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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 25 Combat Pilot Training

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Chapter 25

Combat Pilot Training

We are in our formations. The new wave of cadets, we train in the newly configured combat ships that will be used by both Endarians and Humans alike. There are of course training weapons, lasers to simulate our actions, along with sensors to record our every movement and attack. All in all this is a highly capable space craft simulation that can slowly regenerate itself with ambient starlight. Technically, it feeds on the electromagnetic waves of stars.

Also, I'm kind of excited. This weekend Mel will finally show me her project that she has been working on. This will be good, as this will also be her last free week for a while as she will join the 012522 class. The only problem with her enrollment is that since she is joining late, she will be placed on restrictions for the first ninety days, the same as the rest of us were. The reason she is in that older class is simple, to keep her with students who will be fully integrated into the system at the same time. This is the easiest way for the military to keep track of students and their progression rates. It is not unusual for people like Mel to show up midterm or even mid-curriculum. On a bright side Mel will not need to get as many certs as the rest of us will, seeing as she is already an Omega class student with a peak Mage Class, she is mainly looking for control and finesse with her magic.

All in all, things are looking good. I avoided the spot where I created a minor tear with my Telekinetic burst last night. Though I hear the repair bots were up bright and early this morning.

So yeah, things are going well. I'm going to get my first five certs after this class. This would be enough to get me a total of six, thanks to the one I got from moonlighting with Astria as Heal Boy. This means I can either advance my Psionic class rarity twice, putting me at Average. Or I could save them and try to evolve my Psionic class with an additional cert. I honestly don't know what to do. Logic would dictate the upgrade in class rarity as Psionic is a powerful class. But what if I could get a better class? At this rate I don't know what could be better? I mean a few more Affinity points in Pyrokinesis, maybe. But even that wouldn't quite justify the expense. I am fully vested in getting certs for evolving my Mage class, but I don't really see much benefit in doing so for my Psychic class.

"This is a simulation. There are to be no killing attacks or blows. You can use either the mounted turrets which have been replaced with lasers that will be picked up and recorded by sensors on all ships. You can use powers, but only enough to disable a ship. DO NOT CRUSH, BREAK, OR DESTROY my test ships!" The instructor says, looking directly at me.

I point to myself, as if trying to make sure I am the intended recipient of this rebuke. The rebuke is well earned as I showed the other Telekinetics where and how to aim their Telekinesis so they would easily disable an enemy ship.

"Once your ship has been disabled, you are out of commission. Any attempts to use powers once you have been disabled, Psychic or otherwise, will be considered an automatic failure." As DI Hopewell continued to speak, I began to get an odd itching sensation in the back of my mind.

"Don't worry. Your ships have been set up with an automatic kill switch to inform you that your ship has taken lethal damage. You ship will go to a state or rest but will still provide life support to you and your suit. We will be in space, so realize crazy things can happen. The most important thing to remember is that we will keep up with rescue equipment. Also know Fleet Commander Lemitov has brought in the first fleet to watch the proceedings and provide necessary search and rescue if needed. Consider this a recruitment drive, meaning you want to perform your best, so you get accepted into one of the big fleets." The DI says.

I had heard about something like this. The fleets here are basically independent companies who can make sales pitches to promising young recruits. Each fleet only gets so many slots they can choose, the rest are forced upon them. But the bonuses offered to the ones they recruit will always come from the soldiers that are forced on them. Basically, you can either get wined and dined by a big sports team or company, or you can work for the team and company at a reduced cost, knowing your bonuses are going to the top recruits. Apparently, it is a system that works as everyone wants to have the best and brightest in charge of them. Also, the prestige of having the best and brightest stay around is a deterrent to others. At least that is what I was told. The whole process sounded like an interesting idea if the details do get convoluted.

Basically, you wanted to be seen as one of the top recruits, because then you got the most benefits. Some could even get recruitment incentives while still in the Academy. In fact, this was often the case, you saw a promising recruit, offer them sponsorship certs, then boom they have an amazing class and are more inclined to pick you as their landing spots. At first the military tried to shut down such actions, but then slowly studies showed that this improved the overall product, in this case the overall fighting capability of the military. So now, such actions aren't just accepted, but expected.

I decide to make a good showing. I don't necessarily want to go to the first fleet, they are on the western border after all. But I do want to get as many sponsorship certs as possible, especially with my plan to evolve my Mage class. To be balanced, I am thinking I might also want to do the same for my Psychic class.

"…With that follow me to our beginning location. We will first begin with single elimination matches." DI Hopewell says.

With that we follow in a steady formation. There are a few students who look wobbly for a bit, but overall, we look like a night tight unit on the move. This is the first test; can we move to a combat location as a unit and not injure ourselves or others around us. Flying in formation is dangerous, especially if someone isn't used to doing so. Fortunately, we are all near the end of our training, for many this will be their last certification program before they go onto their military careers. For others, like me, this will just be a steppingstone of qualifications earned.

Once we are in space, everything starts to change. How to describe it to a non-psychic? I don't know. I guess the easiest way to describe it, is imagine you have been in a semi-awakened state all your life. All your life you know you can do more but are just so tired and lethargic. Then one day, you try caffeine for the first time and finally can awaken. From that moment on, you realize just how limited you were, how slow your mind felt, how alive you felt while consuming caffeine. That feeling of being alive and awake, that is what it is to go to space for the first time as a Psychic. Even for me, a veteran of going to space, I still feel the joy of my first trip into space.

I don't exactly know why this is the case for psychics. Some people have theorized that it is the feedback of the electromagnetic properties of planets interfering with our Psychic brain waves. That somehow the two often conflict with each other and in most cases the fields able to be generated by the planet win entirely. Whatever the case, the feeling that we Psychics feel while going into space is amazing.

"Whoa!" Most everyone exclaims as their minds feel the complete freedom that comes with flying in space.

"You all have hot mics." DI Hopewell says.

Click.

The sound of a dozen microphones going off at once is funny and expected. I am one of the few who does not turn off their mic, as I wasn't one who spoke out. Instead, I was ready for this, though now that I am out there is something else, I feel.

There is an energy that is seeming to build nearby.

I scan the horizon, then I see a slight tear beginning to form in space. "Anomaly detected." I shout out, then flag it, or at least I try to flag the anomaly, but that function is disabled from my ship. I guess it makes sense, this is a combat training mission, there is no need to have all the bells and whistles on, but still.

"What is that Cadet Goldman?" DI Hopewell asks.

"Spatial Anomaly detected. Heading two o'clock from our current trajectory. Azimuth plus twenty-two degrees." I say, trying to map out the location of where the anomaly is to our current location.

The more I spot the anomaly, the more I get a sinking sensation in my stomach. This is bad, really bad.

"Cadet Goldman get back in formation." DI Hopewell orders.

Before I even realize it, I am out of formation and heading directly towards the anomaly I detected.

"Cadet Goldman, get back in formation, this is an order!" DI Hopewell shouts, but it is too late.

A bright neon green rift appears in space and what looks to be a giant eye flash for a second. With that a large-scale burst of energy is released.

Vwoom.

Instantly all my systems are shut down. A quick scan shows that the other ships have also shut down.

Click, click, whir.

Within seconds the emergency life support systems turn on. My ship is still gliding forward, going at the same momentum it had been previously. I am trying to stop my movement, towards the green-eyed rift that is slowly opening wide, but nothing is happening. Realistically I know it is just a switch that is turned on, a fuse breaker that is causing my engine systems from coming back on. Still my mind is panicking as I see the rift open revealing the first of what appear to be hundreds, if not thousands of Scourges.

A quick glance back shows that even the First Fleet's capitol class ship is rebooting. I try hitting the reset commands, the ones that force the override to turn back on. That is when I am met with a system warning.

You have been disabled. Awaiting response from trainer.Awaiting response from trainer. Awaiting response from trainer…

"Fuck!" I shout, as my ship is still on a direct collision course for the scourge spawn point. Worse, scourge, at least the smaller sized scourge, are coming through.

Realizing I need to buy some time for the First Fleet's ship to come back online I do the only thing I can. I fight the horde of scourge that are coming.

I don't know if it is just my first time high from being in space, the fact that my powers seem to be boosted to an extreme level thanks to my potion from the Awakening trials, or maybe a combination of both? But my ability to focus on the individual minds with my Mind Rend power is astronomical.

I can't summon the flames like I did when fighting with Astria, as there is no oxygen to help the immolation process. But Mind Rend, that works wonderfully. Especially with these smaller creatures as their minds are little more than simple command structures. I imagine their minds containing something along the lines of find food, kill food, reproduce in food, repeat.

The only problem with this anomaly is that it is not like the others I have seen or encountered to this point. The one that Astria and I fought, that was a spatial sac. A membrane that was slowly building up over time. There was just one problem, this section of space was flat. In fact, that was likely why the sensors didn't pick it up as an anomaly. The only reason I even noticed it at all was the residual energy and… oh no. My eyes? I wonder, seeing their purple glow reflected at me in my cockpit.

I look around and see that the capitol ship is slowly realigning itself as the power cores come back online providing stabilization and lighting to appear on the ship.

"Send the response!" I shout into the mic, hoping that the relay systems are back up.

Static.

A faint hint of static is all I get. Still even that little is enough for me to feel slightly better. The static is a sign that systems are slowly coming back online. Now all I have to do is wait. Wait, while I glide ever forward into the spatial rift caused by the scourge.

An impending wave of fear washes over me, as I look at the vast scar in space. I am now close enough that I can see the tear for what it truly is an event horizon, a spatial tear, a folding of spatial dimensions. Whatever it truly is, I don't know, I'm just an eighteen-year-old grunt on a training mission. An eighteen-year-old with one hundred and fifty-three years of memories. Memories that mean all I can do is try to kill the surging monster swarm that is waiting for me to let up in my relentless assault for a moment.

"Send the activation command. I am a sitting duck out here!" I shout. All the while I continue to kill more and more monsters that appear on our side of the tear. Occasionally, I have to Telekinetically push the dead monsters away, as I am uncertain what will happen if their bodies collide with my ship, especially in its disabled state.

While I am killing monsters, I am preparing for the inevitable. At this rate I will gradually glide through the tear in space. I plan to make an emergency exit right before then. As such I am prepping and sealing my suit, disconnecting the main line from the console. Sealing off the main line and pull.

I pull the emergency switch, but I realize a failsafe is engaged. I quickly look over my suit, but see nothing, then I spot it, one thin quire for liquids. I cut that one off. Then look up trying to kill the new surge of slightly larger scourge that have come through the rift.

Once I am certain that I will not be assaulted by surging scourge as I get shot out, I prepare to pull the emergency ejection lever again when.

VROOM!

My whole ship lunges and lurches to life. In a second the jets that had gone silent suddenly whir to life and I am propelled forward.

My ship, like a missile, rams straight through the open tear in space and through the other side. As soon as I emerge on the other side, I see thousands of monsters. My instincts tell me to pull hard to the left, so I do. There is darkness for a second, before splat.

I run into the squishiest, most gelatin like creature I have ever experienced. Fortunately, my ship is fine, if a little covered in space monster guts. I notice there is a familiar green glow to the monster. Looking at the creature I can see that it is casting some type of spell of some kind. I get a brief glimpse of the glowing green spell, before it winks out of existence the same way the consciousness of the monster, I just killed winks out.

With the green spell no longer active, the fissure, or rift in space begins to seal up.

Badump. Badump.

My heart starts pounding wildly as I realize I am about to be caught in unknown space, surrounded by monsters, with nothing but a ship loaded with training lasers.

Using the full force of my multiple lifetimes of training as a pilot, and my developing Precognitive powers, I turn around, go full speed for the closing rift. Only to see the tear in space go away as I make my sharp bank to face the anomaly. Or rather, to face where the spatial anomaly was.

I am at a loss of what to do for a moment, before a black swarm of death comes near. This is a black swarm that I have grown far too used to over my past few lifetimes.

"FUCCCKKKKK!" I scream.

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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 26 Lost in Space, Not the Series.

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Chapter 26

Lost in Space, Not the Series.

An unending wave of black death encircles my ship. In an instant I am reliving my last death over in my mind. It was something much like this. I was alone, floating in space far away from the help of others.

"FUCCCKKKKK!" I scream.

A wave of force reverberates in my cockpit. As the wave expands, I see a slight crack form in the super reinforced glass. I focus too much on the crack and hoping that it will just remain a tiny indentation and lose track of the alien scourge that are surrounding me.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I hear dozens of tiny objects bouncing into and then off my ship. Then I feel the unmistakable force of inertia pushing my ship, and me by extension into space.

I am about to say what gives, when I realize that all the tiny little minds that had been surrounding me a moment ago suddenly winked out of existence. I feel a sudden headache coming on, as my mind feels like it is overtaxed beyond its limits. At least this time I know I can die in my sleep. With that sad comforting fact, I shut my eyes and hope that the next lifetime is better.

Even for such a short time frame I did learn a lot. I learned about Mel and Mave. I also learned that I might be able to hide amongst normal society, if I don't drink the stupid overpowered potions. This time I'm going do things differently, and correctly. I also plan to buy the lottery ticket again. That or get Mel to buy the ticket for me, well for us.

So many thoughts and compulsions go through my head. I even feel a faint trickle of slime run down my nose, eww snot. I think to myself as I once again realize the terrible part of wearing helmets. For a second, I think about taking off my helmet to wipe my face at least, but then think better of it. Instead, I just close my eyes, surrounded by another swarm of my sworn enemies, and wait for the inevitable.

Darkness.

I awaken to find that I am in a veritable asteroid field of dead scourge. I don't know how much time has passed, but I am at the point where I can feel the minds of the emergency life forms all scourge carry awakening. With minimal effort I focus on destroying the tiny parasitic minds and then relax.

My mind is still blurry from everything that happened to me. I still somehow expect to find myself at the beginning of the Awakening Trials, but nope still here stuck in space.

A quick glance shows that even with most of my ship covered in space guts, I am at near full power. Turning on my equipment I double check the crack, making sure it hasn't grown any over the past, however long. It looks to be the same size, but I am hesitant to test. I want to reach up and touch it, but then soon think better of that bad idea.

A read out of my instrument panel shows that the cockpit is still hermetically sealed, so I let out a sigh of relief. Again, I am more than capable of surviving in space for an extended period of time, especially with my Air and Water affinities, but it is a lot easier to survive on more than a lungful of air at a time. Realizing that I for the better part of me am stuck here. I reattach my breathing and water tubes to the craft and begin looking for signs of habitation.

There are two modes to keep your sensors in, active and reactive. With active your ship actively sends out pulses of energy that will then generate a response. With so many scourge around, the general rule of thumb is to keep your systems on reactive mode only. This means I will be able to pick up distress beacons and signals from command and control, but I will not be able to respond back. Then again there often isn't a reason to respond back without knowledge that a friendly will hear you. So, I glide.

My navigation helps me realize that I am not too far off from my home planet. The only problem is, once I get there, to my planet I realize the planet is dead. Not just dead, but completely devoid of life in all measurable ways. The water that had covered most of the surface of the planet was gone. The Academy was left to rubble. A quick scan of the planet showed the only thing still standing was the temple. To my surprise the surface of the planet is completely devoid of scourge. Or at least that is how the planet appears for the moment.

My chest starts to tighten as I get a real bad feeling, though it might be gas. I do get a little, upset stomach when I am well out of my element.

Rrrumblllee.

Definitely gas. I think to myself as I am thankful for the different sealed off sections of the space suit.

After a few minutes of searching, I see green glowing lights appear off in the distance. In my mind I see a vision of the past. I see an endless wave of scourge coming to this planet, devouring it whole over the course of years. Then I see the first few waves begin to break away from the surface of the planet repeatedly. The first few seem to be deep expeditionary forces; the others are different. There are giant amoeba like monsters that look similar to the one I ran into with my vehicle. The one that seemed to create the spatial rifts. I am still watching the vision of the past, when I see one of the amoeba generals go off in the direction I just came from. I watch as waves of scourge go through at first, then I see one ship come through the portal, make an impossible blind left turn that it then uses to bisect the amoeba general.

I then watch as the ship turns around trying to go through the portal, only to find that it is stuck in space. Then the next second a wave of force explodes out in all directions from the ship, killing all scourge in a large radius around it. Then the ship floats lifelessly.

In a second, I know this one ship is me. I am about to think that all hope is gone, but I then see the trail end of my vision. While my ship is floating a final group of scourge led by an amoeba general leave the planet from the other side.

Desperately I begin pumping full energy into the ship. I don't quite know what is happening around me. My mind is banking on the infinity universe theory, the one where there are billions of identical universes next to each other. The one happens to be a universe where my home planet was destroyed. This also brings up more thoughts, like what if my other lives were spent in some of these alternate universes. That the lives I lived there, would then be transferred to my current consciousness.

I let these thoughts go through my head, so long as they distracted me from the present. From the fact that I am seemingly trapped in a parallel universe. One where the scourge has not only conquered everything, but are now spreading out to other parallel universes.

There are a few things that still confuse me. The first is, if this is a parallel universe, then does this mean that the scourge have conquered others? Also did this mean that rather than defeating the scourge that come to our universe, the Endarians just fought off that one invasion?

Also, what is the difference between the spatial sacks that eventually get lanced, and the tears that are being generated by these?

Badump.

My heart races as I wonder if the scourge are evolving? Or worse, what if they too are leveling? Leveling so quickly that they can evolve the rarity of their classes? I've seen all types of scourges, but I have never seen one that could rip a hole in the fabric of reality. As I come over the horizon, I see a glowing green neon light off in the distance.

I watch in horror as a massive swarm of monsters are all waiting to enter. They look like robot statues that are standing, waiting to receive an order to turn on and kill. Seeing them about to enter my universe I make a bee line for them. Striking down all the monsters I can in my wake.

The more I kill, the more the snot in my nose begins to run. Although I am beginning to wonder if that is not something other than snot. Still no time to focus on anything other than two things. The first and likely most important thing to do is to fly. The second and equally important piece is to strike down and kill every scourge I can. Well, everyone but the amoeba one. At least not until I am fully through the rift in space and back home.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Bodies of creatures crash into my ship. Over and over, but nothing happens.

Crack.

Shit, never mind, I think to myself as the small crack in my vision plate begins to spread as a dead body of a larger scourge crashes into it.

Hold on, just a little bit longer.

"Ship, apply emergency seals." I say. Now that the system is up and operational, I can do this. Thinking back, I realize only now that I could have had my ship do the same thing earlier. I am going to say I was a bit distracted by the lack of mobility of the ship, along with staring down a giant death shaped rift in space as to why I didn't think of this earlier.

Shh.

I hear the seals get applied just before I hear the pop of the cords coming free. This is good, as it means I can now make an emergency exit quickly if needed. As I enter the edge of the rift I look back, find the mind of the space amoeba that is generating this inter-dimensional rift. Once again, I am surprised by the complexity of the spell being wielded by the creature. The bright green glow of the spell is mesmerizing in the way I imagine watching your death would appear. Then with the patterns and images firmly burnt into my mind I lock onto the mind of the amoeba. I am a quarter through the rift by now.

Snap.

The mind of the scourge cracks like a walnut under my intense focus. Then the power fueling the great rift slowly begins to fade, before it seals shut.

Phwoom.

I feel a wave of energy that feels like a sudden summer breeze on my skin blow past me before it ripples off to die in space. In the wake of that blast, from the closing of the rift, all the scourges in the local area die.

This time I feel an even larger stream of liquid roll from my nose.

Looking around I can see a gathering of Space Force ships. "Oh thank the gods, the space force are here." I say, as I flip on my sensors. Seeing their ships, I instantly relax, knowing the hard part is over.

"I've made it back. Repeat, I've made it back. Cadet Goldman reporting in." I say, panting as the entire episode is now over. I shudder at the thought of what could have been. My Precognition paid off immeasurably, without it, I would still be stranded in alien space.

Garbled.

"Cadet Goldman, what protocols are you using? Also, what manner of ship is that?" The voice asks.

I blink for a second, then look at the ships that are before me. Ships that had clearly been deployed to fight the scourge. They look familiar, almost painfully so. Then I realize why. These are the old models. These are the ships I died in twelve times in my past lives. Only this life had been different, though that was because the scourge had broken through thousands of years ago.

"Cadet Goldman, can you give your class identifier?"

"032522."

"Please stand by."

Silence.

There was a lot of static on the lines. I adjusted my sensors, trying to figure out what was happening.

"There is a Cadet Kyle Goldman in class right now. He is still in his control phase. He is a powerful dual classer." A voice that sounds like DI Wagner says, but that's odd. Why would DI Wagner say I was still learning to control my powers? I did that my first day on campus.

Shit. I think to myself as I see what is happening. The reason I can pick up the personal transmissions is because they are on unencrypted lines. Or lines that are using such dated communications that they are literally bleeding over to my system. This means, well it could mean a lot of things.

"Cadet Goldman, we have a few questions for you. First is can you confirm your identity?"

Shit. I think to myself again. This is so fucked up.

"I think it would be better to speak in person. This is the first fleet, so is this Fleet Commander Lemitov that I am speaking to?" I ask.

There is a pause on the other end.

"How do you know that name boy?" An older man cuts in. Suddenly I realize this is likely the real Commander Lemitov who was listening into our conversation the entire time.

Sighing loudly.

"So, this is likely going to sound odd, but what do you know about the scourge or the Prolaxians, or whatever this universe calls the creatures we just killed?"

"Not a whole lot, other than they just appeared about two hours ago."

"All right, first thing, these can come back. There is an emergency sack within each that contains an exact replica of their chromosomes. Over time that sac will burst, and the monsters will use their original host body to incubate themselves again." I say.

"Are you saying they are some kind of space zombies?" He asks.

"I guess that is one way to think about them. You either need to zap them or burn them to get rid of the emergency sac now. But killing the monster again after this will be enough to permanently destroy them." I answer.

I realize I am likely going to sound crazy, at least until the first one starts to wake up and re-weaponize itself.

"Perhaps you should come aboard and explain yourself."

"Thank you. Know that my glass is shattered and likely won't last re-entry into orbit." I confirm.

"Re-entry? What type of space craft do you presume to have? You know what, never mind just land in docking bay four. If you would…" He trails off as there is a muffled conversation on the other side of the line.

"Never mind. While your ship does seem to have the standard numbering of a student ship, we cannot take control of it with automated controls. How is your flight skill cadet?"

"Ninety-nine percent affinity."

"Ninety-nine percent?" He says incredulously.

Still, I notice the docking bay and lay out easily. Layers of past lives all come to mind as I remember these exact scenarios.

I land and am immediately surrounded by dozens of armed guards who hold me at gun point.

"Please follow us… cadet." The security officer says. He looks familiar in a way I can't quite identify, but I follow him where I am taken to a room that is clearly a holding cell.

This is going to be a long day. I think to myself, as I begin to take off my suit, and sit down in a seat. Instantly restraints come out and thrum with a form of energy that should be disconcerting for a Psychic, or at least a normal powered psychic. For me, they are just a mild inconvenience, a mild buzzing sound at the end of my periphery.

I instantly begin to meditate, not wanting to ruin the cooperation needed. Right now, I have two main concerns. The first is repairing my ship. The second is hijacking an amoeba general and forcing a ride back to my home universe. Because like Dorothy, I don't think I'm home anymore.

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Lykanthropy

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8/1/2022, 10:46 PM

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The 13th Loop [A Progression, GameLit, Sci-Fi Adventure]

Lykanthropy

Chapter 27 My Brother, The Wife Stealing Tool-Bag

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Chapter 27

My Brother, The Wife Stealing Tool-Bag

We were back planet-side. I know because I felt re-entry with every fiber of my being in the interplanetary transport ship. I am mentally wondering what exactly the difference is. Is it Endarian stabilizers? Or maybe crystalline dampeners? I don't really know. All I know for certain is that the level of technology in this universe is garbage. Though sadly this universe's technology level is what I am most used to. Sad how it only takes a few months of being inundated with advanced technologies to get used to them.

I'm here, just hoping these guys can fix a cracked windshield, and they are likely stripping my vehicle as we speak trying to figure out how it works. That or maybe they just think it has a different design? I hope for the latter, but I'm pretty sure they are breaking every component of it right now. I know the differences in the ships. I could point them out, in fact that was what I first memorized, why these ships were different than what I was used to. There were a lot more crystalline processes, which is apparently what the Endarians use for faster than light travel. Something to deal with the manipulation and processing of light that gives them faster than life processes. I don't really understand the science behind it, but I don't really need to. Instead, I just need to know that it works, and how to fix it when it breaks.

I was in the process of trying to figure out what type of interrogation processes they would use on me. I knew they would try to use intel on me that only I could know. I was almost expecting them to contact my brother, or me apparently, as a Kyle Goldman did exist in this universe. At least if my intercepted communications were to be believed. What I didn't expect was that the person conducting my interview would in fact be my dirt-bag brother.

"What type of freak are you?" My Brother asks. Once again, he starts off our interview in rare form.

I just stare at him with my glowing purple eyes.

"You might have the face of my brother, but you are not my brother." Chet says.

I just roll my eyes at him.

"See that, right there. My brother would never do that, not to me." Chet says pointing at me, then looking off to the mirrored wall. A wall that hides no less than five minds behind it.

"Maybe I'm just tired of your crap." I state.

"What?"

I pause, take in a deep breath, and realize I spoke my mind. "Maybe I'm just tired of your crap." I say again, this time slower like he was a moron.

"You will tell me what you are!" Chet commands, his voice laced with power. For a second it almost succeeds. With the constant buzzing on my mind from the cuffs and his incredibly high Mind Control powers I am almost caught off guard by the sudden mental attack.

Fortunately, I see the flashing of his eyes, and then my eyes also pick up the firing of neurons in the Mind Control portion of the brain.

"You just tried to Mind Control me." I say, reaching out and snatching the Mind Control portion of his mind. In a second, I am mentally back to my first-time meeting Graves in the park. Back when he tried to do the same thing to me. This time like last time I staple the power down.

"What? What did you do?" He questions, then I feel his Mind trying to slither around the outside of my skull. In a way I feel violated even by the attempt, it almost feels like he is trying to lick my brain with a big wet tongue. Instantly my mind realizes it is a second attack in as many seconds. This time he is trying to steal my secrets. Mind Theft, a very dangerous power, one that surely puts you on the radar of everyone's watch list.

The only problem is my brother shouldn't have these powers.

This time like last time I grab the slippery mind tongue and staple it shut as well with another well controlled application of Mind Rend.

"Stop that!" He screams.

"What is it?" A voice calls in from the other side of the room.

"He just attacked me." Chet exclaims.

"What did he do exactly?" The female voice calls out from the other side of the wall.

At the question I can see the moment that Chet visibly squirms. Then I realize something. "Oh, this. This is too good. You can't tell them what happened. Because if you tell them, it will be the same thing as admitting that you were a potential Mind Rapist who never registered themselves?"

"Stop that. That is not what happened." Chet says, using a third mind power Mind Alteration.

I look at him with wide eyed surprise, as I find and rip yet another forbidden power from his mind. This time I staple Mind Alteration away with my liberal use of Mind Rend.

Panic.

He is visibly flustered by my recent attack.

Again, I just stare at him. Looking at him like I am just seeing him for the first time.

"This is enough! Nothing happened." He shouts, trying to use his fourth forbidden power, Mind Erase.

Once again, I look at him like he is a moron and clamp down on this power as well. I can see his four other powers still active in his mind. See my brother is an interrogator, someone who has an impeccable case record of closing crimes with rock solid evidence. Most of this is chalked up to the fact that he has powerful mind reading psychic skills. But seeing his mind fully active I realize he had eight psychic powers.

Suddenly a lot of things begin to click in my mind in rapid succession. As I look at him, I feel so dumb. Like mind blowingly simple. All this time I thought he just read Jess' mind and was able to give her that which I couldn't, that which I would never be able to understand. But seeing this, I realize he likely mind raped her. Or at least he could have.

"Fuck. You are an asshole." I exclaim. Blinking at him, as if the fog of lifetimes worth of mental abuse are finally fading away.

"What is going on?" The voice from outside asks again.

"I have been assaulted. This man is clearly some type of space monster of some kind." Chet says his voice quivering.

"Now, now Chet. That isn't any way to get back your sealed powers." I explain.

"Sealed powers?" The voice calls out.

Now there is something I should point out. Having the powers that Chet has are not illegal. No one can control the powers they are given in the Awakening trial after all. The problem comes when you have one of the big four, well five Mind Rend is also a part of that list. But to have any of the four powers that Chet used against me and not declare them is a felony, one that demands a minimum of ten years in prison. Added to that the fact that he would have to admit to my sealing away not one, not two, but four of the watch-list powers and he is looking like a fish caught on a hook, whose only form of escape is to impale himself on the end of a harpoon.

I smile widely at the sight of him squirming. Suddenly years' worth of anger and resentment come flowing forward and for a moment, one moment, I feel vindicated.

"Oh man. I was wondering how someone like you, with your noodle arms and balding hairline could steal Jess from me. Now it makes sense. You are a mind rapist. Not just one but four powers."

"Thh…that's a lie. I would never." Chet states, first to me then turns toward the mirror. In the reflection I can see the fear in his eyes. My own eyes glow brightly like two purple candles, adding an eerie ambiance to the reflection.

"Oh, come on. Tell them. Tell them that you just tried to force a confession out of your own brother. Then tried to Steal my thoughts, then Alter my memories, and then Erase my memories and I will grant them back to you. I will undo what I just did."

"Y, you will?" He stutters.

"HAHAHAH!" I laugh so hard at him, the look of desperation on his face. "Oh my god. You practically confessed to mind raping every one of your so-called closed cases thus far. How were you able to get away with having four extra powers for so long? Well never mind that I already know, you likely mind raped them too. Fuck you are a prick! God, all this time I thought she just left me because you were better, not because you were a mind raping sleaze. No wonder she always looked melancholic after you took her." I say, remembering the way Jess would always have sad eyes when she looked at me. In a way that made the divorces worse because I could almost feel that there was still a chance with her.

"What? What are you talking about? Who is this her?" He asks.

Then I shake my head as I realize it is still early in the time loop, the current me is probably still just beginning the initial courtship with Jess right now. Looking back, I remember it was love at first sight between the two of us. A tear rolls down my cheek as I think back to how good of a life, I thought I had in front of me. Then I look at Chet and realize he stole her from me. He stole my happiness, or at least would in this timeline. I am about to wonder why when more minor moments start to add up. The way Chet was always jealous of my quick promotions. The way my dual class was touted so highly as a marvel in the military allowing me to out rank him at times. Then how he would do everything within his power to betray me.

"So, you always had the eight powers, but you only noted the four that showed up on your Status screen, realizing you could do a lot more if no one had you on a monitoring list. Then the moment people became suspicious of you, you would what? Alter their memories? Erase their trains of thought?"

He jerks at each command, and I know I am getting close. Then the process hits me. "Wait, you would first steal their thoughts to find out what they had on you. Then Alter, Erase, and Control as needed until everyone marched to your sick little tune?"

Chet stares at me in wide-eyed shock for a moment. His mouth opening and closing like he is a fish out of water.

"That is not true." He finally manages, but it is a little too late to start fighting the accusations.

"Fuck. For years I looked up to you, but was that all fake as well? You had your powers for four years now. Did you always use them to control me? To control mom and dad?" I ask.

His eyes go wide, but he quickly recovers. "I am the one conducting this interview here."

"No, no you are relieved of this. Guards take him." Guards come in, with someone who looks very familiar. In a second, I realize it is Mave. I pause to look at her, wondering what she is doing here.

There is a commotion as Chet is taken into custody. "I am innocent here. I was the one who was attacked!" He screams. He isn't entirely wrong. He was attacked, four times. Each time he was attacked was after I was attacked, so I could argue self-defense, but that doesn't seem to be in question.

Still, I am looking at Mave who is wearing a sharp business suit and looks to be a consultation expert of some kind.

Once the guards take away my brother, I am left still staring at Mave. I have so many questions about her, well for her. It appears that in this universe she still works for the military. That or maybe she always did?

"I see that you are an exceptionally powerful Precog." She states, as she sits down across from me.

I nod.

"I also see that I have marked you. The mark is fading, nearly two months old. I take it I found you in the dimension you come from?"

I nod again. Then looking at her, I have one question that I need to know. "How is Mel doing?" I ask.

"Mel?" She asks.

I have to know; in my universe she ran a diner where Mel and other girls could work. But here, she clearly still had ties to the military. Did that mean that she never opened the diner? That she never started that part of her life.

"Yes, short for Melissa?" I ask.

Hearing the name, she shakes her head sadly. "I'm sorry, I don't know who that is."

Sighing. I knew she was a once in a lifetime find, but once in a universe. Did that mean the parts of her life that led her to being an orphan who was picked up by Mave didn't happen in this universe? Or did it mean that the events that caused her to be didn't happen at all in this universe? I didn't know.

"I can see that you are going through a lot right now. Perhaps talking to me and telling me how you got here can help." She offers.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well first off, what about your eyes and hair. Your facial features match up to the Kyle Goldman we have on file with a 99% accuracy rating. The only difference of course being your hair and eye colors."

I nod. "Are you familiar with the Awakening trials here? I ask."

She nods.

"Well, it all began when I first entered the trials…"

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Epilogue I

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Epilogue I

For whatever reason Mave would not leave Mel alone. Today was her drop off day, the day when she would officially begin her military life of service. In a way this only made sense, Mave had been like a mother to her ever since she was little. Also, Mel couldn't refute that Mave did make a few things easier, like getting on base, getting properly proportioned gear, and helping her get unpacked and settled in. She still had the secret she had been working on for Kyle, a secret that was finally complete, but the whole process took her so long that she never got a chance to gift it to Kyle. At least she didn't have a chance to gift it to him before she officially began her term of military service. Still, Mave seemed anxious? No, Mave was an unflinching general she would never, right?

But the more Mave watched her move and tidy up a section of clothes she just cleaned up ten minutes ago, one thing became clear to Mel. She was stalling. But stalling for what? Then an idea came to her.

"This is about Kyle, isn't it?" Mel asked as a wave of dread came to her. She knew something, was he cheating on her?

Hearing the words, Mave's eyes grew wide, like an oracular deer caught in the halogen headlights of a vision. Mave was about to panic, to say something.

Knock, knock.

"Cadet Gardner, Cadet Melissa Gardner?" A voice called out from the other side of the door. Instantly Mel froze hearing her full name used like that. Mave was the first to recover, almost gliding over to the door.

"Yes?" Mave asked. Seeing the older woman answer the door, the soldier who was posted by the door froze. He had a second soldier with him. Seeing the two, caused a wave of confusion to hit Mel.

"What?" Mel asked, though thankfully her words were cut out by the two soldiers who had a note in hand and were dressed in the finest of military regalia. Just seeing them, Mel knew that something important either had happened or was happening.

"Are you Cadet Gardner?" The soldier asked, as he gestured with the envelope towards Mave. The envelope was crisp and flat, though the soldier held the letter down low like it weighed a ton in his hands.

Mave shook her head, then gestured behind her as she said. "That is Cadet Gardner."

There was an awkward pause as the two just stood at the doorway.

"Why don't you two come in." Mave offered.

The two nodded, and then entered the room just enough for Mave to close the door behind them. Once the door was closed and sealed the man carrying the letter stutter stepped forward, his body and actions belying a deep hatred for what he was about to do or say. "Cadet Gardner. I need to give this to you. You were listed as the emergency point of contact for one Cadet Kyle Goldman. I regret to inform you that…"

The soldier spewed out words like they were acid to his mouth. He began saying more, something about a training incident that Kyle was a part of, but all Mel heard at that moment was the ringing of tinnitus in her ears. Moisture filled the side of her face as she realized she was crying.

***

MEANWHILE, in an alternate universe on a planet that mirrored the one where Mel was currently hearing the worst news of her life. General Sharma spoke to Admiral Lemitov about a possible recruit and just what to do with them.

"So, you think he is from an alternate universe?" Admiral Lemitov asked.

"You saw the training ship he flew in on. No lasers, no onboard weaponry, but still light years ahead of anything we have. It is clear that his ship is from a different time and place entirely."

With that the two looked at the student or soldier who had such odd hair and eye coloring that one couldn't help but think they came from an alternate dimension of space.

"Is that coloring natural?" Sharma asked.

"No. At least not according to Mr. Goldman it is not. So far as he is aware on himself, an Endarian, and one Dwenvarian have unnatural coloring like that." Mave cut in.

Seeing her one-time mentor, now turned consultant caused a smile to form on Sharma's lips, if only briefly. Fortunately for her Admiral Lemitov either didn't notice the slip or didn't care for the breach in etiquette.

"Yes consultant, were you able to identify any additional information? Also, you noted the odd coins that were discovered in the ship's hull?" Admiral Lemitov asked.

"Yes, those are called certs, which is short for Certified Experience Report Transcriptions. They are apparently awarded to people who kill the void monsters that appeared. Apparently in his universe those creatures are called either Scourge or Prolaxians. Scourge I believe is the short form while Prolaxians is likely the scientific name for the creatures." Mave stated.

"Yes, I would like to point out that several the certs went missing. Originally there were over a hundred, but after a quick showing of them to this Alternate Kyle Goldman forty-eight went missing?" He asked.

Hearing that, Mave nodded. "Yes, that is correct. Apparently, Kyle is in a probationary period, where he is still getting integrated to his universe's version of the system. Once he gets fully integrated those can be used to increase his level, but for now they can only be used to increase the rarity rating and type of class he has. Also, he noted that these coins were only for Psychic magic. If he wished to do the same for his Mage magic, he would need to use coins generated by killing scourge with his Magical powers."

"How did they even get there?" Sharma asked, cutting into the conversation for the first time.

"I don't rightly know. There was an unknown receiving crystal that Kyle was unaware of. He poses that it might be likely that rod collected the certs somehow."

"Surely he must know something more?" Lemitov asks.

Mave just shakes her head. "No, he is just an eighteen-year-old, one who has been through more than should be possible for one of his age. This makes him both invaluable as an asset, and volatile. If we are to get on his good side, to get him to help us, we need to build bonds of trust."

"How could we do that?" Sharma asks.

"The first thing we could do is give him back his violin. I find it odd that he chose to play a relatively mundane instrument, but he finds that it helps him find peace. At the very least if we don't wish for him to break his way out of here any time soon, I say we offer him the violin at the very least as a peace token."

"But he is restrained is he not?" Lemitov asked.

"Yes, and we saw how well that worked for his brother. Speaking of which are there any crimes that will be pushed onto Kyle for this?" Mave asked.

"That is a tough one. Realistically yes, we should push charges for attacking an officer. But that officer clearly tried to use unauthorized, unnecessary force against a subdued individual. Also, there is the fact that in order to actually bring charges to pass Commander Goldman would have to first admit which powers were assaulted from his memory. A fact he will not agree to, as it will mean his own incarceration by filing the charges. So far as we are concerned this is a moot point." Sharma answered.

Lemitov nodded, before asking "so what now? He used forty-eight of these certs, destroyed the mind powers of his brother, are we just going to give him a violin and have him be on his way? Surely, we can't just keep him locked up here indefinitely with that?"

"We can't, this is why I offer an alternate plan." Sharma said, the idea coming to her in a flash of inspiration and prophecy.

***

MEANWHILE, in a dimension of infinite power multiple beings all congregated to talk of their current tasks and plans within plans.

"For the moment I have taken on the role of Dr. Charleston. I have guided our newest subject down the right path. I think this is the best course of action, as I can direct him and others around him in a way that doesn't directly break the edict." A voice calls out.

"Isn't it unnecessary to continue your charade as the doctor, given your subject's current location?" A second voice calls out.

"He will be back; of that I am certain." The voice of Dr. Charleston replies.

"So, we are in agreement this role is approved as it does not break the edict?" The Arbiter calls out, his voice clearly demanding a vote.

"Agreed." Multiple voices all call out at once.

"Very well. This role of a doctor is still permitted, so long as you do not give away your true identity or purpose. With that, what is next on our agenda?" The arbiter replied.

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Prelude II

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Prelude II

In all life there is strife. Strife comes in several shapes and sizes. The most glaring form of strife comes when a species first evolves to the point where they can expand amongst the stars. From that expansion they can adapt to new worlds, new experiences that would never be able to be observed on a single planet. Then invariably space faring races realize the ultimate truth, that they are not alone. From there one can begin to see the true core of a race's collective consciousness. From those first few interactions strife can be observed and felt.

No one can quite pin down why strife in sentient races when they first meet often leads to conflict, but it does. There are theories about resource limitations, and perceived loss of resources that might fuel some of the direct animosity. An idea that even though space is seemingly infinite, the number of usable resources is somehow limited. That or that only so many usable resources will be found within a lifetime. Whatever the reason conflict is almost always inevitable, especially for races that are surprisingly similar in history and records. Only when a larger threat that is greater than any one of the races singularly are observed will cohesion be forced. Until such a cohesion point is found, most space faring races will be preoccupied with eliminating one another and realizing the signs of a true threat.

Thus, when one sworn enemy gains access to multiple samples of unknown alien species, actions must be taken; especially if said alien race can freely travel within space without need of a vessel, and are believed to have create teleportation loops. In most cases, two warring races might even broker a temporary alliance to work together to gain biological samples of such an incredible species.

The only problem comes with complete ignorance of what it is you are getting.

In this case two independent operative teams of Endarians and Dwenvarians moved independently of each other, trying to be the first to gain access to the alien samples that their third hated rivals, the humans obtained. Just the discovery of space resistant cell membrane structures would be priceless to identify and study, let alone working on details of a completely new realm of magic, one that could make fighting intergalactic battles a logistical nightmare to contend with. Especially with the idea that ships could move freely across folds in space in seconds, no longer relying on basic point to point traversing mechanisms. No, this was an arms race that they could not lose.

The only problem was, not all victories are beneficial. Not all successful missions yield positive results. This case, the dual infiltration and extraction missions conducted by both Endarian and Dwenvarian operatives at two different independent research facilities owned by the humans was just such a case.

"Go, go go." An Endarian operative says, as she fires destruction phasers down a hallway filled with scientists and guards. Guards who were woefully ill prepared for or trained to deal with the skill and precision forces that were launched upon them. The military had thought the two bases were secure by obscurity, keeping number of personnel who were aware of the facilities low. Making the facility itself a mandatory five-year commitment for both scientists and guards alike. The mission was a complete slaughter. Break in, kill everyone, steal the samples they could, then burn the facility down behind them.

Ironically enough, it was the burning down of the facilities that was the one true act of mercy conducted by the operatives. That one act of sabotage saved the human sectors from dealing with the aftermath that soon befell both the Endarian and Dwenvarian sectors of space once their samples of the space monsters thawed and came back to life.

The scientists were not prepared for the rapid growth rates, nor the need to double tap the monsters. A term coined by spatial anomaly Kyle Goldman-X. At least that was the new Kyle Goldman's official designation, an "-X' appended to his name to distinguish him from the Kyle Goldman of this universe. Fortunately, or unfortunately notes related to Kyle Goldman-X were kept at yet a third research facility, one that had nothing to do with investigating the spatial rift monsters. Rift monsters that immediately upon awakening from a frozen slumber, struck out against the scientists that were investigating them and produced offspring in the billions aboard their own laboratories. Laboratories that quickly began to go dark as they were overrun by monsters of unknown origins and means.

This was just the opening act to a crisis that would put the different space faring races of the universe in peril. One that was such a point of contention and conflict that could prove to be massive enough to cause a true cohesion point between three races that would otherwise remain bitterest enemies.

Unofficially this cohesion point was being called Pandora's box by humans who were monitoring the situations closely.

"Get me Goldman-X." A human-female general said, of course referring to the captive who had become increasingly uncooperative in his most recent rounds of interviews.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

Don't worry Book 2 will start officially tomorrow. I just couldn't resist sending out this teaser.

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Chapter 28 Playing the Fiddle While the World Burns: A How to Guide

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Chapter 28

Playing the Fiddle While the World Burns: A How to Guide

"AHHAHHAHHHHHH!" An Endarian screams in pain as their intestines are being pulled out and eaten right in front of them.

Whoom! The sound of an intense fire bursts to life scorching both the dog sized monster eating the intestines and the man whose intestines were being eaten. Whoops? Still too much power. I think to myself as I am still trying to get used to my new power levels.

***

Oh, perhaps I should introduce myself since you are probing my brain even now trying to figure out how I tick. My name is Kyle Goldman, or Kyle Goldman-X as I have been noted in this alternate? Parallel Universe? I don't really know the difference to make one claim over the other. I am from a different universe, let's leave it at that. Let's also assume that for the last few months I have been locked inside a prison, where I was being held for no other reason than I managed to survive and piggy-back off an alien invasion. I singlehandedly stopped that invasion, not that it mattered much in terms of my incarceration. In fact, the only reason why I am out right now is that I am on loan to the Endarians.

Why would I, a political prisoner be loaned out as a military asset and adviser to the Endarians a group of people who in this universe have sworn to hate humans? Simple the gods hate me.

Okay, fine, you probably want the longer version. That alien invasion I piggy-backed a ride from are here in droves. Now I'm not one to say I told you so, at least not in Endarian. The only reason why is that it doesn't quite translate well. In Endarian the closest one could get would be "I said as I have said." Which totally loses the whole annoying undertones of lofting yourself up, while simultaneously calling someone else a moron. But I digress, I am now on Endar, the Endarian home world dealing with an infestation of Scourge.

Right, scourge, or Prolaxians, or whatever stupid name this universe will come up with for them are the bane of existence. They have destroyed countless universes and seem to be able to rip inter-dimensional rifts between universes where they can surge over and begin destroying whole swaths of reality. They are quite literally the perfect enemy. Capable of traveling into space without need of a ship, their cellular structure is wholly unique in that it protects them from the rigors of space travel. While their seemingly simplistic body allows them to kill off any form of organic life, lay their tiny single cellular eggs within a slain foe then propagate in the billions from that foe. They are world enders, and they have spawned in mass on Endar.

So how did they get on Endar? Simple, the Endarians took a sample they thought was dormant and brought that sample to Endar. Why was there a sample to begin with? Simple, the human scientists who found me thought they knew better than me about these monsters so they cryogenically froze them keeping the cells and tissues alive long enough for analysis. Why didn't they burn them like the dashing hero with glowing purple eyes and glowing silver hair from another dimension urged? Simple, they knew better.

Those cocky human scientists knew better and felt assured in their safeguards they had in place against the monsters. Technically they weren't wrong, these monsters didn't appear in human space. They only began appearing in Endarian space after a raid on a secret military base where these monsters were being held. This was when I was first called in. I was asked if the burning of the lab would be enough to keep the monsters from spreading. By this point the scientific data collected by the humans, at least, was enough to raise concerns for the wellbeing of the planet.

The Endarian spy network, the one that somehow gained knowledge of where the alien samples were being examined hadn't gotten to that data. That or they saw the data listing concerns about the reproductive rates of the monsters and chose to ignore them.

So here I am. A scourge hunting expert from another universe, who is also a time looper. Yeah, I should point out that this is my thirteenth lifetime. When I went through my Awakening trials, I lived through twelve consecutive lifetimes. Each time I died in my previous lives I was brought back to the Temple where I first awakened my magical powers. So even with having fought the scourge twice in this iteration of life, I like to think of myself as an expert at killing the monsters. Well killing and being killed by them, my last seven restarts have all been at the hands of these creatures. Trust me, having your guts ripped out so you can slowly bleed to death while being pumped full of alien amoeba sacs that reproduce rapidly inside you and use you as a living incubator is not the most pleasant of ways to die. This is a sad lesson that many Endarians are experiencing right now.

Music.

I play Endar Rising while being carried down to the surface of Endar. I think it kind of ironic that perhaps the most iconic love song of the universe, one that first gave the Endarians a want to search and explore the stars is the tune I play while I am coming in, to try to fix their mistake. Their mistake, stealing a poison pill that they thought would give an enemy unlimited power in a war for dominance.

The song, Endar Rising is a reminder to me as well. This is my way of reminding myself why I am working with these back-stabbing aliens. See I am being loaned out as an instrument of peace, haha instrument get it? Playing music? No? It's been a long couple of day, well more like months.

I have been stuck here for…I don't really know how long at this point. My ship, which is an advanced ship, especially compared to the antique pieces of garbage these societies are using. The ship in question is a modified vessel that was being used for training purposes, thus why it had no real weapons on it. The ship also has a cracked windshield, the only real reason why I tried to stop for help. Now the ship is I don't know where, likely taken apart and cataloged in thousands of different pieces.

Yep, two words to describe how I got in this predicament, cracked windshield. Though that is only why I decided to turn myself in. I should have just kept going and eventually found a way out myself.

"You play quite well, for a human." The Endarian liaison says. Her words sound odd as she is trying to speak in English. Her voice has a muffled musical quality to it, like she is trying to sing through water.

"You don't need to speak English." I say in Endarian to her.

Shock.

She looks first shocked by the comment. "Sorry, I was not aware that you were so fluent in our language." She states in Endarian.

I shake my head. "How much do you really know about what is going on?" I say, pointing to the screen that is live streaming events from the surface of the planet. A planet that is quickly being overrun by surging alien forces.

"Not much, just that you are an expert in dealing with the enemy."

I shrug. I guess I am somewhat of an expert. Not only do I come from a more advanced universe, one that has fought and repelled off the scourge, or as they are known in my home universe the Prolaxians several times.

"I saw your training video. The one where you were fighting these Prolaxians." She continues.

I shrug. That video is likely part of why I am still alive. No doubt she got an edited version of the film. But suffice to say, when they took apart my ship, they found this ship's black box. This recorded every wave of information being sent to it before, during, and after my encounter with the Prolaxians. It showed me clearly being able to see the rift the alien monsters created before it truly manifested. It showed the way I broke formation to engage the enemy. It also showed how my ship was both disabled and then simultaneously came back online just in time to surge through the rift the monsters were able to form in space. Then it shows either me killing all the monsters with some form of psionic burst, or the monsters dying of some type of residual feedback caused by the rift closing. All that is known is that after the rift closed, I too was knocked out, and lay unconscious for approximately two hours and seventeen minutes, after which I turned around to my home planet. Only to see that the planet I went to was devoid of all life. Everything had been destroyed by the Prolaxians. Then it shows me suddenly racing along the planet, trying to engage a second set of Prolaxians who were tearing apart another rift in space. This time I plowed through the monsters killing hundreds of them in my wake. Then as I entered the rift I turned around and destroyed the Amoeba general who was able to generate the rift.

Suffice to say, the video made me look more like a one-man army than a kid who was supposed to be earning their official flight badge for the military.

"You don't have anything to say?" She continues.

I shrug. "You didn't ask a question." I parrot back.

She thinks for a minute then nods in agreement. "You are right."

Silence.

Silence I soon fill by playing Endar Rising once more. I play, just as I always do, remembering Mel.

After a few stanzas my liaison cuts in. "She must be important to you."

I look at her and stop playing. Realizing that the song might have revealed more about me than I wished for this alien from a different universe to know.

"You have such passion when you play. That it is clear you truly understand the motivations behind our song." She speaks as if she is the sole owner of who can play Endar Rising.

In my universe this is a song that has been lost to time, though I do remember it from my past lives which is why I was able to bring it back to life. If only for a few moments on my home universe. Here, the song is just as alive as the planet of Endar is. Which if the monsters who are rampaging about the streets have any say will only be for the next day or so. Unless of course drastic actions are taken. In this case I am the drastic action being taken.

Two main things happened to get me here. First, the Endarians capitulated to admitting doing war crimes of espionage and sabotage. The second thing is, as part of a good faith agreement I was to be lent out as a subject matter expert and weapon. Think of me as the equivalent of a surgical nuke, especially with my recent Psionic Class upgrade.

Oh, that is likely something else that I should describe as well. The universe I come from, universe thirteen for lack of a better name. Why thirteen? Well, it was the unique universe where I began my thirteenth try at life. It was also the first universe where I gained not one, but two different trial potions. The first [Energy Sight], as its name suggests allows me to see energy. But not just energy, this was how I was able to see the rift forming in space before our spatial equipment was able to identify that there was a problem.

The second potion I got gave me [Increased Psionic Potency] this is a form of power that is wholly unprecedented in my previous lives. With this bonus alone my Psychic powers were off the charts. Then you add in the fact that all the monsters I killed generated Psychic infused coins called certs, which is short for Certified Experience Report Transcription. See something odd happens when a universe first begins to meet and fight with the Prolaxians, or as I am used to calling them, the scourge. When a universe first interacts with the scourge, their next waves of children to enter the Temple begin the awakening process.

In my universe, universe thirteen, first contact with the scourge happened thousands of years prior. Meaning that everyone for generations has been indoctrinated into the system. Now the system is an odd process where one can level by killing scourge. There is also a time known as the integration period, during which time everyone has a chance to grow and evolve their classes in two ways. The first is to change the class rarity. For just three certs of a particular class nature (magic certs for Magic classes, and Psychic certs for Psychic/Psionic classes) one can improve the rarity of their class. This means that the number of levels needed to gain Attributes are decreased, while the level limit one can achieve is increased. Meaning that the higher one climbs the more powerful they can get. Until they get to the ultimate tier of rarity, the Omega class tier where there is no level limit, and they gain free Attributes to distribute once every three levels.

That is another thing, and one that caught me by surprise. Universe thirteen was the only universe where I was not able to improve my physical attributes through working out. Apparently, it was something to do with being locked into the system, but those restrictions soon let off when I got here as I was able to start increasing my Attributes here after about a month or so.

This was of course after I managed to find the stash of Psychic certs that was collected by my ship. Certs that I quickly applied to my Psionic class. I applied the full payload of forty-nine overall psychic certs to my psychic class. This was enough to push my class to the Omega level rarity while permanently changing my psychic class from Psionic, a basic mental attack class to Psionic Prime.

The only real difference in my power being that I am still exceptionally unbalanced. I am unbalanced in multiple ways; first in the way I can relate to others who are also Psychics I outclass them by a wide margin. The other way I am unbalanced is in comparison to my Magic Class, which is listed as the Generic Support Mage. This means that any time I use even the smallest sliver of my Psionic powers I generate an enormous amount of Psychic resonance, which I am told is like being able to always generate tinnitus on people around you, while also generating fuzzy tingling sensations on every brain within proximity to me. Only other psychics seem to be immune to this effect. This resonance tends to be unnerving to mage classes who have a lower-than-normal Power attribute rating as well. I ran into this on my home universe where one of my fellow classmates, Chet, would get irrationally angry with me. These are apparently the signs that he was becoming mentally unbalanced. Looking back, I should have been a bit more aware, but then again I had no way of knowing about the changes that had happened to me.

"…You about ready?" The Liaison asks.

I look up to realize she has been speaking for a few seconds. With a sigh, I pull up my status screen and see the changes that have been made over the past few months since I got here.

NameKyle GoldmanAge18Race:Half-Human*Mage Class TypeSupport (Common)Mental Class TypePsionic Prime (Omega)

Attributes

Physical AttributeStart Plus ExperienceFinalStrength12 + 113Dexterity15 + 116Agility15 + 116Endurance12 + 113

Mental AttributeFinalPerception20Intelligence20Willpower20Power33

Magic Aptitudes:

Spell FocusPercentageProficienciesSpirit99+%(Spell Breaking, Unweaving, Negation, Dampening, Rendering)Healing57%(Mend, Cleanse, Purge, Heal)Air25%(Cleanse, Create)Water25%(Cleanse, Create)

Psionic Aptitudes:

Mental FocusPercentageMind Rend-X99+%Telekinesis-X99+%Pyrokinesis-X99+%Precognition-X99+%

Blessings[Energy Sight], [Increased Psionic Potency]

Skills

Skill Plus PercentageSkill Focus Plus PercentageLinguistics: 99+%NARune Crafting: 99+%:Reading/Writing: 99+%Art: 89%:Human Painting 99%Navigation: 88%:Astronavigation: 99+%Musical Instrument: 85+%:Violin: 99+%Piloting: 77%:Human Fighter Pilot: 99+%Firearms: 75%:Blasters: 95%Mechanical Engineering: 91%NAHand to Hand Combat: 85%:Human Martial Arts: 90%Medicine: 71%First Aid: 84%Melee Combat: 68%NASneaking: 68%NAMeditation: 67%NA

Seeing my status, in particular the way my Psionic Prime powers have all changed I am finally ready to give them all a try. That dash 'X' at the end is how I got my new name, at least for this universe (Kyle Goldman-X). The name doesn't appear in my status, thankfully, but everything else does. I guess they needed an easy way to keep the real Kyle Goldman and myself separated. I offered the helpful hint that they could just look at us and see the difference, the Kyle Goldman of this universe looks exactly like I did before my Awakening trials. I am the freak Kyle Goldman in this universe. Well, I guess I am also the freak in my own universe as no one else quite looks like me in my home universe, universe thirteen.

"Yeah." I reply, still not feeling like talking to this chatty assistant.

With that one word answer the door to the transport vessel breaks away. Instantly my nose is filled with the scent of smoke and ash. Below me is a war zone, somehow, I feel all too comfortable in such a place. The smell brings me back to past lives, with memories I had long since forgotten. Memories of fighting beside brothers and sisters at arms. This time will be different. This time I will just be fighting by myself, at least I haven't been told I will be going with anyone else.

"Then go." I feel a push on my back, directing me to the open doorway. The push isn't enough to move me, not if I didn't want to be moved. But I move anyways, letting my shackles fall to the ground as I spread my arms and let the cool breeze of air flow past me. For this moment I am free. For this one moment I control my life and my destiny. For this one moment I let myself fall.

I want to fall all the way to the center of the planet. To let myself get eaten up by the asphalt below. But an automatic rigging kicks in after a few thousand feet, expanding my parachute and forcing me to slow my assent. Then with that, I realize that I am still not in control of my destiny.

Thump.

I land with practiced ease that comes from a lifetime of training in special forces operations. I land with my feet, kick back, then roll back onto my butt, before I erase the complete motion of my fall with tried methods. In a second, I am up on my feet and scanning my surroundings.

I take off my parachute and begin burning it to a crisp on the spot. Then I begin to look for the enemies that are all around. There are so many enemy forces around that I swear I can feel them with my enhanced senses.

That's when I see it, my first inhabitant being eaten alive and being used as an incubator for the aliens. A problem I quickly fix by a liberal application of my new Pyrokinesis-X.

A NOTE FROM LYKANTHROPY

I just wanted to say thank you all for following me on this journey. Also as a reward to both myself and to you.

Next Week (August 8-12) I will go to a two chapter a day regimen.

This is just my way of saying THANK YOU!

SUPPORT "THE 13TH LOOP [A PROGRESSION, GAMELIT, SCI-FI ADVENTURE]"

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Lykanthropy

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8/4/2022, 10:46 PM

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