[MPDS BASE—CENTRAL SECT PLANET WEFS]
Beeeep! Beeep! Beeep!
Monitors flickered and sensors screamed in alarm. Red lights pulsed across the room, painting every analyst's face in frantic shades of crimson.
"What's happening?! A breach?!" a man's hoarse voice, full of years of hardship and leadership, echoed through the room, somehow cutting through the relentless alarms.
"No, sir. It's a high-energy wave reading we've picked up coming from Planet Alabama in the Third Sect. A very high-energy wave," one operator reported, his eyes glued to the panel as his hands moved like a blur across the holographic keyboard in front of him. He appeared to be the team leader of the operators in the room.
"How high?" the man demanded.
"Beyond the standard threshold," the operator replied, his voice trembling slightly. "And there are two. One is a low frequency and from our data it's likely Nutrek... but the second is unlike anything we've recorded before. The energy... it seems alive. Almost... sentient."
"What do you mean by alive?" the man asked, confusion creeping into his tone.
The Third Sect didn't have any prominent figures or strong Channelers there for him to assume they were sparing or fighting. Besides, all the Channelers were currently gathered at the presidential union planet for the welcoming of the New Channeler. So what kind of energy could possibly be causing this much disruption?
"I want a live satellite feed of what's going on on that planet now!" he ordered immediately.
"Sir, that's the problem. We couldn't get a satellite feed of the planet. We've tried realigning others toward that direction, but somehow it keeps disconnecting."
"You mentioned Nutrek earlier. It's likely one of the Eight Divisions they must be up no good. Deploy Alabama's monitor drone. I want a live feed now."
"We've tried that as well, sir, but it seems something is jamming our network..."
"... Send a monitor drone from the next planet to Planet Alabama and will you please turn off the goddamn sirens" the man ordered firmly.
"Yes, sir."
•••
Far away, inside the spaceship, silence had fallen like a heavy weight.
The man, still seated in his throne-like chair, stared at the screens displaying Nova's recent movements. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open.
"Impossible," he muttered. "Don't play with me Harry. What do you mean... Cosmic Energy?"
Harry, still staring at the readings, slowly shook his head, "I... I don't know, Your Grace," he admitted. "But the readings here show the sudden burst of power he just manifested. Though small, they are 99.9% identical to Cosmic Energy signatures."
The man's expression flickered. His disbelief slowly twisted into calculation. He leaned forward, staring harder at the screens. His mind raced.
'If this truly is the Cosmic Energy... how is it that he is able to manifest and make use of it? Why isn't it destroying him erasing him from existence? And how does the MPU not know about him?'
That last thought disturbed him the most. If the MPU knew about Nova, there was no way he would be out here alone. He would be guarded twenty-four hours a day in a secret lab for "military and scientific purpose" not to mention him being the triumph card to any war theyay face.
Then a memory struck him. Not only him, but his commander as well. The Cosmic Energy wave from sixteen years ago. A wave that made all the divisions ensured no race came close to it. They fought bitterly to secure the energy first. But when they finally arrived...
They found nothing. The discovery triggered a violent clash between the eighteen divisions. Eventually, they host and vessel were located. Men and creatures were sent to capture them.
But they were killed. And according to the reports, so were the baby and the mother. As both men stared at Nova on the screen, their bodies began trembling.
Nova appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. And with the superhuman abilities he displayed, and using a skill despite not being a Channeler—a feat impossible for normal people, since skills only work for Channeler— it was clear that he was no ordinary individual.
"Could it really be...?" the man whispered. "Could this boy be the one... the Cosmic Energy?"
Silence filled the room, thick and suffocating. Only the soft hum of machinery and blinking screens remained as a quiet answer to his question.
Then—
"Haha... Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!!"
The man in the throne burst into laughter. It started low, but quickly grew louder until tears formed in the corners of his eyes.
"All these years," he said between laughs. "The child we all assumed dead. The one every division sought after. The one every race, small or mighty, would wage endless wars for... is still alive." He leaned back in his chair, grinning wildly. "And I... I get him first! This is what they mean by a man digging for water may uncover gold."
He had come to find a child with the potential of awakening the Mark… but the heavens favoured him and he met with Nova the one with cosmic energy within him. At first he thought it was a bad luck but now he was thanking the gods.
Harry frowned slightly. "How... how could that be? Back then the reports clearly stated that the vessel died because her weak body couldn't handle the power along with the child."
"Do you really believe that crap?" the man scoffed. "That's just what that old bastard from the First Division wanted us to believe."
"So the vessel... might she, as well be alive?" Harry asked cautiously.
"No," the man replied, shaking his head slowly. "I don't think so. A mere human like us couldn't possibly contain such power. There are bound to be some... casualties." He pointed at the screen showing Nova. "But him... he is the power itself."
A look of confusion spread across the Commander's face. "I don't understand. How is he the power?"
"Harry," the man said calmly, waving a hand. "Let's leave this discussion for later." His eyes gleamed with greed. "Right now, we need to get to that planet and capture him at all costs. Even if the MPDS comes after us. If it gets to he point we can't handle I'll inform Mother and she'll help us."
"Alright, Your Grace," Harry replied.
The massive vessel floating in space suddenly began moving. Meanwhile, the man rubbed his hands together and began muttering to himself. "When I capture him... I will take his power. Mother will have to step down as the leader of the Third Division. I will become the new leader." A twisted smile spread across his face as he clenched his fist tightly.
"And with that power... I'll kill that stupid bastard leading the First Division. I'll overthrow every division, unite them all under me... And become the sole undisputed ruler." His grin stretched wider. His voice dropped to a hungry whisper.
"With my forces... I'll take control of every race. Starting from the smallest...to the greatest of them all... Humans... The MPU."
•••
Back on Planet Alabama, near the Kate Public Beach Resort at a rocky area beneath a cliff close to the sea, the ground was covered in blood and carnage.
Dead creatures littered the area grotesque hybrids of giant wasps and monkeys.
In the water, two figures lay piled over each other, presumably dead. Nearby, a damaged spaceship rested crookedly against the rocks in the water. And just by the side from it, a boy knelt on one knee.
He gasped for air while clutching a blade in his hands. On both sides of him lay the two cleanly severed halves of a vicious-looking mutated tiger. Blood sprayed everywhere, turning the nearby water deep red.
*Gasp. Gasp*
"What... was that?" Nova whispered weakly. "That wasn't adrenaline." He swallowed. "So what kind of power was that?"
And yet the power felt strangely familiar.
He stared at the two halves of the tiger lying before him. The sight made him shudder slightly.
"What kind of animal was that?"
Remembering the creature's enormous jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth and the near-death experience made him grateful for the mysterious power that had suddenly saved him. But that moment also stirred something inside him. It felt as if he had used that power before. Yet he couldn't remember when.
"I need to get out of here before I receive any more surprises," Nova thought as he stood up slowly.
Now the blood had completely soaked into his hoodie seeping in and soaking his green T-shirt, and it was now clinging to his skin and the feeling irritated him.
"I need to take a bath," Nova muttered casually as he began walking away, as if none of this mattered to him. But the truth was very different. Inside, he was deeply shaken. He just wanted to run away and treat this entire event as a bad memory. But what he heard next made his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach.
"MPDS. Stay where you are. Any attempt at non-cooperation will force us to take necessary action."
"Shit!" Nova cursed inwardly. He froze immediately. He hadn't heard it arrive. The monitor drones.
'They must have picked up the energy wave of Nutrek and sent it here.' Nova breathe a sigh of relief but when he looked around him his faced turn grim. 'If the find out I knocked out two grown men powered by Nutrek and killed all 72 creature plus the mutated tiger, will I be taken to a military base lab all for the name of a 'scientific research' ?"
Nova wondered and it would likely happen.
Seeing him remain still, the voice spoke again coming from the drone overhead. "Scouts are being mobilized and will arrive at your location within seconds."
Just as the words fell, Nova heard the sound of high-speed spacecraft approaching. Unlike the drones, these made noise—similar to a high-powered race car tearing through the air.
The spacecraft landed beside him and ten bulky men in combat suit stepped out.
Six immediately began unloading equipment from the ship, which Nova assumed was for inspection and analysis. One soldier began taking pictures of everything around them. The horrifying sight of the dead creatures Nova had slaughtered.
Another soldier carried the unconscious men in Nutrek-powered combat suits into their ship. One inspected the broken spaceship.
And the last one walked up to Nova.
"What is your name? And what happened here? Why are you soaked in blood? Why are dead creatures scattered everywhere as if some wild beast killed them?" He asked firmly then paused for half a second and pointed at the mutated tiger and the several dead wasp-monkies "Or was there a fight between those two creatures?"
Nova noticed something. The scout didn't ask about the two men or their spaceship. It seemed he already knew they were sent by a division.
But that wasn't important as his mind was racing. He needed to lie. There was no way he could tell them he had beaten two grown men wearing Nutrek combat suits... or that he had slaughtered seventy-two creatures and a mutated tiger. He didn't want to be trapped in a white room where several mentally deranged people that call themselves scientist would conduct several test and some of which should not be spoken.
A normal human simply couldn't do what he had done so he needed something solid to throw them off.
"..."
Seeing Nova remain silent, the scout assumed he was overwhelmed by too many questions. He decided to simplify things.
"What is your name?" he asked again.
"...Uh... Nova... Nova Ori..."
Nova trailed off suddenly.nSomething felt wrong. He slowly looked toward the horizon. The scout noticed and followed his gaze.
Then they both felt it.
A violent gust of wind rushing toward them. The scout immediately shouted.
"Prepare for Protocol 78E!"
His teammates instantly stopped what they were doing. One of them quickly pulled out a large rocket launcher and set it up.
ZOOM!
A massive concealed spaceship suddenly flew past them.
They couldn't see it, but from the force of the wind alone, they knew it was enormous.
The scout turned back toward Nova...
But Nova was gone.
He looked ahead just in time to see Nova being grabbed by a mechanical claw extending from the invisible ship.
At first, he thought this was a set up and that Nova belonged to one of the divisions. And was being rescued by them now. But the confusion on Nova's face erased that thought instantly.
"Harry! Engage warp sequence now!" a voice echoed in the ship. "We must create distance before they catch us!"
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Inside the MPDS Base, the commander shouted urgently and it sounded from the drone.
"Do not let them take him! Fire the missile before the warp sequence engages!"
BOOM!
A missile launched immediately, screaming through the air toward the spaceship.
Nova dangled helplessly, held under the armpits by the claw-like mechanical arm. It felt like he was being carried by a giant mother bird bringing food to its nest.
"What it up with today? This is officially the worst day of my life. From the God's Ruins all the way to one surprise after another. I just want atleast one thing to go my way."
Just as he was in the middle of complaining to the universe. He saw it.
The missile racing straight toward him.
"What the hell?! Are they trying to kill me?!" Nova shouted. "Hey! I'm not part of them!"
The claw retracted fast, yanking him inside. But safety was an illusion. He already knew what came next.
"Am I going to die for real this time?" Nova closed his eyes. No power surge this time. No miracle. "Uncle Noah... if you can hear me, I forgive you. I know what you did was for a reason. Now, with death this close... I just feel empty. Like even if I lived, I'd have no purpose."
A soft, distant voice answered in his mind. "Thank you, Nova. But don't say such things. You have a purpose in life and it's beyond anyone's imagination"
Nova let out a weak, bitter laugh. "Guess I was impulsive, huh? But I guess you're right at least I saved that little girl, right?"
BOOOOM!!!
Just seconds before the warp completed, the missile struck. The partial jump destabilized everything.
And the spaceship exploded.