The Citadel hung above the city, a cuboctahedrons-shaped building suspended from the sky. It was as much a message as a grandiose feat of engineering. Look up and behold the might of the Fleet protecting the city.

​

From the 58th floor of the Green Crystal residential Unit, Captain Zula Maung watched as the artificial strip of sun dimmed and the night lights of the city shone from below. Some might feel odd that the sun was a curving strip instead of a sphere or that the city was flanked by two flat walls, but for Zula, this was home.

​

A burnt smell made Zula looked down. The tofu pieces and green beans were starting to turn black. Zula turned off the heat and stirred them around the small pan. She grabbed a pair chopsticks from the side and tried out a piece of green bean and tofu. She then added a sprinkle of salt and tasted them again. Something still tasted wrong. It was edible, but Zula felt like she had screwed up somehow. The tofu was just a bit too bland. The green beans were too soggy. The textures were all wrong as well. Mom always made it seemed so easy, Zula thought. She exhaled a long sigh and poured the stir-fry to the plate. She set it in the middle of the table along with the two bowls of seaweed soup and two bowls of rice.
“Ahmed. Dinner!” Zula called out.

 

The room was three meters away and separated only by a plastic door, but no reply came. Zula let out another sigh and walked up to the door. “Ahmed, I said…” she said as she pushed the door open. The boy that was her brother was sitting on his bed, his face halfway between nervous and scared. Between his hands was a gun, the Multi Armament Pistol. Zula distinctly remembered placing the gun inside the safe beside her bed.
“I told you to only take it during emergency,” Zula said.
“I took out the power cell first, I swear!” Ahmed quickly said.
Zula stepped up to the bed and knelt down. On the blanket was the power cell and the upper enclosure of the gun. “You’re trying to take it apart,” she concluded. “Why?”
“It’s…” Ahmed glanced away briefly. “I heard taking a MAP apart and reassembling it is part of the academy’s curriculum.”
Zula let out a gentle chuckle. “Mastering a lesson before you go to the school actually defeats the purpose of the school you know.”
“I don’t want to just master it. I want to be the best in it.” Ahmed looked up to her. “I want to be like you.”
“Well, You should know that I’m not good with guns.” Zula took the MAP from him and reattached the upper enclosure. “I’m an intelligence officer, Ahmed. If I have to use a gun, things have gone horribly wrong.” Zula grabbed the power cell as well.
Ahmed looked down, hiding his face, but Zula could still sense his disappointment. 
“Cheer up, little brother.” Zula nudged his chin up. “You’ll have a lifetime to learn how to fight. Now you just need to be a child.”
“If you say so,” Ahmed said.
Zula stood up and went for the door. “I’ve prepared dinner, so let’s eat.” Zula stopped halfway through the door. An alert had popped up in the corner of her vision. She mentally instructed her implant to open it. It was about a new post that had just appeared in an online forum. It was a lengthy five-page essay talking about a review of a book. To most people, the post was just another incoherent rant. Zula, however, saw a message. She shook her head. As much as she didn’t want to work today, she couldn’t ignore the message.
“On second thought, let’s eat out today,” Zula said, turning toward Ahmed.
“What for?” Ahmed asked. 
“One, my cooking isn’t that good today, and two, you’re leaving in a month. We should make the most of your time here,” Zula said with a smile before stepping out.

***

​

On the surface, Unity was a serene collection of gleaming domes and majestic skyscrapers. Trees and flowers filled the space between the buildings, broken only by lines of white pathways. Unlike the cities of Old Earth, there were no bustling sounds of industry or vehicles. One could sit down in a bench and hear nothing but the breeze and distant murmurs. Everything about the city had been curated to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

​

Underground, the city was something completely different. Twelve dome-shaped caverns were spread out all over the city, each connected to each other via underground passages. The passages were brightly lit with not a single greeneries in sight. Exposed power lines and plumbing filled the ceiling space. Every few minutes, the entire structure would shake slightly as transport trams passed through above. 

When people stepped into one of the caverns, they would be greeted by an assortment of sounds. The laughter of the children as they ran around between the residential buildings. The swearing from the old men in sweatshirts as they shouted for the children to be careful. The constant murmurs from a hundred different conversations as people chatted in the common area. Then there was the smell. The place was filled with so many restaurants and stalls that the atmospheric filter was barely able to keep the smell at bay. To Zula and most people, this was the real city of Unity, not the curated beauty of above ground.

​

They stopped in front of a restaurant called Neko. Peeking inside, the restaurant was packed with customers, mostly Fleet personnel who had just come off shift. Zula saw a free table beside the kitchen entrance.
“You go ahead inside. Order me a fried rice,” Zula said.
“Where are you going?” Ahmed asked.
“I need to take a call.” Zula tapped the side of her head before leaving him.

​

Zula walked toward the open common area. Even from one hundred meters away, she could already see him. Considering this was supposed to be a secret meeting, this fact was very alarming. Her years of experience screamed at her to walk away, but she couldn’t. There would be no other opportunity after today. Zula let out a silent grunt before walking forward.

​

The young man had tried to blend with the crowd, except that he was a loner in a crowd of families. Worse still, he was wearing a thick hooded winter jacket inside the most environmentally controlled habitat that humanity ever lived in. Zula wouldn’t be surprised if some of the families were already reporting him to the local security.

​

Zula walked up to him. The man looked up, a flash of recognition and relief on his face. “Marcus, lose the jacket and walk with me,” Zula said. She turned around and started walking. Marcus frantically took off his jacket and walked up beside her.
“I’m sorry to call you so last minute, but—“ 
“Not yet,” Zula said. She looked at the thick jacket hung around his arms. It wasn’t that better than before. Zula let out an exasperated breath as she reached into her pocket. She took out a tube-shaped device and activated it. A privacy screen of white noise and jamming surrounded both of them. The various sounds of the underground dropped to an eerie silence. 
“Ma’am, I—“
“Are you burned?” Zula interrupted.
“What?”
“Are you in anyway compromised? Is Internal Security questioning you?” Zula asked, her tone accusing and hostile.
“No but—“
“Are you hurt then? Are you physically unable to do the mission?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then I can only assume you’re either crazy or stupid to contact me ten hours before the mission.” Zula felt Marcus staring at her. She kept her gaze straight.
“I’m scared, ma’am,” Marcus said. Zula abruptly stopped and turned to him. “I imagined doing the mission hundreds of times in my head, but now that it’s almost time, I… my hands can’t stop shaking.” He held his right hand forward, his fingers trembling.
Zula leaned toward him and gently grabbed him by the shoulders. “I know what we’re asking you to do is not easy, but it is necessary for the greater good. There are a lot of people who agree with our cause, Marcus, but most are too afraid to do anything about it. You will be the spark to spur them to action.”
“I know that, ma’am,” Marcus said, looking down at his feet. Zula recalled his personnel file. He was only eighteen years old, barely out of the academy. His personality had been repeatedly described by his superior officer as blandly average. That wasn’t a bad thing though. After all, the Fleet wasn’t ran by the few mavericks who were prone to bouts of bravery and brilliance but also recklessness and insubordination. They depended more on people like Marcus. People who would keep their heads down and do their duty. If Marcus had continued as he was, he would most likely have a solid career in the Fleet. It was just unfortunate that he happened to rightly fit the psychological profile needed for this mission.
“You have family on Wayward, right?” Zula pulled away her hands. She smiled just wide enough to show sympathy. 
“Yeah, my sister. She just got married last week,” Marcus looked up. The memory of his sister stretched into a longing smile. 
“Wayward is only twenty-two light-years from Ionia. If the Ionians attack us, it will be one of the first to fall. If we’re lucky, they’ll only occupy it. If we’re not… well, I think you know how easy it is to kill a planet.”
The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a fearful frown. “They can’t do that!”
“They won’t as long as they stay under our control, but if the Republic is established, there will be nothing stopping them.” Zula reached down and grabbed his right hand. She gently placed it upon his chest. “Brace your heart, Marcus. Your sacrifice tomorrow will save your sister and her family. She’ll live to see her grandchildren.”

Marcus grew silent. The frown faded and so did the fear. His hands tightened into fists.
“I understand. I will not fail them.”

​

***

​

Zula entered the restaurant and made her way to the end. There was barely enough room to walk between the crowd. Ahmed was sitting on the wall side of the table, his arms crossed on his chest. In front of him was a plate of fried noodle and a plate of fried rice. 
“That smells good,” Zula said. She sat down and grabbed the plastic spoon.
“I know you met with someone,” Ahmed said.
Zula scooped up a portion of the brown rice mixed with silk tofu pieces. “It’s just a bit of work,” she said before eating it. Zula had tried to cook the same fried rice back home. She even sourced the same silk tofu and garlic, yet it didn’t taste as good.
“I’m not stupid, you know.” Ahmed leaned forward on the table. “I know you are planning a coup.”
Zula put the spoon down so roughly that some of the rice splattered all over. “You should really warn me if you’re going say something that dangerous.” Zula took out the privacy screen and activated it. “Can’t be too careful.”
“Let me join you. I want to fight too.”
“You’re not even trained,” Zula pointed out.
“You can train me,” Ahmed pointed back. “It’s not like I can escape it. Sooner or later, I will have to fight too.”
“You’re still a child, Ahmed. It’s not your time to fight. Enjoy your childhood while it lasts.”
“I don’t care about my childhood.” Ahmed stared down at his clasped hands.
“Take it from someone who had lost it,” Zula said. “You’ll regret growing up too soon.”
“Why are you trying so hard to keep me from fighting? It’s not fair!” Ahmed slammed his right fist on the table.
Zula stared at him. She still remembered when they landed on the Mars refugee camp. He had refused to let go of her hand then. Every time Zula needed to go out to collect their rations, he would cry. Zula had thought he would stay that same scared boy forever. Unfortunately, that was not how reality work.
“The academy is not worth anything strategically, at least in the short term. When we make our move, you will be safe there,” Zula said.
“That doesn’t matter. We’re going to win anyway. I want to be a part of that,” Ahmed said.
“That’s the thing, Ahmed. Our victory is not guaranteed.”
“What do you mean?” Ahmed’s head slightly tilted to the right.
Zula rubbed her forehead with her thumbs briefly. “You called it a coup earlier, but the truth is it’s not. Fleet Admiral Sterling and Zhukov are not stupid. They expected people to fight back after their announcement and had prepared accordingly. Internal Security has been keeping watch over Sol so tightly that even after a year, I’m the only effective operator the movement has here. No, Ahmed. It’s not going to be a quick bloodless coup. It’s going to be a rebellion. A civil war that can last for years.”
“That’s more reason for me to join the fight now!” Ahmed said.
Zula smiled at him. It took everything she had to keep her voice coherent. “I’m asking you not to. Me personally, because I can’t fight effectively if I don’t know you are safe. You’re my only family left in this universe. I can’t lose you too.”
“I…” Ahmed stammered, his face getting flustered. He glanced down. “Why are you fighting then?”
Zula reached forward and grabbed his hands. “So that what happened to our parents won’t happen to anyone else again. Let me do my job so that you’ll have a good future.”
“I didn’t ask for it,” Ahmed said, his voice so low and soft that Zula barely heard it.
“Yet I’m giving it to you regardless.” She grabbed her spoon once again. “Now let’s have our dinner and talk of more cheerful things. 
 

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