Cloud District - Neo City
In a big office in a skyscraper, a man who is wearing a military outfit, Aaron is sitting down on the chair at the end, face down on the table. He raises his head and starts tapping his feet. He's anxious, waiting for something or someone to walk through the door.
A few minutes later, he becomes restless in his seat. He brings out a small blue jar from his drawer, pours out the powder on his table, and sniffs it.
Finally, a knock is heard on the door. He packs everything into his drawer and signals to the sergeant to open the door. He enters and walks to the front of Aaron's desk.
"Yes," Aaron asks.
"There's been a sighting". The sergeant replies respectfully.
Aaron looks up surprised "Is it".
"It's her, sir." The sergeant interrupts.
Aaron immediately stands upon hearing this information and walks out of his office with the sergeant behind him.
He enters a large room with a big screen at the end. Twelve lieutenants in total are there working in front of a computer. They all stand when he enters. He walks down to the front of the screen. "The sighting, where's it from?" He asks one of the lieutenants in the room.
"Strata district, longitude 40° east 35° west" the lieutenant replies in a nervous tone.
"Can we reach her?"
The lieutenants look at one another puzzled and confused. The sergeant who had accompanied him walked up to him and said "Our mission, is to hand over her location to the general nothing more"
"What rank are you, officer?" Aaron asks him firmly.
"Sergeant sir" he replies taken aback by the question.
"You are of a higher rank than the rest of them, eh?" Aaron asks with a similar tone. He waits for a while as if expecting an answer to an obvious question and continues: "And, what rank am I? Sergeant" Aaron asks more calmly.
"Sergeant-major sir". He replies head looking down.
Aaron taps the sergeant's chest three times with his finger, firmly pushing him back with each tap. "That's right, I'm the order here!" He says as he raises his voice. "Leave, every one of you. Now!".
The sergeant and the lieutenants salute him as they all walk out of the room.
I'll do it myself", Aaron says softly after they leave.
Strata District - Neo City
A bedroom, the bed at the center, someone's on it, a lady, Ella. She begins to open her eyes slowly as a voice in the room says "Wake up fair maiden". She opens her eyes fully and recognizes Aaron who wears a gleaming expression. She is surprised by this and a bit frightened. She reaches out for her gun in her drawer. She aims quickly at him and pulls the trigger. The bullet passes through him, a jar, and finally hits the wall. She sighs as she sees this and sits up looking tired.
Aaron looks down at his chest, back up, and smirks, "It's thought transmission ya know".
She smiles and goes over to the desk where he is to pick up her rum. She is wearing a robe that partially covers her underwear. "A lady can't try her luck?" She replies as she walks to the edge of her bed and sits.
"What are you doing, Ella?"
She holds her rum in the air and wears an "isn't it obvious" expression. "I'm drinking".
"No," he snaps at her now getting impatient and hasty. "I hear you're a freedom fighter now".
"Leader. I created the freedom fighters." She says looking him fiercely in the eye.
He scoffs at this, "All you've done is gather foolish and desperate people to lead to their certain doom".
She stands up from the edge of the bed and walks close to him. "We'll see, at least I'm not some dog for a man who hides cowardly behind large walls". "One that they keep mad."
"You will leave Strata District. I'll make sure of it." Aaron says in a daring tone.
She walks away from him, takes a gulp of rum, closes it, and drops it on her bed.
"Three years, Aaron, since I last saw you, since the incident and you think you can show up out of nowhere and tell me what to do and I'd listen. Fuck you!".
"Can't you see that I'm trying to protect you?" He asks calmly. He takes a while to see her reaction to what he said then continues: "You don't belong here, among these middle-class scum".
"Ya know, a week ago a man came here from the oasis, he raped and brutally murdered four girls, who were all 16 years of age" She paused for a while, walks back to stand in front of him and looks at him directly in the eyes. "Do you know what I did to him?".
Aaron is mute.
"I killed him and his crew. I reckon that's why you're here to restore your order."
There is silence in the room as they both stare at each other fuming.
The silence is broken as the door in her room opens from the outside. A voice is heard from it
"Ella Sama". She turns her head towards it to find out who's there. It's a young Asian teenage girl who brings out her gun and points it at Aaron.
"Mira, leave it" she cries out.
Mira's hand shakes as she holds the gun.
Ella walks slowly to her.
"But, he's one of them"
"You're right but it's a thought transmission, he's not really here" Ella replies calmly.
Mira takes a deep breath in and lowers her gun. You’re in grave danger” Mira says as she ignores Aaron’s presence.
“What do you mean” she asks worriedly.
“There are armed men soldiers on their way here”.
“What? How?” She asks confused and turns back to face Aaron who seems very confused. “You?.
Before he could get a word out, he disappeared.
She pushes a button on the side of a bed which carries the mattress up and reveals weapons very different from the handgun she used earlier. She picks a big weapon up (a white blaster) and points it down. She walks out of her room with it. “Evacuate everyone” She tells Mira.
“What about you?”
“I’ll try to hold them off.” She replies confidently.
“You can’t, there’s too many” Mira snaps back at her with a concerned look on her face.
“There’s no other option, get them out to safety”. She says as she runs down the hall.
Aaron opens his eyes in what is now a dark room where he was transmitting from. He hastily tries to reconnect with her by pressing a button on the table. His eyes widen as he notices a hand on it. A face reveals itself, the general is in front of him. “You” he says as he rests his back on his chair and gives up.
New Chapter Next Week
Glossary:
Cloud district - A zone where the rich, famous and influential individuals in Neo city live.
Oasis - Another name for the cloud district.
Strata District - A zone where individuals designated as middle-class live.
Thought Transmission - A form of communication only used by the military in Neo city.