“Humans?” Sebbit asked “For the most part, human society has been untouched. I wouldn’t worry.”

I stood in Sebbit’s office, a small room furnished only with a metal desk and a wide, backless chair. He sat facing me, occasionally looking down at a tablet-like device, or getting the far-away look I had learned meant he was reading something on an invisible display.

Despite these distractions, the Captain’s concentration never lapsed during our conversations. He had displayed an extraordinary ability to multitask. I briefly reflected on the fact that I could never know if such a talent was innate, or the result of a Skill. Was there even a distinction anymore?

“Untouched?” I said, raising a single eyebrow.

“Well, relatively,” he shrugged, “any transmission capable of leaving the planet has been disabled, how do you think you were discovered, to begin with? Your species might as well have been broadcasting your location to every merc, pirate, and eldritch abomination in the galaxy.”

“So, what…,” I said. “No radio, no Wi-Fi?” I thought our species might be doomed.

“The results will be minimal and short-lived. I imagine within … ten to twenty years you will have largely regained your former level of technology. There will be some exceptions, your satellite communication system will have to be scrapped, for instance.”

“Wait … that’s kind of a big deal.”

The captain dismissed my objections with a wave of his hand, “there is also the mater of the quarantine zones, like this one for instance.

“Including the fifty-kilometer radius around our current location, there are fifty-seven quarantine zones spread throughout this planet. Each zone contains an unusually high level of eldritch energy. That energy is then contained and harvested to strengthen the system.”

“You’re farming the stuff that destroyed my world?”

“Nothing … so extreme, but you are not entirely inaccurate. Energy, Mr. Finn, cannot be destroyed nor permanently contained, but we can harvest it. Change it to suit our purposes. Trust me when I say that the alternatives are much worse.”

He hesitated for a moment, making eye contact. It was a thing I noticed his species rarely did, and yet he was making a point to communicate in a way he believed would be more comfortable for me.

“There may be ... mutations. Evolutions, degradation in some cases. These will be rare, however. In your case, it is the mental and long-term effects that we are concerned with. The very things that are hardest for us to identify, often until it is too late.”

“And outside these containment zones, everything is what?” I asked. “All hunky-dory? No monsters, or planet eating abominations?”

“Well, no. The energy is too widespread to be completely contained. There will be mutations of local flora and fauna, as well as dimensional ... breaches. These are harder to contain, and quite frankly, it is a challenge best left to the natives

“It will help them, you, to grow. It is best if Earth can defend itself. The Peacekeepers will not be here permanently, Mr. Finn.”

“How many are dead?” I asked.

He placed his hands behind his head, leaning back as he exhaled through pointed teeth. He leaned forward, fiddling with something on an invisible display before continuing.

“Worldwide? I’m not sure,” he said. “Roughly ten percent of the population was likely to be deceased within forty-eight hours of the initial event. This is an average, and numbers will be much higher within the quarantine zones. In some cases, the entire population of said zones could be wiped out in a matter of days.”

“Entire Zones? You mean like this one?”

“I lead one of the twenty-seven Peacekeeper detachments on this world,” Sebbit stood from his desk, towering over me. “It is our job to make sure that does not happen.”

“Everyone I know could be dead,” I yelled. “I need to get out there and look for them.”

“I still can’t let you do that, Mr. Finn. We are still investigating your odd … circumstances. Besides, this zone has quickly progressed beyond your current ability to traverse.”

I felt cold. My arms tingled, and my stomach felt heavy. I could feel myself begin to shake as my breathing grew heavy. I took three deep breaths, clenching and unclenching my fingers, before looking back up towards the captain.

He stood there, arms crossed, staring at me. I wanted to hit him, throw things. Kick and scream like a toddler. I couldn’t even imagine how many were dead. People I knew. Was my family okay? My mother? Troy and Liv?

The hundreds of millions dead worldwide may have been the greater tragedy, but a number that large only made me feel numb. It was an abstraction, something that I could never truly comprehend.

I gritted my teeth and didn’t allow my emotions to control me. I would grieve later, once I had found those I cared for. Once we were all safe. Once I had witnessed the destruction for myself. Once … I really didn’t know anymore.

“I still want to go,” I said. “I have friends out there, family. This might be a quarantine zone to you, it might just be a casualty report for you to send up the chain – but to me, it’s my home.”

“Understood,” he said, “But I still cannot let you go.”

“That’s —”

“Please, Mr. Finn, let me continue,” he said, raising his voice for the first time.

“I cannot let you go today, arrangements need to be made. I will provide a scout to guide you to the nearest settlement, and in return, you will aid her attempt to establish friendly relations with the natives. Just know that I do not recommend this course of action.”

He held out a clawed finger to stop my interruption, “Let me finish. I understand Talith has arranged for you to spend some time with Archmage Armeria. That offer is not easily made, and many among my species have competed for the opportunity. You may go your whole life without a similar offer.”

“Thank you,” I sighed, my head dropping. “I appreciate the offer, but I still need to try. I want to go.”

“I will make the arrangements then,” he said as we shook hands. “Oh, and Mr. Finn. Good luck, you are going to need it.”

I left the small, modular building that acted as the Peacekeeper headquarters and began making my way towards the barracks. It was still early, and I needed to grab my staff if I was going to get in some training. Who knew what kind of dangers I would face in the outside world?

As I walked, I watched the Peacekeeper patrols. The gigantic alien soldiers seemed fearless, but occasionally I would catch them looking over their shoulders into the darkness that lied beyond the artificial lighting of the perimeter. They talked amongst themselves in hushed tones. As they spoke I could see them exchange fretful glances as they looked beyond the temporary walls.

Something had them spooked.

My mood grew darker as I approached the barracks. What exactly was happening to my world? I wanted to do something, and yet I felt powerless. Did I now live in a world where I needed to call in the marines just to crush a bug?

“Ah, then you must be Finn,” I looked up as I heard a breathy voice.

There was a tall Peacekeeper waiting outside the entrance to the barracks. Her golden skin, and the faint traces of scales along her jaw made her the most stunning Peacekeeper I had seen. She didn’t wear the traditional skintight jumpsuit, but instead a flowing red robe that left her arms bare save for silver cords that wrapped around her wrists. A silver chain was wrapped tightly around her waist and stomach, like a corset.

“Did you know,” she said, “that men have left their lovers. Women have abandoned children and spent months in the rain and sun, just for the chance to train with me. I have turned down a Queen’s ransom rather than train the sniveling brats paraded in front of me. I am Archmage Telvius Armeria!”

“I’m Finn,” I waved halfheartedly.

A long chain made from thin, delicate links unraveled from her wrist. It shot forward, wrapping around my legs. She pulled it towards her, causing me to fall onto the hard stone of the cavern floor.

“I didn’t mean to insult you!” I wailed.

“Know this,” long, thin pupils surrounded by gold and flecks of green gazed down into my eyes. “You will never have this chance again, but I respect your reasons. Just say yes, and I will forgive your foolishness and take you as my apprentice.”

The chain unraveled from my legs, withdrawing into a perfect coil floating above the archmage’s palm. She loomed over me, waiting with an unreadable expression.

“I can’t,” I shook my head. “I am thankful for the offer, but there are too many people I care about out there. I have to find them.”

She remained still, her golden scales glittering in the pale artificial light. She seemed like a statue, some long-forgotten goddess immortalized in gold and stone.

“Good,” she harrumphed. “Take this.”

As she turned to walk away, the silver chain flew out of her hand and wrapped around my forearm.

“What is this,” I yelled after her.

“A gift,” as she turned back I saw a smile in the corners of her mouth. “Think of me when you use it.”

I tried to pull at the chain, but it was unbreakable and had been bound too tightly to remove. It seemed almost alive, resisting my efforts to slide it up my arm. I couldn’t find any ends. The chain had closed into a single, continuous loop.

“Well, this is great.”