As the white light vanished we found ourselves standing on a pad that looked similar, yet clearly distinct, compared to what we had built. A cursory glance at the uniforms surrounding us told me that we were currently in some sort of Guardian Defence Force facility—the weapons they had leveled at us helped a little with my deduction.
“Hold! You are trespassing and you do not have authority to be here. Identify yourselves immediately!” A white and grey uniformed man commanded.
“I am Special Officer Zypher Garlden, verification code 774-896-32F. I apologize for the intrusion but I have all the authority to be here right now,” Zypher replied with a salute.
He was relaxed but firm with his delivery showing a side of himself that seemed to surprise all of us. We remained silent and attentive while watching a woman in a uniform open up a holoprojected terminal from her wrist and type some numbers, presumably Zypher’s ID, before putting her wrist down as the terminal vanished.
“It checks out sir!” The woman reported.
“Apologies Special Officer Garlden, but I need to know who those people are before we can move further,” the uniformed man responded.
“That won’t be necessary,” a sharp voice boomed down the corridor.
Several of the officers in front of us turned immediately to face the newcomer, with the exception of those pointing weapons towards us.
“Stand down. That’s an order,” the man said, walking up to the pad.
In that instant, everyone turned to face the tall man and saluted. He was slender but filled out his uniform better than the rest of them. He also had, oddly majestic, long blonde hair that fell to just below his shoulders—that must get expensive to maintain…
His gaze was sharp but commanding which fit well with his overall features I noted, almost as if he were born to command.
“At ease Guardians. Carry on about your duties, I’ll handle the rest here,” the man ordered.
The way he said ‘Guardians’ seemed to be more for us than for them.
“Now then, let us move to a more…private location,” he offered, gesturing for us to follow silently.
We complied. I knew we were confident in our abilities, but the possibility of things going poorly was a chance we weren’t willing to take. While following closely behind the man, I started to take notice of the architecture. The material making up the walls and floor were some sort of metal composite with an incredible amount of quanum flowing through them. The overall design of the structure was very square, as if it was constructed hastily, lacking any semblance of artistic vision. The man stopped at a mechanical looking door at the end of the hall, typed on a flat screen which seemed to display nothing in particular, and the door slid open.
“Have a seat,” he offered in a commanding tone as he stepped into the room.
The man continued making his way to a seemingly regular wooden desk with two brown leather sofas in front of it.
“I think I’d rather stand if it’s all the same to you,” Alden said with a hint of disdain as we entered the room behind him.
“Agreed...” I said, proceeding to remain standing.
“Fair enough. I have failed to introduce myself so I understand the reluctance. I apologize. I am Vice-Admiral Kite Reidmont, Commander of the Guardian Defense Forces in this facility, but you may call me Commander Kite or Commander if you wish,” he said with genuine politeness.
Now that we were in his office I could feel his aura shift, it was domineering and fitting of his rank, just his aura alone made me start to lose confidence in my own abilities. His aura, compared to the lack thereof from the officers previously, seemed to confirm my new theory about soul sense amongst Guardians. From what I could gather, soul sense was left for each officer to discover on their own, perhaps as a rite of passage or proof of one's own merit and strength.
“Zypher, report,” Kite commanded sternly but calmly
Without hesitating, Zypher stepped forwards saluting. “Sir, I’ve brought the Guardians from the island to meet with you. We constructed a teleportation pad using some older schematics provided by one of the Dratmana. I apologize for the impulsiveness of my decision and am ready to accept any disciplinary action Sir!” Zypher explained.
“At ease Zypher,” Kite said, gesturing for Zypher to step back into line with the rest of us.
“What was it that made you believe you needed to come here right now?” He asked Zypher, staring directly into my eyes suspiciously.
His cold emerald gaze pierced straight through to my soul. I could almost feel him poking around inside me.
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“Well, I wanted to test out the pad to make sure it was functioning correctly and travel somewhere I knew would be safe. There’s also a possibility we’ll need to declare a state of emergency on the island. Currently we have detected widespread quanum manifestations across the entirety of the island. They’re…starting to imbue themselves into objects, Sir,” Zypher responded anxiously.
“That is indeed an issue. We’ll need to increase our presence on the island if that is the case. It’s a good thing you developed the teleporter when you did. Excellent work,” Kite said, his face still devoid of emotion.
I managed to push back his prying eyes with my aura and instead started feeling him out in return but it was like tapping at a brick wall. If he noticed my examination, he certainly didn’t show it.
“Thank you Commander,” Zypher concluded.
“Now then, it is my understanding that Zypher had previously requested for you all to join our defense forces. Given the circumstances I cannot immediately induct you into the GDF but I can enroll you into the special forces training like Zypher. Once you pass that, you will be Special Officers like Zypher, directly under my command,” Kite stated plainly.
“That sounds fair to me. Nicole has been training to be an operator after all,” Alden agreed, looking over at Nicole who was silent and pale.
“I also think those arrangements would be beneficial to us all,” I said, not breaking eye contact with Commander Kite—if it was a battle of wills he wanted, I wasn’t about to lose.
As I stared I felt what seemed like a shadow meandering in the room—something there but not. I broke eye contact to carefully observe the room and I could almost feel a portion of it was darker than the rest for some reason—trick of the light maybe?
“As the three of you are clearly aware, being a Guardian is no simple task. It is dangerous and holds a position of power over those without your talents. As part of the Guardian Defense Force you are a part of something bigger than yourselves. You are responsible for maintaining a balance of power, authority and compassion in the 3rd and 4th Worlds. You must hold yourselves and those around you accountable for their actions in defending that balance. Is that understood?” Kite said, his tone stern and commanding as his eyes dug into each of us.
“Yes sir,” Nicole, Alden and I replied.
“Excellent. Zypher, please take them to the registration office. I will make sure they understand the arrangements,” Kite said, motioning for us to leave.
Zypher saluted once before motioning for us to follow him out of the room. The door automatically closed behind us, the sound of it strangely unnoticeable.
“Well that was terrifying,” Nicole said, almost gasping for air.
“Really? He’s not that bad. At the very least everyone here respects him,” Zypher defended.
“Anyways, let’s just get this whole process over and done with. The island is still in trouble and we have things to investigate,” I said, my tone relaying the seriousness of those ‘things’.
Everyone fell silent at my comment and we quietly made our way to the registration office. The process was quick and streamlined. Upon entering the registration office, we were immediately provided tablets to record our information and were given a quick physical examination. Once we completed inputting all the information, we were ushered into a classroom type setting and required to do a quick educational assessment. When that was completed we were then sent to the supply office with a requisition for trainee uniforms.
“Well, first off, congratulations on taking your first step to becoming part of the GDF,” Zypher said, beaming with excitement.
“Thanks, and thank you for your help in getting us this far,” Nicole said with a cheeky salute.
“So, what’s the next step?” Alden questioned, staring down at his folded and bagged uniform gripped loosely in his hands.
“As Commander Kite had said, you have now been enrolled into the Special Forces training program. Every three days you will be required to show up at the GDF recruit building and wait for your instructor. You will each have a different instructor and will be trained privately. The training classes should begin…” Zypher trailed off, before motioning his hand to a screen that had appeared in the air. After a few taps and a swipe, he scratched his head in concern.
“Uhh, well…It looks like you’ll have to wait another month before your training starts,” Zypher said awkwardly. “It looks like your instructors are out on a mission. So until then, we’ll just head back and continue on like normal.”
“Sounds like a plan I guess. Do you not have any new orders?” I asked, suspicious of the information.
“Nothing I can speak of outside what I’ve already told you. I’m still assigned to the island until ordered otherwise,” Zypher stated simply.
His aura didn’t give off any hints of deception, so I let it go.
“Well, let’s go back then, I guess. I’m exhausted—it's been a long week,” I whined as I started walking towards the lobby of the teleportation room.
“It’s Tuesday…” Alden chided.
“Yes, which is a day of the week, on which I am very tired…” I groaned. “OW!” I yelped as I felt a powerful flick on the back of my head.
“That’s enough out of you!” Nicole said, with a mock sternness that caused Alden to chuckle.
“Try to remember where you are…And your position,” Zypher whispered while awkwardly waving to the other officers passing by.
“Ahem… Anyways, let's promptly make our way back, shall we?” I suggested, mildly embarrassed.
After teleporting back to the 3rd World, Earth, we briefly discussed the day before retiring for a few hours. I tried to take a nap but ended up cycling over the last few months in my head.
“Cadeyrn…How am I supposed to keep track of everything that’s going on? It just seems like too much,” I asked almost pleadingly.
“Master, perhaps it would be best to start recording the events in a journal. I believe that this way you’ll be able to keep a better handle on things. I hear it can also be quite therapeutic,” it offered.
“Heard from who?” I asked curiously.
“That’s not important,” Cadeyrn stated rather suspiciously. “I suggest starting with today's events and going backwards until you’ve organized your thoughts. I will try to fill in where I can.”
“I guess…” I cautiously agreed and with that, Cadeyrn and I began writing a journal.