General Yane walked swiftly down the black halls as his long, black cape flowed behind him, billowing out as he passed white room after white room with projections. The projections were monitored by men and women in dark tunics that looked like the top half of a robe. The tight tops reached part-way down their thighs over black leggings. They watched the holographic displays with attention levels that were inhuman. All women's hair was trimmed shoulder length and tucked behind their large ears. Men's hair was cropped short. Everyone General Yane passed was pale with wide eyes and all-around big features. General Yane's thick, dark long-sleeve shirt and black cargo pants under his big cape stuck out among the others. Those who didn't have their eyes glued to a projection stopped and bowed as he passed, but he ignored all of them. A screeching bullet train couldn't keep him from his destination. As he neared, the hallway became thinner, with more security windows. No one so much as stepped near the general. Soon, the only breaks in the black walls of the hall were security windows. Yane finally reached his destination: a single white door at the end of the hallway. There was no handle. No window. Not even a lock. Yane placed his left hand on the center of the door and gave a gentle push. The door fell back without hinges. It landed on the floor with a soft woosh. The door melted into the floor and soon disappeared entirely. General Yane stepped into the copper room right where the door had been on the floor only moments before. He folded his hands behind his back. His back was rod straight, his head was held high, and his beady blue eyes scanned the area without the movement of his head. The young man that was sitting in his chair and staring at his hologram leapt to his feet. His feet snapped together and as soon as he was up, he was bending over to bow.

"G- General Yane, sir! You- you came quite quickly, sir!" he stuttered in a high voice. His short brown hair was the only thing that faced General Yane.

General Yane took a step towards the hologram without even acknowledging the man's presence. As he walked, the silver hair on his head remained completely level- it seemed as though he was hovering instead of walking.

The blue hologram shone in Yane's eyes as he took in the projection. It was an image of Earth. None of the country borders were visible- they were unimportant in the minds of all those who lived on Maysinth.

Maysinth was the planet that humans referred to as Mars. The people mainly lived underground, one of the reasons human probes never discovered their existence.

But maysins knew about humans.

They knew a lot about humans.

They knew everything about humans.

From human history to biology to psychology. There was nothing the maysins had yet to discover about their neighbors.

They had been keeping a watchful eye on the humans for over a millenia, and general after general after general had been waiting for the right moment to reach out. After all this time, it had been General Yane Alanthis Santine. He had been waiting for this moment since three hundred years before, when he was a mere eight years old. He could still remember telling his mother that he was going to be the one who would find the human that would change all of evolution and science as anyone had ever learned.

And he remembered her telling him that that was what all little children thought.

And he remembered hearing her disbelief as young, ten-year-old Yane was picked by General Keyla to be her apprentice.

And he remembered her screams as she perished under The Experiment.

But all of that was behind him. Yane was a new man. With a new plan. And a new subject. He stared at the Earth.

"Where is it?!" he demanded when nothing appeared after several seconds. His deep voice was commanding and the young man who had been watching the hologram shook.

"I- i- it needs me to be in the seat. Excu- cuse me, General Yane?" Yane took a step to the side, allowing the young man to pass. The man slipped into the seat and a holographic keyboard appeared on the table in front of the projection. He typed rapidly and a scanner appeared beside the keyboard. He put his thumb onto it and winced as it pricked him. The room flashed green and once the blinding light had faded, General Yane relooked at the hologram.

On the blue Earth, a single yellow-orange dot was visible. It appeared to be on the continent of North America, in the smack center of it.

"Biological profile?" Yane asked.

The young man tapped the dot and an image of a young baby replaced the planet.

Joan Michelle Johnson
DOB: 1-30-2005
7 pounds
20 inches tall

It proceeded to list things about her genetics, but Yane ignored that. He stared at the image, his mouth agape slightly. The child had velvety brown skin, small chocolate brown eyes, a small smile, and a tuft of thin black hair on the top of her head.

General Yane couldn't believe it. All maysins were pale with big features and wide eyes. Of course he knew humans were more diverse- that was one of the reasons they were special-, but every general had always assumed that the next level of humans would be led by humans that were like maysins. That looked like maysins.

Oh well. She passed the tests and would pave the path to a new era for both humans and maysins.

He would just need someone who could at least pass for age when the time was right. He glanced at the young man, who had begun to do something with the holographic keyboard.
General Yane cleared his throat and the man instantly swiveled toward him.

"What is your name, young man?" he inquired with one raised eyebrow. His eyes pierced into the man's as if he himself was drilling into those green eyes to see what was going on in his head.

"Mailin," the man replied shakily.

"Mailin. You will go down in history." Mailin beamed. "I wish there was a bigger way I could repay you. Sadly, general training must start young, so my repayment cannot be direct." General Yane cocked his head at Mailin and Mailin gulped. "Do you have a child, lad?"

Sweat beaded on Mailin's forehead. "I..."

"Do. You. Have. A. Child?" Yane demanded.

Mailin's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Yane shoved his hand against Mailin's temple.

Information flooded into his brain. A wife- Marinda-, Mailin's house, his commute to work, his parents, and finally a child being born. It was only two weeks ago when the baby boy was brought into the universe. Its name was Taren.

"Ah. A young boy. You know the honor of being a general's apprentice, do you not?"

Fury flashed behind Mailin's eyes. "Yes."

"It is decided. In ten years from now, I will...train your son in everything I know." Yane left out the fact that Taren would be going to Earth in his newest experiment. Yane had always loved experiments and this would be one for the ages. General Yane leaned close, his face mere inches from Mailin's. "Don't run," he whispered. Yane straightened and strutted out the door without another word. He walked quickly until he made it to his office. He only had ten years to prepare, after all.