The Genesis Project

*First paragraph is a POV of my character, after that normal view*

My eyes...they hurt, why do they hurt to open? I'm bound, whats going on? I'm being asked my name...what is my name? I don't remember, who am I? What is this place!? I am being poked with something...ouch! it hurts! stop! Why don't they listen? They are putting me back to sleep? what for...

Daniel could do nothing but remember what happened in his last memory, that was all he could recall the rest hurt him too much. He muttered for a time as he was being awakened, this time for good he was hoping. He was afraid but the kind that make you want to lash out to protect yourself. He was being questioned now.

"Do you remember anything?"

"No...what are you going to do you me?"

The woman, he could now tell it was a women that was leaning over him, spoke to another person just outside his visual range. "He has massive amnesia...." She turned back to Daniel, "Your name is Daniel Kilo, you are sixteen years old, you are recovering from a 10 year Stasis. You will be briefed in due time. Within twenty four hours you will be unshackled and lead to your quarters."

"I do not under stand what is going on....or what you are telling me!"

She put a hand on his forehead and lightly stroked his hair instantly calming Kilo. "Its all going to be alright...it is understandable that you don't know what is happening....you will soon enough."

Several needles were injected into him at that moment, two in his shoulders, one in each leg and one in his neck. "These will help you...tat-tat for now Daniel."

Several hours later...

Laying strapped to a table Daniel gave up struggling three hours into waking up and just waited. His patience paid off as three men walked into the room and began to push buttons, releasing his shackles one by one. "Daniel Kilo, My name is Commander Sykes, You will be briefed in due time but I will ask that you come with me. Those injections sped up your recovery as of now you should have very little to no atrophy. Come."

Daniel turned and lightly hopped off the table, he followed Sykes, the two other men were behind him with weapons drawn. "Why are your men aiming there weapons at me?" Sykes turned to look at him, "To keep me and everyone aboard safe from you."

"me?? Your two...no three times my size! how could I hurt you!?"

Sykes smiled and chuckled at this statement from the boy. "Trust me...you will find out soon enough." They continued down the hall for what seemed forever and came to a elevator. The entered and was the Commander punched in codes it took off fast going up.

The walls were clear showing off a gigantic ship and various sections. There was a rain Forrest, desert, mini ocean, very very large open space and so on. "You will find three others in a room you will be assigned, two females and another male as yourself. "If you damage the room at all you will be disciplined. Understand?" all this information seemed to go in one ear and out the other with Kilo as he was amazed at what he was seeing. "Do you understand Kilo?" The boy nodded at the second request for a answer.

"One of the females and the other male our in their training session, yours and the second female is in several hours...be prepared."

The elevator stopped quickly opening to a room with four doorways. "Enjoy your company." Daniel walked into the room, the door behind him quickly shut and the elevator sped away. There was a silence, something he was accustomed to but did not like it. "Hello...?"

A small yawn made it way to his ears, feminine in tone. Daniel sat at a table and a screen popped up, it had several options of information, but He did not look at it for very long and looked around his new quarters...

Consciousness. The overhead light blinded the girl. She had to squezze her eyes shut in a vain effort to keep the light out. There was scuffling to either side of her, but she could see neither the ones making the noise, nor what they were doing. Suddenly she heard a voice in her ear, "Jennifer, can you hear me?" Jennifer nodded weakly in responce.

"Alright, good. Now I'm going to give you a few injections, they'll get your muscles moving again." The doctor informed her.

Jennifer's eyes suddenly widened, "NO!" She screamed.

The scream however was drowned out prematurely, as the air was sucked out of the operation room. There was a deafening roar, and light objects were thrown about. The medical team was on the floor, gasping for breathe that was no longer there. SE-DATE-HER the doctor mouthed to the nearest orderly. Jennifer tried to fight the injection, but she was still restrained. "No! No! No! No!" She repeated until the sedative took affect. When she collapsed the air rushed back into the room, with the same deafening roar. The doctor stood up slowly, gasping for air.

"Keep her on, mid grade sedatives, at all times until she gains control of herself. I'll go inform the commander." The doctor excused himself from the room.

---

A few hours later, the doctor and Commander Sykes were talking outside the room where Jennifer lay sedated.

"Get her off of the sedatives doctor. Now." The commander told him.

The doctor disagreed, "But sir, she sucked the air out of the operating room last time. Her, her simple existance is a danger to this ship."

"Or, her ability could save us all one day, if she learns to control in. Wake her up."

"But-"

"Now!" Sykes would not be denied.

---

Consciousness, again. This time Jennifer was unrestrained, and lay in an unfirmiliar bed. The lights were not so bright in here, and so she was able to look around. She saw an older man sitting at a nearby desk. "Hello?" She ventured.

Commander Sykes turned and smiled at her, "Do you know who you are?"

The girl blinked, "Of course, Jennifer Morris."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen. Why are you asking me these questions."

Commander Sykes stopped smiling, "You're off by three years. You're current age is sixteen. You have partial amnesia, it's a side effect from the stasis." Jennifer opened her mouth to interupt, but Sykes silenced her, "You have a lot of questions, and we can answer most of them, in time. You need to rest now."

Jennifer finally nodded, the strange man left, and she drifted off to sleep.

---

"Hello..." A voice called.

Conciousness, for the third time that day. It seemed like she would never get the rest she needed. She yawned into her hand polietly. "Who's there?" She called out.

"Who's there?"

Daniel gulped a bit, he peered into the room the question came from and saw a girl in her laying in bed. The first obvious thing about her was her red hair, Green eyes stared back at him and he tried for a smile but he knew the girl must be tired...he was tired as well. "I'm sorry that I woke you..."

Having said that, Daniel looked in the other two rooms, one was obviously the other females room, her name was engraved to the wall just beside her bed. "Oh so that is how I'll know..." The second room he looked it was the other male's room; but once he found his room he noticed it was almost the same as the other male's room. Odd at first he drifted off to sleep on his own in many years according to the people in the medical center.

He dreamed about darkness, floating all around in nothing but darkness...occasionally he woke up swinging without a reason. His actions were getting violent and he was not sure why. Ok Daniel....remember....ugh.....remember something..." Talking to himself only gave a light shield to the pain in his head; nothing came back and if something did it returned to the void as his mind was flooded with pain. Passing out was his third time returning to sleep that day.

Loud beeping woke him up, he walked towards the elevator shaft, he remembered that is where he had to be when he was expected to go 'train'. Daniel did not catch a glimpse of the girl when he walked to the elevator, maybe she was gone already. He stopped at the doors and just as he did the two men that were with Sykes tossed a black jacket, blacks pants and a white under shirt to him. "Your preferred outfit Kilo, as by your record."

Looking over the clothes he was first iffy on them but as he put them on they brought a smile to him and a big one at that. "Alright I hope you are ready to train, come with us." Daniel was not sure what they meant still but went with them. Down the elevator they went. What do you mean with--" The guard around his size turned quickly and shoved him against the thick glass wall of the elevator. "You will not speak unless spoken to!!"

Daniel had the look of panic but he felt a surge of adrenaline surge through his body, replacing the look of panic to a challenging look at the guard. "Want to change that look little boy!?" Kilo shook his head, already tired of being treated this way. I'd appreciate it if you would stop...being a total jackass towards me."

"Oh-ho-ho! So you--"

Stopping in mid sentence, the guard swung the butt of his rifle at Daniel's head, smacking it right below his eye and dropping him to a knee. "Care to rephrase that boy?" Daniel touched his face then looked at his hand. He saw some blood. The elevator door opened behind the guards, the one that was peaceful towards Kilo stepped out, while the other poked and prodded the kid. "What you gonna do?"

Daniel got to his feet and looked at the guard with a angry expression. Without seemingly moving Daniel's shin connected with the meaty tissue of the thigh on the guard. A loud thud came from the blow and then a cracking noise. The bone had snapped in the guards thigh.

"A...ahh!!! You...you...BASTARD!!"

Daniel stepped over him proceeding out the elevator leaving the near crippled man in the elevator alone. Soon reality washed over Kilo, he started to sweat a little and was partly ashamed of what he had done.

"Daniel Kilo?"

Looking up, Daniel nodded seeing Commander Sykes. "Your just in time for your first week of training, good luck son."

Daniel walked into a large dojo/gym like area....

"Again! Again! Did you hear me, kid? I said again!" shouted an angry voice.

A rather large hand slapped the young boy across the face. He flinched, long brown hair falling nearly to his eyes as he tried to stop the tears from flowing. Why were they doing this to him? What had he done to deserve this? He remembered nothing...nothing of his past life. They had said he had amnesia and it would come back in time, but so far nothing. A Commander...Sykes was it? The Commander had spoken to him...Told him something about being briefed later. They wouldn't tell him anything. Yet now they expected him to train with this ability he had...To concentrate his mind and move things...to convert it into raw power. Even to tap into the feelings and emotions of other.

"Stop daydreaming!" Another slap, "You need to be ready! The less you train, the less you'll be prepared. Do you want to die?"

"S-stop...s-stop...hitting me...i-it hurts...I-I don't want to move the spoon with my mind anymore...I don't understand how this will help me at all...I-I just want to be left alone," sobbed the boy.

A rough hand grabbed Linus by the hair, forcing him to look into the older man's irate eyes.

"Look, kid. You're going to train as you told. I don't need to tell you why. But if you have to be a smarty pants, then you should know that the better you can focus your power on small things, the more control you'll have. Now do it again! Or do I have to smack you senseless?"

A terrified glance...And then Linus closed his eyes to do as he was told, stifling his sobs. He directed his mind to the spoon, and though his eyes were closed he could sense its presence. The spoon slowly lifted into the air, hovering...

"Now...move it to the left...to the right..."

By the time Linus was finished, he stumbled into his room, only half aware. His head felt as if it had been split into a million pieces. His mind was taxed as if he had solved a thousand calculus problems. He collapsed on his bed, continuing to sob until he fell into a restless sleep.

Jennifer awoke some hours later. She vaguely recalled a not visiting her, but she never got his name. Not that she had time to speculate, as she heard knocking at her door. a gruff voice called through the door, "Get dressed and outside."

Foot steps retreated from the door. She did as she was asked, and got up. There was a set of uniforms laid out in the closet, she choose the navy blue ones. After that she moved to the mirror to pay down her long hair, and detangle her hair as best as she could with her fingers. The foot steps returned, and Jennifer quickly moved into the hallway. There was an armed guard, as well as the doctor from the operation. The details were fuzzy, but she remembered enough to be suspicious.

"Come with us Mrs. Morris. We're to start your training." The doctor told her.

"My training?" She asked.

The doctor smiled slightly, "For that special ability of yours."

The guard placed a firm hand on her shoulder and duected her down the hallway. Jennifer followed, seeing no alternative.

When Amber opened her eyes, she saw only darkness. She was floating in a liquid that was not quite water, but very close. The ventilator secured over her mouth and nose had a little bit of trouble fighting against her own instinct to breathe, but after a few moments, the training she had endured to use the breathing device came back to her, and she relaxed, matching the flow of air as it blew in an out of the device.

The liquid had risen in temperature since she had awoken, and now began to cool, the sound of the refrigeration unit humming softly just beneath the eerie echo of Beethoven being piped into the container. Her limbs felt tired, as if she had just had a long work out, and recalled the electrodes fed into the surface muscles under her skin that had been keeping her body ‘active’ while she slept.

The woman tested he limbs, scrunching her toes and working her fingers, slowly moving through her muscle groups to make sure there was no atrophy or damage caused by her attachments. Deciding that everything was in working order, Amber slowly looked up, barely able to see the glow of an emergency release button wavering above her head and the warm fluid around her moved with her.

She reached up, pressing the button with tinglng fingertips and the music immediately ceased, replaced by a deep, repetitive buzz that reverberated in her chest. The liquid began to drain away, and Amber took hold of the handles secured to the edges of the tank as the ship’s artificial gravity took hold of her, making her feel heavy and clumsy. Cool air hissed into the container as the liquid flowed away, and Amber secured her feet against the bottom of the holding tank as she pulled the respirator from her head, breathing in the cool air tinged with the salty scent of the fluid now removed from the tank.

Strips of light around the inside of the tank began to illuminate slowly, but even so, Amber blinked rapidly against the strain, the liquid dripping from her hair and face.

“Good morning, Amber. How did you sleep?” A female voice seemed to shout into the cell, bombarding ear drums accustomed to distorted classical music. Amber winced, opening her mouth to reply but achieving only a croak. “Remember that finer motor actions may take some time to return, so take it easy. Opening the tank now.”

The intercom voice clicked off, and the tank hummed as the front swung open, dripping the oily fluid onto the floor. A woman, possibly the same one who had spoken o her, stepped forward with a large towel, wiping excess fluid from Amber’s hair and face. Amber closed her eyes and braced herself against the rough texture of the towel that felt like sandpaper after the fluid bath.

“Vitals are looking good,” a man announced from a computer terminal, his eyes flickering over the screen. “Muscle response is good…degeneration is well below acceptable parameters. You can take out the stimulators whenever you are ready.”

Amber was given no warning as the dozens of muscle stimulators embedded in her skin were quickly yanked out one after the other, the sore areas then swiped with the towel. Again, she attempted to speak, but was unable to get words to emerge from her parched throat. The sound she emitted did draw the attention of the woman scrubbing her down.

“Get her some Hydro, Simms. Sooner we get her out of here the sooner we can get back to our other wonderful duties.” Simms, it would seem, was the man at the computer, as following the order, he immediately stood and withdrew a glass cylinder full of clear liquid from a metal box on the floor beside him.

Simms twisted off the lid and held it out to her. Amber reached out to take it and the IV tube was sharply yanked from the back of her hand. Amber clutched the wounded hand to her chest, feeling the first pulse of hot anger at being treated as if she were a slab of beef being prepped for transport. The technicians immediately withdrew from her, the wave of heat she put off washing over them.

“You know what?” the female demanded, throwing the towel in Amber’s face. “You can take care of yourself. I don’t get enough rations to deal with this crap.”

The man Simms seemed to agree, as he set the Hydro cylinder on the computer terminal and followed the woman out of the room. Amber picked up the drink and consumed it with small swallows. The chemical-additives in the drink sent a warm tingle through her limbs even as the liquid soothed her throat. Now that she was properly hydrated, Amber stepped out of the chamber and finished sopping the fluid from her body. Already, the stuff had evaporated from her hair as if it had never been. Amber stripped off the swimsuit-like garment she was wearing and pulled on the jumpsuit left hanging on a hook for her.

Once she was dressed, Amber left her containment room to seek out the children on the ship. According to her training, the children were to be wakened only with one of the councilors present to reduce the trauma of waking from the forced hibernation. However, after her less than friendly welcome back to the world of the conscious, Amber could only imagine what was happening with the kids entrusted to her care. Amber’s footsteps increased to a rapid stride, feeling in the pit of her stomach that the children really needed her, wherever they were.

Jenniffer was lead into a room with thick glass windows. The room was a plain ten foot cube of glass, with several vents built into the floor. The guard standing beside her gave her a shove. She stumbled into the room as the glass door slid shut behind her. There was a hissing sound, like air being pushed out of a small hole, then silence. She watched through the glass as the guard and the doctor both moved into an adjacent room. They sat at a desk, and watched Jennifer intently though the glass. The doctor made several notes on a pad, before looking up. He pushed a button on the desk, and Jennifer suddenly heard him speak.

"We're going to pump a small amount of cold CO2 into the room. It'll look like smoke. Just stay standing, you'll be fine." His voice crackled through a set of speakers.

Just like he said, coulmns of grey smoke filtered into the room out of the vents in the floor. The smoke didn't rise very high however, and soon the area around Jennifers knees was filled with smoke. The doctor shut off the vents, and waited.

"Would you look at that..." The doctor whispered to the uninterested guard. "Jennifer, talk normally, and I'll hear you. Can you tell me what you are doing?"

Jennifer looked to the glass with a confused look on her face, "Nothing, I'm just standing here."

"Well..." He paused, "What are you thinking about?"

"Just that it's starting to get cold in here." She complained.

"Jennifer. Look down."

She did as she was asked. The smoke was slowly circling her body. She took several steps backwards. The pattern disappeared, but reformed a moment later, the smoke leaving trails in the air as it orbited her body.

"What's... What's happening?!" She shouted.

"Calm down." The doctor ordered, "Because of your ability, it seems air has a tendency to naturally orbit your body, creating its own air current. I want you to scoop up a handful of smoke, bring up up to your chest and then release it."

Jennifer wanted to ask what ability he was talking about, but eventually did what she was told. After gathering up as much as she could with her small hands, she pulled it up, and let it go. The smoke seemed to hover in the air for a moment, before it began to circle Jennifer's body. It stayed like that for several minutes, the smoke never lost any height, and was still floating in a circle around her chest.

"Fascinating." The doctor said to no one.

There was a dead silence in Daniel's mind as he took but a few steps into the Dojo. Finding his way over to a wooden dummy with several wooden pegs sticking out, Daniel tapped the shortest one with his left forearm.

"What is your number?"

Daniel turned around, a women in her late teens to early twenties was on the other side of the room. She walking from the other side of the area then she asked again, "State your numbers." She was cute, and Kilo was trying to hide the slight redness in his cheeks. "I...don't know my numbers....I have numbers?" Shae placed her hand on her hips, "What is your name then?"

Nearly drawing a blank he remembered it, "Daniel Kilo." She pulled out a small device and punched in his name, "Daniel Kilo, registration code: FG628A" Finding it funny Daniel began to chuckle a little. "I have a code...really."

"Yes you do, all the levels four to six have code."

The boy looked around and rested his hands on the back of his head pointing his elbows out in opposite directions. "So what am I suppose to do here?" His hands now in his pockets, looking bored as ever Daniel turned to leave. This must not have sat well with his gender opposite as she grabbed his suit by the neck.

His reaction was to turn towards her and grab her own suit but that was what she was expecting him to do and countered. Slipping her right leg in between his legs she rolled forward flipping Kilo on his face. "The name is Kira, never turn your back on me kid."

"Kira! let the boy go!"

Her hands immediately left Daniel's collar and made fists facing a larger man that had walked into the room and dropped two wooden dummies. "You are a big person attacking a newly awakened kid like that." She put her fists up but stopped after thinking about it. "You think I'm stupid, fighting against you Brock?" Daniel stood up and rolled his neck. "I have no idea what I am meant to do here! why did you attack me?"

Brock took a slow stroll over to Daniel and took a knee. "You see kid you have a rare gene in you that allows you to command a level of fighting skill and ability that others can't. The two letters in your code are FG that stands for Fighting Gene. I am your starting trainer, Kira here..."

Brock eyed her for a quick second and then back to Kilo, "She is your training partner, she has the same skill level as you do...but your amnesia has road blocked your skill and fighting strength. You will get that skill back within the next few days..."

Daniel started to understand what he meant, images of fighting moves and lightly detailed brief flashbacks of him executing moves were returning. "I...think I can do it, yea. I'll try my best." Brock stood from his knee and hopped back and yelled "FIGHT!"

Kira charged him, Daniel remembered things but he knew this was not going to be pretty...

Linus didn't know how long he had been sleeping, but as he opened his sapphire eyes, he felt strangely groggy. His headache was gone, however, thus that was an improvement. Memories of the training session flooded back into his mind, but nothing before then. When he tried to think, only hazy images and flashes of pain touched his mind. He wished he could remember. How could he trust anyone here? No one would tell him anything. They forced him to do things he didn't want to do. Was this some kind of punishment? Had he done something wrong?

He shook his head, getting out of bed and standing unsteadily. He looked around the room quietly, thankful that for once there wasn't someone yelling at him or roughly treating him. Everything was silent and still...peaceful...He vaguely remembered loving this peace and quiet. Cuddled up in a bed with a good book; that was his favorite pastime. But now...His eyes widened with doe-like fright as he heard footsteps approaching. It figured that his solitude wouldn't last...

He looked around nervously for somewhere to hide. Or...what about his powers? Could they help him? Could he try to influence the newcomer's emotions? Perhaps distract them and redirect them. But no...that wouldn't be right, would it? So instead, he chose the cowardly option and dove under the covers. Maybe if he pretended that he was asleep, people would leave him alone.

Amber came to a full stop, barely catching her balance before falling over. There were constant sounds on a ship this size and you grew accustomed to them. In this way, abrupt sounds seem even more out of place.

The sound responsible for Amber’s pause was the gentle creak of what served as a mattress and the sharp swish of movement against bed linens. The room to her right had the door in the open position, and contained several beds. A list of identification codes was displayed outside to simplify keeping track of who slept in this room, but without having ever seen the children, there was no way of knowing who was who. She would need to get a copy of the passenger manifest if she wanted to be able to serve her function on this vessel.

Amber approached the open doorway, rapping her knuckle on the wall within to avoid startling anyone. “Hello? Is someone in here?” she called softly, scoping each bed for the lump of a sleeping form. Only one bed had the tell-tale bulge of a young child, and from the rigidity of the small form, he or she was wide awake and trying desperately to appear not to be. Amber entered the room slowly, stopping halfway between the doorway and the occupied bed. “It’s all right, sweetheart, you can come out.”

Though she kept her expression friendly-neutral, indignation simmered within her. This was the exact reason the children were not supposed to be pulled from the sleeping pods until there was a trained counselor present. The children had no way to cope with the shock of the re-animation process, the experience made even more traumatic by the lack of associative memories. They needed to be lead back to reality with bread crumbs of their past, not dumped in an alien word and wished good luck.

Amber sank to sit cross-legged on the floor, brushing her hair behind her ears with her fingers. She needed to wait for the child to come to her before she could gain his or her trust, and she had plenty of time to do so. Amber scooted until she could lean against the wall and watched the bed, humming softly a lullaby from her childhood to let him or her know she was still there.

Hello? Is in someone here? It's alright, sweetheart, you can come out.

Terror blossomed in Linus' heart at the initial sound of the voice, but it was soon replaced by confusion and a bit of curiosity. Not one other person on the ship had the soft, soothing voice that this woman possessed, let alone used an endearing term like sweetheart. Could this person be so bad? Perhaps this person really was kind and sweet. But what if she was like everyone else? What if she was just putting on this kind front only to lure him into a false sense of security? She'd probably yell at him and hurt him just like the others...

It was the lullaby that soothed Linus to the point that he could actually make a decision. The flowing melody that reminded him so much of a song his mother used to sing? His mother...he could barely remember her, but bits and pieces began to return unbidden. His mother singing to him before he went to sleep, reading him stories, playing with him, and picnicking with him in the warm sunlight. His mother rocking him and singing him that familiar tune before he was taken...away...

He shook his head aching head, trying to brush the tears from his eyes. It seemed that the person was still here. Even if she turned out to be cruel, it seemed like she wasn't leaving anytime soon. And if she was kind, perhaps she could give him some answers. But all he really wanted was comfort, someone to love him and tell him it would be alright. And so finally he wriggled his body out from under the covers until he was looking at the young woman with wide blue eyes. She was a tall woman, with rich hair the color of chocolate and eyes a startling azure shade almost like his own. She had an aura of self-assurance about her, but none of the arrogance he had come to associate with the other members of the ship. She didn't radiate the impatient, often violent tendencies of the others. His strange powers, even though they weren't under control, at least provided some assurance.

"Y-you...p-promise you won't...h-hurt me?" he finally asked in a soft voice, a voice that sounded little used.

A young boy with bright blue eyes eventually emerged from within the bedding and she smiled softly at him, careful to not show teeth. He appeared wrung out, as if his innocence had been forced out of him.

"Y-you...p-promise you won't...h-hurt me?" The first words spoken by the boy were like a spear through her heart, but she maintained her calm expression, the air around her heating minutely as her anger flared. This increase in temperature was temporary, and was soon dissipated as Amber rose to relocate to the floor beside the bed. Her hand was warm and soft as she gently brushed the hair from his brow, looking into his eyes.

“Never, honey. I will never hurt you, and as long as I am here, no one else will hurt you either.” Amber looked at the other beds and determined that at least one of them had recently contained an occupant. She looked back to the boy and tapped his nose with a fingertip. “My name is Amber. What should I call you?”

The wording of the question was not by accident; it was possible and likely that the children coming out of stasis suffered severe memory degradation making it possible that they did not remember their name. Asking what they would like to be called was a subtle way of getting them to access the information within their mind while offering an out to choose a nickname should their actual name not occur to them. As she waited for a response, Amber rested her chin on her arm, her full attention on the child.

After being subjected to a battery of tests, Jennifer was lead back to her room. Throughout the day, the doctor and the armed guard never left her side. Jennifer felt that the doctor always regarded her suspiciously, but she ignored it, chalking to up to 'I'm a dick' syndrome. She sat down on her bed feeling quite frustrated. No matter what method was used, or what she was instructed to do, she was unable to manifest this power she was suppossed to have. Except for the swirling air that surrounded her. It's like her power was in standby mode, and nothing could get it to do anything else. I wonder where that cute boy is.

Where did that thought come from? I guess he is cute. Have I ever dated a boy before? What if I'm a virgin. Jennifer lifted up her shirt and looked down. How do you even tell? I remember something about sex ed...

Confusing thoughts continued to take over. Jennifer could remember very little of her adolescence. Bits and pieces of her schhol life, but nothing substantial. She let out a depressing sigh. A gust of wind suddenly blew the sheets off of her bed. She looked at them surprised. "Okay, screen saver off..." She eyed the door intensely, and waved her hand back and forth. It wobbled back and forth in the strong breeze. Then, as quickly as it came, her control disappeared.

Linus cringed for a brief moment as the woman reached toward him, uncertain of what she would do. But she merely brushed his hair from his forehead; a comforting gesture that brought more memories of his mother flooding into his mind. When she promised no one would hurt him he looked just a bit less frightened, a bit more like an innocent child and a bit less like a caged creature. The wild expression in his eyes, an expression of flight, began to slowly dissipate into something akin to relief, though it was still guarded. When she gently touched his nose and told her name, Linus hesitated only a moment before speaking.

"I-I'm Linus. I-It's nice to meet you Amber," he said slowly, haltingly yet the slightest hint of a smile now touched his lips, "T-they really won't hurt me again? T-those mean people? T-they slapped me and made me do things with my mind...i-it hurt alot...I-I still have a little bit of a headache."

That small speech seemed to take quite an effort as he rested his head on the bed, eyes weary.

She could see and feel the tension drain from him as she touched him, and was rewarded with the barest hint of a smile.

"I-I'm Linus. I-It's nice to meet you Amber. Th-they really won't hurt me again? Th-those mean people? Th-they slapped me and made me do things with my mind...i-it hurt a lot...I-I still have a little bit of a headache."

Control, Amber ordered herself, never allowing her gentle smile to waver. Not even a day out of the pods and they expect the children to perform their talents on a whim? Most of the children lacked control of their abilities before they were loaded onto the ship. Who in their right mind would expect so much of them now?

“I give you my word that no one will hurt you while I am with you. Lets see if we can’t ease that headache a bit.” Amber focused warmth into her fingertips, placing them against the boy’s temples. She worked in slow circles to allow her ambient heat to slip into him. She spoke again out of curiosity as much as a distraction. “Are you a Mover, then? You can move things with your thoughts? That is a very powerful gift. Were you able to move something? I would love to see that, if you feel up to it.”

Once the child was assured of his safety, Amber was going to seek out the person who thought slapping the boy was a good idea and give him or her a hands-on lesson in why it wasn’t. If this was how they were treating an untrained telekinetic with uncharted ability, Amber was surprised they had not offended the wrong child and killed everyone on the ship in a flare of defensive ability.

Linus flinched once again as Amber reached to touch him with her fingertips, but a look of relaxation entered his eyes. The warmth was so soothing. It washed the pain of his mental effort from earlier completely away. At Amber's soothing words, Linus continued to find himself becoming more relaxed. Her mere presence was like a cool balm and it drove away the fear that had constantly plagued him since he had first awoke in such a strange place.

He hesitated a moment before answering her question, "I...don't know if I'm a Mover. B-but yes, I can move things with my mind. I don't mind doing it for you cuz your so nice. Only...do you think it would make my head hurt again?"

He bit his lip at the thought of the same pain returning once again that only now had disappeared. But maybe those other people had told him to use it the wrong way. This woman seemed like she knew what she was doing, and he felt she wouldn't want to hurt him even if he didn't completely trust her yet.

The woman had rushed him, but Daniel was not going to back down, his mind told him to run. His body did other wise. Brock was sitting on the floor on the other side of the room and he had a monitor with little kids on them. They were in separate areas of the complex. "Now children, you all know that you are special but are the same as each other, yes?" He got nods, "You see you are too young to practice with a partner just yet but over the next few months you will witness two older fighters combat, like behind me." Brock turned around.

"Notice the female with her hands out, hands open. The male has his hands closed...now the female dropped down and she is trying to take him down to the ground. You will be quizzed on this later so pay attention. She has him on his back and is trying to advance to a dominant position. Her leg is trapped in the male's closed leg, well now he swept her and he is on top now."

Daniel held her shoulders, using the fabric he held to keep her pinned. Her hips bucked up and he rolled on the ground and kicked up quickly. She was on her feet as well and was bouncing on her heels, hands clenched in fists. Brock was continuing his commentary to the children.

"Now she is in a boxing stance, that is a striking style only focusing on fists. You see the male...he is putting up no stance....Kilo! put your hands up, defend yourself!!"

Daniel was panicking, he was fine grappling but he was not used to getting hit at least he remembers. Brock was growing a little agitated, "Just do what comes natural!" The teen was a little pale but he nodded then looked back at Kira, He lifted his hands up over his head, hands wide open palms facing her. She looked at him with a stern expression but in her mind this stance was strange and seemed to lack a good defense.

She charged at Kilo and was within striking distance but a voice boomed over the intercom. "Kira! this is Commander Sykes, do not engage Kilo, we have someone else on the way to do just that for you, repeat do not engage Kilo!"

Silence...

"What dose that mean!?"

Kira was upset and looked to Brock, who just shrugged and said "Commander's orders."

The whole room was so dark that it hurt the eyes to look at. Jennifer was sitting upright in her bed, unable to close her eyes, when she heard a noise outside her room. She tossed her sheets aside, and navigated the dark room. After bumping into the desk she made it to the door. The door handle was cold on her skin. She hesitated a moment before yanking the door open.

The hallway stretched before her. It was dark, with the occasional glimmer of light shining out from the various rooms. At the end of the hallway shrouded in light, lay a young girl. The girl made a quiet whimper that made Jennifer cringe. Jennifer didn't know why, but she was compelled to approach the girl. As she walked forward, she peered into the first room that was emitting light. Inside the room were two adults, a man and a woman. Jennifer recognised the woman as her mother; Annita. Though as soon as she tried to look at the man's face, who was surely her father, they both faded from view. Jennifer continued to walk forwards. The next two rooms were dark. The next room held a stove, with red hot elements. Entranced by the stove, Jennifer stopped and stared at it. She felt a warmth begin to grow in her palms, but she continue to stare into the room. The warmth grew to an intense pain, and when she could bear it no longer, she pulled away, looking at her palms which had bloody circles burned into them. Then, like her parents, the burns and the stove faded.

The girl at the end of the hall cried again. Jennifer moved towards her. There was a shadow standing over the girl. Hands suddenly gripped Jennifer, holding her in place. She tried desperately to shake them off, every fiber of her being trying to help the little girl. Then the hands moved to her face, holding her mouth and nose, making it impossible to breathe. Every time Jennifer succeeded it pulling a hand off of her, another one took its place. Unable to breathe, she began choking on nothing. After a single violent gasp, Jennifer was jolted from her sleep to find herself pinned to the bed with a rough hand on her throat.

The doctor from earlier was straddling Jennifer, holding her neck with one hand, and needle with the other. There was violence in his voice as he hissed at Jennifer, "With your kind of power running rampant it could kill us all! I can't allow that!"

He raise his hand to stab the seringe into her neck. Jennifer managed to get out a ragged scream. Her scream was cut short, as all sound was sucked out of the room. Jennifer and the doctor frozen in stunned silence for three seconds. Then was a sharp hiss, followed by a loud, wet cracking sound. A flood of blood and air shot out of the doctors mouth and onto the bed sheets. He then rolled off of the bed and onto the floor dead.

Amber grinned at the question, pulling her hands back from his head. “Your powers are a part of you. They are a natural ability that need patience and practice before they can be fully realized. Like this…”

Amber sat back on her heels, cupping her hands in front of her face. She took deep breaths and then forced heat to rush to her hands. The room dropped in temperature as the energy was pulled from the air, the walls and the floor. She felt a gentle burn as heat was funneled through her feet and up her body into her palms, which began to shimmer with waves of heat.

Amber looked at Linus with a blissful smile, feeling awake and alive with her power and strength. Her hands ignited with red-orange flames and she watched the soft fire dance over her skin.

“Your power will eventually become second nature. It will rush to you when you call for it and you will feel strong. You will feel confident and powerful.” Amber looked away from the flames, spreading her hands. The flames quickly extinguished and the heat she had called began to seep away, leaching into the air and back into the floor. “Forcing your power to manifest before you are ready, or before it is ready for you, is what makes it hurt you. You have to learn how to call your power to you on your own terms.”

Amber stood and crossed the room to the dresser, pulling a single sock from a drawer. As she returned to the bed, she rolled it into a loose ball. “The key with learning powers is to start small. Set yourself up for success. For example, I want you to try to move this sock. Make it wiggle, or roll, or lift up. It isn’t important how it moves, just that it does.”

Amber sat on the edge of the bed reclining back on her arms as she watched him with a tilted head. “Take as long as you like, we are in no hurry.”

Linus watched Amber in amazement as the room suddenly dropped in temperature and fire began to shimmer and glow, rippling over her skin. He did not feel frightened by the spectacle; rather, he felt a sort of awe and amazement. This woman had such perfect control. There seemed to be little chance of the fire suddenly bursting into other parts of the room. It was only a controlled flare, undulating like waves over her body.

"It's so pretty..." he whispered when he finally found the words to speak.

He listened quietly to Amber's words. They made sense, didn't they? Forcing his powers had caused him pain and coupled with the physical abuse at the hands of the scientist it had exhausted his young body. As she took a sock from the drawer, he looked at it quietly. She said he had to become one with his powers; allow them to be a part of himself. And a sock was so small. It wasn't like the other exercises the others had forced him to do. They had started small, but eventually had utilized larger and larger objects until Linus had felt that his head was going to explode. They had also set time limits, but here Amber was giving him all the time in the world.

Taking a deep breath, Linus closed his eyes, allowing his mind to envision what his eyes were now unable to see. He felt the presence of the sock, going over its ridges and curves mentally. Its soft fabric touched lightly at the edges of his mind. For a few moments, he held the image and then...willed the sock to flip over. With very little effort, it did just that. Linus opened his eyes in surprise. That hadn't been so bad....

Jennifer looked at the doctors body in stunned silence. There were two cavities in his chest where his lungs imploded. Jennifer was rooted to the spot, unable to take her eyes off of his face, and his mouth twisted in a scream he couldn't release. In stunned silence, she got out of bed, tip-toeing around the dead body, and towards the door. She was covered in blood, the red liquid dripping down her pajamas. Where ever she walked she left bloodied foot prints and drops of blood.

Her wing was empty. The boy who she saw earlier was not yet back. It was probably for the best, he wouldn't understand. Hell, Jennifer barely understood what had happened herself. She moved numbly down the hallway, and into the other wing. There were low voices coming from a room to the right. She moved the last few yards to the door and peered in.

She watched in amazement as a woman, older than her lit on fire. Jennifer was about to rush in and throw a blanket over her, until she realized the fire wasn't hurting her. Then as quickly as it appeared, the fire vanished.

"It's so pretty..." A small boy whispered.

By then, Jennifer had forgotten her own troubles. Maybe she wasn't a freak after all. There were another person who was able to do what she did. Well, not exactly what she did, but the woman did SOMETHING. She continued to eves drop, waiting to see more magic. The boy was handed a sock. What sort of magic can you do with a sock? Jennifer wondered. After a few moments, she saw the sock flip over, without anyone touching it. They were special... Maybe these people could help her.

Jennifer opened the door to the room. As soon as they noticed her, she held up her bloody hands. "Please. Help me..." She choked out.

The sock did a somersault on the bed, and Amber cheered, clapping her hands in encouragement. “Excellent, Linus! How do you feel? Any pain?”

Amber reached forward to touch the boy on the shoulder, intending to link physical contact with positive emotions like accomplishment and encouragement. A new presence distracted her from he rcharge, and Amber smiled over her shoulder to welcome the newcomer. Her heart missed a beat at the sight of the blood-splashed girl in the doorway.

“Please…help me..." the girl pleaded.

Amber jumped to her feet, rushing to the girl’s side. Amber placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders, looking her in the eye. “What happened? Are you hurt?” Warm hands brushed the girl’s blood-caked hair from her forehead, subtly checking her for cuts or abrasions that might account for the blood. She did not expect to find any, as losing this much blood would kill you, but it was better to hope the girl had been injured and healed herself than to consider the alternative.

Kilo stood in front of a wooden dummy, it struck at him with slow blows that even the elderly could handle. Brock, the head trainer for the youngsters stood over him and watched. "You know...that you were top of my class back on earth, you took on over one hundred men in hand to hand combat all at once and survived."

Kilo took a deep breath then shot him a look, he was angry, the first time in many years sense his sleep. "You think I can remember that!!? You think I know what I am able to do? I don't! Graaa!!"

The young boy punched the wooden dummy with all his might, knocking the head clear off when his knuckles hit the target. He then through a leg kick at Brock, the same kick he hit the guard with. The shin hit Brock's leg but with no effect what so ever. Brock's leg was like a iron bar to Daniel's own leg.

The pain was quite excruciating and made him hope on one leg while holding the other and rubbing it ever so slightly. "OOOOWWW!!!" Brock had both hands up in fists for a moment, "You dare strike your teacher!!?"

"What?? I hurt myself, not you!!"

Brock turned, the sound of the twin doors sliding open was enough to distract him, it was for a good reason too. His hands opened and he rushed to the doors, a huge man, larger then Brock lumber through the doors. "Han! oh hell no, what the hell were they thinking!? they let you out!!? no!"

Jennifer flinched at the womans touch, but was grateful for it all the same. It took her a moment to regain enough composure to explain what happened. She spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully, so that they would understand why she did what she did.

"I didn't do anything." She began, "I didn't do anything, I just did what they told me to do. In the lab that is. I can't control it."

Jennifer fought back the tears, with little effectiveness, as several drops ran down her cheek, mixing with the blood. A small breeze begins to blow against Ambers face. Jennifer continued after a sniffle, "I was sleeping. The doctor woke me up... He was on top of me. Said I was a danger to everyone. He was- he was going to kill me."

In the room, a wind storm brewed, seemingly out of nowhere. A gust of wind lifted Linus' sock into the air, and blew Jennifers hair across her face. "I killed him!" She wailed, covering her face with her hands, "Make this stop!"

Linus smiled in delight at his accomplishment. And it hadn't hurt! In another moment, however, his eyes widened as a girl with bloodied hands stepped into the room, pleading for help. Was she alright? Blood was really bad...If she lost too much of it, she could die, right? But...what could he do? He wanted to help...But...he didn't know what to do. And his powers didn't seem like they'd be of much use in this situation. He was thankful Amber seemed to be in control of the situation. She was such a calming presence. He felt certain that she'd be able to calm the girl just as she had calmed him.

He half made a move to get up to aid Amber in comforting the girl, when a strong gust of wind burst into the room. He sat back down, an expression of shock in his eyes. This girl had powers just like them...And she had just...killed one of the scientists? A shiver of fear ran down his spine. But...the scientist had probably treated the girl as they had him. If he had lost control of his powers, the same thing might have happened. Yet he did not know how to comfort the girl. He was still far too shy and frightened. He prayed that Amber could sort the situation out.

"I-it'll be alright..." he whispered, only managing just enough to courage to speak, "D-don't worry. Amber's very nice. She'll take care of everything."

Amber felt a surge of panic as the younger woman’s power began to manifest. On Earth, the power to control air molecules was a dangerous ability, but in the vacuum of space it was especially deadly. It was even more so with an un-trained wielder, as there was no self-preservation instinct to keep her from rupturing a wall or breaking a seal on a pressure generator.

Amber’s first priority was to gain control of the situation; the lives of everyone on the ship could depend on it. The counselor pulled the girl’s hands from her face, forcing the crying girl to look her in the eye.

“I need you to breathe. Can you do that for me? Breathe with me; in-two-three, out-two-three.” Amber kept her voice firm, but not harsh, speaking the words as she breathed in and out. Until the child could control herself, Amber would have to be the commanding presence that would ground her. “It is crucial that you calm down. I know you are scared, and I will help you but you have to help me first.”

Amber pulled the girl into a strong embrace, the luxury of worrying about getting blood on her jumpsuit denied to her at this moment. Amber continued to dictate the breathing pattern, her voice a breathy monotone. This was getting ridiculous; who did these people think they were dealing with?

“Linus, I want you to get dressed,” Amber ordered over her shoulder. “You are coming with us. I’m not going to leave you alone and I need to speak with someone in charge.”

The woman pulled her hands down, looking her directly in the eyes. Her eyes were demanding, and yet so gentle at the same time. Jennifer couldn't help her self, she let her breathing match the womans. In the room, the strength of the wind did not diminish, but instead be began to pulse in time to Jennifers breathing. Calm, gail, calm, gail.

Jennifer forced herself to calm down like the woman asked. Then she was suddenly pulled into a hug. She was shocked at first, but her arms felt so warm . Safety.

The wind died down, as Jennifer returned the embrace, leaving a bloody hand print on the back of Ambers jumpsuit. The wind returned to its resting state, still blowing slightly around Amber, who was still in range.

Jennifer suddenly registered what the woman had said. "You want me to go with. But my clothes..." She gestured at her bloodied gown.

"And, and if they find out what I did, they'll lock me away. I'm scared miss... Miss what?" Jennifer asked, momentarily getting off track.

As Amber had suspected, the girl’s ability was focused through her breathing, her breath a natural expression of the power she wielded. Once the girl had taken control of her breathing, the air flow in the room followed suit, matching the flow of her breaths. Within the circle of Amber’s embrace, the girl relaxed and the range of her effect on the air subsided until it was a controlled spiral around the females.

"You want me to go with you, but my clothes...and-and if they find out what I did, they'll lock me away. I'm scared miss... Miss what?"

Amber shook her head, dismissing the concerns as trivial. “My name is Amber and I am a counselor for the children on this ship. I promise you that I will not let them lock you up for accidentally defending yourself against a predator. We need to deal with this immediately, but it would be best to not show up covered in gore. We will return to your room and get you cleaned up and then continue on. Linus, sweetheart, let’s get a move on.”

Amber looked down at her own jumpsuit, and decided that the smudges of blood were negligible. The important matter to consider was the safety and welfare of the children on this ship, and her change of wardrobe could wait.

“Honey, take us to your room so we can get you changed,” Amber instructed the girl, knowing full well that there would be a body inside. That was a bridge they would have to cross when the time came.

Han was huge, almost seven feet and must have been well at the peak of four hundred pounds, very large. He wore glasses and his hair was slicked back giving him a kind of almost sophisticated look. His eyes were locked on Kilo as he spotted him front across the room. Brock tapped The boy on his shoulder.

"Don't worry kid...Han must have been sent by mistake. I'll deal with him and send him back to his quarters." Daniel sighed a breath of relief he knew he was not ready to fight a monster like Han, at least in his state of mind at the moment.Kira took Daniel by the hand for a moment but let go as she lead him to the locker room for a change in clothes.

"Brock."

"Han."

Han removed his glasses and looked around then down at Brock, "Sykes needs you on deck with him. There has been a death already on the ship." This news shocked Brock almost to the point he dropped to a knee. "Was it a child?" Han shook his head in the negative sign.

"Alright...who was killed?" Han turned to walk away but continued to talk with his voice raised. "We don't know but a life signal was ended in the quarters of one of the children, Linus...something, I did not catch the full name. Be quick and come to the bridge."

Brock nodded, "You know I though you were sent here to fight Daniel Kilo."

"I was...until we got the signal about the death...but I will fight him in a month....have your little friend ready."

Linus shook himself from his shock and quickly threw on a shirt and pants in place of his nightrobe. He walked carefully over to Amber and the girl, a sense of skittishness still in his young eyes. He trusted Amber and was willing to extend that trust to Jennifer as she seemed just as frightened as he was. But he was worried about going to see someone in charge. All of the people "in charge" other Amber seemed to be nothing more than over sized bullies. Perhaps they would be lucky, however, and the overall person in charge just didn't realize what his or her subordinates had been doing.

"I-I'm ready," said Linus in his soft voice as he stood beside the two, unable to shake his feelings of nervousness and apprehension.

So they would go to the girl's room and then to the person in charge? Linus wondered to himself how long this would take. Hopefully not long enough for them to run into any of those people who had been unkind to him...