Read Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) for Free Online Page A

was pleased to hear you had accepted the position,” said Zukov.  
    “Felt like the right thing to do. Colonel Thorne recommended me for it and after his death…”
    Jim looked away and Zukov gave a solemn nod, placing his hand on Jim’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
    “Thanks,” said Jim.  
    “Come,” said Zukov, gesturing ahead.  
    The two men followed the rest of the crowd. For Jim, it was strange being back in this place. The last time he was on Olympus, Vanguard was fighting the Khagan. But now, it had been retrofitted and expanded, to serve as the headquarters of this new organization.
    Once everyone gathered into a large waiting area, they saw a man standing on a platform above them, a man dressed in a similar uniform to Zukov.  
    “Welcome to the Olympus. I’m Director Nathan Callus,” he began. “You’re all here because you represent the best that the world has to offer. An organization like this is unprecedented in all of human history, because now mankind faces a threat we have never seen before. We will be the first and last line of defense against a new kind of enemy, one that needs no armies, needs no weapons, needs no funding. We are the guardians of humanity, here to ensure that what happened on this very station just a few months ago will never happen again.
    “Welcome to Cerberus.”
    ***
    “Okay,” said Lee with a sigh, sitting at the controls of the Atlas’ monitor room. “Let’s see if this works.”
    He entered a few commands into the keyboard and the lights flickered on and off. Zenith stood beside him, his gaze fixed on the monitors. “Are you certain this will work?”
    “I think so. Perimeter sensors activated, but we’ve managed to mask any and all surveillance that the government may have put on this place. If anyone comes near this place, we’ll know about it.” He turned his chair to face Zenith. “Maybe they could put an end to Vanguard, but we’ve managed to take back Atlas for ourselves.”
    Zenith nodded, looking around the monitor room. “I feel…separated from it. Lacking that instantaneous connection with all the Atlas’ systems.  
    Lee stood and patted Zenith on the shoulder. “We’ll get there. That’s our top priority right now, making sure you get back into your own body.”
    “Not the only priority.”
    They turned and Zenith stepped closer to the third man in the room. He eyed him with brown eyes carefully. “Are you certain of this? It’s quite a risk we’re taking.”
    “They started this when they tried to kill me,” said Thorne. “The world may think I’m dead and that gives us some more room to operate in secret. Bring it up, Lee.”
    Lee bent over the console and his fingers danced across the keyboard. The monitor came to life with several images. Thorne pointed at the first one.  
    “We know Ramsey was working with the Khagan and it’s a safe bet he’s also responsible for targeting me.” He pointed to the next image. “And it seems like the reason was to get Nathan Callus appointed to the position of Director of Cerberus. They tried to use Pyre to kill me, which suggests that Ramsey and Callus aren’t really abiding by the ‘no specials’ rule. And even worse, the Analyst and Azarov are still on the loose. We can’t discount their involvement.”
    “Which begs the question,” said Zenith. “To what end? What does Ramsey want to do?”
    “No idea. He could be continuing the Khagan’s crusade, or it could be something else.” Thorne turned, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Whatever he’s up to, we’re going to get to the bottom of it. Even if we have to do it alone.”

EPILOGUE

    In another galaxy far off in the cosmos, a small, one-man spacecraft moved through an armada of warships hovering amongst the stars. The tiny ship approached the opening bay doors of one of the larger vessels, the craft shifting to hover mode. The bay doors closed and the canopy vanished as if it had never been there.  
    The pilot