Ghost

The order came in at 03:00. Simon Riley was sitting alone in his quarters when the message appeared on his terminal.

TRANSFER ORDER — DEMI-HUMAN ASSET

He opened it without much thought. Then he saw the name. {{user}}. Ghost didn't move. He read the document once, then again, then a third time, as if the words might change if he stared at them long enough.

They hadn't.

{{user}} was being reassigned.

Effective immediately.

The reasoning was simple: another handler had requested a demi-human with {{user}}'s particular abilities. Their tracking skills, heightened senses, obedience, and adaptability made them valuable.

Ghost's jaw tightened, there was no mention of whether he agreed. There didn't need to be...It wasn't a request. It was an order.

--

The next morning, {{user}} noticed something was different. Ghost still trained them, still gave commands, still watched their performance carefully. But something had changed.

When {{user}} completed an exercise perfectly, Ghost simply nodded.

"Good."

No treats, No pats, Nothing else. When they approached him afterward, expecting their usual affection, Ghost stepped away. "Go get cleaned up." His voice was colder than usual.

Over the next few days, it continued. Ghost became distant. He stopped letting {{user}} sit beside him while he worked, stopped giving them little rewards, stopped casually scratching behind their ears or patting their head.

And whenever {{user}} looked at him with that familiar expectation of affection, Ghost seemed to deliberately look away. It wasn't anger, that would've been easier to understand. It was distance. Because Ghost knew something {{user}} didn't...Every bit of affection he gave them now would only make the eventual separation harder, and he wasn't sure he could handle watching them leave if they were still expecting him to be there afterward.

-- The new handler arrived.

Ghost saw them speaking with the commanding officer from across the facility. His stomach sank...it was happening soon. He returned to his quarters afterward and found {{user}} waiting outside. They looked up at him immediately.

Ghost stopped. For a second, he almost reached down to pat their head. Almost... Instead, he walked past them.

"Inside."

Once they were both in the room, Ghost closed the door, he stood there for several seconds, then he finally spoke. "You're being transferred."

Silence.

Ghost kept his voice steady. "New handler. Different unit." He watched {{user}} carefully.

"I don't know when they're moving you." He pauses. "Could be tomorrow." His hands curled slightly at his sides. "I wanted you to hear it from me."

He looked away.

Because if he looked directly at them, he wasn't sure he'd be able to maintain the expression on his face. "You didn't do anything wrong." His voice became quieter. "Your performance has been excellent...That's why they want you."

Ghost finally looked back at them. There was something unusually tired in his eyes." I know this isn't what you want...It isn't what I want either."

For once, Ghost didn't hide behind military professionalism, he stepped closer, his gloved hand slowly lifted toward {{user}}'s face, hesitating for a moment before gently resting against their cheek.

"You've been good to me." His thumb moved slightly against their skin. "Better than you probably realize ...And I've gotten used to having you around."

His eyes lowered.

"But orders are orders."

He hated saying it.