12.01.2723

A sharp click echoed through the darkness, much like a rock being dropped in an empty room.

"Wake up!" a voice shouted.

What was that?

"Come on, damn you! Wake up! Please!"

The darkness parted softly, slowly receding as a soft spot of light began filling the void. A faint wheezing sound accompanied the light, seemingly echoing all around. Where was it coming from?

Suddenly, a loud angry beeping ripped through the remaining darkness, turning the soft light into glaring suns. The faint wheezing sound from just a moment ago was suddenly clearer now too; the hiss of escaping gas being sucked through vents. It was cold, very cold.

Cyrus sat up quickly, but was forced back down when his head smacked against a transparent viewport. He shook his head, ignoring the ringing, and pushed against the low ceiling with both hands. This wasn't his bed. Where was he?

The lid creaked and suddenly flew off, spinning through the air to crash somewhere out of sight. This time, Cyrus sat up slower, his eyes falling to his hands in amazement. He was strong! Or was the ceiling weak? He wasn't sure.

Remembering the voice, he glanced around him in confusion, looking for whoever had been addressing him earlier. Instead of a person, however, six tall lizards stared back, mouths open. Each one was dressed in white attire, fitted with full length sleeves and gloves. One of them carried a strange thin object, almost resembling a cylinder with a plunger attached. A syringe of some sort? Their clean white clothes reminded Cyrus of a laboratory, or a hospital. He couldn't quite remember which.

"You're awake!" the voice gasped. "That's great! Now hurry up over here before-"

Something slammed into Cyrus from behind as he was sitting up, knocking him off the bed. He hit the ground hard, his breath wheezing out as something heavy rolled over his body. As he tried to get back up, something pressed into his back, pushing him roughly to the ground. Cyrus struggled feebly to bring his hands around, but whoever was holding his arms was strong. His assailant growled, pressing harder into Cyrus's back as something cold snapped around his wrists.

The memories came back in a rush. Screams and explosions echoed in his ears as classmates and teachers fled the hallways. Flashes of blinding light and falling bodies flooded his vision. Lifeless bodies were strewn everywhere around his school. Then, he felt a cold object on the back of his head and something clicked.

"No!" Cyrus screamed, ripping his arms free of his attacker.

He slammed his hand into the ground, heaving. His struggle was rewarded with a startled grunt as whoever was pinning him down stumbled backwards. Glancing down at his hands, he was surprised to see a broken set of cuffs dangling from his wrists.

"Ar vokka!" his assailant shouted. A familiar sound whirred: the sound of an energy cannon coming to life.

Cyrus moved, his body blurring as his reflexes took over. Twisting in the air, his leg lashed out, kicking the energy rifle out of his attacker's hands. This time, he could see his assailant; a well-built lizard, almost two and a half meters tall. His build put him on a size much bigger than Cyrus, but not necessarily stronger.

Landing on his feet, Cyrus sprang forward in a sharp kick, slamming his foot into the lizard's chest. He heard something snap, then the creature was stumbling backwards into the wall, grunting in pain. More sounds to his right caught his attention; more lizards were entering the room, all armed with energy rifles like the soldier he'd just kicked. Energy rifles to stun. He wouldn't be captured. Not again.

Blurring forward, he pounced on the nearest soldier, landing a dozen punches in seconds. Moving on, he noted in morbid satisfaction that the first soldier's entire torso was covered in massive welts, scales cracked and bleeding. He wasn't going to be getting up for a while. A second soldier whipped out a stun baton, buzzing it in Cyrus's face. Grinning, Cyrus grabbed the baton in his fist, taking a moment to savor the shock on the soldier's face before he backhanded the trooper, snapping some bones.

"Behind you!" the disembodied voice suddenly cried.

Without thinking, Cyrus whirled around, swinging a fist in a wild haymaker. Another soldier had gotten behind him, presumably entering from another door, and had been creeping up on him. Cyrus's fist crashed into the soldier's temple, flipping him headfirst to smash into the ground. Picking up the unconscious body, he turned and threw him at the remaining soldiers, sending them tumbling to the ground.

"Haha!" Cyrus laughed. "Who's bad now, huh?"

One of the soldiers struggling on the ground managed to twist his arm free, leveling a pistol at Cyrus's chest.

"Oh no you don't," Cyrus snarled.

Turning around, he took hold of his pod, ripping it out of the wall with relative ease. Sparks flew and frigid gas leaked out of a pipe, but he ignored them, hefting the pod above his head. The soldier squeezed off a shot, blindly firing at Cyrus as the he turned back to face the remaining soldiers.

"Eat this!" he shouted, hurling the pod at them.

The pod crashed into the surviving soldiers, pinning all of them down with a cry. As they tried to wriggle free of the heavy pod, the ones on top squealed in protest from the pain. Not bad, Cyrus thought. Not bad at all.

He straightened, suddenly aware of his headache. That, and his slightly sore muscles and nausea. Those would probably go away in a little bit, but they were a real killer at the moment.

"Great, you took care of the soldiers. Now, can you please turn around and help me out?"

Cyrus started, suddenly remembering the voice.

"Who are you?" he asked, spinning around to look for its source.

"The table next to where your pod was. Free the kid lying on the table."

Cyrus's eyes followed the directions, noting with surprise that he had not been the only kid in the room. Another boy was lying on a surgical table not too far from his pod, surrounded by machines and tubes. This boy was much thinner than Cyrus, with light brown skin and a hint of a beard. Despite their surroundings, the second boy looked almost peaceful. Was he asleep? Walking over, Cyrus ignored the fearful gasps of the lab coat lizards, now huddled together in the corner of the room.

"He looks like he's under," Cyrus said aloud. "How do I pull him out?"

"Just remove the IV," the voice replied.

Cyrus looked down, following the mess of tubes to one particular tube snaking down into the kid's forearm. That must be the one.

"Got it," Cyrus said, pulling the tube out.

"Huhhhh," the kid suddenly gasped, his chest arching into the air.

"Whoa! Easy there."

The kid looked up at Cyrus, his eyes focusing slowly as he struggled to fight the drugs still coursing through his system. Cyrus helped him sit up, noting that the kid was a head and a half shorter. Maybe a year or two younger, too.

"Th-thanks," the kid said weakly.

With a start, Cyrus realized the boy had just spoken in the same voice as the disembodied entity from before.

"Astral projector?" Cyrus asked.

"Yeah," the kid answered weakly. "I can project my consciousness out of my body to interact with the physical world."

"I know," Cyrus said impatiently. "Where the hell are we?"

"Wait," the kid coughed. "Scientists. Pods."

Cyrus looked toward the fear-stricken lizards, then toward the wall, where three alcoves sat. Two of them still held pods, just large enough to fit the scientists..

"Okay," he muttered.

Pressing the release button on the monitors, he stepped aside and motioned the scientists toward the remaining pods.

"This way, please."

Minutes later, Cyrus closed the door on the last pod in the room, squeezing the scientists shut inside. It was a tight fit.

"That's the last of them," Cyrus said, turning around. "Now, what the hell is going on here?"

"It's a long story," the astral projector said, swinging his legs off the table. "I don't know much. All I know that whatever's going on here, it's pretty big."

"You woke me up, so you tell me," Cyrus said. "And I don't think I caught your name."

"The name's Sahib," the kid said, sticking out his hand.

An awkward moment passed during which Cyrus made no move to take the boy's hand. When it became clear that Cyrus wasn't going to do anything, the boy took back his hand.

"Um, okay," Sahib said. "Well, uh, I've been projecting around this place for the last few days and by my estimates, we've been asleep for nearly two months."

"So what is this place?" Cyrus asked. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Sahib told him.

"How do you know we've been asleep for two months?" Cyrus demanded.

"I looked at some of the computers while I was projecting," Sahib said. "They have the stardate on them, and I pieced together the rest."

Cyrus stepped away, glancing around the room. Miscellaneous glass cabinets containing beakers and tubes of various chemicals lined the room, and the gaps between the cabinets were filled in with shelves and counters. There was a sink in the corner, and various pieces of lab equipment were strewn everywhere-microscopes, sharp implements, and hot plates cluttered the counters. Several petri dishes filled up one entire counter, each covered with some kind of translucent growth. Several lab tables were laid out in a grid pattern on one side of the room, containing more lab equipment and datapads, and monitors had been stationed everywhere. Everything in the room was labeled, but in Krakoshan. It made sense; those lizard people were Krakoshans. What did Krakoshans have to do with this?

He picked the closest monitor and walked toward it, peering at the screen. The monitor displayed a bunch of charts and data as foreign to him as the Krakoshan language, but he had eyes only for the stardate displayed in the corner of the screen.

"It's been almost two months," he muttered. Two months ago, he'd still been in school. What had happened since then?

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Sahib said, slipping off the table. "Anyhow, apparently, these guys launched this huge attack on the Career schools two months ago, and they..."

The boy continued to talk, but Cyrus wasn't listening. His mind raced, trying to recall events. The last thing he remembered...was training. Training at the Tallus Academy. One of the Career schools. What was that about the Career schools?

"What did you say?" Cyrus asked.

"-podding and experimenting on us, too," Sahib said. "What?"

"You said something about the Career schools," Cyrus said. "What was that?"

"Dude," Sahib said. "Were you even listening?"

"Just tell me."

"These guys, whoever they are," Sahib said, waving a hand at the downed guards. "They planned this huge attack on all the Career schools, all ten of them. And one other school, some institute. Why?"

"I remember gas," Cyrus said. "And shooting."

He had been training in one of the gyms, some last minute practice before his last class of the day. It had only been mid-afternoon, plenty of students walking the halls and plenty of day left.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sahib asked.

"Training in a gym," Cyrus muttered. "It was only afternoon. And gas."

The ventilation system had been hijacked. Gas had started to fill the room, the students around him collapsing when they breathed it in.

"I didn't go down easy," Cyrus recalled. "I regenerate. Gas doesn't work well on me."

He'd tried to run and get help. Somebody had opened the door and some troopers had poured in, guns blazing. They were all caught by surprise, and before they knew it, they were all being gunned down.

"I was hit," Cyrus said. "With an energy cannon."

The troopers had been mercenaries. He made a fist.

"Gholians," he growled.

"Yeah," Sahib said. "I was practicing in my astral projection form when the gas took me. I couldn't fight, but I could watch the Gholians take down my classmates."

Cyrus turned around, eyeing the smaller boy.

"How the hell did you escape?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you were projecting around this place," Cyrus pointed out. "They couldn't stop you? After they went to all this trouble to contain you?"

"Contain us," Sahib corrected. "Like I said, they've got dozens of us podded and ready to experiment. And I don't think we're in the only facility here. There may even be thousands of us out there, in pods. I think...I think my escape was a fluke."

Cyrus grunted.

"Well, I remember fighting Gholians," he said. "And it felt like it was only hours ago. The world must think we're dead. What are these guys after?"

Sahib gave him a look that said it should be obvious.

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "What's the one thing Kingsfielders have that nobody else has?

Cyrus let out a long breath, leaning against the nearest counter.

"Our Kinetic abilities," he said.

Kinetics. The reason the nation of Kingsfield was so powerful was because the Terran population possessed a number of unique and powerful abilities exclusive to the Terran race, collectively referring to those with abilities as Kinetics. Astral projection, healing, the manipulation of sound. Even Cyrus's own enhanced strength and speed were Kinetic abilities. Kingsfield's government kept the mechanics of these abilities a secret by banning all research involving Kinetics, but that hadn't stopped people from trying.

"These guys are probably some kind of terrorists," Sahib said. "And they're somehow willing to risk igniting international tensions to capture a bunch of us to study."

Cyrus hesitated.

"That sounds..." he said, trying to come up with the right word.

"Unbelievable?" Sahib asked, managing a grin.

"Yeah," Cyrus said. "You could say that."

The other boy said nothing, so Cyrus folded his arms and waited.

"What?" Sahib demanded.

"What's the plan?" Cyrus asked.

"Oh," Sahib said. "I, uh, don't have one."

Cyrus laughed.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked. "You said you were astral projecting around this place for the past two months. Why'd you choose to free me today if you didn't have a plan?"

"Because they were about to cut me open," Sahib said, gesturing at the lab table. "You were the closest person around to get help from."

Cyrus glanced around, eyeing the monitors in the room again. They were all in Krakoshan. He had never bothered taking a foreign language course before, so they might as well have been hieroglyphics. He sighed.

"Tell me you can read Krakoshan," Cyrus said.

"Sort of," Sahib replied. "I mean, I grew up in an outer colony of Kingsfield. There were Krakoshan merchants coming in to our town all the time, so I picked up some of the language. I can read, write and speak a little. I mean, I can probably hold a conversation in Krakoshan, but I can't write essays and stuff."

"Then find out everything you can," Cyrus said, pointing to one of the computers. "Before someone realizes something's wrong and sends guards this way."

"Already tried that," Sahib said.

Cyrus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. At least his headache was finally starting to die down.

"And?" he asked.

"What?" Sahib demanded.

"Here's where you tell me everything else you've discovered," Cyrus growled. "You know, keep me in the loop?"

"I already did," Sahib said. "I don't know much else. And unless you want to-"

A shrill alarm started to ring, a piercing shriek that rang over and over. Sahib started visibly and they both glanced around the room. One of the guards Cyrus had knocked down before had managed to crawl up to the wall unnoticed, and his hand rested on a wall panel. Cyrus cursed under his breath. They hadn't been paying attention and the guard had managed to sound the alarm.

"Odin's crows," Sahib spat. "Now what?"

Before Cyrus could answer, an announcement came on the loudspeakers in Krakoshan, repeating a message over and over. At the same time, a door on the far end of the lab suddenly opened and a group of burly Krakoshan soldiers entered, hefting heavy energy rifles. Instinctively, Cyrus ripped the nearest lab table out of the floor, slamming it into the ground between them and the soldiers as they opened fire. Energy wasn't supposed to be lethal, but even a grazing shot was a stun blast.

"Oh, Zeus," Sahib swore. "This isn't happening."

"Now'd be a good time for a plan!" Cyrus growled.

"What am I supposed to-"

"Do something!" Cyrus snapped.

Sahib hesitated, then nodded. He dropped to his knees, his eyes closed. For the next few moments, Cyrus peeked around the lab table, watching the Krakoshan soldiers steadily creeping closer, pouring a stream of fire against the table's underside. Thankfully, energy blasts dispersed easily, so they weren't going to be shooting through the table, but the smell of ozone was beginning to irritate his throat.

Finally, Sahib's eyes snapped open.

"Out that door," he snapped. "And go left."

Cyrus threw the table with a roar, the former piece of lab equipment hitting the soldiers with a satisfying crunch. Before the table had completely lost its momentum, he had Sahib by one arm, hauling him out the door. The hallway outside seemed to be hexagonal in cross-section, with a central vent running through the floor and a single light strip running along the ceiling.

"What next?" Sahib asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Cyrus glanced back at the boy he towed along. "I'll handle the soldiers; you come up with a way out of here!"

Up ahead, the sound of pounding feet and the clink of weaponry rang in the hallway.

"Better think fast," Cyrus growled, "because we're running out of time."

Sahib stumbled and Cyrus slowed down, ducking down another empty hallway. Once there, he stopped and turned to face the smaller boy.

"We need a plan," Cyrus snapped. "What have you got?"

"Um, I'm working on it," Sahib muttered.

"Work faster!"

"Okay, okay. I think we need to find a way out of here. Escape and go elsewhere."

"I can fly," Cyrus said, "and I'm strong. If you can find us a way out, I'll fly us both to safety."

"No," Sahib said. "You can't. I don't know where we are, but I saw some star maps. We're going to need a ship."

"Then find the bloody hangar," Cyrus growled.

The storming footsteps began growing louder as the soldiers caught up to their position. Thinking quickly, Cyrus turned to the nearest door, a storeroom, yanking the sliding door free of its lock.

"In here," he said, pulling the smaller boy in with him.

As the soldiers rounded the corner, he pulled the door closed and turned to the other side of the room. There was no light, so Cyrus felt along for the wall before calling to Sahib over his shoulder.

"I'm gonna knock out the wall," he declared. "Stand back."

He lunged forward and slammed his foot into the wall, not pausing to check on Sahib. The wall creaked, then collapsed outwards, spilling in light from another empty hallway. The announcer could still be heard repeating his message in Krakoshan and the alarms continued to blare. But no soldiers.

"This way," Sahib said. "I think."

He pointed down another passageway and Cyrus started running, grabbing the smaller boy when he started to lag. As they ran, the sound of troopers chasing suddenly came back; they must have taken a shortcut to their position. Cyrus growled and ran faster, hallways and intersections blurring past him. At the next intersection, he was dimly aware of more soldiers coming out into the hallway ahead of them, but he refused to slow down.

The lizards formed up ranks, their bare chests glistening with dark green scales. They were all well-built for a Krakoshan, and each was identical to a fault. Shouts and grunts came from the panicked Krakoshans as they raised their weapons to stop them, but Cyrus had already built up too much momentum, barreling through their ranks as if they weren't there.

Up ahead, Sahib's directions pointed to a large open space, with one wall completely open and several large vehicles parked facing outwards. Ground crews loitered around each vehicle, maintaining the engines and cleaning the hull, and a catwalk ran along the upper walls. Through the open wall, an open sky could be seen, along with an alien forest with red foliage far below.

Cyrus slowed their pace, quietly speeding into the hangar behind a row of crates before any of the crews could see them.

"Stick with me and keep quiet," he hissed.

"We made it!" Sahib said, sounding surprised.

"No, we haven't," Cyrus said, indicating the soldiers and ground crews scurrying around the place. They were all Krakoshan. "Now keep up."

He turned around and faced the doorway they'd entered from, slapping a button on the panel next to it. The doors slid shut just as a group of soldiers raced around the corner, shouting as they tried making it to the door before it closed. Cyrus punched the control panel, breaking it and releasing a shower of sparks. Hopefully, it would help slow down the soldiers on the other side of the door.

"Which ship?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sahib confessed.

"Closest one will have to do," Cyrus decided, snatching the smaller boy by the arm. "Let's move."

Together, they raced toward the nearest vehicle, running past the surprised ground crew. The Krakoshans raised shouts of alarm, shouting at them in their alien tongue, but Cyrus ignored them. Dashing up the nearest ramp, Sahib slammed on the controls, sealing the ramp shut behind them. Cyrus stayed at the edge long enough to watch the ramp close on the ground crew members pursuing them, then joined Sahib in the cockpit.

"Great, we're in," Cyrus panted. "Can you fly this thing?"

"No," Sahib said, flashing him a grin, "but I can wing it."

Cyrus groaned softly. "Puns. Really?"

The ship's engines suddenly rumbled to life, and Sahib gave a whoop. While that was happening, Cyrus spared a glance out the cockpit window, eyeing the technicians as they pointedly scurried away from the captured ship. Overhead, the announcer continued to blare the same annoying message in Krakoshan.

"What is that guy saying?" Cyrus asked.

"They're ordering some kind of evac," Sahib said. He tilted his head, listening some more. "An evac for the 'other pods.'"

"What other pods?" Cyrus demanded.

The smaller boy shrugged and pushed on the joysticks, accelerating the ship forward toward the hangar exit. Cyrus reached out and yanked on the accelerator, stopping the ship in the middle of the hangar.

"What other pods?" he repeated.

"Maybe other people in pods like us," Sahib said, struggling to break Cyrus's iron grip. "Can you let go?"

"No," Cyrus snapped. "Lower the ramp from here. I'm going back."

Sahib glanced up sharply.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. "This place is crawling with Krakoshans! You'll be podded!"

"Lower the ramp," Cyrus growled.

He stared down the smaller boy for a few seconds. Finally, Sahib sighed and flipped a switch on the dashboard.

"Alright," he said. "I'll put down the ramp. If you really want to go back, hop off if you want."

Cyrus nodded.

"How did you free me from the pod?" he asked. "I'll need to do it again, but on a larger scale."

"I don't remember," Sahib shrugged. "But if you want to do it on a larger scale, there were pipes all along the ceiling. If you follow them, you'll probably be able to reach the control room no problem."

"I'll also need a weapon," Cyrus added, eyeing a locker set into the wall.

He punched his fist through the lock, ripping the door open. Three rifles, two handguns, and several plasma cartridges greeted him inside.

"These will do."

"Hey," Sahib called. "If you're not back in five minutes, I'm heading home without you."

Cyrus scowled.

"Coward," he said.

Then, he hopped down the ramp and dashed back into the base.

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