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he was working his way up the ranks, and those duties were no longer his responsibility. The tasks he was given for the ship were incognito from most of the crew, and while he enjoyed having the privacy and freedom to come and go as he saw fit for those jobs, he also did not like the lack of direction. That was the price he paid for taking on the role he’d been given by his superior officer, Sir Orioltogorthan.
    After all, his supervising officer hated his guts. Everyone knew as much, so if Sir Oriol acted as though Alan were important to the operation, the man’s image would be tarnished. And yet, Alan was being used for special work, heading personal projects, and essentially spying on Earth for the man. His ability to teleport at will helped the cause greatly. The more things he could do on the side, the more credibility he could gain with Sir Oriol. With his superior’s trust, he might be able to climb the ranks on the ship for all to see instead of just in private. Glory didn’t matter much to Alan, but having some more respect would be nice. In the end, he just wanted to be useful above all else. The downside to not being given tasks and orders was that he had to find ways to pass the time while he had to wait to get back to his work.
    Some days, he spent his free time searching his ship for information, leads, and anything to occupy himself with. Most of his shipmates liked to pretend he was invisible, however, and they definitely did not want his help with their jobs in case he somehow managed to botch it and stain their reputation. Alan was not clumsy, by any means, so the assumption was more than a little insulting. He did his chores diligently and effectively when he had them. In the past, he complained about having to do such menial tasks. Now, he missed being able to fill up his time with them. Given the nature of his assignment, he just couldn’t commit to doing everyday chores of that nature. When he didn’t have to wait for his charges or data to come in, he was busy.
    There was plenty for him to check up on, down on Earth, but he had a long waiting game as the specialists on his ship sorted through the memories that had been taken from the girl, Sprout, otherwise known as Tait. Sir Oriol had holed himself up in his office for a number of days, which was not like him at all. Despite his lack of fondness for Alan, he still liked to check in with his “secret weapon” fairly often. Usually, to chide and press every single one of Alan’s buttons and test his patience. Alan suffered through it not just because the man was his boss, but also because Alan gained information and other opportunities to be of more use.
    With Sir Oriol essentially hiding from the rest of the ship, Alan felt lost. Perhaps it was another test for Alan, to see how well he could manage without guidance. But something else was troubling Alan. Not even his roommate Sir Tuliyogljaes, otherwise known as Jaes, knew what was going on. Jaes was a prodigy, and practically worshiped by everyone on the ship, Sir Oriol especially. If something big was going to happen, he was always the first to know. The silence bothered Alan a lot.
    He made his way through the halls of his ship. The vessel was constantly locked in Earth’s orbit over the same position of where his charges lived. He preferred walking around on Earth more than the ship, but his comrades working in the lab had assured him there would be a report before he met with Orlando, JD, Cadence, and Angela. The information they would be giving him would be important for him to read through. Given the personal connections his charges had to Bean and Sprout, they could also provide a lot of useful insight on the next best course of action to take.
    Jaes liked to comment on Alan’s lack of leadership with his charges, often, but treating the teenagers as his mindless soldiers bothered him. They were the most familiar with the culture of Earth. It made