by Andi J Feron
“I have this one. I mean, come on, I’m a manipulator,” Lucius boasted.
Seraphine drew on a sketch pad. “You know, you can’t permanently manipulate them. They have to give their oath free of persuasion. The high-ups can tell if people are entranced.”
Jerap typed into a computer. “You can win Lucius. I need neither money nor rank. I don’t like talking to humans. I’ll wait until we are a team again.”
Seraphine looked up at Jerap. “I’ll give you credit for some of mine, so you don’t get kicked off the team completely.”
“I’m going to show all of you that you don’t need deception to recruit anyone. If our cause is worthy, it’ll stand on its own,” I spoke the words hoping there would be truth to them.
Lucius smirked. “We all know Talon will lose.”
“Very funny Lucius. I bet I can get twice as many as you despite your manipulation ability,”
“Wanna bet? If you can recruit more people than me on merit alone, then I’ll give you all my bonuses. But if I can recruit more using manipulation, you give me all of yours.” Lucius extended his hand, and I shook. Lucius continued, “I even know where I can start. Your sister is bound to be high-tiered. Why don’t I start with her?”
“Lucius, knock it off. His sister is ten. You can’t recruit her yet. Capsulization won’t take; in fact, it will kill her.” I was glad Seraphine spoke as I was about to knock Lucius through the wall.
“Last week I read there is a new chemical they can add that will make the therapy accepted by a younger brain.”
I shoved Lucius knocking him on his butt, and he jumped up and ran for me. He slammed me against the wall.
“If you two are done being idiots, we need to get started for the day.” Seraphine seemed unaffected by watching us roll around punching each other.
“Lucius, you touch a hair on my sister’s head, and I’ll kill you!” I hoped the look I gave him left no doubt in his mind that what I said was the truth.
We both got off the ground and sat at our stations. Over the next couple of weeks, I found it challenging to convince people to join. Most of my recruits had to have their minds wiped of the experience. Lucius was reeling them in like fish latched to a hook. Seraphine was doing better than me but not by much, and when she split the recruits with Jerap it made them both look like they were barely treading water compared to Lucius.
I needed to kick things up a notch if I was going to prove we could gain recruits without being deceitful. Seraphine and I decided we would do a mass event and hope the bandwagon effect would occur. Halloween was right around the corner, and we decided to throw a costume party. We gained permission to host it in the gym at Mr. Fausto’s building.
We advertised the party and gave an added incentive for winning gift cards to local vendors. At the party, I would pick the gift card winners based on how high their levels appeared. The night before the party we had everything ready to go.
Chapter Four
Talon - October 31, 2004
“Come on Talon. I want you to take me trick-or-treating this year. I never see you anymore!” Allie pleaded.
“You know I have to work.” I tied my shoes, getting ready to leave for the recruitment party.
“Can’t you not go today? I want you to stay with me.”
“Allie, stop. I’ll see you when I get back. I’m sure going with John will be just as fun.”
“Please, Talon! One night. I want to spend time with you. You’re always working.”
“You know why I’m always working because I have to take care of you! I’ve always had to take care of you, so show some gratitude instead of complaining!”
She stomped off, and I was too annoyed to follow. I made sure dinner was in the fridge before telling Allie I was leaving. This was met with silence. She would have to toughen up. When I was her age, I was already taking care of everything she needed.
Seraphine and Jerap were putting the final touches on the decorations by the time I arrived at the party. I was a magician complete with a long-tailed tux and black top hat. Seraphine was dressed as Cleopatra while Jerap was himself. Seraphine was laying out the napkins when Lucius, dressed as Marc Antony, walked up behind her and grabbed her waist. She smiled and turned to kiss him.
Seraphine saw me approach and smiled. “Nice costume, Ace.”
I glanced between her and Lucius. “Thanks. How long have you two been a thing?”
“A couple years. Since we were living in a homeless city.”
Lucius gave Seraphine another quick kiss. “Talon, may the best man win tonight.”
The turnout was spectacular, the crowd excited and lively. After a couple of hours of dancing, Jerap, Lucius, and Seraphine performed their routine. I thought it was a good Halloween act. I located the highest-tier people in the room. I moved through the crowd, handing out notes that told the recipients they had won a prize and they needed to go to another room to claim it.
We each set to work in our individual offices recruiting high-tiered individuals. I tracked more people than I ever had, which left me exhausted. I helped clean-up the party before leaving for home. I needed to steal some chocolate from Allie’s Halloween grab.
I planned on apologizing to Allie for snapping at her earlier. I walked in and saw my dad enjoying his nightly routine of being passed out drunk in his chair. I went to Allie’s room to check on her, hoping she didn’t have a stomachache induced from candy toxicity. Her bed was still nicely made.
I focused on my sister. My mind opened up, and I saw Allie asleep aboard a shuttlecraft. They had recruited my sister! I focused more intensely and saw Lucius at the helm, and my abdomen felt gutted. Lucius had taken Allie.
I flew out the door and threw myself onto my motorcycle. Jacobson had gotten it for me to help my commute back and forth. He knew with my tracking skills I could maneuver flawlessly with it. The license he gave me with it took care of any legal issues driving it at my age.
Lucius was dead, having written his death sentence the minute he devised taking my sister was ideal for him. I would kill him as soon as I laid eyes on him. I couldn’t get to town fast enough. The ride seemed to drag despite the 80 mph I was doing. I used my sense as a tracker to make my way to the medical base.
Tracker mode made me more agile and able to zoom around curves at high speeds safely. The adrenaline wore off any ability fatigue that I was previously experiencing. I barreled my way into the building, halting only brief enough for the retina scanner to verify my identity.
Seraphine spotted me. “Talon, what’s going on? You look like you’re about to explode on someone.”
“That’s because I am! Lucius took my sister.”
“Why would he do that? It’s not like she can go through capsulization. She’s only ten. You have to be at least…”
I cut her off. “We all know protocol Seraphine!”
“I know. I’m saying it doesn’t make sense. They’re not going to give him a bonus for killing a kid. Especially one that could be recruited later with a high probability of an upper-tier result.”
Seraphine’s words cut through me. If Lucius tried to put Allie through capsulization, it would kill her. I wasn’t even that far ahead in my thought process because it didn’t make any sense. He would be kicked out of the program and probably thrown in the brig until he awaited trial for killing her. I couldn’t understand what he thought he was gaining in taking her.
“I tracked them both. They are in a shuttlecraft on their way to Saturn base, possibly there already if they folded.”
I went straight for Admiral Jacobson’s office. He was sitting at his desk viewing the screen in front of him.
I didn’t wait for him to see me. “Sir, Lucius has taken my little sister.”
He glanced up. “What do you mean he took your sister?”
“He’s been bugging me about bringing her in, pushing the fact that the gene therapy takes better in families with high-tier levels. He also said something about a chemical
that works on younger brains. He told me she would probably be fine. I told him my sister wasn’t open for experimentation and I thought the issue was closed. She’s only ten, sir.”
“He’d never get approval to change a ten-year-old. Especially a ten-year-old who has a brother at a high-tier level.”
“I don’t know exactly why he is doing this, but I do know he has her. I need permission to go to space and find my sister.”
“Let’s take it one step at a time. We have to figure out where she even is, and then I think it would be better if we had someone else go in and get her. You’re too close to this.”
“You know I can find where she is at any moment. Right now she’s almost at Saturn base. I have to get her, sir. She’s my only family.”
Seraphine stood behind me. “I’ll go with him sir. To make sure things are kept under protocol.”
Admiral Jacobson typed on his keyboard. “I’m going to give permission for you two, Jerap, to head to Saturn base. Beyond that, your orders will be to sit tight.”
Seraphine nodded. “Understood sir.”
I agreed too. At least that would get me in the sky. The closer I got to Saturn base, the more I realized that was not where Lucius took her. I refocused on my sister.
“Talon, tell me you’re not attempting to track your sister,” Seraphine said.
I glared at her. “Not anymore.”
“Ace, we have to follow the rules if we’re going to get your sister back. We can’t go rogue. The higher-ups have too much power for us to go this alone.”
“You don’t get it Seraphine. I have to find her.”
“What good is it going to be to find your sister if you can no longer protect her because you’re dead or in the brig?”
I didn’t want Seraphine to be right, but I knew she was. I concentrated and picked up a slight trail. I looked up maps on the viewer and determined Lucius had taken her to the area known as the pulsar system.
I wasn’t sure how much I should share with Seraphine “How can I trust you? For all I know you could be in on this entire thing with your boyfriend.”
“I guess you can’t know, and I know you don’t know me that well. But I promise that I would never be in on hurting your sister.”
“Prove it. Help me get her back.”
“Alright. I’ll help you. Jerap can you navigate us to somewhere other than Saturn base?”
Jerap moved over to a control panel. “Yes, I am quite skilled at navigation.”
We folded to the pulsar system, and I used my tracking skills to guide us close to Allie’s location. We arrived to see a galactic battle taking place. A Khalbytian ship was firing red lasers at a silver disc ship. The disc ship shook and was attempting to maneuver under the enemy ship to evade fire.
“Khalbytians!” Jerap jumped to tactical. “Enabling cloaking technology. Talon, move us around the back side of the battle,” Jerap commanded me to a station.
I was glad our studies included shuttle navigation practice. I did what Jerap said and concentrated on Allie.
I pointed out the view window. “She’s in the disc ship”
The ship Allie was on was taking a heavy beating from the assaulting ships.
“Their shields are down to thirty-five percent,” Jerap reported.
I ran closer to the view screen. “We have to get Allie out of there!”
“There’s not much we can do in our shuttlecraft,” Seraphine said.
Jerap’s hands were moving rapidly over the controls. “Shields are ten percent!”
“Don’t you know what to do?!” I yelled at Jerap.
Bright light flooded the screen as the ship I tracked my sister to exploded into oblivion. I dropped to my knees and felt an increased mix of dizziness and the urge to vomit. My breathing was uncontrolled. I couldn’t handle my sister exploding into a million pieces.
“Talon. Look at me.” Seraphine stood in front of me and put her hands on my face. I was nearing hysteria, and I couldn’t slow my breathing. “Talon, concentrate. See if you can sense her. She might have gotten off in time.”
Fighting through the hysteria, I focused on my sister. I began to stabilize as I saw her. She was on a base close by. A large Loctorian vessel appeared, firing on the remaining Khalbytians causing them to explode mid-battle.
“She’s still alive. I don’t know how but she’s on a station. I believe it’s cloaked.”
Jerap turned the ship toward where I sensed the station. “A cloaked shuttlecraft probably got away before the larger ship exploded. We should remain cloaked, then when a docking hatch opens we can fly behind. We’re small enough our signal could be masked in the larger ship’s exhaust.”
I was glad he knew how the physics of all this worked because I had no idea. We followed behind the big cruiser that had taken out the Khalbytians ships. Jerap’s plan was successful, and we docked in an open port. Seraphine projected the room without us to anyone in the vicinity. Jerap would stay with the ship and be ready for a quick escape.
I concentrated and froze. Allie was in a room full of gene capsules. Seraphine maintained her projection long enough for us to get out of the room. If anyone questioned Jerap, he would have to wing it. The station seemed big enough that a little shuttle already docked might go unnoticed. I tracked through the base to her location. Allie was in the capsule, and the orange fog was seeping up from the ground.
“Talon!” Allie screamed as she disappeared into the fog.
I bolted across the room, and Loctorians ran to stop me. I heard laser fire and ducked to the side wall behind a pillar. I saw Seraphine concentrating on the Loctorians. She was projecting something that made the Loctorians stop firing and stare intently at nothingness. I unlatched the capsule and Allie fell forward. I scooped her up, and she looked up at me.
She whimpered. “I’m scared Talon.”
“It’s okay kiddo. I got you. Things are fine now.”
I tracked through the ship to avoid being seen. I made it into the shuttle and placed Allie down on the medical bed. Jerap began scanning her, and I hopped into the pilot’s chair. Seraphine flew in behind me and as the door closed, I saw several Loctorians close to breaching our ship. I fired a laser gun, hitting one, and he fell to the ground.
Another ship was leaving, and I zoomed around them and out the open station hatch. I threw us into hyperspace. I searched for a good place to hide. I sensed an asteroid belt and exited hyperspace.
We could hide among the asteroids. According to Jerap, the type they were would conceal our signature from most vessels passing by. I glanced over at the girls. I saw Allie asleep with her head in Seraphine’s lap. I felt awful that I’d been unable to spare my sister all of this.
Jerap was watching Allie’s vital signs. “We need to monitor her brain for lasting side effects of the capsulization attempt. While there is evidence of brain trauma I think she will be well. The Fates did not wish her to die today.”
The Loctorians believed a higher power they called The Fates. We waited for a few hours in the asteroid belt before I decided it would be a safe time to fold. I used my tracking sense to put us in range of Saturn base. Allie was awake, and Seraphine was braiding Allie’s dark brown hair. They were giggling and chatting as if they were old friends.
I didn’t know what would happen now. Allie knew about everything. My childhood ended when I was nine, and I did not want her innocence drained at ten. I wanted her to have normal at the forefront of her life. Normality seemed like an unachievable hope at this point. The Loctorians knew about her, and now they knew her numbers. Eventually, they would come for her, and I knew a forced recruitment was not out of line with their diminished morals.
When we made it back to Saturn base, Dr. Monroe looked her over. “I think she’ll be fine. The swelling is going down nicely. You stopped the process before any significant damage could be done.”
I was happy with the Doctor’s good report. The nurse brought Allie a book, and I saw Allie’s eyes light up. Readi
ng was her favorite activity.
“How you doing sis?” I asked her.
“I’m alright.”
She didn’t say anything else which was unlike her, but I was sure it would take her time to process the ordeal. Seraphine stopped by and brought Allie a cloth doll with brown yarn for hair.
Allie smiled. “I love her purple dress. It’s my favorite color.”
Dr. Monroe released Allie, and I was ready to get her back to Earth. I knew we would have to answer for going rogue, but I had no regrets. We were taken to temporary quarters when Seraphine and I were called to see Admiral Jacobson. I left Allie with Jerap. As we entered the briefing room, Seraphine stepped in front of me, probably to hold me back from launching across the room. Lucius was sitting in front of Admiral Jacobson, and neither flinched upon seeing my rage.
Admiral Jacobson pointed at a chair. “Talon, sit. You can calm down, and we can consider talking about sending your sister back to Earth. Or you can explode, be put in the brig, and lose all control of what happens to Althea.”
I was irate that they were threatening me with the brig while Lucius sat free. He should be strung up for attempted murder. Seraphine and I sat down without a word. The best thing I could do to ensure Allie was sent back to Earth was to behave myself.
Admiral Jacobson started our meeting. “Lucius, a formal reprimand is being put in your file. It’s been filed with the highest security in the council database, meaning there will be no way for you to manipulate it being changed. Along with that will be the recommendation that you never be allowed to rise above the rank of commander. You will have a lot of work to do to prove yourself from here on out. One more stunt like what you pulled and your mind will be wiped, and you will be kicked out of the program. Am I understood?”
Lucius glanced at the floor. “Sir, yes sir.”
The Admiral continued, “Talon, I can’t fault you too much for doing what it took to save your sister, and the fact you were able to save her is a highly redeemable fact. However, you disobeyed several direct orders, stole a shuttle craft, and attacked a Loctorian base. You will also receive a formal reprimand, and be unable to rise above the rank of captain.
