Ch 4 Briefing

Ryan stepped out of Pod 07 with a grin he couldn't suppress.

He adjusted his uniform jacket as he crossed Assessment Bay 03, trying to put absolute confidence into every step. It wasn't difficult anymore. The nervous weight that had followed him underground was gone, replaced by a strange lightness that made him feel as if he could sprint the entire way back upstairs.

Beneath his sternum, the newly ignited core remained.

Warm.

Faint.

Alive.

Every few seconds, Ryan found himself focusing on it just to make sure it was real.

It was.

He had passed.

Near the exit stood another Vanguard proctor, a stern woman holding a thin holo-tablet. Her gaze flicked from Ryan to the information scrolling across the transparent screen.

"Lowell, Ryan?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She tapped the display.

"Candidate four-nine-five. Catalyst absorption complete. Core ignition stable." Her rigid expression softened by the smallest degree. "You passed."

Ryan's grin widened.

Hearing the machine say it had been one thing.

Hearing another person confirm it made everything feel official.

The proctor made another motion across the tablet, updating his file.

"Congratulations, cadet. Follow Corridor B to the main auditorium. All successful candidates are gathering there for the official briefing."

"Thank you!"

Ryan couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.

He left Assessment Bay 03 feeling like he was floating.

The knot that had been twisting in his stomach since he'd woken up that morning had finally disappeared.

He had done it.

He wasn't going to be shuffled into some civilian placement while other people went into orbit. He wasn't going to spend the rest of his life wondering what might have happened if his body had been compatible with Esoteric Energy.

His core had ignited.

He could become Awakened.

Everything he'd dreamed about was finally within reach.

Ryan followed the illuminated signs toward Corridor B, barely noticing the metallic hum of the underground complex anymore.

Then he passed another assessment bay.

A girl emerged through the doors with tears streaming down her face.

Her eyes were fixed on the floor.

A Vanguard attendant gently directed her toward a corridor marked CIVILIAN PROCESSING.

Ryan's smile faded slightly.

Another boy followed a few moments later. He wasn't crying. He simply walked with his shoulders slumped and his hands buried in his pockets, staring at nothing.

Failed.

Ryan looked farther down the hall.

Candidates were emerging from assessment bays everywhere. Some wore the same stunned smiles he did. Others looked hollow.

Forty percent.

Instructor Vance's words returned to him.

For every person heading toward the auditorium, more were being sent somewhere else.

Ryan touched his chest unconsciously.

He'd made it.

A little of the wild excitement settled into something quieter.

Gratitude, maybe.

Or relief.

Probably both.

At the end of Corridor B stood a pair of enormous double doors guarded by an armed Vanguard soldier.

Ryan approached.

"Fingerprint."

He placed his index finger against the handheld scanner.

A blue line swept across his skin.

Beep.

The soldier glanced at the result.

"Section Four. Middle rows. Any available seat."

Ryan nodded. "Got it. Thanks."

The doors opened.

Ryan stepped into the auditorium.

He had been here dozens of times for school assemblies, award ceremonies, and mandatory presentations, but today the room barely felt like the same place.

Rows of dark-blue padded seats descended toward a broad polished stage. Five Vanguard officers stood along the front in immaculate navy dress uniforms, hands clasped behind their backs as they silently watched the arriving candidates.

There were no teachers.

No school banners.

No students whispering about homework or weekend plans.

Only the Vanguard.

And the teenagers who had passed.

The auditorium was filling quickly.

Some students spoke excitedly with whoever happened to sit beside them. Others stared at their hands or touched their chests, seemingly fascinated by the same faint presence Ryan could still feel inside himself.

Ryan made his way toward Section Four and slipped into an empty seat beside a dark-haired boy who looked completely stunned.

The kid was staring down at his palms.

Ryan lowered his voice.

"Crazy, right?"

The boy blinked before turning toward him.

Then he laughed breathlessly.

"Man, I thought my heart was going to explode in that pod."

Ryan grinned. "Same."

That wasn't entirely true.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

But close enough.

His attention immediately shifted toward the main doors.

Every time they opened, Ryan leaned forward.

Students entered in small groups.

One.

Three.

Five.

Seven.

None of them were familiar.

Ryan's smile slowly disappeared.

Wait.

Leo had been called before him.

Ryan twisted around in his seat.

If Leo had passed, he should already be here.

He searched the auditorium.

Gray uniforms filled the rows behind him. Ryan scanned one face after another, searching for short brown hair and that familiar slouched posture.

Nothing.

He checked the rear sections.

Nothing.

The side aisles.

Still nothing.

A cold sensation crept into his stomach.

Come on, Leo.

Maybe he'd missed him.

The auditorium was huge, and more students were pouring in every minute. Leo could easily be sitting somewhere Ryan couldn't see.

Or maybe—

Ryan stopped the thought before it finished.

A chair directly behind him groaned.

Someone collapsed into it with all the grace of a falling brick.

"If that pod had stayed shut for ten more seconds, I swear I would've passed out."

Ryan knew the voice immediately.

He spun around.

Jax was sprawled across the chair behind him, hands clasped behind his head and a ridiculous grin plastered across his face.

"Jax!"

Ryan laughed as relief washed through him.

"You made it!"

"You are damn right I made it."

Jax leaned forward and slapped Ryan on the shoulder.

"My core ignited like a freaking rocket. No civilian logistics for me."

Ryan snorted.

Jax scratched at his forearm.

"Although that catalyst pulse felt like somebody filled my skin with fire ants."

"Mine was more like a really bad itch."

Jax stared at him.

"That's it?"

"Pretty much."

"I hate you."

Ryan laughed, but his amusement faded as he glanced toward the doors again.

"Did you see Leo?"

Jax's grin weakened.

"No."

"You sure?"

"I looked when I came in."

Jax glanced around the auditorium.

"Couldn't find him."

Ryan turned forward again.

"Maybe he's in another section."

"Yeah."

Jax didn't sound convinced.

"Probably."

Neither of them said anything else about it.

For the next twenty minutes, they tried to focus on anything but Leo.

Mostly, that meant powers.

"What do you think you're getting?" Jax asked.

Ryan shrugged. "Something good."

"Wow. Very specific."

"I don't know how it works yet."

"Shadow powers."

Ryan looked at him.

Jax nodded seriously.

"I'm calling it now. I'm getting shadow powers."

"Because you watched Darkstar last night?"

"Because the universe recognizes greatness."

Ryan snorted. "You're getting the ability to trip over your own feet harder."

"That's already maxed out."

Ryan laughed.

For a little while, the tension eased.

Then the side doors opened.

Jax suddenly leaned forward.

"Jess."

Ryan followed his gaze.

Jessica had just entered.

Her long, moon-shadow-black hair fell across her shoulders, held neatly away from her face by her familiar blue headband. She paused near the aisle and scanned the auditorium, her bright blue eyes moving rapidly across the rows.

Then she spotted them.

Relief transformed her face.

A brilliant smile appeared.

Ryan raised his hand.

Jessica started toward them, only to stop when she noticed there wasn't a single empty seat nearby.

She frowned.

Jax shrugged apologetically.

Jessica pointed toward an open chair several rows below them, then gave both boys a thumbs-up.

Ryan returned it.

She slipped into the seat.

Three.

At least three of them had passed.

Ryan looked toward the doors one last time.

Still no Leo.

A deep chime rolled through the auditorium.

Conversation died almost instantly.

The main doors closed.

THUD.

Heavy locking mechanisms engaged inside the frame.

Ryan stared at them.

The testing period was over.

Leo wasn't here.

Before Ryan could process what that meant, the overhead lights began to dim.

Darkness spread through the auditorium until only strips of cool blue illumination remained along the walls and aisles.

Then two brilliant spotlights snapped on.

A man stepped onto the stage.

Ryan straightened automatically.

The officer looked to be somewhere in his forties, broad through the shoulders and standing with the rigid posture of someone who had spent most of his life in uniform. Silver insignias gleamed against the collar of his dark navy dress uniform, while rows of tactical ribbons covered one side of his chest.

He stopped beneath the lights.

His gaze swept across the auditorium.

Whatever whispers remained disappeared.

"Cadets."

His voice filled the chamber without any visible microphone.

"I am Lieutenant Walker of the Exclipse Army."

Nobody moved.

Walker let the silence stretch before slowly looking across the rows.

"Look around you."

Ryan did.

Hundreds of teenagers filled the auditorium.

Walker extended one hand toward them.

"You are the forty percent."

The words carried differently now.

Ryan thought about the crying girl in the corridor.

"You are the candidates whose bodies successfully accepted an Esoteric catalyst. Your nervous systems endured the exposure. Your cores ignited. As of today, each of you possesses the biological foundation required to become Awakened."

A few smiles appeared around the auditorium.

Ryan felt his own pride returning.

Walker noticed.

His expression remained cold.

"Do not mistake that for victory."

The smiles disappeared.

"Passing the Aptitude Test means only one thing."

Walker stepped toward the edge of the stage.

"You have earned the opportunity to fight."

The auditorium went still.

"Most of you know the Exclipse through broadcasts, recruitment programs, orbital feeds, or combat streams. You have watched Awakened soldiers descend into Dungeons. You have seen officers command starships. You have watched champions perform feats that an ordinary human could never hope to replicate."

Ryan immediately thought of Darkstar.

The shadows.

The alien battlefield.

The millions of viewers watching him fight.

"Those broadcasts show you what the Exclipse can accomplish," Walker continued. "They do not show you what is required to get there."

He raised one hand.

A massive holographic display erupted above the stage.

Earth appeared first.

The planet rotated slowly beneath them, blue oceans and white clouds rendered in astonishing detail.

Then something enormous materialized beside it.

The orbital station.

Ryan leaned forward.

Even as a hologram, its scale was difficult to comprehend.

Great armored rings surrounded a central structure stretching kilometers through space. Warships moved around it like insects, while dozens of smaller vessels traveled between Earth and the station.

Walker turned toward the projection.

"The Exclipse is not merely a military branch."

More holographic objects appeared.

Fleets.

Colonies.

Planetary installations.

Dungeon sites.

"The Exclipse is humanity's unified vanguard beyond Earth."

The projection changed.

A towering alien figure appeared beside Earth.

Zorvak.

"A century ago, humanity entered the protection of the Zorvak. Under Lord Vorthan's authority, we were granted access to knowledge, technology, and Esoteric resources that transformed our species."

Images flashed above them.

Human cities.

Orbital shipyards.

Awakened soldiers.

Colonies beneath unfamiliar skies.

"Look at what humanity has built beneath that covenant," Walker said. "Whatever hardships await you, remember where that strength came from. Our duty to Lord Vorthan is absolute."

Ryan stared upward.

The words were familiar.

He'd heard versions of them his entire life.

At school.

On broadcasts.

During the anthem.

On military recruitment feeds.

But something about hearing them now felt different.

Yesterday, he had been sitting safely at home watching stream chat flood past beneath Darkstar's battle. People had joked about alien overlords and corrupt officers while Ryan ate dinner and dreamed about fame.

Here, nobody was joking.

His father was somewhere beyond Earth because of this system.

Soon Ryan would be too.

The hologram shifted again.

The orbital station expanded until its internal structure became visible. Strike fleets formed around it while glowing lines stretched outward toward distant worlds.

"The Exclipse exists to project human power beyond our atmosphere and contain hostile forces before they can reach our worlds," Walker continued.

New images appeared.

Dungeon entrances.

Alien creatures.

Battlefields.

"We enter Dungeons. We eliminate hostile Elven forces, Dwarven warbands, Orc raiders, Gnomish constructs, and every other threat capable of emerging from those gates."

Ryan watched holographic soldiers descend toward a glowing Dungeon entrance.

"We operate orbital defense grids. We command offensive drop fleets. We secure Esoteric resources. We reclaim infested territory. We defend human colonies across the galaxy."

Walker turned back toward them.

"And every starship, drop pod, pulse cannon, and Awakened soldier under our command ultimately serves the authority of Lord Vorthan."

The hologram dimmed slightly.

"Ordinary humans cannot operate most Vanguard equipment. Nor can they survive prolonged exposure to the concentrations of Esoteric Energy encountered in deep space and active Dungeon zones."

Walker's gaze traveled across the room.

"That is why the Exclipse needs people like you."

Ryan's fingers tightened around the armrests.

"Your cores have ignited. Your bodies can now learn to channel Esoteric Energy."

Walker paused.

"As of today, you are no longer ordinary civilians."

Something in his expression hardened.

"You are assets of the Exclipse."

The sentence struck Ryan strangely.

Not heroes.

Not warriors.

Assets.

Around him, several students shifted in their seats.

Walker continued as if he hadn't noticed.

"Now you need to understand what happens next."

The hologram vanished.

The room darkened.

Walker held up one finger.

"One month from today, you will say goodbye to your families."

Ryan stopped breathing.

"You will pack what belongings you are permitted to bring. You will report to your assigned launch facility. From there, you will board an orbital shuttle."

Walker's gaze swept across them.

"And you will leave Earth."

The words hit Ryan harder than the catalyst pulse had.

One month.

A murmur immediately spread across the auditorium.

Ryan barely heard it.

Thirty days.

That was all.

Thirty breakfasts at home, give or take.

Thirty nights beneath the same roof as his mother and Sarah.

Four weekends.

Then he would be gone.

His mother's face surfaced in his mind.

The exhaustion she tried to hide.

The way she'd looked at him across the dinner table.

Then Sarah.

Do you want to leave because of me?

Ryan swallowed.

He'd spent years dreaming about leaving Earth.

He'd imagined the shuttle.

The station.

The stars.

The moment the planet disappeared beneath him.

He'd never really imagined the goodbye.

Walker's voice cut through the rising whispers.

"You will ascend to the Exclipse orbital station. There, your actual training begins."

The hologram returned.

This time, the station filled the entire space above the stage.

"You have ignited your cores. You are not yet fully Awakened."

Ryan's attention sharpened.

"That transformation requires training, controlled exposure, and specialization. You will learn to circulate Esoteric Energy through your body. You will discover the nature of your individual abilities and learn how to develop them."

Ryan's earlier anxiety loosened slightly.

Abilities.

His pulse quickened.

This was the part he'd dreamed about.

Walker continued.

"You will undergo physical conditioning, tactical combat instruction, zero-gravity training, weapons certification, Dungeon survival exercises, and core-evolution programs."

Images appeared alongside him.

Cadets fighting inside training chambers.

Soldiers maneuvering in zero gravity.

Awakened warriors surrounded by glowing energy.

Ryan couldn't tear his eyes away.

Then Walker delivered the next sentence.

"For the next five years, your lives belong to the Exclipse."

Silence.

Ryan's excitement vanished again.

Five years.

Not five months.

Not one deployment.

Five years.

Half a decade.

He would be twenty by the time training ended.

His father had once stood where Ryan stood now.

He had heard some version of this same speech.

Then he'd left.

And somewhere along the way, visits home had become rare.

Calls became shorter.

Birthdays passed without him.

Ryan looked down at his hand.

It was trembling.

He slowly closed it into a fist.

Five years was a long time.

Long enough for Sarah to grow up without him.

Long enough for his mother to spend years worrying about two people instead of one.

Long enough for everything at home to change.

But beneath those fears, Ryan felt the faint warmth of his new core.

Power had a price.

He'd always known that.

Maybe he'd just never understood how much of the payment came before you ever became powerful.

Ryan tightened his fist.

He hadn't come this far to stop now.

If five years was what it took to become strong enough to protect his family, then he would endure five years.

If becoming Awakened gave him the money and influence to help his mother, he would become Awakened.

And if getting stronger could somehow help bring his father home—

Then Ryan would get stronger.

Whatever it took.

Walker paced slowly across the stage.

"The Exclipse will demand more from you than anything you have experienced on Earth. Your bodies will be pushed beyond ordinary human limits. Your cores will be placed under strain. You will be expected to master combat disciplines most civilians will never witness."

His boots struck the stage with measured precision.

"You will learn to fight in environments where gravity, atmosphere, and even the laws governing Esoteric Energy may differ from what you know."

He stopped.

"You will learn how to enter a Dungeon."

The auditorium seemed to become colder.

"You will learn how to survive inside one."

A pause.

"And you will learn how to kill whatever is waiting for you on the other side."

Nobody whispered now.

"The Exclipse demands discipline. There will be no room for self-pity when a squad depends on you. No room for hesitation when hesitation means someone else dies. Your assignments will become more difficult with every term, and not everyone sitting in this auditorium will complete the program."

Ryan glanced toward Jessica several rows below.

She was staring straight ahead.

Jax had stopped joking entirely.

Walker returned to the center of the stage.

"But those who complete those five years will emerge as fully trained Awakened officers of the Exclipse."

The massive holographic station hovered behind him.

Earth turned slowly beneath it.

Walker straightened.

Then he brought his right fist sharply across his chest in a military salute.

Hundreds of students watched him in complete silence.

"When your training is finished, you will take your place among those defending humanity across the stars."

His gaze hardened.

"Your childhood ends in thirty days."

Ryan's breath caught.

"Use them wisely."

The holographic Earth disappeared.

Only the Exclipse insignia remained suspended above the stage.

Lieutenant Walker held his salute.

"Welcome to the Exclipse, cadets."

Ryan stared at the insignia.

He could still feel his core burning faintly beneath his chest.

Thirty days.

Then Earth would be behind him.