We Mercers had a saying, “We are warriors of the sword, powerful and true, we are Mercers.”

These were powerful words that defined power and honor. Each time they were said, each time they were heard, it inspired absolute determination. A representation of true glory. The success of every mission was the success of every Mercer and not just the one that led it.

A Mercer was many things to different people. To many we were monsters, to others we were heroes, and to some we were a necessary evil that needed to exist to maintain order in the universe. There was one thing we always made clear to anyone who hired us; we are not policemen; we do not serve and protect. We are carriers of the sword, we are hired, we complete our task, and receive payment. Nothing more, nothing less.

To keep us in check, we Mercers had certain restrictions. We were controlled with a set of rules set by the Galactic Mercer Council. The rules were absolute, no exceptions.

The laws of the Galactic Mercer Council were:

* No Mercer shall be a hero.

* No Mercer shall intervene or alternate mission order.

* No Mercer shall kill without authorization from the GMC.

* No Mercer shall betray comrade or GMC.

* No Mercer shall surrender.

* No Mercer shall forfeit weapon to enemy.

* No Mercer shall be bribed or bought.

* Mercers who refuse to follow mission plan or betray the GMC will be stripped of their rank, weapon, powers, and incarcerated for treason.

Mercers carried a signature weapon called an “Arma”. An Arma is like an Arming Sword or a Knightly Sword in design. Of course, with a few differences; the blade is much wider in width and longer in length, the hilt is a few inches longer. On the base of the blade, our rank and name are inscribed. The blade is made of a rare metal alloy called “Uber X”. It is indestructible and the blade never dulls, forever sharp and never fails. On the pommel of the sword the insignia of the organization is inscribed. The Galactic Mercer Council insignia is recognizable almost everywhere in the universe as it is a gold coiled dragon with an Arma piercing through it.

Each Mercer is identified through their rank. There are three ranks that exist: S-Rank (Superior), C-Rank (Central), and D-Rank (Deficient).

S-Rank Mercers are the strongest rank and are given the S-Class Serum which grants them superhuman strength, near-invulnerability, telekinesis, pyro-kinesis, and limited telepathy.

C-Rank Mercers are the middle rank and are given the C-Class Serum which grants them superhuman strength, telekinesis, and limited telepathy.

D-Rank Mercers are the lowest rank and are given the D-Class Serum which only grants them superhuman strength.

Mercers aren’t just bounty hunters, when need be, we can be assassins, mercenaries, and bodyguards. We are warriors for hire.

I didn’t earn my power as a S-Rank Mercer by avoiding risk and death. I thrived and worked hard to become who I am. Even if it meant shedding innocent blood or If I had to burn an entire city to the ground to complete my mission, it was done. If I had to murder an entire family in cold blood, it was done. These horrendous atrocities molded me in something far beyond human. It made me cold and callous.

During trying times, I took comfort in the quintessential thoughts of my home world, Earth. Simply to remind me of who I was beneath the warrior that was known throughout the cosmos as Astrid Gaia. It was my humorous attempt to regain some sense of humanity. Ultimately every job takes its toll and after ten long years of servitude to the Mercer Galactic Council, I decided enough was enough. I yearned for my home. It was once a place of grief and disappointment. A place I couldn’t stand to even think about, the mere thought made me angry. It was where the girl once known as Vera Nova was nothing but a pathetic excuse of a human being. That girl was me, the one that came before Astrid Gaia.

The once proud, battle-hardened woman that stood before the Galactic Mercer Council was ready to be nothing more than just Vera Nova once again. She was ready to be human, to be no more a ruthless warrior of the sword. The seventeen-year-old girl that left Earth was gone but something different was ready to be born and bloom anew. A new life on Earth, a clean slate.

“Astrid Gaia, S-Rank Mercer, position; general. It was an honor to have you in our graces. You have made this organization proud. It truly is a shame to see you go. Unfortunately, you have made your decision and we make it a priority to honor any Mercer’s decision.”

“Thank you council and it was an honor being in your service. But before I go, what of my powers and Arma?”

“Those are yours to keep, but be warned, if your home planet happens to discover what you are and how you decide to use your given power it will fall to you. Once a Mercer leaves the organization, they are cut off from us completely. It is our failsafe to keep primitive planets from attempting to contact us.”

Primitive, they say. Humans of Earth, primitive? Maybe. Maybe not. Misguided? Yes, absolutely. If Earth was aware of what lies beyond its solar system everything would be different. Earthlings would’ve advanced years ago, of course this is nothing new. Earth understands it very well but denies itself the opportunity. It constantly chooses not to advance, to keep the same overused technology and methods. Such a wasteful and pitiful world. I could settle on any planet, yet I have made my choice.

And with that choice there is this pull that I feel in my gut. This is pull is telling me something, but what? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it telling me leaving the organization now is not yet the right time?

If there is anything I’ve learned as a Mercer is that everything has a timetable, and nothing lasts forever. Mercers like humans are still susceptible to death, slow death but surely. Mercers are not immortal; they are not gods. Mercers are presented with various situations and every situation depending on a Mercer’s action is what determines their fate in the line of duty.

When that happens, there is a pull in our gut, it’s telling us something. Were never sure what it is until something happens where we must decide whether it’s a good or bad thing. This is what I felt standing before the Galactic Mercer Council.

They warned me, I understood, it is law.

“Yes, I am aware, thank you.”

“Then you are free to go Vera Nova of Earth. Here you shall be immortalized as Astrid Gaia, Mercer, warrior of the sword.”

A day before my departure council holds a ceremony in my honor. It was a wonderful ceremony, I am being celebrated like a hero, but heroes aren’t celebrated for bloodshed, only a warrior, a soldier. Heroes are celebrated for saving innocent lives. Lives I took for money. Is Vera Nova greedy? No, just desperate. Desperate to find her humanity again.

After the ceremony, that pull in my gut became stronger. I ignored it and entered my starship. I punched in the coordinates to Earth. I found myself hesitating to press the ignition, I didn’t figure it out until later. Estimated time arrival for Earth is three months. I prepare myself for cryosleep.

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Cryosleep, the last thing I remembered doing, until now.

The brightness of the white room blinds me as I open my eyes. I feel groggy as if I’ve been asleep for a very long time. I scan the room; not much out of the ordinary. The room is like most hospital rooms I’ve seen but with some advancements.

There is a sudden commotion outside, and I hear the voice of a woman talking to someone. The door opens and she enters the room.

The woman is tall, young, pale skin, and curvaceous with red, wavy, hair. She is dressed in a rather sophisticated uniform. Something akin to a police uniform but not the kind I am used to seeing. Rather her uniform could be something out of science fiction film. Ironic. I spot a badge on the right side of her breasts, and I immediately can tell she is not just some policewoman but chief, the highest rank.

She immediately introduces herself. “Hello, my name is Amelia Cloud. Do you know where you are?”

“A hospital?” I say hesitantly.

Before she can ask her next question, she grabs a chair from the corner of the room and sets it next to my bed. She makes herself comfortable, there is a soft look on her face. A face that almost looks like pity. I hate it.

“Do you remember anything before now?”

“I had just activated cryosleep on my starship. I was on my way home to Earth.”

She goes silent for a moment, as if she is choosing her next words carefully. “What do you know of the Interplanetary Justice Federation?”

“Nothing, I have never heard of it.”

“I thought as much.” She re-adjusts herself in her chair, almost like she is getting ready to drop the biggest news of her lifetime. “Three months ago, our patrol team came across a starship. The starship was something they’ve never seen before, or at least it was one no longer used today. But it was in relatively good condition. When they entered, they found a single passenger locked in cryosleep. You.”

“Okay.” I take a few seconds to process the information. I’m not sure how to react.

“Astrid, I know who you are and the reputation you withhold. I am finding it difficult to believe you haven’t pieced anything together.”

She is right, I am unfocused. Her uniform, the room, and then an organization I’ve never heard of, Interplanetary Justice Federation. I don’t recall ever coming across such a thing. When did it all even happened? It doesn’t make any sense.

“What is today’s date?”

“February 24, 2320”

My eyes widen, “That’s Impossible. That can’t be.” As I attempt to stand my legs buckle beneath me. My body feels like it isn’t even mine. “What the fuck is going on? why am I having trouble standing?” I say panicked.

“Astrid, please, I need you to calm down and let me further explain things.”

“Then explain why I feel like a goddamn newborn.” I shout at her.

She stands from her chair and walks to a closet on the other side of the room and brings out a tall mirror and sets it in front of me. I can’t believe what I am seeing. It’s not possible.

“Shortly after the patrol team found you something went wrong; someone intercepted them and stole your body. Luckily, they were able to transfer you into a courier disk.”

“What the fuck is a courier disk? What are you telling me?”

“A courier disk is I guess you can say is a highly advanced memory card. It stores everything you are, your memory, conscious, and mind.”

“What? That’s impossible. Then that means you’ve discovered the key to immortality”

Amelia sighs and rubs her head. “Yes and no. It extends lives but it’s also not so easy. This program costs a lot of money which also means it is not yet perfected and not everyone can afford it. Actually no one really, even the filthy rich can’t justify its price.”

I laugh, I can’t fathom her nonsense. But the evidence is all here, it’s literally staring at me right in the face. The reflection I see in the mirror is me yet it’s not me. It’s not Astrid Gaia, it’s Vera Novah. Seventeen-year-old Vera Novah. The version of me I have spent ten years trying to destroy and become what I am, or in this time, what I was.

I Inspect this new body. Immediately there are differences, this isn’t just some rudimentary clone made in a petri dish. This is something else entirely, something I haven’t seen before. The technology to make such an advanced artificial body didn’t even exist during my time. It’s fascinating yet frightening.

“This body…”

“It’s complicated. Your body is a combination of organic metal and fibers. Which means you are far more durable, stronger, faster and you heal faster than a normal human being. It is of course nothing compared to your original body. In a way you are technically no longer considered an actual human.”

“I abandoned my humanity when I became a Mercer.” I go silent for a second then I proceed, “I quit my career as a Mercer in a clearly misguided attempt to regain my humanity. Now it’s been completely taken away.”

“Astrid, as of now I am one of the few people in existence that knows that you are here.”

“What do you mean?”

“In this future I guess you can say, you are technically considered to have died over three hundred years ago. Well, it is believed you are dead, but most argue you simply vanished. The Galactic Mercer Corps was liquidated and was no more a hundred years after you disappeared.”

“Liquidated? How?”

“Us, the Interplanetary Justice Federation. We were the final blow that ended that Galactic Mercer Corps.”

“Why?” I say nonchalantly.

Amelia scoffs, which only further incurred my frustration and confusion. “Why? You were part of a self-righteous organization that specialized in killing for money. The services you offered were mostly bought by corrupt politicians and governments.”

“We didn’t kill because we wanted to, we did it because it was our job. Many of those who fell to our power were criminals, the most deplorable of scum and vermin. At times innocent lives were taken yes, but it was a necessary evil.”

“Oh, fuck you.” She laughs in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“Fuck you. I don’t need this shit from some nobody I just met. I know what I did, and I had my reasons for it. No one ever said I was some paragon of justice.”

“But you can be, you can be something more…more human. You can become something matters and that is why I want you to join me, join the Interplanetary Justice Federation.”

Astrid cocks her eyebrow, not sure about the sudden turn of events. “Im listening.”

“I will help you solve your time travel mystery if you agree to help me with a very much complicated problem.”

“Which would be?”

“After the Galactic Mercer Corps disappeared into oblivion, something new arose from those ashes, something much more acceptable. And what rose out of those ashes was the United Paladin Initiative.”

“What fuck is that?” I reply with a sarcastic chuckle.

“It is an organization that specializes in maintaining order, meaning they do the dirty work that the federation normally doesn’t condone. They are what I guess you can call ‘legal vigilantes’ or to be more technical, Paladin.”

“Essentially what you’re telling me is that corruption has made its way in, and you want me to help you expose it.”

“Precisely. You will be an Interplanetary Justice Federation officer or IJF officer for short. You will go undercover as a Paladin, our eyes and ears inside the United Paladin Initiative.”

Before she can proceed with her explanation someone walks in with an envelope and some clothing that isn’t the federation’s uniform and hands it to her.

“What is that?”

“This is the Paladin uniform.” She hands me the uniform and opens the slightly bulged envelope. She takes out the contents. Mostly paperwork and a syringe along with a tube containing some sort of silver liquid. “This right here is the Paladin Enhancement Serum. While technically you don’t need it, it will help identify you as a Paladin. The serum is given to every Paladin.”

“What does it do to a normal person?”

“It grants them augmented strength, speed, and durability.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. Unlike Mercers, Paladins are supposed to be looked upon as friendly and still human.”

I let out a chuckle of disbelief. I guess she wasn’t kidding. Mercers really left something of an impression in this time. Not a good one, but one none the less. It all makes me anxious and very much curious to see what lies outside this hospital room.

“I am assuming those papers pertain to me.”

“Oh yes. I need you to fill them out. I also strongly advice that you don’t use the names Astrid Gaia or Vera Nova. If we plan to keep all this between us, then you must call yourself something different.”

I skim through everything until I find something that piques my interest. “This is a weapon catalog.” I show her the pamphlet and responds with a smile.

“Paladins choose their weapon. The weapon you choose will be custom made per your specifications.”

“Interesting. Maybe I misjudged this place prematurely.”

“Also, the uniform of a Paladin is almost as advanced as the body you wear if not more. The uniform is a tech/organic hybrid and is capable of self-repair making them maintenance free. They are reinforced with an organic/metal alloy hybrid substance called “Divusium”. It grants the uniform extra durability and is extremely flexible.”

“What about training?”

“You won’t need it, surely even without your original body you’d be more than capable to stand on your own with the combat training you received as a Mercer.”

Training for a Mercer is difficult. Mercers were taught highly advanced forms of combat; the techniques were dangerous because of the high levels of strain on a person’s body and mind. Mercers were trained with and without the Mercer serum. In order to get the serum, one had to complete the first level of training. Many couldn’t take it and thus were sent home. Only true warriors can become a Mercer.