2170 CE – Sol System, The Hub

Chosen

Naomi stepped from the shuttle onto solid metal ground. She saw stars through the large windows of the space station they had landed on and spied the earth in the distance; all blue and majestic. Her stomach lurched and she felt oddly woozy.

"Takes the body a few minutes to get used to artificial gravity." The man with the buzzcut said to her whilst clasping her shoulder to steady her. The man had introduced himself as Sam Hall, an officer with the Alliance during their trip from earth. He'd promised to answer every question she had once they were in a secure location, and with limited options available to her she'd taken him at his word only to find herself on a station trapped by the empty expanse of space.

"I assume this is a secure location where we can speak a bit more freely?"

The Alliance officer nodded and began walking. Eager to not be left with the soldiers from the shuttle who seemed to gawk at her everytime they thought she wasn't looking Naomi took off after him.

"Do you know who Captain Erin Rodderick is...was?" Sam asked.

"Not a clue."

Sam looked slightly confused by this but recovered quickly and kept walking.

"Do you know what a slayer is?"

Now Naomi was confused. Wasn't she supposed to be the one asking questions?

"No? Is it the branch of the Alliance that kidnaps girls from college?"

"What? No, we didn't kidnap you." He sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. Under the fluorescent lights Naomi realised he looked incredibly tired. "I guess we should start from the beginning then."

He gestured into a side room and Naomi found herself within a canteen. Huge windows stretched along the far wall showcasing a breathtaking view of earth. She might be alone and trapped, but at least the views were spectacular.

"Tea or Coffee?"

"Water will do fine." Naomi said while tugging nervously at the sleeve of her top. She felt so exposed up here in space surrounded by soldiers.

At Sam's suggestion she sat at a table near the window. He quickly scavenged a bottle of water and a mug of coffee from the kitchen and settled in opposite Naomi. His hands clasped the mug of coffee so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"It's weird. I always thought given their clear connection to one another that a Slayer would always know what she was." Sam said before adding " Sorry. Just thinking out loud a little bit."

Naomi sipped her water and waited for the man to continue.

"Right, the beginning. The spiel. When I first met Erin she told me this – 'Into every generation, there is a chosen one. One girl in all the universe. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness; To stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer.'"

"Vampires? I knew the Alliance were in to propaganda to scare colonists into enlisting but that seems a bit much." Naomi snapped.

Sam unwaveringly held her eye contact. "They're real, though thankfully a lot fewer in number than they once were. The slayer is also real. A incredibly powerful young woman who comes into her power when a previous slayer dies. I think at one point there were hundreds at once but we seem to have gone back to just having one again. You are the current Slayer. My friend Erin was your predecessor. She died in battle two days ago."

For a moment Naomi thought the military man was going to cry and she felt a wave of compassion wash over her that softened her words. "I'm sorry about your friend. I'm sure the pain of that loss still hurts a great deal. But I cannot believe this; it's insane."

"Well I don't see it being too hard to convince you of how strong you are now. Once that's done we'll introduce you to the monsters."

Naomi shuddered. He seemed so confident in himself and in his belief of the existence of monsters along with supernatural heroes destined to cast them down. Before she could pry any further or even just ask to speak to her family a portly man in a military coat stepped towards their table.

"Naomi Lockhart, I assume? It is an honor to meet another Chosen One." The man said shaking her hand. "I'm Director Jet Lyons. I keep an eye on all the research we do into the occult on this station. I hope you'll enjoy working with our SLA-R unit. I trust Officer Hall has introduced you to your new team by now."

"Actually we haven't gotten quite that far yet. I'm easing her into things."

"And to be honest it's not necessary." Naomi said jumping to her feet. "It's been a pleasure meeting you all but it's time for me to get back to earth and to get home."

The men shared an uneasy glance.

"We can absolutely bring you home for shore leave to see your friends and family but unfortunately we're going to need you to stay here for some time while we train you. It's for your benefit." Director Lyons said. "The slayer's power tends to invite challenge. If you're poorly educated on how to use it you could end up getting yourself and the people you care about killed."

"Is that a threat." Naomi growled. She had never liked men telling her to do something for 'her benefit'.

Director Lyons face flushed red and he practically jumped away from Naomi holding his palms out to her in submission.

"Absolutely not. Perhaps Officer Hall should show you to your quarters and introduce you to the other members of your new team." The Director said turning to leave. "It was lovely meeting you. I'm sure we'll speak again soon."

"I enjoyed that." Sam said. He raised himself from his seat and set off out from the canteen. Reluctantly Naomi followed him. "He tends to act a little too high and mighty for my liking some of the time."

"I want to go home." She said as they walked down bright hallways bringing them deeper into the station.

"I'll get you a phone call with your folks soon. But the Director is probably right. You should meet the team and maybe get some rest. Your life has just completely turned upside down, it's going to take some getting used to."

"I will not be getting used to it. I am going home." Naomi said refusing to walk further.

Reluctantly Sam stopped walking as well. "Until you learn to defend yourself you are not leaving my sight. Those men with guns will be watching your house and they are not nearly the worst of what might cross paths with a Slayer."

As if he had decided that the conversation was over Sam turned and continued on. Naomi desperately wanted to leave, find a shuttle, and scream until she was allowed on board but she knew that would get her nowhere. She was just one person, she couldn't force a station of soldiers to do anything they didn't want to do and so, even though she hated herself for it, she followed Sam once more.

He took her deeper into the station. Naomi tried to keep a mental map of the turns and twists of the metal corridors in case she'd need to escape but she quickly lost track. It was just too big. They approached a door with "SLA-R" written across it in large black font. Naomi waited as Sam typed the code into the holographic security panel.

"It's 3-7-4-6. Just in case you ever need it." Sam said as the door opened and he ushered Naomi inside. "To the left are the private quarters. I'll show you them later. If you'd like any of your personal effects to be shipped here just let me know and I'll get it sorted for you."

"Thank you." Naomi said surveying her surroundings. There were no windows making the room feel much more claustrophobic. However the fluorescent lights were dimmed which was a pleasant contrast from the blinding bright lights elsewhere in the station. To her left were several doors that Naomi assumed led to the private quarters, on her right a door led into a much larger room filled with monitors and desks, beyond that was a bigger room still that looked oddly like the basketball court the Alliance and Cerberus had cornered her in.

Sam led them away from the private quarters towards the other room. Inside Naomi found three people sitting around a table their backs to her and their heads buried in books.

"Why can't the new Slayer be a man?" A young man asked while thumbing through a large leather bound book.

"Slayers are young women. That's the way it always is." An older woman with a tight ponytail said matter of factly.

"Sounds kind of sexist."

"No, what's sexist is that it was a bunch of men that defiled a sixteen year old girl thousands of years ago and cursed her and her mystical descendants to a short and brutal life." The third member of the trio said. She looked to be younger than Naomi with long blond hair.

Sam cleared his throat causing the trio at their desks to jump. "Allow me to introduce you to Naomi Lockhart, the next Slayer."

The trio quickly darted towards her causing Naomi to shy away from the attention.

"Hi, I'm Emily." The young blonde girl said shaking Naomi's hand. "I'm the resident expert on all things mystical."

Naomi wanted to laugh in her face but bit her tongue. This was all madness.

"I'm Richard." The man said pushing past Emily. He had to be at least eighteen but looked significantly younger. "I'll be designing and supplying your weapons."

"Why would I need weapons?"

"To do the slaying?"

Naomi was about ask him what the hell he was talking about when the older woman stepped forward to shake her hand. "Louise Coyne, I'll be your trainer for unarmed and armed combat."

They all stared at her expectantly as if waiting for her to say something or tell them what to do. It was intense and more than a little uncomfortable.

"It's lovely to meet you all but this has to be a joke."

"Naomi is unaware of the nature of her destiny." Sam said.

"I thought you said Slayers had some psychic connection to their past lives. Or was that more mystical nonsense." Richard said while nudging Emily.

"They do, but maybe it takes a little time to kick in. She only just activated when the last one died." Emily said defiantly putting her hands on her hips before glancing to Louise and Sam and adding. "Sorry guys. That was insensitive of me."

Desperate to break the uncomfortable tension that she didn't quite understand Naomi said "So, about that phone call?"

"Right, follow me." Sam said leading her from the room and the expectant trio. When they were out of earshot he went on to say. "Sorry about that. Emily and Richard are new while myself and Louise worked with Erin. She was always in charge so we're a bit at a loss as to what to do next."

"I imagine that's tough."

Sam nodded in response. "Phones are down the hall on the left. Feel free to say what you like to your parents, but bear in mind they may not believe a lot of it. The Alliance have already been in touch with them to inform them you've been conscripted."

"Conscripted is funny word for kidnapping."

Sam just shook his head and walked away.