It was another slow day in the security office, where one of the newest officers was reflecting on the choices in his life that had led to him sitting behind a desk, monitoring a low-traffic gate. If it didn't pay so many contribution points, he might have quit already. This was incredibly boring. He wasn't some gung-ho rookie who had always dreamed of working in security. No, he just needed a job, and there happened to be a position available.

He was sipping some coffee, but nearly spat it out when he saw what was on his screen. Approaching the so-called "spirit gate" was a high priority target from the watch list posted on every desk. He double checked, and sure enough, it was BOLO-0017! A child of two top-ranked leaders in the DDC.

"Elder! BOLO ALERT!" he shouted, not bothering to restrain his panic, as he released his hand from the communication crystal on his desk. Was this the beginning of an invasion? He didn't remember any alarming reports from the last staff meeting. He didn't recognize the other two boys with him. Were they his flunkies? He watched on the scrying crystal as the security team posted by the gate responded to his alert. Within moments they were hiding in an entrapment formation around the BOLO target, awaiting orders from the office. Their response times were remarkable.

An Elder arrived promptly at the officer's desk, and reviewed the situation. "Hmmm..." he said, stroking his beard as he looked down at the pale faced junior. The officer had naturally dark skin, and the Elder was impressed at how pale it looked now. He touched the communication crystal on the officer's desk, "maintain formation. Follow and observe for now."

He released the communication crystal. "Junior, calm yourself, and observe the situation. That is a young boy, not a war party, and certainly not a threat. Who are those two with him? They look like they were on a spirit journey, and they are approaching the spirit gate."

"I don't recognize them, sir. They're not on any watch lists. Could they be his lackeys, sir?"

"Try checking the sect's training registry for this district."

The officer complied, and quickly found the entries for Sam and Kyle in a jade slip. "You're right, sir. It looks like they were in the last recruitment cycle. They're being trained by Antony Hall. They are peak Chi Condensation, Two-Bodies; One-Mind cultivators. Tagged: low security risk. There is a note that they have a friendship with subject 3195-F, a DDC child-spy, but they are not currently assigned monitoring due to their low-risk status. They did inform Antony Hall of their intent to depart on a spirit journey eight days ago, for which he filed the appropriate forms. They departed six days ago, and have not yet returned. Shall I pull up their full history, or would you like the file on 3195-F, sir?"

"Bring up 3195-F. We should be sure there are no signs of collusion." The Elder waved over a nearby intern with an eager expression, then directed him to retrieve subject 3195-F's on-duty monitoring officer. They reviewed the file while they waited.

"Subject 3195-F, sir. She is twelve year's old, has a Pure Yin Constitution, and is practicing the Yin Demon Technique. Two years ago she went with several other girls for their rites of passage. She was qualified to begin her foundation training at that time, so she did. Unsurprisingly, she was guided by Changing Woman. This was predicted by the security officer, who noted in the file that the subject met several criteria for this outcome. She completed the Thirteen Moons Foundation, and is predicted to be ready to consolidate her foundation for Core Formation, as soon as her body matures. She is a dedicated cultivator, as are the other children who associate with her outside of training. She killed two of her seniors when she was eight years old, but was determined to not be at fault per PC 515.2 sub C-1. Resultant from that incident, her use of the Yin Demon Technique was confirmed, and she formed a spirit pact with the Malamute, subject 3195-F-A, whom she rescued from those same boys."

"Yes, I remember that. I believe I was the one who gave confirmation to the girl's monitor. Continue."

"Yes, sir. She is noted as a dedicated spy, who regularly sends reports to the DDC, which have so far been intercepted without incident. She has recently begun working for Antony Hall as an intern. Since her employment began, there has already been a dramatic increase in efficiency within the training and recruitment offices. Antony Hall filed the appropriate forms with the security office. He has also put in a request for housing, which he marked as a term of the subject's employment. He even put in a request for rushed approval, citing her remarkable effectiveness in her position."

"Elder." A young blonde woman with creamy skin interrupted, and bowed to the Elder.

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"Your subject-"

"3195-F, sir."

"Yes, it seems that two of her friends have returned from a spirit journey with BOLO-0017. I hoped you could tell us anything about them that might not have been in your reports."

"Of course, sir," she glanced at the scrying crystal to confirm, "Sam and Kyle, trainees in the subject's recruitment cycle. She infiltrated via their hometown. It is not known whether they had contact prior to recruitment, but it has been deemed unlikely. I assume you've already read their files, sir?"

"Yes, no need to go over that. Just tell us what you know."

"Yes, sir. The boys are as dedicated to cultivation as the subject is. They only leave their dorm for training, or if they are ordered to take a day off. On those days off, they are always observed to be in the subject's company, along with another girl, Emily, from the same town, with a similar disposition. Other children occasionally join them as well, but those four are consistently together. They also team-up on training exercises in the forest. Otherwise, there is no clear evidence of collusion. In fact, it would be a surprise if she had recruited them. They are fairly naïve, and have a strong interest in sending money to their families, who have been doing well since the boys joined the sect. Or, I should say, they were doing well during the last routine follow-up by the recruitment office, which was six months ago, but the boys have been seen regularly contacting their families, and have not displayed any signs of distress in the presence of the subject. If I might offer a suggestion, sir?"

"Go ahead."

"It is most likely that the boys are unaware of the danger of brining the BOLO into the sect. They are friendly boys, who are polite, and respectful. They may have simply encountered the BOLO in the mountains during their spirit journey, and innocently offered to travel together. The BOLO is quite far from the DDC, and is likely lost."

The Elder stroked his beard, and pondered for a moment. "That seems plausible, but something isn't quite right, here. The boy is hardly a threat on his own, but his presence could still spell trouble. For now the best course of action would be to observe until we can determine his intentions. Once he arrives at the gate, we'll-"

Just then, the boys stopped, and the BOLO called out "Seniors! I request asylum! My name is Yuma of the Demonic Desert Cult! Again, I request asylum!"

"Did they know they were being followed?" The Elder wondered out loud. He accessed the jade slip he kept on his person, which contained the sect's legal codes. After finding what he was looking for, he pressed the communication crystal, "Per Diplomatic Regulation 33 on person's requesting asylum: you are ordered to escort all three to the nearest detention center for immediate questioning. They are to be treated as diplomatic guests so long as their actions remain peaceful. Use of force is authorized in the event of resistance. Authorization PX-05 Elder Jack Crawford."

As soon as he finished speaking, six of the officers surrounding the boys moved closer, so they were in the boys' line of sight. "All three of you, please cooperate and follow me," one of the officers said. The boys then began to follow without complaint while the six officers formed a circle around them, and more tightened their formation from their hidden positions. The Elder wasn't sure how useful that was, if the boys could somehow sense their presence, but it was their protocol.

Before long, the boys were in separate rooms in the detention center closest to the spirit gate. Elder Crawford had ordered clothes be brought over for Kyle and Sam, and some hot cocoa was brought in for all three. He sat in a monitoring room, while each of the boys were questioned separately. It was impressive how consistent their stories were. If he didn't know better, he would assume they were lying, and had taken the time to get their stories straight. It would've been a stupid lie, though, because it was simple to test their claims, which is exactly what they were doing.

"Tell him 56135," the Elder said into one communication crystal, before pressing another, "ask hiim what color Sam was just shown." To his surprise, Kyle responded, "It was Yuma, not Sam, and you didn't show him a color. You told him 56135." He continued testing them in this manner for a few hours, until he was satisfied that they could not possibly be cheating.

He was unhappy about it. According to the boys, they had found Yuma lost and nearly dead in the mountains during their spirit journey. He was in a state of chi deviation, so they had helped him the only way they knew how, by using their cultivation technique. While it wasn't unheard of for three people to cultivate the so-called "Two-Bodies; One-Mind" technique, it was quite rare, and it WAS unheard of, as far as he knew, for all three of them to have started out as strangers.

But, while that was mildly interesting, that wasn't why he was unhappy. No, he was unhappy, because the boys claimed that COYOTE of all the possibilities, had taken the role of their medicineman. Of course, that wasn't unexpected for twin cultivators, but it was a terrible set of coincidences. If they hadn't happened upon this demonic cultivator child, it wouldn't have been suspicious. As it was, it was highly suspicious. Coyote was known for his tricks, and whatever the trick was, he wanted the sect to have nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, they had no option but to play along. Not only was that likely to create an even bigger disaster, but the boy had requested asylum. The law was clear. They had no legal reason to continue to detain him. He would have a monitor assigned to all three boys, of course, but that was the best he could do.

Hopefully they could prevent a disaster before it happened, but he didn't have his hopes up.