When Naoe Nagi entered Altair Station that morning, its personnel were quite oblivious. He walked through the ground floor of the station silently, footfalls lost in the deep blue carpet, impenetrable shields locked in place.

It was Emeralda, the yellow-eyed, green-haired Capellan, who noticed the slender young man's presence. "Good morning, Nagi," she smiled softly. The audible and mental chatter in the room quickly ceased, as every face turned towards Altair's Prime.

Nagi paused with his foot on the first step of the stairs, offering a polite nod to the room as a whole. "Good morning." Then he dropped his gaze again and padded listlessly up to the Tower.

The door slid closed behind him with a soft rush of sound. For a moment he stood as if dazed, simply staring at the control room, empty save for the single console and couch. Then with a barely-heard sigh, he settled into the couch, his small frame dwarfed by the high, well-stuffed back and arms.

The now-familiar pain surged, Nagi unable to suppress it. It shouldn't be his chair. It was too big for him, physically and metaphorically. He could never live up to the memory of the man who should have been sitting there, square and confident, rather than the shivering boy who had taken his place.

With one slender arm outstretched along the arm of the couch, he let his head fall onto the crook of his elbow, drawing his knees up to his chest. He wished he could cry. Maybe it would hurt less if he could cry. But his eyes, bluer than Altair's sky on a clear day, remained dry, and staring, and depthless.

In the wake of Nagi's passage, Cid, the Stationmaster, felt his mind brushed by the wisps of sadness that seemed to trail the boy like loyal hounds. Though he was only a T-7 with the most basic levels of empathy, his weathered old eyes spoke his sympathy for the young Prime as they lingered on the closed door to his control room.

A hand on his shoulder broke his reverie, and he turned to see Emeralda peering up at him with concern. He gave a gruff smile and waved her back to her console, and then turned to his own, ready to go over the day's schedule.

"Back to work, boys and girls. Let's make sure it all runs smoothly today."

Though the noise level on the ground floor slowly resumed as they ran through the preparation necessary for a day's hauling, the station crew were more subdued than they had been before Nagi passed through.

Every one of the station's twenty-three employees had been affected by McDohl's death; he had been a popular man, impossible to dislike, and revered by his staff. At first the absence of his warm, mint-tinged presence had felt like a gaping wound. Emotions were raw and unshielded; grief was palpable in every mind, dark and sickly like molasses. Tears spilt down Cid's cheeks in unchecked streams, the old man unabashed in his mourning.

Over the following months, however, the Altair crew had slowly come to terms with their loss. The station had resumed operations again, the familiar motions of the work reassuring. With tacit and vocal support for one another, they had begun to heal. The only one who hadn't improved was Nagi.

Nagi was only an echo of what he had been, and seemed to fade further ever day that passed. Though he was unfailingly polite, considerate, kind; his work efficient and without fault, his heart obviously wasn't in any of it.

"He's getting worse, not better," Cid muttered mostly to himself, but Emeralda heard him, and nodded agreement.

"I think we should contact Reidinger." Her voice, always soft, held a note of defiance. She had resisted the instatement of Nagi as Prime so quickly after McDohl's death, but Nagi had insisted that he was willing, and FT&T simply didn't have anyone else that had the range and degree of ability necessary to run the Altair Station.

Still a minor at barely 16, he only worked half the hours of the other Primes, but he was both brilliant and extraordinarily Talented. With the guidance of Cid, and four generators at peak effectiveness for Nagi to draw power from, Altair Station ran as efficiently as it had under McDohl, much to FT&T's satisfaction.

"Reidinger already knows," Cid said heavily. As Stationmaster it was his job to take care of all of his people, and although Nagi technically outranked him, he had always kept a watchful eye on the boy, at first out of wariness, and then, out of genuine affection. As such, he was one of the people that Reidinger sought out to keep him informed of the young Talent's progress. Cid was privately pleased that Reidinger seemed to value his opinions, and always gave them honestly and without reserve.

He had explained to Earth's Prime that Nagi had dealt with the death badly, and though Reidinger never said as much, he sensed that Reidinger was more concerned about the boy than he would let on to a mere T-7 Stationmaster.

"Well, why doesn't he give him a break, then?" Emeralda asked, yellow eyes flashing. She had become increasingly solicitous since the funeral, focussing her motherly attentions on McDohl's former charge. Cid knew that her efforts at getting close had been politely rebuffed by Nagi every time, but that hadn't prevented her from trying.

"What would he do, even if he had a break? If he wasn't here working, he'd be sitting in his room, alone, refusing to see anybody at all."

Emeralda pouted, but despite her frustration, she knew the statement was accurate. She'd felt rejected when Nagi hadn't turned to her for support. She wanted to be needed, and was hurt by the fact that she had lost not only McDohl, but the relationship that she and Nagi had once shared, as confidantes. But Nagi now held everybody at a distance, even those with whom he had once been close.

Cid rubbed at his jawline, and then continued. "Though Reidinger has given him some time off to attend the Tower Basics training course that will be starting here next week."

"But..." Emeralda faltered. "Without McDohl here... Nagi is the only T-1 to supervise..."

"He won't be running the thing, he'll just be sitting in on the classes with the rest of the kids, and maybe lending a hand, if he feels up to it. With McDohl gone, it's even more important that he finds people he feels comfortable working with. He needs to make this Tower his own."

But privately, in the most shielded part of his mind, Cid thought that if something didn't happen soon to break Nagi out of his depression, he might not last long enough to even assemble a team. The Prime was fading away, and none of them knew how to call him back.

Nagi Naoe had been 'discovered' on the streets by a terrorist named Brad Crawford. At the time, he had been nine years old, and fending off a pack of rapists with raw, terrified telekinesis alone. Crawford immediately recognised his potential, cleaned him up, and fostered the bitterness within him until he was a seething mass of hatred towards humanity. And then he used him as the perfect weapon. Together with two other Talents Crawford recruited, the four became the ultimate assassin group, Schwartz.

Nagi was fourteen by the time Schwartz was captured by the crack division of LEO known as Weiss, a counter-assassin team. All four were kept heavily sedated to suppress their individual Talents. The elder three members were incarcerated with intent to rehabilitate, though one of them, Farfello, was pretty much beyond hope, or 'crazy as a loon' as the T-4 psych evaluator had put it.

As a minor with no legal guardian, Nagi was scheduled to be sent to a juvenile correctional facility, especially designed to keep dangerous Talents neutralised. But FT&T picked up on the rumours of the sheer degree of Talent the boy possessed, and insisted that he be tested before he was locked away. The technicians spent the rest of the day trying to rebuild the machine.

Talent. Nagi Naoe had it, in abundance. He was so far off the telekinetic scale that he shorted the entire array of sensors, dismaying the T-10 evaluator supervising. In addition, he was capable of utilising gestalt to enable him to teleport long distance, and he had strong secondary abilities in telepathy and tele-electronics. Perfect Prime potential for FT&T, if only it could be harnessed.

FT&T, or Federal Telepaths and Teleporters, Inc., were the 'mailmen' of the galaxy, responsible for near-instantaneous communications and transportation throughout the sprawling Nine-Star League. FT&T had only five active Primes - T-1's, the pinnacle of Talent - and strategically placed each to effect the best possible transmission of resources; on Earth, Capella, Betelguese, Altair, and Callisto.

Lesser Talents, from T-12s through T-5s, were common enough these days, but the more powerful Talents were born rarely enough to be treasured and pampered using all of FT&T's formidable resources. For only the more powerful Talents were able to use gestalt: the ability to utilise electric generators to 'boost' the range and capacity of their telekinesis and teleportation. It was this gestalt ability that had enabled humans to spread from the overcrowded and resource-stripped Earth out into the solar system, to explore, and finally colonise.

And it was only Primes themselves that could throw and catch freighters and passenger liners from planet to planet, as easily as children threw snowballs. A potential Prime like Nagi Naoe was simply too valuable a resource to simply be allowed to languish in imprisonment.

Though the authorities resisted, FT&T brought the full weight of their influence to bear, reminding the Government that the only people capable of training a T-1 to safely use their powers were other T-1s. So, after a long series of heated bureaucratic discussions, the cynical orphan was given into the care of Altair's Prime, McDohl, under 24-hour Talented guard.

McDohl himself volunteered for the job after hearing about the unfortunate boy's tale, and Earth's Prime, Reidinger, seconded the idea. Aside from muttered reservations, nobody was willing to argue openly against the most powerful and bullheaded Prime in the Nine Star League.

And so, Nagi was shipped off to Altair. At first confused and resentful, hardened by life on the streets and wary of being used yet again, Nagi resisted integration into the ways of the Tower, and held himself at a distance from his new guardian.

But gradually, McDohl's incessant kindness began to wear him down. Young, vivacious, and most importantly, sympathetic, McDohl eventually brought Nagi out of his shell. After Reidinger, McDohl was FT&T's most valuable T1, and for many more reasons than just his degree of Talent.

Within weeks, Nagi began to smile. Within months, he had made friends of everybody in the Tower. Even those who had initially viewed him with suspicion and distrust eventually warmed to him. With wide blue eyes, chocolate brown hair, and delicate, pixie-like features, Nagi appeared younger than his fourteen years, and evoked a 'little-brother' response in even the most cynical of the Tower staff.

More than one found themselves doubting the rumours of Nagi's past that had circulated ever since his arrival. This sweet, innocent boy a cold-blooded killer? If it wasn't for the security officers that shadowed him wherever he went, few would ever have credited them at all.

But over time, the security ebbed, and eventually disappeared altogether. Reidinger was unthrilled with the idea of leaving his best Prime unaccompanied in the presence of a known assassin, but McDohl vouched for his integrity, and assured the old Prime that he could deal with anything an untrained fourteen-year-old could throw at him. Ungraciously, Reidinger agreed, and Nagi was allowed free run of the Station.

The boundaries of his world became the boundaries of the Station, and then broadened, to include Altair City. Curiosity bloomed anew in the boy, jaded by too much death. Nagi tentatively sampled many of the joys that Altair had to offer, finding some strange, some pleasant, and some oddly familiar. He redecorated his bedroom with furnishings and nick-nacks he picked up in the markets. A new wardrobe followed, conservative, but tasteful. McDohl approved.

And then it was time for him to begin learning in earnest. McDohl set him endless exercises to stretch, hone and perfect his talent. After only a few months of guidance, Nagi was measured as a full T1 in telekinesis, teleportation and telepathy, and it became common knowledge that he was FT&T's next potential Prime. In fact, Nagi was more than a match for McDohl in raw telekinetic ability, and McDohl only managed to win some of his cheeky challenges using his greater experience and patience.

Meanwhile, Stationmaster Cid grilled him in Tower procedure and maintenance. Nagi was fascinated by the electronics of the generators and the Station supercomputers, and spend endless hours at a terminal, investigating the cyber highways and byways. After becoming intimately familiar with the Station's system, he began to suggest possible improvements, many of which the resident techs approved and implemented.

A year passed, and anybody who had known Nagi in his previous life would barely have recognised him. Initially a withdrawn, sarcastic child, Nagi had grown into a confident, outgoing young man. He was friendly and capable; he spoke thoughtfully, and occasionally teasingly, if the occasion was appropriate.

It was at this point that McDohl petitioned Reidinger to begin Tower Basics classes on Altair. Though Nagi was still getting all the specialised training that his sponge of a brain could cope with, there wasn't much more for him to learn, with respect to the technical aspects of running a Tower.

However, as McDohl kept reminding him, ruffling chocolate locks affectionately, there was much more to being a Prime than just throwing and catching freight. He needed to learn how to work with other Talents, especially those of his own age. McDohl often teased him about the fact that he preferred adult company to that of other teenagers.

It wasn't that Nagi didn't like them. Nagi got on with practically everybody he met. But he never managed to form a particular rapport with any of the local kids, so while he had many casual acquaintances, he didn't really have any friends. But it didn't occur to him to be lonely.

The first Basics course broadened his perceptions immeasurably. Eight other teenagers, ranging in age from twelve to eighteen, came with their mixed bag of Talents; telepathy, telekinesis, mechanical affinity, and a range of other tricks which seemed to be used more for showing off and impressing each other than actual work.

It was here that Nagi came into his own. Nagi had a gift and passion for teaching. Although he was supposed to be sitting in on the classes and learning with the rest of the students, he found that he was already more advanced than any of the others. He never let it show, of course, but he began to become bored, and found himself disinterested in attending. Until one day, when the youngest of the telekinetics came to him in tears, begging for his help.

That was when he realised that he enjoyed helping a lot more than just watching. With infinite patience and uncommon clarity, he explained the way through the tangles and snarls of confusion, until the little T-4 was beaming.

In the beginning, some of the other students, especially those older than Nagi, were reluctant to accept his assistance. But over time he proved that he never considered any question too basic, or got tired of explaining things in new and different ways, as Cid often did. His sense of humour charmed those that his logic couldn't reach, and by the end of the first course, every student graduated with flying colours.

As Cid remarked to McDohl after a long day of classes, if Nagi wasn't so god-damned Talented, he'd make the best sort of teacher there was. But as the strongest telekinetic to emerge since Reidinger, there was no way that he could escape FT&T's clutches.

McDohl had agreed, somewhat sadly, and commented that it was a shame. Though Prime was a career that brought with it galaxy-wide fame and immeasurable wealth, it was a lonely existence, and all things considered, being a simple teacher may have been a better life for the poor kid.

The words stuck in Cid's head for a long time, afterwards.

Nagi Naoe sat in the shuttle bay, perched on the edge of a pile of crates. He was a familiar presence in all areas of the Station, and so didn't attract more than an occasional nod or called greeting from the techs and mechanics that wandered in and out. Five minutes before the shuttle was due, Cid came into the bay, spotting him and heading over. Nagi didn't stir.

"Ready to meet and greet then, kiddo?"

Nagi recognised the endearment with a flash of pain, it was one that McDohl had often used for him. He knew Cid was only trying to be kind, but he wished he wouldn't. He didn't want to think about McDohl, or think about anything at all, for that matter. He was happier drifting, unfocussed.

"Of course," he responded unenthusiastically. In the past he had loved helping out with the Tower Basics course, but that was the past. Right now, he didn't feel like pasting on a smile and dealing with a group of exuberant teenagers, when all he wanted to do was hide somewhere, with his eyes tightly closed.

"Good boy." Cid gave his thin shoulder a squeeze. While many Talents disliked physical contact, McDohl had always been more than comfortable with it; hugging, patting and touching all of his staff, to foster the bond between them. Nagi, having been shunned for most of his life, craved affection, and McDohl was more than happy to provide it. In response, Nagi had become much more 'hands on' than many other Talents.

Nagi touched his fingers to Cid's in unspoken gratitude, and then let them fall back into his lap. He didn't feel like this today, but he would do his best, as always. Cid gave him a craggy smile, as if he heard the unspoken thought, which perhaps he had. Nagi had been absentminded with his shielding, lately. By the time he'd wondered what else Cid might have picked up from him recently, the Stationmaster had left him to take up his position at the door of the departure bay.

The passenger shuttle arrived precisely on time, the doors swinging open and the students spilling out into the bay, chattering and laughing. The sound grated on Nagi's ears, and he was sorely tempted to simply teleport himself back up to the quiet solitude of his room. But to do so would be terribly bad manners, and the last thing he wanted to do was have anyone think that McDohl hadn't taught him better.

Instead, he socked up his shields, jumped down of the crate, and strolled over to stand at Cid's side.

The arriving teenagers formed themselves into the semblance of an orderly line, the verbal and mental chatter dropping, though not abating completely. As Cid introduced each, Nagi gave a polite bow. He could feel the ripples of astonishment and amusement that this gesture provoked, a Prime bowing to mere T5 and T4 students. But it was his way, and he wasn't about to change it.

One of them, a petite girl with a pale pink ponytail but a strong and resonant mental touch, laughed in a forthright manner and held out her hand to shake, introducing herself as Genkai. He shook it, pleased. The girl who stood beside her dropped a shy curtsy instead, which produced more amusement from those still waiting in line, and caused her to blush and drop her gaze in embaressment. Nagi offered her an encouraging smile as she peeked back up, and she told him her name was Hitomi.

"Pleased to meet you, Hitomi."

"Pleased to meet you, Prime Naoe."

"Oh, no, please call me Nagi," Nagi chuckled. The girl smiled shyly, and Nagi felt a little better, knowing that there was someone else who felt as awkward as he did, even if he covered it better.

Nagi brushed the minds of each as he greeted them out loud; those who could returned his mental 'handshake', politely letting him see their surface details. None bothered trying to read him too deeply, his identity and his abilities were well-known to any Talent.

The students continued to pass by in a blur, he filed the details of each away in his eidetic memory, for processing later.

The twins needed no such fixing of his efforts, they were stunning, and all the males present kept sneaking glances in their directions. Both tall, svelte, and identical, save for the hair - one had ripples of gold, the other streaks of silver-blue. The effect was startling. They introduced themselves as Nariya and Eriya, though Nagi was momentarily too stunned to register which was which.

By the time they came to the last student, Nagi was already feeling exhausted.

"And this is..." Cid paused. The silence caught Nagi's attention, and he peered up at Cid with concern. But there was nothing wrong with the man, save for a confused furrow to his forehead.

"I've only got eight on my list. Who are you?"

Nagi turned to examine the unexpected arrival. It was a boy of about his own age, dressed in scruffy Port gear. The first thing Nagi noticed was the impressive scowl upon his face. Then the details began to fill in around it - sandy hair that hung just long enough to brush the drawn-down brows, high cheekbones, small frowning mouth, pointed chin. But the most startling of his features was his eyes - a bright, clear green, that made him think of stained glass that he'd once seen in an old Church window.

"Hisoka Kurosaki," the green-eyed boy replied sullenly.

"Pleased to meet you." Nagi ducked a short bow. The boy just rolled his eyes, and looked away, as though disinterested.

Hisoka? Uncertainly, Nagi reached out a tendril of thought to brush the boy's mind. Almost violently, he was thrown out again.

Stay OUT of my HEAD! The emerald gaze was now fixed on him, the glare even more fierce than it had been.

Nagi took a step backwards, dismayed at the vehement rebuke. He hadn't meant to intrude, just introduce himself. He would never pry into anyone's mind uninvited.

"I'm sorry," he apologised softly. This drew the attention of several of the students, who peered at him curiously, not having caught the mental exchange.

Hisoka just shoved his hands into his pockets and walked past Nagi without replying, giving him a deliberately wide berth. He stood near enough to the other students to be considered one of them, but there was an obvious separation between himself and the group. The other students were watching him uncertainly, some suspiciously, unsure of what had just passed between him and the Prime.

Nagi glanced up at Cid in confusion, but the stationmaster was at as much of a loss as the young Prime was to explain the boy, or his behaviour. He shrugged, and gave Nagi a reassuring wink to let him know that he'd figure it out later. Then he turned to the assembled group.

"Right. Whoever's kinetic, grab the bags; everyone follow me, and we'll get you settled in your quarters!" Cid called out cheerfully, leading them towards the land passenger vehicle.

Nagi got on board first and sat near the front. One of the other boys sat next to him; Kuwabara, Nagi dredged up the name from the depths of his mind. Hisoka of the flashing green eyes stalked past him without a word and sequestered himself somewhere near the back.

He was vaguely relieved that Kuwabara was content to chatter on to himself for the remainder of the trip, only requiring a polite response every so often. The trip was short, since they were being hosted only just outside the Station boundaries.

The students' eyes widened when they saw the accommodations that had been prepared for them. Cid's wife, Edea, was waiting to greet them, with a kindly expression but an obvious air of supervision, and ruefully the students settled down a little. Cid gave a lecture on privilege, Edea followed up with one on responsibility, then, to the students' relief, they announced that everybody had free time for the rest of the day.

"Hey, Nagi, aren't you going to hang around with us until dinner time?" The pink-haired girl, Genkai, called out cheerfully as he turned to leave.

Nagi shook his head. "I have to get back to the Tower. I'll rejoin you in the morning, for classes."

"Fair enough. We'll catch you then, then!" Genkai leant to whisper into her companion's ear, Hitomi blushed, and then the two of them burst into giggles.

His curiosity was briefly sparked, but he resisted the temptation to 'lift' the joke from their minds, and simply followed Cid back to the transport.