Within the deranged
mindset of one beset with woes and worries would we find the host of our
discourse, locked within the torment of an ill begotten nightmare. Pressing
himself to the limitations of his psyche in search of some irreverent climax to
the series of events set before him.
A tempest of horrendous
horror had beleaguered upon the living consciousness of one named Sean Barker.
Intent on somehow manipulating the preverbal strings of tangent perception
innate to the Guyver present within him. It defiled him, beckoning him towards
its veracious lust. Persuaded by fear, if nothing else, Sean would answer its
call, charging forward only to see it besieged upon a mountain top. Its arcane
form somehow clouded from the visual spectrum, blurred by the very rage that
fueled his persistence towards its defeat.
The figure lurched towards
him, as though to initiate some form of conflict. Unnoticed though, for within
the midst of its assent, time itself seemed to unravel and warp, as though a
figurative blinking of the eyes had forced a series of actions to revert… the
figure grew, disproportionately to its surroundings. Sean was forced within a
submissive role, retracting from a past held position to find himself nearly
floundering upon some dreamscape induced ledge.
He awoke…
It had been a week since
the incursion upon the Grakken vessel, since Cori was rescued, and the twins
were sent spiraling into the heart of the sun. Things had seemed to come to a
stand still at this point. Chronos had backed off, the Central American forces
had made a grand stand in the attempt to free
Sean hadn’t seen action
since the Grakken incident and was becoming weary of the day to day toils of
civilian life. He was scheduled to meet with General Carter at 0800 hours.
Though this didn’t seem to matter at the moment, for presently it was 0300
hours and he couldn’t find it in himself to get a wink of shut eye.
Cori was still
recuperating from her capture and eventual release from the Grakkens. She slept
soundly beside him even through his constant stirring. Something was bothering
him; it had to be the fact that the Grakkens had caused so much harm in so
little time, and had yet to create a very large causality list for the Anti
Chronos Task Force. Questioning the motives of his superior officers was out of
the question, but questioning the actions of an alien race was something else.
Sean sat up from bed,
glanced over at the clock then shook his head. The clock read
The red armors were on
portal as always. Their metallic forms lumbering around the base aided by a
platoon of blue types. Even the lowly soldiers had something to do. Why would
General Carter keep the Guyvers on hiatus for so long? The question boggled
him, but he forced himself back into bed. Though sleep still evaded him, he
merely stared blankly at the ceiling, and imagined times before Chronos, before
the ACTF, and before he ever found that damn thing they called a Guyver.
***
Cori awoke to Sean yet
again lingering by the window seal. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and
proceeded to stretch, allowing an exasperated yawn to resonate from her being.
Sean shifted within placement, swiveling his head back as though to greet her.
“Morning Cori.” he said,
itching his bare chest as Cori pushed away the sheets from her legs.
“Sleep well, love-a-dove?”
Cori questioned as she climbed out of bed.
Sean merely shook his head
and turned back to the window. The lithe, and wondrously beautiful, form of
Cori would slink up behind her love’s form, wrapping her arms around him and
placing her chin against his shoulder. “You haven’t been sleeping well since we
got back from that damned Grakken ship…” Cori said with a hint of somnolent
exhaustion in her words.
Sean merely shook his head
again, not even bothering to give a verbal response in this case, his eyes
still fixated on the going-ons around the base. Cori
hesitated for a moment before departing from his form and slinking back off to
the bed. Her body sprawled out across the covers stomach first prior to turning
onto its backside. She lifted her head lightly and patted the partially removed
covers. “Come back to bed love. I think you could really use some “cuddle”
time.”
Sean smirked, turning to
face her before replying. “I can’t right now babe; I have a meeting with
General Carter at 0800 hours. He said we had something important to discuss,
though he wouldn’t let on beyond that.”
“That old worry wart, you
should just tell him to go fuck himself, and give me the lovin’
I deserve.” Cori demanded as she pulled the covers over herself and snuggled
into a more comfortable position.
“Now you know I can’t do
that. I have responsibilities; you know, those things
that people are required to do in life in order to make the world a better
place?” Sean replied sarcastically as he lunged into bed and crawled over
Cori’s frame, lingering over her as to look steadily into her eyes.
She smiled and looked up
to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as to pull him close to her for a
simple kiss. Sean smiled and leapt out of bed, grabbing a few choice articles
of clothing and tossing them onto the bed. He began to ready himself for the
events to follow as Cori stared on longingly from the bed.
“You know, you could just
walk in there all naked, I’m sure Carter wouldn’t mind, and besides, you would
be giving the female personal on base a nice little piece of eye candy…”
sarcastically Cori doted.
“You know, you could just
walk around with a cucumber hanging out of your…” Sean
trailed off as a series of beeps was emitted from the com systems. Sean’s eyes
shifted to a key pad on the right side of the door, its numeric instruments
beckoning him over to its call. A bright flashing red light pressing
illumination upon his pale skin, as his fingers felt for the button on the damn
thing that allowed him to engage whoever the hell was messaging him at such an
hour.
“Yes?” Sean questioned in
a rather stern tone, leaning in close to the microphone even though its sensitively allowed for communication at a much farther
proximity to the device. “You know, you don’t have to yell Sir.” An agitated
female voice would reply from within the com system.
“Sorry Noreen, just not
used to getting calls this early in the morning. What’s up?” Sean apologized,
anticipating further banter. “Oh nothing special darlin’,
General Carter was just curious as to why you’re late for your appointment is
all.” baffled Sean was taken back for a moment, clearing his voice before
continuing. “What do you mean late? We’re not scheduled until 0800 hours.” The
mysterious voice paused for a moment as though contemplating how to reply. “I
do believe you’re mistaken dear, the appointment was for 0730, and you’re 10
minutes late already.”
“Shit.” Sean muttered,
leaning into the com even closer now, both hands braced against the wall. “Tell
him I’ll be with him in due haste, and to please excuse my tardiness.” Sean
said shaking his head as he closed the com channel and turned to face Cori,
still shaking his head in embarrassment. “Seems time has grown even shorter for
us two.” Cori just smiled and shifted in the bed, turning on her side before
muttering something about the fact that he was always late.
***
It was a peaceful day, as
peaceful as one could be when territories of the
Within the composure of a
light jog he made his way to General Carters office,
unaware of the actions that were to conspire on this day. For even as he neared
his destination, other forces were at work which would alter his perception of
the world as he knew it.
Upon reaching his
destination Sean paused for a moment, address his attire and straightening his
hair in the reflection in a near by window. Already he was twenty minutes late.
In his hurried state he had neglected certain aspects of his appearance, which
had become evident upon further inspection.
“Damnit…
Damnit… Damnit… Knew I should have gotten ready at least a little earlier.”
Sean muttered as he adjusted his tie with both hands, peeking around the corner
at some scattered personal, already far into their daily routine.
This regiment of formal
dress was not exactly Sean’s favorite aspect of military life, but one he had
become accustomed to in these last few years. His previous turmoil seemed to
elevated for the time being, as the only thing stuck within his mind was what
the hell had Carter called him here for today.
His hand outstretched,
treading lightly over the structure of the door, as though to hesitate for a
moment before proceeding. He allowed it to bash against the structure three
times before awaiting a response. “Come in.” a roughened tone would declare.
Uneasily Sean pressed the door aside and stepped into to an eerily darkened
room. General Carter sat behind his desk as always, apparently reading over the
days events upon digital touch pad.
The old man’s eyes shifted
for a moment as he lifted his head to observe Sean’s appearance. The stern
grimace upon his lips was something everyone got used to. In all the years that
Sean had known the man, not once had he seen him smile. Today wasn’t any
different. Carter obviously had something on his mind, something that Sean was
soon to learn of.
“Sit down.” General Carter
said as he motioned to one of three chairs sitting in front of his desk. Sean
nodded and proceeded to sit in the middle chair, shifting here and there in an
attempt to make him self comfortable, though the situation had made this a very
uneasily undertaken procedure.
Carter returned to the
information within hand before clearing his voice and setting the touch pad
down before him. His eyes would seem somewhat distressed before the emotion
fell from them and the stern grimace returned to its rightful place. “It has
come to my attention that the FBI still holds priority over your position
within the ACTF.” Carter announced his gaze just now meeting up with Sean.
Carter would hesitate for
a moment before continuing, “The FBI has found it in itself to split away from
the main core of the ACFT as of late. Seems the higher ups think it prudent
that we have some separation within the armed and civilian forces…” spoke
General Carter, his brows ever tense and within the formation of that awkward
contortion.
Sean still seemed a little
antsy at this point, leaning forward his mouth slightly agape as his fingers
toiled amongst themselves, attempting to calm his nerves. In a raspy voice he
would reply “Sir?” questioning the words just spoken by Carter. “You heard me
Barker. The FBI still says you’re under them, and I don’t quite like the idea
that one of “my” soldiers is being ordered around by feds; who’s only right is
to investigate murders and kidnappings.” Carter proclaimed with an heir of
authority.
“Sir, I am aware of my
position with the Bureau; and though I don’t mean to question your actions, I
am curious as to why this has any bearing on why I have been called here.” Sean
questioned still sensing his own inability to stand up against this man.
Carter merely shook his
head, standing up from his chair and pacing to a far window. He peered through
the blinds as though trying to avoid direct conflict with the guyver. He nodded
lightly and turned back in the direction of Sean before continuing. “I want to
make you a member of the military Barker, I want you
to be a full time member of the Armed forces of these great
“General Carter; Sir, its
not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, I’m just curious as to why you
didn’t talk the Bureau into this yourself. I mean, you are the commanding
officer of the ACTF, which should give you some leverage, right?” Sean
questioned, leaning ever forward in his chair, as he stared at the dim
representations of a shadow that made up General Carter at this point.
Carter would step forward,
into the only beads of light that resonated into his office. His hands dashing
against the surface of his desk, as the rest of his form leaned into this
stance. His eyes brilliant blue, and seemed as though the blackest of coals
when they stared daringly into Sean’s eyes. That same perpetual grimace locked
upon his lips as he spouted off his next limerick. “I want this decision to be
yours and yours alone Barker. No need for the feds to get involved in such a
personal matter, this decision is for you unaccompanied to make.”
Sean thought for a moment,
leaning back into the chair, not enough to offset it from its leveled rapture,
but rather just enough to set his back neatly into its structure. “This is
something I’ll have to think over rather deeply Sir, I will get back to you as
soon as is possible.” Sean said as he lifted himself from the chair and stood
to his feet, contemplating the words just spoken by one of the most powerful
men in the world.
Carter nodded lightly,
standing to his full height before addressing Sean yet again. “I hope you would
take this into great consideration Barker. Do not make this choice lightly.” He
paused for a moment, staring down Sean and somewhat expecting something from
the young man. “You are dismissed Barker” Carter commanded.
Sean turned lightly within
step, looking at the door and then back to General Carter. He smirked slightly
before merely saying, “Yes sir.” as he made his way out of the office.
***
Someplace within a distant
expanse of the “Terran” solar system a prototype Grakken
war ship would be slowing from faster than light travel and coming to all but a
stand still off of one of Jupiter’s many moons. It’s massive girth almost
casting a shadow a quarter of the size of the object it sought to orbit, though
within this vessel the grandeur of its form seemed moot to those who lived upon
it.
A crew of nearly 400 Grakkens made this vessel their home, and would die to
defend it. Their Captain was something of a hero to the Grakkens, a General in
his own right, leading them to countless victories against the Creator Empire,
and those nasty hordes of Kavzars that seemed to
increase in number with each coming battle. On this day though the crew of the
Grakken ship was not out for blood, instead their mission was one of exploration.
Within the bridge of the
ship is where this mythical figure known as G’thok
dwelled at the present time. Sitting within a massive chamber that somewhat
resembled a chair. Its bio-mechanics parts interlaced with less advanced
structures of metallics and crystalline arches that
seemed to seep into the organic fibers as though a symbiotic relationship
existed between the two. The structure interlaced with shimmering appendages
that branched out and around the fixated center point.
Other areas around the
bridge held the same formations of structure, as though the ship was a mixture
of Grakken technology and that of the dreaded creators. Even though this race
hated the Creators it appeared as though they had integrated concepts of the
advents technological wizardry into their own machinery.
G’thok would motion to another fully armored Grakken
sitting at a command council on a lower deck, as though to beckon him to his
side. From nearly 500 meters away this beast stepped forward, floating from
lower deck up to meet the Captain. The 8 foot tall crimson creature bowed
within the presence of his superior officer and awaited further
instruction.
“At ease soldier; what is
our estimated time of arrival at the destination?” G’Thok
asked within his native tongue, awaiting a response from the now standing ruby
combatant. The massive pugilist vacillated for a moment before responding
verbally “Estimated time of arrival is emanate, we should be reaching the Terran world within a 1/64th of a Terran rotation.”
“Excellent, see that the
molecular relocater is in order and operational; we
wouldn’t want this nice new toy of the Grakken Empire to malfunction just when
we need it most.” G’thok said as he reclined further
into the bio-organic formation of his chair. Three olive tinted vines came down
to meet him, wrapping about his form as two other extended and interacted with
the Captain’s control medallion. It separated upon interface, segmenting into
three parts as a brilliant light would emanate from the core of these two
organic structures.
The red giant nodded then
gave a gentle bow before lifting himself into the air and sinking to the floor
below. He too would reposition himself within the “pod” like structure of the
navigational system, allowing various organics to interact directly with his
Creator armor.
Several other Grakkens
toiled about him, interacting with crystalline structures via their control
medallions; it was as though this entire crew had accepted this new form of
technology with open arms, against the general consensus of the Grakken race.
***