10
Polaris, Aphea System
6.30.34
0848 Hours
When he finally caught sight of the shuttlecraft it was about 3 miles out and approaching rapidly.
"Speak of the devil," Sabre commented.
Resa was surprised. "I didn't call them."
"No, you didn't, but I'm sure they detected my power level at some point. Now there here to check out the goods."
The dropship was now on top of their position and landed smoothly a few yards directly in front of them. After the engines shut down, a large Thrakan stepped out. His insignia ranking him as a Major but he bore no unit insignia.
"Definitely Spec-ops," he thought to himself.
The large, red man walked briskly to them.
"Lieutenant D'Jana, I presume?"
"Yes, sir," she replied.
"And I assume you must be the source of the power we detected," he gestured to the human. "Please, if you'll both follow me. It is imperative that we get to a secure location immediately."
Sabre nodded his head and he and Resa followed the major into the spacecraft. He figured he had nowhere better to be. As soon as they had taken their seats the engines roared and they were off into space.
There were three other people in the rear compartment of the ship, two Sayjin officers, a male and female, and a Namek soldier. He noticed the grave expressions on their faces, but wasn't sure what to make of it. The ship was certainly designed for covert operations. It was extremely quiet for its size, and much faster than it appeared. It was painted a slate grey and bore no decorative markings. The interior was dark and the seats were hard. These people were definitely all business.
Once they had cleared the atmosphere of the planet the Thrakan spoke.
"Well, I must say this is quite unexpected. We had no idea something of this magnitude would occur, at least not yet. Honestly, we weren't ready for it. And a human? That was certainly a surprise."
"Pardon me?" Sabre asked
"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me start from the beginning. My name is Major Hathra D'Vesa. I am from a... special branch of the military, and these are my associates."
Sabre decided he'd drop the ball. "Blue Six."
"Excuse me?" a look of surprise plastered itself on the Thrakan's face.
"You guys are from Blue Six."
The Major glanced at Resa.
"No, she didn't say anything, I found out myself, by accident really. I know about you guys." He wondered how the Major would respond. The other three had surprised expressions as well.
The Thrakan quickly regained his composure. "Well, we've had quite a number of surprises today, what's one more? Obviously, we have gotten careless somewhere along the line, we will have to rectify the problem. But enough about us. Tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?" the human inquired. He wasn't sure where this was leading.
"Well, we already know your name, Mr. Devaro. We have your background, information on your family, or what's left of it, and your record at the Academy. What we want to know is how you got to be so strong."
Sabre knew this question would arise, but he still didn't have a real answer. "Honestly, I'm not quite sure. It just kinda happened. I mean I was meditating heavily, but that was only part of it. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before..."
"Well, it is quite evident that all races have an, ascension if you will, that allows their power to increase much higher than before. What is so fascinating about your case is that your power has jumped so much higher than any race has in a single transformation. According to our readings, your power level increases twenty times its normal maximum when you power up. "
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Sabre knew that was a pretty accurate estimation.
Resa's eyes widened. "Twenty?"
"Yes, it is quite amazing," the Thrakan continued, "and, you are the only human we know of to transcend to this new level of power. You are the first of your race to become...this powerful. Frankly, you are the strongest person that we know of."
"Well, uh, I'm flattered, but I don't know where to go from here."
"That is exactly why I am here. We at...Blue Six are offering you a position in our agency."
Sabre decided he wanted to test the water a little. "What if I say no?"
The Thrakan was prepared for this. "Well, we are certainly in no position to stop you. You are free to do as you choose."
"What if I choose to go on some sort of rampage, destroying planets and committing acts of genocide."
"Well, Mr. Devaro, we know that is certainly within your power, but we do not see that as a likely outcome. You are not that sort of person."
"Well," he thought, "he couldn't have handled that any better."
"Alright, If I do accept your proposal, what am I in for?"
The Major laughed. "Oh, I can assure you, you will not be disappointed. We have many things that will appeal to you."
"Really?"
"Most definitely. Right now we are headed to one of our outposts in the Catrel system. There you will be fully aquatinted with the way we operate."
"So, what am I going to start out as?"
"As a recruit. We will put you through the necessary courses relevant to the field you will be working in."
"Which is?"
The Thrakan gestured to the two Sayjin officers. "That is what they are here for. It will be a long ride, so there will be plenty of time for them to conduct the necessary interviews."
"What's he here for?" Sabre gestured to the Namek.
"Vora? He's a telepath. We brought him along so we could have an idea of what you are thinking about."
"So, Vora, what do you think so far?" he prodded the stoic Namek.
"He is...acceptable."
"Acceptable?" Sabre said with mock resentment.
"Don't worry, with Vora that is the best compliment you can get. Now I will leave you alone with the Lieutenants. Lieutenant D'Jana, if you'll come with me." Resa glanced at Sabre and he nodded, signaling that it was alright to leave him. She followed the Thrakan and Namek to the unusually large cockpit of the shuttle, separated from the cabin by two large cylindrical airlocks. When they finished cycling the officers approached him.
The male officer spoke first, with a bit of apprehension in his voice. "Mr. Devaro, I guess we'll begin the, uh, interview now. Please, make yourself comfortable." The young officer hands were shaking pretty badly.
"Look, I don't bite, Mr." he paused for a second and glanced at his name tag, "Vutura." The Sayjin was relieved that the human wasn't going to give him a hard time. He didn't know what to expect from him, but so far he liked what he was seeing.
"At least he won't kill me right away." he thought.
For the next three hours, the officers asked him questions ranging from his name, date of birth, and home address to the various fighting techniques he studied at the Academy. The female officer remained quiet throughout the entire line of questioning, and that meant only one thing. During a break from the inquisition, he approached her.
"You're an empath, aren't you?"
She smiled. "Yes, I am. How did you guess?"
"Oh, well, the fact that you never talked and just stared at me kinda gave it away. You're not afraid of me, are you?"
She laughed at that one.
"What's so funny?" he asked, perplexed.
"You wouldn't hurt anyone. You're far too gentle."
"The Dean didn't seem to think so."
"Oh, well that's different. You know it too. You're not like that at all."
Empaths were different from telepaths in that they felt another person's emotions, rather than reading their thoughts. Empaths could get an accurate reading on the type of person they were dealing with, whereas telepaths got an accurate reading on what they were thinking at that moment. Before he could continue the he heard the airlocks cycling. Resa and the Thrakan entered, and the Major apparently had some news for him.
"Mr. Devaro, we will be arriving at the station shortly. This is where we part ways. You will be met by a captain and taken to the recruitment center where you will undergo your indoctrination."
"Sounds fun."
"Indeed."
Sabre had only one question. "So, what about Resa?"
"I assume you will want her to accompany you."
"That's right." Sabre stated matter-of-factly.
The Thrakan sighed. "Well, it is against standard operating procedures, but we assumed this would happen. Very well then, she may accompany you." Resa beamed at him.
The Major motioned for the two lieutenants to follow him back to the cockpit, leaving Resa and Sabre behind.
Resa was curious as to what the nature of questioning was, and they talked until the ship docked. Things began to move fast once the engines shut down. The port side doors opened and he and Resa exited onto a massive platform. When he looked about him he realized this was no ordinary space station. Before he had a chance to comment the captain the Thrakan had told him about greeted him and asked that they follow him.
After walking for what seemed for about half an hour through a myriad of dull grey corridors, they came to compartment labeled "OpBreif".
"Mr. Devaro, if you'll please step inside." the captain said.
"What about-?" the captain cut him off.
"The lieutenant will accompany me to debriefing. You will catch up with her later. You have some work ahead of you, Mr. Devaro, and I assure you, she will be the last thing on your mind."
"Uh, okay." Sabre said, puzzled. He had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
"If you will." the captain gestured to the door.
He glanced back at Resa and smiled. "See you later."
Resa met his smile with a look of worry in her eyes. Even though they held the gaze for only a moment, he knew something was up. He had never seen her look that concerned before.
"Great," he thought, "it's probably some sort of mind game or some shit like that. Joy." He then stepped through the door.
After crossing the threshold he noticed that the small room was empty, save for a table and chair in the middle. A voice seeming to come from the walls directed him to sit in the chair. As he approached it he heard a small hissing sound. Something hit him in the back of the neck. He tried to move but found that he couldn't; blackness clouded his field of vision. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Polaris, Aphea System
6.30.34
0848 Hours
When he finally caught sight of the shuttlecraft it was about 3 miles out and approaching rapidly.
"Speak of the devil," Sabre commented.
Resa was surprised. "I didn't call them."
"No, you didn't, but I'm sure they detected my power level at some point. Now there here to check out the goods."
The dropship was now on top of their position and landed smoothly a few yards directly in front of them. After the engines shut down, a large Thrakan stepped out. His insignia ranking him as a Major but he bore no unit insignia.
"Definitely Spec-ops," he thought to himself.
The large, red man walked briskly to them.
"Lieutenant D'Jana, I presume?"
"Yes, sir," she replied.
"And I assume you must be the source of the power we detected," he gestured to the human. "Please, if you'll both follow me. It is imperative that we get to a secure location immediately."
Sabre nodded his head and he and Resa followed the major into the spacecraft. He figured he had nowhere better to be. As soon as they had taken their seats the engines roared and they were off into space.
There were three other people in the rear compartment of the ship, two Sayjin officers, a male and female, and a Namek soldier. He noticed the grave expressions on their faces, but wasn't sure what to make of it. The ship was certainly designed for covert operations. It was extremely quiet for its size, and much faster than it appeared. It was painted a slate grey and bore no decorative markings. The interior was dark and the seats were hard. These people were definitely all business.
Once they had cleared the atmosphere of the planet the Thrakan spoke.
"Well, I must say this is quite unexpected. We had no idea something of this magnitude would occur, at least not yet. Honestly, we weren't ready for it. And a human? That was certainly a surprise."
"Pardon me?" Sabre asked
"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me start from the beginning. My name is Major Hathra D'Vesa. I am from a... special branch of the military, and these are my associates."
Sabre decided he'd drop the ball. "Blue Six."
"Excuse me?" a look of surprise plastered itself on the Thrakan's face.
"You guys are from Blue Six."
The Major glanced at Resa.
"No, she didn't say anything, I found out myself, by accident really. I know about you guys." He wondered how the Major would respond. The other three had surprised expressions as well.
The Thrakan quickly regained his composure. "Well, we've had quite a number of surprises today, what's one more? Obviously, we have gotten careless somewhere along the line, we will have to rectify the problem. But enough about us. Tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?" the human inquired. He wasn't sure where this was leading.
"Well, we already know your name, Mr. Devaro. We have your background, information on your family, or what's left of it, and your record at the Academy. What we want to know is how you got to be so strong."
Sabre knew this question would arise, but he still didn't have a real answer. "Honestly, I'm not quite sure. It just kinda happened. I mean I was meditating heavily, but that was only part of it. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before..."
"Well, it is quite evident that all races have an, ascension if you will, that allows their power to increase much higher than before. What is so fascinating about your case is that your power has jumped so much higher than any race has in a single transformation. According to our readings, your power level increases twenty times its normal maximum when you power up. "
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Sabre knew that was a pretty accurate estimation.
Resa's eyes widened. "Twenty?"
"Yes, it is quite amazing," the Thrakan continued, "and, you are the only human we know of to transcend to this new level of power. You are the first of your race to become...this powerful. Frankly, you are the strongest person that we know of."
"Well, uh, I'm flattered, but I don't know where to go from here."
"That is exactly why I am here. We at...Blue Six are offering you a position in our agency."
Sabre decided he wanted to test the water a little. "What if I say no?"
The Thrakan was prepared for this. "Well, we are certainly in no position to stop you. You are free to do as you choose."
"What if I choose to go on some sort of rampage, destroying planets and committing acts of genocide."
"Well, Mr. Devaro, we know that is certainly within your power, but we do not see that as a likely outcome. You are not that sort of person."
"Well," he thought, "he couldn't have handled that any better."
"Alright, If I do accept your proposal, what am I in for?"
The Major laughed. "Oh, I can assure you, you will not be disappointed. We have many things that will appeal to you."
"Really?"
"Most definitely. Right now we are headed to one of our outposts in the Catrel system. There you will be fully aquatinted with the way we operate."
"So, what am I going to start out as?"
"As a recruit. We will put you through the necessary courses relevant to the field you will be working in."
"Which is?"
The Thrakan gestured to the two Sayjin officers. "That is what they are here for. It will be a long ride, so there will be plenty of time for them to conduct the necessary interviews."
"What's he here for?" Sabre gestured to the Namek.
"Vora? He's a telepath. We brought him along so we could have an idea of what you are thinking about."
"So, Vora, what do you think so far?" he prodded the stoic Namek.
"He is...acceptable."
"Acceptable?" Sabre said with mock resentment.
"Don't worry, with Vora that is the best compliment you can get. Now I will leave you alone with the Lieutenants. Lieutenant D'Jana, if you'll come with me." Resa glanced at Sabre and he nodded, signaling that it was alright to leave him. She followed the Thrakan and Namek to the unusually large cockpit of the shuttle, separated from the cabin by two large cylindrical airlocks. When they finished cycling the officers approached him.
The male officer spoke first, with a bit of apprehension in his voice. "Mr. Devaro, I guess we'll begin the, uh, interview now. Please, make yourself comfortable." The young officer hands were shaking pretty badly.
"Look, I don't bite, Mr." he paused for a second and glanced at his name tag, "Vutura." The Sayjin was relieved that the human wasn't going to give him a hard time. He didn't know what to expect from him, but so far he liked what he was seeing.
"At least he won't kill me right away." he thought.
For the next three hours, the officers asked him questions ranging from his name, date of birth, and home address to the various fighting techniques he studied at the Academy. The female officer remained quiet throughout the entire line of questioning, and that meant only one thing. During a break from the inquisition, he approached her.
"You're an empath, aren't you?"
She smiled. "Yes, I am. How did you guess?"
"Oh, well, the fact that you never talked and just stared at me kinda gave it away. You're not afraid of me, are you?"
She laughed at that one.
"What's so funny?" he asked, perplexed.
"You wouldn't hurt anyone. You're far too gentle."
"The Dean didn't seem to think so."
"Oh, well that's different. You know it too. You're not like that at all."
Empaths were different from telepaths in that they felt another person's emotions, rather than reading their thoughts. Empaths could get an accurate reading on the type of person they were dealing with, whereas telepaths got an accurate reading on what they were thinking at that moment. Before he could continue the he heard the airlocks cycling. Resa and the Thrakan entered, and the Major apparently had some news for him.
"Mr. Devaro, we will be arriving at the station shortly. This is where we part ways. You will be met by a captain and taken to the recruitment center where you will undergo your indoctrination."
"Sounds fun."
"Indeed."
Sabre had only one question. "So, what about Resa?"
"I assume you will want her to accompany you."
"That's right." Sabre stated matter-of-factly.
The Thrakan sighed. "Well, it is against standard operating procedures, but we assumed this would happen. Very well then, she may accompany you." Resa beamed at him.
The Major motioned for the two lieutenants to follow him back to the cockpit, leaving Resa and Sabre behind.
Resa was curious as to what the nature of questioning was, and they talked until the ship docked. Things began to move fast once the engines shut down. The port side doors opened and he and Resa exited onto a massive platform. When he looked about him he realized this was no ordinary space station. Before he had a chance to comment the captain the Thrakan had told him about greeted him and asked that they follow him.
After walking for what seemed for about half an hour through a myriad of dull grey corridors, they came to compartment labeled "OpBreif".
"Mr. Devaro, if you'll please step inside." the captain said.
"What about-?" the captain cut him off.
"The lieutenant will accompany me to debriefing. You will catch up with her later. You have some work ahead of you, Mr. Devaro, and I assure you, she will be the last thing on your mind."
"Uh, okay." Sabre said, puzzled. He had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
"If you will." the captain gestured to the door.
He glanced back at Resa and smiled. "See you later."
Resa met his smile with a look of worry in her eyes. Even though they held the gaze for only a moment, he knew something was up. He had never seen her look that concerned before.
"Great," he thought, "it's probably some sort of mind game or some shit like that. Joy." He then stepped through the door.
After crossing the threshold he noticed that the small room was empty, save for a table and chair in the middle. A voice seeming to come from the walls directed him to sit in the chair. As he approached it he heard a small hissing sound. Something hit him in the back of the neck. He tried to move but found that he couldn't; blackness clouded his field of vision. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.