The Star Within (Poohpavel)

Prologue

In the vast expanse of space, on a distant planet far beyond the reach of Earth, a meeting was held among the highest-ranking officials of the Galactic Council. They were discussing a matter of utmost importance that could potentially change the course of history for both their alien civilization and the planet Earth.

A star had scattered years ago, its energy fragments falling to Earth and embedding themselves within the chests of select humans. These individuals were gifted with extraordinary powers, each one unique to the person they were bestowed upon. The Galactic Council had become increasingly concerned about the impact of these powers on Earth's fragile ecosystem and the balance of power among its inhabitants.

After much deliberation, it was decided that a team of elite space force operatives would be dispatched to Earth on a mission to collect the scattered star fragments from the chosen individuals. Each member of the team was assigned to a specific person, someone who emitted a unique energy signature that could be detected by advanced space technologies.

"We've got a new mission," Sailub, the captain of the elite space force team, announced to his teammates. He had received a call from the chief, Khun Ace, an hour ago about the meeting of the Galactic Council.

All of the teammates were quick to face their captain, giving their full attention as Sailub was typing on the keyboard for the files that Khun Ace had sent. He opened a file, and a list of profiles of humans was shown on the screen. Groans could be heard by the aliens in the room as they realized their new mission involved the inhabitants of Earth, much to their delight.

"I guess this mission will take a while," Benz, the pink alien, whined while stretching his arms up. His hand accidentally knocked the person beside him, Pavel, who snarled at him. His cat ears flattened backward, pupils dilated as he backed away from Benz's hand.

Rather than feeling guilty, the pink alien was cooing at the space cat's behavior. He was already used to the behavior of his feline teammate after years of working together. He placed his hand on top of the feline's head, beaming like the sunshine he is as he patted Pavel while praising him.

"Stop it," the space cat scowled.

"Attention, please," Sailub called to have all of their attention back to his presentation. "As you guys can see, our new mission is to meet these people, believed to have the fragments of a star that scattered around 20 years ago."

Sailub then typed on the keyboard for a while before a picture of a star appeared on the screen. "This is Mekbuda and Mebsuta star. A mysterious phenomenon occurred around 20 years ago, causing Mekbuda to fission and scatter around the galaxy."

All eyes were focusing on the screen as the slide moved to pictures of the fragments of Mekbuda that were successfully collected by the Space Investigation Unit. Sailub continued, "Unfortunately, some of the fragments managed to make it to Earth. The fragments went to humans that are compatible for whatever criteria no one knows yet. The Space Investigation Unit failed to discover this earlier."

"Oh, that's bad," Michael, who was unusually quiet the whole time, finally spoke. All eyes switched to him, but the scaly-skinned teammate failed to realize as he was too focused on the screen. Eyes wide in astonishment, probably thinking about all the scenarios of expedition this mission could provide for them.

"Yes, indeed. This is bad, Michael," Sailub replied shortly. "This phenomenon finally got noticed when the increasing reports of humans having special abilities by the Earth branch. In 2003, a huge 5-star hotel in Thailand was caught on fire. The Earth-Space Investigation Unit managed to capture a man named James Johnson, an American citizen, 32 years old, who had worked in the hotel for 2 years. He reportedly had the ability to manifest fire-."