The Excalibur Squad

[shadowspun.livejournal.com]

Author: shadowspun
Title: The Excalibur Squad
Rating: G
Pairing: none
Characters: Arthur, Merlin, Uther, Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Lancelot, Kay, Galahad
Summary: On a voyage through space, the Excalibur Squad is the finest.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 657
Prompt: 374, We were made for this
Author's notes: I may come back to this AU if I get inspired.  It intrigues me.

Arthur had never quite figured out why the ship had so many viewports.  It probably had something to do with the fact that most of the ships in the fleet had started their lives as pleasure crafts, including the Hengroen.  In the last few decades the alterations to fleet ships had occurred of necessity, not for the hell of it. So Arthur and his crew had viewports on most levels of their ship.  Not that he was complaining, of course. He found he rather enjoyed watching the simulated starscape in between missions. 

“Arthur, the Commander is looking for you.”

“Is he in a good mood?”

Merlin’s amused voice responded to his question, “Well, he’s not cursing up a storm at the moment.  That’s a change.”

Arthur snorted.  “Let him know I’m on the way to his ready room.”

The Hengroen was one of the larger cruise ships turned troop carriers, so it took Arthur a few minutes to reach the Commander’s ready room.  “Ah, Arthur. You made good time. We need to go over your mission briefing.”

“Of course, sir.”

The next day Arthur briefed his squad before they left the ship on their patrol.  The area the fleet was heading into had been surveyed by one of the few interstellar species humans had met on their long voyage to find a new homeworld.  Unfortunately, the Miquelians had been uninterested in the limited trade the humans could provide, so the only real commodity that had proven useful were navigation maps and the vague directions to a new planet that might be suitable for humans.  It gave the fleet an idea of what to keep an eye out for, and had led them to a few asteroid fields they could mine to replenish the raw materials for their fuel.

The bay of the Hengroen had been converted from one that would launch small pleasure craft to one that would launch small, two-man fighter ships.  Arthur’s squad, Excalibur, was considered one of the best in the fleet. The newest man, a quiet brunet named Lance, sat next to his co-pilot, Elyan.  Kay and Galahad sat on the wing of their ship, dipping it a bit toward the ground. Perce towered behind his co-pilot, Gwaine, as the two watched the information scroll across the screen behind Arthur.  Leon, Arthur’s co-pilot stood next to Arthur, watching the information carefully.

“And that’s it.  I want each of us to keep an eye out for those sensor ghosts the boys from the Durandal squad reported.”  He nodded as each of his men stood and headed toward their ships.

“What do you think the ghosts are, Arthur?”  Leon asked his friend and compatriot. 

“I think the boys from Durandal are going around the bend.  They probably need a visit with Gaius.”

Leon chuckled.  “Or there really are things out there in the Black that we still have to discover.”

Arthur grinned.  “Now why do you want to be logical?  It’s more fun to say our competition is losing their marbles.”

“That would imply they had marbles to begin with, Arthur.”  Merlin’s voice rang clearly through the helmet he’d just put on. 

“Aw, Merlin, it almost sounds like you have a favorite squad.”  Gwaine’s voice came over the channel, teasing.

“Gwaine, Durandal is led by Valiant.  Tell me who on this ship actually likes him.”

A snort came over the channel, “Commander Pendragon.”

“True.  Anyway, you boys have clearance.  You can leave as soon as the doors open.  The ground crew is clearing out now. Do come back in one piece, all of you.  Gaius said he doesn’t feel like having to patch anyone up today.”

“Ah, Merlin, we were made for this.”  Arthur grinned as he watched the doors start to open.  It was true. Arthur and his squad were made for what they were doing.  After all, what better thing could an android accomplish than to protect the humans that had made him?