Book One – Chapter One

2503 A.D. – Seventeen years ago

It was the sword. Yes, it was definitely the sword that made Jonathon Chen the most nervous.

The man in his office had been standing there for over a half an hour it seemed, never saying a word. He just stood at the holo-screens, staring at the pictures and videos, moving only to scroll back or rewind certain images. He just stood there, no expression, lightly thumbing the hilt of the sword in his hands.

Chen hated these “inspections.” For one, they were degrading. He had thought that by rising through the ranks as he had, he was now immune from ever having to call another man “sir.” Another, they weren’t the most comfortable hours in Chen’s professional career. Operatives. That was the only name associated to these men. Each one they sent was different from the last, but they all came in the same way. No name, no rank, and no appointment.

Average height. No real discernable features save for his light brown complexion and his neatly trimmed beard and mustache peppered with tiny gray hairs, as were his temples. Chen wouldn’t have picked him out of a crowd, and that was exactly the point. He never looked too tame or too wild. Chen knew these Operatives were trained for this. They were trained to be directly on the edge of identity.

Chen didn’t like this one. The others weren’t exactly on his Christmas card list either, but this one was different. This one was unusually silent. Sure, they were all silent, but the silence in the room at this moment was not as clinical as the others. This one was thinking something. Chen knew it. Something different. This silence was unbearable. Perhaps it was the silence that made him the most nervous.

No, it was definitely the sword.

“They’re soldiers?” The Operative broke his silence, still staring at the screens.

“Uh, y-yes. Well, they were soldiers.”

“That’s what I asked.”

“Oh. I thought…” Chen’s voice trailed.

Chen had seen the images a couple dozen