Aster watched as Selenia moved about the apartment where he lived. She looked out of place in the humble abode with her silver regal robes and armor, along with the circlet of stars that she wore.

  “How’s the leg?” Aster asked as Selenia checked herself.

  “Great! And all of my bumps, bruises, and scratches are gone too!” Selenia smiled.

  They stood in the primary living quarters of his apartment, adjacent to a small kitchen he sometimes used, as the news was broadcast on the large display screen nearby. Selenia had no shortage of curiosity as she studied every little detail of his dwelling, whether it was the kitchen appliances, the mundane furniture, or the large display screen nearby.

  She listened curiously to the visibly human newscaster as they reported various happenings underground within the Lethea Labyrinth and around the world outside of it; one segment reported the approval of further expansion of certain cities, another about resource and energy allocation for the military and civilian populace, even about mundane matters of the prince and princess of the Arvalheim Kingdom above ground far away on the coast of the Lethea continent.

  Selenia had tidied up in his apartment’s bathroom. But she still checked and patted her clothing and armor, straightening her circlet and hair to ensure she was presentable. She was royalty after all.

  Aster had tidied up as well, though his clothing was far simpler and humbler than hers in comparison. He wore utilitarian clothing in typical Despar civilian fashion, reminiscent of Despar’s military: durable knee-high boots, comfortable leggings, and a jacket over an undershirt.

  His brother Nacht had notified them, after he had left, that they were to be escorted to one of Despar’s military facilities. Someone was soon to arrive, and both he and Selenia were waiting for their escort.

  The apartment doorbell rang.

  Aster smiled as he saw a familiar face on the viewscreen of the nearby console. He pressed a button to let the visitor in. A stern-looking figure walked into the room.

  The visitor saluted. “Lieutenant Commander Mechu,” said the stern figure as she looked at both of them. Her electric blue eyes matched her sharply cropped shoulder-length blue hair. She cut a sharp figure in her black and dark red uniform with rank insignia, black gloves, and a peaked cap on her head.

  Aster smiled and waved at her while Selenia bowed gracefully.

  “Princess Selenia Res Selenar,” Selenia replied as Mechu nodded firmly.

  “Please, follow me,” Mechu said as she led them out of the apartment to their transport.

  Selenia wrapped one of Aster’s cloaks around herself as they left, covering her head and body, as she followed Mechu with Aster close behind her.

  The hallways and lifts of the habitation block were familiar to Aster. At this time of day, while the inhabitants were out and about, some residents were present for various reasons. As they made their way through the complex, Aster waved at some of the other residents who recognized him and waved back. They stared curiously at Selenia, though they knew better than to pry too much, with Mechu glaring sternly at them as they passed by.

  Selenia tried to avoid staring at the residents as she pulled Aster’s cloak tighter over herself. But she smiled at a small harpy child who stared curiously at her, holding their mother’s claw as they passed by. Selenia waved back shyly at the child who appeared captivated by Selenia’s silver hair and eyes.

  Then they arrived at a vehicle bay of the complex. A shuttle lay there. It was a sharp and angular vehicle. It had backward-swept wings with engines built into them that were currently pointed downward as it lay at rest.

  As they entered the shuttle and sat down, Mechu touched some buttons on an internal console, and the vehicle quickly activated. The engines hummed with a blue light as they lifted the shuttle, then reoriented themselves horizontally to propel the shuttle forward at a comfortable acceleration. The vehicle operated itself as its automated flight system took it out of the habitation complex and into a skylane.

  Aster looked out the window of the shuttle. Outside lay the military city of Merida, one of Despar’s key military installations. Located many miles underground in a massive cavern, it stretched miles wide. Numerous buildings of different sizes and shapes lay throughout the cavern. Some lay flat while others towered up in the air for a mixture of various residential, commercial, and military purposes. Further habitation blocks like the one they had left were built into and from the walls of the cavern.

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  A massive dome had been built into the cavern’s ceiling for a variety of functions. It simulated the night and day cycle according to the planet’s rotational cycle. It served to house a variety of infrastructural needs and could even simulate weather conditions as needed or wanted. But its most important feature was that it was a thick and strong reinforced structure that ensured that even in the event of a hostile enemy attack, it could provide structural support to the cavern’s ceiling and offered another layer of protection against enemy weapons.

  Over the years, though Merida’s importance to Despar’s military had waned due to the rise of other key military installations and locations within the labyrinth, it still served important administrative, organizational, and residential functions for the several million military personnel, their families, and additional civilian populace.

  All in all, it was a typical Despar underground city within the Lethea Labyrinth. But while it wasn’t the largest of Despar’s cities, the greatest of Despar’s military strongholds, or one of its most important holdings, it was where he grew up and where he called home.

  It was where he and his family had lived together. He could see the various parks that passed by below, where his big sister Fia had flown him around on her back as a child. Far off in the distance, he could see the various academies he had attended growing up. And all the many places where his mother and father, and all of his siblings, had once lived amongst one another at one time or another.

  Aster saw stars in Selenia’s eyes as she turned her head every which way, agog at everything as she tried to soak in every detail. Selenia stared as she saw figures in the distance every which way as the shuttle moved between buildings and around them. The vague outlines of various humanoid and non-humanoid figures moved about in the distance outside the shuttle.

  Mechu sighed as she looked at Selenia, “The whims of your older sister Serenadelys are annoying at times. To think that she let you bring this princess right to your apartment.”

  Aster chuckled as he shrugged. “Well, you know how big sis Sera is. Couldn’t let the amusement of her little brother bringing home a princess go by,” he replied.

  They sat facing each other. Aster sat by Selenia with Mechu across from them.

  “I doubt that,” Mechu said as she handed both Aster and Selenia each a thick folder of various documents. “Selenia should have been brought straight to a military hospital.” Mechu grunted in annoyance as she continued, ”I imagine your sister probably had her reasons…”

  “You mean reasons like internal turmoil in the military?” Aster guessed.

  “Something like that,” Mechu said as she glared at Selenia, who shrank away from her gaze. “We already have enough problems as it is before considering that a foreign dignitary of an enemy nation dropped right into our lap.”

  Mechu elaborated further, “Your older brother and sister, Nacht and Serenadelys were able to calm and smooth things over for now within General Headquarters. And a suitable resolution was reached for the time being.”

  Aster whistled. “That’s big brother and sister for you, taking care of sudden and unexpected matters in such a short amount of time,” he replied. “And Mom and Dad?”

  “Your mother and father managed to convince the others within General Headquarters that simply continuing the job Selenar started and washing Despar’s hands of the problem was not a wise idea. But even your mother and father’s influence can only go so far,” Mechu replied.

  Aster nodded. His parents, though the nominal Sovereigns of Lethea Labyrinth, had limits to the influence they wielded, especially given the current state of Despar’s political situation.

  “The risks posed by our princess here are not small ones,” Mechu added.

  “You mean Selenia could be the trigger for war with Selenar?” Aster said.

  “A continuation war,” Mechu stated bluntly. “The ceasefire we have with Selenar is tenuous enough as it is.”

  Selenia looked downward. “A war… because of me?” Selenia muttered. She looked up at both of them. “But why would a war start if Selenar was already trying to kill me?”

  “It’s complicated,” replied Mechu. “Suffice to say, things aren’t all well within either Selenar or Despar.” Mechu sighed. “In any case, look through those documents. Aster, you’ll be joining Despar’s military in an official capacity. And our guest princess here is to be considered as a foreign dignitary for the time being.”

  “Captain August will explain further when we reach SETI headquarters,” said Mechu as she picked up a nearby data slate and scrolled across it, viewing the data that displayed itself. “Your sister Fia is already there.”

  “Do you think Fia is going to destroy August’s desk again?” said Aster.

  “I doubt it,” said Mechu. “I warned her last time that if she did it again, it would be coming out of her pay.”—Mechu thought for a moment—“I still would give it a fifty-fifty chance.”

  As the artificial daytime sky of the dome quickly turned from day to night, a faint silver glow began to radiate from Selenia as if she were one of the moons in the night sky through the parts of her body that the cloak she wore didn’t cover.

  Aster chuckled as Mechu stared at Selenia’s silver glow.

  “W-What?” Selenia asked as a faint blush formed on her face.