Back at the house, Tyfoonica and Troy were waiting for us. “What’s the ‘exciting news’?” I asked in puzzlement.

Tyfoonica smiled and grabbed me on the shoulder and said “I’ve been talking with Troy, and apparently he has a message for you from The Council.”

“Really? What message exactly?” Drake punched me in the shoulder and gave me a look as if to say “See, I told you!”

Troy stood up from his seat and began. “Tyfoon, The Council and I have been in frequent communication with Tyfoonica over the years. We’ve been monitoring your training, your attitude, your strength and skills, etc. They are impressed with how far you’ve come along in 18 short years. You are strong, disciplined, and very proficient in your abilities to control you ki.” I looked down, blushing slightly. I wasn’t use to having compliments thrown at me like this. Tyfoonica would encourage me when I would do well, but not in the manner Troy was speaking. Especially considering these were not just Troy’s words; he was representing the whole of The Council in his assessment of me. “And,” he said, noticing my embarrassment at the compliments, “humble as well.” I looked up to meet his gaze. He was smiling approvingly. “The Council would like to meet with you to discuss…your future.” My look of embarrassment turned to shock at this. They wanted to discuss me being elected as The Chosen One. He hadn’t said it, but everyone in the room knew that was what he meant. That was the only reason The Council would have to discuss with me that topic. I couldn’t believe it; I was still so young, and had no combat experience outside of training scenarios. And to think of being in a position of leadership over the other Peacekeepers, including Troy, made my stomach turn. I had no experience at leading, I’d always operated under the leadership of Tyfoonica. I had no idea if I even possessed the skills necessary to effectively lead in that role.

“R…Really?” I said in disbelief.

“Don’t act so surprised.” Troy replied. “Surely you’ve known this day would come, given your training and ancestry.”

“Well, sure I knew it was possible. But not this soon, my training isn’t even complete yet.”

“I think you underestimate yourself Tyfoon. Your humility may be preventing you from seeing just how special you are.” I began to blush timidly at this. “Anyway,” he continued, “they are going to be meeting tomorrow with some officials from across the galaxy on the planet Xeria. You and Tyfoonica can go there and talk things over before their meeting begins.” Xeria was a very large planet, and was basically the political epicenter of the galaxy. Most political gatherings for galactic matters were held there. Tyfoonica and I had been there plenty of times; Tyfoonica tried to make most of the galactic conferences they had there so he could stay up to date with all the political goings on.

“Okay,” I conceded. “I’ll be there. “Troy smiled at me.

“Good,” He said. “I look forward to it. You two can report to The Council any time before mid-day.”

That night I was restless. I couldn’t get my mind off what Troy told me. I wasn’t sure exactly what The Council wanted to talk with me about. It was possible they just wanted to give their thoughts on my progress and training to this point. They could also want to probe me a bit with questions to try and determine if they thought I was ready, mentally and physically, to take on the task of The Chosen One. They could even be considering offering me the position of The Chosen One. Although, it was also possible they wanted to let me know they didn’t feel I was right for the position. After all, my situation was quite unique. I had, to that point in my life, had more training than almost anyone my age, and as such I was stronger and more skilled at controlling my ki than most everyone my age in the galaxy. However, due to my special situation with my parents dying before I was born, I didn’t have any training whatsoever from the previous Chosen One. This put me at a big disadvantage. All of the previous Chosen Ones in the Tyfoon family line had been trained by the former Chosen One. My father was the first Chosen One in my family to have died in the line of duty. Tyfoonica was an excellent teacher, but he didn’t have the specific experience that The Chosen One’s had because he had never been appointed as The Chosen One. Tyfoonica’s specialty was combat training, not leadership. And though he was very interested in politics, there was a reason he wasn’t a political leader. That wasn’t his forte. So naturally, I had not been raised to be an effective politician, and I had never been in a position where I could have found out if I had a natural knack for it.

I ran every possible scenario I could think of through my head, and thought of how I could respond best in each one. I didn’t want to sound like an idiot in front of The Council. My stomach seemed to do somersaults inside me. It wasn’t as if I had nothing to lose. My whole life had been for this; all the training, all the work I had done, it was all leading up to this: to be The Chosen One. Even though I never knew my father, I wanted to honor his legacy. He died to protect the galaxy from the Doomaki. It was the most honorable death I could imagine. I wanted so badly to continue that legacy and try to be just as great as he was. Even though I knew the moment was coming where I would be called before The Council, I thought I had many more years to prepare myself. I hoped The Council wouldn’t find me not worthy of the position, because I felt certain that I would be ready for it given more time and training.

I tried to ignore all the thoughts racing through my head. It was late, and if I wanted to make a good impression before The Council, I needed my rest. I wanted to be at me best when I went before them. I struggled to calm the storm of my thoughts, and tried to go to sleep. After what seemed like hours, finally, rest came.