"Are you feeling alright Henry?" Albert asked as Henry started to get on the grey shuttle.

  "You and I both know the mission was supposed to go differently. I'm wondering if Admiral Williams set this up, or Lin, maybe someone else. I am alright however," Henry said as he started to close the ramp. As he was closing the ramp, he was shot at once again, this time by a lone Altherium, clad in white armor, yelling at him.

  "I am Ishk Than-Vil, of house Than-Vil, branch house to the Emperor. I demand your immediate surrender, or you will face the wrath of my....." Ishk was cut off by a plasma rounds tearing through his top right arm holding his laser pistol, both before he could even blink. He didn't see Henry move. "How?" He muttered as he held the stub of what once was his arm.

  Henry seized the moment to send a message to the Emperor. From the open door on the shuttle, Henry yelled," Tell your cousin that I am coming for him, and that he better keep one eye open. I'll be the reaper that snatches his soul," Henry said, then closed the shuttle, and with the whine of the engines, the shuttle took off.

  "Henry, we will be back aboard the New Dawn in five minutes. When we get on board, you're to meet the rest of the crew in the mess hall. I'm sorry, I can't tell you more till then. I just hope that after everything that is revealed to you, that I will find forgiveness in you," Albert told Henry, causing the young Vanguard to feel a pit slowly forming in his stomach.

  Back on the UHCV New Dawn, Albert cut the helmet feed.

  "Damn that was cold," Mark said as he stood up from his chair.

  "Agreed, was it smart of him, probably not; however, it was pretty cool," Nani said as she and the others all stood up to stretch while waiting for Henry to return.

  "Alright cut the chatter and let's get to the mess hall," Youri said as she then leaned over to a small microphone next to her chair. "Hey Caildon, I need you to keep the engineering team out of the chow hall for a bit. We are about to have a meeting with our guest. No interruptions, do you understand?" Youri asked the aged engineer.

  "Yes Ma'am, we will stay out of the way. Thanks to that crazy maneuvering you did, we have a lot of extra work repairing the superstructure." A voice came back through the intercom system.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The bridge crew filed into the mess, then Youri placed her tablet down on the stainless-steel table between the crew. "Read this word for word now! When the test subject, I mean Vanguard gets here, I'll have him read it too," Youri said as the crew huddled around trying to see the screen. It didn't take long for the crew's faces to start contorting, rage and confusion evident on their face.

  "Jesus Fucking Christ, what the hell?" Ningamu asked while he continued reading.

  "Captain, I'm not sure if we are on the right side of history," Nani said as she also continued to read, the other two bridge members nodding their heads in agreement with her.

  As he continued to read, Mark came across one section that he couldn't get past. "Vanguard 001-Age 8- 03 Mar, 2352- Subject's emotional range is still too high for the Vanguard program. Will be forcing subject to relieve the death of his father, if that doesn't work, will be tied in a chair in the VR chamber and forced to watch a simulation of its mother dying along with former classmates. Hopefully, this will break it of all emotions. Note added by Admiral Williams- We need it and all the other Vanguards to be the perfect weapons. Weapons don't have emotion. I expect results Dr. Lin. Also, shift the parameters of the mission. I don't want disposable troops; The others say the Fiscal cost is too high for throwaways. If you cannot complete the objective, I will find someone who can, and you will be retired. The DMI way,"

  "Captain, I can't continue," Mark tried to plead, but it fell on deaf ears.

  "If he lived it, you can read it," Youri chastised Mark. "It gets worse, that is why we are in this room. If any of you want to transfer after you read the entire report, I will give the best recommendations I can.

  Ningamu stopped at the worst part for him so far.

  "Vanguard 001-Age 8- 12 Aug 2352- Subject's moral compass is getting in the way of the end goal of a perfect weapon. Will be pulling it away from Valasquez for 24 hours. Vanguard 001 will be forced to kill its mother and father in the VR chamber for 24 hours straight with no respite. Worked on breaking it of emotions, hopefully will break him of morals too. Doubtful, but I believe it can work.

  Vanguard 001- Age 8- 13 Aug 2352- Moral compass was broken, but not stable. Does not have a problem killing random people, but parents always cause a delay. It almost cried. Had to assault the subject to prevent backtracking progress.

  Vanguard 001- Age 8- 15 Aug 2352- Compass finally broke, had the subject save its parents, then forced it to watch the worst possible things happen to others, because it saved its parents, not someone else." As Ningamu read, tears flowed down his face.

  "Captain, none of us can continue reading at this moment," Ningamu said as he wiped the tears away.

  "I understand. I will have Henry read this when he gets back any minute now. If any of you want to continue reading, then let me know. For now, just think about what he went through. It progressively got worse. That boy has gone through abuse that would get most people killed in jail," Youri said as she picked up her tablet and got it ready for Henry.