Chapter 11

A ‘Cog in Time

General Sharma, also known as the top Precognition user for the military. She is so prominent a fixture in identifying highly talented individuals, that she was finally placed in charge of the prestigious BreakPoint Academy. All this is to say that the Lead DI was both well respected within the Academy and her words held sway far outside the Academy as well. A recommendation from her could have a lasting impact on one’s military career. Whether it is divine providence, or a matter of people believing the career path and advice laid out by the Lead DI is hard to state for certain. All that is truly known is that she rarely gets involved in the personal matter of students. Those that she has personally mentored have all gone on to do great things throughout the services.

So it is with a little nervous tension that I follow her to the training room. Oddly enough it is the same training room I am always assigned, but this time rather than having to prove my capabilities with DI Keller, I now must perform in front of Lead DI Sharma.

We get in, and she immediately drops into a meditation pose. Inwardly I groan at the gesture. It is not that I am not able to get into the pose, or that I don’t feel more relaxed when I enter the pose. I do, I really and truly feel more relaxed. I just have never been able to generate even the smallest spark of a vision in this pose. I have tried, lord knows countless hours have been wasted by me over my many different lives thinking, this will be the time I awaken my Precognitive potential, each time I was met with disappointment.

While I don’t expect this time to be any different, I am with the leading Precog of the Space Force. If anything can be done, it will be done now.

I sit and easily take the form, sit up straight, and let my breathing slow.

“I see you have done this before.”

I nod.

“I know you don’t expect much from this, but I will tell you an interesting fact about us Precognitives.” Sharma begins, and suddenly I am wrapped around her attention. It feels like I am about to be let in on a little secret that only Precognitives are aware of, and not just any Precog either. No, we are talking about a secret that only the elites of the Precognitive world are privy to. The thought takes a moment, but suddenly I realize that was me gaining insight into this moment.

My face must show my surprise, as Sharma smiles. It is a warm motherly smile, the type a mother would give her child who first learned to stand but didn’t quite know what to do after beating back gravity and defying their previous existence of being forced to crawl on the ground. This is the smile of a mother who knows their child is about to take their first step, and forever change their life forever.

“When you get powerful enough as a Precog, you can start to identify others who are coming into bloom.” She says, I pause as I stare at her. “That is the term for the process, blooming. When a Precog starts to begin to form their power. This is an inspiring moment for older Precogs, as we can often gain insight into the messages that the universe is sending us by watching a precog start to come into their own. Often just being around a Precog who is coming into their own is enough to stabilize the first few visions. The first few are often the roughest, and it is recommended that one eat a hearty meal beforehand.”

The more she speaks, the more my mind goes back to Mave at the diner. The way she fed me a complimentary serving of chicken waffles, and the way she stared at me so intently. As I am thinking this, Sharma must be reading my mind as a faint smile crests her lips as she nods in agreement.

“Know that by an awakened Precog being near a blooming Precog is often enough to leave a psychic residue of sorts. We call these anchor points; people, places, and times, that one can call back to center one’s concentration. Thus, when I look at you, I can see that my one-time instructor was your first anchor point.”

“Mave?” I ask. I knew the lady was old, but I didn’t realize just how old if she was Sharma’s instructor. Suddenly a bit more about her relationship to Mel made sense, how she was like an aunt.

“I have to say, that alone was enough to draw my attention to you. This is of course not even counting the fact that your Precognitive affinity has bloomed even more than when I first saw you this morning.” She continues.

“I can see the Power and Skill within you. I also know why you are here. You wish to test out of your Psionic portions of your power so you can proceed to actual job proficiency testing. I am going to tell you now that you are not ready for that.” She states as a matter of fact.

I am about to protest when she holds up a hand in a calming gesture. “I see your control and your power. The fact that you have spent multiple hours training during your Awakening trials is apparent to all who witness you. There is also the problem with your perception of yourself.”

She pauses as she lets that last part sink in.

“I will try to be more humble.” I state, realizing I have been going around wielding my powers a lot more freely than I ever have in the past.

With that she just shakes her head. “No, you are far from being humble and humility. You need to understand that you are unfathomably powerful. You shattered a Mind testing crystal.”

She pauses for a second, debating whether to tell me a detail or not. Finally, after a moment she decides to go ahead as a sense of resolve fills her face. “Do you know why DI Wagner was so late to your class today?”

I shake my head, no.

“The reason he was so late was because I made him switch out the psionic testing crystal. I gave him one that was designed to register a proverbial blessed one. A child who was up to 250% of the highest known affinity.”

She states that, and it takes a moment for the words to settle in. As soon as she sees the recognition in my face she continues.

“That is correct, you broke a stone that could register a hypothetical 250% affinity, something that was thought of as being overly wasteful of government funds. Fortunately for me as a Seer of immense power and stature I developed a lot of clout. I am often allowed my eccentricities. So now when I make my report up that we found a hypothetical Goliath in our midst and that he is being trained by us here at the Academy, do you know what their first response was to me?”

I shake my head.

“Two questions, first what his affinities are, and second who was to train him. When it was found out that this same Cadet was the same one who had a vision in a court case that was going to be a sham. That they had not one but two visions back-to-back. The first a vision so violent that vomit was sprayed over sixty feet. A first in both trials and terms of distance. Then how you rescued not one, but two children on live broadcast. Then how you had a vision of a second judge where you had enough evidence manifest to get the judge to recuse themselves from the trial. It was apparent that not only were you powerful, but that you were going to be an exceptional Precognitive. That is when I was ordered to take an active role in your training.” She states.

I am taken aback by her blatant honesty, though I do feel somewhat bad that I am being forced on her in this way. Still, this is General Sharma, the Oracle of Destiny. I am not making that up, that was her call sign, much better than Powder if I do say so myself. But hey, we can’t choose our monikers, we can only deal with them as we get them.

“Don’t get me wrong. I was already interested in your training just from everything leading up to your late enrollment into the service. That was why I was at training this morning.”

I think back and realize that while General Sharma did occasionally show up to morning formations in my past lives, it was never the first formation. Looking at her I realize she likely has some type of Empathic ability as she is reading my facial tics as if they are some types of cues into my mental thought process. For she is both accurate and poignant with the direction she continues to take this conversation.

“So.” She begins, and I realize by the way her shoulders tense up she is about to say something that will not be pleasant to me. “For a myriad of reasons, I cannot completely pass you today.”

I am about to protest, but she holds up a flat hand to say she is still going to continue. “First, you have control and precision, of that there is no doubt. The only problem is that your control and precision seem to be geared for a weaker version of yourself. As if you never had a chance to practice with the full capabilities of your new power. This will prove costly if you do not take corrective actions on it immediately. I believe you have already seen the problems that come from improper control and usage, a thing that is commonly referred to as discharge. Normally this will just go away as one gets accustomed to their power level. In these cases, one can generally go to a more senior practitioner for ways to help. The only problem in your case is, we don’t have cadre here who are remotely qualified to help you. We have made inquiries, and believe we have an acceptable solution that will also go towards mending a few diplomatic fences as well.”

She pauses for a breath, and I am about to try to throw in a rebuttal, but she holds one pointer finger up to pause me while she continues, yet again.

“That said I can make a compromise with you. I will pass you on all but Precognition, giving you most of your Psionic powers as being noted as master level. This will be enough to let you start taking your certification tracks that you wish to apply for. I remember there was quite a list that you gave to judge Blackstone. I am half intrigued to see just how you manage to pull off some of these certificates myself. So, to help you, I will let you begin your training now. On the condition that you meet with me three times a week for one hour to go over how to develop your Precognitive abilities. Now due to my time constraints during the day, we will have to hold these sessions after classes, which I believe will work out best for you anyways.”

Hearing that, I visibly relax as I can continue my path that I wanted. I will just have to take a slightly longer and likely more exhaustive path to get there. Also, there is a bit of concern with my being called out so easily by the lead DI. She heavily hinted that I have been trained at a weaker power level and that my precision and control were only noted for known standard users. There is also the question that if I broke a stone that is set to measure talents and abilities up to 250% regular standards, then what is my true base potential?

Even my status only shows a percentage based on my understanding of what I am personally capable of. Thus the 99+% affinity I have is relative to me. That means I can call upon 99+% of my affinity as it relates to me and my Power attribute, which will be drastically different than most practitioners with the same affinity level. This is likely from several factors that caused the spike, the most notable is the blessing [Increased Psionic Potency]. But I can’t help but feel that my exceptionally high-Power attribute also is playing a key role in this. Last time I received an increased Potency it was for a much lower percentage affinity. It was at a time when I didn’t realize my Power attribute could go past 20. I was always told up to that point that 20 was the maximum the human body could go. For the most part that assessment has proven to be correct, as most of my attributes can only go to 20. At one point or another I tested each Attributes maximum and found that they all stop at 20. Also, I learned early on that I would need fifty-five trial points to get every attribute to 20. That is why I’ve learned to only put a few points into Dexterity and Agility to help with my initial growth rates. But still, that doesn’t quite explain why I would test at over 250%.

“Good.” Sharma sighs, as she realizes I will not argue this point. For a second, I had almost forgotten that she was still in the room with me. “Know that the other two days of the week might also be taken up, once the special arrangements get made.”

With that cryptic message she stands up and is about to leave. Before she goes, I ask a question.

“How do you know I can use Mind Rend accurately?” I asked.

She turned and had a eureka moment, as she looks like she suddenly remembered another topic she wished to discuss. “Yes, about that. You do remember a Special Operative Graves in the park yesterday?”

As she speaks, I shake my head and realize I just stepped in it this time. I had used Mind Rend on agent Graves, to seal away his powers and make it so he would stop influencing me. Rather than obliterating an entire mind as the power generally is used, I used it to cut and neatly fold an unwanted portion of Graves’ mind. Seeing my face, she nods, once again still reading my features.

“I must admit that was some expert usage. Some of the experts who have extensive practice with Mind Rend are unable to figure out how you so succinctly targeted one portion of the brain, while leaving the rest of Agent Graves’ mind completely unmolested. That does bring me to my next question.” She pauses as she looks at me intently. I feel as though I am being judged, though I don’t quite know why.

“You mentioned that you placed a seven-day seal on him. That if he didn’t come to see you within that time frame the seals would permanently seal shut, is this true? Also is such a thing even possible?”

I nod. “It is both true that I said it, and true that such a thing is possible.”

She stands there reading my face, then finally realizes that either I am telling the truth, or I believe I am telling the truth. Then she asks another question that I wasn’t quite expecting “and the other five, well four operatives that will dissolve in seven days?”

I pause for a second, suddenly feeling squeamish under the intense gaze. “That was a lie. Theirs will go off in seven days, well closer to five and a half now. I set their timer shorter so Graves would take his seriously.”

She glares at me for a moment, before finally concluding. “You will see all five of them and remove the seals from each of them. That will be your true passing of being fully qualified as a Mage Breaker.”

With that she starts to leave. “Not that I mind undoing the seals, now that I am being taken seriously. But wouldn’t it make more sense to be labeled as a Mage Breaker, if you know I broke a few mages?” I asked.

“We have proof enough of that already with what you did to poor Mr. Harvell. I daresay you’ve made yourself a true enemy with that one, but it would be foolish to go after a Mage Breaker who was so powerful that others who have been doing this for longer than you have been alive, are unable to break the seals you created.”

After hearing that statement from Sharma, I almost wonder if she is hinting at her knowing my true story. Does she realize the truth? Or is she just fishing for some insights? I wonder these thoughts as she leaves.

I stay in the room contemplating what just happened.

Ping.

Ping.

Ping.

Ping.

I received four new messages that I open almost immediately.

You have received Master Class Ranking for Mind Rend.

You have received Master Class Ranking for Telekinesis.

You have received Master Class Ranking for Pyrokinesis.

I am slightly thrown off by the fourth email, but figure it is better than nothing.

You have passed the majority of your Mind Affinity courses with the Ranking of Master. You are now officially recognized as a Master Class Psionic for the Galactic Space Force and are hereby able to enroll in space-based curriculum.

I might have said it before, but I’ll say it again. Psychics and Psionics are considered the kings of space and space combat. Mages on the other hand are kings of ground combat. Thus, by becoming certified as a Psionic, I am now able to take space related classes. These will include but not limited to star fighter pilot, mechanical engineer, space recon, and others.

With the first of my tasks out of the way, I decide to go and see if I can also test out of my Magical affinity classes. I know I won’t be able to get certified as a Mage Breaker today, well at least not until I undo the bindings on Graves and his lackeys. Still, I feel I am still moving in my path, though my path is once again a lot more limited than it has ever been in a previous life. This time I have training three times a week, in addition to my regular studies. This is also only until special accommodations are made to get me yet another tutor, so I can really be qualified for Telekinesis, Mind Rend, and Pyrokinesis.

Sighing that there is nothing I can really do. I shrug my shoulders and begin to head to the next testing ground that is right next store to this large athletic facility.