Chapter 18
Caravan of the Enhanced
The Aethelgard sun was at its zenith, a brilliant, artificial star blazing through the arcology's dome, when Kaelen arrived at the CAB branch for the final time. He carried a single, durable kit bag—everything he owned, everything he was, distilled into one portable unit. The feeling was surreal. A month ago, this journey had been a sentence. Now, it felt like a commencement.
Operative Drayton was waiting in the same plush waiting room, but he wasn't alone. A small group of people, about a dozen, were scattered around the room. They all shared a certain aura, a subtle thrum of power or a sharpness in their gaze that marked them as Enhanced. Drayton spotted Kaelen and gave a curt nod.
"Kaelen. Right on time." He turned to address the group. "Everyone, this is Kaelen, a recent Natural Awakened. He'll be joining you. Gather your things; our transport is here."
As they filed out, Drayton fell into step beside Kaelen. "A mixed bag," he said in a low voice. "A few like you, Espers and Physicals who woke up with nowhere to go. A couple of low-order sponsored Enhancers from the Kulthean Industrial Compact whose contracts ended without renewal—no future for them here. And a few veterans, 1st and 2nd Order, from the Aethelgard Hegemony's planetary guard. They've hit their ceiling and are looking for a fresh start where a 2nd Order shield-wall isn't just another face in the unit."
They boarded a large, sleek hover-bus, its interior spacious and quiet. Kaelen took a seat by a window. A young man with intense, flickering eyes and fingers that constantly traced patterns in the air sat down next to him.
"Jax," the guy said, offering a nervous smile. "Pyro-kinetic. Faint, just enough to light a cigar or scare a mugger. Not exactly Aegis League material." He gestured around the bus. "Looks like we're the 'hopeful but not stellar' contingent."
Kaelen introduced himself. "Electric Surge. Reflex-based. I know the feeling."
Jax leaned closer, his voice dropping. "My cousin works in logistics for the FGN. He said this batch is special. We're not the only ones. There's another group, from the Avalon Technocracy's cybernetics program and a few psychometrics from the Federal Intelligence Directorate. They're already up there, on the main ship. Pre-screened, pre-assigned. We're the general volunteers. They're the… specialists."
The hover-bus lifted off, gliding silently out of the CAB bay and into the multi-level transit streams of Aethelburg. As they traveled, Kaelen watched the city unfold. They passed the stark, formidable towers of the Aethelgard Hegemony's military district, then the shimmering, bio-integrated spires of the Veridian Syndicate's corporate enclave. He saw the massive, smoke-belching foundries of the Kulthean Industrial Compact and the sleek, networked arcologies of the Avalon Technocracy. It was a visual tour of the Federation's power players, a reminder of the vast machine he was now a small, voluntary cog within.
The journey culminated at a massive, shielded launch port on the city's edge. The scale was staggering. Dozens of vessels, from sleek fighters to bulky freighters, were lined up or moving in precise, controlled patterns. Their hover-bus headed towards one of the larger ships, a blocky, utilitarian craft with the designation ASV-77 'Steadfast' stenciled on its hull.
"That's our ride," Jax said, his bravado fading into awe. "Just a taxi, really."
The Steadfast was one of many "feeder" ships, they were told, tasked with collecting Enhanced volunteers from across the Aethelgard continent and ferrying them up to the main vessel waiting in high orbit. The boarding process was a blur of automated security scans, identity verifications, and a final, irrevocable step across the threshold from planet to starship.
The interior was all grim, functional grey metal, humming with the deep vibration of powerful engines. They were directed to a large, windowless holding bay with rows of seating harnesses. As they strapped in, the low thrum escalated to a deafening roar. A crushing weight pressed them into their seats, the force of Aethelgard letting them go.
Kaelen closed his eyes, not in fear, but in focus. He felt the immense power, a testament to the civilization he was living in. He thought of Renly, likely overseeing the autumn harvest in Bluestone, a world away in every sense. Two paths, he thought. Both leading forward.
The pressure eventually eased, replaced by the profound, unsettling silence of zero gravity, quickly counteracted by the ship's artificial gravity field. A chime sounded, and the main display at the front of the bay lit up. It showed a breathtaking view: the curved, blue-and-white marble of Aethelgard hanging in the black velvet of space. And ahead of them, growing larger every second, was their true destination.
The Elysian immigration ship wasn't just a ship; it was a floating city. Its name, the FSSPioneer'sDawn, was emblazoned along its colossal hull. It was a masterpiece of engineering, likely spearheaded by the Slovanian Collective and Euro-African Concord, with sweeping, elegant lines punctuated by the robust, functional modules of the Kulthean Compact. Docking ports swarmed with smaller ships like theirs, feeding the great vessel with its cargo of hope and ambition.
The Steadfast shuddered gently as it locked into its designated port with a series of heavy, resonant clangs that echoed through the hull. The process was smooth, automated, and filled with a sense of finality. The journey from Aethelgard's surface was over.
A new chime, softer this time. The harness locks disengaged with a unified click. A section of the wall hissed open, revealing a brightly lit corridor.
"All volunteers for the Pioneer's Dawn," a calm, synthesized voice announced. "Please proceed through the airlock and into the main reception lobby for orientation and cabin assignment."
There was a moment of collective hesitation, a shared intake of breath. Then, as one, they stood. The veteran Enhancers led the way, their faces set in determined masks. The sponsored ones followed, trying to look nonchalant. Jax gave Kaelen a shaky grin. "Well. No turning back now."
Kaelen nodded, hefting his kit bag. He fell into step with the stream of people, this caravan of the Enhanced, all drawn by the same distant star. He walked through the airlock, the door sealing behind him with a sound like a tomb—or a womb.
And then he was there. The lobby was vast, a cathedral-like space that could have held his entire orphanage with room to spare. It was filled with the low murmur of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of voices. Enhancers of every type and origin, from many nations of the Federation, all gathered here, under one roof, waiting for the same dawn. The air hummed not just with the ship's systems, but with the concentrated, restless energy of a small army of people who had bet their futures on a new world.
Kaelen stopped at the edge of the crowd, taking it all in. This was it. The end of one life, and the beginning of everything else.