Well, shit. This hadn’t turned out the way I was hoping at all. Neither Kelly nor the girl who had been creepily watching her was responsive while we waited for the response team to arrive. The latter was seemingly out cold after suddenly fainting on us, while my sister seemed to be in the midst of a PTSD flashback, something that those of us who had been through simulation training with her sadly recognized.

It was frustrating that we couldn’t do much of anything for Kelly while she was in that state. The best that we could do was to stick close to her, keep talking, and let her know that we were there for her. It didn’t feel like enough, and I didn’t like feeling like I was powerless to help my sister through this. We did our best, though, while Karen quickly looked the unfamiliar girl over to ensure she hadn’t hit her head or something when she fell.

Thankfully, the response team arrived fairly quickly (in the company of Vice-Commander Carpenter herself), and I found myself seriously glad that I had asked for a medic as well. Karen couldn’t find any obvious injuries on the staring girl, on her head or otherwise, and neither could the medics when they showed up, but when they did manage to wake her, there was a slight problem with trying to get any useful information out of her. She had a large gap in her memory, and she was kind of freaking out about it once it came to light.

Don’t get me wrong, I was somewhat sympathetic, but my main focus was my sister, and I might have still felt a little hostile about the whole creepily spying on my sister thing. I mean, I’d probably be freaking out too if I woke up in the middle of the quad on my first day of classes with no memory of getting there and being accused of stalking someone. The last thing that she remembered was leaving the cafeteria after spending a couple of hours there talking to some new friends she had made on her campus tour. Everything after that was completely blank; she didn’t even seem to recognize Kelly now, let alone remember stopping to watch us as intently as she did.

So, now, as far as finding out why she was stalking my sister with that creepy, empty-eyed look on her face, we had nothing to go on but a very disturbing suspicion. When we managed to finally ease Kelly out of her PTSD flashback, she was able to tell us what had caused it in the first place, though she was still shaking and not in a very good place mentally. So, even then, Ainslee and I had to gently coax the information out of her.

As I had feared, Kelly recognized the strange language that the girl had blurted out before passing out on us, and it wasn’t something that she had heard on Earth. It was the language she heard in her nightmares, the language that she had been made to speak while somebody else controlled her body. It was the language of those alien fucks who were behind the Titans, the Incursions, and all the suffering that my sister had been through on the other side of the Breach.

That would have been damning enough, but we also had another person with missing time and memories who had passed out at the meet and greet. The description matched that of the man on the catering staff who had been watching Kelly until we left the party. It was as we finished comparing notes that Vice-Commander Carpenter frowned grimly, her brow furrowed, and she muttered, “One of those invading alien fuckers is in our city, probably somewhere on this campus. Hell, there may even be more than one. It’s bad enough to have one on Earth, but having one here is a worst-case scenario.”

Yeah, she didn’t look or sound happy about this, not that I could blame her. Hearing my suspicions confirmed was not even remotely comforting. Hell, we probably would have thought it was some Altered with a mind control ability, like that asshole Alistair Davenport, if the girl hadn’t blurted out something in an alien language that my sister recognized. This was probably the worst place on Earth to have one of the aliens behind the Titans snooping around, especially since it seemed that they could just do a bit of body snatching and have our own people do the spying for them.

Why were they even here, anyway? Were they trying to probe for security weaknesses or get intel on our troops, equipment, and tactics? That would make the most sense, from the perspective of an enemy force, but if that was the case, why were they spying on my sister of all people?

Honestly, I couldn’t come up with any answers that made sense, so I turned to the angelic Vice-Commander to ask, “So, what do we do about this?”

She looked over me silently for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “We keep it quiet for now, apart from Commander-General Kline, the people here right now, and some people that we trust implicitly. If they’ve slipped under our radar like this, who knows how long they’ve been lurking about, and they probably have a means of blending in. My guess is that they have some sort of disguise ability or magitech that allows them to do it.”

“Could they be posing as some sort of Altered or something?” I asked thoughtfully. “I mean, he was watching through people right here on campus.”

The VC considered the possibility for a moment before shaking her head. “It’s unlikely. If they’ve been watching quietly from a distance, like they were with your sister, they’re probably trying to avoid any direct social contact. We also run genetic testing on all Altered who are tested. Altered may be genetic offshoots, but those who started as humans still have a genome that’s largely similar to that of humans. I like to think that if an alien tried to slip in as an Altered, we would have caught it when they were tested.”

She was probably right, and I did remember them taking some DNA samples for testing when Moonlight and I had our powers testing. “So, I guess we don’t know shit then,” I grumbled.

“Not exactly,” the Vice-Commander said thoughtfully. “We do have some places to start looking into things, at least. We can start by checking in with the campus clinic, have them check for anyone else who has fainted recently, or who is missing time or having memory issues. Perhaps we can find a pattern in that. I might have to have any receptive telepaths and mind readers start surreptitiously scanning surface thoughts within their range. These aliens may be able to blend in physically or hide themselves, but they can’t hide their thought patterns. If the language they speak is as alien as Kelly said, then their thoughts are likely the same and will give them away. Stealth teams containing those with heightened senses would be useful too; maybe they can pick out any unusual scents or sounds and observe the sources. We also know that at least one of these aliens is showing an interest in your sister.”

“You want to use Kelly as bait?” I asked. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone on my team played that role.

“It’s a possibility, if we can determine that their interest in Kelly is more than just in passing. For now, try to keep going about your routine normally, but have Moonlight move around the campus in stealth and keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t belong. Perhaps, if they’re using a similar means to hide themselves, she can spot it,” she leaned in to tell me in a near-whisper before asking just as quietly, “About Naia, what do you think?”

I glanced over at the Siren, who was currently singing a song to try to calm Kelly down, along with my teammates. Apparently, the myth about Sirens having magical singing voices wasn’t quite a myth, and she was experimenting with ways to use the ability to help people, rather than lure them to their doom. Honestly, I liked her, and I had to admit that she would probably be a good fit for my team once she had some time to settle in, and for us all to get to know one another.

I shrugged and had to admit, “I think you’re probably right, she would be useful for my team, especially if we’re going to be one of the first on site in an Incursion. She seems nice, too, and the others seem to be okay with her. So, I guess she can join us, if that’s what she wants. I’ll extend the offer, and I don’t see any reason why she wouldn’t take it.”

“Good. If you, or any of your other team members, notice anything else unusual on campus, or anyone spying on Kelly again, have Naia report it directly to me, and I’ll dispatch someone that I know we can trust. No comms on this matter, we can’t be certain if they’re already compromised,” Vice-Commander Carpenter instructed, both her tone and expression deadly serious.

It made sense, and it seemed that was to be the end of our conversation, but I needed to tell her one more thing, something that could be important, or maybe just a coincidence. I took a deep breath and said quietly, “Um… one more thing, Vice-Commander. You mentioned Moonlight possibly being able to sense something hidden from sight. Well, earlier today she did. There was this girl on my tour, Raina, who said that she’s a Wood Nymph, and she isn’t a Vanguard recruit. She seemed nice, but I got the feeling she was trying to hide something, and Moonlight sensed a hidden presence. She thinks it could be another Unicorn, pressuring her to keep its presence a secret, but given the current circumstances…”

“It could be something else entirely,” she finished for me, her frown deepening. “Try to find out for certain, Lily, but do not reveal any of this to Raina. If it’s another Unicorn, I’ll want to speak with both of them myself and get a read on her. Even if they’re not joining the Vanguard, perhaps we can get her companion to help patrol the campus with Moonlight and search for our hidden enemies.” She didn’t say what to do if it wasn’t a Unicorn, but I think by then, we were both thinking that might be a worst-case scenario, and I would have to call in for backup.

“I was planning on getting her alone somewhere for a talk after dinner, maybe the stables, to see if she might open up,” I replied.

“Be careful, Lily,” she cautioned. “Stay in contact with Naia the entire time, and if we’re dealing with a worst-case scenario, have her contact me immediately so I can send in support.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” I responded, snapping a quick salute and then heading back toward my teammates. I didn’t want to take up any more of the Vice-Commander’s time than absolutely necessary, now that it seemed she had far more important matters to look into. I did send my thoughts toward Moonlight, though, to ask, “What do you think, Moonlight? Was the presence you sensed another of your kind, or something alien?”

The answer I received wasn’t very reassuring. -I cannot be certain, my Maiden. I have never sensed another of my kind before, but the presence had a familiarity to it. Since I am inexperienced with such things, I would advise caution.-

Yeah, that wasn’t comforting at all. For all I knew, that familiarity she spoke of could be due to our experience on the night we were still normal and hiding from Titans in the stable on the ranch. That presence had just as much chance of being an alien as it did being another Unicorn. Fuck.

Okay, I guess that meant that I would have to be extra cautious when meeting with Raina. I also might have to be a little more direct than I would like to confirm things. I would rather not interrogate a potential friend, but if that wasn’t a Unicorn, then there was a good chance that she was in danger as well.

“Okay, Moonlight, could you do as the Vice-Commander asked and go for a run around the campus while ethereal until dinner? You know, keep your senses open for anything else weird or potentially dangerous?” I asked my Unicorn companion gently.

As I suspected, she didn’t sound enthused by the idea. -Lily, if there is anything dangerous on this campus, my place is at your side, where I can keep you safe.-

“Do you sense anything dangerous now?” I pressed.

-No,- she admitted, and she didn’t sound happy to have to do so.

“Then the best way to protect me right now is to search for any other possible dangers lurking around,” I told her. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be with the others, and as soon as we find out whether Naia wants to join our team, we’ll be heading straight to our dorm room. If I need you, you’re only a thought away, and I’m going to need you with me when I go to meet Raina later.”

-Very well, my Maiden, I shall go and scout, but only because you wish me to and have made valid points on the matter,- Moonlight reluctantly acquiesced.

“Thanks, Moonlight, I appreciate it,” I sent as I could feel her presence moving away. I did appreciate it, too. She had made it clear how much she equated protecting me with being by my side, and I knew that she wasn’t a fan of us being separated unless it was truly important. This was though, and I knew that she had sensed that in both my conversation with the Vice-Commander and my words to her.

With her on her way to look into things around the campus, I turned my attention back to the rest of my team as I rejoined them. I would have to update them on the situation and our role in it, but that could wait until I knew if Naia was going to join us and once we were safely ensconced within the privacy of our dorm room. “Okay, everyone, I think we need to have a little talk,” I told them in my most serious tone.