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【Vision of an Alternate Future】

Arc 1: Ascendance

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【VAF】Chapter║: 22 ─ The New Hope

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A few days later Naole went to the Guardian School of Leadership, to welcome in the next group of Vanguard Trainees for their final year of training. Every Guardian is required as part of his/her duties to: Run an Academy, Train Vanguard Trainees following the completion of their initial phase of their training, Train newly qualified Vangleads in the discharge of their duties and produce the next generation of Guardians.

Naole is preparing to make his annual address to mark the start of the training year.

Naole : " To those of you who have been waiting to join my class! To those of you who have been chosen by fate! To those of you who have worked extremely hard to be accepted by the academy! To all of you, welcome!" Naole pauses for applause "You have been selected for the most intensive training in the history of mankind!" pause for applause "I've been around for a long time, and I have a lot to teach you in a very short period of time" after a brief pause "You've probably heard all sorts of stories about me; myths, rumours, legends; Well let me tell you right now; I'm not interested in stories!" pause for cheers "I'm not interested in the names of your ancestors, or in your family's lineage!" pause for cheers "What I am interested in, is your breaking point!" Naole pauses for cheers and applause "We will tear you down, and you will rebuild yourselves a new!" pause for cheers "We will break your bones, and you will heal them!" Naole pauses to an eerie silence "We won’t teach you how to command Fleets, or even how to Interface with ships" pause " We will teach you how to be the best that you can be!" applause "To be all that you can be!" cheers and applause "A warrior who does not know his or her own limitations is the worst kind of warrior. Doomed to consistently overestimate themselves! Prone to overstretching their capabilities! Risking lives unnecessarily!" after a brief pause "Leadership is a choice not a Destiny!" brief pause "No one is born to be a Crystal Guardian!" brief pause "No one is Destined to be a Crystal Guardian!" after a brief pause "I was not born to lead, in fact for a long time I refused to lead, and for most of my youth I chose to do my own thing. It was not until I made a choice that my path changed, and the choice was to protect. Everything else followed from that choice!" after a brief pause “Therefore the power of a Crystal Guardian emanates from a choice! A choice that many of you will not make." brief pause "Many say that my methods are obsolete in the age of Galaxy Class Warships, but let me ask this questions; Why is it that 70% of all Ascended Crystal Guardians are my former Students?" Naole pauses for cheers and applause "Why is it that my former Students are the best performing commanders in the Crystalorb Fleet?" there is applause “Unfortunately I won't always be here to teach you, and I shouldn't; A time is coming when all of you must choose to lead! Choose to protect! However my betters think that I'm stuck in the past, and it may be that they're right" the crowd shouts No! "Maybe my time is over!" the crowd shouts No! "Maybe I should move aside and let a new generation of Crystal Guardians lead the way!" the crowd shouts No! “Unfortunately it’s unavoidable; the Spirits think that my continued presence has made Crystalans complacent! They say that Crystalans look to me and not to themselves! They say that I must go away for generations! Go where the Spirit Stone can not locate me! Seal myself in a Stasis capsule for centuries! A minimum of 500 years!" Naole pauses and the crowd is silent "Maybe I'm not ready to go just yet!" The crowd erupts in cheer "Maybe I want to stick around a little longer!" more cheers "That day is coming, but not today!" more cheers " That hour is nearing, but not today!" even louder cheers " I'll be dammed if I'm going to miss the fight to determine the destiny of human kind!” after a brief pause "In recent times there has been attempts to draw parallels between Crystal Guardians and Generals or Admirals, but that can't be!" after a brief pause "A Crystal Guardian is by nature a protector. A Crystal Guardian is not a soldier, but a warrior!" applause "A Crystal Guardian does not just give orders, but leads!" applause "A Crystal Guardian does not hide behind defensive lines, but leads from the front!" applause and cheers "On the ground or in the sky a Crystal Guardian is the line!" applause and cheers " How do I know this?" after a brief pause "I know this because I am a Crystal Guardian!" cheers and applause "I know this because I chose to protect!" applause and cheers " Chose Service, Duty, Honour!" applause and cheers "A Crystal Guardian knows that Sacrifice is the price of Duty!" applause and cheers "A Crystal Guardian knows that the value of Duty is in its Purpose!" applause "A Crystal Guardian recognizes that Virtue is its own reward!" applause "A Crystal Guardian knows that Eternal Vigilance is the price of Honour!" applause and cheers "We are who we choose to be!" cheers and applause “ Choose!”

Soon after Naole's address full orientation began, and the next day training got underway. Vanguard Graduates of the Guardian School of Leadership were some of the highly trained individuals in the Human Civilisation, and even though most humans didn't know of their existence, those who knew were glad to have such people on their side. Admirals and Generals knew that the Human Civilisation owed its very survival to the existence of such individuals.

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A year later the Vanguard Trainees Graduated from Master Naole's Guardian School of Leadership and became full Crystal Armoured Vanguards. Amongst the Graduates were Luke and Jane. No Crystalan ever failed to complete the training at the Guardian School of Leadership, but the training course would be impossible to pass for non-Crystalans; not even a Lodian or a Hodian. Only a Crystalan possessed the necessary genetic material to interface with the Spirit Stone, and only a Crystalan could learn from the Spirit Stone how to control Vanguard Armour.

Following the Graduation ceremony the Vanguards would receive their assignments, and the Vangleads would return to their Divisions, but the newly Guardian Armoured would remain at the Guardian School of Leadership for a further six months to complete additional training in the elementary Guardian techniques. The modern era Guardian needed to be able to intuitively perceive the needs of those under his/her command, and this was a delicate technique that requires openness and trust.

A Guardian needed the trust of those under his/her command, and that trust would allow the subordinates to let the Guardian into the deepest inner fears and thus a Guardian be able to share his/her spiritual strength with the subordinates in a time of crisis. The spiritual strength of a Guardian was often described as an overwhelming feeling of confidence, purpose and inner peace.

First applied by Guardian Esara, the spiritual strength of a Guardian allows the subordinated to cast aside their fears and inspires absolute confidence in their purpose. The power of a Crystal Guardian comes in response to a need, but it is governed by choice. Like with the Nexus Phenomenon, Legends of great abilities in ancient times that had their origins in a response to a need, and Crystal Guardians were simply a modern manifestation of the phenomenon.

The Power of a Crystal Guardian has its roots in the abilities of ancient African mystical protectors; Guardians that came before Crystal Guardians. Legend says that ancient Guardians used to protect their villages from powerful evil spirits, and that ancient Guardians would grow stronger as the despair of the villagers grew, that the ancient Guardians were driven to protect by ancestral spirits.

Parallels could be drawn between mystical protectors of ancient times and Crystalorb's Crystal Guardians. Crystalorb's Crystal Guardians were legends in their own right, and they were credited with saving an entire Civilisation; the Edo from Endo. The Human Civilisation was at war with an enemy they've never met, the most chaotic force in the Galaxy, Crystalorb's Crystal Guardians could feel the despair of the entire Human Race, and this Empowered Crystalorb's Crystal Guardians.

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Master Naole took time from his hectic schedule to interact with some of the graduating Vanguards, and amongst them were Luke and Jane. After the interactions with the Vanguards Luke and Jane followed Naole as he went to check on Indigo's repair progress. The ship building section of the space port is by any measure massive, a true testament to Crystalan ingenuity.

Luke and Jane had never seen the ship building facilities and they were extremely shocked by the scale of the facilities.

Luke : " I've never seen anything like this!" he is lighting up as they fly over the facilities in their Crystal Armours "This is even larger than those operated by the Federations."

Naole : " They were designed to hold the Esara Class SkyCruiser."

Luke : " I've heard about that, it will be the largest Class of Ship operated by humans."

Naole : " The Esara Class SkyCruisers will help us fight the true enemies of sapient life, and they will guarantee a future for the human race" Naole veers to the left and Luke and Jane follow "There! The AFS Esara B2290C; Due to be completed in early 2290."

Luke : " Amazing!"

Naole : " The Esara Class SkyCruiser will be our frontline warship in the coming war with the Migon. This will allow us to move the Crystalan Ship to the scouting role, which is less risky, and will insure the survival of the Crystalan Ships."

Jane : " How much do these SkyCruisers cost?"

Naole : " The costs are hard to quantify, but from a resources point of view we could build 10 Vanguard Class BattleCruisers for every SkyCruiser we build."

Luke : " Then wouldn't it be better to build more Casara Class Cruisers?"

Naole : " It comes down to energy output. The Esara Class SkyCruiser is larger and has more Advanced Olen Crystalorb Nuclear Fusion Reactors, and that will make it more than 80 times more powerful than a Casara Class Cruiser. The Esara Class SkyCruiser will incorporate the most advanced Azleck Republic, Solte Federation, Nabi Federated Kingdom, O'con Federation and Crystalorb technology."

Jane : " And that will make them equal to Migon ships?"

Naole : " More than equal; Three to Five times more powerful than a Migon BattleSphere, but we can't be sure until it's tested in battle."

Luke : " Then how can you make such projections?"

Naole : " The science isn't exact but it is accurate; Azleck historical records give a good description of the capabilities of Migon BattleSpheres, and before the O'con Federation joined the Galactic Alliance they shared with us their detailed information on the Migon BattleSpheres." after a brief pause "Let me point out that from what I've seen it's going to be tough, and many humans will inevitably die at the hands of the Migon."

Jane : " What do you mean by many?"

Luke : " Is there anything we can do?"

Naole : " Unfortunately there's very little we can do; The timeline has been set. The clock is ticking, and hundreds of millions, possibly billions will die. They will come like a shadow in the night, and with a flash of light the age of man will be over."

Jane : " But there is Hope"

Naole : " Yes! If we join the Galactic Alliance before the Migon attacks the probability of survival increases exponentially."

Luke : " Then that's what the United Human Civilisation must do."

Naole : " Easier said than done! The Human race has made a lot of enemies, powerful enemies, and many of them are members of the Galactic Alliance."

Jane : " Like the Kulnet Dominion."

Luke : " And the Qua Federation."

Jane : " The older races seem to like Humans?"

Naole : " They like Crystalans! I'm not sure that they're all that concerned about the rest of humanity. Even the O'con Federation has very little contact with the rest of the Human race. It may be that they feel the Human race is not ready for prolonged contact with such highly evolved beings, but they seem to have no problems having frequent contact with Crystalans. I just don't know the answers to those questions, and trying to get clarification from the older races has been confusing."

Jane : " Can't you read their minds?"

Luke : " They say that you're the most powerful Crystalan Psionic."

Naole : " You can't invade the mind of an O'ltana or any of the older races. They're just too powerful, and they have Psionic blocks like I've never seen. I suspect the Migon are also powerful Psionics, and with their genetic manipulation they must be able to do things we can't imagine. However the relationship we've developed with the O'ltana makes us confident that we can trust them implicitly, the Andronians have been very helpful to Crystalans, and they understand that we are a part of Humanity."

Jane : " How do they feel about Lodians and Hodians?"

Naole : " Andronians tend to regard Lodians and Hodians as negative Psionics, but they recognize the distinctions between the Lodians and Hodians."

Luke : " Is it because of the use of Negative Psionic Energy?"

Naole : " We recognize that not all Lodians use Negative Psionic Energy, but the fact that some 40% of Lodians use Negative Psionic Energy to enhance their power makes it difficult to make the distinction. I've always..." Naole receives a priority Communications Channel from Commander Cyris "Hold on’ I'm receiving a signal from Crystalorb."

Cyris : " Good evening Master Guardian."

Naole : " Good evening Guardian Commander."

Cyris : " Master Naole we have a situation that requires your immediate attention."

Naole : " What sort of situation Commander?"

Cyris : " It's about a discovery uncovered by a United Atlantic Federation Destroyer; the UAS Boston A2251. It's a 10000 year old wreck on a moon of the gas giant GG54171 in sector 06H20 at R = 6000 LightYears. The UAS Boston is the formation leader of a six ship deep space Exploration BattleGroup consisting of 3 Destroyers, 2 Frigates and 1 Corvette." after a brief pause as Cyris sends images to Naole "The wreck is buried under 600 meters of ice, and getting to the ship safely is only part of the problem. The Ship's shields are somehow still active, and the United Atlantic Federation research team suspects that the Ship's defence systems are still active."

Naole : " Why do they think the Ship's systems are still active? Have they detected something?"

Cyris : " As you can see from the data; the researchers used plasma to dig through the ice, but that may have triggered the Ship's defence mechanism. They want to salvage the Ship, and secure the Ship's data. There may be useful technology onboard."

Naole : " Do they know if there are any life forms onboard?"

Cyris : " This is one of the reasons the United Atlantic Federation requested Crystalorb assistance. Crystal Armour can offer us the kind of protection that others don't have, and they think that we might be able to better interface with the Ship."

Naole : " Why is that Commander?"

Cyris : " As you can see!" more images and data is sent to Naole "The Ship had a Metallic Crystalline superstructure capable of changing colour, and its density seems to be similar to the Casara Class Cruisers"

Naole : " Why me? Why not Jalen or someone from Crystalorb Command?"

Cyris : " You're our chief expert on Ship building!" after a brief pause "However we are also sending Isis and Jalen, they are en-route as we speak." after a brief pause “The Council of Elders want you there for the unexpected."

Naole : " In case there are aliens onboard the ship?"

Cyris : " Yes! The Crimson will arrive in 30 minutes to pick you up. Vanglead Kiran has been briefed and she will act as your official Guardian Armoured escort."

Naole : " What about battle group support? And have you told the older races about the discovery?"

Cyris : " Isis is bringing in the Intrepid BattleGroup, and yes we've told the O'ltana, but the United Atlantic Federation does not want the Galactic Alliance involved for fear that one of them might claim rights over the wreck. The O'con Federation has agreed to keep things quite until an assessment is made."

Naole : " I Understand"

Cyris : " You have your orders!" after a brief pause "Cyris out!"

Naole : " Aha!" Naole looks at Luke and Jane "I have to leave, but before I leave I'll give you two your assignments."

Jane : " Assignments Sir?"

Naole : " Yes! The two of you are to return to Crystal Valley City where you'll take up positions in Crystal Valley Industries as part of the Mobile Assets Defence Division's Ilesian Guards. You will be trained in surveillance techniques, and when you're ready you'll form part of the watchers."

Luke : "Watchers?"

Jane : " What are the Watchers?"

Naole : " We think that the Migon have spies everywhere, and the human Civilisation as an Interstellar Trading Civilisation is not an exception. The Watchers are Ilesian Guards tasked with identifying possible infiltrators and collaborators. We need to know who they are working for, and we need to know how they are being paid."

Luke : " Why would humans spy for the Migon?"

Naole : " Self interest! But it's unlikely that they know that they’re helping the Migon. They may think that they selling information to one of the weaker Developing Interstellar Civilisation, but the information may be resold to Migon allies, or the particular Developing Interstellar Civilisation may be secretly allied to the Migon. Any number of scenarios may be at play." after a brief pause "You have your orders! Go Now! Fulfil your duties in the name of Crystalorb!"

Jane : " On your command!"

Luke : " On your command!"

Naole then rockets into the sky where he will rendezvous with the Crystalan Ship Crimson.

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