Kara and I fell into a normal daily routine fairly quickly. I made her breakfast, followed her to work and was bored, I made her lunch, we trained both physically and mentally, she berated me for not listening to her advice, I made her supper, and we went to bed. I could see her becoming more frustrated with me as time went on, and neither of us were going to compromise our beliefs to make the other one happy.

She kept trying to change me and I flatly refused to change. Days turned into weeks and then into months, and Kara and I barely spoke to each other in a casual manner as we went about our daily routine. There was no hatred or animosity between us, though. We were like oil and water together in the same container; but, we wouldn't mix together, no matter how much you shook or stirred that container.

Lashina would pop around at random times to try and settle our differences; but, since Kara had her own agenda that was completely separate from mine, Lashina's efforts met with the same amount of success as Kara's efforts to undermine my abilities and weaken me to be susceptible to her influence. I had to admire both of them for their persistence; but, I wasn't going to give in to Kara even a little bit, so Lashina's efforts were for naught and a waste of time.

When Kara and I fought in the training grounds, she didn't hold back at all and I learned a lot from her. She in turn had learned to be wary of my invisible boxes and had started to use Detect Presence during those training sessions. I had been tempted a few times to make a few and scatter them around the apartment; but, I remembered the first time she had been seriously hurt when she tripped over one, so I refrained from using them outside the training area and she never tripped over one there.

Months turned into years, and just as Lashina had predicted, it passed by faster than I thought it would. I had grown a lot when I hit puberty and was still growing. My height was almost at six feet and my hair had grown impossibly long and I always wore it tied up in a ponytail, despite Lashina's protests. She really liked seeing me with my hair down, and I suspected that Kara did, too. Since I didn't want to let her think I was starting to soften in my resolve, I kept my hair restrained and Lashina stayed disappointed.

My sixteenth birthday approached at breakneck speed and Lashina kept coming around to spend time with Kara and I. Kara had stopped a long time ago from trying to tell Lashina 'no' when she asked to come over, and I always enjoyed her company because the sound of her laugh was always nice to hear.

I had also discovered that Lashina had very creative ways to flash her underwear at me without Kara noticing or even suspecting. I looked forward to it each and every time, because I could never predict when it was going to happen and it was always a surprise. The best part was that she never wore the same pair of panties twice. I had no idea where she was getting them and I never asked. It would ruin the mystique and lessen the surprise if I knew. Lashina always gave me a demure and sexy smile, and I suspected that she thought the same way, because she didn't volunteer the information, either.

It was unfortunate that all of our well-laid plans changed the day of my birthday.

I woke up as if it was any other day, and knew that today was going to be my day to tell The Order to shove it. Both Kara and I got dressed and were about to leave the apartment when there was a knock on the door.

“It's probably Lashina again.” Kara said.

“No, it's not.” I said as my Detect Presence ability let me look through the wall and I saw two guards. “Two guards are waiting for us.”

“What?” Kara turned and looked for herself, and I saw her confusion. “What in the world do they want?” She asked and opened the door.

“Master Moor. Apprentice Ullir. Please come with us.”

“Why?”

“Urgent council business.”

“I'm on the council.” Kara said.

“This way, please.”

Kara looked at the guard for another moment, then looked at me. “Your coming of age ceremony will have to wait.”

“As they planned, no doubt.” I said.

“Ullir.”

“We should go.” I said and nodded to the guards. “We shouldn't keep the assholes waiting.”

“Hey!” One of the guards said and unhooked his laser pistol from his belt.

“I meant the council assholes, not you assholes.” I said.

“Oh.” The guard said and hooked his gun back onto his belt. “Follow us, please.”

Kara smiled at me as we left her apartment. She hadn't missed that I had still called the guards assholes. We followed the guards all the way to the council chambers and saw that the large stone doors were already open. The guards took up their positions on either side of the doors and Kara and I walked inside the council chamber.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” The scaly alien said.

“What are you talking about?” Kara asked him. “I was coming here to work and the guards interrupted me.”

The scaly alien looked at Gruskluan, the not-fluffy anymore alien, and then back at Kara. Apparently he wasn't sure how to continue if the script they had written was interrupted.

“What kind of urgent mission do you have to send us on?” I asked.

Everyone looked at me in surprise, because it was the first time I had spoken inside the chamber since I had started coming here with Kara almost four years ago.

“Well? What is it?” I asked.

“We've discovered the whereabouts of a bounty hunter that has been targeting Order members.” The scaly alien said. “The latest communique states that he's holed up in a small planetary system near the Shara Nebula.”

“Why haven't we sent a member of The Order and a guard squad to deal with it?” Kara asked.

“That's what we are going to do.” Gruskluan, the not-fluffy anymore alien said. “We've chosen to send you.”

“I can't go.” Kara said. “My duties on the council...”

“...will still be here when you come back.” The scaly alien said.

“But...”

“There's a prepped shuttle on the priority landing pad waiting for you.”

“I need to pack.” Kara said in an attempt to stall for time.

“The shuttle is fully prepped for the both of you. If you need any additional supplies, you can procure what you need when you reach the relay point.” The scaly alien said.

“But... Ullir...”

“You can celebrate his birthday when you get back.”

No one spoke for several moments, and then a shrieking yell broke the silence as it came near the council chamber.

“Nooooooo!” Lashina cried as she ran down the hallway and entered the council chamber before anyone knew she was there. “You can't do this!” She spat at the council.

“Master Oleneth, it's only a quick mission.” Gruskluan, the not-fluffy anymore alien said.

“Liar!” Lashina exclaimed, and the whole council caught their breath. “You blame Ullir for your condition and you are delaying his adulthood ceremony out of spite!”

“Of course I blame him! Who else could it be?” Gruskluan asked in outrage. “Look at me! I'm hideous!”

“You were hideous before.” I said, and he glared at me.

“You keep quiet!” Gruskluan spat at me.

“You didn't catch him doing it and you don't have any proof!” Lashina said. “Even if he did do it, you can't punish him by denying his right to become an adult!”

“After he goes on this mission, the council will acknowledge his right to make his own decisions.” The scaly alien said.

“I'm surprised you waited until now.” I said calmly, and he looked at me. “If you had been smart, you would have sent me on a mission after I graduated.” I looked at all of their faces and saw guilt there. “Oh, I see. You tried to; but, your own code of ethics forbade you from sending a child on a dangerous mission.”

None of them said anything, and I chuckled.

“Now that I'm not legally a child, even though I haven't had the official ceremony, you can order me to go... and by your rules, I can't refuse.” I said, and they remained quiet. Even Kara couldn't refute my statement. I turned to her and motioned to the rest of the council. “I told you these guys were assholes.” I said. “The proof hurts, doesn't it?”

“Ullir.” Kara sighed.

“What? It's not like I can say anything that will make them change their minds, is there?”

“No, there isn't.” Kara said. “You also don't need to confirm their belief that this is necessary.”

I laughed. “I've worked very hard to make them believe that I'm not worth having around.”

“If you are sending him on a dangerous mission, then you need to return his belongings to him before he goes.” Lashina said.

“There's no need for...” The scaly alien started to say, and Lashina held a hand out to him and closed his mouth with Presence.

“He is an adult and they are his possessions.” Lashina said. “Unless you want to confirm, publicly, that you stole them and intend to keep his things, you need to return them to him right now.”

Gruskluan nodded to one of the guards and he left the chamber. It took almost ten minutes for him to return with a small sack and put it on the council table. Lashina went to the table and picked up the sack and brought it over to me.

“Ullir.” Lashina said in a sad voice and held out the sack. “Don't go.”

“Unfortunately, I have to.” I said and tucked the sack into my robes and hugged her. I was much taller than her now and her head barely touched my chest. “I'm going to miss your laugh the most.”

“Liar.” Lashina giggled as she looked up at my face and shook her head. “We both know what you're really going to miss the most.”

“Yeah, but I can't say things like that in public.” I said, then knelt on one knee to put our faces at the same height.

“Oh, Ullir.” Lashina said as she put her arms around my neck and kissed me right in front of everyone. I wasn't going to be shown up by her, so I put my arms back around her and gave as good as I got. I even pulled an absurd amount of Presence into myself and pushed it into her. Her whole body glowed and she moaned a very loud and womanly moan. Every single person in the chamber, except us, were made extremely uncomfortable by the sound... which I knew was exactly her intent.

Lashina broke the kiss and let my neck go. “Goodbye, Ullir.”

I leaned in close to hug her again and whispered in her ear. “Please, call me Aaron.”

Lashina shivered in my arms and she kissed my cheek, then she hugged me back and whispered in my ear. “In one year from today, I will be on the Sarcusan Station in the Halman Sector. I will be stationed there for one week, and you will come to see me.”

“I can't promise that...”

“You promised me your first time.” Lashina whispered and bit my earlobe. “I haven't been with anyone in a very long time and I want to break my chastity vow with you.”

“Lashina, I...”

“I love you, Aaron.” Lashina whispered and leaned back to look into my eyes, then gave me a tender kiss on the lips. “Godspeed, Apprentice Ullir.” She said in a normal voice and let me go. I let her go as well and stood. She quickly left the council chamber and didn't look back.

“This is all very touching; but, you need to go.” The scaly alien said.

“Just a minute.” I said and took out the sack and opened it. Inside were crumpled papers, the two unmarked credit chips, the passkey, and the two cylinders. I dug them out of the sack and held them out to the council. “The focusing crystals are missing from these.”

“They are rogue weapons and were disabled.”

“No, they were mine and you disabled them for no reason.” I said. “Where are the crystals?”

“Destroyed.”

“Liar.” I said when I felt a slight disturbance in the flow of Presence. “You wouldn't waste such a valuable resource like... oh.” I shook my head and sighed. “You took them and gave them to other people to use them in their own Light swords.”

He didn't respond and I put the empty cylinders back in the sack.

“Where's my father's laser pistol?” I asked. “It's not here in the sack, either.”

“It was...”

“If you lie again and claim it was a rogue weapon and was disabled, I will destroy this council chamber.” I said, and everyone sat up straight.

“Are you threatening us?” The scaly alien asked.

“Yes.” I said, and I saw shock on everyone's faces. “I know you all think I don't remember, but I do. I remember everything you've done to me.” I said. “You killed my parents, kidnapped me, gave me a nanny to raise me, then took her from me five years early without notice and I had to learn to live on my own. The entire time I've been here, you forced me to stay against my will and I had to play by your rules.”

Everyone was quiet, because none of them detected any lies from me, or could dispute the facts.

“You've stolen my Light sword focusing crystals for your own use and you won't hand over a laser pistol that no one in The Order would use, let alone want to keep.” I said. “So, where is the weapon?”

No one spoke and I let my anger rise as I gathered a massive amount of Presence around me.

“Actually, I could probably let stealing the weapons go, because those aren't really that important to me. Not really.” I said. “What pisses me off is that my mother's locket is missing.”

“What locket?” The scaly alien asked, and I laughed.

“You lying ASSHOLES!” I yelled and made a Presence Hand for each of them and placed them around all of their necks and squeezed. “GIVE. ME. MY. MOTHER'S. LOCKET.”

“Ullir! Let them go!” Kara exclaimed and started to gather Presence around herself. I made the Presence around myself solid and did the same with the Presence Hands holding the council's necks.

“I have had enough of their lies and petty schemes.” I said in a deadly voice and looked at them. “Return my property... all of it... or you are all going to die.”

“Drop him!” A guard yelled and opened fire with a laser pistol, as did his partner. The lasers did nothing to my solid shield. “Switch to rifles!”

“They aren't going to work.” I said and used Presence to pop the charge release on them and the guns powered down.

“Ullir, don't make me do this.” Kara said, disappointment in her voice.

“I thought you were the nice one of the bunch, Kara.” I said and turned to look at her and saw tears in her eyes. “Out of all of them, I had hoped that you would agree that stealing my things and treating me the way they did was wrong.”

“I... I can't defy the council.” Kara said and drew her Light sword.

“I was only a child, Kara; but, I'm not a child anymore. Not only will I defy them, I'll do it to spite them!” I exclaimed and covered her face in Presence and made it solid to distract her, then I sucked all of the Presence out of her before she could defend herself or blocked me. She collapsed into unconsciousness from loss of air and I absorbed the solid Presence I had used to cover her face, so she could breathe.

I felt something fly close to me and caught it with another Presence Hand. It was a little taxing to use so many of them at once; but, I had huge sources of Presence right in front of me and I used them judiciously. Rather than wait for the grenade to explode, I used the Presence I was absorbing from the council to disassemble it in seconds, then removed the light emitter and crushed it. The guards stood there with their mouths open and stared at me.

“I spent a lot of time in the barracks.” I said in explanation and created a wall of energy out of the air between the door and the council and made it solid with Presence. “Now.” I turned to the members of the council. “Mr. Scaly Alien.” I said and picked him up by his neck using the Presence Hand I held him with. “Tell me where to find my property, or we will see if your species really can regrow an arm.”

The scaly alien's hands started to glow, and I laughed.

“Really? I have you and ten others by the necks and I'm about to kill you if you don't comply, and you're going to try and fight me?” I asked, and he scowled at me. “It's not going to happen.”

I covered all of their hands with Presence and made it solid. Some of them gasped as I disabled their only real means of offence. I eased the Presence Hands around their necks so they could take several breaths, then tightened them again. I drew my Light sword and activated it, then used another Presence Hand to grab the scaly alien's arm and lifted it out to the side.

“Now, tell me what I want to know.” I said and held the sword near his arm.

“You wouldn't dare maim a member of the council.” The scaly alien spat at me.

“Is it maiming if I know it'll grow back?” I asked and smiled at him. “This could be quick and painful or slow and very painful.” I said and cut through his robes to see where his shoulder was. “Start talking.”

“Go to hell.” The scaly alien said.

“You have always underestimated me.” I said and touched his arm with the Light sword.

“ARGH!”

“You believe that I hold your lives in high regard, and you couldn't be farther from the truth.” I said. “You are scum. The worst of the worst.” I said and slowly moved the sword through his arm as he screamed. It took almost ten seconds to cut it all the way through, because of how slowly I was doing it, then his severed arm flopped to the floor and twitched several times. “You see, I know all about what self-righteous fanatics believe is right, and they don't care who they hurt or kill, as long as their fanaticism is justified.”

The scaly alien almost passed out, so I pushed Presence into his head to keep him conscious.

“You don't see what you do as evil, because you're so blinded by your beliefs.” I said. “I, on the other hand, was a victim of those beliefs and I know you don't deserve mercy, let alone deserve to live.”

“S-s-stop.” Gruskluan, the not-fluffy anymore alien said. “I'll... I'll tell you what you want to know.”

“Good.” I said. “After being stuck here for twelve goddamn years, I am sick to death of your sanctimonious holier-than-thou bullshit.”

“Please, let us go.” One of the other council members said as she struggled against the Presence Hand around her neck.

“If the information is correct, I promise to let you all go.” I said.

“Unharmed?” Gruskluan asked. When I nodded, he told me everything I needed to know.

(Undecipherable), the blue skinned and black horned alien that had kidnapped me for The Order, had both my father's laser pistol and my mother's locket.