Centros. There was nearly no person who was alive that did not know about Centros to some degree. For the last five thousand years it had been known as the single most powerful force in existence surpassing even the great voyagers clans collectively in influence, power, presence and most likely in sheer military might. Everything and everyone was under Centros rule be it the SSA, voyager clans, monarch planets, unaffiliated voyagers or the average human, all were to answer to Centros. There was a Centros branch on nearly every inhabited planet and at least one in every clan ruled star system. Their mandate is the absolute maintenance of order.

Cor Centros was the most advanced planet in terms of technology, the only possible rival being the SSA’s headquarters, Ankerhem. The residents of Cor Centros were a people cut different from any other, having a unique way of life and even spoke a separate language in addition to what was widely used.

This was the first time Juruno had visited Cor Centros, it wasn’t a place just anyone could go to if they weren’t already residents. It was day time on this side of the planet and the city view gave Juruno a sense of calm but it wasn’t enough to ease his nerves. Hours of thinking and he still couldn’t wrap his head around Quilofer of all people needing to see him. If someone in his position needed to see him then it couldn’t be a small matter in any way but he couldn’t guess what it was and not being able to predict it gave him anxiety. The pace of the transport disc allowed him to properly enjoy the beautiful city view but his anxiety made him wish it moved faster- Somehow the transport disc had understood his desire and doubled its speed.

This is just ok. And he continued at that perfect pace till the transport disc brought him to his destination. Once it got close to the location, the transport disc dropped in speed and slowed to a halt, then gently descended to the ground. Juruno got down from it and the disc lifted off the ground and took itself to a place nearby to be used again. The place the disc had taken Juruno to was an incredibly large compound completely closed off by a wall that seemed too short for a compound of its size. This was Astnun Bion, Centros head quarters.

A few soldiers were standing by the entrance to the compound all of them garbed in uniforms of gold and white. Gold and white were the colours of Centros’ army and because of that Centros soldiers were popularly called the “gold clad”. From the left side of the building another soldier was approaching the gates. The version of the Centros uniform he wore was different from the ones the soldiers at the compound entrance and warp gate had, it had a more sophisticated design that indicated a higher rank. His hair was dark brown, he had red eyes and tanned fair skin. When the soldier approaching got to the ones at the gate they all stood at attention side by side in a line.

“Good morning, Captain Galanthus.” they all chorused.

“That’s Commander* Galanthus to you.” replied their superior with displeasure in his tone, annoyed at their inaccuracy. The soldiers all had a look of surprise on hearing his reprimand and one of them checked his gauntlet to confirm what he had just heard.

“Sorry about that, Commander, it won’t repeat itself.” said the soldier after confirming.

“It better not.” replied the Commander looking a bit more satisfied now. While they spoke Juruno walked up to the soldiers and said “I’m here to see Quilofer.”

Galanthus turned to see who it was that made such a bold request. He looked at Juruno and squinted his eyes then turned to ask the other soldiers “Who is that?”

“Not anyone we know, Commander.” replied one of them.

“I am Juruno Vaeveron.” said Juruno.

At the mention of the name Vaeveron, the Commander’s face twisted into a scowl then he turned to face Juruno.

“A Vaeveron. Are you lost? I’ll have you know this isn’t a place just anyone can enter much less request to see Lord Quilofer. And certainly not the likes of you.” said the Commander in a very condescending manner.

The likes of me? Juruno didn’t have a grand sense of his own importance or position but he wasn’t low enough to be addressed like that. He doesn’t reply but matches the Commander’s scowl with a firm gaze.

“Now if you’re done here you may lea-“

Wait, Lord Quilofer will see you now, Juruno Vaeveron. said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere in particular which surprised the soldiers. The confirmation of Juruno’s claim wiped away the Commander’s scowl and replaced it with a curious look. Juruno broke his gaze and walked past the soldiers towards the compound entrance. The Commander’s eyes followed him as he moved, up until he stepped through the gates then he muttered something under his breath before turning to leave.

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Just in front of the entrance on the inside of the Astnun Bion compound were another set of transport discs. Juruno got onto one and it immediately began moving through the compound. From the outside, the Astnun Bion compound looked incredibly vast but you couldn’t really get how large it was till you got inside. It felt less like a compound and more like an average sized city. Every building within the compound was spherical in shape or something close enough. All around were people moving from one place to another by either walking or using transport discs, the majority of them being gold clad. In the middle of the compound stood the largest of the spheres covered in dark blue glass all round. So large it was visible from any point within in. The transport disc kept heading straight towards the center which led Juruno to assume it was heading for that large sphere. It made sense for Quilofer to stay in the most prominent building in the compound.

The journey to the large sphere took much longer than getting to the compound. An hour later Juruno had arrived at the foot of the large building. The transport disc came to a stop but this time it didn’t descend but instead took to the air. It went up the side of the building until it got a bit above the halfway point and stopped. A part of the building’s glass about the size of a door slid aside and revealed a pathway into the building. The disc moved a short distance into the building before finally descending. Juruno got off the disc and walked through pathway. It was a narrow path, barely wide enough for three people to stand side by side. It didn’t branch out at any point which meant his destination was at the end of the path. He got to the door at the other end and it slid open noiselessly, letting him into the room beyond.

On the other side of the door was a wide circular room made of the same blue glass the building was covered in. There wasn’t any particular source of lighting but rather every part of the room from the ceiling to the floor gave off a faint white light just enough to see. Standing in the middle of the room was a single person, his back faced to Juruno and hands clasped together behind him. This man was Quilofer.

Juruno walked towards him till he was within proper hearing distance and stopped. Quilofer turned around to face Juruno then began speaking.

“Juruno Vaeveron, “ said Quilofer “only child of the Vaeveron clan head, the best performer on in-clan tests- individual categories and overall, survived a tier three danger zone alone, successfully headed an expedition to a new planet, a prospect clan leader and the nearly undisputed incoming clan head.” Quilofer’s voice was smooth and he spoke boldly at a pace that was neither too fast or drawn-out. Unlike THE Vaeveron, he had an incredibly domineering presence that perfectly matched his position. He was so perfectly poised that he seemed the very manifestation of the word itself. This aura of his made Juruno even more nervous.

“I asked for the most capable Vaeveron and it seems that there’s no contest that you are the one.” said Quilofer. The irises of Quilofer’s eyes were a deep gold colour and they glowed faintly. He had light skin and his hair was white as snow. Quilofer was a being known as one of Illarion’s “limbs”. The limbs were the second highest authority in all of Centros. They were four of them and each one of them had a specific function in Centros. The limbs weren’t “normal” humans or voyagers in the sense that they weren’t born like everyone else. The limbs were created by Illarion to assist him in governance and had served their functions since the beginning of Centros, five thousand years ago.

“The Vaeverons have been one of the few allies of Centros since the beginning, which is why I asked for someone specifically from your clan.” said Quilofer “You know of the Stygian division, don’t you, Juruno?”

“Yes, I do. They’re a separate division of Centros’ army….” answered Juruno. The existence of the Stygian division wasn’t widely known but it wasn’t a secret either. First Quilofer had mentioned the Vaeverons now he was talking about the Stygian, where was he going with this? And how did it relate to why he was called here?

“In many different places on different planets through out the galaxy, there are some very special facilities maintained by Centros.” said Quilofer “The existence of these facilities are unknown to most people outside of Centros and not many within Centros know of it either. They were established by Illarion himself in the early days of Centros.”

!

By Illarion? Illarion was the highest authority in Centros and also its founder. Being the head of Centros meant he alone stood above everything and everyone there was. He had been the head ever since the founding of Centros five thousand years ago and this was possible because Illarion is immortal, the only immortal to ever exist. The “lives” of the limbs were tied to his. But he wasn’t just positioned highly, his power matched his position. Ever since his rise to power there had never been a voyager near as powerful as he was, Illarion was a being akin to a god.

“These facilities’ existence are supposed to be secret but recently there’s been attacks on several of them by assailants completely unknown to Centros. Enemies we cannot identify are strange enough but what bothers us is that they know of these facilities. Do you know what that means?”

Juruno furrowed his eyebrows in thought before replying “You have traitors.”

“Yes, it seems we do. When you have an organization of this size it’s hard to keep track of each and every person in it. There will always be bad apples. Which is why the Stygian division exists, a much smaller, more directly controlled independent division. Something I can trust. With the presence of traitors within Centros the Stygian division are the only ones I can task to make investigations on these people and take on related missions.” Quilofer explained “But… they’ve taken some heavy blows recently and are a bit short on manpower. Which is where you come in. I want you to lead a small team that will work with the Stygian specifically on issues related to the attacks and these unknown enemies.”

“What?!” exclaimed Juruno. If he had just heard right, Quilofer wanted him to not only work with Stygian but lead his own team? He couldn’t be serious.

“Why me? I think there’d a lot of better options Centros could take.” said Juruno.

“There may be but you’re the best option at this given moment.” replied Quilofer.

Juruno stood staring into the air for a whole minute, his mind was racing, trying to grasp what he’d just been told. Him? Stygian? How did they come to this conclusion? What would happen from here on out? And…

“Who will I be working with?” asked Juruno.

“Yes, your teammates. There’s a list of potential recruits from the Stygian division that will be sent to you.”

At that same moment Juruno received a notification on his gauntlet. He raised his arm to check what it was and he saw that he’d just received the aforementioned data. Normally he would have to authorize it before it could be sent to him but Centros seemed to be beyond the rules.

“We could recruit them ourselves but we’re giving you the option to make your own team. The data you received contains all the information surrounding these candidates that Stygian has documented themselves. Aside whoever you may choose, there will be two Stygian division members joining your team.” said Quilofer then he paused to see Juruno’s response.

This whole situation was unreal. First Quilofer who had never met him before wanted him to lead a team to work with Stygian and now his team would have entirely new recruits.

“How can you trust me and this entirely new team? Can you even trust the stygian division? How sure are you there are no traitors within Stygian?”

Good question

A voice suddenly replied from no spot in particular.

Someone is in contact.

“That is the voice of the Stygian division head, Crow.” said Quilofer

We’ve already done assessments on all candidates, they’re viable. As for the integrity of the Stygian division, let’s just say me and Quilofer have really deep mutual trust.

“Crow is undoubtedly reliable and is in charge of Stygian. Every member of Stygian is handpicked by him and I trust his judgment. The trust I have in the Stygian division comes from trust in Crow himself. The same will go for your team, its credibility lies mostly with you.”

Do you accept these orders?

Did he accept? He made it seem like there was actually a choice here. It was really hard to turn down an order from Centros and nigh impossible to ignore one from Quilofer himself. He paused to think about everything he’d just been told before replying “Yes.” anyway.

“Good.” said Quilofer. He then waved his hand and a cylindrical platform rose from the floor. Resting on top of it was a small red orb. He picks it up and hands it to Juruno.

“This is a contract maker. Let your drive energy flow into it for a given time to ‘sign’.” explained Quilofer.

Of course this is nothing but a formality.

Juruno did as he was told and after about a minute, the red orb turned blue for a moment then returned to normal.

“You’re to do the same for everyone who you recruit. I’ll keep in contact with your team through you alone via your gauntlet. You can leave now.” said Quilofer and without wasting a second, Juruno turned to leave.

“Also,” added Quilofer just before Juruno left “you're more serious than Vaeveron is and equally stiff. The Vaeveron might seem easy going but that relaxed nature of his gives his subordinates confidence.”

“Thanks for the advice, I’ll keep that in mind.” replied Juruno then he left.

I’ll be getting back to the mission. Crow notified Quilofer and broke contact. Once all the external bodies had left, the other people who had been in contact all the while spoke up.

Can we really count on him? asked Hiruzunonika, the second of the limbs.

“It really is the best option given the situation, your soldiers have been compromised. “ replied Quilofer.

We have no choice, we cannot leave this place while Illarion sleeps. added Vrimapendurama, the third of them. You didn’t tell him what was being guarded, Quilofer.

“We don’t tell the those who guard it either, they don’t need to know, they just have to perform their duties.” replied Quilofer.

How long will the assimilation process take this time? asked Sororomimo the fourth of them.

Two years and three months. replied Vrimapendurama.

How much of a coincidence is it that these attacks began just when we entered lock down?

Two years till Illarion returns. We’ll just have to hold out till then. thought Quilofer.