35 years ago.

Thaia chewed thoughtfully into the Shantle meat that a white-coated chef had laid upon her plate. While she couldn't deny the savory taste and combination of spices provided her great pleasure, she felt extremely uncomfortable she was afforded the delicacy while the rest of the population was not.

Of course the greater discomfort came with the company she kept. Table members quietly ate within the confines of the great red command centre on Nighthawk, where her parents never wanted her to come.

Aimos had brought her here once before, thankfully alone, and hadn't the chance to make small talk. She tried to conceal a grin as his hand playfully and seductively grabbed her bare leg beneath the chrome dinner table, trying to bring her some entertainment in the awkwardness of the gathering.

"So, Thaia, tell me."

She oriented quickly to the head of the table, her pulse quickening, swiftly removing Aimos's hand from her thigh. It was Samuel Alva that called her name.

"What is it your parents do?"

She chewed desperately, trying to clear her mouth so she could give him a concise response. It was the first time he spoke to her, and she was praying that it wouldn't be in front of the entire royal family. Plates and utensils stopped clattering as the Alva's appeared interested in her response.

Aimos came to her rescue, and said, "Her mother is a teacher, and father a repairman for the outskirts. They are great people, grandpa." The outskirts included all of the people outside of Nighthawk within the Ring.

"Ah, vital roles," Samuel responded sipping from a glass of red wine, his face of stone. "May I ask what your mother teaches about me?"

Thaia was petrified. Had her mother taught something unsavory about the Great Samuel? Had his great tendrils of intelligence discovered? Was her own mother destined for prison?

Samuel, noticing the discomfort on the girl's face, and a stern look from his son Felix, began to laugh to diffuse the tension. "I am sure she is a great teacher, my dear. I'm only making conversation."

Thaia straightened her white dress and flicked her golden hair to the side as she cleared her throat, forcing an uneasy smile. She noticed the only table member not looking at her was Maeve, her face fixed on her plate as she poked at a miniature tree and forced it in her mouth.

Nicole, Aimos's mother, then said with a smile, "So how did you two meet, Thaia?"

Thaia thought Nicole was an angel. She was a commoner, just like her and Jackea, and it was beyond refreshing to speak to a normal person in the presence of the Alvas. She would have found joy in telling her tale of how her and Aimos had met had it not been for Solan, whose eyes were upon her now, too.

Before Aimos, she had loved him. She still loved him. He was thoughtful, intelligent, profound, handsome. He was a good person when he let you peer inside his shell. But he was a scientist. A devoted scientist. He believed there was much more to life than the human experience, and she saw so much of Aimos's great aunt Mayla in him, and a sort of darkness surrounded Solan.

While Thaia was thoughtful herself, she could not be the person Solan needed. She wanted the human experience, to pursue happiness. Pursuing happiness with Solan was a black box.

On the other side of the spectrum was Aimos, who was lighthearted and humorous and loving and grand. While Aimos would much rather sit down for a beer with friends, Solan, and Maeve for that matter, would rather fiddle with their computers and chemistry sets. It was this distinction that led to their unravelling.

Aimos had known of Thaia and his cousin Solan's past, and said to his mother, "Perhaps another time, mom."

Felix looked on thoughtfully at his son and Solan, and took Nicole's hand in his and kissed it.

Thaia's emerald green eyes caught Solan's darker ones for a moment. They looked deeply into Thaia's, full of sadness that only Thaia could recognize. Hers were sad, too. She wished he would find happiness, and a part of her wished it could have been her who provided it, but her heart belonged to Aimos now. Solan's eyes drifted to her chest above her dress. She still wore the necklace he had given her, a whale of white and black beneath a full moon on a small medallion. They softly smiled at each other as she took it in her hand at her chest.

The command centre door abruptly opened, and a man with crisp black military clothing rushed to Samuel's side and whispered in his ear.

"I am sorry, my family. We may have a lead on Ffion. Apparently, she is spreading more lies, fear mongering. Thaia, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"You too, sir," She managed to say to the Great Samuel as he left the dinner table.

Thaia couldn't help but notice that dessert was palpably more comfortable than dinner.

*** One month later. ***

"Attention. Release Ffion Oddisy and no one else will be prosecuted. Attention. Release Ffion Oddisy..."

It was a wheel drone rolling down the streets, repeating the phrase it had for the last seven years in utter failure. When Samuel locked down the city, revoking the citizens their rights to settle Gaiathal and charging Ffion with orchestrating treason and murder, her loyal followers hid her within the Ring immediately. They knew she was not capable of the violence she had been accused of to kill a girl in cold blood, especially a darling of the people.

While Samuel was trying to regain sympathy from the people over the death of his granddaughter at the hands of Ffion, his attempt backfired. A vast majority of the population was either directly supporting or in favour of keeping Ffion safe after the rumours began to come out. And the rumors were too difficult for Samuel and his military to stifle.

The most significant rumour was that children were missing. Three hundred and two, to be exact. And no one had the answers as to where. Only Samuel, with the powers he had at his disposal, would be capable of such a feat, the people believed.

The rebellion, however, was at a standstill. It was an impossible task to go up against Samuel and his armed military and police. He kept them fed. Blunt objects were no match for rifles, and the people were scared of what Samuel could do. Samuel walked an agonizing tight rope walk, where if he used too much force to find Ffion, he would alienate even more of the population. The last thing he needed were more rumours of uprooting innocent families under the suspicion of giving her refuge. Recently and desperate, however, he started to push the envelope in desperation to find Ffion. He needed to quell her rebellion before it was provided a spark.

Felix looked cautiously out the window, the flashing red and blue wheel drone rolling along the road into the distance, its voice softening. He looked across at Ffion.

Her son, Cana, was at her side, bearded and with an expression of utmost anger. Her guards with clubs and hammers.

"Unlike my friends, I do not hold a man accountable for his father's sins," Ffion began, looking at Felix across her table.

Cana growled and Ffion put her hand to his chest to calm her son.

"I am neutral in this conflict," Felix said, raising his hands and showing again he wasn't wearing any wires or had any weapons. He simply wanted to talk. He had questions.

"Neutral," Cana scoffed at him.

Unafraid, Felix said to the giant man, "I want my father to vacate the throne just as much as you do. But it should be done peacefully. No one wants bloodshed."

"I'm a peaceful woman, Felix. But your father has overstayed his welcome as ruler. Do I wish to rule? No. But we both know it's impossible for your father to keep winning these Election Assessments. He is an old man. It has been rigged from the beginning. Power has consumed him. It consumed him from the start. I'm all for the Meritocracy. But the current one is rigged."

Felix agreed with the latter sentiment. He wasn't certain about the former. He knew his father was still as sharp as ever.

"Tell me why you wanted to see me," She said to him.

Felix leaned forward and said, "I need to know what has my father so on edge. Him and Mayla send scientists that had been assigned to the Gothreek mountains to prison. There is talk of a rumor about what happened seven years ago. I need to know the source of the rumor, and I need to know what it is. My father barely speaks to me anymore after this rumor began circulating. I'm completely in the dark."

Cana whispered to Ffion. Ffion looked back to Felix, and said, "My son would like to know where his daughter Chrea and the other children are. You bring them back to us safely and we will tell you the rumor. Otherwise, good luck getting answers from a regular citizen as the son of Samuel."

Desperate, Felix slapped his hands on the table. Ffion's men raised their weapons, ready to charge him.

"Ffion I promise you, on Lisla's grave, if I found out my father was kidnapping children I would turn on him in a heart beat and return them to you. I swear it," Felix said. "That man would no longer be my father. But I'm telling you, I have not found the children."

Ffion analyzed Felix thoughtfully. Cana, face full of dismay, stood by her side.

"Please. I need to know what he's keeping from me. I need to know the truth about my daughter. I'm giving you the courtesy of believing you didn't have my daughter killed. Have the same courtesy for me that I would return missing children if I knew where they were."

"If I tell you, I want you to promise me something," She began, carefully analyzing Felix's body language.

Felix nodded for her to continue.

"I want you to promise me that if your father turns out to be the monster you hadn't dreamed possible, that you will do the right thing. Fight on the right side. I promise you afterwards no harm will come to your family."

Felix didn't even hesitate to nod. His moral code was unshaken. He loved his father of course, but he had no love for a man who would resort to kidnapping children or killing people. Thankfully, there was still no evidence for either that would indict his father.

Ffion exhaled, leaned back in her chair, and said, "The guard didn't kill your child seven years ago. It was Gaiathal. A power that we do not understand. Mayla then killed the guard and pinned your daughter's death on me."

The statement hit Felix like a brick. He blinked several times, and then said, "Mayla told you?"

Ffion shook her head. "No. Mayla is still Samuel's puppet. Or perhaps vice versa. Your father believes the guard story, yet the truth is what I have just told you."

"Then who told you?"

Ffion was reluctant to give up her confidant, and refused to relent. "I cannot say. I would not be the leader the people want me to be if I betrayed my informants. I can say that your youngest, Lleyton, your niece, Maeve, and nephew Solan, saw what happened, but Mayla threatened them to keep quiet."

"Threatened?" Felix said incredulously. "Mayla wouldn't threaten her kin... my kids."

"Perhaps you have a blind spot for your aunt, Felix. And perhaps Mayla, too, has been consumed by power. She's practically had an entire planet to herself to explore while your father leads, the rest of us caged up here like Shantle. Why would she risk that changing?"

Anger flowed through Felix. How could Mayla threaten his own children? "It can't be true..." He said quietly.

Ffion realized now was the time to present him with even more, and said, "Felix, there's more."

Felix looked up at her, already gouged yet expecting another gash.

"I have other intel. Tomorrow is the day he intends to become... violent, to say the least."

"Violent?"

"Tomorrow, he is beginning to execute the people spreading this rumour. 'Fear mongering with the intent to harm' is what he will be labeling it. He will kill anyone who threatens the lie him and Mayla created. What little support he has will be entirely gone when the truth gets out."

Felix felt sick. "Impossible. Who told you?"

"He means to kill your son, niece, and nephew, Felix. They're witnesses to this event he has declared as a 'lie', yet this truth will destroy his rule. While we should be banding together and learning about whatever killed your daughter, your father will be killing everyone who knows about it. My informant, again, I cannot say."

Felix didn't believe her. He couldn't. She was mistaken. Felix was practically third in command. How could he be left in the dark? "My father is flawed but not who you are saying."

Ffion stood, but still clearly needed something from Felix. Felix knew it was the real reason she agreed to meet with him in secrecy. She said, "Tell me something. When we escaped the Jackals, Mayla wouldn't produce advanced weapons to aid our leaving. Why?"

Felix was still trying to grapple with the thought of his father killing his son, and then said, "You know why. She gave them only the weapons the Jackal's had access to. She couldn't risk her technology falling into their hands if we had lost. Mayla has her problems but being principled isn't one of them."

Ffion looked at him thoughtfully, like she knew something he didn't, and asked, "And those rifles and guns your father's forces have... They're the first on this new planet even after your father and aunt declared them forever banned. Why the change of heart, I wonder?"

Felix always found it strange. He truly didn't know. Perhaps it was possible she manufactured them for Samuel in exchange for her to continue her research. For her, it was always her devotion to discovery. To her dreams. To discovering her dreams before anyone else.

Ffion stood to leave with her guards, and then said, "My advice to you is to give us Lleyton. We don't know where Maeve or Solan are, and it looks like neither do you. Tomorrow, look to the main street. I will be making my appearance for your father to arrest me."

Felix's face scowled in confusion. "Why?"

Ffion grimly smiled at Felix and said, "A spark."