Chapter 3: 3: A shocking discovery & Gifted
~ Training Room 232, Moments before the Testing ~
Major Eli Amersen entered the room for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, although it had only been just over a hundred. The testing wasn't just intensive for the one being tested but also demanded something of the one performing it. Regardless he put his best smile in place as he greeted the young man within, as while he was likely just one more in a long line of hopeful students he could appreciate how he was feeling. After all, he too had sat where this young man had, once upon a time.
Things proceeded much as they always did, with a simple obscure introduction and the required asking of permission. Technically a student could opt to choose not to be tested, it was a choice after all. Only attendance was mandatory. The Kingdom neither needed nor wanted people running around with the Gift who had been forced into it. Nothing good would come of that.
The young man, Matthew he reminded himself, seemed a little braver than most but didn't seem to stand out in any real way. He was a little short for human standards at his age, with mopey brown hair and those little spots the humans called 'freckles' faintly visible on his face and arms. He wore glasses and had lazy blue eyes. Neither overly handsome nor worse for wear, by his worlds standards Matthew seemed as honest and regular as a boy his age could be.
Confirmation received Eli nodded and proceeded to open the case on the table extracting the small smooth stone within. The stone was a prop, it served no purpose at all except as a mental trigger. The moment the boy focused on the stone Eli had already begun his work.
The boys mind was easily infiltrated by Eli, his own well trained Gift quickly used to isolate that mind from the body it inhabited. The boys heart still beat, his lungs drew air and let it out. Only the conscious part of the mind was affected. Moments passed and when Eli felt the conscious mind of Matthew was stimulated he acted. Eli pressed a sliver of his Gift against the mind he held trapped... and the world seemed to end.
Eli had long had his personal defences ready and the room, seemingly ordinary, was actually supported by a powerful field generator. Even Eli himself would be hard pressed to damage the room unless he put in some actual effort. Yet a Gift as it awoke could be a dangerous thing, like a animal in dark lashing in terror at the new world in which it found itself. Primal.
In nearly every case the defences were easily enough, nearly every kind of Gift awoke a little stronger than at the level it would settle at but not by much. And most of the time the Gift would start small and grow with effort. Matthew proved one of the exceptions.
Eli barely understood what happened, he felt his carefully arranged defences crack like a pane of class. The room filled with a sharp font of light that scorched the ceiling black and a shocking tremor knocked him from his feet even as the walls cracked. The wine of a failed generator stuttered in the background but Eli heard nothing except a sharp tone from bleeding ears.
He, however, was well trained. The Gift in him rose immediately and he never even hit the floor, hovering instead. Power wrapped around him and washing his ears, his hearing beginning to heal in a rapid fashion. A new barrier of his will wrapped the room with all its strength, sealing it from further harm. And when the light faded the room was revealed.
No table, no chair. A black ceiling, plaster having given way to a heated metal framework. Cracks ran the length of the walls and the reinforced doors had bent outwards. A young man lay in the corner twitching, completely unharmed, barely a ruffle in his clothes.
{"..."}
Even as Eli recovered his footing the young man grudgingly opened his eyes, winced sharply and curled up. A moment later one of the doors was torn away by two Alati who rushed in.
[Alati]: "Eli! What in the... damn~"
The first in was a man similar to Eli, uniform and all but a little taller and wearing a few more years. He paused, shook by the sight of the room. The second figure rushed immediately to the young boy to check his condition. This time a female and the oldest of the three, with an extra stripe on the uniform to indicate seniority. The room had still shocked her, but experience helped her set it aside faster.
[Female Alati]: "He seems well enough, though the side effect of awakening seems particularly severe. I'm going to deepen his rest cycle a little, let him ride out most of it. Otherwise I'm afraid he'd be in an out."
She acted quickly and within moments Matthew seemed to un-clench and relax a little. Only then did she truly take in the room.
[Female Alati]: "I've never seen an awakening this powerful before. The field didn't just fail, it was exterminated. Most of it seemed to be directed upwards.. otherwise..."
As the woman glanced at Eli, he swallowed hard. He knew exactly what would have happened otherwise... he would probably have been killed before he could muster a proper response. All three turned back to the young man, now lying on the floor without a clue.
[Male Alati]: "Guess we can report a new Gifted."
~ Sector 4, Gifted Resting Area, Two Days Later ~
The wristCom call closed and Matthew let out a long breath. Nothing felt real anymore, not the expensive room he was sat in or the call with his parents just now. Everything was had changed.
His Gift wasn't stable yet, like a raw wound he had been instructed to avoid testing and trying anything for the next few days. A basic course would be given onsite purely for gaining some minimal control and everything else would be left until all the Gifted from the world had been gathered. Training would only resume once they were underway... on-board a ship bound for the Alati Home-world.
Matthew was going to be one of the first humans to leave his solar system behind.
{"I can't believe it..."}
{"I STILL can't believe it..."}
Thoughts like that had been cropping up ever since he had woken up only a few hours prior. Remembering the testing left him envying those who would forget it after failing, and yet insanely happy that he hadn't failed. Part of him wanted to roar in joy and the other part was shocked and worried about what his future now held.
He hadn't thought much about what would happen if he did have the Gift. He'd dreamt up stories upon stories about using it... but barely thought anything about next steps.
And then there was the way the Alati looked at him. He didn't remember the state of the room, or anything after he saw the small stone and the strange creeping darkness it brought. Only that at first they acted like he was a wild animal, likely to strike out. Only one of the older female Alati was calm and collected. She told him the next steps his life would take.
He would go to the Alati Home-world for training and schooling. After that many opportunities would present themselves. There was no shortage of work for Gifted, only a shortage of the Gifted themselves.
He also learned a little about those possibilities. The Gift it turned out was far more than just flying round, throwing things and shooting lasers. Much of what was possible depended on what the Gifted in question desired to specialise in. Combat? Research? Ship Navigation? Medical? Options abounded.
[Girl's Voice]: "Excuse me, but you're Matthew right?"
He was pulled from his thoughts by a confident soft voice from behind him. Some part him he couldn't yet describe knew that someone had approached and so he wasn't surprised. Turning round he saw the girl he expected. A little younger than himself by a year or so.
[Matthew]: "Yes?"
[Alice]: "I thought so, since its just us here after-all. My name is Alice Berry, I'm from Brighton, its nice to meet you."
Alice offered him her hand and after a pause he shook it.
[Matthew]: "Matthew Thompson, from up North. And same."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Eastiling
Eastiling A little peak from the other side of the table. Wanted to humanise the Alati a little more. There will be true ‘Aliens’ in the future, species with far less in common with mankind.
Hope your enjoying it so far.
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