Kaltor doesn’t even glance at two guards who step forward after I get scanned,
“Sir, we haven’t classified his Power yet,” one of them says with a strong note of warning, hand up. I billow out my Mana to see if I can detect whether he’s activating a Power and he switches his gaze from Kaltor to me immediately. Maybe… not a good idea.
“I’m vouching for him,” Kaltor says without breaking stride. There’s a growing gap between us because I thought he would stop to address the guards, so I ramp up my speed to zip up beside him. As soon as I do, both guards have weapons out and position themselves at superhuman speed between us at the door at the end of the room.
“He takes back using a Power,” says Kaltor, still without breaking stride. “Well, two Powers.” The two guards look like maybe they’re going to stand strong anyway and I can see the weapons everywhere stay oriented on us. “We’re going to enrollment.”
Kaltor decides to stop in front of the guards, towering over them, and looks around at what I assume are other guards or cameras. His lack of concern means I’m not on edge, but the guards don’t seem to feel the same.
“I did say I’m vouching for him,” Kaltor says, and motions for them to move. I half expect them to fly in opposite directions and crash into the walls, pinned by Kaltor’s Power. It’s just a gesture, though - nothing more.
“Admission granted,” a voice says from all around us. The two guards instantly step aside and the thick doors at the far side of the room open. Kaltor starts up again and walks through the door, me in tow. We march through a few corridors made of smooth grey and white stone that give the impression of being meters thick. It’s almost like this is some kind of a bunker. Maybe if it’s a testing facility it’s built to stop people inside it from hurting each other rather than hide from danger from the outside.
We see a few other ESF troopers and other people walking the halls and Kaltor glances back at me, then enters a nondescript room with some furniture and an open door. I follow him and he closes the door behind us and places his palm on a panel on the wall. It lights up green and he nods to himself, then crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe, looking at me. I wait, since clearly he’s done this for a reason.
“Part of enrollment is testing,” he says, and I nod, looking forward to it. “Those guards reminded me they won’t be able to see your Reclamation Power with the equipment and people here, so you have a choice to make.”
“I’m going to need to disclose my Power,” I decide, since I can see immediately he’s right about the choice I’m going to have to make. “If I hide my Reclamation Power, it will be hard to explain my advancement in the future. It doesn’t work like everyone else’s.”
Kaltor nudges himself upright, but his arms stay crossed and he strokes his beard a couple of times in thought. His bulk and aura are intimidating even if he isn’t trying.
“It’s your call. I don’t have to tell you more than one guillotine is hanging above your head, especially right now. Disclosing the first known Mythic Power will put a lot more attention on you. It could make it harder to take you out because of the visibility, or it could bring extra threat your way.”
Instinctively I want to tell him it’s the right thing to do, but the gravity of his expression gives me pause and I wait to hear what he has to say.
“When word gets out, there are organizations and people who will want to study you. What led to your Power being Mythic? How does it work? Why did your Power manifest so late? Are you likely to become a Hero, or a Villain? That’s one question your family name might help you with.”
“I’ve wanted to be a Superhero my whole life,” I tell him.
“They don’t know that, Calrik. And there are countless examples of when an emerging Power changes a person’s direction in life. Some will want to capture you and study your Power, or somehow steal it.” He starts to tick a list off on his fingers. “Supervillains. The Power Research Institute. Aliens, if their spies discover it. Maybe even the EDF and ESF.”
I’m paying close attention and can tell from what he’s saying there’s something deeper to this. Something he’s not saying.
“People tried to do that to you, didn’t they?”
“Smart kid,” he grumbles in his deep voice, and his eyes are hard. Harder than I’ve seen them even when we’re in the middle of what I would consider a combat shitstorm. “Once people realized how strong I had become and what I could force my Adaptation Power to do, yeah - they tried. But a hundred years ago Powers were new and there was no structure, no organization to anything. We were all just figuring it out and it was chaos.”
Kaltor pauses for a couple of seconds, looking far away. Part of me wants to put everything he’s saying to the side and carve my own path. Another part can’t ignore the fact one of the most powerful humans in the Universe who knew my parents and had a relationship with my Aunt is taking time to explain something to me.
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“By the time someone first tried to capture and study me, I was strong enough to take care of myself and the ESF needed me when the aliens found us. I’m still the tip of the spear, Calrik. One of the ones who goes in where nobody else can or will. Your Dad was like that, and your Mom too, to a lesser extent.”
“And me,” I say, certain.
“Maybe one day, but not now,” he chides me, and of course he’s right, although it lights a fire in me. If I joined a Superhero team I’d be considered a decent sidekick at best. On an ESF mission, maybe I’d be nothing more than a liability depending on the situation. I don’t know yet.
“You won’t have the luxury of time to get stronger in the chaos like I did, under the radar. I’m half tempted to stick around, but I can’t. We have colonies on planets that will be lost if I don’t arrive soon.”
“You know the players in this game better than me, Kaltor. What do you suggest? I’m not going to run and hide from having my Power and doing all the good I can, even if it was an option.”
Kaltor looks me in the eye for a few seconds, a challenge to my position on this. It doesn’t matter who he is, this is something I’m not going to bend on.
“I have enough influence to get the specifics of your Power sealed for this mission. I think we should disclose it to only a few people. The Strike Captain of your mission will need to know, and I’ll let the head of ESF testing know personally before I leave Earth so there’s no doubt. Other than that, keep it off everyone’s radar. Your Regeneration Power and the classification of your physical enhancements as a Power is enough to explain what you can do as far as the rest of the crew is concerned.”
“Shouldn’t I trust them? The ESF does.”
“Calrik, you’ve got to remember that they’re all hand picked and instructed to terminate you without hesitation if you show any signs of being possessed or infected.”
“Isn’t that even more reason to make sure they know I’m… different?”
Kaltor shrugs. “It’s up to you who you tell. I can make sure nobody outside that ship knows when you board it, but after that if you tell people it’s game on and it’s also up to you to come up with a reason your Powers Awakened so late and all the rest of it.”
“Understood.”
“If you do stay with the ESF after this mission, it’ll become common internal knowledge eventually - all Powers are disclosed to higher Ranking officers for calibration and assignment purposes. Being part of the ESF should provide you with some protection and legitimacy, but you’ll need to watch your back. Always.”
That message has been received loud and clear already. Getting to the end of this mission is going to be the first step of the race, not the finish.
“Let’s just get through this next bit so I can prove I’m not infected and start an ESF career for real,” I suggest. “I’ll gladly take you up on your offer to keep the full details of my Powers sealed until the end of the mission, and I’ll deal with the consequences of telling anyone I decide to.”
I call up my Status, then focus on the area that indicates Power Displayed.
Power Displayed
You have three Powers eligible for discovery by others at your option.
- Regeneration (Tier 3 Epic)
- Physical Enhancement (Tier 1 Major)
- Reclamation (Tier 1 Mythic)
Would you like to make one or more Powers discoverable?
(Y/N)
I hit ‘Y’ and activate the first two as discoverable by anyone trying to read my Status, leaving Reclamation hidden. A Tier 3 Epic and Tier 1 Major Power should be enough explain what I can do in combat and give anyone who wants to mess with me something to consider.
“Let’s go get you enrolled in the Earth Strike Force, Calrik Corvin.”
All I can think is… about fucking time.