The words Ralphie Studd Intergalactic Fugitive lay sprawled out by the giant TV screen overhead. Charles had to strain his neck to see the screen. There was a 5.5 million dollar bounty that danced across the bottom of the screen. Charles was no mercenary; He did like the new CelTec salary. Rich enough to own puppets. A five-million-dollar bounty would be nice, he thought to himself.

  The thought of getting off the planet seemed intriguing to him. He had never been off the planet before, and for most of his life, he didn’t even think it was possible, as another newbie at CelTec told him that space flight was only reserved for military operations and Civilians were forbidden from knowing.

  Charles went to see his commanding officer, Rodger. He jumped out of his seat. He had been on assignment tracking down information on various criminals. Rodger was stern but kind, and Charles would likely be reporting back to him for the rest of his career. Charles felt a mix of feelings surge through him, part excited and part terrified. He never knew what Rodger had set out for him.

  Rodgers' room was filled with various CelTec merchandise. The walls of his office were painted with a dark grey, and everything else in the room resembled the Black and Yellow that CelTec proudly flaunted.

  “Welcome, please sit down,” Rodger said. He wasn’t much older than Charles was. He sported the same dark black suit that most of the other CelTec officers wore, but he had a blood red badge that gleamed from the light illuminating from above.

  Charles sat down. “How are you doing today?” Rodger asked.

  “Busy, very busy, I’m sure that you have seen the monitors on the screen, a lot has been happening. The death of Chuck Thorne and Dullahan has been kicked into hyper gear. We have been moving absurdly fast. Which brings me to you.” Rodger tapped the files on his desk twice before he opened them. “Got your minds pretty late, I see.” Rodger nodded. “But your scores of perception, as well as your acute sense of problem-solving, shine through your resume. Training day was stellar for you, like you’ve been through this program before. Plus, all of your professors said you were a treat to work with. You also seem to have some help from above where I’m sitting. Your age drags you down a bit, but I’m not too worried about that. That is something that we can work with. I’m sure you have seen everything about the bounty on Ralphie Studd?” Charles nodded again. “Well, to be honest with you, no one is going to cash in that bounty; it might be impossible. Even with the resources we have,” Rodger set down a file in front of Charles, “Rifle through that.”

  Charles opened up the file, and a giant photo of Ralphie was sprawled over the front page with the words semi-dangerous lettered across the bottom of the page. Whereabouts unknown, last seen in a black SUV without plates. The next page contained a photo of Jedd, listed as highly dangerous, and three potential locations were listed around the world. Sage was on the next page, her danger level listed as unknown, along with whereabouts unknown. There was a photo of her in the hospital listed five months ago. Under her description, she was listed as a potential security threat. Charles didn’t make much off it.

  “Notice anything?” Rodger asked.

  Charles kept looking at the file, “Not yet?” He asked. “These are just basic descriptions. There's not a lot of information to go on.” Charles did notice that Rodger was staring intently at him. He got the feeling that he was being tested.

  “Keep going,” Rodger insisted. Charles flipped the page to Petey. Danger level low, it was listed that Petey had several ties to a man named Mace, an underground Melt distributor. Mace was listed as highly dangerous with a small black emblem next to his name. “Anything?” Rodger asked. Charles shook his head before flipping to the next page. Which was odd only because at one point in his life, Charles would have recognized Petey as his son.

  Rodger smiled as he leaned back in his chair. Charles got the feeling that whatever test Rodger had been putting him through, he had passed, but what the test was, he was unsure. The last page of the file contained a diagram showing the tracks of the five different vehicles, one of which had contained Ralphie. Each one's tracks mysteriously disappear after thirty minutes of driving. “Mirages,” Charles muttered.

  “Yes, they're nasty little bastards, a real pain in my ass.” Rodger stood up from his desk, pulling out a wad of Cash from inside his desk, and throwing it on the table. “Here's the deal: if you take the job to find Ralphie, that's yours right now.” Plus, we are going to put a team together for you with almost unlimited resources. If your team successfully finds Ralphie, you will each get fifty million dollars if he's dead. Alive, it will be half a billion dollars to each of you. This order is coming directly from Dullahan.”

  Charles sat there, shock clouding his judgment, “I thought Dullahan was dead.”

  Rodger nudged the money closer to Charles, “I get the confusion. I am afraid that I am not authorized to tell you anymore unless you accept. You have a leg up on everyone else, as the scores show that. Now what kind of a leader are you?”

  Charles sat there for a second, the shock still settling in. “I’ll take it,” Charles said, smiling.

  Rodger slid the money over to Charles, “Good choice, now I will show you your team.”

  The elevator door opened up to a large penthouse with lush sofas, chairs, and about as many computers and whiteboards as it was possible to imagine. The ceilings were highly illuminated by oblong lights, giving the entire room a warm feeling. The wooden floor was a dark rose color that wrapped around and connected the room. A tall, slender man stood in the center of the room, turning to face the noise of the elevator turning.

  “Ahh, welcome,” Dullahan said, facing Charles. “The final piece has arrived. It only took a couple of years. Excuse me for a couple of hours.” Charles recognized him instantly; he looked much different from what Charles was expecting. Dullahan's face was contorted and mismatched.

  “Don’t be afraid, this is only temporary,” He said, gesturing to his face. “I’m sure you heard about the accident in the factory. A bomb, an act of terror. Call it what you want. I guess some people can’t live with the progress that CelTec has pushed forward. I myself did not do much to stop it. I was a curious fool.”

  Dullahan approached closer to Charles before gently resting his fingers on Charles' cheek. For some reason, Charles didn’t feel afraid; The Minds seemed to suppress his fear. “May I ask, sir, how did you manage to survive?” Dullahan took his hand off Charles' face.

  “Well, I suppose if I’m being honest with you, I didn’t, see, I’m not human, so I don’t need the same things that you do. I’m something else, something more evolved, the real next step of genomic evolution. It would be a shame if I weren’t more resilient than most. They were able to tear flesh from humans, replacing my skin as well as replacing the organs I had lost. I think it took four people to put me back together. Machines are quite good at putting me together.”

  Dullahan motioned towards the table where the other three people were, “This is your team, Andy. She is going to be your weapons specialist, Cody over here is going to help you with any Tech problems, and then Dylan over here is our killer and assassin, if you will. Although I wouldn’t mind if you kept Ralphie alive. If you need anything, have Dylan help you. We have all of the resources.”

  Dullahan took a couple of steps towards the door before he peered back over his shoulder. “Oh, and one last thing, right now I am opting to give you all the benefit of the doubt that you will be able to get Ralphie on the run as soon as possible. The financial incentive will always be in place, but I will need to see progress. If there isn’t good progress, then I will have to get a different team.”

  Dullahan left via the elevator. The room sat silent for a couple of seconds. The glowing twinkle of the overhead lights bounced around the room. Charles looked back at his team.

  “So what do we have so far?”

  Andy stood up from her chair, moving forward towards Charles.

  “I have been trying to find anything that could tie us to Ralphie. We know he is no longer on this planet, but we are trying to find out where he might have last been. So far, we don’t have much.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Dylan stepped forward, “Well, we might have one lead, a tip about the location of where Jedd was a day and a half after we first lost the location of Ralphie. We think we have pinpointed his location to somewhere in Tuerto.

  Ralphie woke up quite early; it was quite warm in James' house. Ralphie kept trying to ignore the feeling of trying to wake up, but he was beginning to get quite sweaty. He had slept in the main living room on a couch smack in the middle of the room. Ralphie struggled to crack his eyes open, but when he did, he was shocked to see the light pouring into the living room from giant glass windows that he hadn't paid much attention to last night. Outside was filled with lush green grass and trees. Nothing of the snowstorm from the night before presented itself anywhere apart from a few stray puddles that seemed to be sprawled out in the distance.

  “Good morning,” James said as the smell of coffee filled the air, as he poured himself a glass. “It's pretty, isn’t it?”

  “Ya is very pretty, but where's the…”

  “Snowstorm?” James said, cutting him off. “The planet we're on has a rapidly shifting Jet stream, one that can shift at seemingly random. Which is why the weather can change frequently.”

  “Were not on earth?” Ralphie said with confusion ringing in his voice.

  James paused for a second, “No, why did you think you got into that container that they put you in?”

  “I don’t know, I just did it, we were in a rush,” Ralphie said

  James chuckled, “Wow, they didn’t tell you anything.” The dumbfounded look on Ralphie's face told James that they had not. James chuckled, “Seriously, so you just went on with it.”

  “How are we on a different planet… We don’t even have proper space travel.” Ralphie paused in contemplation. “CelTecs Space Program is still in development. Right.”

  James grinned, “Oh boy, you have no idea how deep the rabbit hole goes. Do you want some of this coffee?” James asked. Ralphie shook his head. “CelTec made it to space a long, long time ago. It is the only way they have so many materials; they have entire planets of Puppets, that's what they have been turning disconnected into, so they are obedient. They send giant cargo to mine distant planets. The Spades use what they call containers, which are basically parasitic space ships. They put you to sleep, which I’m sure was pretty jarring for you the first time.”

  “Yes,” Ralphie responded.

  James put his hand in the air. “Anyways, the ships put you to sleep and then launch you to a passing cargo ship. The containers then latch onto the cargo ships, and when the time is right, they jet off and land at their destination.

  The ships are manned by The Minds. That's how you ended up here. I’m not surprised you didn’t know this. CelTec keeps it a secret so they can keep control of their planet. With how you were raised, I guess there was no way you could have known. It’s CelTec's great filter; they control what information is passed around. You also don’t have to worry about time. CelTec is very efficient; it only took a week to get you here. It's time dilation you have to worry about.”

  “What planet are we on?” Ralphie asked.

  “Quite frankly, this one doesn’t have a name. I’m sure it has some kind of number in CelTecs' database, but honestly, I’m not even sure there are millions of planets within CelTecs' routes. I’ve always called it Native.”

  “Hey James, when I was coming here, I ran over a body that was stuck in the snow.” Ralphie said slightly in shock that he had forgotten to mention it last night.”

  James pursed his lips, “About how far away?”

  “A mile or two, it was pretty late,” Ralphie said

  “Hmm, that's unfortunate. I’m not sure who that could be. There are a couple of other people here on this planet, other Spades who are seeking shelter from CelTec. I’ve met a couple of them in passing, but for the most part, people tend to stick to their own things. Some planets have their own civilizations. If I get the chance, I will have to show you.”

  James cracked a couple of eggs into his pan, and they sizzled in the butter. “I was able to run through a full diagnosis of the gun. Confirming what I had originally thought.”

  Ralphie stood up from the couch, walking over to the ottoman. “What was it?” He asked

  “I didn’t tell you the full story of what happened to your parents when they originally got repurposed.” Ralphies eyes raised slightly. “Your parent had opted to take the deal with CelTec, but they also had another plan, one where they could hide a way for a while. Protecting you while they could finish the chip that your mother had been working on.” James took the gun out of his back pocket, placing it on the counter. “This gun was their plan. Your mother had called it a dreamcatcher. I didn’t realize she had actually made it.”

  Ralphie looked at James like he was full of shit, “What do you mean?”

  James signed, “Well, when the bullet gets embedded into someone, it materializes in their brain and rapidly stores their brain's processes. The information is then stored in the hilt of the gun.”

  “So Leon’s in that gun,” Ralphie said confidently.

  James paused, “Well, I’m not sure, your parents never actually used it. Chuck Thorne got to them before they used it. He took it into his own hands to repurpose them so he could continue to lead his life.”

  The notion that Leon could be alive stunned Ralphie. “How would we bring back Leon?” Ralphie asked.

  James picked up the gun, flipping it over to the side. There was a little switch on the side of the gun. “It would actually be pretty simple, this switch right here with this key.” He held up the key so Ralphie could see. It was a long, thin piece of metal that had raised bumps around it.” It would be used to reverse the flow of the gun, putting Leon's consciousness back into someone. That, of course, if he was the first one shot. The gun is much heavier than it should be.”

  “Back to anyone?” Ralphie questioned

  “Well, I’m not sure, ideally it would be best to reestablish his consciousness back into someone who had their mind erased or back into his original body. I don’t know what would happen if his consciousness were put into someone who already had a consciousness. But none of that will really matter. There was something else I needed to show you.” James plated the eggs, walking them over to Ralphie, “Here, eat these, you're going to need them.”

  James then picked up a remote that was sitting next to the couch. He spoke into it, saying, “Show the news broadcast from Earth last night. The screen in front of Ralphie flicked on. It was a standard CelTec broadcast, a man wearing the standard black suit with an earpiece was reporting the news.

  The reporter cleared his voice, “We have some breaking news today on the explosion at one of the CelTec research facilities." The screen flashed with images of the aftermath of the explosion. The building was filled with dark black charcoal.

  “Investigators and forensic teams have identified the cause of the explosion that killed several, including Chuck Thorne. Twenty-two-year-old Ralphie Studd, along with Leon Miller, detonated the explosions. Leon Miller and Chuck Thorne's bodies have been recovered.” Images of Ralphies parents transitioned onto the screen. The reporter continued, "Ralphies parents were well-established members of a terrorist group known as the Spades back in 2020 before eventually entering into a deal to help CelTec put an end to the violence in 2025. It appears that Ralphie has not followed in their footsteps, killing his parents, and inspiring violence against CelTec and against scientific progress.”

  Ralphie grumbled, “Fucking bullshit.”

  James raised his eyebrows, “Tell me about it.”

  The reporter continued, “After the attack, a new leader of CelTec Dullahan brings security to this nation. Blue's forces have been deployed into cities to protect against any new threats. There is also a five-million-dollar reward for the capture of Ralphie Studd.”

  James flipped off the TV, “Enough of that.”

  “Dullahans Alive? I watched Jedd shoot him. Also, why did they not mention Jedd? He set the charges.” Ralphie asked.

  James grabbed the gun, putting it back in his pocket, “If they put something every time Jedd was a part of something, it would reflect badly on CelTec.” Jedd sighed, “Dullahan has multiples. He's the only one who does; he's been farming them for years. He has about five; each one takes the energy of a star. Every time he dies, they patch his body back up and insert a copy of his mind.”

  “Follow me outside.” Ralphie followed him outside. It was lush and green outside, the trees rustling as the breeze flew through them. “Your mom used to plant trees, she said it's how the world breathed. So after we lost her, I began planting these.”

  Ralphie looked around, “It’s beautiful, I can’t believe it.”

  James breathed in deeply, “Your mom used to tell me there was an intelligence in the soil. Trees communicate with one another; they are entwined by a large web of underground fungi. The older trees give nutrients and resources to the younger trees. She believed that they were the perfect organisms and that with the Minds we could tap in and learn from their intelligence. Before we lost her, she was working on a way to connect the two.”

  “Did she?” Ralphie asked.

  James looked at Ralphie with admiration, “I used to believe that she had destroyed her work. I’ve scoured the universe looking for clues to your mother's inventions and haven’t found a thing. That was until I saw you. She hid her work in you, Ralphie. Encrypted within you are secrets that could change the hierarchy of this world. Giving you the sole ability to choose who can become integrated,” A cloud cast them in shadows, Ralphie's eyes gleamed a halo of silver.