Free Join by Viola Grace

Chapter One
     
     
    Brigeet Alass rubbed her forehead as she read the reports that had come in from all over the imperium. She was looking for those who could qualify for the Guardian project.
    Becoming a recruiter for a team of superheroes was something that she had only fantasized about back on earth. When she had first been offered the position, she had thought it was a joke.
    Brigs had made it through the Alliance by selecting candidates for the Sector Guard program and now that the program was self-sustaining and the Citadel was on board, she had been loaned out to the Nyal Imperium.
    She looked through the mound of reports of unusual physical behaviour from every news source in the imperium and got to work. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but now that she had managed to learn all the printed languages in the imperium, it made it easier.
    She scanned image after image of super beings and ignored most of them. After six years of combing through reports, she could tell which exposures were a one-off and which were permanent. A one-off wanted everyone to notice them because it would never happen again. A permanent super power was one who was confident enough to shun the media and shy enough to avoid the camera. They might reap rewards among their people but that was not going to be in the report.
    Brigs had found sixteen candidates this year alone. Ten had agreed to join the Guardian project, and for each one that agreed, she got a finder’s fee.
    “Aha. Got one.” She isolated the news reports and saw the image of the man in question. Yes, he was born to be a hero. She opened all her screens and focussed on the stories of this man repelling a Raider incursion by himself.
    He was being heralded as the new defender of his people and their sole defense.
    Brigs got a list of items she thought he would need before he would agree. Two other Guardians were necessary, as well as a base for a modicum of privacy.
    They would need to create a base on Jaluum if they were to bring this warrior into the fold. She broke down the social details of who should be going. They would need a female to do the negotiations. The social structure was all about males pleasing women. It was an interesting phenomenon and something Brigs wouldn’t mind experiencing, but for now, she had a job to do.
    She spent the day working on the proposal to bring the warrior to the project and sent it off to project control.
    With Jaluum taken care of, she continued her search for the next Guardian candidate.
    Bots brought meals to her and no one bothered her. She was working to figure out defenders of defenseless planets. There was no time for chitchat.
     
    At the end of the day, she groaned and looked up from the multiple screens she was looking at. Time for bed.
    She cleaned up the reports and stacked the newsagent data packs. There was a com light flashing, but she would get it in her room. Work was done for the day.
    The door opened and she exited her office. Her bedroom was right there, and she stretched extensively before turning to her private com unit.
    The screen went blank while the live call was reconnected.
    “Recruiter Alass, we require your services.”
    “General Firengar, I thought I was already providing my services.”
    “We have looked over the Jaluum proposal, but we have no recruiters with those qualifications available.”
    “Can’t you just delay the recruitment until you do have one available?”
    “No. Jaluum is strategic and will be under attack again if they don’t get help. The government has already agreed to provide us with a location for our base, but we need a local on the base for the agreement to be ratified. Deliver this to us and you may have six months off.”
    Brigs nearly fell off her chair. “Seriously?”
    “Indeed. I will put it in writing. If you can convince the talent of Jaluum to join the Guardians, we will give you the time off.”
    Brigs didn’t need to be asked twice. “When do I