● Graviton
Exact Location: Unknown
"Wow," Leo exclaimed as he took in his surroundings. The strange man who interrupted his 'session' and introduced himself as Ajax Astrid took him to a place in Graviton he had no idea existed.
From the exterior, the building looked like a castle with an old 'supposed to be extinct' type of stone, while the inside was a complete maze. When he was being led to the room he was in, Leo had concluded that the old man had lost his way and was just walking in circles but they finally entered the room they were in.
One corner of the room had a large screen that displayed images from all the cameras around the building. Another corner had a shelf that contained large books and in the middle of the room was a small table with two chairs around it.
Ajax groaned as he sat on one of the chairs. "I can never get used to those stairs." He stretched his back before removing the scarf that was around his neck.
"What is it you want to talk about?" Leo Silas asked, already getting impatient. If the dark-eyed man hadn't compelled him into following him, he would have been searching for his next victim, and knowing that the human that would have been his next target would still be walking around the street makes him annoyed.
"And this better be worth my time, old man."
A lady completely au naturel entered the room with a tray that had a kettle and two cups on it in her hand. She set it down on the table and arranged the cups, dropping one in front of Astrid and Leo. She then picked up the kettle and filled both cups before retreating the way she came.
The gray-haired man's eyes followed her body until she was completely out of sight. He cleared his throat and sat properly on the chair.
"I know you are not a Believer," Astrid said while moving his cup to his mouth.
Leo's eyes widened and turned to Astrid. "W-What?"
"You are not a Believer," he repeated. "You only say what you do to appeal to the Believers so you can gain followers before revealing your true identity."
Leo swallowed and his hand began moving to his pocket. "W-what are you saying?"
Astrid smiled and set the cup on the table. "What I meant is-- your beliefs are actually aligned to my Sect's."
Leo sighed and picked up the cup from the table. "You think my beliefs are aligned to your sect? The In'rytr group?"
The old man shrugged. "Maybe not, but we seem to have the same goal, to annihilate every human on this planet and set the course to paradise."
Leo leaned back as the dark-haired man had piqued his interest. "We both know the Star-Lord will not approve of the killing of the humans."
"That's not my problem… they did not heed my words, and the Star Lord went as far as sending an assassin to get rid of me, a Human at that."
"Hmm."
"That is why I decided to take matters into my own hands and annihilate every single human on this planet and any Grey Lander who aligns themselves with them. I have been blessed by the Greyes with courage and strength to do so."
Astrid nodded. "Bold words, and like I said, we have the same goal." He stood up from his chair and started pacing around the room.
"Being a Believer used to have a purpose-- one could say he is one without any ache in their chest, but that was all before the arrival of those humans," he started. "Everything changed, the current Star-Lord created new orders into the Grey book, built those stupid statues, and had the people worship it… it was all disgusting. And I couldn't bear it."
"So I created the In'rytr sect, a place for those who wish to follow the old religion."
Astrid returned to his seat and sighed. "On this auspicious month, we will return things to the way they are, back to the days when one can call themselves a believer with full chest."
"Leo Silas, I've seen your group from the videos you release to the world. I have seen how strong and fearless your group is." He leaned forward. "Join me, and we will return the Grey Fortunes of this planet."
Leo stared at the man for a long while before setting the cup on the table. "And what exactly is your plan?"
"I will start a Great War… one that will be remembered by generations to come."
.
.
.
● Graviton
Exact Location: the Sweepers Organization
- Graviton Division.
Nyx tucked a hair behind her ear and looked up at the building, scanning it thoroughly. "Wow, it is even bigger than the division in Satellite, even though they perform no duty."
Daniel exited the vehicle they arrived in and fixed his suit. "Most of the organization's research and analysis are performed here, it offers offline aid to the organization."
"Right, and those clowns make you come to Graviton to hold a meeting?"
The head of the organization raised his brows. "Every member on the seat aided in the creation of the Organization, and has been helping with crucial decision-making since then."
Nyx walked forward to stand by his side. "You know, when I wrote out that contract, I had no idea the organization had a decision-making group, we need to revise that contract."
"Do not worry, the seat is only for making decisions, I can't use them to send you out of the Organization," he added before walking ahead of her.
The pink-haired woman scoffed. She scoffed again before following behind Anderson. A few moments later, they made their way to the meeting.
"Ms. Jericho," one of the many members called out. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
"I didn't believe it when Daniel told us you were going to join the group, none of us did, but now, I will never doubt a word that comes out of that man's mouth."
They both laughed. "I'm glad to be part of this 'crucial decision-making group'" She kept a smile on her face and her eyes moved to look at Daniel who was behind the man.
He shook his head and found his seat at the head of the table. "Shall we begin please?" Everyone else also sat on their designated seat and they began the meeting.
----
"But do we really need the Star Lord's words on this?" Daniel chipped.
"You have to understand, Daniel, matters regarding the Forbidden Zone are getting too serious for things to remain only as the Sweepers duty," one of the members said. "The issue is becoming one for the entire planet, we need the Star Lord's thoughts on it."
"Very well then, Ms. Jericho will inform the Star Lord regarding the Creatures so we can decide on what actions to take." Daniel turned to Nyx who was beside him.
The pink-haired lady nodded. "Leave it to me then, I'll do my best to make sure everything goes well. You don't have to worry about anything, especially not the MIA."
"It's a relief that you are on our side now," another one of the members said. "Hopefully that'll make the Star-Lord change his mind regarding terminating the organization."
"Moving on," Daniel chipped. "I also received reports from every Sweeper that came back from the operation about a new threat inside the Zone."
Daniel opened a folder and passed a printed file containing the photo of the Rogue Sweepers gotten from the bodycam to everyone in the room.
"I can't believe someone still dared to enter the forbidden zone after what the Star Lord did, this must be big."
"Should I also report this to the Star Lord?" Nyx questioned, causing the room to be swallowed by silence.
"I believe we should." They all raised their heads at Daniel, shocked that the words were coming out of his mouth.
"It's like you said, things are getting too out of hand to not have the Star Lord's thoughts on it, right?"
"Right."
"Plus the Star Lord can't use this against us. But we can use it to have him train more Sweepers."
.
.
.
****
The young Liam slowly opened his eyes and looked around, checking if there was any other person in the room.
He had been instructed by his father to meditate, a way to garner and understand the abilities he apparently possess for being the son of his father. But all that had been happening since he sat down was getting distracted and feeling particularly sleepy.
He sighed and threw himself on the ground, lying on his back after concluding that there was no one else in the room.
"Is that what you do when I'm not in the room?"
Liam quickly got up and veered around to his father. "I… dad… it's not… I…" he stopped and averted his eyes to his feet.
The silver-haired man shook his head before approaching his son. He curbed in front of the young boy and tapped his head. "I know this is not the childhood you dreamt of, but you have to believe me when I say it is not the childhood any other kid in this ship dreamt of."
"And I'm sorry."
Liam raised his head and looked into his father's eyes who gave him a warm smile before tapping his head again.
----
● Satellite
Exact Location: Jenkins's resident.
Liam slipped his phone into his pocket after reading a rather unimportant message and started up the stairs to ring the bell, but just as his hand was a few inches away, the door opened and Thalia stepped out of the house. "You're finally here," she said while fixing the straw hat she had over her head.
The hat complimented the light brown crop top and ash shorts she had on. She also wore a white oversized shirt that was unbuttoned. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She furrowed and pointed a finger at the teal green-eyed man. "What? You want to say I'm too old to be dressing like this?"
Liam chuckled softly and shook his head. "Absolutely not," he replied. "You look… pretty, is all."
The red-haired woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and fixed her hat again, her cheeks turning red. "Oh…" she paused. "Thanks, I guess."
He smiled and extended his hand to help her down the stairs. "So where are we headed?" She asked while taking his hand.
"What I had in mind was to get some snacks, maybe ice cream and watch the Space-ball finals that'll be playing today."
"Snacks?" Thalia called out.
"You know, I've been trying to cut back on unhealthy snacks lately. I just can't shake off the guilt every time I reach for those bags of chips."
Liam raised his eyebrows. "Where's the fun in life without a little indulgence? I say, everything in moderation, including moderation itself."
The red-haired woman chuckled, shaking her head. "I get what you mean, but I've read so much about the effects of snacks on our health. It's hard to ignore."
"Come on, Tails… you used to see the good side of the worst of things, why all of a sudden?" The teal green-eyed man stated. "And life's too short to worry about every calorie. Sometimes, you just need to treat yourself to something delicious and not overthink it."
"When I'm ingesting my snacks, I only think about what I feel on my tongue, everything else is whatever."
She laughed and linked her arm around Liam's. "Fine fine, then how about we go to a spa and have a massage later on? I've been feeling stressed lately."
Liam sighed. "Fine."
....