of Elders gathered at the top of the pyramid to hear Nalen's request. Also present was Esara, Kolen and the other 4 members of the research team.

Nalen : " Honoured Councils! I am here to present the Research team's progress on the armour upgrade and therefore request your approval for the next phase of the testing!"

Gaurdius: " Welcome Nalen, it's good to see that you are making progress!"

Isis : " Very well, but first could you demonstrate the capabilities of your prototype!"

Onala : " Yes; we have to see the improvements before we can proceed!"

Cyris : " If you could perhaps quickly demonstrate the shield and flight capabilities of the prototype"

Nalen : " Certainly!"

Then Nalen used his red Chest Crystal to activate his now enhanced Vanglead armour triggering the assembly sequence. Once the armour was fully assembled on his body he began the power up process. Once the Crystal Armour reached full power Nalen used his chest crystal to control the Crystal Armour, and then activated the new systems.

Speaking out loud for the benefit of the Council of Elders.

Nalen : " Activating Shield! Setting shield strength to 5% of maximum!"

A red aura appeared around Nalen's armour, with the aura starting 50 millimetres from the armour.

Nalen : " Activating flight system shield matrix interface!"

The Shield around Nalen's arms took the shape of an aerofoil, and on his back the shield formed a wing covering his shoulder length.

Nalen : " Activating holographic heads up display and automatic targeting systems!"

A Holographic heads up display (H.U.D) appeared showing all navigational data, energy levels and other systems. The targeting systems were also started, with the chest blast crystal glowing and thus becoming active.

Nalen : " Everything looks good!"

There is a Pause.

Nalen : " Starting thrust sequence!"

The Shield formed Vortices around all the thrust vectored nozzles and air intake systems. Also there would be Vortices formed around Armour energy blast Crystals as the blast is being generated.

Nalen : " And here we go!”

The vectored nozzles begin to roar.

Nalen : " Starting thrusters!"

Thrust vectored nozzles begin to blow air at very high speed but not with enough force to achieve lift.

Nalen : " Activating automatic stabilisation and navigation systems! Calibrating automatic control systems and surfaces!"

The thrust vectored nozzles begin to move around their spherical range of motion.

Nalen : " Lifting 2 meters!"

Thrust vectored nozzles increased output causing Nalen to rise and hover 2 meters above the surface of the pyramid. All those present were amazed at how easily Nalen achieved Lift.

Nalen : " For programming purposes, with my body perpendicular to the surface we call this vertical flight. In this mode I can move horizontally and vertically with my body remaining perpendicular to the surface.”

Nalen then demonstrated the movements while his body remained perpendicular to the surface. He then stopped to hover, then tilted 90 degrees so that the length of his body was parallel to the surface.

Nalen : " As you can see I can hover even when parallel to the ground. For programming purposes we call this parallel flight. In this mode I can also move horizontally and vertically with my body remaining parallel to the surface!"

Nalen then demonstrated the movements while his body remained parallel to the surface. He then stopped to hover, and then tilted 90 degrees so that the length of his body was perpendicular to the surface, but now his head was at the bottom and his feet at the top. Nalen then demonstrated the horizontal and vertical movements, while his body remained upside down and perpendicular to the surface. He then stopped to hover, and then tilted 180 degrees so that he was right side up and the length of his body was perpendicular to the surface.

Nalen : " To fully test the supersonic capabilities of the Armour I would need a fully integrated system. That can only be achieved by the Spirit Stone! I don't want a situation where a connection error results in mid-flight failure!"

Naole smiles.

Nalen : " The Spirit Stone makes no connection and interface error!"

Isis : " This is an incredible achievement Nalen!"

Gaurdius : " You and your team may have given Crystalorb the tool we need to survive!"

Cyris : " You should be very proud!" after a brief pause "You should all be very proud! Crystalorb is Honoured by your dedication!"

Nalen : " On behalf of the Research Team, thank you! I would like to caution the Council that there is a learning curve in operating the new systems!"

Gaurdius : " Acknowledged! Let us proceed with the Spirit Stone Fabrication processes"

All the members of the Council of Elders touched the Spirit Stone activating the crystals on their chest, then they began to commune with the spirits in the Spirit Stone.

Gaurdius : " With the Crystal fragment on my Chest I unlock the seal!"

Isis : “ In the name of all Crystalans I call upon the spirits of those who have left us!"

Cyris : " Mighty spirits awaken and hear the call of your children!"

Isis : " Nalen; Step forth and touch the Spirit Stone!”

Nalen still wearing his Experimental Vanglead Armour stepped forward and touched the Spirit Stone. As soon as Nalen touched the Spirit Stone an enormous burst of electrical energy flowed from the Spirit Stone into Nalen's hand moving through his entire body then out his Chest crystal back into the Spirit Stone. Then the armour removed itself from Nalen's body encasing itself in a bright red sphere.

Then electrical energy flowed from the Spirit Stone hitting the crystal on Nalen's chest, a beam of light from the Spirit Stone hit the red sphere containing the Experimental Vanglead Armour making it float towards the Spirit Stone, upon contact with the Spirit Stone a bright light emanated from the Spirit Stone. With a burst of electrical energy the red Armour sphere reappeared, but the red sphere was twice the size of a Guardian Armour Sphere.

Nalen moved towards the Sphere and touched the Sphere.

Nalen : " Here we go!"

By touching the Sphere Nalen activated the armour release systems. To everyone's surprise Nalen's armour was Guardian Armour.

Nalen : " This is a surprise!"

Gaurdius : " By the source!"

Isis : " Guardian Armour?"

Cyris : " But we did not authorize Nalen's promotion to Guardian?"

Kolen : " He does not function as a warrior!"

Onala : " How could this be? What did you do Nalen?"

Nalen : " I didn’t do anything!"

Cyris : " You must have!"

Onala : " Indeed!"

Esara : " Nalen!"

Isis : " Let us take a moment to confer!"

So the Council of Elders left and went into chambers to discuss amongst themselves for a few minutes on what course of action to take given the unprecedented events. Then the Council of Elders returned to give their judgement.

Isis : " Obviously this development has caught us unawares!"

Cyris : " Nevertheless we cannot allow Nalen to wear the Guardian Armour without our approval!"

Esara : " My lord if I may!"

Gaurdius : " Go ahead Esara!"

Esara : " My Husband has no desire to be a Guardian, he does not want the responsibility of a warrior; Yet for whatever reason this is a Guardian Armour. Why not ask the Spirit Stone why it has chosen him for Guardian Armour?"

Gaurdius: " It's Obvious why the Spirit Stone has deemed him a Guardian; because of his red chest crystal he generates energies far beyond that of a Vanglead, perhaps even more than that of a normal Guardian. The Spirit Stone must have chosen him on that basis!"

Nalen : " In that case feel free to Transform it back to Vanglead Armour!"

Isis : " It's not that simple! In any case Esara is correct we must ask the Spirit Stone!"

All the members of the Council of Elders touched the Spirit Stone activating the crystals on their chest, then they began to commune with the spirits in the Spirit Stone.

Isis : " Mighty Spirits please hear our call!"

Cyris : " Fill our hearts with you Courage!"

Gaurdius: " Help us understand the answers to the questions in our minds!"

Then all the members of the Council of Elders heard a voice in their heads. It sounded like many people speaking simultaneously.

The Voice: " We desire for Nalen to be a Guardian, because you will need his strength! None amongst all in Crystalorb has shown more commitment to the security of Crystalorb. Nalen may seem arrogant, but he understands the urgency of the situation, and this is why for the past five months he has laboured day and night to produce this new Armour. In his core Nalen harbours an incredible power, a power greater than that of any Guardian. We cannot force him to become a Guardian, he has to choose to be one, but we have chosen to give him the Guardian Armour to encourage him in that direction. In the end he must choose to be a Guardian, let him wear the Armour of the Guardians!"

The Council of Elders then let go of the Spirit Stone. This was the First Time the Spirit Stone had chosen to use a voice to communicate with them.

Isis : " We have reached a decision on this matter!"

Gaurdius: " Nalen; you can wear the Guardian Armour, but we will not give you the title and responsibility of a Guardian!"

Cyris : " Nalen; you may now proceed"

Onala : " But before you proceed, Esara step forward!"

Esara Steps forward.

Gaurdius: " Esara; How familiar are you with Nalen's armour enhancements?"

Esara : " I've been there while he tested some of its systems!"

Cyris : " So that means that outside his research team you are the only other person with some understanding of how the new armour operates!"

Esara : " Well; Ayah! I suppose so! Yes!"

Isis : " All the other members of the research team are at Vanguard Armour level”

Onala : " She's the only one from Crystalorb Command that might be able to operate the new Guardian Armour!"

Gaurdius: " Nalen we cannot allow you outside Crystalorb in Guardian Armour unescorted! You would become an immediate target for our enemies!"

Isis : " And since you’re not a Guardian you'll need an escort!"

Cyris : " Esara will escort you on your testing exercises!"

Gaurdius : " To that end we will now upgrade her Armour to that similar to yours"

Nalen : " Great! Now I’ll have my wife as my babysitter!"

Esara : " Relax, it won’t be that bad!"

Gaurdius: " Nalen; for all your activities outside Crystalorb you will be under the command of the Expeditionary Guardian!"

Isis : " Esara look after him, keep him safe!"

Esara : " On your Command!"

Cyris : " Now; everyone leave us! We wish to talk to Nalen alone!"

Everyone left leaving Nalen alone with the Council of Elders.

Isis : " Nalen; the Spirit Stone has seen into your heart and found a great warrior, but your mind is not ready! So know that we do not disapprove of you being a Guardian, but understand that the position of Guardian is earned!"

Gaurdius : " Being a Guardian is about more than the armour you wear!"

Cyris : " Yes, a Guardian is a leader!"

Onala : " A Leader who commands the respect of those who follow him or her!"

Isis : " To other Crystalorb warriors you are a researcher not a warrior"

Gaurdius : " But the Spirit Stone has sensed your true nature!"

Isis : " The Spirit Stone believes in you and that is enough for us!"

Cyris : " But you still have to prove yourself to the rest of Crystalorb!"

Nalen : " I understand!"

Isis : " Good!"

Then the Council of Elders called those who had left back into the Spirit Stone chamber to continue the Armour upgrade rituals. The Council of Elders then used the same procedure as that of Nalen to upgrade Esara's Guardian Armour. This resulted in both their Armours standing there, transformed from their spherical form.

Gaurdius: " Well? Nalen! Esara! What are you waiting for? Activate your Armours!"

Esara : " On your Command!"

Nalen : " On your Command!"

Then Nalen and Esara produced red beams of light from their Chest Crystals, and when the beams of light hit the activation nodes on their armours, the armours moved towards Nalen and Esara and started assembling themselves on their bodies. When the assembly process was complete Nalen and Esara began the power up sequence which then activated the energy coupling the armours with their retractable Lances.

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