Chapter 3: Galactic KND?

The fourteen recruits had shuffled aboard a well-sized cruiser considering the number of people it was carrying. Five kids, ages ranging from thirteen to sixteen, were manning the rather impressive—Dexter admitted—spacecraft. One of the five was a recognizable, dark-haired teen—the oldest of them all. It was the same Jacen Tyner who had delivered the letter personally to Dexter.

The other four were all part of a five-member squad (one member obviously not in attendance) called Division MS-US (acronym for 'Mississippi of the United States'). The squad-leader of said division was Nicholas Kaczynski, a boy whose bright auburn hair and yellow sweatshirt was almost as ostentatious as Dexter's hair and attire. Almost.

The other three were very different individuals yet seemed to collaborate nicely. The apparent second in command was the only other male, a brunette who looked as though he had jumped out of a 70's documentary for the United States Air Force with his black shades and tan flight-jacket that proudly held a Medal of Honor (most likely given to his grandfather). Donavan Wright appeared to succeed in living up to his surname by all means. He just so happened to be the one doing the most of the piloting in the alien cruiser.

Lisa Miller, a slender and muscular African-American that—Numbuh Five noticed—shared some resemblance to Cree, looked to be the one with a clear head that worked well under pressure yet also kicked butt under pressure.

Lastly, there was Chloe Sanders. She seemed to be self-absorbed at times with her flashy, expensive wardrobe and 'Oh, I broke a nail'-manner. She also didn't seem to fully realize how dangerous and fatal the situation going on around her was—that or that was just her way of dealing with the problem.

It took a matter of minutes to launch back out of Earth's atmosphere, and the passengers prepared for the long voyage ahead of them. Flying from one galaxy to the next was no simple task—not even at the speed of light as the veterans of the Fusion War soon realized. The lounging area in which said veterans were confined to was openly connected to the rather large-sized cockpit. They sat on cushioned metal seats adhered to the wall with seat belts—obviously in case of any emergency that involved the cruiser careening out of control. Jacen marched into the lounge area and looked at his guests with a slight, welcoming smile.

Supreme Commander Tyner, host of the odd veterans/recruits, said, "I hope you all are finding the accommodations to your liking."

Bubbles giggled her cliché giggle like she did when just about anyone spoke, and the polite Blossom was the first to nod and say, "Oh, yes, thank-you."

Ben and a few others nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Jacen turned to leave. Just as soon as he had, Dexter stopped him.

"Supreme Commander Tyner, would you mind explaining just what exactly the Gamma Agency is now that the time is more convenient?" the redheaded scientist asked.

He turned back around and replied, "Not at all."

The older teen clasped his hands behind his back and began, "The Gamma Agency has been known by many names over the years. Sister-agency to the Beta Agency, Defenders of Earth, etcetera. But the name that would be most familiar to you all would most likely be . . . the Galactic Kids Next Door."

Immediately, Numbuh One (Nigel Uno) leapt to his feet and saluted the older boy. "Sir! It's an honor. . ."

The rest of Sector V slowly stood along side their commander. Dexter could feel a knot twist in his stomach. Kids Next Door. He had always despised associating with the KND since their technology was so primitive and their methods were so . . . childish, but the war against Lord Fuse had forced him to work with such . . . imbeciles, as he thought them to be. Dexter had succumbed to associating with them as long as they so solemnly swore to use DexTech instead of mustard guns and gumball blasters. If the Allied Forces of Galaxy Beta consisted mainly of Kids Next Door, Dexter would not be able to stand putting the fate of the universe in such . . . immature hands.

Jacen seemed to notice the look in the young scientists blue eyes. He seemed to have recognized it. As Sector V (mainly Numbuhs 1, 2, and 3) bombarded him with excited questions about what the Galactic KND was like. He pulled his out his weapon that was contained in a holster strapped to his side. It was sleek and black and at a glance resembled your average pistol that someone of military importance would be issued.

But Dexter never looked at things at a glance. It was obviously constructed of some sort of alien technology. And it appeared to fire beams generated by multiple laser cartridges inside its sleek, silver barrel. If there were ever a name for it, it would have to be 'deadly'. Definitely not like any 2x4 technology Dexter had ever laid eyes on.

Supreme Commander Tyner twirled the blaster around his finger and holstered it professionally. He nonchalantly took his eyes off of Dexter and focused on the five minor agents questioning him.

"Do you just have jurisdiction just in the Milky Way?" Nigel Uno quizzed rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Jacen nodded, "No, we have jurisdiction in the zones between Galaxy Beta and our home galaxy and we have a slight bit in Galaxy Beta, but neither is as strong as what authority we have over Galaxy Gamma."

"I see," Nigel mused, though it was partially a lie.

Kuki Sanban suddenly asked, "Do you guys fly magical unicorns? Do you have any galactic rainbow monkeys? Are there any alien rainbow monkeys?"

The supreme commander of the Galactic KND rubbed the back of his neck uneasily and let out a nervous laugh. "Heh, heh. . . No, no, and no. Sorry."

Hoagie Gilligan was the next to ask a question, "Do you use the same kind of 2x4 technology as the Kids Next Door on Earth?"

"No, actually," he replied, "Instead, we use something called 3x9 technology. It's a bit more advanced."

A bit? Dexter rolled his eyes.

Numbuh 2 seemed eager to know more. "Could I see some?"

"Well, you're standing in 3x9 tech as we speak," Jacen informed. "But if you want to see something more along the lines of weaponry"—he pulled out his gun again—"you are welcome to take a look at this. Just don't shoot your eye out, kid."

Dexter noted as Hoagie's knees started to shake as though Jacen had placed the Holy Grail in his hands. Numbuh 2 removed the laser cartridges and stared at the alien technology in silent amazement. Almost silent amazement.

"What is this? I've never seen anything like it," Hoagie said.

You've never dismantled a Null-Void, Dexter thought. Though he had to admit the gun did seem to run on something foreign to him.

"It's called proton laser cartridges," Jacen replied, "PLC for short. Most all 3x9 weaponry fires PLC."

A sudden jerk of the ship sent everyone sprawling that was standing. The gun and PLC clattered to the metal floor. The lights flickered then went off. The lounge was lit red as the alarms blared.

"Squad-Leader Kaczynski, status report!" Jacen ordered, jumping to his feet.

"We've been hit with an ion cannon and it forced us to drop out of lightspeed," Nicholas Kaczynski replied. "We have a limited amount of air-support without power and the hyperdrive motivator was destroyed when we were forced to drop out of lightspeed."

Jacen made his way inside the cockpit and looked out the good-sized view-port. Twenty spacecrafts stood in their way. Each of them consisted of old, rugged spaceship parts (some not even matching) that were held together by nothing more but repulsive, pulsating green goo.

Dexter had walked towards the cockpit and now stood in the opening separating the lounge from the cockpit. Shocking was not quite the word he would use to describe the scene before him. More along the lines of unusual or unexpected. He knew good and well what the twenty unidentifiable crafts before them were. He had seen the oozing green matter on several different occasions, none of which would qualify as good encounters. He had grown to fervently detest what he saw before him. There was only one name for the emotionless creatures piloting, or perhaps being, the hideous excuses for spacecrafts hovering before the cruiser.

Fusions.

Yes, this chapter was short. But I really wanted to leave off here. Please review!