Sunday. 07:45 (Local Time) Near Rocca di Frassinello Vineyards, Florence Italy

John lost control of himself and was just laughing. Prior to that point, everything had gone exactly to plan. He was able to break into the lightly guarded compound undetected and waited in the bedroom for Gerald LaRue to wake up. Gerald seemed to expect this outcome and seemed nonplussed about it.

“Why are you laughing?” Gerald asked.

John pulled the mask off, “If you’d humor me for a moment," he pointed at the screen, "does this man that you spoke to years ago look like this?”

He turned to the TV and turned it on. Then John connected it to his tablet and transferred a picture of Dr. Norman to it. Gerald looked as if he had seen a ghost.

“Obviously he’s aged in the sixty years since I met him, but that’s the man.”

“You reading this control?” John asked.

“Affirm, checking Confed records of a Dr. Abel Jansen.”

John turned to Gerald, “Well I must thank you for that revelation. I’ve known the man as Dr. Norman. His desire to improve humanity and lead it into a golden age is preposterous. We’re not sure exactly how tied in he is with the Mercantilist Union’s power structure…”

“He wields significant influence in the scientific community, but the public and military are unwilling to accept his methods. His eugenics program was an abomination, but it bore great fruit twenty-five years ago with the birth of his twin children.”

Gerald noticed John’s demeanor changed when he mentioned the twins. John tensed up, like a predator waiting to pounce. A flash of anger washed over John’s facial features. But it quickly morphed into a wicked-looking smile.

“There’s only one left, I saw to that myself. Not sure how broken the other one is.”

“Fascinating, I didn’t think anyone…” Gerald ended the sentence and began thinking for a moment, “Tell me, what do you know of the Confederacy’s first eugenics program?”

“You and he were part of it?” John’s demeanor had changed to his inquisitive form.

“Oh yes. We both graduated from medical school together in Alpha Centauri. We worked together on a theory to improve the psychic and possibly telekinetic potential of humanity.”

John sat down in the chair, “By all means, please continue.”

“John, the compound secure. Shielding is set up and we have a no-fly zone in place,” an agent said into his earpiece.

“Naval Intelligence brought us to Titan and gave us funding for two years. We made great progress, but we had very strict rules for how we could test things. Most of our tests were hypothetical using their supercomputers.”

“Dr. Jansen crossed a line, didn’t he?” John inquired.

“I always thought my friend was willing to push the limits. But the length he went, it was as if he had no ethical center. Or he had lost it in his desperate desire to prove our theory true,” Gerald paused, “I was horrified at what I saw when I walked into the lab. Sixteen young women were acquired and impregnated unbeknownst to anyone.”

“You suspect some in the Navy overlooked this?”

“No, this was a lab they had set up for us to use, but they lacked oversite. They presumed everything was on the up and up. We didn’t need that room and had never used it, but apparently, he was working on this side project on the side.”

“What did you see?”

“Death. Immorality. He had shown he was both willing and able to achieve this dream through any means necessary. No matter how cruel, unjust, or downright evil they may be. Only the mission mattered.”

John looked down at the floor, “A common failing of humanity. Something I suppose he and I aren’t too different.”

“No, I’m sure you’ve done some regrettable things as an agent. This crossed a line. While I believed in making humanity better, how he had come to prove his theory was unacceptable.”

“How did he prove it?” John was looking at Gerald once more.

“The women were induced into a coma. The babies were cut out of the wombs and their mothers were euthanized. There were eighteen babies. The women all had a unique genetic marker. A marker that was seemingly shared with all of the strongest telepaths.”

Gerald got up and walked over to the ice bucket and poured some water into his glass of ice. He then walked over to a chair in the corner of the room and sat down.

“He was able to get genetic material from twelve different Level 5A telepaths. All of the children born that day grew to be Level 5As themselves. What’s more though is that the genetic quirk was much stronger in the children.”

“Wait, the military stepped in before he euthanized the children? How exactly did this go down?”

“I noticed the other lab, which we hadn’t been using, was in use by Dr. Jansen. I walked into the lab along with our Intelligence attaché. The children were in scanning devices, he had just finished the last operation and removed the final child. He saw us and walked to the terminal on the wall. That’s when he killed those poor girls and made good on his escape.”

“With the seventeenth child?”

“Yes. We had records of their genetic information since he had compiled that beforehand. I suspect had we not caught him in the act he would’ve been able to wipe his research.”

John stood up and motioned to Gerald to give him a moment, “Those records are going to be unsealed or I’m going to unseal them, Agent Janz. Compare that family tree to the twins.”

Gerald didn’t seem to want to stop, “Needless to say the project was put on ice. And after seeing the methods he was willing to go, I simply walked away from academia. I created my own business with the expressed purpose that business would push forward humanity.”

“Did you have any contact with him since then?”

“Yes, though it was brief and acrimonious. I still haven’t forgiven him about that. But I do believe in humanity's advancement. For that to occur a degree of eugenics needs to be applied and some free will needs to be curtailed. We’ve been able to successfully lobby the military complex towards that goal.”

“Do you know about any other eugenics programs that the military ran?” John asked.

“I was never directly involved. But as you can imagine I heard a great many things. Especially within the Psi-Corps. Every telekinetic for twenty years was made to have no less than five children with powerful telepaths and telekinetics. The hope, as I presume it to be, was to normalize those genetics and improve that line’s stability.”

John was about to speak when Gerald continued his train of thought, “I did hear about a program about twenty-two years ago that appeared to show great promise. They shut it down when one girl leaked that she was being made to have a child she didn’t want.”

“Janz, I want all information on that now,” John said as he felt his anger and bile rise within.

“Woah. Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.”

“So, let’s talk about this little cabal you’re a part of. I’m sick and tired of dealing with their bullshit,” John said.

“I will give you everything you want to know about them.”

“What?” John was caught off guard with the response.

“Oh, I started everything. But the newer members co-opted it for their own selfish wants and needs. I will give you everything.”

Gerald stood up and walked over to his dresser. He opened the top door and pulled out a data slate. A thumbprint was necessary to unlock it. Gerald then walked over to John and handed it to him.

“This should contain every last name, associates they used, and how they were able to circumvent the Navy’s security systems. Those little shits don’t deserve the wealth that they’ve stolen. I didn’t start this to make us wealthy. I did it to make humanity better.”

John grinned as he scanned the list. As he was doing that his tablet was transmitting this information back to the Intelligence mobile operations. Arrest warrants would be filed under seal almost immediately. Motions to freeze the assets of at least a hundred corporations would be filed shortly thereafter. Followed by similar motions for the people that were being arrested.

“John, holy shit mate. That second eugenics program.”

“And at least one of them was one of my grandparents of the sixteen, right?” John said.

“Your grandmother came from the sixteen. Your granddad appears to have emigrated here after escaping an Alliance eugenics program.”

“Tennis pros my ass. Another fucking lie that I was fed about my family history,” John said as he slammed his fist into a marble wall.

Additional agents came into the room and took away Gerald. John walked to the window and looked outside upon the vineyards that surrounded the estate. Everything he had been told about himself was a lie. The great irony is that he, not the twins, was exactly what Dr. Jansen was trying to achieve.

The flight back across the Atlantic was a hellishly fast one, approaching seven times the speed of sound. John was lost in thought about everything he had heard. He hadn’t felt any relief that the cabal’s conspiracy was likely over. What stuck out was the eugenics program and how he was produced because of it.

18:00 Academy Communications Room

John was waiting on hold. He was trying to control his emotions, but he found it nearly impossible given the day's explosive revelations. Dr. Jansen was technically right. He had produced the new man. His theory about moving humanity forward through evolution had worked. It produced a telepath far stronger than any other while at the same time producing telekinetic abilities that were very strong. John began wondering what his children would be like.

Would they be freakishly strong like him? Or would they be normal? John wasn’t a religious man, it would be hard to be one given his history, but he prayed that any children he and Alice would have wouldn’t grow up to be like him.

“Apologies Cadet,” Deputy Director Li, the agent in charge of record-keeping at Naval Intelligence, “But those records aren’t being open to anyone.”

“Director Li, I’m not requesting anything. I’m demanding they be open. I will be reading those reports,” John’s anger was barely contained.

“No, no you won’t be. We cannot…”

“Li, I’m not afraid of throwing my career away. I will read those reports.”

Director LeCroix joined the call, “Under two conditions. You read them in a safe room of our choosing and that you never speak of them again after you’ve read them.”

“Sir? I’m sorry but we cannot…”

“Did you really send that test to me by mistake LeCroix?” John all but spat out the words.

“I wasn’t aware of who or what you were when I had sent it. I didn’t until after the test was finished.”

“Very well, I agree to the condition. Choose the time and place and let me know,” John said as he ended the call.

John walked out of his room and headed down to the lounger where his friends were. He looked and felt like he wasn’t whole anymore. The truth isn’t always an easy thing to accept. A convenient lie, such as the one he had been living under throughout his life, was much more acceptable. John knew that there was more to his story, he hadn’t expected to ever truly know the full story.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Kristin said observing John sitting down.

“Yeah, what’s up man? That bravado of yours isn’t there,” Nathan said.

“I should be more chipper than I am. The investigation is done, uncovered the secret identity of Dr. Norman, and figured out my ancestry. But the realization of all that is just…” John didn’t finish his sentence as he stared at the wall next to the television.

Thomas and Brian stopped playing cornhole. Kevin walked over to the door and shut it. Alice got up from the couch and sat down next to John and squeezed one of his hands. Andern was the first to speak up.

“Most people would get commendations for two of those three. A sense of understanding is usually the result of the third.”

John looked up at his friends and smiled, “Dr. Norman is evil and rotten to the core. It’s hard to believe anyone could be as immoral and unethical as him. I’m not kidding when I call him evil either. He is literally the living embodiment of evil. Makes me look like a god damned choir boy.”

“Dare I ask how you know all of that?” Alice squeezed his hands once more.

“The man that started the cabal was friends with him back in medical school. They both shared a dream to advance humanity. This other man didn’t know the depths of depravity Dr. Norman was willing to go to accomplish his goals.”

“Hate to be a smartass, but I feel like I have to go there, but are we talking like comic book supervillain bad?” Jessica asked.

“I’ll spare you the details, but nothing is out of bounds to this man. Nothing.”

“So what about the cabal? How did you take that down?” Theresa asked.

John started to laugh, “That’s the craziest damn thing. This other guy willingly gave up everything and everyone. The people he had recruited into accomplishing his dream had perverted their original mission and used it to benefit them financially.”

John switched the channel from the hockey game to a news channel. The main story was the military arresting hundreds, possibly thousands, of people and freezing out their assets. The cadets watched in awe of what had happened. John had a unique ability to get assigned to or find himself in the middle of unbelievable situations. This was yet more proof of that uncanny ability.

“What about your ancestors? You said you learned something about them,” Brian asked as he sat down in a chair next to his board.

“I suspected my dad fled from the Alliance but got that part confirmed. He was part of a eugenics program that was quietly put down. My grandmother was born as a result of these two assholes.”

“You’re their proof, aren’t you?” Theresa asked.

Everyone except John looked at Theresa. There were looks of shock, horror, and surprise amongst them. Andern was almost offended by the question.

“Look here, John…” Andern said before he was cut off.

John smiled and looked at the floor, “I am. Or rather I was what they had hoped to create. I casually cast off my gifts to kill an enemy.”

“What’s next?” Alice asked.

John flipped the channel back to the hockey game, “Hang out till curfew call and go back to being a cadet. What’s happened is over and done with.”

“Not sure how you can get over spilled milk as easily as you do, but that’s cool,” Kristin said.

Time Unknown. Mercantilist Union Scientific Base Thirteen Bravo – Medical Wing

The medical bay was dimly lit. While it could house up to sixteen patients this wing was devoted to a single young woman. She wore a grey hospital gown and appeared to be sleeping on a comfortable-looking mattress. The observation room that was next to her bed was bristling with movement. Two men were in the wing standing around her bed.

“Dr. Norman, she is still catatonic. We can tell that there is brain activity,” the doctor said as he looked over at his liege, “But we are out of ideas to bring her out of this state.”

“And what of her other physical ailments?”

“We’re still unsure on the replacement limb, but the electrical impulses appear that it’s fully functional. Though there is an open question on whether or not we will have to amputate and regrow it. This would be the first documented case of someone receiving a limb replacement and waking up months after receiving the new limb,” the doctor paused and reviewed the data slate, “Based on her readouts she’s as healthy as she was before that mission.”

“Thank you, doctor. The team believes it will have three more treatments for your team to conduct later in the week,” Dr. Norman said as he turned and left the room.

He walked down the corridor and into his temporary office. He had been at this facility since she was brought to it. The situation almost felt hopeless, but he was certain she’d awaken. But what she’d be like when she did wake up was anyone’s guess.

He leaned back in his chair and rotated it around to take a look at the desolate view of the rocky planetoid the base was located on. One of their weapons was taken from them. That was always a possibility but the violent and sudden way his life ended was entirely unexpected. The bond the twins possessed was far stronger than they had suspected.

“Why would he go to those lengths? I don’t understand that. And why were they even there? The bloody imbeciles shouldn’t have failed in their mission. Had they not…”

The door rang and in walked another scientist, “Dr. Norman, I’d like to present you with a theory about psychic attachments. As you know more about than anyone here, I think you could add some important insight.”

“Very well, sit down and ask your questions.”

“Thank you, sir. Our working theory is that we may be able to get her to wake up if we can simulate her brother’s psychic signature. Something similar is done with twins that were afflicted by another’s loss.”

Dr. Norman spun around and faced the scientist, “The problem with that is it’s impossible for a telepath to mirror another’s psychic presence.”

“Correct, but what if we were to use technological means to trick her mind into thinking it can feel him?”

“Psychic signals can be amplified but not created from scratch.”

The scientist slid a data slate across the table, “I disagree, sir. It may take a month or so, but I believe this is our only hope to awaken her.”

“It’s an interesting approach. One I admittedly discounted,” Dr. Norman set it down, “Create your team from personnel on this base that is not already working on a solution. You have two weeks to work on this and present me an update.”

“Understood and thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”

The scientist smiled and left the room. A sense of optimism was finally felt for the first time in weeks. But Dr. Norman wouldn’t bet his life on that form of treatment. It wasn’t guaranteed to work, but it was the first thing that didn’t feel like the solution was grasping at straws.

He stood up and walked over to the bank of televisions and turned them on. He was surprised by the activity from the Confederate news channels. He turned the volume up on one of them.

“Naval Intelligence confirmed with the Independent Confederate News Agency that thousands of arrest warrants and temporary asset freeze requests were enacted shortly after noon today. The exact reasons why these arrests were made have not been made public. Dozens of CEOs and high-level executives were amongst those that were arrested.”

“What is going on here?” Dr. Norman mused to himself.

“Gerald LaRue, a CEO, and owner of a corporation that has been a recluse for the last twenty-some years was the most notable individual arrested. Naval Intelligence was reported to be personally guarding him at an undisclosed location.”

“What did you do my old and misguided friend?”