Space Odyssey: Spectre

"That is not a term or title I am familiar with. Is that a term from your galaxy?" Jace asked as he leaned back in his table. Outside, he could sense as his team finished getting complete scans of the shielding devices and began to move towards a facility that appeared to be the control center.

"Somewhat." The General waved at Reginald, his assistant. "Can you get us some drinks? And put away your weapon."

Reginald hesitated for a moment before nodding and putting away his laser pistol while moving to a spot on the wall where a fridge and drinks had been set up. "What would you like?"

"A cold tea for me." General Hacksaw declared. "With the heat and humidity on the planet, I just can’t drink normal tea." The planet was warmer than most ’normal’ planets while the humidity was another factor, one that fit with the reason the sirens picked this planet. They would not have to live near large bodies of water with how humid it was.

"Understandable." Jace nodded in agreement. Then he looked over his shoulder. "Any type of local juice. I have yet to try them."

"So Commander Jace... may I ask why the siren people are not currently being liberated?" General Hacksaw asked and Reginald flinched in the background. "Was I wrong about my assumptions or..."

"No, you were correct. But you forget that we can only trust you so much." Jace answered and then sighed. "Then there is the Grail, I assume I do not need to say any more."

"No, in fact most of the other groups that came to this galaxy are hostile and abrasive in nature. I am not sure if you know this but I was sent per request of a nation that ceased to exist. So while we would have liked to return home-"

"You couldn’t while you also could not make contact with any proper government since your perceived ’allies’ were causing chaos and kicked up a war with the Cerberus Unit." Jace chuckled out. "Once you peacefully surrender and all of your people are detained. You will be sent back to your galaxy aboard your ship."

"No punishment, no mandatory work furlough?" General Hacksaw asked in suspicion. "Forgive me for saying it, but I do not trust you."

"Fair." Jace shrugged. "But it is the truth. You will be stored in stasis pods aboard your ship, which we have already captured and sent back to your galaxy along with any other prisoners we do not deem necessary to execute."

General Hacksaw frowned and then seemed to do the calculations because he opened his mouth and then nodded. "I see... so we are not just going back alone. You are sending the annoying war criminals along with us because you can’t execute them. I have a feeling we will out number them, but there will still be a lot. We only brought a few extra stasis pods so how are you going to store all of them?"

"In your ship. Modifications will be made to store all of you." Jace smiled as Reginald walked over and handed him a cup of a pulpy blue juice. "Thank you, what type of fruit did this come from?"

Reginald sighed as he stepped away to pour General Hacksaw’s tea. "Blue Vine fruit, it looks just like the name implies. It appears as a vine growing off of certain trees and is colored blue. Certain larger species carry the fruit around which is how a large area of the continent is covered in the trees."

"Interesting." Jace took a sip. He hummed as he turned back to Hacksaw. "So, I assume by the fact that you share this office that the leader of this city is still in charge so to speak?" He asked as he savored the bitter flavor.

"He is, as soon as myself and the rest of my people are off planet he will take back over. I assume it will be up to you what happens next?" General Hacksaw asked as he quietly thanked Reginald for his own glass of tea.

"Somewhat, we already came to an agreement with a group on the first continent. They will have autonomy for themselves while we have a temporary base on the continent and a permanent one in orbit around the planet." Jace saw Reginald flinch as he took up position off to the side.

"Don’t worry Reginald, it is more for his people’s safety more than the idea of military occupation." General Hacksaw reassured his assistant. "Your system is at the edge of the void between galaxies. For this reason they need to establish a base in your system and it would be safest to have it near your colony so it could protect you if needed."

"My people have heard something similar in the past." Reginald pointed out.

Jace hummed, "that is true. But we are a fully militaristic group. A group with futuristic technology, an advantage in nearly field, and some of the strongest fighters in the galaxy. We have no need to suppress a group of sirens. Not to mention we have plenty of sirens amongst our rank. Including one that is currently establishing a connection to the cities defenses so they can be remotely deactivated." Jace watched the assistant flinch again as he discreetly tried to send out a message.

It was blocked but it did tell Jace all he needed to know about this assistant. General Hacksaw chuckled and stopped after a moment. "You asked about the term ’Chosen Path Seeker’ earlier. You are right, I could not find any parallel mentions or explanations in any of the historical data bases I have gained access to. But I am sure you will find the records of it on our information data pads and the storage banks aboard our ship."

"Humor me and explain it to me." Jace chuckled.

General Hacksaw made a few different expressions before grinning. "You are keeping me distracted just in case. You are right, my troops do have standing orders to surrender if your people take the proper procedure." General Hacksaw quickly put together what Jace was doing here while Jace just continued to smile while taking another sip of his juice.

"You were going to explain the term you used earlier?" Jace asked again.

"Ah yes," General Hacksaw leaned back in his chair. "First I should explain that I have a hobby for archaeological study and history. As such I have developed quite an expansive knowledge of history. The term I used comes from the species that existed in our galaxy before we came to inhabit it. They disappeared before we arrived but left an expansive array of technologies behind. They had people designated as Chosen Path Seekers."

"The records must have been intact if you could almost immediately compare me to one." Jace chuckled in amusement.

"Well, they were very good at taking notes. Seemingly up to their last moments from the records that we gathered." The General chuckled. "They kept a description both visual and written. Both of which are similar, minus of course the racial difference. But they too had control over electricity and possessed enhanced senses. Apparently they could sense things before they could happen and during times of war they were essential tactical officers. Or at least what their equivalent is to a tactical officer."

"Hmm..." Jace got lost in thought for a moment. "That explains the Path Seeker part of the term. But what about the Chosen part?"

"That actually confused me as well." General Hacksaw sighed and tapped his desk. "We eventually found a record of an ancient cave they uncovered. I got the chance to take a few scans. They should be in my personal records aboard our ship. But-" He grabbed a pencil while setting down his drink and scrabbled for a piece of paper.

Jace watched as the General began to write something down. "Copying it from memory?"

"Yes, I have an Eidetic Memory." General Hacksaw briefly explained. "We only ever managed to figure out one word. The same word that the people who previously occupied our galaxy found, ’Chosen’. Apparently that was their word for that type of person. A person like you."

As the General held up the paper to show the writing, Jace could not help as his face showed his true reaction. Stunned. He was completely stunned, the language he was showing Jace was the same base language from the Gateway Devices. After a moment he managed to shake off his shock, but the damage was done. "I see." Was all he managed to get out.

"You have seen this language before." General Hacksaw stated in excitement.

Jace hummed, wondering how much he could and should share with the man. "Yes," Jace answered to start off with. "But despite what you may think. Using just the term ’Chosen’ would get you a lot farther if you ever get the chance to come back to research our galaxy’s history." Jace informed the General.