Kinson shared the news with Griffon the next day, sharing the full story and what happened in the deathdreams. When he finished, Griffon ruffled his hair, a proud smile on his face.
"Just as I'd expect from you. What next?" he asked.
Kinson hesitated. "I want to try and get Luthier to walk with me in the next deathdream we get."
Griffon frowned. "That's a bold move. For what purpose?"
"I don't think I'm special. I think anyone who can enter a deathdream can absorb the energy released by the death of the soul," Kinson speculated.
The grizzled soldier raised an eyebrow. "Now that would be something. But are you sure now is the right time to bring that up?"
Kinson shrugged. "I don't know, to be honest. If it's true, I can't imagine why we wouldn't want to know that. But if it's not… I may not have much more of a place here."
Griffon nodded slowly but said nothing more on the topic. After their training session, he followed Kinson back to the BPI. Andres greeted them when they got there, standing beside Rachel and Luthier. Kinson looked around but didn't find any sign of Kael.
"Are we about ready to get started?" Andres asked when they had all settled down.
Kinson raised his hand. "Where's Kael at? Did something happen?"
"Due to the nature of the deathdream we were given, Kael elected not to join us," Andres said simply.
"Oh. Does this mean it's confidential again?" Luthier drawled, looking bored.
Andres nodded and pulled the forms out, passing them around. Kinson signed without bothering to read through it. When he had gathered the papers together, Andres smiled, though it hardly touched his eyes.
"Thank you. Now, this mission is a little different than before, but it will make a pattern for those that follow," Andres explained, his voice taking on a formal tone. "This is a direct commission from the Titan Armed Forces, or TAF, as they will be called from now on."
"TAF? This is the first I've heard of them," Luthier interrupted.
"That's because they don't exist, yet. Titan and Europa will be withdrawing from the Alliance shortly, mostly due to this incident. Naturally, their forces will also leave the AAF, and form a new military organization. Titan will be calling theirs TAF," Andres said.
"What!" Kinson's mouth dropped. "Are you serious?"
Andres nodded soberly. "I'm afraid so. This will become public news after our work here is done."
"Wait, so this deathdream has something to do with the rebellion? How do you know I want a part in that?" Luthier's tone was sharp, his eyes narrowed to slits.
"For us, it's simply business. We have no affiliation with Titan or the new TAF. If you don't support the cause, you're welcome to refuse the commission." Andrew said bluntly. "That was all written in the contract I handed you earlier."
Kinson started, then glanced guiltily at the stacked papers. "Can I see mine back?" he asked, flustered.
Andres gave him a knowing smile but pulled him out of the stack. He continued his briefing as Kinson read through it.
"A certain incident happened several days ago. We don't know much as no one from Titan survived, but it seems to involve a violent conflict between Terran and Titan forces. While Titan already plans to withdraw from the Alliance, they asked us to confirm the details of the conflict before doing so based on this battle.
"Don't they have recordings or something? Why leave it up to us?" Luthier asked skeptically.
"Good question. Supposedly, a powerful psionic jammed all forms of transmissions during the battle." Andres answered.
Griffon raised an eyebrow. "That's a powerful psionic if it's true. I worked with someone that could do that. Class 4, but only a hundred-foot range or so. Hard to imagine smothering an entire battlefield."
"Indeed. But, the facts remain. The deathdream was recovered from the wreckage of one of Titan's battleships, and bears signs of traumatic injury in physical combat, as do most of the crew."
"Person," Kinson suddenly said.
"Hmm?" Andres looked at him, bewildered.
"Person. Not a deathdream. That was a human, with a life and family. Not simply a source of information, like a radio transmission." Kinson said, looking everyone in turn in the eye.
"Thank you for reminding us, Kinson," Andres said simply, then returned to his speech.
Although it was obvious he brushed his words aside, Kinson didn't care. As long as he remembered, that was what counted.
"As I was saying, our mission is to discover whatever forces attacked and determine their motives. The death dream was generated by a class 4 psionic perceiver, with the ability to detect psionic energy from miles away. Are there any questions?" Andres turned to look around the circle.
"Yeah. What was his name?" Kinson asked.
"Ah, yes. I have here his name was Dillon Moore."
"Dillon Moore," Kinson repeated. He didn't recognize it but committed the name to memory anyway.
"How are we going to approach this? Without Kael, I suppose I'll lead. Do you want to bring anyone else in, or just the two of us?" Luthier asked.
Andres hesitated before replying, deep in thought. "Just the two of you, for now. Perhaps, if there is a need, I can join you."
"Here that, Kinson?" Luthier looked at him. "Don't make me regret anything, or you're done."
"Right," Kinson nodded seriously. "I won't let you down."
In the isolation room, Kinson looked down on the opaque coffin enclosing the deceased soldier. Andres sat in a chair in front of the cots, while Griffon stood by the door. Kinson could tell both were ready for any emergency. Rachel sat lazily on the side, suppressing a yawn as they made eye contact. She smiled encouragingly, which Kinson returned with a nod. It was time.
Before lying down beside Luthier, he placed his hand on the coffin. "I will know your story. You will not be forgotten," he whispered.
With that, he lay down and closed his eyes. Although it had been a while, he still recognized the strange feeling as Andres bound their souls together. He could feel the deathdream before him, bursting with energy. It was nothing like the old and faded souls at the graveyard. This one burned with vitality, its lingering regrets still fresh.
Luthier engaged the deathdream, and the familiar suction force appeared, pulling them both into it. With his newfound power, Kinson felt much more aware of the process. Before, he would compare it to a muddled noise, as though through a wall. Now, that noise was right before him, clear and concise.
Kinson felt an excitement bubble up within him. It soon turned to anxiety, as he realized this would be his first time watching a deathdream bound to someone else. He hadn't paid too much attention to Kael and Luthier's descriptions of what occurred, but it couldn't be too bad, right? When he watched a deathdream alone, he saw through the protagonist's eyes but was still fully self-aware and conscious.
Perhaps it was his budding anticipation, but Kinson was drawn in before the harsh tug of the binding could snatch him. Soon, the soul space appeared, and the deathdream began to form. The familiar tug of the deathdream beckoned him to join with it, but Kinson resisted, remaining planted beside Luthier. The ensuing storm of light materialized and began to construct the world around them. Soon, it was complete, yet Kinson still found himself in the soulspace, somehow. He was fully aware of everything going on within the deathdream, but still separate from it. His soul jumped as an unexpected voice sounded in his mind.
"How's your first time following instructions?" Luthier asked smugly.
"Different. Or maybe not: it's hard to tell. Do you always stay in the soulspace? I've always followed their perspective around," Kinson replied.
"That's actually what we're doing. The best I understand it, you always watch a deathdream this way. Having someone beside you breaks the immersion, though, so you're more aware of your soul's actual location."
Luthier clarified his concern simply, yet Kinson still wanted to discuss it more. At that point, though, the deathdream had fully formed. As he concentrated on the colorful display of light, Kinson began to experience the world as Dillon Moore saw it.
Dillon stood beside the door to the bridge on the Explorer class battleship Invoker. The Invoker was a newer ship and was home to about three hundred soldiers. The starship was nearly a half-mile long, boasting state-of-the-art psionic weaponry and stealth abilities. Thick armor plating lined the hull, built up periodically to protect the massive psionic cannons capable of destroying cities with each volley.
Dillon peered out the large, expansive window which lined the bridge. The glowing light of countless computers created a bit of a glare, but did little to fill the immensity of the nothingness which surrounded their ship. They were simply on a routine patrol, though their position was currently closer to Jupiter than Titan. Occasionally, a large asteroid, free of any gravitational force other than a weak influence from the sun, would collide against the ship. Fortunately, the new psionic shields worked as claimed, and deflected them away before more traditional means were employed. He smiled as he recalled the tense moments that had plagued them in the past, as the captain would decide whether to blast it or correct their course. While many of the asteroids could be picked up on their sensors, some occasionally slipped by and brought a bit of panic to everyone on the ship. Truly, psionic technology was incredible.
He leaned back and suppressed a yawn. For good or ill, they hadn't even caught so much as a whiff of anything out of the ordinary, and things were getting dull. Even now, Dillon had no idea why there were policies stating an armed guard had to be stationed at the bridge at all times. Fortunately, that shift was rotated around the squad, and only fell on him once every few weeks. But man was it boring.
Suddenly, one of the officers cried out, catching the attention of all fifty of the crew in the room. Dillon frowned. That was the man in charge of the sensory array. Had another asteroid been detected? Still, ever since the new shields had been installed, an asteroid was hardly worth mentioning.
"Commander! There seems to be an unfamiliar vessel approaching. It just fell out of hyperspace, and is headed right for us!"
Commander Ruthin, an experienced officer with over thirty years of experience waved his hand, and a holographic display appeared before them. The Invoker sat in the middle, seemingly without moving. The large asteroid they had just deflected spun off behind them, soon disappearing from the display. A new object, however, took its place, accelerating toward them at incredible speeds. It was a ship, about half the size of their own. Large cannons lined its armored hull, and a blue psionic field shielded the ship.
Ruthin immediately opened communications. "This is the Invoker of the AAF. We have no records of your authorization to enter Titan Space. Please state your name and business, and we will escort you out." After the transmission ended, the Commander turned to another officer, sitting behind a communications array. "Officer Marvey, report the situation to Titan Command."
"Right away, sir," the woman replied, turning to her screen.