Cracks in the Calm

Three days had passed. Three days of an official silence that felt louder than a warning siren.

Lion awoke to the same routine as always. The blue light under the door, the distant hum of the moonbase systems, the weight of a dream he couldn't remember. Everything seemed normal, a perfect copy of the day before. But the moment he stepped out into the corridors, he knew something had broken.

The surface calm was still there; the automated announcements were still reciting productivity reports and cafeteria menus. But the rhythm of the base had changed. Groups of scientists walked at a brisk pace, whispering to each other and casting furtive glances over their shoulders. Military patrols had doubled in number, their boots echoing with an urgency that didn't fit the official state of "peace." The air was charged with an invisible electricity, a sense that everyone knew a terrible secret that no one dared to utter aloud.

As he made his way to the cafeteria, deep in thought, a figure rounded a corner in a hurry and crashed into him with force. Datapads and diagnostic tools fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Kenji!" exclaimed Lion, instantly recognizing his friend's messy hair as they both bent down to pick up the mess.

"Lion, I'm sorry, I...," Kenji started to say, stuffing things into his briefcase without even looking at it. His face was pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost," Lion said, handing him a caliper that had rolled under a bench.

"Something like that. Listen, I don't have time," Kenji said, jumping to his feet. "They called me in. They found out I've been snooping around the Odysseus probe's database. They're going to question me."

Lion's heart skipped a beat. "What are you going to tell them?"

"The truth. That I'm a curious scientist who skipped protocol," Kenji said with a quickness that sounded rehearsed. But his gaze did not reflect the fear of an employee about to be fired. His eyes were fixed on something far away and much darker. Lion knew him from the academy; he knew when Kenji was lying out of fear and when he was lying to hide a greater terror. And this was the latter.

"Kenji, what are you really worried about?" asked Lion in a low voice.

"I have to go," was Kenji's only reply. He turned and walked away down the hallway almost running, leaving Lion with more questions than answers.

With an even greater weight on his stomach, Lion entered the cafeteria. And there, at the same isolated table as always, was Airen. The paper book, whose title seemed to be "Meditations of a Forgotten Emperor," rested in his hands.

Lion picked up a tray out of sheer habit and sat down across from him. For almost a minute, the only sound was the turning of a page. Lion said nothing. He knew Airen would speak when he was ready.

Finally, without looking up from the book, Airen spoke. His voice, as always, was a quiet murmur that seemed to absorb the noise around him.

"Too much movement for so little calm." It was not a question. It was a statement. The same one Lion had been feeling for days.

"The battlesuits are being recalibrated. Assault ship emergency rations have been replenished," Airen continued, as if reading from a shopping list. "And Prince of Vael has spent the last six hours in the tactical simulator, running combat scenarios in low gravity, high population density environments."

Lion put down his fork. "What are you getting at, Airen?"

Airen finally lowered the book a few inches, his eyes fixed on Lion. There was no mystery in them, only absolute certainty.

"They're going to send us to Kalisto's mines. Soon. They want us to stop the troublemakers."Lion leaned back in his seat. He wasn't surprised, just strangely resigned. He was used to Airen knowing things before Central Command itself. It was part of his conundrum. It was the reason why, despite their distance, Lion trusted his perception more than that of any other team member, sometimes even more than his own.

"'Troublemakers'?" repeated Lion, the image of the red "X" burning in his mind.

Airen sketched the tiniest of smiles, one that didn't reach his eyes. "That's the name they give them. But you and I both know that when the government starts simplifying words, it's because the truth is too complex...or too dangerous."

He closed the book with a soft snap. "Brace yourself, Lion. This mission is not what it seems."