Friday, 7 June 2024, 5:41 am
Reyn wakes early the next morning, his sleep constantly plagued by spiraling thoughts that feed off his previous day's disappointments. Precognition, he thinks to himself, seeing the future should be an amazing ability. He was sure Ravinok would be delighted at the discovery of this new ARCH-type. But for Reyn, it was the exact opposite of what he had hoped for, and his hopes were not exactly laser-focused, any offensive ARCH-type would have sufficed.
He rolls around his bed straining his mind trying to analyse how his ability could be of use, dozing off only to quickly awaken again with the realization burning in his mind that his ARCH-type had no combat ability. Ten seconds of precognition itself was all but useless, but in combat, it was nothing. He had no hope of being an archaner, no hope of fighting on the frontlines, no hope of upholding his mother's legacy. He fights away tears as crushing realizations keep beating at his crumbling pride.
He goes on to spend the early morning in a half-forced merriment as he prepares for the day. A meditation on his situation and focusing on certain aspects forges for him a clear path out of his melancholy and into feelings of hope. His mother's words always proved to be a strong and dependable form of encouragement and support. He finishes his preparations and heads for the door, stopping just short to take a deep breath and straighten his clothes.
"Reject the Impossible!" He loudly reassures himself.
"Victory or Death!"
The sudden response comes from the other side of the door, startling Reyn. He opens to find Ghazal leaning on its frame. Ghazal tilts his head to one side and raises an inquisitive eyebrow.
Reyn snorts in response and nods an approval.
The two men strut off to start their day with no verbal communication needed as they already understand what needs to be understood between them.
The recruits had been told the day before that they were to meet at an outdoor testing facility on the HQ's northern outskirts, at the foot of the Tahtali Mountains. They walk the glistening green paths of the facility together, chittering as they march in almost instinctual unison, an aura of enthusiasm permeates the group. The new recruits are each looking forward to the debut of their aetheric abilities on the training grounds of Brannon-Brook, a day they have all worked hard to meet.
But for Reyn, the notion of the day's activities brings with it anxiety and dejection. He had already calculated and concluded all possibilities for the day's outcomes concerning the testing of his ARCH-unit. He determines that once Ravinok finds out about his aetheric ability, he would be whisked away to be pricked and prodded and studied. Probably hidden away in some black-light room to be used for whatever purposes GAARD could think up for a precognitive with only a few seconds of future-sight. The thought eats at him as they walk and he lets out a long sigh, staring up into the air, wishing the sky could suck him into orbit.
The group reaches the training facility where Glenn Foster and a few others are there to greet them.
"Welcome recruits!" He shouts as the group nears, shooting fluttering wisps of air through the cluster of bodies. "Today you get your first true taste of your aetheric abilities and skills! Through your hard work, dedication and commitment to the Brannon-Brook initiative, you have all proven yourselves worthy of this honor!" Glenn claps his hands and encourages the recruits to do the same. Reyn smiles and claps, but each slap brings with it a bite of anxiety.
"With me today are a couple old friends and battle buddies. I'm sure most of them will look familiar to you." Glenn proceeds to introduce 6 active and retired archaner veterans, giving a short summary of their background and skills. A few of the names are familiar to Reyn.
Rick Justice was a retired soldier that would become an archaner late in his life, becoming one of the foremost physical-enhancing biokinetics. He was a veteran of 6 gate invasions but his Strike Team after the Berlin battle. No official reason was given, but he was now known to occasionally assist GAARD and the I.G.S.I. in assorted unofficial capacities.
Victoriana Amari stood alongside him, an extremely powerful telekinetic and chronokinetic. She was unaffiliated to any Strike Team but was a veteran of 4 gates and one of the most famous archaners on earth. Boasting a successful career as an Italian actress, considered a sex-symbol and praised for her philanthropy and charity. Reyn wonders how GAARD managed to involve her in recruit training.
John Buchanan stood slightly behind her, one of only a handful of healers. Possessing the abilities of biokinetic healing and boosting as well as hemokinesis. Another legend of the gate defense initiative and a man that has saved countless lives, especially on the frontline, with his remarkable ability to heal even severed limbs and destroyed organs. His ability to control the biological liquids within himself and nearby bodies would also make him a formidable fighter on the battleground.
The rest of the archaners alongside Glenn don't seem to feature in Reyn's memory, though he was certain they all looked familiar.
"The team here will be working as invigilators and assisting you in today's trial sessions. With their variety of skills and experiences, we'll be able to suss out your abilities and their limits. You are to respect their seniority and authority during this time." Glenn explains, expanding on the testing process and how the day would proceed as the recruits all listen on eagerly.
Various tests and trials have been prepared to help the recruits and trainers understand their individual skills. As the training and testing progresses, they would improve control of their aetheric abilities and learn to moderate their power-core usage.
"The goal here is to learn the basics of moderation and control. We're not expecting you to master your abilities any time soon. But by the end of today, you should be confident in your ability to control your aetheric output to a certain degree. We will make sure you understand your ability, its strengths and weaknesses, and the danger it can present if not used correctly." Glenn proclaims, his shoulders and chest broaden and his immense height grows even higher as he speaks with overwhelming authority. "GAARD needs to be confident that none of you will be a liability to this organisation and its mission. The power you will wield here today is a product of the hard-work, commitment and loyalty of the many men and women that have sacrificed, bled and died for this organization and its mission. Make no mistake, recruits. Inadequacy will not be accepted. Subordination will be eliminated. Disloyalty… crushed. You are archaners now. So act like it."
The mental and physical pressure created by Glenn's words rattle the recruits. The stakes are set and they find themselves aiming at a new goal. Their commitment, loyalty and resolve are all energized by Glenn's speech.
Glenn leads the group into the gigantic entrance doors of the training facility, revealing a vast open area contained within a six meter tall, thick, concrete wall, crowned with another 4 meters of metal-mesh. The area looks like a coliseum, its walls bordered with walkways, numerous chambers, and seating areas. Cameras and sensors line the arena, and various safety and medical equipment can be seen strategically placed throughout. While central grounds are segmented into various sections, each featuring different objects, objectives and challenges for those that would make use of the facility. A warm breeze rolls through the vicinity as the recruits enter, bringing with it an air of worried anticipation and general excitement.
They quickly move along the arena outskirts, and up a large flight of stairs. They squeeze along the high walkways lining the walls and make their way to a large room, where a wall of windows overlooks most of the facility. As they reach the room's entrance, a sudden swirl of matter blocks their path. From the swirling puddle a small shimmer cube starts to emerge, grip tightly by a large, bulbous hand. Doctor Ravinok appears shortly after, dusting off his white coat and adjusting his glasses.
"Good day, Brannon-Brook beauties." The doctor grins, lifting his prize above the recruits' heads. "Behold! The power-core! Appreciate the shimmer. This little beauty is your doorway to the impossible!"
The sparkling stone glints across the recruits eyes as the doctor waves it in the air above them. Half the size of a credit card and just a few centimeters thick, the crystal-like stone was semi-translucent, allowing the sunlight to join in the dance of shimmering colors that seem to move around within.
"Now, let me remind you. The system is very simple. The power-core is the battery of your ARCH-unit, yes. When the power-core is done, so is your ARCH. Very important to maintain power-core charge outside of ACZ. Use too much, and you may find yourself on the battlefield, defenceless." The doctor explains, reminding the recruits about the dangers of overusing their ARCH-units outside of an Aether Concentration Zones.
The ARCH-unit requires raw aether and in aether-rich environments like an ACZ, the ARCH has effectively limitless access to aether as the unit is able to constantly feed off the aether naturally absorbed into the user's body. However, outside of an ACZ, the ARCH-unit will use the power-core as its energy source, greatly limiting its scope of usage.
"So, when outside ACZ, moderation is key. Control your output!" Ravinok reminds them as they enter the room. It was some kind of monitoring station overlooking most of the facility, its walls lined with numerous screens and displays. He disappears for a moment, returning to the group soon after, now holding a large metal case in one hand and a binder of pages in the other. "Your power-cores and your training assignments." the doctor exclaims.
He slams the case down on a table centered in the room, opening it to reveal 16 neatly ordered stones, each shimmering with colour. The small hexagonal stones are forged from highly concentrated, high-processed aetherite, allowing it to store vast amounts of aether in its tiny form. Due to the nature of the power-core, the only aetherite suitable for its construction must be extracted from gate barrier crystals.
He then opens the binder and starts ordering its papers around the table. "This is your training assignment. Individually curated for each of you to best evaluate and test your abilities and skills. These are special power cores made for training recruits like you. They have about 10% of the output potential available in a fully-powered core. This much should be sufficient to start your trials. For now, we just want to see what you can do, yes. Remember, moderation!"
The group nods in understanding as they all steal glimpses at the case full of power-cores while listening to Ravinok speak.
"As you know, aetherite is our most precious and rare commodity. We cannot afford to use them… how you say… willy-nilly. So, please, I repeat it. Moderation, Brannon-Brook! It is key. We cannot afford to replace power-cores all day." The doctor groans, referring to the biggest obstacle that humanity faces in their war against the invaders. Their shortage of aetherite.
A substance unknown to man until 50 years ago. Humanity has never found a natural source for aetherite despite their most fervent attempts. Their only means of acquiring the substance is from the core-crystals of fallen aetherians, and more importantly, the barrier crystal. The barrier crystal is composed of an extraordinarily pure, concentrated form of aether, and has proven to be humanity's best means of attaining the material in high quality and quantity.
The doctor talks more on the subject of their power-core usage and the recruits nod earnestly as he speaks. "Good, now come, stand in line. I will give you your assignments and cores for today's exercises. Do not install your cores until instructed by your assigned invigilator. I remind you, ARCH-unit usage is an amazing privilege. Misuse it or fail to follow instructions, and you may be barred from its use. Insubordination may even lead to removal of the unit. If installation was painful, you may not survive its removal, Brannon-Brook." The doctor ends. His eyes piercing their convictions as he scans each graduate. "Good, now come, stand in line. I will give you your assignments and cores for today's trials."
They quickly line up, and the doctor hands them their papers and power-cores. "Not you, Mr. Mitchell's. For today, we have a special assignment for you. You remain here with me for now." He explains as he reaches Reyn near the end of the line. Reyn nods, leaving his head low between his shoulders.
The hand outs finish and the recruits are led back out the room to Glenn and the veteran archaners waiting outside where they are quickly divided into groups based on their ARCH-types. The groups then split, each led off by a n invigilator to guide them through their training. Reyn watches on solemnly until a plump hand finds his back with a firm slap.
"Don't worry Mitchells, you will join them soon enough." The doctor bellows as he encourages the dejected young man. "But first, very important work. Come!" Ravinok opens a door at the far end of the room where a deep darkness awaits inside. "Follow me. Apologies for the black-light here. I will lead the way." The doctor adds.
Reyn follows the man closely as they move into the dark room. Ravinok's loud, ragged breathing works as his only guide in the black-light.
"Come, this way Mitchell's. Hurry!" The doctor's hand grabs Reyn's arm and leads him quickly through the darkness. Ahead, slivers of light leak from beyond a hidden door. Ravinok bursts into another room, dragging Reyn along and as Reyn's eyes adjust to the bright light, he finds himself in a quaint little kitchen area.
The doctor immediately starts rummaging through cabinets and draws, returning to Reyn with fists full of snacks and sweets. "My secret stash. We keep this between us, ha!"
Reyn can't help but chuckle.
Ravinok drops down onto a nearby coach, and gestures for Reyn to do the same. He tosses his horde of edibles onto a table and encourages the young man to indulge in the delectable bounty. Reyn reluctantly paws at the sweets before selecting a strange Turkish candy. He unwraps it and slides it into his mouth, surprised by the sourness that assaults his taste buds.
"Ha! That's good, ya!"
Reyn mumbles in response, his jaws locked as his body tries to suppress the sour sensations. He tries in vain to hide his discomfort.
"Spit it out, boy!" The doctor scowls as he laughs.
Reyn shrugs, crunches the sweet between his teeth and quickly swallows the whole thing in a single gulp, wiping the drips of drool that had escaped his lips.
"Definitely Lunara's boy! So stubborn, just like your mother." The doctor bellows.
Reyn smiles as he tries to suppress the lingering tastes.
"Did she ever talk about me?"
"Uh, not much." he shrugs.
"Hmmm…" The doctor's smile softly fades as he moves a treat to his mouth.
"She did mention that you were really smart, and funny…"
His eyes quickly light up again while he chews excessively on a bright pink confection.
"She used to call you the godfather of aetherics. Said you practically invented the science behind it and most of the technology too."
"Ah, yes, this is true." He smirks proudly.
"Um, she also said that you're probably the most powerful archaner on Earth."
The doctor's chewing suddenly stops and face turns solemn.
"Oh, um, I didn't mean to…"
"What did she mention about my abilities?" He asks pointedly as he stares through Reyn's apprehension, drawing himself closer across the table.
"Um, nothing, I don't think... I, um, I… "
"Bah! Relax boy, come, enough chit-chat. We have more important matters to discuss." The doctor says with a chuckle. Reyn replies with a silent, stern nod.
"Your resonance assessment. You remember, yes?"
Reyn nods. It was something that would haunt him for a lifetime. For years he worked so hard to meet the moment, only to be left in disappointment. One of the many catalysts that caused his recent mental spiralling.
"Your results, they intrigued me. So I start digging through your data. Trying to find the patterns, you know. GAIA and I analyse, analyse, try to make sense of the readings…" The doctor presses on about Reyn's assessment results and his work trying to make sense of it. He had spent weeks scouring billions of data sets with his A.I. assistant trying to make sense of Reyn's aetheric connection. "Yet, we find nothing. No anomaly. No issues with equipment or algorithms. Everything works perfectly." The doctor laments, his eyes harden as he leans towards Reyn. "You are the anomaly Mr. Mitchells. You possess within you… something. Something that we currently do not understand. It is unique, it is strange and perhaps it is powerful."
Reyn's eyes widened, his calculations starting to prove correct. The doctor is beginning to make sense of his situation and would soon come to understand the nature of his ARCH-type.
"This is why we must learn. We must experiment. We must understand. Without knowledge, how can we find the truth? How can we know our purpose, our fate, ha?"
Reyn slowly nods, not fully comprehending the doctor's thinking, his mind more focused on figuring out a way to hide the truth of ARCH-type. To stall for time until he can figure out a way to prove his worth as a combat archaner, despite the limitations of his precognitive ability.
"So Mr. Mitchell's, are you ready to find your truth, your purpose? And perhaps we find within you answers to questions yet to be asked, ha?" The doctor asks Reyn earnestly as he rises, causing Reyn to do so instinctively as well. Ravinok grips Reyn tightly around his shoulders and leads him back out the room and towards the training yard, prattling on about the aetheric sciences as they go.
As they come closer to the training yard, faint sounds can be heard emanating from the arena until, suddenly, a large explosion rips through the facility, rattling the building and blowing out windows.
"Merkaan! What the fuck was that? Moderation, you damned idiot! Goddamn! You fucked yourself up! Get him to a healer, ASAP!"
Reyn pokes his head out a shattered window. In the training ground below, Ghazal lays flat on his back, his clothes ripped and scorched. A large, burning crater has opened up next to him, and Rick Justice stands over his charred body, berating him for his dangerous incompetence. Reyn winces with a chuckle, quietly encouraging his friend from afar.
Across the training ground, recruit archaners are testing out their new skills in various ways and veterans watch on and instruct. Jocelyn spends the morning learning how to summon and manipulate spheres of water, she herself would be soaking wet soon after her training starts. Ghazal finds himself in a black-light room early in the day, his burnt skin being aetherically healed as he whimpers in pain. Other recruits each learn the basics of controlling their aetherics, some showing natural talents while others struggle to adapt.
"Come boy, this way!" Ravinok beckons Reyn as they move through the facility, eventually coming upon a stark white room. A small window lines one wall, the rest of the interior stands completely empty.
"Ok, now, I want you to relax. I will place a power-core into your unit, the feeling may be strange, but it will quickly pass. This is the aether flooding your body, your ARCH-unit will maintain its balance.
Reyn suddenly feels a cold sensation hit the back of his neck and his body twitches as raw aether starts moving through his cells, vibrating through the atoms that make up his physical being. Anxiety cloaks his mind while his body quickly adjusts to the new sensations. An odd reaction tickles in his braincells as the aether settles into his subconsciousness bringing with it a primal and innate understanding of how to activate his aetherics.
A power-core now adorns his nape.
"How do you feel?"
"Um, ok, I guess…" Reyn mutters as he fingers at the stone at his nape.
"Good… but what do you feel? Nothing strange? Nothing new?"
Reyn shrugs. He does his best to seem aloof and unsure at the doctors questions, but the new feelings and urges the aether produces in his mind was undeniable.
"Very odd. You see, the synchronization is linked to the subconscious. The aether feeds it, strengthens it, gives it form. This is what we see as aetherics, the abilities and skills of archaners. The aether allows the mind to shape its surroundings, to mold the very fabric of reality to meet the wielder's mental demands."
Reyn nods agreeingly, he has already been taught this as part of his studies at Brannon-Brook.
"But more importantly. The aether speaks to us. It tells us what we are capable of. The possibilities. It reveals to us the possibilities we possess. Like a whisper, it speaks to your subconscious. And yet… it does not seem to speak to you, Mitchells. Strange."
Reyn's body droops as he receives another blow to his insecurities, the aether had spoken to him, but he cared not for what it had to say.
"Now, go stand there, I will give further instructions." Ravinok directs, pointing Reyn to the center of the room, as he moves inside, the doctor vanishes into the floor. "Ok, Mr. Mitchell." The doctor's voice booms, coming from hidden speakers around the room. Reyn notices the man and a few others peeking at him from behind the little window in the wall.
From the room door, a lab assistant wheels in a large metal cube while Reyn's looks on in bewilderment.
"Ok, Mr. Mitchell's, since we can't learn about your abilities through analytical data and measurements, we will learn it then the old way. Practical science! We start with the basics. Please, punch the cube, Mitchells." Ravinok says with an air of certainty.
Reyn stares at the window and back at the dark, metal cube before him while a trickle of sweat leaves his brow.