Angel of Peace
by
Rodford Edmiston

Part One

The anniversary celebration of the D-Day landings on the Normandy coast of France was a big annual event. Especially this year, the 80th, largely because it was obvious that this was likely the last such celebration which many of the regular attendees among those who had been active participants in that invasion would be physically present for. Or present at all.

However, that limit did not apply to all those who had been on Normandy's beaches that day.

"You cannot be here!" said a small man with a large mustache and big clipboard, in English but with a heavy French accent. He had blocked the way as the other small man tried to enter the hall where the veterans of the invasion were being feted.

"I am an invited guest," said the stranger, in perfect French, holding out a slip of paper. "I am even supposed to give a speech later."

The native gave the piece of paper a perfunctory examination. Then rejected it.

"This affair is only for those who participated in the operation, and their current assistants. You can give your speech during the ceremony."

"I am supposed to be in there, with the others."

"Your name, please?" said the man, consulting a printout on a clipboard.

"Aaron Labelle."

"You are lying," said the man, flatly. "There is an Aaron Labelle who is an invited guest but he was here, on D-Day."

"That's me."

"Impossible. You are not old enough."

"Yet I was there, as I am here."

The stuffy little official was about to say something else, but was interrupted by an elderly man using a walker.

"Aaron! I knew you'd make it!" he said, in a heavy Bronx accent. He chuckled, and settled his walker. "I wasn't too sure about me, but here I am, too!"

"Hello, Rudy," said Aaron, with obvious affection, as he ignored the astonishment of the man with the clipboard to move to the other man. Aaron gave him a hug. Gently. "I am very glad to see you. Are you here alone?"

"Nah, my great-grandson is with me," said the old man. "He's around here, somewhere, but he's a typical teenager and..."

He stopped, shook his head and gave a wry laugh.

"I just realized, he's older now than I was when I came ashore here! Well, let's get inside before they start without us."

Ignoring clipboard man, the pair moved slowly into the banquet hall. Chatting about family and friends.

Most of the guests already seated at the banquet tables were similarly old men. Most were accompanied by much younger men or women; their children, grandchildren or other caretakers. Despite their obvious age, most were engaged in animated conversation as Rudy and Aaron walked in. Conversation which died in a wave. Those nearest the door used their elbows or otherwise got the attention of the person next to them, who would look towards the door, fall silent and do likewise. Matters weren't helped by the fact that the two were among the last to enter.

"Well, he did make it!" said one querulous voice. "Look who's with him, too!"

There were multiple greetings both ways. Aaron was distressed at how few there were present. As well as the small percentage of them who, like him, had participated but didn't look elderly. He was even more distressed at the amount by which those he knew had deteriorated since he had last attended. Aaron, thinking about when that had been, was astounded to realize that nearly a decade had passed since he had been to an anniversary remembrance of the invasion. Time had, once again, gotten away from him.

"I'm surprised you could spare the time to be here," said Rudy, unconsciously saying aloud something connected with Aaron's silent musings, as the pair of them found seats. "The world must be a calm place, just now."

"Not really. There are far more people in the world than previously, and people cause most of the problems. However, there are also many more folks who are actively helping with such troubles than there were previously. There are also much better methods for alerting them to trouble. Our information center doesn't call me unless none of the others can handle a problem."

"Modest, too," said Rudy, smirking.

"Perhaps I should have phrased it 'unless they need more help,'" said Aaron, with a bit of a smile.

"Too late."

They both laughed.

Rudy's descendant finally showed - to the confusion of the severs, who had thought Aaron was his caretaker - and introductions were made. The young man seemed to be in awe of Aaron. As for the older folks present, they were honored guests, and not allowed to pay for anything. In spite of this, the food was quite good.

After the free meal there was a bus tour of the area. Several stops were made along the way, with passengers expected to get out and walk to the attraction there. Many of the veterans of the invasion politely declined the invitation to participate in this activity, but not all.

"You're moving pretty slow, Rudy."

"Just normal wear and tear."

"I can't make people younger, but I can heal damage and illness."

"Can you do that for everyone here?"

"Not at once."

"Then don't bother. I believe I speak for all us non-empowered survivors when I say 'enough is enough.' I'll let nature take its course."

"You know there are new medical technologies which can..."

"Yes, yes, I know about those," said the old man, with a jerky gesture of irritation. He leaned closer to Aaron and lowered his voice. "So much of what we fought - and died - for eighty years ago is today seen as 'quaint' and 'old-fashioned.' I just am tired of all this change. I believe most of those here would have the same position if asked. They're tired of the changes. Especially since it seems that - politically at least - the world keeps getting worse."

"I'm not tired of change," said Aaron, quietly.

"Good," said Rudy, patting his friend on the hand. "You keep right on fighting the good fight. You're our eye in the sky; the person who sees things overall, for the long term. The world needs people like you. Keep reminding those youngsters of what they've lost and given up. Meanwhile, I'm content with the span I have been given."

* * *

The last stop was at the main event for the anniversary celebration. Here everyone _did_ get out of the bus, if only to move directly to folding chairs. These were in a roped-off section reserved for the veterans of the invasion. The debarkation took some time, since many were in wheelchairs. However, they all moved to attend. This was the main reason they were here, after all, the time and place for the commemorative speeches. It was now that Aaron finally gave his talk. As one of the few present now who had actually been there then, he went third.

"It's easy to be brave when you have powers," Aaron began. "However, most of those who came ashore that day did not have powers. They were brave anyway. They were brave despite sea sickness, despite German fire, despite their own fear and concerns, despite everything. They were brave, and they got the job done.

"What they did have was their training and each other, including officers who were right there with them. They also had what was often inadequate equipment. The Nazis thought themselves invincible, and many others also shared that fantasy. The Germans had reinforced the coasts they had seized, often using slave labor to do much of the work. However, the tank traps and other barriers they placed actually served as improvised if inadequate shelter for the invaders. Who broke through and got off the beach, and after that there was no stopping them."

He continued in that vein for a short while. Then paused, and looked at those assembled.

"What they fought for, personally, varied. Many simply wanted to survive the day, the next hour, the next few seconds. There's nothing wrong with that. Too many didn't survive, though. Their collective mission was not to change the world, but to keep others from making it worse. They succeeded. Despite all obstacles placed in their path - including their own doubts and weaknesses - they succeeded."

There were other speeches, of course. Aaron's was the only speech given by someone who was actually there which went beyond a few tired words. The other invaders who spoke just didn't have the energy for more; not now.

Aaron's speech was among the most popular given that day, not least because it was among the longest which actually said something significant all through its length. Many in attendance were uncertain as to who he was. Gradually - during his presentation and afterwards - word spread that he was someone empowered who had actually been on - or above, in his case, defending against airborne enemy empowered as well as German planes - the beach on the day of the invasion.

When finished he received a near standing ovation. The only people who did not rise were those no longer capable of such elevation. Even they applauded.

* * *

"That was a pretty good talk," said Rudy, afterwards, as he and Aaron walked slowly along the beach.

"I just wish I could have included more on the evils of fascism and totalitarianism, but that would have risked losing my audience," said Aaron.

"Well, some of them," said Rudy, with a grin. "I think most of the older attendees and the youngsters who listen to them would have understood what you were talking about."

"It's hard for me to believe that Germany is still having problems with Nazis and their descendants."

"The US is, too, for that matter. Some people just don't want to learn."

"Someone unwilling to learn is someone unable to improve."

"Sure smells a lot better now than it did then," said Rudy, appreciably, after a pause in the conversation. They were stopped near the edge of a cliff which overlooked the Channel. A pleasant breeze blew in from the water.

"That it does," said Aaron, with a laugh.

* * *

As part of the celebrations, an example archeological dig was taking place on the beach. A trench had been excavated, running from the base of a ravine where the American troops had blown an obstruction, to well out into the ocean. The sea and sand were kept at bay by interlocking panels driven deep into the ground. Water of course kept leaking in under and even between those panels, with pumps sending it back out. Maintaining this trench was a lot of work, especially for something meant to be a simple demonstration. However, to the surprise of those working there, they had already made several significant discoveries. Some of which had required the attentions of the bomb disposal team which was standing by. Those people and their special equipment were present due to long experience, both during previous anniversary celebrations and everyday beach activities. The echoes of the War continued to sound, here and in many other places.

Aaron and Rudy simply watched the archeologists work for a while. They both stood on the sun warmed sand for a long time before breaking silence.

"Maybe they'll find the wristwatch I lost on D-Day," the elderly man joked. "It was a gift from my parents, and I was never able to afford one as good to replace it."

"I see that you still don't wear a wristwatch," said Aaron. "Would you like one? Perhaps even a direct replacement..."

"You couldn't afford to replace this one," said Rudy, with a sigh. "It was a Rolex from 1940."

"I could probably afford it, if I could find one," said Aaron, with a laugh.

"How do you have that much money?" asked Rudy, sounding suspicious.

"I recently learned where the White Russian Army hid some of their funds, before their final dissolution. Found the cache just a couple of years ago. Naturally, while looking for something else."

"You found Kolchak's gold?! Though I'm not surprised you want to be generous with it."

"A very small part of it, actually. Since the treasure was meant to be used by a long-gone specific group of people for a specific failed cause over a century ago, I consider anything which is left from those funds to be unclaimable, up for grabs by whoever finds it. The current Russian government won't even acknowledge that it exists, because they minimize any mention of the 'counterrevolution,' in spite of all their changes in doctrine in recent decades. In government or even large business terms, there's not much treasure left. However, it is quite a lot on a personal scale or that of most charitable organizations."

"I might take you up on that offer," said Rudy, now also grinning. "I could use a good watch."

They soon said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, though they hoped to get together again later that day. Meanwhile, Rudy wanted to hear a talk from a bomb disposal expert, and Aaron simply wanted to look around.

* * *

Aaron heard sirens and looked for the reason. However, the sky was clear and the waters of the Channel, while not exactly calm, show no signs of receding, as they would preceding a tsunami.

"There's a recreation of the Great Panjandrum which they're going to try and get to work," said one young attendee, who was clutching a program and saw Aaron's confusion. She also seemed excited by the prospect of watching the device work. "They're letting folks know to get ready!"

Which explained the sirens. Aaron watched as the barge moved into position and the gate lowered. However, before the operators could light the rockets, he was distracted.

"Aaron! Aaron!"

The empowered man looked around to see who was calling him and why. He saw Rudy hurrying towards him, working his walker hard.

"Aaron!"

"Easy, there, Rudy!" said Aaron, alarmed as he quickly moved to meet the man. "You'll blow a tube!"

"Monsters!" gasped the old man. "Monsters from the sea!"

He couldn't see them from here, but he trusted Rudy's evaluation. Aaron transformed - his clothing turning into biblical robes, his shoes into sandals and enormous wings sprouting from his lower back - and took off. Wings beating hard, he quickly gained altitude. He saw that there were, indeed, giant monsters in the water, heading for landings further along the shore, where the main ceremonies were taking place. There was already screaming and running among the people on the beach and nearby.

Most of the creatures were only two or three times the mass of a large elephant. One, though, was huge, bigger than any whale. Fortunately it was trailing well behind the other monsters and had not yet come ashore. Deciding to deal with the biggest threat first, Malak dove for it. He planned to go desolid and disrupt its biology from inside.

Instead, he rebounded painfully from the monster's hide, white robes and wings left disorganized by the collision. Dazed, Malak reflexively sought altitude. Once safely above the monstrous invasion, the angelic figure healed himself to clear his head, and thought furiously. He was used to solving such problems alone, but remembered that he now had other options. He used his communicator to notify Insight of the attack. Malak immediately received an acknowledgement from the distant computing device, and a message that an alert was being sent to those in the network who could get there quickly. Nodding to himself, Malak got back to work.

What he had felt in that collision was not the resistance of inertium, but rather a repulsion. Like a power effect. Only, animals didn't have powers! Of course, this was obviously not a natural animal. So, was this one of the empowered, transformed into a monstrous form? Malak didn't think so. Which left him confused.

Well, he could try other things. However, the beast didn't seem to even notice Malak's flaming spears! Indeed, they were repelled as Malak had been, not even reaching the beast's armored hide.

He frowned. Then experimentally threw a spear into the water ahead of the beast, instead of directly at it. The creature made an odd, rumbling, moaning sound, like an irritated blue whale only bigger, and changed course slightly. Malak created a fistful of flame-tipped spears, the heads sputtering like burning magnesium, and planted them in an arc ahead of the creature. It made the sound again, only louder and for longer. It also significantly changed course.

Encouraged, Malak used his spears to direct the monster away from the beach.

"TURN AROUND," he shouted. "GO BACK OUT TO SEA."