Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

Apollo sat alone in the spacious living room of General Vorne’s suite.

Silence settled heavily after the two older men disappeared through the inner doors.

His eyes drifted to the decorative centre table.

The chessboard remained exactly as they had left it.

Half-finished.

Half-fought.

The white king still stood protected behind a wall of pieces, though one flank had been almost completely stripped away. Two white bishops remained. One rook. A handful of pawns.

Black’s position looked calmer.

Less crowded.

One knight lingered near the centre, controlling several squares at once. The queen sat deep inside white’s territory, quietly suffocating every possible advance.

Apollo studied the board without touching it.

Earlier...

General Vorne and Bertram Corvane had occupied opposite sofas, the chessboard between them while Apollo observed in silence.

Their conversation had flowed as naturally as the game.

Neither had spoken carelessly. Neither had revealed too much.

Apollo suspected that restraint had everything to do with him being present.

"The protests are spreading." General Vorne had said, advancing one of his pawns. It challenged the centre immediately.

Bertram answered by developing his knight rather than confronting the pawn directly.

"The Assembly is aware." He answered.

"Will it be addressed?"

Bertram’s fingers rested lightly on one of his bishops.

"The protests oppose legislation proposed by the High Regent himself."

The bishop slid across the board, pinning one of the General’s pieces.

"If the law deserves reconsideration, the Supreme Council will decide."

General Vorne barely reacted. Instead, he shifted his rook to reinforce the file before asking,

"And the protesters?"

Bertram captured a pawn with his queen. One clean move. One less defender.

"The demonstrations themselves are irrelevant." He looked up. "The people orchestrating them are not."

General Vorne leaned closer to the board.

"The Null Alliance seems to be attracting more support."

Bertram smiled faintly.

"They’ve reached some understanding with the ZCP."

His knight jumped forward.

A fork.

The General’s rook and bishop suddenly fell under attack simultaneously.

"The ZCP carries the support of the Zero population. And therefore, has numbers."

A pause.

"But..."

The knight claimed the rook.

"...numbers aren’t always weight."

General Vorne stared quietly at the board. Every response seemed to worsen his position.

He eventually exhaled.

"Looks like we’re tied."

Bertram examined the position. Neither side could force a victory without exposing themselves completely.

Then he turned toward Apollo.

"Any ideas?"

Apollo looked at the board for barely a heartbeat.

"I’m not very good at chess."

Bertram’s pleasant smile never faded.

"Surely your father must have taught you a thing or two."

Apollo’s eyes returned to the pieces.

"He is a natural." He admitted. "Unfortunately, the gift wasn’t passed down."

Bertram shook his head slightly.

"It’s a shame."

General Vorne finally sat back. The game was no longer worth salvaging.

He looked across at Bertram.

"So. What exactly did you come here to discuss?"

Bertram gave a quiet laugh.

"I expected that question much earlier. You’ve been surprisingly patient."

General Vorne rose.

"Shall we speak privately?"

Bertram’s eyes flicked briefly toward Apollo before returning to the General.

"Why not?"

The two men disappeared into the inner rooms.

Now Apollo sat alone.

His gaze settled on the abandoned chessboard once more.

"Hmm."

His eyes shifted to the black queen. Then to the lone white bishop.

Very quietly, he saw the move Bertram had missed.

"It’s a shame indeed." He said to himself.

***

The inner door finally opened.

General Vorne emerged first.

The conversation had lasted nearly half an hour.

Whatever had been discussed behind those doors had clearly done little for the General’s mood. His face was harder than before, his jaw set beneath a permanent frown.

Bertram Corvane, on the other hand, looked exactly the same.

Perfectly composed. Perfectly polite. Dangerously confident.

"Apollo."

Apollo turned from the glass wall overlooking the city.

General Vorne folded both arms across his chest.

"You may leave now. You’ve taken enough of my time."

Apollo simply nodded and headed for the exit.

As though she had been waiting for that exact moment, the secretary appeared from nowhere and slid her access card through the panel.

The heavy door parted.

Apollo stopped in the doorway.

"Thanks for having me." He said plainly.

General Vorne’s expression didn’t soften.

"I sincerely hope I won’t have to again anytime soon."

The words carried no warmth.

Only warning.

Apollo regarded him for a brief second.

"Understood."

Whether he actually ’understood’ the threat itself was another matter entirely.

He stepped into the corridor.

Xenon and the three bodyguards were exactly where he’d left them.

The guards immediately resumed formation and started down the hallway.

Apollo and Xenon followed several paces behind.

"So?" Xenon asked quietly. "Anything serious?"

Apollo glanced sideways. "Don’t tell me you’re worried about me."

A soft laugh escaped Xenon.

"I’m simply gathering information for Her Excellency."

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "Are you authorised to tell me that?"

"Probably not."

They walked another few steps.

"You haven’t asked about your schoolmate." Xenon said suddenly.

Apollo kept his eyes ahead.

"You handled it well."

Xenon’s smile faded slightly.

"I was surprised Assemblyman Bertram stepped in. And even more surprised General Vorne allowed us to break protocol."

Apollo said nothing.

The events of the morning surfaced.

***

Apollo saw Yesu’s body flash past the enormous windows.

His eyes darted to the men in the room. They were staring at the glass as well.

They had all seen.

For several endless seconds, nobody moved.

Apollo watched the General.

No orders came.

He looked at Xenon instead.

Their eyes met.

One look was enough.

Xenon gave a curt nod and vanished.

Bertram disappeared a heartbeat later.

Outside the building, Yesu continued falling.

They waited.

Waited until she descended within range.

Bertram finally lifted a hand.

Her fall stopped.

Then, gently, slowly, he brought her down to the pavement.

Meanwhile,

Apollo had already left the suite, taken the elevator to the third floor, walked calmly to the end of the hallway.

Only to watch Yesu run away from the very people who had saved her.

***

Now, Apollo was pondering on Xenon’s words.

Normally, General Vorne would have pushed the issue. Investigated. But he hadn’t mentioned anything about it when they returned.

Almost like it hadn’t happened.

The elevator was a few paces ahead. The bodyguards had already gathered before it.

Apollo’s eyes lifted to the display.

The orange arrow was climbing.

Going up.

"Xenon, what’s on the top floor of this building?"

"Nothing you should concern yourself with."

The answer came from behind.

Bertram Corvane walked toward them with his usual pleasant smile.

Xenon’s face hardened immediately.

Apollo merely looked at the Assemblyman before stepping into the arriving elevator.

The ride down passed in silence.

Apollo watched the floor numbers.

"You know something, don’t you?" He asked calmly.

Bertram smiled.

"I’ve heard you rarely involve yourself in other people’s affairs."

His eyes lingered on Apollo.

"Has something finally sparked your interest?"

Apollo glanced at him briefly.

"I’m guessing Mahirah told you that."

Bertram smiled again.

Another brief silence.

"Speaking of my daughter," Bertram said. "How has her performance been of late?"

"Not bad." Apollo answered without hesitation. "She’s doing pretty well, actually."

A pause.

"But I think she’d rather give the details herself."

Bertram nodded in approval.

"Surely."

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open.

The three bodyguards stepped out immediately, followed by Bertram.

He took a few steps forward then looked back.

Apollo and Xenon were still inside the elevator.

"You’re not leaving?" He asked.

Apollo didn’t make a move.

"Something just came up." He said.

Then he calmly reached out and pressed the button marked TOP FLOOR.

Before anyone could react, the doors slid shut.

The bodyguards couldn’t even make it in time.

Bertram watched the orange arrow begin climbing again.

A quiet smirk touched his lips.

"Truly a Viremont."

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