Venetia Castaldi sat tapping her foot nervously waiting for her name to be called by the receptionist. She was in Seattle, California sat in the massive, yet still airy foyer of one of the twelve newly operational contribution assessment centres, along with several hundred other people, which had opened its doors for the first time this morning.
Her fingers toyed with the bracelet her uncle had given her yesterday when he'd gone over her mission for the last time,
'Always wear this charm bracelet, V. Obviously you will be able to identify the charms gifted to you by your mother, father and brother; but the other charms have been added as a security and safety measure for you and the other two contributions we are sending along with you to uncover the truth of whether there are real threats to Earth's survival.
The gold and silver 'key' has been through a Fey ceremony that will allow Princess Amelia's position to become a known place in the universe for you - she will approach you in your dreams, on the seventh night from tomorrow night - and also for you to have access to her healing abilities in a dire life or death situation. This sounds odd, but suck the charm into your mouth to release the healing into your body. One other thing, if you ever are forced to use it, you'll have to 'travel' to her so that she can rejuvenate the healing element for further use. That will mean accessing a ship, so only do so in the most extreme situation,' V had been impressed; that could be very useful wherever she ended up,
'The onyx pentagram and platinum halo were gifts from the hybrid twins, Ariana and Harley. When you have their charms on, they'll be able to astroproject to you; with their memories you will be able to identify their location and 'travel' to their new planetary or space craft homes as well again, only if a life or death emergency arises. If you have an emergency situation where you are unable to 'travel', use your thumb and middle finger to rub the two charms together - it will call them to you. But only use that safety net in an extreme situation as it could reveal their hidden nature to whatever alien race they and you end up with. It goes without saying that you only 'travel' or move yourself in cases where you are certain there is no risk to your safety and/or the ability to keep your talents secret,'
Her uncle had then gripped her chin and looked directly into her eyes - when he blinked, the vertical, elliptical black lines of his pupils indicated that she was being addressed by both her uncle and his Welsh red dragon - as he explained the last unknown charm,
'V. We both know you have the gene to shift but it's never manifested. We haven't trained you since you were 22 since we all agreed you were unlikely after that age to ever shift into your dragon form. But we have no idea what technology these aliens have or how using those technologies or your abilities in space might affect you biologically. And we still can't rule out finding your mate will trigger your first shift, irregardless of what you think,' Her uncle gave her a pointed stare out of his dragon's eyes,
'Because we cannot rule out that you could still shift... The black dragon charm is from me, it's made out of 'dragon's blood', black obsidian and if you shift into your dragon, I need you to gently blow your dragon's fire over the charm. The Fey have given the charm properties so that if your dragon heats the charm, it will trigger my dragon to recognise a new clan member has been 'born'. We'll make any necessary arrangements for you if that happens, ok?' Venetia had nodded solemnly, making sure to maintain eye contact to appease the dragon half of her uncle.
Part of her yearned for a dragon of her own but part of her shied away from the renewed hope of receiving her dragon now; it had been painful and isolating the first time around she'd had to accept that she would be the only member of her blood family to never have a dragon... She really didn't want to go through the two edged sword of hope and then despair a second time...
'Venetia Savannah Castaldi, please come to the reception desk,' V's thoughts froze up in her head. It was her turn. She stood up and walked with purpose to the model perfectly made up and dressed receptionist behind the crystal clear safety glass and marble of the reception window,
'I am Venetia Castaldi,' she showed the receptionist her UK passport, one of the acceptable forms of proof of identity. The receptionist, Rhea her name tag indicated, smiled at her, as she gingerly reached her hand out, taking the proffered burgundy passport before she quickly flashed the document under a high end scanner that was attached to her brand new slim line laptop, while indicating for V to smile into a camera sat on the shelf in front of the receptionist's enclosed desk area. Rhea nodded subconsciously at the positive ping from her electronics while clicking a button on her keyboard to take V's photo. A moment later she picked up the newly printed badge off the stylish, compact printer beside the scanner, slid it into the clear pouch of a pristine lanyard with a UWC logo. She then handed Venetia the 'potential contribution pass' - according to the label across the top of the badge,
'Please sign here that you've received your pass and accept the conditions of volunteering as a contribution,' her red, perfectly polished nail tapped by the line on the registration book on the shelf where V found her name and pass number was already written in small, precise handwriting. She signed and dated the line in the log,
'I will be keeping your passport. In the unlikely event you are unable to be matched, I will return it to you on your departure. However, in the expected case that you are matched, your passport will be destroyed as you will be renouncing your British citizenship and Earthling association to become a citizen of the planet or fighting unit to which you are matched,' Her Uncle had warned her this was required so she only experienced a twinge of regret on accepting that she would no longer be an Earth citizen,
'If you have no questions, please report to the third floor assessment area, room 312 where one of my colleagues will walk you through the process for the four assessments to establish your contribution classification. You will then go through a medical and mental examination before you experience the four assessments to match you. We all hope you will be very happy in your assignment,' V was starting to feel creeped out by the Stepford wife vibe she was getting from the too perfect receptionist.
V shivered, getting the familiar psionic tingle that indicated she could use her talent to invade the privacy of the mind of the person in front of her... But her intuition was screaming at her that this female had not been recruited from Earth and could possibly be aware of V's mental invasion.
Not prepared to take that chance, V gave her a stiff smile in return and hoped it communicated itself as excessive nerves to the enigmatic receptionist rather than distrust, she then turned to stride to the elevator bank. As she walked away, she lost the tiniest bit of her 'grip' of mental control over her ability and 'heard' the thoughts in the 'public' area of the receptionist's mind,
'I must tell Rand to watch that one, I definitely sensed a cerebral ebb to her aura...' V quickened her walk away from the receptionist, even more grimly aware that she would have to control even the slightest manifestation of her abilities during the coming testing to ensure she did not give herself away.
Stepping into the elevator, V punched the button for the third floor and even as the door was shutting she could still feel the receptionist's considering eyes watching her leave the foyer. Very creepy and potentially a threat to her secret. She knew from speaking with her psionic trainers, Sybil and Martin, how to 'guard' her mind. She began the mental process of 'building' the stone and tungsten wall to keep everyone out of her mind beyond the 'public' area of her thoughts. She engaged her breathing exercises along with visualising the 'wall' protecting her mental abilities as the elevator rose two floors. When the doors opened, her heart rate had calmed considerably and she was ready to face the next stage of the assessment process. She walked calmly but with purpose to room 312 and knocked for permission to enter,
'Come in, Miss Castaldi,' a clipped male voice called to her. V entered a small room, having only a door to the front, which she'd just come through and a door to the back, and approached the man sat behind the desk in the centre of the space who looked every bit the scientist doctor in his white lab coat and stethoscope. His name plate declared him to be Dr. Rand Darius. As with the receptionist, V wondered if this male was human or alien,
'I am sure Rhea has already informed you that I will explain the four assessment processes before checking you are mentally and physically stable enough to face the evaluations,' He looked up at her expectantly, with a touch of impatience. Clearly this man had issues with his 'bedside manner' and people in general. Venetia gave him a deliberately uncaring look before stiffly nodding her head.
If he couldn't be professional enough to be civil, then she wouldn't be bothered either. He cocked his head at her lack of nerves and concern about his deliberate rudeness and his lips tilted in what might've been called an unplanned smile. He had universally hated talking with the newly inducted member planets' citizens who came for contribution assessment, but this female was different. Rhea was right, he needed to carefully watch her reactions to testing.
He then proceeded to explain that the testing was done while contributions were unconscious as all conscious responses had been found to be skewered toward whatever the test subject thought the examiners wanted to hear and see, projected through their planet's societal norms. The responses required for the testing needed to be untainted by learned response and therefore a true reflection of the test subjects abilities and desires. V had no issue understanding his point, which was a second surprise for the uptight doctor, nor with being unconscious during testing. Her mental defences were more than up to the job,
'Ok. Let's get the preliminaries over with then,' Dr. Darius pointed to the back facing door before ushering Venetia unceremoniously through the doorway. The large space was split into five designated sections with a removable wall in between the first two sections - one of which had state of the art gym equipment, the other a simple table with seats on both sides and a tablet on the interviewees side, the third section was a much smaller room which V was unable to discern the purpose of, the fourth room was larger than the third and through the medical clinic style doorway she could see a bed similar to those used to transport patients to an operating theatre. There were restraints on the bed which edged V's nerves slightly. The fifth room was the largest but like the third room it was unclear what she could expect to happen there. Rand observed Venetia absorb every detail of the room and its sections as if memorising what she was viewing. Interesting. I wonder if she has what these humans refer to as an eidetic memory. He knew that would come out in the testing if she did have that kind of memory recall. He directed her to the physical fitness section,
'The monitor will advise you of what is required of you. The equipment is all easy use so, please just follow the instructions,' V gave him a faux shocked owl eyed look at his use of the word 'please'. He had to control himself not to laugh at her blatant sarcasm. Yes, if enough Earthlings were like this young female, his job here was going to be much more fun and interesting than he'd anticipated.
The entry door opened for a doctor and nurse to enter,
'These two professionals will examine you in section 4 to take blood samples and conduct a thorough medical to ensure you have no medical preclusion to any of the contribution classifications; they prefer to do these examinations after exercise.
I will return in an hour and a half. Please use Section 3, which is a body cleansing facility, to refresh yourself if the medical concludes before I return.
There is a medical gown, robe and slippers to redress in. Place your soiled clothing in the chute provided. If for any reason you are not matched, your clothing will be returned to you, clean. Otherwise, you will no longer require those garments,' V raised her eyebrow at him before tartly speaking,
'I will allow the potential destruction of my clothes on the understanding that I will be retaining my jewellery,' she indicated her earrings, necklace and bracelet. Dr. Darius seemed puzzled by her meaning so V explained more succinctly,
'If I find myself without them at the end of the assessment portion of this examination, I will not respond well... they have sentimental value to me and as the only items I am allowed, according to the terms of being a contribution, to take with me when I leave Earth behind, I will see that as a breach of good faith,' His expression cleared in understanding before he frowned at the implied slur,
'No one in this facility would take your allowed property, Miss Castaldi,' V gave him an arch look, while the doctor and nurse fidgeted, looking distinctly uncomfortable,
'That may be so, but I'm sure you don't trust me on first meeting me, so allow me the same privilege and accept that my forewarning you against such behaviour is a reasonable preventative measure on my part,' She was extremely sharp, he quickly darted his eyes downward to review her personal profile in his hands.
She was MIT educated in physics and astronomy. Graduated with top honours. She's enjoyed a successful, well decorated career, highly sought after in her field. She'd written two books on her specialisation that were well received in the academic community and had made her a modest income on their own.
She'd travelled across Earth in both her career and personal travels. Yes, she was a top quality contribution. But perhaps more difficult to keep stimulated than he'd first assumed. She watched him processing her words patiently. He was so looking forward to the mental exam to come,
'Understood,' he left the assessment area to carry on with the second and third contributions he was simultaneously assessing leaving Venetia with the medical staff.
He watched, off and on as he conducted other testing via his tablet which provided visual through the cameras around the assessment space, as Venetia made her way around the exercise equipment over the first hour. He'd been unsure what level of competency to expect from her given that she was far shorter than him at 5'6 to his 6'5 and she was curvy, what humans referred to as hourglass shaped, by no means over weight but owning breasts and a bottom that were not a female form he was familiar with. He found her different structure extremely appealing.
She turned out to be competent at using all the equipment but she'd truly managed to shock and impress him during the strength and stamina elements of the testing. She'd been able to safely lift far more than he'd assumed she would be capable of. Not as much as the female Vartiians, of course, but on par with with female Rezites and more than female Illyians or Gondaens we're capable of.
Though he'd only tested or was in the process of testing 3 other human females so far today, she was definitely an exception to the others of her species. Overall she was certainly physically robust enough for all four contribution classifications.
Exactly an hour and a half later, Rand Darius returned to room 312. Miss Castaldi was in Section 3. Within five minutes, the shower was shut off and a further five minutes saw her seated in front of the tablet in Section 2. Somehow he didn't believe the apparel would increase her vulnerability during the mental evaluation as it did most contributions. She was at ease and waiting for the next set of directions. He couldn't know that nudity was not an uncommon state in shifter families and was simply accepted as the norm,
'In a few moments the tablet in front of you will power up with the mental, personality and emotional testing required for contributions. Please follow the directions. I will return in an hour and we will discuss your responses,' Rand once again left the room to continue assessments elsewhere.
When he returned, Venetia was sat cross legged on the chair, eyes closed, meditating. Being half Medivian, he allowed his consciousness to reach out to her cerebral aura, as was required protocol for assessments, only to find a mental image of a stone and metal wall preventing him from reading her consciousness. When he attempted to push past her barrier, a white light exploded in his mind, a flash of gold superimposed over his 'vision' accompanied by a loud roar, similar to an animal on his planet called a gruffid.
What the hell was that! He eyed Venetia Castaldi, who had remained in stasis, stunned. No one had ever kept him out before. No one! The lady in question however looked as though she had no clue what had just transpired. He dropped his eyes to his own tablet inside the portfolio of her file to hastily read the results of her testing.
No shock that she was an introvert who was driven to succeed. She didn't seem to be restricted, like others he'd tested, by the rules of Earths societal expectations though... she would never be satisfied and content to stay in just one classification he realised. He noticed a blank answer on the exam. She opened her eyes watching the doctor in hidden amusement. On realising she was aware again, he asked,
'Why did you leave question 10 on the memory recall section blank, Miss Castaldi?' She smirked at him,
'It was a trick question. There was a silver stool by the exam table, not a chair, so none of the answers were correct. Rand got up and walked to the locked, blinded door of Section 4, touched his hand to the plate to unlock the entrance and peeked inside. Sure enough, there was a stool, not the usual chair by the exam table. He could tick the eidetic memory box... as well as the smart ass box too.
V meanwhile, was serene in her seat, perfectly aware of the fact Dr. Darius has tried to penetrate her mental defences, she scoffed internally,
'How rude are these aliens, for fuck sake?' Rand raised his head to look at her in horror, having heard her 'public' response to his attempt to rummage around her head.
V again kept her face entirely blank and innocent. It was kind of fun playing with this idiot she thought behind her shielded wall. Although she knew she couldn't push her luck any further, her 'cheeky gene' had always been irrepressible.
He finished his questions and declared her fit to be assessed for assignment to a contribution class,
'Please follow me into Section 4 and we can begin,' Once she was laying on the examination table and restrained, Dr. Darius prepared a syringe of clear liquid. Before he injected her, he explained the liquid would only put her conscious self to sleep so that he could run a set of memories through her subconscious that he would be able to watch on a visual as the complex hybrid biological/AI program matched her against all classifications.
V really wished she would be able to remain conscious to observe the testing process; it sounded amazing and fascinating to her scientific mind. As he injected her, he began to count down from 10 backwards. She never heard him say the word seven...
V woke up, heart beating at an incredible rate, she was sweaty and realised to her horror her bottom was resting in a pool of her own cum, as though she'd been using her B.O.B. (Battery operated boyfriend) continually for a couple of hours. What the fuck had just happened?! She looked at Dr. Darius but his back was toward her as he was reading from the tablet in his hand.
If she could've seen his face, she would have been watching a man desperately trying to regain control over his own riotous libido. The visuals of the soulmate portion of the assessment still flashing through his brain. After five minutes, V ran out of patience,
'Dr. Darius?' The man turned around slowly, back in control of his body although his face was flushed. V decided not to broach the topic of her condition instead asking,
'Have I been matched to a contribution class?' He gave her a small smile,
'Actually you've been matched to two at a 99% overlap,' he didn't bother to tell her she'd actually matched all 4 classifications at 95% or more, only focusing on the two she'd achieved the best matches. He also didn't tell her that she had actually matched those 2 classifications at a 100% overlap, because it shouldn't have been possible,
'You were matched to strategic leadership and soulmate classifications,' He looked down at the name and race she'd been matched to feeling a pang of jealousy toward the lucky bastard,
'You were matched to Vartiin and will become a Vartiian strategist as well as be the mate to one of the Vartiin Clan Tops. You will be transported to him once I have his acknowledgement of your impending arrival,' V looked at Rand in shock,
'Just like that, right now?!'
'Yes, when you signed the registration book at reception, you entered a contract with the UWC. Do you wish to rescind the agreement? You have the right to do so as a volunteer even at this late stage,'
V gritted her teeth, this was what she signed up for. She'd known she might be matched to a 'soulmate', her problem was she had accepted she wouldn't have a mate when she hadn't shifted into her dragon form at 22 and now she'd been 'matched' to one by a fucking advanced computer! She had stopped believing in soulmates but realised that she was about to discover whether she was right or not in the next hour,
'No,' she finally answered,
'I won't resend my agreement with the UWC,' Did Dr. Darius actually look disappointed? No, it must've been a misunderstood facial expression V concluded as he professionally began to wheel her into Section 5, where there was a large container made of some unknown material that looked oddly alive as though made of a breathable plant based polymer,
'I will be injecting you twice now, Miss Castaldi. One injection is to stimulate your brain in linguistics so that you will be able to understand your mate and other races speaking to you in their languages,' That sounded incredible to V,
'The second is to send you back to a state of unconsciousness so that you can be absorbed and released to the spatial travel port closest to your mate on his warship,' V found herself quickly injected and losing consciousness for the second time before recalling the state of her body after the assessment,
'Oh fuck...' was her last thought.
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'Commander D'rrvn,' the shocked voice from the communication system interrupted Fanur as he was considering the still undiscovered secrets of these humans and what strategies he'd need to employ to discover them,
'What is it, Lieutenant?' Fanur's impatient, gravelly voice grunted,
'Uh sir, the Seattle assessment facility has just informed me that your soulmate has been located?' Fanur's head jerked up,
'The fuck did you just say, Grivn?' He roared out in shock,
'Your soulmate, Commander. Do you want me to acknowledge so that they can send her to you?'
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So... contribution 1 is matched twice and to the massive Vartiin Brindle Clan Top.... I wonder how the brainiac and the beast will get along, lol! 🤣