by Jedi Reach
SCI-OPS: Nova © 2019 Jedaiah Ramnarine (Jedi Reach)
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in Trinidad by PSI Raise Creative Studios. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from PSI Raise Creative Studios.
Cover Art by Jedaiah Ramnarine (Jedi Reach) and Minimalistiker
Edited by Jedi Reach
First Edition – May, 2019
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Dedication
For those of you who hold onto your dreams, I want you to know that you should never give up. Push for what you love. Fight for your dreams. Never let go of them. They deserve your love and they deserve to exist. No pain, no loss, no suffering and no mistake should ever be greater than the love you bear for your dreams.
Table of Contents
INTRO
PRELUDE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
INTRO
It was a dark night, overcast with a blood moon overhead, but in seconds it became walls of water crashing into a secret facility outside a large forest. The complex was massive, the walls polished steel - lined with computer equipment, electronic meters, machines that blinked and flickered with life.
The facility was staffed by fifty or sixty people, some in white coats, others in overalls, all wearing armbands of different colors: red, yellow, blue, and green. Arc lights beamed down from above. Armed guards stood at each doorway, watching the work with blank faces.
Three black SUVs entered the perimeter and parked near the entrance of the facility. A facility worker named Bakker rushed to the passenger door of the first vehicle with an umbrella. The door opened, and a pale, thin, middle aged gentleman with glasses dressed in a black suit and trench coat, walked out.
“Right on time Doctor Stone. The assets are ready for transfer.” Bakker said to his superior while they walked to the facility’s entrance.
Stone reached into his coat for a box of cigarettes.
“And the new one?” he asked, lighting his nicotine stick.
Four similarly dressed men wearing sunglasses emerged from the SUVs and moved behind Stone, their hands clasped over their lower abdomens.
“I’ll leave that up to you.” Bakker replied, intimidated by Stone’s crew.
“Good,” Stone took a long drag on his cigarette. “I want to see him.”
“Right this way, sir.” Bakker moved to the entrance and the door guards gave way to let him in. Stone took a hard drag on his cigarette before tossing it and following Bakker, his crew close behind.
Bakker led Stone and his men down a series of corridors. Inside the facility was like something out of Star Trek. Everything that could shine, shined. There were stainless floors and rooms upon rooms of various scientific experiments ranging from weaponry to advanced neuroscience the public could only dream of.
They stopped at an observatory glass that peered into an interrogation room. Inside the room, a chocolate skinned man in his mid-20s dressed in a black hoodie, sat and waited with his hands on the table, his eyes staring at the wall in front of him. Stone noticed the strange handcuffs on his wrists.
“Psionic restraints? Has he given trouble?” Stone asked.
“No trouble sir, we just didn’t want to take any risks.” Bakker replied.
“You have the file?” Stone opened his palm expecting something while his gaze remained fixed on the young man in the other room.
“Right here.” Bakker reached into his lab coat and handed Stone a surface pad. Stone glanced over the data, swiping his finger upwards.
“Jace Wills,” the Doctor said in a monotone voice. “Born in Miami, Florida. No immediate family members alive, no significant others, no driver’s license or social, no abilities on file. Jesus, Bakker what the hell is this? This kid’s a ghost. Tell me why you’ve been insistent about this one being transferred to HQ.”
“A couple weeks ago some of our assets started talking to each other in private about this thing called Nova. It’s supposed to be some kind of haven Scions can escape to. At first it seemed like delusions, maybe effects of the work getting to their heads, but upon further evaluation, there was an active trend. We ran a combined effort between a Scion group and our tech department. We searched for anything outside the facility. There was only one match,” Bakker pointed at Jace. “Him.”
Stone scratched his chin. “Long range capabilities and psionic communication? Fascinating.”
“That’s why I had to get this one to you. Who knows what he can really do?”
“Let me talk to him. Alone. Get the other two ready.” the Doctor said.
Stone slowly entered the interrogation room and closed the door behind him. Jace glanced at Stone, Stone, at Jace, both men observing the other’s body language. As they both analyzed one another, a relaxed curiosity brewed within the two. Stone reached for his box of cigarettes and presented it to Jace.
“Cigarette?” he asked.
“Sure.” Jace reached into the box and took one, placing it in his lips. Stone leaned in with his lighter and lit the stick, then pulled out one for himself and lit it. Both men took hard drags on their cigarettes while making eye contact.
“I understand you’ve been sending telepathic influence for freedom to our Scions? A place where they can get away?” Stone broke the ice.
Jace remained silent.
“That’s a breach of national security to contact contained assets, even if the transmission is telepathic.” Stone continued.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jace pulled on his cigarette.
“I’m sure you do,” Stone smiled. “We’ve been tracking your activities for some time now. You have quite an interest in psionic capabilities and technology.”
“Could be a stupid kid that likes science fiction.”
Stone scoffed, took a hit of his cigarette, and stubbed it out on the table. He pulled the chair facing Jace out and sat on it, letting out a sigh.
“Listen, we know about Nova and we know you have abilities,” he crossed his leg and leaned back comfortably. “We just don’t know what they are. Yet. That’s why you’re being transferred to a Scion HQ, so we can find out.”
Jace took another hit, unmoved by Stone’s words.
“And if I have none?” he asked and finished his cigarette.
“I don’t think we’d want to go down that road, would we?” Stone smiled.
Jace silently chuckled.
“How long do you think you can keep them locked up doing your dirty work?” Jace challenged.
Stone leaned forward and crossed his arms, eyeing Jace seriously. “
As long as your kind remains a threat, it’s our duty to keep you under control by whatever means necessary.”
“That would mean weaponizing them?” Jace smirked. “Isn’t that what a Scion is after all? A weapon?”
Stone noticed Jace’s intelligence.
The mysterious young man was hiding more than he told.
“Doctor Stone?” Bakker entered the room. “They’re ready.”
“Aha!” Stone exclaimed and got out of his seat before looking back at Jace. “Time to go.”
A man in black moved into the room and peered at Jace, the strapped handgun on his belt acting as a reminder who’s in charge. Jace got the message. He got out of his seat to follow Stone and the rest of his men through the hallways leading back to the entrance.
Once Stone, Jace and the rest of the escorts made it back to the entrance, they were met by a bald, hulking bare-chested man who resembled an ancient Viking covered in tattoos from head to toe. He was cuffed and chained on his wrists and his ankles. Stone identified the cuffs were also another pair of psionic countermeasures. On the Viking’s sides, two armed guards escorted him, each of them holding shock batons.
“Unit five,” Stone identified the Viking from a safe distance. “It’s good to see you’re coming to terms with your sentence.”
The Viking gazed at Stone; his eyes filled with rage.
“My name is Aiden.” he spat on the ground.
One of the guards stuck their batons into Aiden’s side and turned the voltage up to maximum. Aiden growled and stumbled a little, then caught his breath. Jace looked at him both worried and impressed. A shock like that would’ve made any normal person fall to the ground screaming. It made him wonder about the designation number and Aiden’s shaved head.
Am I supposed to become like him too?
Stone walked next to Aiden, unmoved of the brute’s presence.
“Fascinating. You’d think criminals that were given a second chance to do some good for their government would be a little more thankful.” Stone said.
“Oh, I’m grateful doc,” Aiden flashed his wrists and squared Stone in the eyes. “Tell your lackeys to get these off me and I’ll show you how grateful I really am.”
Jace quietly chuckled at Aiden’s seething venom. If the Viking got the chance, he’d probably rip Stone to shreds.
“Doctor Stone?” Bakker called from the opposite direction. Everyone pointed their heads his way. At Bakker’s side was a pale young girl in her late teens with long black hair and grey eyes dressed in a slender black dress. Her face was blank as if she was floating in water, disconnected from the world around her. Unlike Jace and Aiden, she was unrestrained.
“Lea.” Stone darted to her, kneeled, and hugged the young girl. He placed his hands on her shoulders and carefully examined her from head to toe.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
Lea simply nodded.
Jace observed their interaction.
Why was Stone showing care to this girl?
“We’re going to take you back home,” Stone assured Lea. “You’ll be with me again. Safe.”
Lea’s face remained expressionless.
She simply nodded once more.
Stone rose to his feet and nodded at his men.
“Let’s go.” he ordered.
An unmarked armored truck drove to the entrance of the facility ahead of Stone’s SUV outside. Jace and Aiden were escorted at gunpoint by two armed soldiers to enter the truck while Lea entered the first SUV with Stone and his men. Jace couldn’t help but notice.
Why did Lea get to ride with Stone?
The vehicles drove off, led by the armored truck into the rainy night. The storm progressively got worse as the night went on. Lightning flashed across the cloudy sky and thunder followed. Aiden and Jace sat in seats facing each other on opposite ends, silent, and curious where they were headed. Two guards sat next to each Scion, alert and ready, their fingers itching to use their shock batons.
Aiden glanced over Jace with a smug look.
“You don’t look like much.” he said.
Jace shot an uncaring gaze at him.
“Do you talk?” Aiden pushed.
“Sometimes.” Jace replied.
“Ahh, you new bloods,” Aiden shook his head and chuckled. “Don’t worry, you’ll lose that shyness soon.”
Jace kept his gaze locked at Aiden. He was not terribly interested in what he was saying, more what he was. The Viking noticed Jace wasn’t afraid of him. It made the brute curious. Aiden leaned forward and the guard to his right reached for his baton.
“Take it easy!” Aiden held his hands up.
“No bullshit Five, this is going to be a smooth run. You got that?” the guard snarled.
“Alright, alright! I only wanna’ get to know the new guy, that’s all.” Aiden halfheartedly smiled. The guard relaxed once Aiden leaned back, pressing his head against the truck with a conceited grin.
“So, what can you do?” Aiden asked Jace.
“Nothing I suppose.” Jace replied with a snark look.
“Ha! Tough one to crack, aren’t ya?” Aiden chuckled.
Jace shrugged.
“Knock it off, Five. We don’t need to be hearing you yap the whole way.” One of the guards ordered.
“Look, I wanna’ help the new kid. Last time a new Scion showed up, he wanted to play tough. You guys remember how that went down, don’t you? What was his number again? Six?”
Aiden’s yammering blanked out in Jace’s head. The new blood went into a deep focus. He concentrated on their driver and the road. Visibility was low, the only lights out there were from their vehicles. The driver slowly found himself going into a trance, mirroring the same concentration Jace was emitting.
Aiden noticed Jace, and instead of alerting the guards, he kept talking to distract them. Jace closed his eyes and stimulated his imagination. The driver went into a state of hyper focus, his mind now Jace’s playground. Sweat dripped down his brows. He couldn’t snap out of it.
Suddenly a missile parted the clouds and headed straight for the truck. The driver freaked out, smashed the break and pulled a hard right on the steering wheel. Stone’s SUV slammed into the back of the truck and sent it spinning off the side of the road while his SUV skidded and crashed into a nearby tree. The other two SUVs crashed into each other in the middle of the road.
A total pileup.
Aiden woke himself out of a short blackout and looked around. The truck was upside down. Jace looked like he was out cold, and the driver seemed unresponsive. The sound of groaning caught Aiden’s ears. The guards were waking up. The Viking mustered all his strength and tackled one of the newly awakening guards to the floor. He delivered a single blow to the face that sent the guard back to dreamland.
The other awakening guard reached for his baton. Aiden quickly charged into him and knocked him unconscious with a headbutt. Aiden didn’t stop there, he wanted to break free. He dug in the guards’ pockets till he found a small device with two buttons on it. Aiden pressed the green button and his cuffs lost its color, faded to a rusted silver. He used his raw strength to break free of the inactive psionic cuffs and toss them aside. Aiden moved to the front door and kicked it open, then Jace flashed across his mind.
Should I leave him?
Aiden felt conflict.
“Hey!” he went back and shook Jace awake. “You did this?”
Jace looked up at him, unable to respond, blood leaking down his forehead. Aiden knew he couldn’t wait. This was an opportunity to escape. He lifted Jace’s arm over his shoulder and helped the new Scion out of the truck.
“Oh crap.” Aiden blurted once they exited.
The remaining guards and Stone’s men in black drew their weapons at the two Scions, ready to fire. Aiden felt stupid for going back for Jace. If he would’ve ditched, he could’ve made some headway.
“Well, it was a good attempt.” Aiden said, defeated.
Jace stepped forward and raised his pal
ms at the armed men. They abruptly dropped to the ground unconscious.
“Holy shit!” Aiden uttered.
Jace collapsed to his knees and Aiden rushed to his side.
“The girl…” he struggled to speak. Aiden peered at Stone’s smashed truck. The Doctor was getting out of it and catching his senses, but his bodyguards were running toward the Scions, guns drawn.
“Fuck the girl man, we gotta’ go!” Aiden yelled.
Jace wasn’t in any position to argue. Aiden lifted Jace’s arm over his shoulder and started carrying him.
“Non-lethal, non-lethal damnit! We need them alive!” Stone shouted at his underlings.
“Hold it!” they ordered, their crosshairs on the Scions.
Stone’s men had the drop. Aiden and Jace had nowhere else to run and Jace was too weak to use his abilities. The Viking wondered if this was his time to go down fighting. Suddenly the rain stopped falling. A blinding light overpowered the area, and everything went dead silent. Jace tried blocking the light with his palm, squinting as he tried recognizing what was going on.
He looked at Aiden.
Aiden wasn’t moving.
What the hell?
He glanced at Stone’s men. They were frozen too. The Scion stumbled from Aiden’s aid and waved his hand in front of the Viking’s face.
Nothing.
“They won’t stay that way forever.” a woman’s voice called from the light.
Jace spun around and gathered any remaining energy he had left. He held his palm towards the light, alerted and ready. A silhouette appeared in the middle of it, slowly coming closer. Jace fueled his concentration.
“You have a beautiful imagination. Rest assured you don’t need to project hallucinations into my mind like you did that driver and those synthetics.” the silhouette said.
As the shadow came closer, the light dimmed, and Jace realized this was more than a shadow. It was a fair skinned woman, seemingly in her mid-twenties with long, light blonde hair and pointy ears. She wore a dark form fitting suit that hugged her curves.
“What do you want?” Jace asked.
The luminosity faded to practically nothing, and Jace could see the woman clearly. She was absolutely gorgeous, and her eyes were perplexing, seemingly impossible. It glowed an otherworldly green.
