Elijah sat at a sleek metal desk, one wall of the interview room looking out toward the snowy mountains. The view never got old. Silver Stream Base was buzzing today—drones flew overhead, solar towers shifted with the sun, and the hum of hope was in the air.
The door opened. First candidate.
Candidate #7: Sarah Miles, 29. Former weather scientist from Colorado. Her short curls bounced as she walked in, her right leg clearly a high-end prosthetic. A storm survivor—lightning strike and all.
She took her seat across from Elijah, calm and steady.
"You know this isn't just about space travel, right?" Elijah said, watching her reaction.
"I do," Sarah said with a quiet smile. "And I'm not afraid. I've lived through worse."
"You lost a team in that storm."
"I remember all their names. I want what comes next to matter."
He nodded. She spoke from the heart—and from pain.
Candidate #12: Jason Cruz, 34. Ex-Air Force pilot. Dark shades, easy smile. Rumor had it he once flew into a storm on purpose, chasing something only he could explain.
"Dr. Bowie," he said, dropping into the chair like it was a bar stool. "You're looking for people who don't freeze under pressure. You found one."
"You think this is just about staying calm?"
"No," Jason said, smile fading. "It's about carrying the weight. I'm ready."
There was a spark behind those words. Elijah marked it.
Candidate #3: Lily Chen, 23. Robotics engineer. Quiet, nervous smile. She held a small cube in her hand that lit up when she touched it—her own design, apparently.
"You left MIT in your final year," Elijah said.
"I didn't want a degree. I wanted to build the future."
"Why here?"
She paused, looking out the window.
"Because I think I'm meant to build it with people like you."
There it was—that glimmer of belief. Elijah leaned back, letting her words sink in.
Candidate #20: Marcus Reed, 38. Paramedic. Big guy, gentle eyes. Walked with a slight limp—an old injury from pulling three kids out of a burning school bus.
"You ever wish you had more strength?" Elijah asked him.
Marcus gave a tired smile. "Every day."
"And now?"
"Now, I want to make sure no one has to feel as helpless as I did."
Simple. Honest. Elijah wrote his name slower than the others.
By the end of the day, he had spoken to twenty-three people.
Drew dropped by again with a grin and two coffees. "You've got that 'hard choice' look."
Elijah took a sip and glanced at his shortlist.
"Three doses. Three lives changed. Forever."
"William trusts your gut. That means something."
Elijah nodded slowly. "It means I don't take this lightly."
He looked out the window again, beyond the towers and landing pads, toward the stars starting to blink into view.
Silver Stream was more than a base. It was a gateway. And tomorrow, three people would step through it—ready or not.
Elijah sat alone in the quiet room, the sun dipping low outside the mountain base. A tablet hovered just above the desk—one of Drew's magnetic tricks—and page after page flicked by with profiles, scan reports, reaction notes, and mental stability ratings.
He wasn't just looking at skills. He was looking for fire. Balance. Purpose.
After an hour of silence and a second cup of half-cold coffee, he tapped three names.
1. Sarah Miles.
Her resolve ran deep. She'd already faced death and walked away stronger. The team needed someone like her—grounded but brave. The serum would only make her more of what she already was.
2. Jason Cruz.
A little reckless, but fearless. His instincts were off the charts, and his physical condition was near-perfect. Elijah saw in him a kind of raw potential... the kind you don't teach, just guide.
3. Marcus Reed.
He was strength wrapped in humility. The serum amplified who you were—and Marcus had a heart big enough to carry a world.
Three choices. Final.
But Elijah wasn't done.
He slid to the next page and highlighted three more names.
Alternates:
Lily Chen – Smart as lightning, and young enough to adapt faster than most. She wasn't quite ready, not emotionally. But she would be soon.
Daniel Knox – A former firefighter turned volunteer medic. Honest, loyal, maybe too loyal. His scores showed deep trauma, but also deep growth. Another month or two and he'd be in balance.
Elena Vasquez – Environmental researcher from Argentina. Calm, calculating, and surprisingly fearless. But Elijah had seen something else in her interview: a hesitation. The serum didn't like doubt. He'd wait.
He hit "submit." A soft ping confirmed the list had gone straight to William's private server.
Elijah stood, stretching his back, then walked to the window. Down below, the compound glowed under early stars. Somewhere in a cryo-locker, three vials of S-E9 waited—twinkling like molten silver.
His comm buzzed. It was Drew.
"You choose?"
"Yeah," Elijah said. "I did."
"Still breathing?"
"Barely."
Drew laughed. "Alright. Then get ready. They report to Med tomorrow at eight sharp."
"Copy that."
Elijah ended the call and stood there for a long moment. He thought of William. Of the trust. Of the weight this all carried.
Three people were about to change.
And the world might not be far behind.
Later that evening, just as the last of the mountain sunlight dipped behind the peaks, a black VTOL transport touched down on the private Silver Stream pad. Its matte surface shimmered faintly under the landing lights. Out stepped a tall figure in a dark tactical coat, boots hitting the ground like they meant it.
Commander Darius Jules.
Elijah met him on the landing pad with a small team of Silver Stream staff waiting behind him. Darius walked with quiet force—his steps steady, but almost too perfect, too effortless. The man moved like he wasn't carrying the weight of his own body.
"Elijah Bowie," Darius said with a short nod. His voice was low, like gravel packed into steel.
Elijah smiled and stepped forward, offering a handshake. "Commander Jules. Or should I say, the new fortress on the hill?"
Darius cracked a grin. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
The handshake between them was firm, brief, and told both men enough. Darius was solid—literally.
His S-E9 transformation, Generation 3, had turned his once-wounded body into something close to myth. After a failed mission during his last deployment, he'd been left with a shattered spine and second-degree burns down his back. But Bonnet Labs found him early in their GEN 3 trials, and S-E9 didn't just heal him—it reforged him.
Now, he could walk through concrete walls if he wanted to. Elijah had seen the videos.
And tonight, Bonnet Labs had sent a message: GEN 4 was coming.
And Elijah wasn't enough.
"You were handpicked by William," Elijah said as they entered the main corridor of the compound. "That carries weight around here."
Darius glanced sideways, his sharp eyes scanning everything even as he walked. "William knows what's coming. He knows that with every new generation of S-E9, more eyes are watching. Not all friendly."
"Think it'll come to that?" Elijah asked.
"It always does," Darius replied calmly. "Power invites conflict."
They stopped by the reinforced door to the S-E9 Storage Vault, one of the most secure locations in the entire facility. Darius placed his palm on the scanner. The metal recognized something deeper than fingerprints. Bone density. Cellular markers. It clicked open.
"You'll have full oversight?" Elijah asked.
Darius nodded. "I'll stay in the shadows when I can, but if things go sideways, I'll be more than enough to stop it."
Just then, Drew arrived, tablet in hand. He gave Darius a respectful nod.
"So," Drew said, glancing between the two men, "we're officially in the GEN 4 era now."
Elijah looked through the reinforced glass into the vault. Three vials of liquid silver shimmered under heavy lights. The next step. The next leap. Humanity's path forward.
"Yeah," Elijah murmured. "We are."