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Crystal Guardian

Arc 3: Perversion of the Light

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Chapter 26: Fire and Lightning

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Meanwhile Naole's daughter Canala was using the Indigo to recover the other Crystalorb ships, and back at Crystalorb the recovery operations were well underway. The Nuclear reactors were operational and the repairs to the Intrepid were 75% complete.

The Indigo's arrival at the crash sites allowed the other ships to conduct preliminary repairs giving the ships enough power to rise from the ocean floors and make a tentative flight to Crystalorb. When the representatives of the South African Government arrived in Crystalorb they were shocked by the scale of the devastation, but the shock quickly turned to panic as they realised the implications of the loss of the Spirit Stone.

With the Spirit Stone missing the production of the Crystalorb Crystals would be reduced to 20%, and that meant that Crystal Valley Industries 〘CVI〙 would no longer be able to meet the international demand of their Crystal based batteries and Crystal based Energy weapon Systems. The primary concern for the officials was the looming rapid slowdown in the economy as a result of a decrease in CVI production.

Lord Cyris Assured the Government officials that even though Crystal production would inevitably slowdown, gas and mineral production would continue as projected since the primary power sources are Crystalorb Nuclear Reactors that are still operational. Since most of the international community was unaware of the incidents at Crystalorb the slowdown in Crystal production was unlikely to cause panic on the financial markets.

The officials accepted Lord Cyris' reasoning on this issue, and they understood that there was nothing that Crystalorb could do to restore operations at that time. The only hope was that once recovery operations were complete the Crystalorb Leadership would be able to retrieve the Spirit Stone.

Since the Communications Centre was destroyed by the bombs Crystalorb was unaware of the fight being waged by Casara and Naole for the return of the Spirit Stone.

- - -

Meanwhile the Fight between Casara and Lerumo raged on, and as they exchanged blows the ground shook because of the power of their blows. The two warriors paused their attacks as the dust settled and they reviewed strategies.

Lerumo : " I have to admit that you are much stronger than I anticipated!"

Casara : " Clearly you've learnt the delicate techniques required to control Crystalan Technology"

Lerumo : " Yes! It wasn't easy mind you, but I managed to acquire the skills of your Ilesians."

Casara : " An Ilesian is no Crystal Guardian."

Lerumo : " Indeed; I now understand why my father was so obsessed with the Red Guardians. He always told us that the Red Guardians were our equal and opposite."

Casara : " Equal and Opposite?"

Lerumo : " In that Red Guardian Armour you wield power that rivals even that of the Viceroy of the Hand of Destiny, but the question is; how long can you sustain that power? I can sustain this form for days, but you will eventually run out of energy. Your brother Naole had the same problem, and your fate will be no different."

Casara : " My father recognized that problem, and accordingly he found a solution, which is why he built the Intrepid. I don’t have to last for days, I only have to last long enough for one of the Crystalorb Ships to arrive."

Lerumo : " Amun has seen to that particular problem, so I don’t think they will be coming to your rescue."

Casara : " Amun disabled the 4 Crystalorb warships, but he did not have the opportunity to deal with my brother's ship, and because of this we were able to recover the Crystalorb Ships."

Lerumo : " You’re bluffing!"

Casara : " You don't have to take my word; check for yourself!"

Lerumo : " Ok!"

Lerumo laughs while he establishes contact with his Generals to check the status of their operations.

Lerumo : " What?"

He is shocked to discover that the Hodian Forces retreated from Crystalorb to avoid direct confrontation with a Crystalorb warship.

Lerumo : " So it’s true! Then I have no choice but to finish you off quickly!"

Casara : " You have to know that you cannot win!"

Lerumo : " Taking the Spirit Stone is the victory! Without it Crystalorb will eventually fall to the Hodian advance"

Casara : " Return the Spirit Stone and we will grant you a lasting peace, and the goodwill of Crystalorb!"

Lerumo : " No! We end this Now!"

Casara : " As you wish!"

The battle continued with new intensity, and Lerumo's intent to end things quickly was made clear by the ultimate power he deployed against Casara, but Casara was not fazed by Lerumo’s attempts to end the fight quickly. Casara had the power and the will to fend off Lerumo's assault, but she also understood that she could not operate at that extreme energy level for extended periods of time.

Just as Naole had realised the meaning of Lerumo’s power Casara also understood that Lerumo was further down the path of Ascension that any Crystalan had ever reached. It was all to evident that Hodians would have an easier journey towards the Permanent Powered State.

The size of the explosions emanating from Lerumo's confrontation with Casara could be seen from 7 kilometres away, and local villagers could only conclude that a lightning storm had created a fire storm. Local officials began to institute emergency procedures, and an evacuation plan was already underway. Casara's use of her Crystal Lance forced Lerumo to rely on energy attacks rather than physical attacks.

Lerumo quickly realised that the Crystal Lance provided Casara with absolute defence against standard plasma energy attacks, and he recognized that to be victorious he would have to try something new.

Lerumo decided that it was time to try his ultimate attack; The Plasma Wave attack. An attack he developed specifically for the Red Guardians. Lerumo knew that there were some risks in using the attack, but he understood that time was not on his side.

The Plasma Wave was a continuous flow of plasma from both Manacles designed to overwhelm the spinning energy field shield, and the heat could in theory destroy even the most powerful of opponents, but to be effective both Manacles had to be used, and this left him vulnerable should there be another threat. Lerumo had to wait until his opponent took a defensive stance before he could employ his ultimate attack.

A barrage of plasma energy balls from Lerumo forced Casara to take a defensive position; this was the opportunity Lerumo had been waiting for. Once Casara brought her Crystal Lance forward to defend against the barrage of plasma energy balls Lerumo deployed his Plasma Wave attack. As Lerumo gathered his energies the focused power and the intensity of the energy contained in his Plasma Wave attack increased exponentially.

Casara was in trouble, and as she dropped to her knees under the strain of Lerumo's attack it became clear that the end was near. Lerumo was emboldened by this; he would defeat the Red Guardian and restore his Family's pride.

Lerumo : " It ends here! Like it was always meant to!"

Naole : " Blue Wave!"

Once again Naole had sensed Casara's distress, and once again he had come to her rescue, just as she did for him. Naole's Blue Wave hit Lerumo's right hand destroying the Manacle of Leadership, and without the Manacle of Leadership Lerumo could no longer sustain his ultimate form, his skin changed from Golden Metallic Crystalline to just Metallic Crystalline. Lerumo's power level reduced to that of a Grandlord.

Naole's efforts came at a price! To summon enough energy to destroy the Manacle of Leadership he drained energy from nearly every cell of his body and because of this he had no energy to sustain his body. As Naole's body shut down he fell from the sky, but Casara caught him just before he hit the ground.

Casara could no longer sense Naole's life force, and she could feel no pulse.

As Casara wept Lerumo used his remaining energy to heal his arm, but without the Manacle of Leadership he stood no real chance against the Red Guardian.

Lerumo : " One down! One to Go!"

Casara stood up in a rage and attacked Lerumo using the Crystal Lance. Red Lightning, red light and fire covered the ground and the sky as the unyielding Lerumo clashed with a clearly superior Casara, but despite his best efforts Lerumo lacked the power to withstand the power of a Red Guardian. Before long Casara found an opening and stabbed Lerumo on the chest with her Crystal Lance.

As Casara began to pump electrical energy through her Crystal Lance Lerumo was still defiant.

Lerumo : " I still win; You'll never find the stone!"

Casara : " Huh!" Casara pulls the Crystal Lance from Lerumo's Chest "Red Wave!"

When Casara completes her Red Wave attack at close range all that is left of Lerumo is scattered and charred bone fragments. Casara then proceeds to destroy Amun's headless body, Casara then carries Naole back to Crystalorb. Upon arrival at Crystalorb Naole is examined by Dr Nadu; one of the few remaining Crystalorb doctors. Canala raced to Crystalorb when she heard of Naole's condition.

Lerumo and Amun's defeat brings little consolation as the Crystalans still have to wrestle with the loss of the Spirit Stone, but it brings confidence in the ability of the remaining 7 Guardian's to protect Crystalorb.

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48 hours after the attacks on Crystalorb things have settled down and Crystalans with Chest Crystals are using their Chest Crystals to repair buildings and other structures that require Crystal re-growth. Hope is once again returning to Crystalorb, and slowly things are returning to normal in Crystalorb. The Intrepid and the other Crystalorb Ships provided the specific energy required to recharge all the Crystal Armours.

Dr Nadu enters Casara’s home to find that the inhabitants are in mourning, they are all trying to accept Naole's death. Casara welcomes Dr Nadu into her home.

Casara : " Come in Doctor."

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " I'm sorry for intruding in what is a private matter, but I must speak to you about a matter that requires your immediate attention"

Casara : " What is it Doctor?"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " I don't know how to put this, or even if I should."

Casara : " What is it?"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " There is a problem with Naole. That is, there is a problem with Naole's body."

Casara : " What problem?"

Young Canala overheard Dr Nadu and Casara's conversation.

Canala : " What's wrong with my father’s body?"

All the people in the room go silent

Casara : " Canala let the doctor speak."

Canala : " Naole was my father; I have a right to know."

Casara : " I know dear; I know."

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " I'm afraid I can't certify him as dead anymore."

Casara : " Why not?"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " When you brought him in he had no pulse and virtually no brain activity, so we presumed him dead, but over the past few hours we've noticed that his Chest Crystal was not absorbing the rest of his body like with other dead Crystalans with Chest Crystal. There are other developments that we are finding difficult to explain."

Casara : " What exactly are you saying Doctor?"

Canala : " I don't believe this!"

Casara : " Calm down Canala."

Canala : " No...! I won't calm down! I've lost two fathers in one day! First my step father, then my real father. I have a right to be upset! And now this one tells us that there are developments with my father's body, and that he's finding things difficult to explain?"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " I'm afraid I have no real answers for you."

Casara : " If he's not dead then he must be alive."

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " That’s not necessarily true."

Canala : " Stop talking in riddles!"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " On closer observation it became clear that Naole's heart had not stopped, but merely slowed down to one beat per minute, and although his blood circulation seemed to have stopped it was still operational."

Casara : " What about his brain?"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " We don't know about that; Naole's physiology is unique, we have no reference, and because of what Nalen changed to save him when Naole was a child, we have no idea what is normal for Naole. Naole’s development was not natural. As far as Brain activity level we don't know what is normal and what is below normal. Naole's blue Crystals are extremely dense and this makes it difficult to determine whether he is brain dead. Furthermore the link between his Brain and his Chest Crystal contains 10 times more neural pathways than normal, and his brain cells contain an unusual amount of Crystals"

Casara : " Is he alive or dead Doctor?"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " We can't tell; We don't know."

Canala : " The Indigo would know."

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " His ship? How?"

Canala : " I saw him control the Indigo with just his mind."

Casara : " Yes; Naole has some sort of mental link with the Indigo."

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " What do you propose we do?"

Canala : " Take my father onboard the Indigo."

Casara : " I agree; If Naole is still alive the Indigo can revive him"

Dr Nadu 〘MD〙 : " Ok"

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When they placed Naole on his Command Interface onboard the Indigo the ship immediately reacted to his presence, and the Indigo requested that they leave the ship. Once they left the Indigo it sealed itself and flew to high altitude taking Naole with it.

Canala : " Where is it going?"

Casara : " To high altitude where the blue light is most potent."

Canala : " Why?"

Casara : " Because that's what Naole needs; His Blue Chest Crystal needs the Electromagnetic energy on the blue spectrum more than any other type."

Canala : " Does this mean that my father is alive?"

Casara : " I believe it does; I hope so."

- - -

A few days later Lord Cyris called a general meeting to speak to the Crystalans about the path ahead, and to discuss the circumstances of the attack on Crystalorb. When all the remaining Crystalans were gathered around the pyramid Lord Cyris began to speak.

Cyris : " We are battered! Bruised! Wounded! But we are not broken! Our spirit cannot be broken!"

The crowd cheers.

Cyris : " They sought to destroy our spirit, but they failed. We were betrayed by one of our own. Sold out by a Crystal Guardian; The Son of two Guardians. Grandson of an Elder. Why?"

After a brief pause.

Cyris : " That is the question on all our minds. Why would Amun do this? We will never know the full answer to that question, but we have learnt that pride was at the heart of his thinking. Our society has developed a hierarchy that is at the heart of what went wrong with Amun. He believed high office to be his birthright. There are those amongst us who still believe as he did. They talk of direct bloodlines and pureblood. These are the same individuals who would silence Nalen when he tried to point out the flaws in our security structures."

After a brief pause.

Cyris : " The time has come for all Crystalans to ask themselves what these social elite have contributed to Crystalorb as a whole. They are the ones who badmouth the true servants of Crystalorb. One family has been responsible for securing Crystalorb for generations, and is it really a coincidence that when we threw one of them out of Crystalorb that our security was greatly weakened. I can tell you with no fear of contradiction that were it not for Naole's efforts Crystalorb would be defeated. His ship the Indigo forced the Hodian attack force to retreat, He saved the downed Intrepid from Hodian attack, he defeated Amun and together with Guardian Casara they defeated the Viceroy of the Hand of Destiny."

After a brief pause.

Cyris : " The Olen family has been at the heart of Crystalorb security for generations; Olen created the Crystal Armour, and his children developed the Crystal Armour based martial arts. Olen's grandchildren Esara and Nalen were the greatest Guardians Crystalorb has ever seen. Nalen created the modern Crystal Armour, the Manacle of Ilesia and he built the Intrepid. And how have we repaid the Olen for their tireless service? We laugh at them and secretly gossip about them. And in the hour of their greatest need we abandoned them. Many years ago Naole was the first to point out that Amun had no Honour, but once again we ignored his warning, and instead we promoted Amun to Guardian! When we threw Naole out of Crystalorb he said this to Casara; I will do as you ask Casara! But there is a price to pay; I may not be here to help you when the Chaos returns! I've come to understand that while those on the Council of Elders are the chosen of the Crystalans, the Olen Family are the chosen of the Spirit Stone. Every one of them is destined to be a Guardian."

After a brief pause.

Cyris : " The HOD have made a grave mistake, and they will pay a terrible price for it. They must return the Spirit Stone or we will hunt down and kill every Hodian! I've sent them this message, and if they don't respond positively I will order the remaining seven Guardians to put an end to the HOD"

The people gasp in surprise.

Cyris : " We had hope for the peace of the brave, but we will accept the peace of the grave."

- - -

Lord Cyris was in no mood to be forgiving, and in the weeks that followed Crystalorb began to unleash its anger upon the Hodian infrastructure. The Crystalorb warships targeted the agricultural infrastructure as a way of cutting the Hodian Negative Psionic Energy supply. To the public it seemed as though the livestock facilities were struck by lightning, but the true culprit was the Crystalorb warships. In a matter of weeks the Hodian livestock deaths rose to millions of animals.

To avoid the appearance of suspicion the Crystalorb forces used the Crystal Armour's invisibility to sneak into the Hodian livestock facilities and infect the Hodian livestock with infectious fatal animal diseases, and that forced the Hodians to destroy even more animals in an attempt to contain the spread of disease.

Unfortunately the Crystalan campaign against the Hodian livestock had a negative impact on the global food supply.

The deaths of these animals sent global agricultural markets into a panic, and certified disease free meat and animal product prices sky rocketed while feed producers saw the prices of their produce sink through the floor. Livestock diseases spread beyond Hodian livestock and into the other livestock producers, and this created a global crisis in the animal product trade the likes of which the world had never seen before.

Nations that had large agricultural industries faced economic ruin, and recession was an inevitable result. The remaining Crystalorb Leadership was unmoved by the suffering of innocent lives around the world, instead they blamed the HOD for the global crisis.

The absence of the Spirit Stone from Crystalorb was having a strange effect on the Crystalans, and it became clear that their link to the Spirit Stone was more than superficial.

The High Council of the Hand of Destiny 〘Hodian High Council〙 quickly noticed the change in the behaviour of the Crystalans. The Hodian High Council concluded that the Spirit Stone must have some sort of calming influence on the Crystalans, and without the presence of the Spirit Stone the Crystalans were becoming increasingly more aggressive. The Crystalans were unaware of the shift in their nature, and all they could focus on was the recovery of the Spirit Stone.

The High Council of the Hand of Destiny decided that it was time to act, and the course of action they took was to arrange a meeting with the Crystalorb Leadership with the Federal Executive Council of the South African Federation as mediators.

- - -

The Hodian High Council representative Tumo Ralefa met with, Lord Cyris and the Federal Executive Council representative Tau Molema.

Council Molema: " Thank you for coming Gentleman! Let's hope we can find a clear path through this Quagmire that both your peoples have created for the world. I extend the goodwill of the South African Federation of City States in the hope that we can end this dispute that has plunged the world into deeper darkness!"

Cyris : " With respect; There is only one way to end this problem peacefully" looking at Lord Tumo "You have to return the Spirit Stone."

Tumo : " I already told you; We don't have the Spirit Stone."

Cyris : " You just don't get it; You just don't understand."

Tumo : " Actually; For the first time in generations we understand. And having seen, we believe."

Cyris : " Then you must return the Spirit Stone!"

Tumo : " We don't have the Spirit Stone." Tumo shakes his head "We don't have it!"

Cyris : " Then all hope is lost."

Tumo : " On some level, you have to know that your actions will kill millions of people, you have to realise that you are destroying innocent lives. You have to stop."

Cyris : " Stop? We can't stop."

Tumo : " What do you mean you can't stop?"

Council Molema : " You can order your Guardians to cease Fire."

Cyris : " If only it were that simple."

Tumo : " My sources tell me that you gave the order."

Cyris : " I gave the order to fire! But the directive to end the HOD came from the Council of Elders."

Tumo : " What does that mean?"

Cyris : " As far as the Guardians are concerned; only the Council of Elders or the Spirit Stone can reverse an order given by the Council of Elders."

Tumo : " What?"

Council Molema : " Are you saying you've lost control?"

Tumo : " But you’re an Elder."

Cyris : " I'm the last Elder; To reverse the order requires the approval of 5 Elders."

Tumo : " Then it's as bad as we feared!"

Cyris : " How do you mean?"

Tumo : " The Hodian High Council believes that the loss of the Spirit Stone has driven the Crystalans mad. We believe that your Chest Crystals are somehow connected to the Stone, and without it you are somehow unbalanced."

Cyris : " The energy of the Spirit Stone does have an effect on our moods, but taking the Spirit Stone has opened Pandora’s Box, and the situation is worse than you can imagine."

Council Molema : " How so?"

Cyris : " When a Crystalan with a Chest Crystal dies the Chest Crystal absorbs the rest of the body and grows into a large sphere. This sphere then combines with the Crystal Armour and then fuses with the Spirit Stone. Because the Spirit Stone is gone there are thousands of these spheres in Crystalorb waiting to return to the Crystal Source. The problem is that these spheres bring with them the presence of death, and the energy they put out is a function of the nature of their death."

Tumo : " And because they died a violent death ...!"

Cyris : " This energy that the spheres put out desensitizes Crystalans from the suffering of others, and it also feeds their rage."

Council Molema : " My God!"

Tumo : " Why can't the Guardians stop themselves?"

Council Molema : " Or why don't you form a new Council of Elders?"

Cyris : " It's not that simple!" after a brief pause "Once a person is nominated for election to the Council of Elders their spirit must be judged by the Spirit Stone, and the Spirit Stone will determine whether that particular person is fit to be on the Council of Elders. The Spirit Stone searches the person's mind and looks into the crevices of the person's heart to determine if the particular person loves the people of Crystalorb. And before you ask; Yes! There have been people who were rejected by the Spirit Stone. To know why the Guardians can't stop you have to ask a Guardian."

Tumo : " Where would I find a Guardian?"

Cyris : " Reveal yourself!"

Casara : " As you wish!"

Guardian Armoured Casara then removes her invisibility field to the surprise of everyone in the room.

Tumo : " The Legendary Red Guardian!"

Casara : " The legend belongs to my mother Esara."

Tumo : " My ten year old grandson swears that you are the most powerful Red Guardian ever."

Cyris : " She probably is"

Tumo : " The thing I don't get is; why is it always a woman Red Guardian that chooses the warrior path?"

Casara : " The male Red Guardian have a particular pattern in the Visio-Spatial part of their brain that makes them develop acute intelligence, and therefore tend to choose a career in science and associated fields."

Tumo : " Why I'm I not surprised that you know the answer to that question? But my real question is; why can't the Guardians stop themselves?"

Casara : " The simple answer is we don't want to! The way we see it we have standing orders to end the HOD."

Tumo : " But the people who gave orders are dead."

Casara : " That makes following the Directive even more important"

Tumo : " Directive?"

Casara : " Directive 2597 of the Council of Elders states; This is the Final orders of this Council of Elders to the Guardians of Crystalorb, End the War, or Destroy the HOD, and recover the Spirit Stone."

Tumo : " Crystalorb's response has always been measured, and you were always careful not to endanger the innocent, but this current response is more than excessive, you've become worse than the HOD."

Casara : " Please?"

Tumo : " What if your actions risk hundreds of millions of lives?"

Casara : " We would rather see the world descend into Chaos than retain the status quo; War calls for hard choices Lord Tumo, and the way we see it; It's either the HOD or us?"

Tumo : " My God! You have gone Mad!"

Casara : " The HOD has driven us to this point; This war will end with this generation! One way or another!"

Tumo : " What would we have to do to end the war peacefully?"

Casara : " We would prefer an end that does not include the extinction of the HOD! To end the war peacefully, you need only do one thing!" after a brief pause "Return the Spirit Stone."

Tumo : " We don't have the Stone."

Casara : " Then we will just have to kill you; Every last one of you."

Tumo : " She says it so casually!"

Cyris : " But she is deadly serious. We've had the power to destroy the HOD for a while now. But we were hoping to avoid making that decision. Now it might be too late for a peaceful end."

Tumo : " Wait;" after a brief pause "We don't know where the Stone is! But we do know what happened to the Stone."

Cyris : " Then there might be hope."

Tumo : " The Viceroy of the Hand of Destiny convinced the Americans that taking the Stone would permanently weaken the military power of the South African Federation"

Council Molema : " So the Americans were involved?"

Tumo : " Yes!" after brief pause "They gave Lerumo one of their older submarines that was due to be decommissioned, and then Amun and Lerumo modified the sub to specifications that remain unknown to us. The Stone was put into the sub at the ATO naval base in Diego Garcia."

Casara : " Where did they take it?"

Tumo : " We don't Know! It's said that the sub was put on auto pilot, and the only people who knew its final destination were Amun and Lerumo."

Cyris : " I see!"

Council Molema : " Shouldn't you inform your people of this!"

Cyris : " They already know!"

Casara : " What are your orders Commander?"

A Holographic Volumetric projection of Commander Aman appears from Casara's Communications Crystal to allow Cyris to Communicate with Aman.

Aman : " My Lord! I've ordered the Leba to Diego Garcia."

The Joint Communications Channel is activated allowing Thato Lesedi the Captain of the Leba to join in.

Cyris : " Thato please keep the civilian casualties low."

Thato : " Will do My Lord!"

Casara : " Thato I've ordered an Expeditionary Recognisance Battle Group to go on ahead and survey the disposition of their Forces. The Battle Group should arrive in about five minutes"

Thato : " I'll leave immediately and provide Guardian support; The Leba will be under my second in Command."

Aman : " Satellite Recognisance indicate that there is a Hybrid contingent on the Island, and we think they are armed with the new Manacle of Destiny."

Council Molema : " You gave the ATO the Manacle of Destiny?"

Tumo : " That was part of the deal the Viceroy made with the Americans."

Cyris : " How many are we talking about?"

Council Molema : " Can ATO duplicate the Manacle's technology?"

Tumo : " A few hundred; There may be some of Lerumo's elite Enforcers with them. They trained the Hybrids, and they are Lerumo loyalists. As for the duplication of the Manacle's technology, we can assure you that it's not possible."

Cyris : " You got this Aman?"

Aman : " Got it! If they get in our way...!"

Cyris : " Some of Lerumo's elite Enforcers may know the location of the Spirit Stone."

Aman : " Understood!"

Cyris : " We will suspend our assaults on Hodian infrastructure and focus our attention on recovering the Spirit Stone."

Tumo : " With luck you will find your precious Stone, and the war will end."

Cyris : " Then I'll be taking my leave."

Lord Cyris promised both Lord Tumo and Council Molema that he would keep them updated on developments at Diego Garcia and on the continuing search for the Spirit Stone. When Casara's Expeditionary Recognisance Battle Group arrived at Diego Garcia they were met with fierce resistance from the Hybrid contingent supported by elite Hodian guards. As the fight started in became clear that despite their numbers the Hybrid contingent were simply no match for the Expeditionary Recognisance Battle Group.

- - -

When Thato arrived on the scene she struggled to explain to Lord Cyris the scale of the devastation caused by the Expeditionary Recognisance Battle Group. ATO personnel found themselves at the receiving end of Casara's Expeditionary Recognisance Battle Group following the group's confrontation with the Hybrid contingent.

The Crystalans were becoming increasingly more violent, and the Vanglead in command of the 8 Expeditionary Vanguard teams John Lesedi was unmoved by the devastation.

Thato : " What the hell happened here? You were supposed to survey the disposition of their Forces!"

John : " These Hodian radicals started this skirmish."

Thato : " Then why am I looking at complete destruction?"

John : " The ATO people tried to help the Hodians; They left us no choice."

Thato : " What about the civilians?"

John : " With respect Captain! My orders were to knock out any resistance to the Leba's mission, and in your absence I determined that the ATO personnel posed a clear and present danger to the mission. Crystalorb can no longer afford to be complacent, and as per standing orders of the Council of Elders; I must destroy the HOD."

Thato : " I know that you're angry, but that is no excuse to act in this fashion. You are a Battle Group commander, one of Crystalorb's last, and you have a responsibility to honour that. On your orders the Battle Group has killed hundreds of innocent lives! That's not how Crystalorb's Crystal Armoured warriors conduct themselves! What happened to care and precision?"

John : " With respect Guardian! It was Lord Cyris who said that the gloves come off; This is simply what that means. Those who for whatever reasons stand with our enemies must share their fate; There's no other way."

Thato : " Clearly you are in no condition to lead, and so I relieve you of the command of the seventh Battle Group pending the evaluation of your fitness to command."

John : " You can't do that? By what authority?"

The Holographic Volumetric projection Joint Communications Channel is activated allowing Casara to join in.

Casara : " John; By my authority as acting Expeditionary Guardian."

John : " But I only did what was necessary!"

Casara : " You are a warrior elite; and you're destined for Guardian Armour, but to be a Guardian you must understand the source of a Guardian's power. The power of a Guardian flows from the heart; From the heart John! A Guardian fights to protect; We are built to protect! A Guardian who's purpose does not come from love would end up like Amun."

John : " I understand what you mean Guardian! I will take some time off from my duties to re-examine my purpose, and once I’m certain that my actions are driven by love I will return to resume my duties."

Thato : " By the Source."

As John left the area for Crystalorb the Leba arrived in the skies above Diego Garcia to begin the search for the energy signature of the Spirit Stone. The Leba used its powerful censors to locate anyone who might have been in the presence of the Spirit Stone. Thato was continuing to monitor the search being conducted from onboard the Leba.

Thato : " Commander; We are picking up something."

Aman : " What is it?"

Thato : " A number of individuals are showing trace elements of Spirit Stone energy! I'm deploying 3 Expeditionary Recognisance teams to recover them for interrogation"

Aman : " Tell them to avoid killing"

At the Crystalorb recovery command centre Casara is listening to the communications, and decides to join in.

Casara : " Tell my people that I said that there has been enough death for one day."

Aman : " Information about the location of the Spirit Stone takes precedence."

Thato : " On your Command."

The communications Channel with Thato is suspended, and Lord Cyris walks in

Cyris : " Commander; What progress can you report?"

Aman : " My Lord the Leba has located a few individuals who have been in close proximity to the Spirit Stone, and Thato has deployed 3 Expeditionary Recognisance teams to recover them for interrogation."

Cyris : " Anything else?"

Aman : " That is all my Lord"

Cyris : " Casara"

Casara : " My Lord?"

Cyris : " Any news of the fate of your brother?"

Casara : " I'm afraid not! It has been more than two months now, but the silence continues. The family continues to send messages, but there is no response. Naole's twin boys continue to wait for his return, and nothing anyone says will convince them that he's not coming back. The twins are sure that their father is alive, and their certainty gives all of us hope that Naole will return."

Cyris : " Do you know where the Indigo is?"

Casara : " The Indigo's stealth systems are active, and that makes it difficult to detect."

Cyris : " On another matter; I want the Expeditionary Division to limit their operations to observation. I don't want to hear about any direct confrontations with the HOD."

Casara : " We will observe the cease fire"

Cyris : " Carry on then."

As Lord Cyris leaves the Crystalorb recovery command centre the Crystal Armoured Crystalans stand at attention until he exits, and then continue their observation of operations.

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In an attempt to help the Crystalorb population recover the Crystalorb General Council begin a policy of implanting Crystalan embryos in Hybrid women for a fee. The Hybrid women were paid R1 million ($120000) for a successful pregnancy, and a further R1.2 million once the baby was delivered.

All the Crystalan babies being born through this process had Chest Crystals, and to ensure that the foetus survived a Crystalan with a Chest Crystal was always on hand to supply the foetus with Chest Crystal energy which is also Spirit Stone energy. Crystalan foetuses need this energy throughout the pregnancy, and without it they would die.

Once the baby is born they continue to need extensive amounts of Spirit Stone energy until they reach puberty, and without it they would fall ill and eventually die. Through this program Crystalorb would gain over 10000 babies at a cost of R22 Billion ($2.5 Billion).

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