A/N: It's still Friday here in America! Here's the second post! We're now back on schedule!

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ChapterTwentyFive: Military Plots

November 2155

It's a week later since Cassie gave Breyden the history books. Breyden, in turn, gave the books to Lieutenant Commander Aaron Eckhart, a young man at 25. It was now a week later, and both Breyden and Brent were sent to a meeting with other commanders and military officials to meet with Aaron.

Everyone was in the boardroom as they saw Aaron walk in, with his black leather army jacket and the medals he had on the right chest, revealing his many different honors and levels.

He began the meeting: "Fellow commanders. I looked over the books given to me by Commander Breyden Reyes. I had the material match with the Earth history starting from 2022 to now. There are difference, but at least we now have some insight to their lives. Yet...there are inconsistencies.

"One example is the claim these Natives have been around for 10,000 years, yet their written history doesn't begin until around 2022 A.D. Another example is that it doesn't explain why there were Hunters living among us. I've heard rumors that the Natives quietly came to Earth, but if there was any indication of an alien visit, the governments around the world would've notified the militaries."

Everyone was silent when they heard this, including Breyden and Brent. Even though Cassie gave the books to Breyden, he never got the chance to crack them open.

Aaron continued: "Now, these books said that in 2022, there was an extremely low Native population. There's a rumor that something catastrophic happened, presumably a nuclear attack. But if you look at the satellite images, this planet has nothing indicating a nuclear holocaust. Even the radiation levels are at a healthy level. As Commander Breyden told me what his sister told him, there are holes and inconsistencies within these books."

With that, Aaron gestured to let everyone know they can now speak. Breyden asked, "Is there something we can do? The government wants the truth about these people, but as you said, there are inconsistencies."

Aaron flashed a smirk everyone in the military knew he had. He replied, "I spoke with government officials, and we are in agreement. I'll be partnering up with the other commanders in the other Six-City-States to create a new troop that will specifically deal with time travel and writing down the accurate history of the Natives here. We'll be recruiting the Earth Hunters for this task. The military already has the time traveling technology to make this happen."

Another commander asked, "Why the Earth Hunters? Why not give this task to the Natives? Or the Gen-Mods?"

He explained, "Think about it. The Natives have given us little to work with. They obviously don't want to work with us, but we can't them to not bite us. Our radiation will kill them if they do so, which is a reason why we can't send our Alphas to this mission. The Normals? They're practically nothing but chew toys for those things. Yet the Earth Hunters...they want the truth. They don't believe a word those Natives tell them. They know there's too many holes in their reasons and rumors. They're the perfect candidates for this position."

This silenced the commanders, but Breyden was more shocked. He knew Cassie's mate was an Earth Hunter. He made sure to protect the couple at all costs, even though there was some hidden discrimination against the couple. It was unspoken, but everyone looked downed upon a Gen-Mod and a Hunter as a couple. It was fine for a Gen-Mod and Normal to be together. No one knew anything about the Hunters, and things have just barely scratched the surface.

He was taken out of his thoughts when Aaron continued, "I was appointed to oversee this project and the troop. We will begin recruitment in January. Meeting adjourned."

It was now late evening. Breyden returned to his house. He was still shocked by Aaron's plan and the Central Government's cooperation. When he walked inside, he saw Cassie playing with her ever-growing twin nieces. Gen-Mod babies tend to age fairly quickly to the point they look like they're four years old by the time they're one. They learn quickly to speak and walk. Then they begin aging like a Normal until they hit puberty at 12 or 13. Then they look like full-grown, beautiful young adults. They remain like that until they reached 100. That's when they start the aging process again.

Breyden smiled sadly as he watched. Cassie looked up as she saw the little girls running up to their father and hugging his legs. She noticed his worrisome look on his face, so she asked, "Brey, what's wrong?"

He sighed as he explained, "The Central Government and Commander Eckhart are teaming up to create a troop specifically to get the truth by use of time travel. And they'll begin recruiting Earth Hunters starting in January. How old is Damon?"

Cassie replied, "He'll be turning 18 in December..."

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she realized her mate would be one of those to be recruited. She finally spoke up, "I need to talk to Damon."

She grabs her phone, and texts Damon, "We need to talk. Meet me at my house on the base."

A bit later. Damon arrived at the military base by car. He had to borrow his parents' car to make the trip. The base was just outside the city, making it a long drive from his house to there. He parked the borrowed car just outside the gate. He walked up to a soldier, guarding the entrance.

He told her, "The name is Damon Jaeger. My mate, Cassandra Reyes, is living on the base. She asked me to see her."

He pulled down his collar from both his soft blue hoodie and his t-shirt underneath it. He did this to reveal the mate mark Cassie gave him, to show proof they're mates to each other. The guard looked at the mark, but then noticed his nails, which looked like they were hacked off.

She demanded roughly, "State your species and your origins!"

He gulped nervously as he replied, "Hunter. I'm from Unterkatz, German State, European Union."

The soldier glared at him for a good minute. Then she told him, "You can't come in. You're a Hunter. Hunters must not associate with the Gen-Mods and the Alphas."

"But..."

"Be gone, Hyde!"

Damon looked at her with confusion. He didn't think he would be rejected. After all, he's mates with the commander's sister. Yet, he heard a new term: Alphas. What could that possibly mean? So he mindlinked Cassie, The guard outside the gate won't let me in.

He soon heard her voice in his head, replying, I'm coming right out. Then we're going to the nearest library.

Damon waited next to the car. He soon saw Cassie running to the gate. The guard let her out. Cassie ran up to Damon, and hugged him tightly. She glared at the guard, and then softened her expression in Damon's face. The couple got into the car, and Damon drove up to the nearest library.

They soon arrived at the library. It was a decent building in a decent neighborhood. Perfect for both civilians and soldiers to walk in. The couple went inside. The library wasn't scheduled to close for the night until 9pm, and it was only 7:30 in the evening. The sun was almost setting, but there was still some daylight.

The two walk to an isolated corner. The both sat down at a table. Damon asked, "What did you want to tell me?"

Cassie sighed nervously as she began explaining the plan to recruit Earth Hunters to join the new division. She told him the details Breyden gave her, and added that Damon will be 18 soon, meaning he'll likely become a candidate for this new division.

His eyes widen when he heard this news. He wanted to learn the truth about his kind, but he was scared of the time traveling. He heard rumors of this fairly new technology actually existing, but everything was still uncertain. Yet, he didn't want to be whisked away from Cassie.

She noticed his many emotions running through him. She held his hands to help calm him down. He held hers back, smiling slightly at the gesture. She then added, "I love you, Damon. I hope you won't get drafted, but I know you want the truth as badly as the next Earth Hunter."

He sighed as he continued holding her hands. He spoke up, "I love you too, Cassie. I will be fine. I promise."

They both shared a smile, a smile of both warmth and uncertainty. The two kissed gently. Then they both looked at each other's eyes, or at least tried to as Damon was still wearing the sun-goggles. He had to until the sun was gone for the night.

After a minute or two of silence, Damon asked, "I do have one question: What are Alphas?"

Cassie was a bit stunned when she heard this question. Then she sighed as she explained, "Super-soldier Gen-Mods. They are more powerful than the typical Gen-Mod. It started off as a common ability the Gen-Mods from Normerica had. Now every Gen-Mod has it, but the soldiers get the much stronger ability: Alpha One. It's basically the equivalent of an alpha werewolf in the media. It is genetic, but it's sometimes dormant. Other times...it comes out depending on the circumstance. Usually it comes out when an Alpha is about to turn 18."

Damon bit his lip, and asked, "Are...are you an Alpha?"

Cassie looked up at him, and said, "Yes. Yes, I am. I want this ability to be dormant. I'm scared of what I'll become if it emerges. I come from a military family, and so did their families. I just hope I'm still the same girl if it does happen."

He held her hands again, doing his best to comfort her. He said, "You saw my Hunter. I'll be here for you if your Alpha emerges."

Cassie smiled slightly at the words he said. They were going into a world of uncertainty, yet they were determined to not let anything get in the way of their love for each other.