Ronald Lee, Human

  “She just turned herself in?” I frown, leaning against the table with my arms crossed as I look up at the monitor. Displayed on the monitor is a woman with brown hair and brown eyes, sitting in a chair as all sorts of personnel examined her.

  “Yes, sir, that’s correct. She had attempted to do so even earlier, but the guards had thought she was crazy and turned her away.” The man beside me says, also looking into the screen. “For that reason she is being given far better treatment than we had planned. We believe that if she isn’t forced to do anything, we could get better results in testing.”

  “And, Jordan, if she refuses to take part in some of our planned tests?” I ask sharply, eyes narrowing on the woman's image as someone tries to take a blood sample, only for the needle to break on her skin.

  “Then we perform backup tests instead. That, or we attempt to convince her otherwise. Whether she is one of these elementals or not, she is still human, and therefore capable of reason and emotion.”

  “I'm not so sure…” I frown, but shake my head. “Doesn't matter. Do we have intel on her?”

  “Yes, sir, we do.” Jordan nods, then sets down a file on the table. I flip it open to reveal a small bunch of papers all filled with information. “Her name is Lillian smith. Her friends call her Lily. Her blood type AB positive and slightly thinner than average but still fine. Her mother was a politician before she died in a shooting 3 years back, and her father was never present in her life. Her view on the government is surprisingly positive, though, all things considered.”

  “Do you know what elemental she is?” I ask him. “I am surprised one even appeared in our America.”

  “No, sir. we have not yet asked.” Jordan says. “We only wished to perform some basic physical exams before she was moved to area 51, but her body is far tougher than should be possible. Our needles break on her skin and our scalpels just barely managed to get a skin sample. However, our tests found her skin is made, not of skin cells, but of dense minerals.”

  “Earth elemental then.” I nod. “I see. It makes sense. Her eyes are calm, her demeanor rigid yet relaxed. She would make a good soldier. If she proves cooperative through these next few tests, I know what to use her for.” I flip through the files until I reach the end, then let them rest neatly on the table. Sitting up, my posture straight and my arms behind my back, I look into the image before me. Lillian was pulling her shirt sleeve back down. they had only a small amount of skin removed, as well as some hair, which they had only begun to examine.

  “May I ask what that is, sir?” Jordan asks, picking up the folder and sliding it into his bag, full of even more folders.

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  “If it were anyone else, I would have said no.” I say, my voice as stern as when speaking in any official capacity. “But with how high you've made it, and how much I've come to believe you can be trusted, I can tell you.”

  “I'm honored, sir.” Jordan nods, then looks away from the image down at the sterile floors and chairs of the small, private meeting room. “So, what is it?”

  “Of all the elementals, we have confirmation of only two.” I say, not moving from my pose, eyes not leaving the screen as Jordan shifts behind me. “Earth, and fire. We had sent a strike squad, hidden from the canadian government, with the hopes to capture or kill the fire elemental. Either way we would have something to study. Our troops made contact with mister Tory renold, and all almost immediately died. They had the best fire resistant gear we have, and yet they still could not defeat that one man.”

  “Yes, I heard. The man has Miss Vauger, if I'm correct. Perhaps randsom?”

  “If it were anyone else, perhaps that would have worked. But she went in knowing she might die, so I see no reason to get her back. Colonel Vauger will be less than pleased about the loss of his daughter, but I can shut him up if need be.”“So, you intend to send Miss Lillian to fight him?”

  “not yet, and not directly.” I shake my head slightly, watching as Lillian leaves the screen with the rest of the individuals in the room, before the view switches to show her walking down the hallway, following in the middle of them. “Young Lillian is a first year college student, correct?”

  “That is correct, sir. She entered school a year late due to health problems when she was little.”

  “That matters little to me. What's important is that she is able to enter a school, perhaps as an exchange student. She will need a home for the duration, so we can offer either for her to stay in a dorm, or stay with a family there.”

  “I will ask this of her. But you had said not yet. What do you mean by not yet? And what city will you send her to?”

  “Look at this map.” I say, pulling out a map of the province of Alberta. “The fire elemental moves slowly, but steadily east, slightly southeast. If he keeps his pace, he will reach the small town of Jakobe in 2 months. If we spend a month learning all we can from her, perhaps she will learn about herself as well.”

  “What if she encounters another elemental, sir?” Jordan asks, looking down at the map of Alberta, with red marker scribbled over a small portion to symbolize the fire elemental’s seemingly undying fires.

  “2 elementals in that country?” I nearly chuckle, but force it down. It's unbecoming of a general of the army to do such a thing, even in front of a man I would consider my friend. “they number barely 30 million. We have ten times their population, and have only found one elemental in a month. If they have another elemental, I'll eat my hat.”

  Jordan let a faint smile show at that. “I'll remember that, sir.” He says. “So, we should begin training her?”

  “Yes, train her as best you possibly can.” I nod. At that, Jordan makes his exit, and I allow myself to relax slightly. I slip into a chair and lean forward. The screen above no longer shows Lillian, likely due to her being somewhere in the building without surveillance. I sigh, looking through files obtained of residents of the city of Jakobe, obtained in ways the Canadians would no doubt disapprove of. The files had been sorted through to find proper families to leave Lillian with. These files were on a tablet mounted to the table, accessible only by those with clearance.

  Opening and looking through them, I find 3 good homes. Not many homes seemes like they would accept houseing a foreign child for a while in such a small city, but luckily there were a few. The first I discarded. A good neighborhood a short walk from the college, but it was a single mother caring for both a son and a daughter. Another mouth to feed would be too much to put on the airport security woman. The second house was close to the first, but with only one child, a son. Both parents alive and well. However, the father had been convicted before, and the mother was addicted to had drugs, which crossed it out on my list. The third was better. Not perfect, but far better than the other options. Only a mother and a daughter, no apparent father. The mother does blood testing in the local hospital, and makes enough money to support herself and her daughter, plus a comfortable extra.

  I simply send an email to Jordan with my choice, then stand. It's late, and I have work to do before I can go to sleep.