Alone inside a dimly lit room, Sam lets out a heavy sigh as he sees the time moving by very slowly. His patience running thin while he waits for something, anything to happen. The longer he sits there, the more tired he gets, and he contemplates resting his head on the table for a quick nap.

Just as he is about to lay his head down, the entrance door slides open. Sam lifts his head to see a high-ranking officer in uniform enter the room. He is accompanied by two familiar faces, his subordinates, in full tactical gear. Fitted carbon-fiber armor, dark-tinted shades, and their pistols secured firmly in their holsters. They approach the table where Sam is seated, and the officer pulls up a chair across from him. He removes his cap and lays it gently on the table and proceeds to take a seat.

Sam leans back against his chair with a sour look on his face. 

“You must be Sam, the new transfer student,” he begins. “We have been eagerly waiting for you to regain consciousness. I am pleased you are able to meet me like this.”

His words are friendly, but his gaze is fixed and demeanor sturdy. It is clear to Sam that the officer is someone of high authority and likely among the elite's most decorated service members as evident from the many ribbons pinned onto his jacket. But now is not the time to be amazed by some stranger's colorful medals.

“Yeah well, your boys didn't give me much of a choice,” Sam mumbles to himself in a bitter tone.

“You have become the talk of the city since your arrival. You caused quite the stir that we are still dealing with the fallout a month later.”

Sam scoffs at the officer's claims, feeling mocked by his supposed friendliness. 

“What can I say? It's not like I remember,” he says with a defiant smile.

For a brief moment, the commanding officer stares silently at the boy, perhaps realizing that he may not be so easy to handle.

“Then that is good. We can focus more on the one issue that has brought me all the way down here,” the officer says.

“Hold on a second,” Sam interrupts. His eyes scour the room searching for something, “do you have any snacks?” he asks.

“Excuse me?” the officer responds somewhat surprised.

All of them baffled by the question that seems to have come out of the blue. There is the feeling that they might have misheard the question.

“Something to eat. You know, a bagel, a candy bar, or something?”

No, they heard right ...

“Nothing?” Sam asks again.

The silence is enough to convince Sam that he is likely to remain with an empty stomach for a bit longer and he cannot help but feel even more irritated by the thought. 

“That sucks,” he groans.

One of the subordinates steps up, feeling insulted by the boy's attitude.

“Hey!” he yells.

“What?!” Sam snaps back.

The commanding officer raises his hand, instructing his man to stand down. Though reluctant, his subordinate complies. 

“Feh!” he groans. 

Had it not been for his superior, he would have pinned the boy's head against the table and demanded respect. At least that was the thought that crossed his mind.

Unfazed by the tension, Sam slumps back against his chair and stares blankly at the ceiling.

“Jeez,” he huffs. “I mean, they dragged me here just before breakfast is served, how can I not be starving by now?” he murmurs to himself.

The commanding officer clears his throat and straightens his shoulders. The act is purposeful, to gain the boy's attention. And it works.

“Let us move on without any distractions. I have already said, there is something more pressing that needs to be addressed” He says. 

“Ah, right,” Sam sneers. “I'm also dying to know why I've been brought here ... in handcuffs.”

Sam lifts his hands from below the table to show his wrists restrained by a pair of thick metal straps.

It is unlikely the situation would have gone this far had Sam fully complied with the officers' order to be brought in. Then again, why should a hospital patient not question why he is being taken away from a place of treatment, especially when no reason is provided?

“To put it bluntly, your being here is a high crime,” the commanding officer responds.

The words do not sink in and Sam chuckles thinking he is hearing a joke, but the mood of the officer is not one of banter, and Sam's smile slowly turns into slight confusion.

“What do you mean by that?” he asks.

“There is not a single resident of Tillmor whose admission was not specifically authorized by my agency. I am not only responsible for the safety, security, and secrecy of our society, but I have the sole decision-making power for those with the potential to reach Pern.”

“So ... You're trying to say that I haven't been officially approved?”

“That and also the fact that your situation is much more daring to say the least,” the officer responds in a stern tone. “You see, my agency did not learn of you until mere days before your jump.”

“What?”

“For a process that normally takes no less than two years for us to conduct a proper investigation on an applicant, a few days is simply not an acceptable time to approve of one. However, yours somehow managed to slip through the system ... and by the time we were made aware of it, you had already been granted passage.”

Surprised by the officer's claims, Sam takes a moment to think. He wonders if this was really a fault in the system or if someone intentionally avoided going through it, though the former seems highly unlikely given the weight of the secret these people have been keeping.

“Someone went through a great deal of risk in bringing you here, Sam Holt, disregarding established procedure and making a unilateral decision to approve your enrollment. Now, why is that? I wonder.”

In all honesty, Sam cannot be certain why someone would do such a thing, but his intuition tells him that this is some kind of warning. It could be that someone wanted Sam to meet these people. Perhaps even warn him about them.

“I don't know,” Sam responds. “I don't know anything about that.”

“No?”

“No,” he repeats, “but it does sound like you have a problem, you know, internally? Maybe you should take it up with management.”

A faint smirk appears on the commanding officer's face as he finds the boy's arrogance somewhat amusing. The kid has no fear for someone who is ignorant of how the world works.

“As it stands, you are someone we cannot accept. That makes you a security concern, and it seems you need a lesson on the full extent of what it means for those we deem a risk to our very existence.”

Sam lifts his hands and gestures to the restraints on his wrists,

“You mean like making up some B.S. so you can lock people up for eternity?” he retorts. “Is that why I'm here?”

“You underestimate us, young man,” he says in a sinister tone.

The commanding officer gives a nod to his subordinate who immediately walks up to the table and places a small device right in the middle. The device begins to glow, shooting small rays of light that create holographic images centered just above everyone's heads. While Sam is drawn to the images, the officer's attention remains fixed on him.

“This is ...”

The hologram displays a series of short clips and images of Sam just before departing for Pern. From the moment his cab arrived at the airport, being led down to the terminal to board the capsule, and to the exact moment the capsule vanished with a blinding flash of light.

As he watches, an ominous feeling starts to form as Sam recalls the day of his departure. Sam directs a suspicious glare at the commanding officer ...

“It may have only been a few days before this, but our reach extends very far, Sam Holt” he says.

“D-did you guys …” Sam struggles to find his words.

He had always suspected it. Suspected that his jump without adequate protection was no accident. It cannot be something that was missed when he was being surveilled  the entire time.

“The realm of Pern is a highly classified and closely guarded secret. Any word about anything in relation to its existence is silenced without bias or question. No one. And I mean no one outside of those we have allowed has ever lived to even think of telling the tale of a world reflecting another. Be it men, women, children, cities ... entire nations.”

Sam’s eyes widen with shock.

“We do not allow even a whisper from anyone,” the officer declares in a merciless tone.

The air in the room suddenly becomes thicker and the commanding officer's presence far more intimidating. It sends shivers down Sam's spine.

“So what? … I should accept the fact that I won't be leaving this place alive?” Sam asks trying to keep his composure.

“Now would be a very good time for you not to hide anything,” he demands.

The reason Sam agreed to come to this world is something that he has not stopped thinking about. He has a mission to help his father resolve an important case, a case that involves something very personal to Sam ... and yet he nearly died before he even began. One cannot imagine the amount of shame he feels.

To find himself sitting in front of those responsible for his experience inside that rift ... it is not fear that is consuming Sam-

-It is rage.

“What can I say? ... I'm feeling very rebellious all of sudden,” he groans.

Seeing the anger light up on the boy's face, the two subordinate officers quickly reach for their pistols. They do not draw them as they wait for an order from their superior, but he simply sits there calmly observing the boy.

Just as things are about to boil over, the door slides open.

“I think I've given you more than enough time with him. Put an end to this already,”

 

************

Sam's POV

 

I'm sitting in a bit of a daze watching the doctor walk into the room.

‘That was close’

I'm not sure where my mind was for a moment.

I was feeling cornered. Suffocated even. I'm sure I was close to doing something really stupid there. But then the doctor shows up, and it feels like the whole weight of the room is off my shoulders.

Maybe that's why I can't take my eyes off of her.

Doctor Reed is standing in front of me with her hands in her pocket, looking down at the commanding officer sitting across the table. The officer is now leaning back against his chair, legs crossed, and resting his cheek on his knuckles. He's got a grin on his face, but this atmosphere isn't a very friendly one.

It really isn’t.

“Now this is a friendly surprise … for you to come here personally, doctor?”

“Shouldn't I be even more surprised ... to find you here, major?”

‘Ah, so he's a major.’

I knew he had to be someone especially important. His looks, personality, and manner of speech make it too obvious ...

“I could not miss the chance to introduce myself to the transfer,” he says.

‘His attitude is pissing me off.’

He turns to face me while wearing that grin on his face. I feel somewhat provoked, but not enough to take me out of the sense of relief I'm feeling. On the other hand, the doctor has an annoyed expression.

“That's nice,” she says. “Now if you don't mind, release him.”

The major turns back to the doctor, and for a few seconds, they stare at each other in silence.

“... Alright,” the major agrees without complaint and casually stands from his seat.

‘Whoa.’

He shrugs his shoulders and chuckles lightly as if admitting defeat.

I'm a bit confused by what I'm seeing ... I mean, ‘just what kind of person is she?’ I wonder.

“What are you doing, Sam? Stand up. We're leaving,” she orders me.

Her words felt like being splashed with water. I was so absorbed in the moment that I didn't even notice the cuffs had already come off.

“Y-yeah.” I respond.

I get up from my seat and follow the doctor out the room. As I pass by the major, I feel myself starting to get angry again.  He looks completely at ease while putting on his cap. His eyes closed while keeping his snarky grin on his face.

He's not even acknowledging me walking by him and it’s pissing me off. 

“By the way, doctor,” he stops us on our track, “I’m curious if there is something you are keeping from me.”

The doctor looks back over her shoulder, “there's nothing,” she says, “Now if you don’t mind, this boy is extremely late for his checkup. You understand.”

“Of course, but I do have something for him before he leaves.”

The major turns his attention toward me, and with a flick of his wrist, he flings an object with pinpoint accuracy straight to my face. My eyes can barely keep up with its speed, but I somehow manage to catch it at the last moment.

“…” I am speechless.

For him to force my hand to move on instinct like that … ‘That surprised the hell out of me.’

I look down at my hand to see what I had just caught, and I feel myself boiling in anger at the sight of it ...

“It is a candy bar,” the major says with smile.

It's a candy bar ...

“You are still hungry, right?”

This old man is something else ...

“It was in my jacket pocket.”

‘What a fucking asshole’ 

“Oh, and Doctor Reed,” he shifts his attention back to her, “I am looking forward to the findings from your next research.”

For a moment, the doctor looked surprised. I’m not sure why though. Maybe their history is a combative one. It wouldn't be surprising.

The doctor ignores the major's comment and signals us to leave. She takes one step and then pauses ...

‘Why did she stop?’

She turns around and barrels down to the major. As she leans up close to his face, the major’s grin immediately disappears. From my position, I can only see the back of the doctor's head, so I'm not sure what look she has on. I can only assume it's the same look reflected on the major's face, a bitter and hostile one.

“Who is the kid?” the major asks.

“He's my patient,” the doctor replies coolly.

The two then engage in a conversation. It’s difficult to hear everything they are saying since their tones have dropped.

The doctor leans in closer to the major's ear and whispers something that seems to strike his nerve. Then she pats down his shoulders and straightens his jacket, turns around, and storms out of the room.

‘Wow, she’s really cool.’

I direct a look of disgust at the major, toss his candy bar across the floor, and follow the doctor out the door

“... Jerk.”