1 Welcome to the Force

Prologue: Ministry of Defense

A bird's eye glance hung over a large futuristic city with towering buildings, hover cars and bustling people. The noisy chatter was heard from all reaches of the map, leading to a building where many humans were cramming their way into the seating inside. A press conference seemed to be about to begin. As the noise died down the lighting dimmed and a middle aged, maroon haired woman took the stage. She paced over the flooring, standing before a levitating microphone, center stage. She bore a green dress, with a metal chest plate and a brown cape along with brown boots and belts over her legs.

She pressed up her glasses on her face, clearing her throat. "People of Cathelreden. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Xiao Guardiana, chief director of Alien Ministry. Ten years have went by after the Dread wars, but it feels as if they never stopped. The Elementar have moved right into our planet, and are taking it over as we speak. Countless reports of innocent people have gone missing, but it won't end there. I have come to you today, gathering troops for the protection of Planet Terra. The ministry of defense is recruiting anyone eighteen and older to help stop these aliens from pushing us out. We need to stop these things before it gets far worse. This war is only beginning and it needs to stop. Stand with me, and together we can save our world. All who wish to join our cause, please sign up now. Alien Ministry needs you, and Terra needs you." The speech ended, with the sound of applause of the audience as she left center stage behind curtain.

A few weeks had passed after that. The Alien Ministry forces had made their headquarters in Zokyo Desert. The sand went on for miles, seeing mostly rock formations and desert plant life scattered around. The HQ was held inside one of the natural formations of the surroundings to ensure stealth of the operations. Inside Xiao was leading a group of recruits down the corridors, to give them a tour of the facility. They halted at a room, as she pressed a button to open the sliding doors. Inside were many bunk beds, crammed together with little walk space.

"This is the sleeping dormitory, all new recruits will bunking here until your ranks have improved." Xiao explained, letting the group peer inside. "I also have to note, that all beds are assigned, no exceptions."

A light blue haired boy sighed, as a blonde haired man, about the age of eighteen, gazed to Xiao. "If I may, what might I ask are those?" He points to a couple of workers who had odd looking devices on their hands.

Xiao looked to the recruit, "Pardon?" She glanced over to the workers. "Oh yes, those. Only certain operatives are permitted to know what those are used for and what they entail. Top secret in other words."

"Top secret? Why go into detail at all? You could have just said so to begin with." The light blue haired boy, appearing seventeen crossed his arms, with a slight smirk he was hiding.

"..." Xiao looked to the boy with a quirked brow. "I am only going to state this once. Do not talk back to your superior officers. Understood?"

"U-uh..." The boy hid behind the blond haired one next to him.

"(My, she's quite scary.)" The blonde haired man thinks to himself nervously.

"Ahem. Moving on if there are no further outbursts." Xiao rolled her eyes, turning from them.

The others in the group shake their heads, they did not want to cross Xiao's wrath. The tour resumed, leading to where a locker room and bathrooms were positioned.

"Here we find the lavatory, as well as the lockers. You will be required to shower daily, without question." Xiao instructed, looking to the group.

The blue haired boy looked inside as well, "Talk about shiny. (I wonder how they keep it this so clean.)" He seemed a bit off taken, by the sparkling of the flooring.

The blonde haired man takes a look around. "My, I do have to agree. (They really keep this up well. It's excellent to see they really care about keeping things in order.)"

Others in the group also made comments about the cleanliness of the chambers.

"New recruits will be required to help with the upkeep of all facilities within our headquarters. No exceptions. Some will get lavatory duty, others kitchen and so forth." Xiao pushed her glasses higher on her face with her index finger.

"(You've gotta be kidding me...)" The blue haired boy groaned a bit.

"Hmm, that seems rather easy. I wouldn't mind that chore." The blonde haired man stated proudly.

Some of the others looked to him oddly. The blue haired boy was suddenly holding in laughter, "Dude, you are such a brown-noser."

Xiao looked over, crossing her arms. "Ahem!" The group quieted without question. "Now that I have your undivided attention. Whatever your name is, keep your opinions silent. I dislike all this negativity, especially towards an excellent example of how our recruits should be responding."

"Y-Yes ma'am. (Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.)" The blue haired boy gulped, as he sweated nervously with a sigh.

"Let us resume." Xiao was growing annoyed.

The group progressed to the kitchen, then to the training area after that. There was a second room next to the training chambers. It had a sign stating 'Special personal only'.

"Here is the training halls. Where you can practice your melee and long ranged weapon skills once you are assigned a duty. Any questions before we continue?" Xiao inquired, trying to keep her composure.

The blonde haired man looks around as they were walking. "(My, I still can't believe I'm this close to making a change with things...)" He thought to himself keeping his sight on all the wonders he came across.

"(There's a plus side to this!) Awesome, so when does that happen?" The blue haired boy was pressing up against the see-through wall.

"When we think you're ready. Refrain from doing that, if you would." Xiao looked sharply to the boy.

"Yes ma'am!" He jumped.

"Follow me." Xiao stated, leading the group more through the facilities.

Finally the tour stopped, as the recruits were left to stand in a line.

"This is where we part ways. Here you'll acquire your uniforms, your registration and anything else you need to know before you are tested. Which may take some time. Until you're assigned roles, you'll be given a chore. There are curfews here, so best abide by them. Til we next meet." Xiao said, walking off from the recruits.

They were left to stand in a long line, to gather the supplies before they got to the registration counter, but the line was rather long.

"Soooooo.... this is going to take a while." The blue haired boy sighed, with boredom. He placed his arms behind his head.

"Oh, that's fine. I'd rather them not rush perfection." Says the blonde man crossing his arms.

The younger boy looked to him, "Why are you so...uh... snobby?"

"Hm? Oh, I wouldn't call it that. You see,Terraldyn is a pretty big planet. With how things are, I want to make a difference. I thought to myself, 'why not start here'?" The man says pocketing his hands.

"You're pretty weird, dude." The younger boy looked to him funny. "I mean, jeez, You talk like some scientist or archaeologist."

The blonde haired man looks to the younger male, smiling. "Oh? Ha ha ha! Come on, being a young adult, you have had to of heard more talking this way around you...Unless you're still in high school, but that would be preposterous."

"Riiight. Any who. I hope they got real food here. I'd kill for a cheeseburger right about now." The younger boy laughed, awkwardly. "(Especially after the crap I've been through today...)"

"Burgers? Heh. Hmm, I could also go for a good meal, though perhaps we should get more pressing matters out of the way." The man says, looking to the younger male. "My name's Barret, Barret Aldric." He extends his hand to the boy.

The boy looks to him, taking it to shake. "Issac Lundell." He seemed a bit off taken by this.

"It's nice to meet you Issac. Well, looks as if the lines moving! I can't wait to get to the material!" Barret says happily.

"Likewise, pal. Finally we can get this out of the way, I want to explore a bit around." Issac smirked, faintly. "(I need to get my mind off things..)"

The line progressed as they came to each spot where they picked up their uniforms and such. Soon they made it to the counters. A maroon haired man, about Barret's age, maybe a bit older, was standing there.

He looked to the two. "Last in line, eh? Well, fill out these registration files, and you'll be escorted to the next stop." He seemed irritable to say the least.

"(It's almost time! I can't wait!)" Barret thought to himself, taking his registration sheets.

Issac took the sheets, tapping his pen as he began filling it out. After the two finished filling them out, the man looked them over.

"Issac? You missed your birth date." The man looked to him boredly.

Issac jumped, "I-I did? whoops, hehe..." Issac took the paper back, writing to it before handing it back. "(I need to be more careful! I wish my head was clear right about now..)"

"Alright. Move along to the blood testing, in the next room." The man instructed.

Barret looks to Issac, "(Beside age, I do hope he is one of us... He seems like a nice kid, and I wouldn't want to see him on the chopping block.)" Barret thought to himself .

Barret and Issac moved onto the next room, both being allowed inside, one at a time. However, as Issac was stepping out, the man from the registration approached them.

"Issac Lundell. I cross checked your records, and you're information isn't matching up. Would you mind explaining a few things?" The man looked sternly to him.

Barret was in earshot of the situation, glancing over a bit.

"Crap..." Issac gritted his teeth. "(This is bad... does he KNOW?!)"

"Well?" The man tapped his foot.

"I-If you already have the information, then just.. just call me out on it." Issac grimaced. "(I'm screwed... I should have taken the alternative route...)"

"Talking back even. This is exactly why we don't let 'kids' join the Ministry." The man looked to Issac with annoyance.

Issac breathed a bit easier, ".... (He's got my age... but am I clear? I can't go back... not now..)"

Barret looks over getting an idea. He leaves his spot to talk with them about the situation. "If I may, I might be able to alleviate the situation. Issac, was it?" Barret says looking to Issac.

Issac glances over biting his lip slightly, "Y-yeah?"

"This better be good." The man crossed his arms, looking to the two.

"Assuming from the statement, you ARE a child. Hmm, this is a sticky situation." Barret says placing a hand to his chin.

"Teenager." Issac correct, looking off.

"Teenager,child,kid. You're not really anything until you hit eighteen. How old are you?" Barret asks to Issac looking to him rather interested.

"I'm seventeen." Issac gritted his teeth, nervously looking to the man watching them. "(I hope that's all he knows...)"

"Seventeen..." Barret says, pondering to himself, "I think I may be able to make this work. If I may sir, might I take him off your hands? He is only an age below the limit, I could keep watch over him."

"You think just because you check out, that you can waltz around telling superior officers how to run things? Tsk, wow. If you got complaints, take it up with the director. Have fun, grunts. Get moving." The man looked to them, unamused. He shoved Issac's papers into him, before walking off.

"Ha ha ha, I suppose that's a 'yes'." Barret says, sarcastically optimistic.

"I'm so dead..." Issac rubbed the back of his head.

Barret pats Issac on the shoulder. "Come on, let's talk this over with the Director."

The two head off to Xiao's office. They are escorted inside, seeing her looking over a map on the wall behind her desk.

"They disappeared over here....." She was thinking out loud.

"Pardon, Director? We have a situation that needs attending to." Spoke one of the soldiers.

Xiao glanced back to them, "What is it? Oh... it's 'you'. What did 'he' do?"

Barret steps forward, "It has come to their attention, Issac here, is below the required age limit." Barret says proudly. "Now I know what you might be thinking..." He then stated cautiously.

"Ah-heh... Getting the aid of a model recruit even. I knew this one was going to be trouble." Xiao approached them.

"Now, hold on madam, just hear me out please." Barret says, holding his hands out to keep her at a distance. "I was thinking, I perhaps could keep watch on him. The child is seventeen."

"You are both children compared to me. Also,you may not call me 'madam', you must address me properly! You grunts are stepping out of line, like maggots out of a corpse. I hope you planned something good, you're treading on thin ice right now." Xiao snapped.

"(This could have gone a lot better...)" Issac gulped.

"B-But of course, Miss Xiao! He's only below the limit by one age, I'm sure there is a good reason he's made the choice to sneak in. I say we give him a chance. The world is in bad shape, and we can use all the help we can get."Barret explained to Xiao.

"By sending kids off to war? You think this is such a good idea? We are not Elementar!" Xiao looked seriously to Barret.

"(True...Elementar can withstand much more than us... But Issac, he must have some good reason to be here. If I get through to her, I'll make my job to see he stays safe.") Barret sighs to himself, and looks to Xiao forming quite a serious stare. "But what if his family was taken by Elementar? He made the choice to come here, were not forcing Issac. I did say I could look after him."

Xiao makes a long sigh, "Very well. Do keep in mind, this kid is now your responsibility, and you'll be the one baring the guilt if something happens."

Barret nods to her statement. "Yes, ma'am."

"Why are you two standing around? Get to work." Xiao turned from them.

Barret and Issac are led out by the guards, and left to wander the halls.

"Damn, that was close...." Issac sighed with relief, a bit ahead of Barret.

Barret suddenly slaps Issac upside his head. "No 'thank you'? We both almost got in trouble back there, thanks to you."

"Ooouch... Jeez man... Sorry." Issac held his head. "Thanks alright?"

Barret forms a wide smile. "That's what I want to hear. So, as the adult here. You have to follow my commands to the tee." Barret says snickering.

"Dude, you got an evil side... who died and made you the boss?" Issac shivered slightly.

"You're still a young one learning how the world works. As the older figure here. It only makes sense, that you listen to what I have to tell you." Barret stated proudly.

"New's flash dude, we're both grunts here." Issac smiled nervously.

"And you're still far too young to be here. Play it safe, okay Issac? Just follow my lead and you won't get tossed into a toddler room." Barret says adding in laughter. "(Reminds me of Sandra when she was younger.)"

"Jerk." Issac chuckled.

Barret slaps Issac upside the head once more. "Language, is something you must also work on. Especially when it comes to business matters." Barret's stomach growls. "However... I believe after we take care the remaining things, We should find the cafe."

"Right, got it 'chief'." Issac blew up his bangs with his breath slightly.

After being assigned their duties, the two located the dining hall of the headquarters. There were lines already getting food, and most of the seating was taken.

"More lines?....Urgh..." Issac sighed. "(Why is there so much people here?...)

"Straighten up now, you can't eat if you can't reach the counter. Patience is a virtue." Barret says looking ahead.

"Yeah-yeah..." Issac muttered, with a sigh.

They soon reach the counter, getting their meals before discovering all the tables were full.

"Just like the lunchroom's back home... Typical..." Issac looked to the tables.

"About back home, how was it? More importantly why did you sign up?" Barret inquires looking to Issac.

"Uh... (Shoot...) Can we talk about stuff after we find a place to eat?" Issac shrugged, trying to avoid looking to Barret.

"Moody,moody." Barret teased. "Okay, we'll talk after we find a seat."

They began looking, but all the tables were stocked full. With no other options, they were forced to travel a bit down the hall, finding a stair case to sit. Taking a seat, they began to eat their food.

Barret turns to Issac, "So, about my earlier question?"

Issac glanced over, after taking a bite of his burger. "Hm?... What about it?" His mood seemed a bit dampened.

Barret laughs to himself, "I would slap your head again, but then you'd choke. You couldn't have forgotten already?"

Issac smiled awkwardly, looking to his food. "I meant, what about it? You did mention about how it was and why I'm here, but does that really matter? (Not like I want to discuss this with some dude I don't know... I know how people opperate..)"

Barret sets his food down. He then grabs to Issac's burger. He takes it and holds it to the air. "Well, it seems I have come to this very place, to steal burgers from other soldiers. With taking that, the food supply will fall short, people will go crazy and then I will have won the war.."

Issac looked lazily to Barret. "Come on dude, don't bully me, it's not cool. I get it..."

Barret looks to Issac slyly. "Do you? Perhaps I should eat it now, unless you give me some facts. For all I know, you could be planning to blow this place up."

"Stop it, that's cruel... taking my food. (What is with this jerk!?)" Issac pouted, "You're just like the bullies back in all those school I attended... Can't you stop being so pushy?... Yeah, I'm seventeen, but I graduated school, alright? What's a guy to do? Get employment at some dead end job?" Issac stared to his burger. "(Not after that...)"

"..." Barret sets Issac's burger back in his tray. He sighs to himself. "I'm sorry. It's just, War isn't really a good outlet... A normal job would have been better for you. There's a high chance you can get killed doing this. This is a terrible life choice... Granted the things you'd be doing can help a lot of people. Just getting there...To top it off, you're still a kid." Barret says, holding his head.

"Who has not much of anything. Even if I got a job... It's not worth it..." Issac sighed, grabbing his burger.

Barret sighs to himself once more, taking a drink from his cup. "You still sound like a sheltered child, but do your parents even know you're here? Had you not thought about what they would think? Family is a big issue."

"I take the fifth..." Issac bit into his burger again, he was keeping his eyes averted.

"...Really? Are you some runaway? Issac. That is quite a selfish thing to do to your own parents. I mean how on Terra would you feel if your-...never mind. You are still growing, I shouldn't place too much pressure on you. Though you should think about the effects of choices." Barret says, finishing his burger. "You might have ran away because it felt like the right thing to do, but honestly. I thought you might have joined to do something against the evils of that organization. Not for some self relief...Or a big fat check."

"I know what I'm against, it ain't some video game. I just think... eh... not like you'd understand." Issac finished his burger, taking a swig of his water.

Barret sighs, "You hit the nail on the head. This isn't a video game. You can be killed and there is no turning back... It's my job though to take care of you for now...I guess you have another parent as much as you hate that." Barret says, cracking a soft smile.

"... (He has no idea...) Whatever, better than the alternative I had in mind anyway.." Issac tapped to his tray.

"Hmm alternative?" Barret asked looking to Issac.

"Uh? Don't tell me you wanna know 'that' too?" Issac gritted his teeth.

Barret sighs, "You stated it, I need to know, or I'll never stop asking. Besides, you remember the little burger incident we just had correct?"

"...." Issac looked off, "Stop bullying me into submission. I don't want to talk about back home, or things I've been through. Can we just stop talking about me already?" His tone was more distressed than before.

Barret rubs his head. "Okay, I understand. I won't ask anymore questions. Though, choosing this?" Barret says, muttering.

"Hey, I'm gonna be helping people, who need it. That's all you need to know, besides at least doing this attracts girls." Issac chuckled, slightly. He was still holding things back.

Barret rams his knuckle into Issac's head, aggressively. "You're doing this to get girls?!"

"Ouch..." Issac teared up, with a slight whine.

"You're a man now, so you need to keep your head clear. Girl's can wait." Barret says holding up his thumb. "Let's take care of these trays, then we'll get to training you up. We have work to do, but you'll come around, I'll see to it."

"Dude, we're both noobs here. Haha." Issac chuckled.

"That's why I ask questions, lesson number one." Barret says, laughing to himself.

The two head back to drop of their trays, afterwards they had some free time before light's out.

"I wonder what else they have here." Issac looked to all the recruits walking around.

Barret laughs, "Didn't you just hear what I said? Ask them questions, though if your not feeling like it. We could go exploring."

"Exploring would be cool. Hm, I just realized. You never said why you joined up." Issac glanced to Barret, tilting his head slightly.

Barret rubs the back of his head. "Ha ha, well since you're not a spy, I suppose I can give you that, honestly it would be rude of me not to. I grew up in New Tech, with my father, step mother and half sisters Sandra and Kiki. I joined the force, because I always have been into inventing things, and thought I could be a helpful asset to the Ministry."

"You could have given me a brief idea, not a full back story dude... So you kinda ARE a scientist then. Gotcha. So, you said sisters? Are they hot?" Issac smirked.

"That's none of your business." Barret says, defenselessly with a smile.

"Creeeepy..." Issac shivered. "(Talk about contradicting...)"

"A brother must protect his sisters...They do say a lot of girls have been disappearing in the news. So, I'm a bit more on edge." Barret says, looking off to the cafe.

"Always about the news. It's more fun to watch that Bryce Geist show. Ever check it out?" Issac inquired, curiously.

Barret looks back to Issac, "Oh Geist? I've seen some of his programming. I can't say the Kaos fellows are too happy about how he talks about them. I kind of worry for his safety."

"If they're not happy, maybe they're up to something shady? I do like listening to his broadcast when I'm napping though." Issac replied. "(One of the few things that keeps me sane.)"

Barret shakes his head. "Issac, why are we in this base? We all are after Elementar, Kaos is one of those organizations. I'm sure they have connections, but all the same, we should be careful..."

Issac cleaned his ear out with his pinkie, "So then, why aren't we jumping those thugs, instead of pondering like chickens with their heads cut off? I heard the speech, Xiao is targeting Elementar for the kidnappings. She didn't state anything about Kaos. So, what if these guys are the ones we're after? Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."

Barret thinks to himself placing a hand to his chin. "Well, you may have a point, being one to focus on technology. Kaos did introduce a lot of new machinery to us humans around the time they founded. Perhaps we should look into things they're working soon."

"That's what I'm talking about." Issac grinned.

"Well, I think we've made our first objective...Though we still have chores to tend to." Barret says, laughing to himself.

"Yeah, I doubt they let recruits on field." Issac crossed his arms.

A surveillance robot looked to them from above, as an intercom clicked on. "Issac Lundell and Barret Aldric, report immediately to the Director's office, stat." spoke a male voice.