Path of Justice (Cadicle Vol. 6: An Epic Space Opera Series)

Chapter 1

Relics of war had no place in a peaceful future. At least that's what Wil Sights told himself as he performed his final structural checks of TSS Headquarters within Earth's moon. Deep down, however, he knew that the impending changes were actually in preparation for a new war—just one of political strategy rather than physical might.

In the three years since the end of the devastating war with their vilified Bakzen brethren, the Tararian Selective Service had been making subtle preparations for an unfolding era of Taran unification. To that end, many soldiers had retired and others had pursued more academic career paths. For Wil, those recent years spent pursuing interests outside of battle had been a time of reflection about the nature of the war and how it had divided his people. He had come to accept that he and his family were in the best position to effect change at the helm of those efforts, pairing their political influence with their positions in the TSS. The realization had left him with a new imperative to evolve the TSS to serve Tarans as a whole, and Wil wouldn't rest until the lingering threat of the Priesthood was eliminated.

With his mind set on that goal, Wil ran an ultrasonic scanner along the main support beam spanning the equator of Level 1's middle floor, similar to the others he'd already examined for the final check. Like the previous beams, this one appeared to be in good condition and should hold through the structural stress to come, so long as they were careful. It was crazy to suggest transitioning the entire Headquarters facility out of the subspace bubble into normal space, but that's what we need to move forward.

Such a radical transformation of the massive facility might appear like disarmament to some, but it would ultimately strengthen the TSS' greatest advantage over the Priesthood: the telekinetic strength of Agents.

The subspace containment shell that surrounded the facility inside the moon—keeping Headquarters suspended within a permanent subspace bubble—had offered protection from a Bakzen telekinetic attack during the war, but it also stifled Agents' abilities. Consequently, Agents-in-training never reached their full potential.

To bring down the Priesthood, the TSS would need to be stronger than ever. Looking ahead, their training grounds would need to maximize telekinetic abilities—without the dampening properties of subspace holding them back. Only then could they truly prepare for the fight to come. Gone were the days of old fighting battles against the Bakzen with warships in the rift; the next conflict would be resolved through finesse and persuasion, led by Agents of the future who would harness a new power for the dawning era.

Wil completed the last stretch of structural inspection and checked off the segment on his handheld. The other Agents had already reported in and given the "all clear". Nothing stood in the way of their plan aside from his order to proceed. No one has ever attempted something like this before. I hope we're up for it.

He placed his handheld in his pocket and headed to the administrative wing to retrieve Saera from her Lead Agent office, where she was reviewing the day's rift repair activities while the rest of Headquarters prepared for the transition.

The glass wall at the front of her office was set to full transparency to indicate she was available to speak with drop-in guests. A single touch-surface desk occupied the center of the room, with a broad viewscreen along the side wall, two guest chairs on the near side of the desk, and two additional chairs against the wall under the viewscreen.

"Hey!" his wife greeted as soon as the door opened. She minimized the status report projected on the holodisplay above her desk. "Any last-minute issues?"

"No changes from our previous inspections," Wil replied. "Everything should hold up through the transition."

Saera's jade eyes lit up. "Bringing the entire structure through the dimensional veil... This'll really be something!"