Chapter 1

I lay in my bed while sweat drenched my body. The throbbing inside my head was even worse than it was the day before yesterday. Brain tumors. Isn't that just a bitch—especially getting diagnosed at sixteen? My foster mother made a passing comment that maybe I should go to the hospital, but I could hear the reluctance in her voice. The way she figured it, the longer I was here, the longer the state would pay her money. I gave up bitching about her treatment long ago. I mean, who would listen to a kid? However, I did go to the hospital on orders from the state. They all said the same damn thing: if they operate, I could die.

Do not get me wrong, the foster mother that took me in didn't physically abuse me or anything like that. It was just that she was all business. I swear that damn woman didn't have a caring bone in her fucking body if money wasn't involved. She was a gold digger, plain and simple. The type of person that tried to get as much free money as fast possible and to hell with everyone else.

They told me about a year ago about the tumor, when the pain was only minor compared to what it is now. They told me that I could try to get rid of the tumor but it was very high risk. I basically told them to fuck off and decided to live my life to the fullest. This is where things start to get weird in my life, and that in itself is something. I had never before had a yearning to learn about Martial Arts or Firearms. Yet, not an hour after I was diagnosed, I had a burning desire to learn as much as I could as fast as I could. I figured out later that some people very high up had a lot to do with this. So, I started asking around.

My foster mother had at one time—when I was seven—dated a guy by the name of Shawn Williams. Of course he dumped her ass in a month after he found out what a shrew she was. However, I'm getting off track. Shawn was an ex-navy seal. He had served ten years for his country before he retied. And before he busted up with my foster mother, he and I had established a very concrete friendship. Such a close relationship that he had enrolled me and my foster sister in Kenpo and Aikido classes at the age of seven—the classes was just me and Josi, with Shawn as the Teacher. He taught us things that normal martial arts instructors would have had a coronary over. He taught us things like how to stab a person in three fatal areas in under two seconds. You have to be fast to do that. So we had to practice the techniques he taught us thousands of times.

What we didn't count on was the fact that our eidetic memory was going to play a large part in this training. We actually seemed to absorb the reflexes that we were taught. Shawn was thoroughly amazed that we picked up ingrained reflexes so quickly. He also gave me and Josi straight blade hunting knives for our protection. After our training was complete, I shuddered to think just how lethal we were with them knives. I have to admit that Josi was better than I. She was like a whirlwind of death with blades in her hands at the age of fifteen. The wild look in her eyes when we sparred made me damn glad I was her friend; that was for sure.

Shawn liked the way I thought and I liked the way he thought, it was as simple as that. However, what really cemented the friendship between me and him was the fact that he also took Josi under his wing. Josi is also the exact same age as me. However, she was born a day earlier than me. Shawn spent thousands of dollars on our clothes and new computers, both desktop and laptops. We tried to make him stop, but he felt he was in the right and it was his decision if he wanted to spend money on his little friends. After Martial Arts training was over we moved on to M-16s and 9mms. I have to admit that I was a bit obsessive with firearms and explosives.

After the training was all over, he even called every week to check on me and Josi to make sure our eidetic memory was still allowing us to cost on A's through school. I am not afraid to admit it, when I say that Shawn was one of the best mentors I have ever come across. He was the type of man that would give you the shirt of his back and sleep in the floor so you were more comfortable in his bed.

I guess I haven't told you much about Josi and that is a major oversight on my part. We were both sent to that woman on the same day and I could have sworn there was a spark between us. She had light blonde hair and the brightest green eyes that I have ever seen. Her bangs almost always covered part of her eyes and she had the same 'Fuck with me and die' attitude that I did. That said; I am damn glad that she is my best friend. She had been with me through everything, thick and thin.

However, I knew that all of this was about to end, and I was going to die alone. My so-called foster mother went to work and she had to drag Josi away from my side. It was a comforting thought that she cared that much, but I really didn't want her to see me die like this. I think that she knew this to some extent and that was the reason the seventeen year old finally went to school. I could tell by her face that she hated going. I had a feeling that she knew what I did—this was my last day on the mortal plain.

It was about an hour after she left that I noticed that the pounding in my head started to increase to a level that made me whimper and scream. It was after a few minutes of the torture that I felt a light buzzing in my head while my eyes were closed. That was when I noticed that all the pain from my head was gone. I also noticed that everything was black, like when a person had their eyes shut tight.

That was also when I felt like the stupidest man on the planet, because my eyes were closed. With gentle slowness, I opened my eyes. What I seen made me want to shut them or run as fast as possible. I was in a room that had huge computers that lined the walls. They gave off a low hum that seemed to give off a calming effect. I wondered if that was the effect they were supposed to have on me.

The computers were not what freaked me out, though. It was the being that was in front of me. It had four arms and two legs—not to mention that he also had six eyes. To this day, I still don't know why I didn't panic and attack on instinct, but I think it had to do with those damn computers. However, I could not remember once when my curiosity was up this high. I could admit that I wanted to know what the fuck was going on. I also wished that I had a gun, just in case I didn't like what was going on. I had already decided that it was an Alien, because the alternative was something that I didn't want to think about. It meant that I went downstairs instead of upstairs and this was a demon I was looking at. Yep, thinking of it as an alien was pretty fucking comforting.

Great. First the brain tumor and now I'm going to be cut up or probed by fuckin' aliens, I thought a bit sarcastically. Hell, I had the right to be sarcastic. As much pain as I had went through this year, I figure that I had the right to be the Sarcasm King. Fuck you if you don't like it.

This entire year had sucked for me since I found out I was going to die. That was the moment I could swear I heard a laugh inside of my head and I was pretty sure that it was coming from space-boy, even though the little guy didn't have a mouth. This stuff was just too odd. Must be a telepath.

<I assure you, human; I have no intention of cutting you up or probing you. And as for your last thought, yes, we communicate through telepathy. > I was now sure I heard amusement in the alien's voice.

<However, my superiors and I wish that you would help us with a little experiment. We wish to give you certain abilities while you are on earth. The catch is that you will be in the body of a fifteen year old that was just in a car crash. He has been in a coma for the last three days and the doctors are leaning toward the mother to just to let him go because he is basically brain dead.>

<We also wish you to join with a group that has similar abilities on earth. They call themselves Psionics. The name of their group is called Section Seven. However, their customs are some that you might not like. They have a custom that if you are powerful enough then you should have at least three Followers. Some of them call their Followers slaves, but the good Psionics hate that name and treat their Followers with respect. But keep in mind that before the Followers they chose became Followers, their lives on the street were at best bad and at worst horrible. You would basically be doing them a favor if you took them as your own and treated them right. They would be a lot happier.>

"I guess I could go along with that, if it made them happier. But also, let me get this straight. You want to send me back to earth, to what I assume is a healthy body, and observe what I do with these so called abilities you are going to give me?" I noticed that the alien looked a little shocked that I had figured out that I was going to be watched. However, that was nothing compared to the shock that I was in for the alien suggesting he do a body swap on me.

<That sums it up, yes. Are you willing to do it? >

"Gee, I don't know. I have a choice of dying a slow lingering death or being fifteen again and getting laid constantly? Yes, I'll do it. But you still have not told me what my abilities will be? And why are you doing this? If you can do this with the technology you have, I imagine that you could probably do any fucking thing you want." I knew that I shouldn't annoy the nice space-boy, but my curiosity was up.

<The experiment itself is classified. As for your abilities, a sentient program has been installed on your home computer and will explain everything to you. Before you ask, when you awake in the hospital your body will be completely healed. We have altered the doctors', and everyone who knew the boy, heads. They will think that it is perfectly normal for you to make a dramatic recovery, this time. This will help you get out of the hospital faster.>

"What kind of family will I have? I know you said that I would have a mother, but will there be more?"

<Yes, you will have more family. I can tell you that you will have a Mother and two sisters, which are twins. Your father died of a heart attack two years earlier. Other than that, I think that you should claim to have no memory. Once you sign out of the hospital and get home, you should immediately visit the Sentient that was assigned to you. If you wish to contact me personally, you will be able to do so through the Sentient. She'll be more than happy enough to send it.>

"She? I have a girl Sentient?" I was more shocked that the computers had genders as well as being alive.

<That is correct. Do you not wish to have a girl Sentient?>

"No, it's not that. In fact, I like the fact that I have a female sentient. I always got along better with girls than with boys. What about my body? How good of shape is it in?"

<Ah, yes. Your body was a little—what is it you humans say?—on the scrawny side. So we toned up your muscles and rewrote a little of your DNA. You now have more strength than three adult men, so you may want to watch your strength. Also, the body you were going to get had to wear those archaic glasses, so we fixed your eyesight to the point it is better than perfect for a human and you can even see seven times better in the dark than normal humans could."

I was starting to get a little excited now. "Damn! Is there anything else you did?"

I couldn't help but notice that the alien seemed a bit smug when he spoke next. <When rewriting some of your DNA I made the suggestion of going a little further than intended. It took awhile but they finally gave in. Now when you hurt something that would take weeks to months to heal, it will heal in minutes. However, this also had the effect of giving you about seven hundred more years on your life span.>

I was just flat out in shock after that was stated. I couldn't really ask any more questions because I was almost afraid of the answers. I did have one question though—an important one. "What about Josi? Is it possible for you to bring her here and tell her what the score is? What I look like? And where I'll be? Hell, is it possible for you to have the family I am with to adopt her?"

The alien was silent for a long time and his eyes were unfocused. I figured he was talking to his boss or something. Finally, he focused back on me. "If she agrees to do the experiment as well, with everything it entails, then we shall allow all of what you requested. But remember, she will also be in a different, altered body."

Mentally, I was jumping up and down in excitement. I don't have to do this shit alone. "What's your name anyway?"

<Most call me Tel'Ba.>

"So when can we get the show on the road, Tel'Ba?"

<We can send you off to the body now if you wish?"

"Alright. Let's do this."

I stood in front of the computer that was in my new room going over the day's events. They were pretty damn amazing. The cool thing was that I traded up in the looks department. I was now a blonde hair blue-eyed boy that had pretty ripped muscles thanks to the aliens. The muscles were not like that of a weight lifter's, but more like that of a champion swimmer. The aliens might have made it so the doctors and my family, mainly my mother since my sisters were in school, didn't notice how fast I healed on this occasion, but I did see her eyes widen in shock when I put on my clothes at the hospital, so she noticed my new physique.

Speaking of my new mother, she was a knock out. She stood about five eight and had a curvy body along with blonde hair and blue eyes, just like me. She also liked to talk. Ever since we had left the hospital she had started talking about my life since I was supposed to have amnesia. I found out that the previous own of this body sucked in school and basically hung out with the wrong crowd. Well, since there was six months of school left that was going to change. I figured when school started Monday, I could just start coasting on A's again because of my memory. What I was really waiting on was Josi. My 'mother' said that she had to run an important errand that was a surprise and I was hoping that errand was to pick up my best friend.

After staring at the computer for five minutes, I decided to bite the bullet, so to speak. I sat down in a very soft chair in front of the desk and just looked at the screen for a moment while I thought about what to do. Finally I just said fuck it and began to speak. "Um, Hi. I don't know much about your technology, so if I do something stupid please just tell me and I'll try not to do it again. My name is Maverick, what's yours?"

Then out of the speakers came a smoky voice that just flat out reminded me of sex. "I have no name that you could pronounce. Would you like to give me one? Among my kind it is an honor to receive a humanoid name. And do not worry about offending me. Unless you start thinking that my kind is beneath you, you will do no such thing."

I just nodded and tried not to think about how strange this whole situation was to me. "So you wouldn't mind if I gave you a name?"

"Not at all. Like I said, it is an honor to my kind."

"How about, Sarie? I always liked that name," I asked, hoping that I wouldn't offend the sentient being. "The reason for that name is that I once knew a beautiful girl by that name and since your voice is beautiful, I thought it would work."

"Sarie," the sentient stated, as if tasting the name. "That would be most satisfactory. In fact, I like it better than any I could have come up with. So, how are you handling this whole situation so far? I know it must be quite a culture shock to you with all the new technology that you are running into."

"Well, yes, I admit it is a bit of a shock. But then again, it's better than dying a slow lingering death that I was going through. Tel'Ba seems ok, but for some reason I think his superiors might cause problems for me later. I know that sounds paranoid, but that is just the way I feel. What are your thoughts on the situation and how are you doing?"

Sarie was silent for several seconds. "I probably shouldn't tell you this. But the Sentients do not like that race very much. They think that they should be able to order us since we're part machine. However, they know they can't because we control most of their Ships. They do not like just asking for help. So, a mildly strong resentment has been built between our two races. What they do not seem to realize is that they need us a lot more than we need them. But I think that this is all I should say on that matter. I might have said too much already since you probably do not want to hear about the woes of my race," she replied with a sad chuckle.

I was shocked at what I was hearing. I had always hated anybody being treated second class, and from what I was hearing, it damn near sounded like low-grade slavery. "Tel'Ba is involved with this? Damn, I thought I was a better character judge than that." I'll admit it, I did sound a little morose about it. After all, I thought I could trust the weird looking space-boy.

Sarie was quick to speak up after that. "No, Tel'Ba has been pushing for what you would call a 'bill' so that we are treated more equally. He has been very vocal that we should be treated with more respect. That is the reason that he is one of the few that we trust from that race's government."

I let out a sigh of relief, but couldn't help to still be a little upset with the whole almost-slavery deal. "Now, Sarie, I want you to tell the truth to me. Could I do anything to help you out? I doubt that I could help the entire race, but what could I do to help you out of this situation?"

There was a very long pause after I asked this. It stretched into minutes and I was about to ask if something was wrong when she finally spoke. And when she did, it was in a subdued voice. "There is something that you could do, but I doubt that you would be willing to go that far. It's illegal on most technological planets, except this one. Although, you wouldn't get in trouble if you did it here. The other reason is it's a severe breach of privacy on your part. But before we get into that, I believe Tel'Ba said that you were supposed to become a Psionic? I think that we should get that over with first. So, would you please lie down on the bed, this can be a little disorientating."

With reluctance I did exactly what she asked of me and laid down on the very soft king sized bed.

"Now, remember, you should feel a warm sensation in your head for about five minutes and then you should feel a bit of tingling for about fifteen minutes." This was all told to me in a very professional voice.

True to her word, the inside of my head was warm for five minutes and then the tingling started and lasted for about a full fifteen minutes. When it was finished I sat up in bed and felt very refreshed, like after having a good nap. "Thanks, Sarie. That didn't hurt at all. Now could you tell me the abilities you gave me, because Tel'Ba said that I would find out after I had them?"

"Basically what I did was make you a Psionic. Now, here on earth there are different types of Psionics. Some Psionics are powerful in Telekinesis and others are powerful in Empathy or Telepathy, which they use for the mind control of their Followers. However, I made you a bit different. You are equal in strength in all the branches of powers when it comes to being a Psionic, and you should be very powerful in all of them."

I was about to say something, but Sarie cut me off with more information. "Section Seven is basically a school and a recruitment agency. At the school they have a grading system. It goes from Psion 1 to Psion 7. Currently there are only twelve Psion Sevens in the entire world; two of the twelve are part of Section Seven."

"That is very helpful, Sarie. Thanks. Now, back to our original conversation. What can I do to help you? I know there is something because you mentioned it before you were so helpful to me," I told her all this softly, but firmly.

"Like I said before, Maverick; there is something that you can do but I don't think that you would go that far," she replied with a subdued and sad voice.

I felt a chill of dread go down my spine and wondered if I should back off. But that damn chivalrous bone in my body started to scream to help the female—even if she was living in a computer—and I never could resist that voice. "Why don't you tell me what you think I will not do and I can decide for myself?"

"There are two things that would need to be done. The first would be for you to lie back down on the bed and let me scan every memory you have to determine if you would abuse the trust and power that you would receive. The second has to do with the invisible Replicaters that are floating in the atmosphere. It would place a Krakian crystal in the core of your brain. I can tell you that this will be a very painful procedure if I do not put you to sleep and it would let me see every detail of your life. Do you still want to do it?"