The next morning was Friday, and Poppy and I were snuggling while eating our breakfast when Oak informed us, “When you’re both finished eating, you have a visitor waiting outside, Lily. There is also a nurse here to take you for your power testing, Poppy.”

The Fire Sprite let out a reluctant sigh before saying, “Well, I guess that means we’ll have to stop cuddling and finish our breakfast, love. Maybe we can get back to this later when you’re back from your evening visit with your sister?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I agreed. Then we shared one last kiss before hurrying to finish our morning meal. After one last passionate kiss that left me feeling warm inside and desperately craving more, Poppy flew to the curtains in the door of the Fairy Ward to meet the nurse who would be escorting her, and probably giving her a ride part of the way to her Testing as well.

Once my heart no longer felt like a hummingbird fluttering wildly inside my chest and I had somewhat collected myself, I moved to follow. I quickly discovered that that was unnecessary though as a Water Sprite that I didn’t recognize flitted through the curtains that Poppy had passed through just a moment earlier to enter the Fairy Ward. Before I could even start moving my wings to meet her halfway or something, she was landing on the table that held the ward’s main socializing and recovery area.

“You must be Lily,” the other Water Sprite said with a warm smile as she extended her hand. “I’m Captain Azalea Monroe, and I’m here to speak with you on behalf of the Vanguard.”

For a moment, all that I could seem to do was stand there and stare at her in shock, confusion, and wonder. I knew that the Vanguard would be interested in me with my special ability, something that Professor Frazier had confirmed yesterday, but I didn’t think that they would send someone to try to recruit me so quickly. And to send another Water Sprite to do it, spoke volumes about their interest in me. It looked like they wanted to send someone that I could be comfortable with and relate to, rather than a big person who would make a proper conversation awkward and likely annoy me with a booming voice that hurt my ears.

I had never met another Water Sprite before, which partly contributed to my staring as well. Her hair was almost as long as mine, but a different shade of blue, almost aquamarine, as were her eyes, and she had olive skin and facial features that made it look like she was of Mediterranean descent. She was taller than me by at least a handspan, but practically everyone was taller than me, including other Sprites, so that wasn’t terribly surprising.

Her clothes consisted of what looked like blue camo military fatigues that were sized for a Sprite, a matching halter top that allowed for her wings to be free, and a pair of simple blue slippers. She was also wearing a silver-hued tiara on her head, at least that was what it looked like to me, and it was intricately carved to look pretty but looked out of place with the whole military look. I knew what it really was, of course, since I had seen most of the Sprite and Pixie nurses here wearing one sometimes. It was a comm ring.

Comm rings were the predecessor to implants for being able to use the outernet and internet, make phone calls, and do a bunch of other stuff without having to carry a phone or other device. Poppy and I were told that since Fairy types couldn’t get implants, because of our small size, someone in the Vanguard’s tech and research division had repurposed the comm rings, upgraded the technology inside, and added a bit of magic to allow people of our small stature to do just about everything that human-sized people could do with their implants.

When I managed to finally stop gaping at her and had gathered enough of my errant brain cells to form a reply, it was a hesitant one. “Umm… yeah, that’s me, Lily Pierce. Is this… about my Testing yesterday?” I managed not to smack my forehead at the thought of my own stupidity, but it was a close thing, and being busy shaking her hand helped. Of course, this was about the tests and stuff from yesterday.

The other Water Sprite either didn’t notice my awkwardness or decided to have mercy and not call me on it, I was guessing the latter. “It’s nice to meet you, Lily. It’s always nice to meet another Water Sprite. Yes, this is about the tests that Professor Frazier put you through yesterday. As the professor may have mentioned, your special ability is, well, special. Teleporters are extremely rare among people who have Awoke so far, and you are the first that we know of with such considerable range and the ability to bring other people and objects along with you.”

“Yeah, he did mention something like that,” I admitted awkwardly. I was so nervous that I was shaking, not because of her since she seemed nice enough and she was a Water Sprite like me, but because I was terrified of screwing this up and losing my chance to get into Vanguard University, join the Vanguard, and eventually rescue my mom. A lot was riding on this.

Captain Monroe gave me a reassuring smile. “You look nervous, Lily. There is no need to be, you have done nothing wrong. Let’s have a seat. I’m here because the report about your ability was deemed important enough to make it to the desk of Commander-general Kline himself, the very top of the Vanguard chain of command. He has tasked me personally, as the officer in charge of our Fairy forces, to come meet you and see if you would be interested in joining the Vanguard. Your ability could be a game changer for us in logistics and rapid deployment when Breaches appear. You could save a lot of lives, Lily.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat back down at the table where I had been eating breakfast not long ago and she took the seat across from me. So, this was a recruitment pitch after all, and it sounded like they really wanted me. “That’s what I want, to save lives and stuff. Mom was taken into a Breach with my sister, Kelly. Kelly was brought back, but Mom’s still out there somewhere and if Kelly was alive all this time, Mom might be too.” I wanted to say more, to tell her that I wanted to go into a Breach to find her and bring her back, but I held myself back. I was worried that if she knew what I was planning to do she would try to stop me, that I was too valuable a resource for them to let me endanger myself by doing that.

The other Water Sprite nodded, a sad expression on her face, and placed a hand sympathetically atop one of mine. “All of us Altered know someone who was taken into a Breach. Coping with the people we’ve lost is never easy, but it’s harder with those who were taken than those who died. At least with the dead, we know what happened to them, and we can grieve and find some closure. With the taken, it’s the unknown that’s the worst part. Not knowing whether they’re alive or dead or what they might be going through, how can you mourn that?”

“You can’t,” I agreed. “You can only hope… and it’s hard sometimes.”

“Maybe someday, with your help, we’ll be able to get forces on site quickly enough to stop playing defensive and invade their world for a change,” Captain Monroe offered with a determined grimace. “Our eventual goal is to get people on the inside to get intel. Who and what they are, why they’re attacking us and capturing people, how to stop it, and maybe get some of our people back. Right now though, even with the technology we have at hand, we’re always too late, arriving well into the Incursion, near the end of it, or when it’s over. We can’t do much but try to drive them back and limit their number of captives.”

While it was good to know that their plans for the future somewhat aligned with my own, I still worried that they would try to prevent me from going into a Breach myself. “I was already thinking of going to the university and joining up, to tell the truth. So, I guess you don’t really need to try to recruit me, Captain Monroe. My friend, Poppy, was thinking of it too, you probably saw her on her way to get tested when you came in. She can make clothes and other useful stuff for people our size.”

“The Fire Sprite?” she asked.

“Yeah, she was the one who told me about Vanguard University and got me interested. I’m hoping that my sister will decide to start with us too if she’s cleared by her psychologist,” I told her as I tried to direct the topic away from myself and my ability. I honestly felt a little weird about being that important to them when this was my first time meeting anyone in the Vanguard personally.

Captain Monroe’s eyes unfocused for a moment and I figured that she was looking at something on her comm ring. Probably my file since I figured I probably had one if they were that interested in me. That seemed to be confirmed as she inquired, “Kelly Pierce, right? I believe we had someone visit her yesterday to teach her the basics of her illusions and shapeshifting. She has been through a lot, but her mental state has been improving since you reconnected with her, according to the doctors and nurses who deal with her regularly. If her improvement continues, I don’t see us turning her down. Let’s be real, the Vanguard needs all the people we can get with strong abilities as long as they’re not completely insane. Every one of us Altered has some sort of issues, not like that’s surprising given what most of us have been through and survived.”

My eyes narrowed at the officer’s words. “You were already scouting Kelly, weren’t you?”

“She hasn’t been officially tested yet, but from all the reports, it looks like she has some form of high-level invulnerability. Do you truly think that wouldn’t be of interest to us, Lily? If she can tank some damage on the front lines and give some of our squishier combatants a chance to use their offensive abilities, then she would be a welcome addition to any unit,” she explained with a shrug, showing not the least bit of shame for being caught.

“Well, since you already seem to have a file on me, and those close to me, I guess that you probably know about Moonlight already too.” I imagined that Professor Frazier had mentioned her in his report as well, so I wasn’t surprised to see her nod her head.

“Professor Frazier mentioned her, and the results of her testing in his report,” she confirmed. “I gotta say though, I thought he might be pulling our proverbial leg at first since this will be the first confirmed Unicorn to exist. It does explain the random and sporadic miracle recoveries in this hospital over the past couple of years though. He said she’s a potent Healer, quite intelligent, and has another useful ability as well. Would you object to us using her occasionally? We have far too few Healers available.”

A frown painted my face, and I could already sense Moonlight, who was monitoring the situation but had yet to show herself, working up to a protest. “Captain Monroe, I want to make one thing perfectly clear, right now. Moonlight is not just some animal, nor is she a pet or a magical first aid kit that someone can just borrow. She is a person, just as smart as we are and she doesn’t belong to me, we are partners. She made an oath to protect me and care for me, and we are bound by that oath. She intends to stay by my side, but if you want her help for anything then you will either have to recruit her too or ask her nicely when the time comes.”

At least she had the good grace to appear chagrined. “I apologize, Lily. To you as well, Moonlight, if you’re here. All the animal-based Altered that we have encountered so far have been smart enough to train, but no cleverer than any particularly smart cat, horse, or dog. I did not have time to thoroughly read Professor Frazier’s report and assumed that the same held true for Moonlight. I will not make that mistake again. Is joining the Vanguard something that she would even consider?”

-I have no interest in such things. I will remain by your side to keep you safe, my Maiden, but my duty is to you and nobody else. If they ask nicely I will consider healing others if the need is dire, I am not without compassion after all, but you must be present as my place is at your side,- the Unicorn replied distastefully.

I passed that message on to the captain who promptly frowned. “I am not certain about this, Lily. We can’t have an outside party with no loyalty to the Vanguard accompanying you everywhere and potentially learning classified information.”

-As if they could stop me,- Moonlight said with a derisive mental snort.

“It’s not like you could stop her,” I repeated for Captain Monroe’s benefit. “Her loyalty may not be to the Vanguard, but our bond makes her loyalty to me unquestionable. She only wants to keep me safe and even if she doesn’t take orders from you, she will listen to me. Even if she did learn secrets, who would she tell? I’m the only one who she can talk to.”

For a moment, she looked torn, unsure of how to handle this situation. Finally, after giving it some thought, she let out a long sigh. “I suppose that we could consider her something between a healing consultant and a personal mount if that is acceptable to you and Moonlight. The university and our headquarters both have enough Pegasi in the stables and Gryphons in the aerie that it wouldn’t be seen as too out of place. I will propose it to Commander-general Kline.”

-I suppose that will have to do.- From the tone of her mental voice, Moonlight didn’t seem entirely pleased with the offer but was willing to accept it as a compromise.

“Moonlight says that’ll do, and I guess I don’t have any problems with it if she’s okay with it,” I conceded for both of us.

The other Water Sprite nodded, her expression one of relief. “Very well then, if the Commander-general accepts, I will return tomorrow with comm rings for you and your friend, Poppy. You will need them to fill out the applications and contract for military service, register as students, and a number of other things. I know that it is still over a month before classes begin, but you should decide what program and classes you wish to take early. I have heard that some classes fill up pretty quickly.”

With that, Captain Monroe left us to report back to her superior officer, leaving me to get back to my regular morning training. I spent a lot of that time lost in my thoughts. I could have made things much easier by ‘convincing’ Moonlight to join up with me, but I didn’t want to use our bond to manipulate her like that. I wanted us to have an honest and healthy relationship and, if nothing else, this would tell me how serious the Vanguard truly was about recruiting me.