Unmoving

My gaze sharply fans across The Order of Konn servants standing in the corners of the room and then the colourful assortment of food laid out across the long white dining table. I scan the fruits, soups and strangely shaped pastries before meeting my mother seated cross the dining table as she sips her soup. I follow suit.

"The speech, have you started it?"

"For the new unveiling of the Dome fusion cell?"

"Yes."

"Just greetings."

"You have a month, so try work on it whenever you have time."

I nod. I continue sipping my soup before looking up and meeting the glare of my mother.

"So, Rosa didn't come yesterday."

"Unfortunately." I shrug off.

"It is not like her to do that; you should pay her a visit," she says as she cracks a rare smile, "I can really see the Konn household moving to The Health & Safety Ministry, wouldn't you say?"

I nod.

"Yesterday, what were you and grand-uncle Calihan doing in The Consortium Auditorium?"

My fingers tap the table as I way the question.

"Nothing, you know grand-uncle, always trying to educate me on all things Union even if it means an impromptu Consortium field trip." I lie. Her dislike for Calihan comes from her thinking he's a bad influence, a distraction. But I'm all he has in this castle and this dome, and she'd forbid me to be around him if she didn't accept this fact as well.

"I see...with regards to Rosa, I trust I won't have to remind you to pay her a visit again?"

"No, mother."

***

The smell of pine diffuses through the air. In our white long shirts and slacks, we stand in the flowery Citadel gardens overlooking the pine trees that surround the castle and the misty fog that obscures the castle from citizens of Level One. A reloading of a rifle can be heard before a clay disk shoots into the grey overcast sky.

"There!" Calihan exclaims. We cock our rifles and aim at the clay disk. I fire hitting the clay disk effortlessly. The servants load another and I hit the clay disk again, and again. Calihan lets out a faint curse.

"I forgot how good you are at this." Calihan raspy voice says.

"After all," I say as I crack a smile, aim the rifle, and turn another disk to dust, "you taught me."

I turn to him and my smile vanishes. His temple implants turn red as he stares at his rifle confused before he turns to me with his lips and brows squeezing in disgust. His implants then turn green and his cheerful disposition quickly returns. He smiles at me, and I give a weak worried smile.

"I seemed to have forgotten to remember how good I was at this." He says as he gives a ragged cough.

We move down the garden to set up the clay disk shooting somewhere else. We reload our rifles and wait for the disk.

"There!" Calihan exclaims. We aim again, this time I miss it on purpose. Calihan hits it smiles.

"Com 'on, let's try again, maybe you can hit one this time."

***

I sit in a room and take notes on my screen as an AI voice narrates Lost Civilisation Artifacts projected on a screen.

"Can we do the Great Pyramid of Giza?" I ask.

"Of course, any reason for the spark in interest Sovreign?" the female voice says as the project displays a large triangular object.

"A gift."

The projector then begins to narrate the images and asks me questions.

"What was its Lost Civilisation location?

"Northen Egypt."

"Purpose to the Lost Civilisation Egyptians?"

"The final resting place of the Pharoh Khufu which later became a tourist location."

The projector emits a chime.

"All correct." The female voice says before adding, "Your Lost Civilisation test scores have surpassed your father, Supreme Leader Senecca Konn, when he was you age, well done Sovreign. Should we try another Lost Civilisation test?"

"Lost Haven."

The computer waits a beat as it processes the information. The projector displays the symbol of a white horse rearing in a black shield.

"Lost Haven is a mythical city located in The Lost Civilisation Catacombs," a painting of a large weathered sealed gate fills the screen, "the story goes as follows, to preserve humanity in the case that world was destroyed by the impending nuclear fallout war between the different Lost Civilisation factions," the screen switches to a painting of an underground facility, "human embryos were stored in an underground bunker which was powered by a broken arrow, waiting to be activated-"

"Broken arrow?" I ask as my body goes still.

"A broken arrow is a military term used for a stolen nuclear warhead. In this story, one of the nuclear warheads, infamously known for bringing the end of the world, was stolen and turned into a power cell for the underground facility known as Haven – thus turning it into a broken arrow."

My mind races to the distorted documents on the data sphere.

"What LC faction was behind stealing-"

"This is a fictional story Sovreign, no Lost Civilisation faction was behind this project."

I squeeze my eyes and sigh as I let out an awkward laugh. "You're right, the thought of this existing would strictly be against Praxis."

"There are no questions I can derive from this; would you like to choose another?"

"That would be all, thank you."

"Goodbye."

***

I stare at the glowing blue drives that hold the books in the library as I sit in my chair. I bounce my foot as the Broken Arrows concept reverberates in my head.

"Computer, search for documents on Three Broken Arrows of The Apocalypse."

"Searching." A voice echoes through the room before saying, "no results."

I sigh as I rub my finger across my forehead as I think.

"Change filters, include unofficial documents, pictures, and recordings."

The computer chimes before saying, "no results." causing me to sit up in my chair.

"Imposible," I say under my breath, "switch to manual."

The computer bells as a wall tile slides open and reveals a platform, it moves across towards me and I stand on it. A control panel comes to life, and I type the words 'three b-' the platform rises and glides past the various drives before stopping. I scan the titles as I move the platform slowly across the wall of drives. I stop at the drive labelled Three Broken Arrows only to see the drive removed. A black hole contrasting the glowing blue. I scan my index on the hole where the drive was removed from.

***