The White Feather- A story of infinite worlds

The Rising Star

27 March, 2028

The bald old man was standing at the window, sipping the coffee and looking at the vast desert in front of the secret facility of  White Feather. He heard his office door open just as he sipped the coffee from his mug.

“Oi, how many times have I told you to knoc…..” The man said in irritation but stopped in the middle when he saw Thomas smiling at him.

“Oh, welcome Tommy. Boy, you have grown old!” the man said and placed the mug on his table.

“Come on Troy, what could possibly make you think that?” Thomas said and grinned slightly.

“For starters, you activated the burning feather protocol. And now you look like you have had a hell of a beating. Look at you, all drenched in blood.” Troy explained.

He opened a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Thomas, but the latter straight up refused.

“Oh I see, Thomas White has found an interest in cigars.” Troy said and snickered.

Thomas smiled in courtesy, but the truth was that he wanted to forget all about Redland city. So he took a seat while the man finished his coffee and looked around the office.

“I see you haven’t made any changes here.” Thomas said, finishing his inspection.

“Technically, you were gone for less than five days and not much changes in five days.” Troy said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh, a lot can change in five days. Who knows better than us? We’re the masters of time after all.” Thomas said, crossing his legs.

“The typical Thomas, always with the fancy words. Come on, let’s talk business.” Troy said, taking a hold of the file resting on the table.

“The typical Troy, always with the formalities.” Thomas said and took a deep breath.

“So it says here that the leader was killed BEFORE you were taken captive. Now I know that you never bend the rules, but using the burning feather protocol after the completion of the mission is non-acceptable. What do you have to say in your defense?” Troy asked and looked at Thomas.

“He wasn’t their boss, he was a mere puppet while the real leaders posed as his bodyguards. As soon as I had this information, I saw no other way but to use the protocol for good purpose.” Thomas cleared the confusion.

“That could all be a bunch of horseshit. Do you have any concrete proof?” Troy asked.

“You know I do, and that proof has a name- Veda. He was a mole who was in close contact which the real masters of The Chakra. I left him alive on the site for interrogation purposes.” Thomas said and decided to smoke a cigarette after all.

“Yes, fortunately, we put him in the time prison for requirement in future operations.” Troy said.

A sense of relief came on Troy’s face after Thomas cleared the situation.

“Problem solved. Anything else I can help you with or was this all?” Thomas asked, getting up.

“Oh no, don’t get up just yet. You think I called you in to question you?” Troy said and smiled.

“What then? You know I’m not in the shape for another mission just yet. But if you want, I’ll be ready in two days.” Thomas said, pretending to be energetic in spite of being crushed.

“That’s what I like in you Thomas, the ruthlessness and the never ending motivation. For decades, we’ve never had anyone as dedicated and talented as you. But now, we may have found your true successor.” Troy said and opened his desk drawer.

Thomas wasn’t moved by the kind words, but he was a little surprised by the successor part. He waited patiently as Troy took out another file and slammed it on the table. He then raised his eyebrows, signaling Thomas to read it. Thomas lifted the file and read the name.

“Anthony Rabada, recruited five months ago. The training analysis shows some pretty decent results, blah blah blah…” Thomas continued murmuring as he went through the report. The results were pretty astonishing. He was at a level which takes years to reach, even for the best of the agents (excluding Thomas, he was phenomenal). But Thomas’ eyes suddenly glued on the end of the report.

“What the f**k?! You’re sending a f*****g recruit to infiltrate a terrorist organization?” Thomas asked, looking at Troy in a state of confusion.

“I knew you would say that. But look at his performance; this isn’t just any recruit we’re talking about. Do you know he broke your record in the speed aim trail?” Troy said, trying to make Thomas see how talented this kid was.

“A recruit is a f*****g recruit. Don’t try to make him anything more than he’s capable of. Just because he can shoot and has good IQ, dosen't mean he has the tactical knowledge about the real fight. It comes from experience.

Shooting a breathing live man is nothing like killing a dummy. You don’t know how he will react to those things; he might freeze or go into shock. Is this mission really worth giving up your best asset?” Thomas said, trying to change Troy’s mind.

“He’s no fool, Thomas. You'll see when you meet him. And as for the experience part, we’re willing to take that risk. Yes, this mission IS worth giving up our best asset. All the experienced agents are on vital missions and we have no choice but to take up the best of the recruits.

He will be sent with a team. As usual, there will be a gunner, a sniper, a spy and Anthony will lead them.” Troy said.

“Why are you telling me all this? What role are you expecting me to play?” Thomas asked suspiciously.

“If you haven’t figured it out by now, you will be the backup. This team is new, and they WILL make mistakes. You and I are here to make sure that those mistakes are not lethal, neither for the mission nor for them.” Troy said, putting his hand on Thomas’ shoulder.

Thomas looked at Troy for some time and nodded briefly. Troy was visibly delighted and shook Thomas’ shoulders in excitement.

“Two old men, watching over the next generation of time travelers. This could be a book, you know.” Troy said.

“We might be. I mean, it’s possible that we’re just characters in a writer’s book. But then again, it feels real enough to me.” Thomas said and grinned.

“Whatever man, your philosophical s**t flies way above my head.” Troy said.

“So, back to business. Where are they now?” Thomas asked.

“They went into the universe manipulator twenty minutes ago. That means they’re in the war zone for at least three days.” Troy said.

“Good luck, kid, you’re gonna need it.” Thomas whispered.

Meanwhile, fifteen years ago, in the year 2013, Anthony Rabada was speeding through the desert in a pickup truck with his teammates.