Chapter 13
A New Kind of Draft
This waiting room was a world apart from the sterile reception area. Plush seats, a quiet hum of climate control, and a viewport looking out over the Aethelburg skyline. It was a room designed for assets, not obligations. Kaelen didn't have to wait long.
The door hissed open and a man in the crisp, dark-grey uniform of the Colonial Administration Bureau entered. He was middle-aged, with a calm, assessing gaze that missed nothing. A data-slate was tucked under his arm.
"Kaelen? I'm Operative Drayton," he said, his voice professional but not unfriendly. He took the seat opposite. "First off, congratulations on your Awakening. The 'Electric Surge' is a solid, practical ability. It'll serve you well." He tapped his slate, and Kaelen's new profile glowed between them.
"I see your file. Orphanage, data-archivist, drafted for Elysian. A common story, up until about an hour ago." Drayton offered a thin smile. "Your life has just taken a rather significant turn. Let's discuss what that means."
He leaned forward. "Your draft mandate is officially void. As a registered Enhancer, you are exempt from compulsory service. You have two primary paths forward, both involving a one-year mandatory term at a Federal Enhancement Integration Program."
"Path one: You remain on Aethelgard. You'll be enrolled at the Aethelgard Martial-Arts & Tactical Institute. Post-graduation, you'll be expected to fulfill a four-year service contract, likely with the Hegemony's military or planetary security. It's a stable, respectable path."
Drayton paused, letting that sink in. Kaelen remained silent, his expression neutral.
"Path two," Drayton continued, a slight shift in his tone, becoming almost conspiratorial. "You volunteer for Elysian."
Kaelen's eyebrow twitched, the only sign of his surprise. This was the core of the deviation.
Drayton noticed. "I know. It sounds counter-intuitive. But hear me out. On a core world like Aethelgard, a Tier-1 Esper with a reflex ability is a small fish in a very big, very competitive pond. The Aegis League here? The Aethelgard Vanguard?" He gestured vaguely towards the window, as if pointing to the holographic ads. "That's the Core League. The pinnacle. Getting a spot, even as a trainee, requires connections, a powerful sponsor, or a truly monstrous awakening. You'd be competing against 4th and 5th Order legacy applicants."
He pulled up a new display, showing a map of Elysian. "But Elysian... Elysian is the frontier. It's where the action is. The Colonial Bureau is desperate for Enhancers. The danger for a baseline settler is high. For an Enhancer? It's manageable. More than that, it's an opportunity."
"The Elysian Frontier needs everything: marshals, surveyors, Aetheric anomaly investigators, and yes, Aegis League fighters. They've just established the Elysian Wildcard Brawls—it's a Frontier League. Raw, unrefined, and hungry for new talent. They have quotas to fill and sponsorships to give. You walk in there as one of the first locally-based Enhancers, and you'll get attention you could never get here."
He listed the practical benefits, counting them off on his fingers. "Enhanced stipend and subsidy package, triple that of a baseline settler. Your own designated housing unit in the secured Enhancer sector of the arcology. Priority access to resources. And," he added with a knowing look, "all outstanding citizen debts, including education loans, are absolved upon voluntary immigration signing."
A genuine, almost involuntary smirk touched Kaelen's lips at that. So the mountain of debt that made me a 'suitable candidate' just vanishes. The Federation's bureaucracy has a sense of irony after all. He could have repaid it easily with an Enhanced salary, but seeing it wiped clean felt like a final insult to the system that had tried to break him.
Drayton saw the smirk and chuckled. "I see the appeal. Look, as your assigned CAB operative, my advice is this: If you have nothing holding you here, Elysian is the gamble. It's higher risk, exponentially higher reward. That one-year academy on Elysian isn't just training; it's a buffer. You'll be safe, fed, and taught how to use that ability of yours before you're thrown into the deep end. You'll graduate with a network and a reputation already started."
Kaelen didn't need to pretend to consider it. This was a far better outcome than he had originally planned. He wouldn't just be hiding on a core world; he would be positioning himself on the frontier of human expansion, where his unique abilities could be masked by chaos and where resources were there for the taking. The "danger" was relative. To a baseline human, Elysian was a death trap. To an Enhancer, especially one who could cheat death across dimensions, it was a land of opportunity.
After a brief moment of silence in the waiting room. "You've made a compelling case, Operative," Kaelen said, his voice firm. "I accept. I will volunteer for Elysian."
"Excellent choice," Drayton said, his professional demeanor returning. He slid the data-slate across the table. "This is the Voluntary Enhanced Immigration and Service Contract. It outlines everything we've discussed: the stipend, the housing, the debt absolution, and your commitment to the one-year Elysian Frontier Enhancer Academy. Biometric signature at the bottom."
Kaelen took the slate. He scanned the dense legal text, his enhanced mind processing it quickly. It was all there. He placed his thumb on the indicated spot, feeling a faint tingle as it read his print, his vital signs, and his unique Aetheric resonance, locking him into the agreement.
The slate chimed, displaying CONTRACT ACCEPTED. STATUS: VOLUNTARY ENHANCED COLONIST - ELYSIAN.
"Welcome to the future, Kaelen," Drayton said, standing and offering a hand. Kaelen shook it. "Your shipment details and academy enrollment packet will be transmitted to your node. You depart in six days. Use the time to get your affairs in order. And good luck. Elysian could use a few more clever ones."
With a final nod, Operative Drayton left.
Kaelen stood alone in the quiet room for a moment, the weight of the decision settling on him not as a burden, but as a mantle. He had not escaped the system; he had simply upgraded his place within it. He was no longer a piece to be moved; he was now a player on the board.
He walked out of the AVRC branch, the artificial sun of the arcology dome feeling different on his skin. He was still going to Elysian. But he was going as a predator, not as prey. The game had changed, and for the first time, he held a few of the cards.