Echoes of Harmony

Aurora Heights Apartments

New Athens, Hyperia

18 December 3296

The two hundred and eighty third floor apartment balcony never seemed so high. Blocks of light lined each floor of the buildings. Dozens of lanes of traffic flew between the skyscrapers. Roars from their engines reached the man’s ears. He leaned against the carefully sculpted metal railing, his hands folded over open air as he watched the helicars gently make their way through the city. A electronic cigarette hung from his mouth, the end glowing a bright orange. Even this late at night—or, more accurately, early in the morning—the city never seemed to sleep. Perhaps it deserved the activity. It was, after all, the capital of the largest human empire ever seen.

At one end of the balcony sat a pair of chairs separated by a small, circular table. A vase of flowers sat atop it. Some of the petals lay on the ceramic around it. The other end held a couch against the wall, overlooking the city. A holoprojector built into the railing across from it currently display a dim image of the Hyperion flag.

“When are you going to come in, honey?” a voice said behind him. Legate David Ganex turned to see his wife standing there. Her delicate hands held a thin nightgown shut. She shuddered as a gust of wind buffeted them both to the side. “It’s freezing out here. I need someone to keep me warm.”

“A few more minutes.” He brought one of his hands up to his mouth and took a drag of the e-cigarette, causing the orange to glow brighter for a moment. “I just need some time to think.”

She sighed and went through the glass door, leaving it open behind her. He watched her walk back to the bed, where she climbed in and threw the covers back over herself. It was better she knew nothing about what he was doing on the balcony. That way, she wouldn’t need to lie when she was inevitably questioned.

<What’s the next step, Feilhaber?> Ganex asked over the private, secure link between himself and the councilor. <We’ve got our unwinnable war. Now what?>

<Now, my dear legate,> replied Feilhaber, who sounded almost too giddy, <we make the Emperor squirm. We sit back and observe as he watches the empire he loves, the one that he has driven into the ground, dissolves around him. I intend on introducing a bill tomorrow, one that will funnel armaments to Arcadia.>

<Arcadia?> Ganex scoffed and took another drag of the e-cigarette. <What do they have to do with anything, especially so far from the border?>

<They are where the next great revolution will begin.> Now, Feilhaber spoke like a teacher lecturing a child. Ganex could feel the sternness emanating through the link and hoped his irritation didn’t do the same. <I have worked hard towards sweeping the reports coming out of the planet under the rug, so to speak. It’s good you haven’t heard. Otherwise, it would mean my efforts were for naught.>

<And what exactly have you been hiding?> Ganex leaned over the railing and looked straight down. The ground was so far, the people wandering the streets at the late hour were like ants waiting to be squashed beneath his foot. They knew nothing about what was going to happen. Their entire lives were going to be overturned. For the better, even if it didn’t seem that way at first.

<Just under four years ago, they elected a new governor by the name of Tober Delargivic. He was quite popular with the citizens of the planet, won by a landslide.> As Feilhaber spoke, images of the man speaking in front of large crowds appeared in his head. He wore suits carefully tailored to his body. His brown hair and beard were neatly trimmed, and a smile constantly dominated his face. <Ever since, he has been pushing through reforms that would have never been allowed had they been noticed. Expansion of their military, increase in weapon production, new shipyards being built in orbit. The usual signs of planning for war.>

<And you’ve allowed this?> Ganex attempted to sound admonishing, but he couldn’t hide his excitement. If what Feilhaber said was true, they might finally stand a chance of dismantling the Empire from within. Of finally achieving his dreams of creating a better society.

<Not only allowed it. Encouraged it. And I have ideas for how we can aid them in this. In the next bill to the Council, there will be a provision to send armaments and material to the planet. No one reads those in their entirety, so it will be easy to slip by.>

<How devious.> Ganex smirked. <How long do we have to wait?>

<Patience is a virtue, Legate. We cannot rush these things. Once they are ready, we will know. We will all know. And then, we shall save the Empire from the otherwise inevitable collapse our Emperor is leading us towards.>

<I look forward to it.>

“David, come to bed,” his wife called from inside, a groan accompanying it. “I can only wait so long.”

He turned to see her bare shoulders just over the top of the blankets. Next to the bed lay a discarded nightgown. A devious smile sat plastered on her lips.

<Sorry, Councilor, I have to go.>

Before he had a chance to issue a rebuttal, Ganex cut the link and went inside, sliding the door shut behind him.

#

Space Station Vertyn

Stariek Orbit

19 December 3296

Skylar Reid was a ball of nerves. He knew he shouldn’t have been. After all, it was the first time for all of them. Plus, he was always the best—or second best—at hologames before all this started. And the Hyperions said it was pretty much like one. But, still. A certain anxiety he couldn’t quite explain filled him as he looked at the trio of lounge chairs which looked more like beds than anything else. A headset and pair of gloves sat on each of them. Wires came together behind the chairs, connecting the peripherals to a large bay of electronics that beeped and whirred. A series of shelves held pristine white towels, each carefully folded. Next to the rack was a closed door.

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He stood near the center of the room with two others. On his right was Lina, who still smiled constantly. She kept her hands folded behind her back, gently rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. To his left was a boy his age he didn’t know well yet, though knew his name as Adam Edwards. Black hair came down past his forehead, hanging into his eyes. As they stood there waiting, he used one hand to sweep it to the side several times. After each attempt, his bangs slowly found their way back to their original spot.

None of them spoke, each for a different reason. Skylar, obviously, was too nervous. Lina was ready to burst with excitement. Adam, on the other hand, seemed like he thought he was too good for them. He pointedly looked anywhere but at the two of them, his nose up in the air.

After several minutes of waiting, the door hissed open. Walking through was a Hyperion officer, his arms folded behind his back. He wore what looked like a flight suit similar to that of the Snow Wyverns when they came to Silver Ridge Academy. However, it was sleeker, smooth unlike the dragon scale-like texture of the Snow Wyverns’. On his cuff was a pair of parallel lines that met in the center to form a diamond before separating once, indicating his rank of captain. A helmet with its visor slid open to reveal his face sat on his head. He had a scowl on his face, as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. Two robotic soldiers followed behind him, one to either shoulder.

“Welcome, cadets.” His voice was deeper than Skylar expected, filling the room like a bass drum. He moved forward until he was just a few steps away from the three of them. Pacing back and forth, he looked over each of them. “We are going to begin with flight training. Typically, your CAM would allow you to interface with the simulation directly. Children such as yourselves tend to have issues with that.”

He said the last sentence with a sneer, as if the thought of having to train children was nothing more than a chore for him. Skylar frowned despite his excitement of finally being able to fly in space, even if it was a simulation. Lina next to him practically bounced with excitement.

“If there are no questions, find a seat, put on the headset and gloves, and we will begin.”

Skylar was the first to move forward, almost running to one of the chairs. Lina followed close behind. He laid on the chair. The material seemed to mold to the shape of his body. For a moment, he thought he was going to sink through it before it stopped moving and held him in place.

He slipped on the gloves first, feeling as they too formed to fit his hands perfectly. Once tight, they seemed to bind to him like a second layer of skin. A gentle buzz of electricity emanated from them. He lifted the headset and fitted it over his head. The strap automatically tightened just as the gloves did.

For a moment, there was nothing but darkness. Like when he shoved his head into his pillow before leaving for the mountains.

No. He scolded himself for thinking about the moment. It was done. It was over with. There was no point in reliving it. But, surely, he was allowed to feel angry at his father. After all, he betrayed Skylar.

Skylar took a deep breath and shook his head. It was useless to dwell on it, especially now. The view within the headset seemed to shift as he moved. Looking down, he saw a perfect representation of his body. It moved as he did. When he rose his hand, the virtual reality him rose his in precise unison.

Slowly, the environment shifted until he found himself sitting in the cockpit of a fighter. The size of his flight seat left him feeling like a child. At least, more like a child than he did before. His eyes went wide as he looked over the console. There were hundreds of different knobs, buttons, levers, all waiting for him to press or pull or push. A pair of pedals sat at his feet, barely reaching when he stretched his legs. Directly in front of him was a yoke with a pair of handles on either side of the central body like a W. Gauges showed his speed and the direction he was heading, which was odd for being in a black expanse.

Skylar looked up and his jaw dropped. He heard a gasp from either side of him. The black void had been replaced with a view of space. Stars sparkled in the distance. Just barely visible to the naked eye were what he recognized as nebula, though he didn’t know which ones. Much nearer, only a few tens of thousands of kilometers judging by the reading, was a blue and green planet. He immediately recognized it as Stariek. After all, he looked out the windows of the space station enough times. Several dozen ships sat around a large metallic installation he had seen from the inside many times but never the outside: Vertyn.

The view cemented the fact he was able to fly through space. Even if it was virtual, he couldn’t believe it. He was actually going to be able to do what he wanted. And this time his dad wouldn’t be able to stop him. His father didn’t even know where he was. The thought caused Skylar to frown. He didn’t know where his father was either. Wasn’t finding him, finding Rach, more important than being able to fly a fighter?

Once again, he shook his head to clear it. Worrying was pointless.

Looking to either side, he saw another fighter, though the cockpits were too shaded for him to see who was in which. Smiling, he grabbed the yokes and pulled to see what would happen. Unfortunately, nothing did, as he continued on his current path.

“You will find controls are limited currently,” the captain was saying, his voice coming not through Skylar’s CAM but from the physical world. “We are going to start with the basics. In front of you, you will find the yoke, a steering wheel, so to speak.”

The man droned on, going over everything Skylar already knew from his own research into the space fighters. He listened patiently, however, because at the end, he was finally allowed to do what he had been dreaming of: flying in space.

Laughing loudly, not caring who heard, he pushed the throttle to the max and rocketed ahead of the others. He brought the fighter into tight spirals, twisting and turning every which direction until he felt he was going to throw up with dizziness. For the first time in too long, Skylar felt… happy.

Yet, that made him feel guilty. He was kidnapped. His father, mother, Rach, they were all missing. And here he was having the time of his life. Didn’t they deserve him to search for them? But then again, how was he supposed to find them when he was just a kid? If they were there, wouldn’t they want him to have fun?

No, he realized as he thought of his father. His dad would have just wanted him to do what was expected of him. And that would’ve meant finding him. So, Skylar decided, maybe this once, he would do the opposite.

He did a loop-the-loop before shooting off into the void, whooping as he went. One of the other fighters slotted in behind him, matching him move for move. He juked to the right, doing a barrel roll as he went, then laughed as the other fighter did the same.

“I’ve got you now, Skylar,” Lina said. She made a triumphant noise before quickly following it with a groan.

“The weapons are currently disabled,” the captain said. “Once you have more training, we will be activating them for learning purposes. First, we need to go over the basics of actual maneuvers now that you’ve had a little fun.”

Skylar found the controls suddenly locked and stifled a groan. He crossed his arms as he sat there and listened to the officer start to explain more in depth of how to use the fighter. However, he couldn’t quite wipe the smile off his face. No matter what happened, he was flying in space.

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