Leiva's reply came loud and clear through the holo. "I'll check with my sources and figure this out as soon as I can. I love you, mom."
As the two desperately tried to confirm Luke's whereabouts, he found himself alone. Upon the old man's teleportation he and Anis had been separated.
He found himself sitting at a table in a small holding cell. The walls were white. Assuming he was on a ship, the only way in or out was via the ship's teleportation array.
The emblem of the Galactic Federation's military, a green star with a crimson 'X' across it, shining brightly against a golden nebula.
After waiting a couple moments, he heard a noise. "Ooooowoooooiahooo!"
'Whale buddy?'
Sure enough, the little whale had appeared beside him. It nudged his elbow.
He gripped it in a fierce headlock as he vigorously rubbed its back. The whale turned over as he began to rub its belly.
Just then a man teleported into the chair across from him. He had short, curly, unkempt black hair. He wore a loose green combat jacket, a black t-shirt and cut-up jeans.
A small emblem was attached to his jacket. 'Lieutenant Commander.'
Luke looked at him strangely. The man laughed.
"I'm part of a… special branch. I'm also a friend of your father's. My name is Turik Davis." He gestured his hands forward with goodwill.
Luke was yet unimpressed. "Why am I here?"
The man tried another tact. "How much do you know about the military branches?"
"The Galactic Federation Military is split into the five factions of soil, sky, sea, space, and subterfuge."
"Yes, and what are the primary means of warfare?"
"Mech, gene, base, ship, and arrays."
"That is correct. What do you know about the mechs?"
"Mechs are split into aerial, land, aquatic, and space combat models. Additionally, mechs can be split into mechanical and biological."
"They are used alongside ships as inter-base modes of warfare. They are also used inside the galaxy as the primary policing means outside the Shadow Envoys."
"That is again correct, young Jaywalker."
The man smiled briefly before continuing. "When we collided with the Insectoid Galaxy, the mechs of the Galactic Federation were pushed further as the primary research goal."
"Many designs were created to fight against the insects. The most prominent of these were the EX-Class, and were designed to fight against the Queen Mothers themselves."
"The scientists quickly learned that when it came to a fighting a queen mother on the frontlines, insects the size of a capitol ship, the mechs they were creating would need to be of a similar size."
"Unfortunately, when they raised the size of the mech, and increased the cyber and bio- warfare measures, the neurolinks on the mechs quickly began to outpace what a human was capable of."
"Eventually, the increased research outpaced what the mechs were capable of. To run a single mech exactly, 152,451 minds needed to be linked together."
"At this point, one might as well build two more battle ships. The scientists had nearly given up when they discovered an oddity."
"The 'Innate' series of talents. Unknown to most, they are among the few talents that can upgrade over time. One man, Amari Javost, had a talent in this series called, 'Innate Spirit.' He originally applied to join the Mech Division of the aquatic branch."
"Once the scientists found him, they fed him spirit supplements like none other. After consuming them, he was able to control over half of an EX-Class Mech."
"By continuing each day, he was eventually able to control it. This led to those with the A-Rank 'Innate Spirit' talent being forcibly conscripted by the military and added to the EX Mech Division."
"Congratulations, you're one of us."
"And my mother? I have a military exemption."
"Your conscription is an order from the Galactic Supreme. You'll have to deal with it, same as us."
"On the bright side, it's pretty lavish. There are virtually no restrictions as for side activities, garments, or whatever else, you name it. The only condition is that you spend six hours a day strengthening your spirit and learning to control the EX-Class Mechs."
"And my mother?"
"It's a top-secret facility. You can bring her in if you want, but she can never leave."