Dan, The Early Years.

Dan, The Early Years. 2065

Year 2065

General Dan Haeckel

Age: 45

Location: Hadley's Militant Training College, Dublin

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I looked over the depressing building that was HMT, the college that had given both my sons a free scholarship. The place where Liam had flourished and conquered and the place that James was bullied. I knew he had no joy in school, not like Liam had, but he had told me, with those clear eyes of his, that he was not going anywhere else. And he'd told me, with absolute conviction, that once he graduated, he'd have conquered the school system better than Liam had. I couldn't see how it was possible, especially knowing the situation he was in now, but there was no arguing with a Seer.

It was good to be home again, the mission had been difficult, running longer than it should have, and I'd almost been refused permission to debrief early and send in another team leader. But after hearing about Liam's latest task, requested to be completed by himself, I would have risked expulsion to come back. The name Hunter would forever haunt me but hearing it mixed with my son's name and the name of the girl I thought I'd lost, gripped my heart painfully tight. Kayli, I needed to see her. And apparently Liam had enrolled her in this school.

I wondered if Liam actually knew who this girl was and how she was linked to the family. It was surreal. She wouldn't be the little girl I remembered anymore, she'd be eighteen. A woman.

I felt something tug in the back of my mind, my powers telling me that someone was using elusive spells nearby. I stopped walking and scanned my surroundings. I stopped on a girl, a little shorter than average height, slim figure. My mind was telling me to keep scanning, to pass over the girl, but I felt an urge to keep my eye on her. She was the magic user, using her power to make other's eyes slide over her. I couldn't stare at her for too long, it strained my eyesight, but I got a good enough look to know that I'd found her. The way she walked reminded me so much of Jasmine and her facial expression... the scowl would do Hunt proud.

But I felt a little angry to see streams of magical energy pouring out of her, she had hardly any control over her powers, and there was an abundance of it. This put her in danger, I couldn't believe that no one had helped her. It was dangerous for her to go walking around like that. I walked up behind her, hiding behind a shield so that her power wouldn't feel me coming, and pushed the anger out of my mind. This was the little Hunter. I was finally going to meet her.

"Where are you going?" I asked, propping my hands on my hips. I grinned when she skipped on the spot before spinning around.

She stared blankly for a second, squinted and then her breath hitched. She was the perfect mix of my two best friends. Jasmine's glorious crimson hair and fine features, Hunt's startlingly lime green eyes and expressive lips. She was petite but her eye contact held so much strength that she could fool anyone into believing she was a couple of feet taller than she actually was.

"Uncle Dan?" Her voice was small and the steel in her eyes faded for a moment, making her look so much younger. The fact that she recognised me made my heart soar.

"Scamp." I felt like laughing. This was Kayli, the little girl who'd stared at her weeping mother so bravely, the little girl who had fought with the bigger boys in the playground. "YOU have changed."

Her eyes widened and she tried to smile, I couldn't help but compare her to Hunt. She was about to make a joke, to try and hide the fact that she was hurting.

"You have not. Not even a bit." She grinned. I wanted to pick her up into the biggest bear hug, squeeze any sadness out of her. But she looked a little wary, she didn't fully trust me yet. I didn't expect her to, where had I been when she'd had to go from foster family to foster family.