The control room of the spaceship was dim, illuminated only by streams of pale blue light flowing across transparent panels. Holographic interfaces floated midair, shifting with silent precision. Lines of energy pulsed beneath the glass floor like veins inside a living organism.
On one of the glowing panels, a circular core projection rotated slowly. A condensed sphere of radiant light suspended in magnetic containment.
Alive.
"How's the core reactor?" a deep voice asked from the rear of the room.
"Stable," the seated operator replied, his fingers moved swiftly across the holographic controls, dragging streams of data aside. "A steady energy of Nutrek is flowing through the ship."
He adjusted another panel, eyes scanning alien symbols flickering across the display.
"Should I engage warp and camouflage mode?"
Behind him stood a tall man with his arms folded behind his back. His posture was straight. Calm. Calculating.
He remained silent for half a second. "Plug in the backup Nutrek core to the emergency vessel," he said. "Prepare its launch sequence."
The operator nodded instantly.
"Then engage warp and camouflage mode."
"Got it."
Deep within the ship, something shifted. A secondary core hummed to life.
"Remember," the standing man added, "when you get there, pick any child with potential to awaken the Channeler's Mark."
"Yes, sir."
The man turned and began walking toward the exit. His long brown coat fluttered slightly. Just as he reached the sliding door, he stopped. He turned back. "Where's Tim?"
The operator hesitated. "He went to the restroom. He'll be back shortly."
"Make sure he works," the man said flatly. "Unless you want the boss to throw you both into dark space."
Silence swallowed the room as the operator's fingers froze above the panel. A cold ripple crawled up his spine. From his lower back. To his shoulders. To the base of his skull.
He swallowed. "Understood."
The door slid open. Then closed behind the man.
"Thank you so much, Dit." Dit's head snapped to the side.
"Tim, what the hell were you doing hiding back there?"
Tim stepped out from behind a storage console, holding snack packs in both hands. "I grabbed some snacks," he said excitedly.
Dit rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, that's good and all, but we need to work. Unless you want the boss to throw us into space."
Tim stiffened at the mention of the boss. A nervous chuckle escaped him.
"Pass me a chip bag then. We need to finish before the Awakened Channelers arrive at their evening banquet."
"Why?" Tim asked.
Dit turned slowly and stared at him. "Are you stupid, or do you choose to be?"
Tim blinked.
"The commander said security drops when the big figures gather to congratulate the new awakeners. At the presidential union planet at the central so obviously the security tighten especially in the central sect leeaving some parts of the Third Sect vulnerable" Dit said.
"Oh…"
"Don't pretend to be surprised," Dit muttered. "Send the creatures to the emergency vessel. If something goes wrong, that's our escape."
"Wait… the commander isn't helping us?"
"Did you bumb your head on your way here? *Sigh* Just get it done."
The Nutrek core hummed louder. Warp coordinates locked. Camouflage initializing. Both men then left their set then geared up. Their suits sealed around them, veins of energy pulsed faintly beneath the surface, glowing lines traveling along their arms and chest.
They entered the emergency vessel. Then the smaller ship detached from the main body.
Outside the viewing panel, distant stars shimmered endlessly in the dark. The ship faded. Blending. Then it warped. Moments later, it reappeared above an ocean on a distant planet.
•••
"If I get a skill…?" Nova muttered quietly, eyes sharpening. He clenched his fists. "Get a skill my ass. That chance is gone. I didn't awaken the Mark." His jaw tightened. "But… if I somehow have a skill I can use without being a Channeler… I'll decide what to do with it."
Anger burned inside him. But beneath it a small voice still whispered. I will.
That irritated him as he yelled at the sky. His voice echoed over the empty shore. Then breathed in slowly, then out., forcing himself to calm down.
He walked over to the edge of a cliff near the hill and that was when he noticed her. A girl near the rocky area below the cliff. She to be around four years old.
Nova frowned. "Is she lost? She's far from the beach… how did she even get there?"
He took a step forward. Then.... the air shifted. Something felt wrong. Suddenly, a gloved hand covered the girl's mouth from behind. Nova's eyes widened.
Two figures appeared out of thin air. Their suits were strange. Nothing like the one he had seen in the MPU. Veins of glowing energy running across them. On their chest was a symbol.
Nova's heart skipped.
"Division?"
Grey once told him about them. Humans who refused to be apart of the MPU. The eighteen Divisions. Though they refused to be apart the MPU, the eighteen of them wasn't alies too. But what made them known was that strangely on their planet they all had Nutrek. It was a rock capable of powering a planet for twenty years. And a fragment of it could make someone as strong as a Channeler. But the side effect was madness, slow mental decay and death.
"I can't believe our job was this easy?" one of the men laughed. "A potential Awakener right here. Once we uncover the secret of the Channeler's Mark. We'll be unstoppable."
"Shut up and take the girl with you."
Nova's breathing became heavy. The girl struggled. Tears in her eyes. Fear. The anger inside him surged.
But strangely he smiled, because he needed somewhere to release it. And this two would be best since we're invaders.
Without thinking further, Nova jumped off the cliff. He landed roughly, knees bending to absorb the impact.
The two men turned immediately. "Who are you?"
Nova didn't answer. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a compact metal rod. "Let her go."
They looked at him cautiously, but they couldn't feel the aura of a channler around him or even the glowing mark. Which means one thing; he is not a Channeler.
Then both laughed. "For someone who isn't a Channeler, you talk big. So what are you going to do?"
Nova's grip tightened. He knew they were strong. Nutrek enhanced. He was just a normal human. But the rage inside him demanded release. The rod in his hand extended with a sharp click. It stretched nearly eight feet long, like a staff in his hands.
"I said… let her go." His voice changed, the tone lower and colder. Then a faint dark aura began to ripple around him. His eyes seemed to glow red.
The Division members stopped smiling as the seemed to sense the was more to him that meets the eye.
•••
Deep within him... In a vast space filled with countless stars and distant galaxies. A man stood before a massive energy bound in chains. His hand touched it gently.
"The seal pains you," he murmured. "You want to break free. That is why you feel rage."
The chained energy pulsed violently. The man narrowed his eyes. "I hope the skill eases the irritation."
•••
Nova took a step forward. And the air trembled.