Vibrations wracked the shuttle as it rocketed through the atmosphere. Saera Alexander gripped her harness, her stomach rising into her mouth. The force of the seemingly impossible upward trajectory had Saera pinned to her seat. Her breath was ragged from nerves and the pressure, but she was exhilarated. In that moment, she felt like anything was possible. She was about to start a new life.

With one final surge, the shuttle broke orbit. It was suddenly quiet, serene.

A grin spread across Saera's face, igniting a spark in her jade eyes as she took in the view out the window. Earth was a glowing orb beneath her, shrinking with every second. I'm in space. I'm in freaking space!

It all felt like a surreal dream. A week before, she was trying to survive high school like any other teenager. Then the TSS came to find her, and everything changed.

The notion of intelligent life outside her home planet was considered farfetched by many. Personally, Saera was always drawn to the idea. The chance to visit other planets, to see the culture of another species—she used to daydream for such an escape. But the TSS didn't reveal the kind of alien world she envisioned. The Agents looked just like her. Except, they possessed incredible telekinetic abilities, and they said she had them, too.

The two other passengers on the shuttle supposedly had latent telekinetic abilities, as well. Both of the boys were a year or two older than her. One was from Japan, and the other from Germany, or maybe Austria. Their English wasn't great, so they hadn't talked much before boarding the shuttle.

Saera glanced over and saw that their eyes were glued to the windows next to their own seats. She returned her attention to the outside.

Earth was no longer visible, but she could see part of the moon. As the shuttle approached, the terrain became more distinct—broad, pitted plains interrupted by the lips of craters plunging a kilometer or more into shadow. She was mesmerized by the foreign landscape. Looking through a telescope didn't begin to compare to real life.

On the final approach, the shuttle turned to the side so the moon was underneath, arching around the equator to the dark side of the moon. At first, Saera couldn't see much beyond the gray lunar surface that seemed flat and featureless in the dim starlight. Then, the edge of the TSS spaceport came into view. Her mouth dropped open.

The massive spacedock stretched for as far as Saera could see from her vantage. Ships of all sizes were berthed along long, glass-wall corridors. The central dome of the dock stood out as a delicate bubble that shined with a pearlescent sheen under lights along the perimeter and gangways.

The shuttle headed toward a wing on the far side of the dock that berthed other small ships. On the way, they passed by what looked to be armored warships that would dwarf even the largest aircraft carriers on Earth. None of it seemed possible—that such an incredible facility could be hidden behind the moon she'd stared up at her whole life. But that was just the beginning. There was a whole civilization of people living across distant worlds, and she got to be a part of it.

The shuttle shuddered as it came to rest.

Saera and the two other recruits looked at each other, not sure what to do.

After a moment, the man who'd introduced himself as Agent Franeri when they met on Earth emerged from the front of the shuttle. He reached inside his sleek black overcoat and pulled out a device that looked something like a smartphone. He spoke into it, and the device stated, "Unstrap your harnesses. Time to go," in English, then short phrases in Japanese and German.

Saera unclipped her harness and the boys did likewise. She stood cautiously and tightened the ponytail of her auburn hair that had slipped in the jostling of the launch.

The Agent placed his hand on the side door of the shuttle. With a hiss and a rush of cool air, the door slid upward. Franeri stepped out onto the gangway.

Saera reached under her seat to grab the bag containing her belongings from Earth. She took a deep breath and was the first to step toward the door. Her initial steps felt strange—like there was more bounce. It's artificial gravity. I'm not on Earth anymore. The thought was both terrifying and thrilling; but, for the moment, the thrill was winning in her subconscious battle.

Saera's breath caught when she saw the spacedock's interior, and she heard the boys inhale sharply behind her.

In front of her was a holographic star map of the galaxy, suspended at the center of a two-story rotunda. The map rotated slowly, rendered in stunning realism that brought out the rainbow of nebulae between the star systems. The arm of the galaxy that contained Earth was illuminated with a red point, and blue points stood out across the rest of the map. Other small shuttles were docked in a semi-circle around the rotunda, and a broad corridor extended to the core of the spacedock. The seamless dome of the transparent roof offered an unobstructed view to the surrounding starscape. Windows arched all the way to the floor, with the moon sprawling several kilometers below.

Saera's heart raced as she took it in. It's like I'm in the future.

Still awe-struck, she followed the others down the corridor toward the center of the port. As they walked, she admired the technological ingenuity of the structure. Touch-surface consoles with holographic projection displays were placed intermittently along the hall, and interactive readouts were integrated into the transparent walls next to the gangways extending to the vessels docked on either side. The floor was a fine metal grating, interspersed with segments of dark blue carpeting.

The Agent led Saera and the boys through the port to a row of waiting shuttles. They garnered looks from the other people traversing the corridors. Most were wearing dark gray uniforms, but there were a handful of others dressed in black like their Agent escort.

Once inside the shuttle, the Agent sealed the door and directed the compact craft to the moon's surface. Saera stared out the panoramic window with wonder at the gravity anchor securing the space station to the moon's surface. The underside glowed with aqua light from the thrusters to keep the station stabilized, and a massive chain spanned the five kilometers to the rocky surface below. The shuttle glided down and docked at the surface port.

The port had three branches, and they walked along the upper right segment to the hub at the intersection. A semi-circle of elevator doors curved around the lobby. With an air of routine, the Agent indicated a destination on a touch-panel next to the doors.

Saera tried to see where they were going, but the written language on the panel was completely foreign to her.

After a minute, one of the doors opened. The Agent ushered the recruits into the elevator car. A padded bench upholstered in gray fabric wrapped around the back of the car, and Saera sat down in the center next to the Agent with the boys to her left.

The door silently slid closed. There was no sense of movement, but a white light pulsed next to the door, possibly indicating travel down the shaft. After two minutes, there was a loud thud outside. Saera and the boys nearly jumped out of their seats.

The Agent made a soothing gesture with his hands. "It's fine. We'll explain after you can understand what I'm saying," he said through the device in the three languages.

Are we going to learn whatever language it is he's speaking? Saera sat back on the bench and tried to relax.

Several more minutes passed in silence. Then, the interval between the white pulses of light next to the door slowed and turned blue. The door opened.

Outside, a decorative lobby with marble-like stone was surrounded by elevator doors with openings to hallways along each quadrant. The two boys inhaled with surprise. Saera grinned. When she was told the TSS was essentially a military academy, she had expected concrete and corrugated steel. She couldn't wait to see what else the facility had in store.

The Agent led them to a set of double doors down one of the halls. The doors slid open, revealing what looked like a medical office. The Agent spoke to someone at a front desk and gestured to the recruits.

Two men and a woman, all dressed in white uniforms, came to meet them. Each held a device similar to what the Agent had used to communicate with the recruits.

The woman dressed in white greeted Saera through her device in English, "Hello. My name is Sheila and I'll be assisting with your orientation."

"Hi," Saera replied. She caught worried glances from the boys as they were all led in different directions.

Sheila took Saera into a private room down a short hall. She directed Saera to sit down in an upright chair on a pedestal that reminded her somewhat of an optometrist's office. A contraption was suspended from the ceiling above the front of the chair.

"The easiest way to begin your integration is through neural imprinting," Sheila explained through the translator. "We'll give you the basic linguistic building blocks for New Taran, the standard language throughout the Taran worlds. It will take some time for your brain to map all the syntax, but your preliminary understanding of the language will be almost immediate."

Saera's grin returned. "Cool."

"Now, this may be a little disorienting. It's simple cortical imprinting via retinal stimulation. Very standard."

That doesn't sound simple at all. "Using light to encode data in my brain?"

"That's right. It may not be commonplace on your world, but Tarans have used similar techniques for millennia."

This is all amazing compared to what we have on Earth now, but it doesn't feel like they are technologically millennia ahead. "If it's been around for so long, then why don't you use it for learning everything?"

"Well, it's highly effective for encoding things like vocabulary, but each person's brain maps things differently," Sheila explained. "Plus, there are other sensory and emotional components to long-term cognitive formation that no amount of programming can fully replicate. We'd have to overwrite those innate patterns and unique characteristics in order to imprint larger volumes of information. Don't want a bunch of uniform drones!"

"So, you're saying I'll still have to go to class the old-fashioned way."

"Afraid so."

Saera nodded. But what about the other technologies? In thousands of years they could have developed anything, yet all of this reminds me of what we have on Earth. "All right. Let's do this."

The contraption lowered from the ceiling. Saera's chair adjusted to the proper height for her to look into the device.

At first, the device only gave a few sporadic bursts of light.

"It's calibrating to your neural structure," Sheila stated. "We're about to begin the imprinting."

The device flashed one final time. Then, it illuminated with a full spectrum of pulsating colors. Five minutes later, the device rose back up to the ceiling.

Saera blinked, dazed. The room was spinning a little.

Sheila said something without the translator. The sounds were nonsense at first. Then, words started to form as an echo in Saera's mind. Slowly, the word jumble transformed into a sentence, "Can you understand me?"

Saera nodded. A word came into her head, and she mouthed the sounds in the foreign New Taran language, "Yes."

Sheila smiled. "Good. Now, let's look you over. Come with me."

The words took a moment to process, continuing to echo as meaning gradually came to the unfamiliar tones. Saera got up and followed Sheila back into the hall and down to another room. A circular dais a meter in diameter was at the center of the space with a matching component suspended from the ceiling.

"Step into the scanner," instructed Sheila.

Saera went over to the device. When she was standing still in the center of the platform, the upper part of the device illuminated and beams formed a web that encircled her entire body—first from head to foot and then around her. "What was that for?" she asked when the lights extinguished.

"Body scan for clothing sizing." Sheila made some entries on a touchscreen console. "It can also run a med eval, but all of you were cleared down on Earth. Looks like you and the boys also already got your standard Taran citizen immunizations and contraceptive implants?"

Saera nodded.

"So you're all set."

A panel in the side wall opened, and there was a whirring of machinery. Saera watched as a stack of light gray clothes were deposited behind a transparent door.

Sheila took out the stack of clothes and handed it to Saera. "Made to order," she said with a smile.

The material was soft and airy, like a fine cotton. Saera thumbed through the stack and saw that it contained everything from undergarments to a light jacket. "That was fast."

"Why would it take any longer? At any rate, there's one set for you. More will be delivered to your quarters once you're settled in." The machine started whirring again. "Your shoes will be ready in a minute."

Saera looked down at her jeans and long-sleeve T-shirt. "Should I change now or...?"

"Yes." Sheila opened the door to the hall and directed Saera to a room containing a reclining bed and monitoring equipment. "You can put what you're wearing in your bag, if you want to keep it. I'll get your shoes while you change."

Saera was left alone in the room. She let out a slow breath before she started to undress. The technology wasn't as alien in appearance as she feared it might be, but it was unnerving not knowing how anything worked. She liked having some sense of control. I'll get used to it. Anything is better than back home.

She finished changing and crammed her old clothes into her travel bag. It was almost at capacity already, so she had to kneel on the top of the bag to get it zipped again with the extra items. She slung the bag back over her shoulder and waved at the door like she'd seen Sheila do before. It slid open.

Saera stuck her head out into the hall.

Sheila was pacing. She thrust the new shoes at Saera. "Come on, we're late for check-in!"

*        *        *

"Banks, we need to talk." Wil Sights slammed the door to the High Commander's office.

High Commander Banks sighed and looked up from his desk. "You know there's a buzzer by the door."

"Yeah, well, you ignored my emails so I thought a more direct approach was in order."

"There isn't anything to discuss."

Wil sat down in the one of the visitor chairs across from the High Commander. "Really? Because I think assigning me a class of Initiates to train in advanced navigation theory is something that would have warranted a heads up."

"It's time you get in some teaching experience," Banks countered.

Wil crossed his arms. "That's not what I'm debating. You should be well aware that I'm finally making progress on the independent jump, and this will only be a distraction."

Banks folded his hands on the desktop. "Well, we're going to need some navigators that actually know how to use the thing once you finally figure it out."

"That can wait."

"I disagree."

Wil stared down the High Commander. It's as if that agreement he made with Taelis last year doesn't mean anything. They haven't eased up one bit. "Do you want me to finish the independent jump drive design or not?"

"Of course."

"Then back off and let me work." Wil stood and started to walk toward the door.

"You're not getting out of teaching that class," Banks stated.

"Me teaching a handful of teenagers isn't going to get me command experience."

Banks steepled his fingers. "It's a start."

"There are more effective ways of going about this than dropping another last-minute assignment in my lap."

"Great, then you'll get some excellent command proxy experience figuring out that alternative approach."

Wil shook his head. I don't know how much more I can take. I can only do so much.

"Wil, it's only going to get tougher from here."

Wil stared at the floor, his chest hollow.

"The class—"

"I guess I'll just have to find a way." Wil retreated from the office, knowing there was one more place he could turn.

*        *       *

Saera didn't have time to catch her breath as Sheila rushed her down the elevator to a lower level of Headquarters. Where are we going?

The elevator door opened and Sheila looked around. "They must already be gathered in the main reception room." She set the pace at a jog.

Saera was still hauling her bag, and she struggled to keep up with Sheila.

As they continued down the hall from the elevator, the background din of voices rose in the distance. Rounding a bend, groups of ten teenagers dressed in light gray were being led by someone in dark blue.

Sheila scanned over the groups. "There we go." She headed for a young woman in dark blue leading nine girls. "Jody?"

The girl in dark blue turned. "Is this Saera?"

Sheila nodded. "Saera, Jody will take you the rest of the way through orientation. I'll take your bag to your temporary quarters." She held out her hand to take the bag.

Saera handed it over. "Thanks."

"Good luck." Sheila headed back in the direction of the elevator.

The nine other girls examined Saera. "Hi," she greeted. They looked her over from head to foot before resuming their conversations.

Saera sighed. Feeling out of place and alone was all too familiar. I just thought it would be different here. But why would it? What I really wanted to get away from was myself. She pushed away the thought.

Without ceremony, they filed through the door into the reception room. Saera entered the room with a slack jaw.

Other groups of ten Trainees led by an older student of the TSS were pressed around the outer edge of the room. All of the new arrivals wore the same light grey, fitted long-sleeved shirt and pants—standing out from the dark blue of the group leaders. What seemed to be a clump of ranking TSS members were in the center of the room, running the check-in. Occasionally, a meek-looking new Trainee would run from their group and hand a touchscreen pad to the man apparently overseeing the entire operation.

The group of Agents in the center of the room, all dressed in black, fascinated her; they all had an air that presented the utmost authority and grace while still maintaining a calm, casual appearance. She watched their subtle interaction, observing how they kept the illusion of a serious, official affair while taking an almost humorous approach to the entire situation.

The smiles and banter were a harsh contrast to the activities of those around her, which reminded her all too much of the clique mannerisms experienced back in her high school on Earth. I thought I had left all of this behind. She sighed.

Jody noticed her exasperation. "Not quite the alien world you expected?" she asked Saera.

"I guess teenagers are pretty much the same everywhere." Did I really think I could escape?

Jody shrugged. "Give it time. The TSS has an effect on people—brings out the best. Still, we try to keep things light." She scanned over some information on her handheld. "But, based on this preliminary assessment, I think you'll do well. You have what they're looking for."

"What's that?"

"There are certain genetic markers," Jody replied. "The TSS keeps an eye out for those indicators in standard medical testing on every planet. There's one marker, in particular, that functions sort of like an inhibitor for abilities. Some have an inherently higher potential than others."

"Is it always accurate?"

"Usually, but there are always exceptions."

Saera looked at the Agents in the center of the room again.

Jody followed her gaze. "Those are some of the top-ranking TSS Agents. The one in the center there is Cris Sights, the head of the Primus Agent class and Lead Agent of the TSS."

Saera looked with new awe at the Agents. After a long moment, she asked, "Why do they wear those tinted glasses?"

"To hide the glowing eyes—a trait of telepaths." She glanced at her handheld. "Our turn."

For what? Saera looked at her, perplexed.

"I need a volunteer to bring up the attendance," Jody said, looking around at the girls in Saera's group.

All of the girls shied away.

Saera stepped forward. "I'll do it."

"Thanks. Hand this to the Lead Agent. Group 7," Jody instructed, handing her touchscreen pad to Saera.

Trying to project confidence, Saera approached the Agents. Why do they need us to physically walk anything over? I thought they were technologically advanced.

At the same time, a door on the other side of the room slid open and an extremely young-looking Junior Agent strode into the room. He was strikingly good-looking to her eye, with well-toned physique, short chestnut hair, and cerulean eyes that glowed from across the room. Saera judged he was about her age—which made them both younger than the vast majority of the other Trainees—but she dismissed the notion as impossible, given his rank. Like Saera, he headed toward the group of Agents in the center of the room.

The young Junior Agent reached the Agents first and engaged in conversation with the one the group leader had identified as Cris Sights, the TSS Lead Agent. As Saera neared, their conversation became audible over the unintelligible hum of voices in the room. She slowed down her pace, not wanting to intrude on their discussion.

"...This isn't the time, Wil," the Agent was saying. "If it's that urgent, go see Banks directly about it."

"I already talked to him," the Junior Agent responded. "He's not even listening to my side of it."

"There's nothing I can do right now. Let me finish up here and I'll talk to him."

"Class starts tomorrow, so make it quick. This," the Junior Agent made an all-encompassing gesture, "changes a lot of things. It's hard enough as it is. I don't see how any of these people will actually listen to me. It's grown progressively worse over the last few years with every new batch of Trainees. Now he wants me to head up a class of Initiates? They don't know who I am and certainly don't care to learn. I—" He cut himself short when he noticed Saera standing idly a few meters away. "Someone's here to see you."

The Agent turned around and faced Saera and she stepped forward. She felt the intense eyes of the Junior Agent on her.

"Here is the attendance for Group 7, sir," she said clearly despite her nerves, and she handed the touchpad to the Agent. The Junior Agent continued to watch her.

"Thank you," the Agent said. He paused a moment. "What's your name?"

The question took Saera by surprise. "Saera Alexander, sir."

A fleeting expression of recognition passed across the Agent's face. He recovered and smiled. "Welcome to the Tararian Selective Service."

"Thank you, sir." As she spoke, she met the gaze of the Junior Agent. His blue-green eyes glowed slightly, captivating her. She felt instantly drawn to him through an inexplicable connection. He looked at her openly, as if ready to share the pain she somehow knew he held deep inside. Saera wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to. What am I thinking? You can't. She tore her gaze away.

They both shifted uncomfortably. "Excuse me," she murmured, keeping her eyes cast downward, and turned to walk back to her group. For a moment, she felt the Junior Agent stir, as if about to call out to her, but no appeal came.

As she walked away, she heard the Junior Agent begin, "So you're still making them walk up here for attendance? That's quite a way to mess with th..."

Who was he? Shaken, Saera returned to her group of Trainees. As she approached, Jody was eyeing her. Why is everyone paying such close attention to me?

"You just met the most famous guy in the entire TSS," Jody said as Saera approached.

The other girls in the group stopped talking and paid attention to what their leader was saying. They all looked at the young Junior Agent.

"Oh, wow..." one of them breathed. "He is fine!"

Saera groaned, but blushed.

Jody laughed. "Don't get your hopes up, ladies. Someone like that is hard to catch."

"Who is he?" one of the girls asked.

"That depends on how you look at it," the Junior Agent responded with a wry smile. "Some would say he is the son of Cris Sights and his wife Kate. But rumor has it that when Kate first joined the TSS, some knew her as Katrine Vaenetri. If that's true, that means that Cris Sights is actually Cristoph Sietinen."

"That's impossible!" a girl exclaimed with an expression of superiority on her face. "I'll admit there's a resemblance, but I'm from one of the lower Dynasties of the Third Region and there has never been mention of the Sietinen heir joining the TSS."

"What makes you think there would be?" the Junior Agent countered. "Anyway," she continued, "they say that Wil Sights will become the sole member of a new Primus Elite class."

Everyone but Saera inhaled sharply and they looked around at each other in disbelief.

Should I know what that means? Saera was about to be frustrated by her lack of understanding, but she caught herself. There would be plenty of time to learn. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. There was a whole universe to explore. Her new life had begun.