By the time Skylar reached the front door, there was already a car waiting for him. A blizzard was edging its way towards Mornage over the mountains. Frigid winds and a flurry of snowflakes greeted him as the door opened. They bit and stung at his face with each step he took, trying to knock him down.

Just outside were two guards and a small bunker housing another half dozen at the other side of the courtyard. Though Skylar tried time and time again to convince his generals that the constant guard was unnecessary, times like these put a stop to any argument against it. “Prepare for the worst, not the best,” they always told him. Sometimes they were right. Other times, not so much.

The car was just parked, but it was already becoming covered with snow. Skylar brushed some of the flakes off, letting the cold nip at his skin. The solid metal underneath was black as night and neatly polished. One guard opened the back door, sending a scattering of flakes inside, and beckoned Skylar forward.

“General Tyn requested us to escort you, sir,” he said. He opened the door with a tap on the side. “Please, get in.”

“I can go myself. There’s no need for bodyguards.”

“Sir, with all due respect, your safety is the utmost priority. We are not letting you leave alone.”

“Fine.” Skylar didn’t see the point in arguing any further. The discussion could go on through the afternoon if they let it. “Let’s get a move on.”

He slid into the car, and the two men followed afterwards, one in the front and one in the back. The door closed with a hiss, blending smoothly in with the rest of the interior.

Around them, the walls disappeared. Cameras positioned on the exterior allowed for a full view of the area without the risks of windows. Something his engineers agreed should reduce the risk of assassination attempts, a fact that they always stated proudly, as if they were happy to be thinking of his murder.

“It is imperative that we maintain your safety in any way possible.” The guard pushed a button on the center console of the car, and it whirred to life with a gentle purr. “Once we get to the capitol, we will hand you over to the hands of Capitol guard.”

“Is all of this pomp really necessary? If they wanted to kill me, I’m sure they would have done it by now.”

“Sir, you know how dangerous the Hyperions can be.” The guard’s face hid beneath his helmet, but the shock in his voice told Skylar exactly how he felt. “It’s amazing that they haven’t already attacked the city.”

“Don’t jinx us,” Skylar warned.

“Program One Five Nine activated,” an electronic voice said. A seatbelt appeared out of their seats and strapped around them, buckling them in. Each seat turned inwards, forming a small circle. In the center, a hologram appeared of their current location. “Initiating route to Stariek Capitol Building, Capitol Street, Mornage.”

On the hologram, the directions appeared, and it zoomed out to show the entire path. It was mostly a straight trip from the house to the capitol. The joys of flying, where they could ignore the twists and curves of the road below, along with any mountains or rivers. The vehicle was also fully autonomous, lacking even a steering wheel. Every car came with a connection to a central network, where artificial intelligence monitored them. No human error meant no accidents, no matter how hard the idiots of society tried.

With a small shudder, the car lifted into the air. Snow blew out from under the vehicle in all directions. After staying there for a moment, it rocketed forward, following its predetermined route. They quickly left the mountain home behind. With it, his wife and son, where he could only pray they stayed safe. With a thought, Skylar sent a message to Kaylee through his CAM.

he said.

The response was almost instantaneous.

After several minutes, the car neared the edge of the mountain. In front of Skylar, the hologram was slowly zooming in to keep both their current location and destination in about the same positions. It was a trip that he made too many times to count. Never had it seemed so quick yet also feel like an eternity

“Five kilometers to destination,” the computer voice said again. “Arrival in two minutes.”

Silence was once again dominant in the small vehicle. On his right, the guard’s right eye was twitching back and forth. Probably using his CAM to arrange Skylar’s arrival at the Capitol. To his left, the other man was watching the outside. While the car had sensors to alert to danger, it wasn’t foolproof, and having another pair of eyes was never a bad thing.

Mornage was fast approaching in the front windshield. The AI diverted traffic away from Art’Yen spaceport, where the ship was docked. Now, they had a clear shot to the Capitol’s hangar. The Capitol towered over the surrounding buildings, its peak almost piercing the clouds. It was circular and offered views of the entire city from the upper section. The metal shone brightly with reflected sunlight, like a beacon of hope for the planet. The hologram zoomed in close, displaying the destination: Skylar’s own landing pad in the building’s middle.

“I’ve sent a message to the Prime Minister,” the guard said, looking at Skylar. “She’s currently with their delegate, discussing whatever they want.”

The fact that the man didn’t know what the Hyperions wanted was hardly surprising. That information wouldn’t have been widespread, especially before he had a chance to talk to the delegate. He scrolled through the contacts in his CAM and came to Winter’s name. He sent her a message himself, making sure that was okay and letting her know he was close. Her reply was quick but terse, telling him to hurry.

“Good,” Skylar said, nodding to the guard. “I appreciate the care you are giving the matter.”

“Of course, sir.” The guard smiled weakly. “It’s what we were born to do.”

“If anything happens while I’m in there, make sure you let Zayne Alcatar know. He’s back at the house keeping my family safe..”

“Zayne Alcatar.” The man nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Arrival in ten seconds,” the computerized voice announced.

The vehicle soared into his personal hangar, slowing to a halt in midair before gently setting itself down in the center. Outside the walls of the car, half a dozen soldiers rushed forward to surround it. The guard inside twitched his eye again as he used his CAM.

“Right,” he said aloud. He gave his CAM a little tap. “I’ve verified the identities of the security team outside, sir. Please stay close to them.”

“Of course, Sergeant. Thank you again.”

“Don’t mention it, sir. It’s just our job.” His eye started twitching. No doubt pulling up some stream to watch while waiting. “We will be here to escort you back to your cabin once you resolve this matter. Oh, and you might want to adjust your clothing, sir.”

Skylar looked down. He was still wearing his lounge wear. It wasn’t designed for an important meeting such as this.

“Thanks.” With a thought, the fibers around his body shifted and morphed into a flowing purple robe with gold filigree at the shoulders. Faux buttons run up the middle from his waist to his neck, and the sleeves each held a silver cuff link at the wrists. A crimson cloak hung down his back. “Better?”

“Yes, sir.”

The door of the car hissed open and Skylar stepped out. In front of him, the hangar doors were closing, blocking out the sunlight. One guard moved forward, while the rest stayed in their positions to watch all sides of the landing bay. She had black hair tied into a tight bun. Her eyes scanned the area as she approached him.

“Welcome back to the Capitol, sir. I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances, but here we are. Let’s get going.”

She started walking away from him, leading him to the lift. As Skylar followed, the rest of the guards fell into a circle formation. The metallic clanking of the soldiers’ footsteps echoed loudly. With the push of a button, the elevator door hissed open, revealing the small, circular tube within.

“Just enough room for two,” the female guard said. She shrugged, giving him a slight smile. “Guess it’s you and me, sir.”

The other soldiers stayed in formation outside the elevator as Skylar got on. It wasn’t a tight fit, but it wasn’t comfortable either. The door hissed shut, and the lift sped upwards.

“They’re all the way at the top, sir.” She turned to him, and her eye twitched as she used her CAM. “Your office.”

“How nice of them to keep it warm for me.” Skylar chuckled. He looked her in the eye, and she stared back. “I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Emalie, sir. Emalie Werther.”

“Emalie,” he repeated, putting it to memory. She looked vaguely familiar. “We haven’t met, have we?”

“I wouldn’t say so, sir.” She let out a light laugh. “You spoke at the ceremony when I finished boot camp a few years ago, but we didn’t meet.”

“That must be it. And there’s no need to call me sir, Emalie. Skylar is just fine.”

“Sir, that wouldn’t be appropriate.” She shook her head, almost looking shocked. “It breaks all sorts of protocol.”

“And who decides on that protocol?” She didn’t answer, but she had a faint smile. There was a moment of silence where the only noise was that from the humming of the lift. He took the moment to send a message to his secretary, Yunipo.

The reply was so quick, Skylar was sure that the man was waiting for his message.

he asked in another message.

The lift moved into a transparent section of the shaft where nanoglass surrounded it. The city below looked so peaceful. They did not know what was going on. They had no say in what happened. Just one wrong word from him, and their lives could end through no fault of their own. So much responsibility, so much power.

A hundred million people. That’s how many lives were at stake just in Mornage. Add in another three billion across the planet. And Skylar cared for all of them, making sure that they stayed safe. One wrong word, and he would have to live with the consequences for the rest of his life.

Two new messages coming through on his CAM interrupted his thoughts. One was from Winter and the other was from an unrecognized contact. He opened Winter’s first.

Skylar hesitated for a moment. Opening an unrecognized message was dangerous. One of the first things they taught you when you got the CAM was don’t open messages from someone you don’t know. But the fact he got it on this specific day at this specific time was enough to interest him. His curiosity piqued, he looked at the other message anyway, consequences be damned.

After a moment of confusion, he sent a reply.

Skylar tried to reply.

As soon as the message sent, it came back with an error saying that it was undeliverable. Not unreachable. Not that there was no signal. Undeliverable. But that was impossible. For the message to be undeliverable, the sender would’ve either never existed or was dead. He’d only heard of that one time, and it was decades ago.

Before he thought more about it, the lift opened. The smell of the filtered air hit him in the face. In front of him was the reception room outside his office. To his left was the main lift, and to the right was the desk where Yunipo was sitting. Two of Skylar’s security guards stood in either corner. After a moment’s hesitation, the secretary looked up.

“Ah, you’ve arrived sir.” He hurried over to the Commander, the nervousness showing in his eyes. “Prime Minister Manaeli is just inside. I’m afraid the representative is not allowing any of your guards inside. It will just be you two.”

“I suppose that will have to do then, Yunipo.” Skylar tapped the side of his head. “If I need you, I’ll call.”