We spent the morning and afternoon all hanging out and just having a good time. Troy and Drake were very good friends, having them there was a breath of fresh air. It added some extra spark to the never changing place that was my home. We normally only got visitors a half dozen times a year, and usually the same handful of people. Most of Tyfoonica’s friends and family had died during the war with the Doomaki.

“Any new and exciting discussions over at The Council lately?” Tyfoonica asked Troy. In the absence of an elected Chosen One, Troy had been taking an interim leadership role among the peacekeepers. As such, he dealt directly with The Council and was very knowledgeable about all the goings-on with them. This suited Tyfoonica very well, as he was very interested in the political status of the galaxy as a whole. He was mildly involved in politics as well, although not nearly as much as we wanted to be. Training and raising a pupil full time didn’t allow him very much free time to be doing that. But he stayed up to date with most everything by getting all the juicy details from Troy whenever they saw each other.

“Well,” Troy started. “Nothing crazy, but there has been some exciting things going on that the Peacekeepers are pretty excited about.” Tyfoonica leaned forward, clearly interested. “You know they have been looking for potential recruits to the Peacekeepers for years, and haven’t had much luck in finding anyone good.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it has taken them so long to find people. To have only found three new Peacekeepers in 18 years…surely there must be more qualified people that in all the galaxy!” Tyfoonica said, shaking his head.

“I don’t think the problem is lack of qualified people. I think there are plenty of people that are strong enough and possess the moral qualities we are seeking to be proficient as a Peacekeeper. We are certain the problem is fear. Almost all the peacekeepers died in the war 18 years ago, as you well know. Even among Peacekeepers and potential Peacekeepers, that is extremely intimidating. Especially given the fact that the Doomaki are still believed to be at large somewhere. The fact they haven’t popped up and attempted to take the rest of us out already is extremely fortunate.” Troy paused and lifted a finger. “But,” he said, raising his eyebrows, “there is good news on that note.”

“You’ve got some potential Peacekeeper recruits?” Tyfoonica asked excitedly.

“Yes! Three actually.” Tyfoonica threw his fist into the air.

“That’s incredible! And very needed. What are your thoughts on them?” Tyfoonica asked.

“Well,” Troy began. “We’ve been keeping an eye on them for several years. All three of them are friends and have grown up together. They have been going from planet to planet for years, meeting with the planetary leaders and forming alliances between the planets. And what’s great is that they are completely unaware of our interest in them, so it’s not like they are trying to put on a show to look appealing. This is something they decided to do completely based on their own convictions.”

“They’ve been forming alliances? On behalf of who, where is their home planet?” I chimed in, curious about this mysterious trio.

“That’s the neat part, it’s not on behalf of anyone. They come from galaxy sector 8509 in the ZZE province. Their home planet is called Zepora.” Normally these numbers and letters would have just been noise to me, but I vaguely remember them from one of the political conferences Tyfoonica had taken me to a year or two ago.

“That’s the area that has had all of those zealots popping up claiming to be the new Doomaki.” Tyfoonica said in surprise.

“That’s right. That area has been a huge pain in all the Peacekeepers’ back side. They aren’t a big threat, but they have been causing havoc on several planets in that area for the last few years. All of us Peacekeepers are stretched thin as it is, so having to deal with this has been a strain. That is, until recently. These three guys had been monitoring all the zealots popping up and causing trouble and decided to do something about it. So they started making their way to several planets in the areas most affected by these zealots. You know how I said they weren’t doing it on behalf of anyone?” We all nodded. “The interesting thing is Zepora has been without a formal government for centuries. The planet is very small and the population is very sparse. Those on the planet generally keep to themselves and consist mostly of farmers and scavengers. These three guys took it upon themselves to go to the surrounding planets without any political authority behind them. Normally someone requesting an audience with a world leader would be denied if they came independently. But their diplomatic abilities were strong enough that they were able to meet with, and convince, several world leaders to join their alliance. After the first couple planets teamed up with them, others quickly followed suit. Presently, they have over 15 planets all working together to control these so-called ‘New Doomaki’ by sharing warriors, resources, advice, et cetera.” Tyfoonica leaned back in his chair and raised his eyebrows in astonishment.

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“Wow ...that's incredible. There are very few alliances in the galaxy that are that big. It’s very impressive that they were able to do that on their own.” Tyfoonica said, nodding in approval. Drake and I nodded as well. It was impressive indeed. Most planets throughout the galaxy are more concerned with self-preservation than forming alliances. Ironically enough, most often alliances aid in self-preservation, only indirectly. But many leaders have a hard time realizing that. By sharing resources with other planets, it seems counterproductive, so most world leaders opt to focus solely on themselves.

Troy got up from his chair and paced around the room, clearly excited. “Ever since they started the alliance and got the first couple planets involved, the issue of the zealots has become almost nonexistent.” Troy turned to face us. “It is also worth noting that they are very skilled fighters, and very strong. They have excellent control of their ki; they’ve been honing their skills over the last 20 or so years. Each of them are right around 30 years old. Assuming they are up to the task, there is a very good chance that all three of them will be joining the Peacekeepers in the near future.” Troy sat back down with the rest of us before continuing. “That will put the number of Peacekeepers up to nine total. It’s far from where we’d like to be, but it will be a great help having the new additions.”

Nine would be an improvement for sure, but it was still a far cry from where they needed to be. Before the bloody conclusion of the war with the Doomaki, there were over 100 Peacekeepers. After everything was said and done, that number had dropped drastically to just 6. Ever since then, for 18 years, they had been managing the galactic threats by themselves, a task that took over 100 people before. They were worn out and overworked constantly, without a proper break to recover. A couple of them were getting old now, and should already have been retired by now.

“In other news,” Troy continued, “The Council is proposing new sanctions that will limit the waste that can be emitted into space, and restrict trade for planets that refuse to abide with the proposed changes. There have been a lot of concerned planets that are having waste from large neighboring planets penetrate their atmospheres. Most waste burns up upon entering the atmosphere, but large deposits of metal waste, some of which being toxic, has been getting through…” Troy continued talking, but Drake and I decided to make our exodus as the conversation changed to the less interesting politics.

Drake and I walked outside and went out into a field nearby. “Man, I bet your dad is excited about the prospect of getting some help soon.” I said.

“Oh, man. He is ELATED. He has done nothing but work it seems like ever since I was born!” Drake was two years older than I and had very little time with his dad growing up do to the responsibilities and demands of his job. Drake respected his dad, but had long since been bitter about the lack of time he had growing up with his dad. “Speaking of new Peacekeepers, and the like…how long you think until you will join, or should I say, ‘head-up’ that group?” Drake frowned and raised his eyebrows, at the same time shrugging as if to say “what do you think?”

I let out a big sigh. “I don’t know. Reaching adulthood is a great milestone, but I’m still very young to be a Peacekeeper. And very young to be The Chosen One. Even if they are considering me, the youngest person to ever be elected as The Chosen One was 34 to my knowledge. I’m barely half that age.”

Drake laughed out loud. “C’mon, there is no ‘if’. They are considering you. They didn’t give you your own dimension to live and train in just to be nice.” I shrugged. “Besides, I happen to know someone on the inside, and I happen to know that you are the topic of many a conversation in The Council.” Drake was referring to his dad. “They keep pretty close tabs on you, and they are pretty impressed with your progress thus far.”

“Maybe so, but I am by far not the strongest for my age.” I replied, trying to speak some sense into Drake.

“Okay,” Drake started, as if he was about to lay some knowledge down on me. “For one, you are dang strong -” Drake began.

“Not as strong as you…” I interrupted.

“True, but that’s because I’m amazing.” We both laughed. “Anyway, for one, you are dang strong. But two, pure strength isn’t the only thing The Council looks at when determining the best candidate for The Chosen One. Not every Chosen One was the strongest person in the galaxy. In fact, most weren’t. But they had many other qualities and skills that made them the clear choice.” I nodded. He had a good point. Often times strength was the most associated, and sometimes only, trait people thought of thinking of The Chosen One. But there were many things that were required to be a good Chosen One. “Anyway, you shouldn’t use me as the measuring bar for strength.” Drake turned and pointed in the direction of the house. “Don’t forget, my dad is Troy Demwar. Undeniably the strongest fighter in the entire galaxy. I’ve got some pretty good genes on my side. I should be stronger than you! Plus I’ve got a couple years on you.”

“All very good points.” I conceded. “But I’ll still be surprised if I even get called for an interview with The Council, let alone be considered to be appointed as The Chosen One.” I said skeptically.

“Tyfoon!” I heard Tyfoonica call from the house. “Come here, I’ve got some exciting news!”

Drake and I looked at each other in puzzlement, wondering what that could be about. “What do you suppose-” I started to ask.

“No idea.” Drake said before I could finish the question. We turned to the house and began making out way there to see what “exciting news” Tyfoonica was talking about.