AN: This is an Interlude. Think of it as a flashback chapter. I will be using these extensively throughout the story, usually after a couple chapters to emphasise a point. Pay attention to the date.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interlude: A Short Nap

Saturday, June 12, 2298

Sierra City, Central Sector, Sixth District, Sixty-First Division, Maple Hall Cemetery

It was bright and sunny, at odds with the sombre atmosphere. A large oak tree stood at the top of a hill some distance away from the rest of the cemetery. Its leaves waved in the wind, dappling the two small cherrywood coffins and their three attendants, only one of whom was standing, with broken sunlight. A small stream ran around the base of the hill, broken only by a single stone footbridge that connected the hill with the other graves.

Every now and then, explosions would go off and gunfire would ring out far away to the north, south, east, and west, but they were ignored. They were insignificant.

Owen sighed to himself, sweeping a hand through his hair. Raine glanced up from where he was sitting at the base of the oak tree as Owen moved toward him. “I need to go to Sonaris Tower to fix some things,” he whispered into Raine’s ear. “There’s a meeting among the Board of Executives. I’ll try to get home by seven, but no promises with the new Executive General. The limousine’s waiting to take you home. Say goodbye one last time for me.”

Raine nodded without looking at Owen, his attention fixed on the girl lying next to him. Owen opened his mouth to say something else, thought better, got up and walked toward the gate. He made a signal to the armoured Centurion that he was ready to leave. Just as he was about to get into the crosser, something made him stop. “Are you alright sir?” the Centurion asked, his voice somehow managing to convey concern despite the distortion from his helmet speakers.

“I’m fine,” Owen said. “Just… watch over Raine and Holly. I…” His voice trailed off.

“Your children will be safe with me,” the Centurion said.

“They’re not my children,” Owen said without thinking. “I mean—”

The Centurion nodded wordlessly. For a moment, Owen thought the faceless Centurion did understand. Owen looked back at Raine but couldn’t see him through the trees. He got into the crosser. The crosser’s engines hummed to life and it slowly lifted into the air before flying off toward the battered and smoking city in the distance.

Holly was lying on her back next to Raine. Raine looked down at her. She didn’t look back.

Several minutes passed. The wind blew through the leaves. “What do you see?” Raine asked.

Holly didn’t reply immediately. “The leaves,” she finally said. “The way the light passes through them. It’s pretty.”

Raine slumped off the tree and positioned himself next to her. “Yeah, I guess it is,” he said. The wind rustled the leaves again.

An hour passed. Then, another hour. Neither of them had moved as the sun sunk lower toward the horizon as late afternoon turned into early evening. “Our driver can’t be very happy,” Holly said.

Raine shrugged his shoulders and made a noncommittal noise. “I guess I should’ve hurried then,” Holly said. She stood up barefoot, her shoes some metres away, and brushed the dirt off her grey and black dress before helping Raine up.

Holly took a deep breath. She looked back at Raine, who nodded and leaned back against the tree a short distance away from the two coffins. Holly extended a hand forward and ran a finger along the side of the coffin, stopping briefly on the words “Gwen Keyes, Beloved Daughter and Sister” engraved on a bronze plate. She threw another glance over her shoulder at Raine, who politely looked away with guarded disinterest. “Hi, Gwen,” Holly said softly, turning back to the coffin. “I just wanted to see you before I go.”

Her voice caught on the last three words and a tear slid down her face. Raine shuffled uncomfortably. Holly stood there, unmoving. The leaves rustled. The sun fell below the horizon. “I guess this is good-bye.”

Holly tried to move away. She really did. But, her legs wouldn’t move, as if there was some disconnection between her brain and her muscles because her heart was in the way. Raine made an odd movement with his arms, but the motion stopped so soon that it looked like it hadn’t ever started. Holly didn’t notice. She didn’t even see. “I’ll be back,” she whispered.

With one last caress, Holly walked away. She sped up into a run, heedless of the rocks cutting open her feet. Alarmed, Raine ran after her, but she was just too fast. “Holly, slow down!” he shouted.

Holly didn’t stop. She ran toward the stream, slipped on a rock, and splashed into the water.

She didn’t get up. The water lapped around her, seeping through her dress. Muttering something beneath his breath, Raine waded into the stream and pulled Holly by her hand. When she didn’t follow, Raine grabbed her around the waist and hulled her bodily out of the water.

Sopping wet, Raine somehow made his way back to the bank. He could feel Holly’s sobs. It was… supremely uncomfortable.

The moon rose over a battered and broken Sierra City, shining through the smoke of a thousand fires and the voices of a thousand dead.