Anand sat with his phone to his ear. It was the seventh time he tried to call his father. After the third time, he knew it was pointless but hoped something would change. It was obvious his father’s disappearance had to do with the rift. It was the only thing that made sense.

He hopped on a bus going towards the parking garage. He rested his head against the window. Normally he’d think it was too disgusting to even touch but that didn’t matter right now. Streets that were cracked and shattered not twelve hours ago were now almost completely repaired. The GDFs ability to fix things was astonishing. He hoped that would be the case with his father.

The bus slowed to a stop that was a few blocks away from Anand’s destination. He walked towards it and passed by the row of cars waiting to get in. Doing his best to remain hidden, he snuck to the teleporter and inputted his destination.

“So, what are you doing here so early? Don’t you have class?” Alec asked as Anand stepped out of the teleporter. It seemed like Alec wasn’t surprised by the recruit’s presence.

“Uh… My father is missing,” Anand replied.

Anger flashed across Alec’s face.

“With me,” he commanded and started to walk away.

The halls were the emptiest Anand had ever seen. More agents than were normally in the Midwest base were gathered in the hangar. It had been quarantined to examine the massive Golem tail. Everyone had different tools to poke and prod at it while taking notes. Another group of agents was researching the smaller Oghrodi tail with similar vigor.

While Anand was mesmerized by the sight, Alec had gotten farther away. Anand jogged to catch up as they turned the corner. They entered an auditorium where all the BEAR pilots from the base were gathered. Team Lucky was sitting at the front and Director Graves stood at the podium.

“Thank you for joining us, Agent Barkley,” she said sternly and furrowed her brow upon seeing Anand. “What is Agent Desai doing here?”

“Why don’t you tell her, Anand?” Alec replied.

Anand took a deep breath and said, “My father is missing. I’ve tried calling him and he won’t respond. I need to know what happened after he entered his Runner.”

Director Graves sighed and kneaded her forehead.

“Come. Sit down and listen,” she instructed. “We had planned to debrief the Glaive teams later.”

As Anand sat by his mentors he noticed they all wore grim expressions.

“Get on with it,” Boss said sharply. “Tell him what’s going on, Director.”

Director Graves shook her head and explained, “As you know, yesterday five rifts appeared all around the world. All of them were within 500 miles of GDF bases. We expected to incur a devastating loss but ended up victorious. It seems all the Oghrodi retreated when the one in Madison was defeated. We believe they weren’t expecting to be defeated on any front and fled the moment one of them was damaged.”

Anand listened intently. He wasn’t sure what this had to do with his father but if he’d learned anything during his training it was to never interrupt his higher ups.

Director Graves continued. “Unfortunately, a Runner got in the middle of the battle. It was meant to be escorted away but ended up unguarded.”

“We went after an Oghrodi…” Anand said meekly.

“You weren’t meant to escort it,” Director Graves said assuredly. “A BEAR was assigned to the Runner but the pilots became preoccupied.”

“The pilots were morons!” Alec exclaimed. “We were handling the Riftwalker and they wanted in on the action so they left their post!”

“If you’re so smart, why didn’t you take over the escort!” A voice yelled back.

A tall man stood up from his seat a few rows behind Anand. Boss loudly cleared his throat to silence everyone.

In monotone he said, “Had certain individuals informed us they were leaving their post, we would have taken over the escort.”

The man hesitated. “We were only gone for a minute.”

Director Graves grumbled. “That minute was long enough for almost 200 people to vanish.” She turned to Anand and said, “I’m sure you’ve already figured out that your father was a passenger on that Runner.”

Anand felt a pounding in his head and heat built up in his face. He’d done everything right—found civilians, got them to a Runner, fought and defeated an Oghrodi. Yet somehow, he still failed. Because someone who was more experienced than him failed to make a voice call! Anand abruptly stood up and turned to face the agent. A hand firmly gripped Anand’s shoulder. He turned and saw Boss slowly shake his head.

“We’ll get everyone back,” he said assuredly. “First, we need to address what happened to the masses. We have to be be prepared for panic once the existence of Oghrodi becomes public knowledge.”

“And we have to deal with them,” Alec added with a nod towards the moron behind Anand.

Anand sighed but didn’t respond. He sat silently while everyone discussed how to do damage control. His mind pounded. Everything was spinning. The lack of restful sleep was catching up to him. His anxiety was skyrocketing and it was only aggravated by the sound of cascading voices around him. Anand stepped out of the room and tried to look calm while he speedily walked towards Team Lucky’s lounge. It felt like the few agents who were still in the halls were staring as Anand passed them. It was hard to tell if they looked at him in awe or with pity. He heel-turned to face someone but they had already walked away. With a red face, Anand continued on his path.

The lounge was the quietest it had ever been. Anand laid on the couch and tried to push through his shortness of breath. It felt like something was clasping his heart and playing with it. He felt dizzy and nauseous but hoped it would pass with some rest. But, his mind raced too much to let him sleep. He didn’t care about how the public would deal with the Oghrodi; Anand wanted to save his dad.

The plan to save everyone who was kidnapped was what mattered. That’s what the GDF needed to focus on. Anand wished he could have stayed in the planning meeting. At least so he knew every option. He had no clue what could be happening right now and felt powerless.

He had planned to brag to Arjun about a successful mission. About how he was wrong and Anand wasn’t a failure. All his training and everything he’d learned paid off. Even if Arjun wouldn’t accept it, Anand could finally shove his success in his father’s face. Now the chance was gone. What if Anand never got the chance again? What if Arjun thought Anand was a failure for the rest of his life? What if that life was cut short?

Anand was jostled awake by a concerned Eve.

“Hey, you were muttering in your sleep. You okay?” she asked while kneeling on the ground next to him.

“We heard what happened from Boss,” Ray said. He was sitting on the chair near Anand’s legs. “I’m really sorry, buddy.”

Eve punched his shoulder. “His dad isn’t dead!”

“Ow! I know!” Ray huffed. “I meant like, ‘I’m sorry. This is a sucky situation.’ I’m sure Arjun’s fine. He won’t fold easily. He’s stubborn.” He saw Anand looking towards him with a furrowed brow and continued. “Arjun is… he’s tough! Yeah! And smart! He’s gutsy and I mean he helped raise you. And Sonia! You guys are great!”

“Ray,” Anand said.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Shut up.”

“You got it, buddy.”

Anand sat up and cleared his throat. “Did Boss elaborate on the plan for telling the public about the Oghrodi?”

“He was in a hurry to get to the press conference actually,” Eve answered. She turned the volume up on the TV behind her.

On a small stage, behind a podium, stood Director Graves wearing her medal adorned GDF uniform. To her right stood Boss in an equally imposing manner, albeit with less awards.

“Who is that?” Anand asked and nodded at the person standing to the left of Director Graves.

Eve furrowed her brow and replied, “It’s Tori. It says so on her uniform.”

“Holy cow. She looks so different.”

“There’s no reason to be that put together when working on machines.”

“I guess,” Anand replied softly as he listened to the conference.

Director Graves continued her speech. “-the Runner’s defenses were overpowered. No civilians or agents were able to leave the vehicle and were taken through the rift. We can only assume they are currently in the hands of the Oghrodi.”

The crowd shouted questions and curses alike. Anand felt overwhelmed hearing it through the TV. He couldn’t imagine how Director Graves remained so composed.

“Let it be known, we already have a plan underway to retrieve everyone,” she explained. “Our Lead Engineer and Lead BEAR Pilot will be heading the operation which will take place in the coming weeks. Are there any questions?”

The crowd erupted again and Director Graves pointed at someone.

“To retrieve the kidnapped individuals, you would need to go where the… Ah, yes, Oghrodi are, correct? How exactly do you plan to open a rift?” the reporter asked.

“During yesterday’s incident, we acquired the means to open a rift,” Boss answered candidly.

Another voice piped up. “Where will you open the rift? Can you guarantee no Oghrodi will come through?”

“We have open space in a secure location that will be used for the operation,” Tori answered. “All BEARs will be on standby for any Riftwalkers that come through.”

She paused and looked quizzically to Director Graves. She nodded and Tori let out a long breath.

“As to your question regarding the Oghrodi, we cannot be sure if none will come through,” Tori said. “However, the GDF has created a defense to fight back against them.”

The large display behind Tori powered on and showed a familiar diagram.

“This is a Glaive,” she explained. “It is a high-powered suit worn by select agents to combat the Oghrodi. Some of you may have seen pictures floating around of some that were present during yesterday's events. These will be our defense if any Oghrodi come through the rift.”

The crowd started to ask questions but Tori plowed through.

“I know many of you are wondering what Glaives can do. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to reveal that at this time,” she said. “What matters is, they are each capable of going toe to toe against an Oghrodi.”

As the crowd grew louder, Director Graves put out a hand and silenced them.

“Our goal is to utilize the BEARs and Glaives to combat any unwanted threats while also entering the rift to retrieve the lost individuals. This operation is of utmost importance and failure is not an option. We thank you for your curiosity but must remain silent about certain aspects of our institution.” She looked directly at the camera and said, “Please trust that we will return your loved ones safely.”

With that comment, she and the rest of the agents left the stage.

After several minutes, the door of the lounge opened. Boss entered with his team, Tori following closely behind.

Eve immediately said, “I feel like this is going to make people panic.”

“That’s guaranteed,” Boss replied. “But this is an unprecedented situation. At least now they know what’s happening and we can focus on the plan.”

“And what exactly is the plan?”

“I know we need a rift but that’s the easy part, isn’t it?” Anand asked calmly while turning to Tori. “I’m guessing you’ve got something we can work with.”

Tori grinned but caught herself and kept a straight face.

“I won’t bore you with the details but I will tell you some of the important stuff we learned from the tails we got yesterday.” She spoke at a rapid speed and with more energy than even Ray could normally muster. “Ever since the Origin Stone crash landed on Earth, we’ve been studying it to advance technology at an unprecedented rate. The first Riftwalker forced us to create the BEARs and Runners and what not. Then we got a handle on teleportation. Now we have the Glaives. Well, guess what?” Tori asked and looked at everyone expectantly.

“Um… what?” Ray replied.

“The Riftwalkers are just BEARs! Well, not exactly... but it’s pretty darn close. They’re more organic and seem to have synthesized organs inside. So, they are alive but also only function when connected to an Oghrodi pilot. But get this, they don’t need to be inside to sync up. It’s bananas!”

“So, the pilots can be on the ground—outside of the Riftwalkers while they rampage around,” Eve replied.

“Exactly!” Tori squealed. “And here’s the most important thing; they use Cahlium as an energy source. Like we do! It’s likely why they want the Origin Stone. Having a massive, almost indestructible power source is a huge boon. Again, look at humanity. We’ve advanced so much in two decades.” Tori paused and caught her breath.

“But, that brings me to another note. Cahlium isn’t just located in the big chunks of stone; it’s in the air, in our food… and in our blood. Even newborns have it in their DNA now. Cahlium has mutated everything and everyone over the last ten years. I’m sure it’s part of the reason Glaives work now and the old prototypes didn’t.”

“What? Why wouldn’t you tell us that before?” Anand asked. “You’re saying humans have evolved! That’s huge!”

“Not just humans. Earth has evolved. It just took everyone with it,” Tori explained. “The mutation didn’t seem all that important before. And regardless, Cahlium is still primarily a power source. As long as it's properly used, even a human can be a battery. Though, one human couldn’t power anything.”

Anand gasped. “But if there’s almost 200, they can probably power a Riftwalker.”

“Yeah. The good news is that it would only be a temporary power source,” Tori replied. “The bad news is that it would kill the people that are-”

Boss stopped Tori from continuing as Anand was visibly shaking. His body was covered in goosebumps and his mind raced. He let out a couple of short breaths and tried to calm down..

“Alright. How do we save the captives?” he asked.

Tori smiled widely. “Confident as ever, I see.” She gestured everyone into the meeting room and pulled up a hologram of Golem’s tail.

“I’m not sure if you guys know this but the Riftwalker tail wasn’t cut off. It fell off. I assume it was as a result of you cutting the Oghrodi’s,” she explained and pointed at a red dot near the base of the tail. “Right here, is a sort of beacon that triggered when the tail fell off. According to our findings, the beacon shut off a few seconds after the Oghrodi left. I’m guessing there was too much distance between the power source and the beacon itself.”

“We want to trigger that response again, don’t we?” Anand asked.

“Exactly. Once my team is ready to power the beacon, we hope to attract the Riftwalker with it.”

Boss let out a low grumble while examining the hologram and said, “While I understand the plan, I have some concerns. Calling a Riftwalker to Earth is asking for trouble. It will endanger civilians and agents alike. Not to mention our secrets and technology. Isn’t there anything within the tails to produce a rift?”

“Sadly, no. We’ve always assumed there would be something within the Riftwalker but it’s definitely not in the tail,” Tori explained. “I’m sure the Oghrodi would send another Riftwalker to retrieve the tail if we trigger the beacon, though. We just have to take care of the new one and use its rift to find the lost humans.”

“Where exactly are we going to summon them?” Anand asked.

“Old Nebraska. The entire state is a massive abandoned field. It will work perfectly for this operation,” Tori replied. “We’ll connect both severed tails to Papa BEAR and use its Cahlium core to make a feedback loop. That should trigger the distress signal. Hopefully, it’ll reach the Oghrodi and they’ll send someone to retrieve their equipment.”

Boss took a deep breath before he spoke. “It will be the Glaives’ job to defeat the Oghrodi that come through. It seems guaranteed they will come through based on our past findings. You’ll also need to be able to defeat them without the net. It clearly isn’t as strong as we hoped. Once we take care of whatever comes through the rift, we’ll rush it.”

“What’s the plan once we get inside?” Anand asked.

“You’re not going inside,” Boss replied. “My team will be handling retrieval of the civilians. Even if we don’t have Glaives, we have far more experience than you three. We don’t know what’s on the other side of the rifts. Whatever there is, someone with strong mental fortitude needs to face it. I’m sure the Oghrodi coming to Earth are wholly different than the ones on the other side of the rifts.”

Anand hesitated but didn’t argue.

“Are you at least going to take out the Oghrodi?” he pleaded, “Or destroy whatever base they’re using? How much longer do we have to wait till we fight back?”

“We can’t jump the gun on this, Anand,” Boss said calmly.

“Jump the gun?!” Anand yelled. “They’ve destroyed a bunch of cities across the globe and killed countless people. And that was collateral damage. Now they’re directly targeting us! For crying out loud, our plan involves using a state that no longer exists! If we have the chance to take them out without a big battle, we should be jumping at it.”

Boss sighed and kneaded his temple. “I’ll talk to Director Graves. Team Lucky, go run some scenarios. Tori, help Team Goldilocks with the simulator.”

Before anyone could respond, he walked out of the lounge.

“Seems he’s got a lot on his mind,” JP said.

“More like he’s avoiding the topic,” Anand replied gruffly.

JP sighed. “No. He hasn’t been like this since Laxman died.”

“This mission is probably bringing up some unwanted memories. Old Nebraska is where we lost him.” Conrad reminded Anand.

He was still angry but shut his eyes tightly in shame. He shouldn’t have taken out his anger on the man guiding them.

“Give him some time, he’ll be fine,” Conrad said as he left the lounge with JP and Gale in tow.

“Just focus on your training. We’ll keep you in the loop,” Alec said as he hurriedly followed.

“Will the training simulations be enough?” Eve asked Tori.

Tori pulled up a list of simulations on her tablet. “Boss stayed up all night modifying them based on what we learned from the Riftwalker. The moment he heard about the Runner vanishing, he knew there’d be a lot of work to do. He wants you to forget about capturing the Oghrodi. At least with the old tools.”

“We need to beat them till they can’t fight back,” Anand said.

“Call it what it is,” Ray interjected. “We need to kill them. No two ways about it.”

“Doesn’t sound like something a superhero would do,” Eve chided, trying to lighten the mood.

“Heroes do the hard stuff. This is more of that.”