6:23am, Saturday

“You seem to be sacrificing King’s quite often these days, Shaw.” A tan woman said absently as she stared out a glass window upon a large cavern. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight braid that coiled beside her in her seat like thick rope. On her sleeve was the symbol of General of Zuashi. She pointed to a large structure across the cavern that looked reminisce of a castle from the time of the ancients of ancients. Smoke was snaking out of it, almost obscuring the holographic symbol that hovered above the structure: the symbol of Gavi Quintar. On the exact opposite end of the cavern was the same structure except over this building hovered the symbol of Zuashi.

A multitude of people dressed in all white exited the smoking building followed by just three dressed in all black. They all approached the center between the two structures to stand under the image of a chessboard that hovered for the Generals in the crow’s nest to see. On this chessboard Qavi Quintar was labeled black while Zuashi was labeled white. Mostly white pieces were left on the board. Only the black bishop, black knight, and one black pawns were left standing. In the far corner of the board, the black king was knocked over in surrender as it was surrounded by a white queen, white knight, and two white bishops.

“White team, Zuashi Nation of Qui win. Please confirm General Fakuma of Zuashi.” An automated voice filled the room, saving General Shaw the necessity of answering the woman.

“Confirmed.” The woman replied.

“Confirm accepted. White team, Zuashi Nation of Qui win. Please confirm General Shaw of Gavi Quintar.”

“Confirmed.” General Shaw said with an air of restlessness.

“Confirm accepted. Players are now dismissed.”

Both General Shaw and General Fakuma stood as the people in the cavern started to disburse.

“Good game Shaw.” General Fakuma held out her hand as she turned to face him. Her face was stern and held hard weather lines, but her twinkling dark eyes gave away her triumph.

“You too Fakuma.” General Shaw answered curtly as he took the outstretched hand and gave it a quick shake.

“I’ll send over the papers for the land transfer this afternoon.” General Fakuma said as General Shaw turned to gather his things.

“Fine. Let’s go.” He motioned to Gary who was watching the event from the corner. They walked the short corridor to the fleet of elevators. General Shaw punched the call button and the two men waited in silence. The sound of General Fakuma’s laughter drifted through the hall. “Probably on a call.” General Shaw said through his teeth just as the elevator arrived. Once inside, Gary pushed for the top floor and then stepped back.

Once at their destination, they exited into a square room. On each wall was a set of elevators. Each wall also had a plaque labeling with nation the elevators served. Gavi Quintar on the left wall, Yamara directly across from the elevator the two men had just exited, and Zuashi on the right wall. Once inside these elevators, General Shaw pushed his office number, and the elevator sped off into a long, dark tunnel. A full hour had passed before the two men finally stepped back into General Shaw’s office.

“Another loss.” General Shaw chuckled as he lowered himself into his chair. “They don’t suspect a thing, do they?”

“Doesn’t look like it, sir.” Gary slid into the chair across the desk.

“Good. Let them have the food lands on Mara. I’ll get it all back and more in six months, when I become President.” General Shaw smirked.

“Y—”

“Only six more months, Gary.” General Shaw continued over Gary. “Then I will be President of Qui.”

“Y—”

“Why do they need more food lands anyway?” General Shaw rubbed his chin.

“Zuahsi is currently Qui’s largest holder of PC Bracket lands. That makes for a lot of mouths to feed.” Gary said in one breath before General Shaw could cut him off for a third time.

General Shaw snorted. “Why do they want the PC Bracket lands anyway? They don’t do much good in terms of finder new talent, and it just adds countless mouths to feed. It’s a waste of resources to own that many PC Bracket lands.”

“Perhaps, but that strategy seems to be working for them.” Gary said dryly.

General Shaw snorted. “Quality over quantity, Gary. It’s all about Quality over quantity. It doesn’t matter how many substitutes you have for the Players, but the type of Player on the Chessboard…That’s why Kushman is currently the President.” General Shaw cracked each knuckle slowly as he scrunched his eyes in thought. “When will the prototypes be ready?” He asked suddenly.

“We are still in the process of testing them. If everything runs smoothly, the three of them will be ready by the Presidential Broad Elections match in four months.” Gary said smoothly.

“And in six months? For the Presidential Elections”

“By then, we should have a whole set of Players ready.”

“Good, good.” General Shaw rocked in his chair. “I’m confident that we will make it through the Broad Elections without having to use them, but—”

“They will be ready.” Gary affirmed again.

“Good.” General Shaw sat forward and placed his elbows on the desk. “What’s the situation with the Top Six Younglings?”

“Things are progressing, sir.”

General Shaw snorted. “I’m sure they are…Here.” He tossed Gary a HOL card. That is the data I have on Mrs. Nishk. Analyze it and decide if it holds any pertinent information.”

“Right away, sir—”

A nock came at the door. “Enter.” General Shaw commanded with a slight frown.

“Excuse me sir,” The young assistant stuck her head through the door gap. “But a woman named Vivani is waiting in Gary’s office. She said to tell Gary that something urgent has come up.”

Gary frowned. “Vivani…Excuse me General, but this cannot be ignored.”

“Fine.” General Shaw half sighed half grunted. “But I want a full update on the Younglings by the end of the weekend.”

“Yes sir.” Gary bobbed. He quickly strode past the young assistant and took the shortest possible rout back to his office three buildings away. As he entered his office, a middle-aged woman with pale skin and dull red hair rose to greet him. She had the look of one who had born at least one child, if not more. Yet, her years didn’t seem to weight her down. They only added to the motherly appearance. “Vivani.” Gary smiled and took the woman’s hands in his and gave them a gentle shake. “What can I do for you?”

“I…” Vivani paused, concern written across her face. “I’m worried about my neighbor.”

“Which one?” Gary asked kindly. “I seem to recall you have many neighbors since you live in the circle district.”

“Th-the Wareks. They are such poor dears. To think that they—” Vivani’s face melted into pity.

“Sit down and tell me what is bothering you.” Gary cut her off quickly, motioning to the chair Vivani had risen from.

“Ah, yeh, yeh…But the Warek’s are such poor, gentle dears.” Vivani continued as she sat down again. Gary walked around the desk and sat in his own chair. “Dara had two daughters before she died. The older one, Katlyn, is now eighteen. The younger one, Marty, is turning twelve this year…It broke my heart that they lost their mother sis years ago—”

“Yes, it was a pity. What about them?” Gary asked over Vivani.

“Ah…Well, last week, Katlyn called me in a panic. She said that her sister and father went camping in the Edenyon Mountains and were supposed to have checked with the Park Authorities every day, but they missed a day.”

“Not checking in once isn’t uncommon.” Gary shrugged.

“That’s what I said, but Katlyn said that she called the Park Authorities every day for a week, but still not a word from them.”

“Perhaps they are in an area where the HOL doesn’t work.” Gary frowned slightly.

“Th-that’s what I said as well, but Katlyn, she…” Vivani trailed off, her face going white.

“She?” Gary prompted.

“She’s gone to Edenyon to look for them herself. By herself…” Vivani got even more pale, which was quite a feat considering her already fare complexion. “What if something happens to her? Gary, I’m worried that she will get into trouble. Can you help her?”

“This is Qui, my dear.” Gary said kindly. “It’s perfectly fine for a young woman to go off on her own.”

“Yeh, but this is the Edenyon Mountains, Gary, not some city.” Vivani’s eyes were wide and earnest.

“I don’t quite understand…” Gary’s eyebrows twitched downward.

“The Edenyon Mountains are…” Vivani paused. “The Edenyon Mountains are from the Ancient world. Who knows what are in those mountains…what evils.” Vivani shuddered.

“They are just mountains, my dear.” Gary said calmly.

“They aren’t just mountains.” Vivani looked straight at Gary unblinkingly. Her pale grey eyes steady and as hard as the best Gavi Quintar metal. “They are the home of the Beast of Edenyon.”

Gary smiled like a father smiling at a scared child. “That’s just a local folktale. There is nothing to be scared of.”

“But—”

“But I will send my two boys to Edenyon to find Katlyn, if that will ease your mind.” Gary continued over Vivani.

The woman pursed her lips and nodded. “Thank you. I knew I could count on you…it’s just…well ever since my own girl…” She trailed off.

“I know.” Gary came around the desk and took Vivani’s hand again. “Those two girls remind you of your own…I know.” He patted the hand.

“She would have been Katlyn’s age by now.” Vivani looked up at Gary with eyes that seemed to be looking at the past, not the present.

“Don’t worry. My boys will find Katlyn.” Gary repeated. “Now let’s get you home.” Gary pushed a button on his desk.

“Sir?” A woman’s voice filled the room.

“Larka, please call Mrs. Zorwik a BubbleME.” Gary said.

“Right away sir.” The woman replied.

“C’mmon.” Gary helped Mrs. Zorwik to her feet and walked her to the door. “The BubbleME will be there by the time you reach the ground floor.”

“Th-thank you.” Mrs. Zorkik said. Her face showing her years in weary lines that tugged on the corner of her eyes.

“My pleasure. Besides, I made a promise to help out the Warek’s at their mother’s funeral. I hate to break that promise now.”

Mrs. Zorwik just smiled, squeezed Gary’s arm, then turned and left. Gary waited until the woman entered the elevator before closing the door and striding quickly back to his desk.

“Falcon, Arko and Janarha please come to my office.” Gary spoke into his HOL as he sat behind his desk once again. “Beast of Edenyon…” He chuckled to himself. “To believe in such a thing in this age is completely ridiculous.” Gary tapped his desk and a holographic interface appeared. He began tapping various items, and several folders and documents appeared. NATHAN SHAX was written across the top on the foremost document. Gary took this document and enlarged it before he began to read the text. He didn’t get far before a light knock sounded on the door. “Enter.” Gary commanded.

“Sir?” A woman peaked her head into the room. On her nose sat elegantly framed glasses.

“Come in, come in.” Gary motioned. The woman entered the room. She was tall and thin—her legs seemed no bigger than umbrella rods—and she was carrying what seemed to be a notebook. Her black hair was tied back in a tight bun that pulled her dark complexioned face into a grim line. Her impeccably white coat flowed behind her as she walked quickly to the open chair and sat in it with a laughable determination to complete the task given.

“You called, sir?” Janarha’s voice had a thick Mara’an accent.

“Yes. There are a few things I need you for a few things…but I’m glad to see you are you are putting the new HOLPad to good use.” Gary remarked dryly.

“…Did you bring me up here, away from my work, to see if I was using the new tech you ordered?”

Janarha asked, her mouth puckering in distatste.

Before Gary could reply, another knock sounded. “Would you get that, Janarha?”

Janarha frowned, but did as she was asked. However, just as she reached for the door, it suddenly swung open to reveal Arko about to step over the threshold. She glared at the him as she skipped backwards to avoid her toes from being trampled by Arko’s boot as it crossed the threshold.

“Janarha.” Arko smirked as he walked past her. “How many lemons did you have to eat today to get your face like that?”

“Why are they here?” Janarha whirled around to Gary, her cheeks tinged pink.

“Sit down, all of you.” Gary commanded ignoring her question.

Arko smirked again and flopped into an unoccupied chair. His legs sprawled out before him and his arm flopped over the back of the chair. Falcon followed quietly behind, allowing Janarha to go before him.

“I need all three of you here for several reasons, so do try to get along today.” Gary raised an amused eye at the scene before him. “Janarha, “I want you to pull up all information we have on the Warek family.”

“Warek?...Are they currently in the program?” Janarha asked as she tapped on the notebook device.

“No. It should be under associate family for Dara Warek.”

Janarha’s hand paused and hovered over the device. “Dara Warek…Doctor Dara Warek?” She looked at Gary over the rims of her glasses.

“Yes.” Gary nodded and turned to the two men. “I just had a rather interesting visit with her neighbor. Apparently the youngest daughter and father have disappeared in the Edenyon Mountains on the Yamara side.”

“So?” Arko asked.

“Does anyone ever go missing in Qui, Arko?”

“No sir.” Arko said definitively.

“Really?” Gary raised an eyebrow disdainfully.

“Not unless someone wants them to disappear.” Falcon mused.

“Exactly.” Gary narrowed his eyes. “So the question becomes, who would want the Warek family to disappear, and why. So, Janarha, you will be in charge of gathering the information. Arko and Falcon, you two will travel to Edenyon to do some looking around.”

“Isn’t…” Janarha trailed off as all three men turned their attention on her.

“Isn’t what?” Gary asked.

“There was a man in the program that said something about the Underground working close to Edenyon.” Janarha said slowly.

Gary raised an eyebrow. “And why wasn’t I told of this immediately?”

“It-it didn’t cross my mind.” Janarha said grudgingly, ignoring Arko who wasn’t trying too hard to hide his smirk.

“It didn’t cross your mind.” Gary said slowly, feeling every word in his mouth. His quiet anger rolling off him in waves. “Well, I’m so glad it has finally made it into your mind.”

Janarha’s cheeks flushed again. “I’ll get you the report.” She quickly turned to the device in her arms and tapped it in frenetic successions.

“Oh really? How thoughtful.” The scorn dripped from Gary’s words like honey.

“Why would the Warek family, a respected and generously compensated family, want to join a rebel group?” Falcon interrupted.

Gary’s head snapped to look at him. “I don’t know, and that annoys me.” Gary snarled. “Janarha, after you are done gathering the report on the Underground in the Edenyon area, get a team together to go through all the files we have on Dara Warek and the Warek family. I want to know what we missed.”

“Right away sir.” Janarha made a few quick taps on her device. “Team has been assembled. We should have a report for you by the end of tomorrow at the latest.”

“I want it by this afternoon, by the time the boys leave for Edenyon.” Gary commanded.

Janarha opened her mouth to protest, but she quickly shut her mouth when Gary narrowed his eyes even further. “O-of course, sir.” She murmured.

“Good.” Gary relaxed his face into one more agreeable and leaned back against his chair. “Now tell me about the status of the Youngling.”

“We ran a test this morning in the Akademy workout room. We used five microliters of serum on the subject. The results were favorable sir.” Janarha pushed her glasses up her nose with a short thrust.

“Bring up the report.” Gary commanded.

“Right away sir.” Janarha tapped on the object in her arms. “Here we are.” She placed the device on Gary’s desk and a single holographic document appeared.

“Hmmm. You tested the new serum on the youngling correct?”

“That is correct.” Janarha gave one curt nod.

“What are your thoughts?” Gary asked.

“I believe he is a very promising candidate for the program.”

“Why?” Gary quizzed.

“With five microliters, we were able to escalate normal aggressive behavior, or the short bursts of annoyance we all experience into pathological aggressive behavior, where the subject actively sought to hurt the victim target.” Janarha said without hesitation. “The Subject was also more open to suggestion during the first seven minutes of administration. We also saw an increase in the levels of several neurotransmitters, or the signaling molecules of the nervous system, that have been known to increase aggressive behaviors. These levels stayed above baseline for almost twenty-four hours.”

“What about now?” Gary asked.

“We do not have any data since the nanobugs were programed to be degraded naturally by the body within twenty-four hours after administration.”

“I see.” Gary thought for a moment. “What are the next steps moving forward?”

“Before we can proceed any further, we need to test his ability to perform on instinct to establish a baseline for his normal tendencies.”

“He’s from Sports I.” Gary said dismissively. “That should be enough.”

“While it is true that most of the instinct sports are grouped in that category, there has been research that shows that one out of every 545 players in Sports I that aren’t suited for that Duty.”

“And that means…?” Arko asked bored.

“That means there is a very small chance that the subject may fail our instinct test. And since there is that small possibility, we need to perform the test before continuing further.” Janarha stared only at Gary, refusing to turn her head to acknowledge Arko.

Gary sat back in his chair. His eyes narrowed slightly in thought. Finally, he nodded. “Your judgement doctor, so prepare the test if you feel it is necessary. You will go with Arko and Falcon to administer the test.”

Janarha stiffened. A move that was not lost on Gary. He gave a toothy smile. “Don’t be alarmed, Janarha. They’re no threat to you.”

“You will make them look after my project as well, aren’t you?” This time it was Janarha’s turn to narrow her eyes. “May I remind you that the last time that happened, we almost had to scrap the entire thing because Arko got in the way?”

“Hey—” Arko protested.

“That won’t happen again.” Gary’s face lost what little congeniality it had in an instant. “Both of them know the consequences of interfering again.

“—that wasn’t my fault. I didn’t interfere!”

“I refuse to go if Arko is there.” Janarha declared.

“Ah, c’mon Janarha, you’d love for me to go. Admit it.” Arko teased.

“I refuse to go if Arko is there.” Janarha spat through clenched teeth. “He has no regard for science, he steal’s my equipment, he—”

“That’s enough.” Gary snarled. “You’re both going and that’s final. Understood?” Janarha shot Arko one last dirty look before grudgingly nodding.

“Good. Janarha you are dismissed.” Gary gave a perfunctory wave. Janarha puckered her lips, but rose and gave a small bow. Then she left with a swirl of her white coat Once the door had closed again, Gary bent over slightly to open his desk drawer and took out a HOLPad. “Here, Falcon. I want you to take point on this project as well while you are in Edenyon.”

Falcon took the device and flipped superficially through the contents. “Tash Miraa’av…the Hanra Mistress Younging?” A tinge of surprise colored Falcon’s voice when he read the name.

“And the boy too, Garett Dovik.” Gary nodded. “He is the future of this country, even if the General can’t see that just yet.” Gary gave a dissatisfied click of his tongue. “I want a favorable answer to my proposal. Understood?”

“What proposal would that be?” Falcon asked.

“I want him to become the next General of Gavi Quintar once General Shaw becomes President. The details are in the file” Falcon just nodded as he continued to flip through the folder. “Who have you put in charge of observing Nathan Shaw?” Gary continued.

“I—”

“Do I really have to go?” Arko cut in, his whole demeanor had changed since Janarha had exited the room. He now sat straight in his chair and he’s face had turned into a scowl.

“Yes.” Gary stated matter-o-factly.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I didn’t go?”

“No.”

“I don’t like her and she doesn’t like me…although I don’t know why. I’m the epitome of the perfect man.”

Both Falcon and Gary snorted at the same time. Arko rolled his eyes. “Why do I have to go if—”

“Arko.” Gary’s glared at the younger man. His blue eyes giving a fair warning to any objections that may come. “You will be going. That is final. Understood?”

“Yeh, fine. Whatever.” Arko muttered.

“Not “Yeh.” It’s Yes. Say it correctly.” Gary commanded.

“…Yehsss.” Arko said.

Gary’s eyes narrowed into two slits. “Don’t give me your lip boy. ‘Yes’ what?”

Arko glared at Gary.

“Yes what?” Gary asked again. His voice as cold as the winter wind.

“…Yes, father.” Arko snarked grudgingly.

Gary let out a snarling chuckle. “Goo—”

“But why do I have to go?” Arko pressed. “Falcon can—”

Gary slapped the desk, cutting Arko off, and his eyes narrowed to slits. “Either you go with them, or I will put you in charge of following Nathan Shaw for the next six months. You will eat, sleep, and crap that Youngling, if you do not go. Now, which one do you want?”

Arko pushed his lips together into a thin white line as he considered the two options. “I’ll take the Youngling.” He said with a decisive nod.

Gary just stared at Arko for a moment. “Fine. Get the file from Falcon. Now leave me, both of you. There is a lot to prepare if Shaw is going to become the next President.” He started tapping his desk and pulling up various files.

“Yes, father.” Falcon murmured as he stood. He shot Arko a look when he didn’t move. Arko just gave one, almost unperceivable nod before he also stood and followed Falcon.

“And boys.” Gary called out just as Falcon reached for the door. The two men half turned to find Gary’s blue eyes as bright as the ocean’s sun as if some fever had taken over them. “Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yes, father.” They both said this time as each gave a small bow. Then they turned and walked into the empty hallway as Gary’s ever watchful eyes followed them until the door quietly clicked shut.