CHAPTER 1
Finn
Finn wondered how people managed to look so good at five in the morning. It never worked for him.
Trying to pull himself together, he struggled into his uniform, straightening the stiff collar out and running a hand through his hair. Though he didn’t see the point. It always managed to stick out at the most unruly angles. He looked into the slightly distorted mirror propped against the wall, and almost wished he hadn’t. He looked awful. Dark bags rested beneath his eyes, and he looked as miserable as ever. He tried for a smile, but it just looked like he was grimacing. His eye caught on the empty bed on the opposite side of the room, and he sighed.
Ever since Plebeius had disappeared, he hadn’t been able to get his spirits up. Even though the Guardian had been a pain in the neck, he had been the closest thing Finn had to a brother, to family, and now he was gone. Sighing, he pushed those thoughts away - he had better stop dawdling or he would be late for the meeting.
He wondered what they wanted from him. He was definitely going to be reprimanded. He knew that he had done a frightfully terrible job on his last mission - his emotions had gotten in the way. He continuously cursed himself over that. He had stopped a senior Guardian from shooting down a citizen who had been telling her daughter about the Forbidden Days.
A Guardian can never let his feelings get the better of him when dealing with people. That was the first and foremost rule, and if he couldn’t been able to obey that, how could he ever be as good of a Guardian as Plebeius had been?
He got up from the bed and walked to the door, which opened automatically in response. He made his way through the maze of long corridors. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of them, and would occasionally get lost and spend hours trying to find his way back to his apartment. He admitted he wasn’t the best at navigating.
He didn't waste any time exploring today. One simply couldn't arrive late for a meeting with the Head Guardian. He passed the malfunctioning elevator and sighed. It had been that way ever since he had moved into the Guardians’ accommodations ten months ago. Stairs it is, he thought.
The numerous flights of stairs left him wheezing, as he panted and tried to catch his breath. Outside, a shuttle was already waiting for him - gleaming in the sunlight, silent and waiting.
Finn took a breath. Those were only used by the senior most Guardians and high citizens. This meeting seemed to be awfully important. At the same time, a knot of worry appeared in his stomach. This appointment definitely wasn’t going to appreciate his amazing Guardianship skills, and who knew what news the Head would give him?
The moment he pulled the door shut, the automation kicked into action and the hovercar jolted up off the ground. Finn busied himself with staring out the window, watching as the tops of the Skyscrapers grew smaller and smaller until they were nothing but white blotches on the dirty gray landscape. He could see the Headquarters in the distance. He sighed, wondering what was in store for him.
***
Finn stepped out of the hovercar and looked up, wondering exactly how many floors the Headquarters had. It stretched up as far as he could see, and even though it was quite impressive, it just disgusted him. The building was in perfect condition, sleek white - almost sparkling - and it stood out in comparison to the surrounding buildings because of one thing: they were all dilapidated and in disrepair. People had inked graffiti all over them, and they looked on the verge of crumbling. The Guardians, whose job was simply to take care of the Cassiopeia, to guard it, were failing to do their job.
As usual.
Shaking his head, he entered the Headquarters. A small device was attached to the door. Finn squatted a bit to bring it to eye level, and let it scan his retina.The machine buzzed quietly, and the lock clicked. Then a calm computerized voice was heard, vaguely feminine. Voice sample required. It bounced off the walls of the empty hallway, so Finn was unable to pinpoint it to a specific location.
“Uhh,” he said, unsure of what to say, but apparently this much of his voice was enough. The door slid open soundlessly. But was it just him, or did he hear a humph of annoyance? Grinning, he pushed it off. He would never get used to the latest computers, who had near human intelligence.
Welcome, Guardian Finn Kerrigan. The same computer greeted him. Please report to Room 172.
Finn just took a breath and grimaced. The whole place smelled artificial - like sanitizer and brand new plastiglass. It made him sick to the stomach as he walked through the well-lit halls.
Room 172 wasn’t that hard to find. After a few minutes he was in front of the door, heart thumping, the blood roaring in his ears. He didn’t know he was even that nervous. The door opened automatically.
The man who sat in front of him wasn’t what Finn had expected. What Finn had expected, was probably an old man - stern looking - who would stand no nonsense. So naturally he was taken aback when someone who looked only a few years older than he, was beckoning him in. He had dark hair and ebony skin, a jutting jaw line, and there was something in his unnatural icy-grey eyes that he couldn't pinpoint, but it unsettled him.
“Guardian Kerrigan,” he said, by way of a greeting. “Sit.”
Finn did, settling himself in the uncomfortable seat. He glanced around the room, which was adorned with state of the art technology. The very best. Something told him that hidden beneath the walls were deadly lasers. He made one wrong move, one gesture that seemed threatening to the man in front of him, and he would be as good as dead.
Instead of seeing bare walls, he saw every inch of them covered in screens, showing feeds from all around the city. Finn caught glimpses of the uniform Skyscrapers and rows and rows of Guardians patrolling them. He was disgusted to see that each and every room inside the Skyscrapers was being monitored - a family eating their daily food rations, another father talking to son, and a girl who seemed to be staring blankly at the screen, her eyes hollow.
On his desk was a hologram with the entire map of the city. A green dot pulsated in the centre, and with a chilling jolt Finn realized that his progress had been tracked. Now, more than ever, he wondered what was going on.
The man picked up a small device and switched the holomap off. “As you know,” he drawled, going straight to the point. “Your last mission was a big failure. A disaster. And I promise you, it will have equally bad consequences.”
Finn gasped. He knew that he hadn’t exactly been the best Guardian, but this was just wrong. He was pretty sure there was a rule somewhere about being this blunt. Instead he just replied “Yes sir.”
“Other than your… unfortunate accident, I have been, of course, observing your progress. And I am not satisfied.” He regarded the younger boy with contempt, who cringed and looked down at his lap. “At this point, you have a choice.”
He waited for a response, but when he got only silence, he continued. “You will either be stripped of your Guardianship and job and be exiled. You will have to fend for yourself. You will have no supplied accommodation, no rations… In other words, you’ll be completely under our radar. You, Kerrigan, shall disappear.”
Finn shivered. No food or accommodation in the Cassiopeia? Being left to fend for himself sounded like a terrible idea. He waited for the latter option.
“Or…” he paused and looked out of the window leisurely, as if the livelihood of a seventeen year old did not hang in the balance. “You could be sent on a special mission. Prove to me that you are capable of keeping this position. Show me what you can do.” He fixed his gaze on Finn once more. “I am going to send you on a surveillance mission. You may call it a… probation, of sorts. But you’re not going alone. One of the best agents shall accompany you, to make sure you don’t, as you would say....mess up.” he spoke the words as if they were a foreign language.
As if on cue, the door slid open and a girl walked in, her stiletto boots making a dull clunk on the floor. Her hair tied into a ponytail, she carried herself with a sort of elegant poise - a sort of pride and importance, as if she thought herself to be superior.
Finn groaned inwardly. He had met many such people, and he never enjoyed his encounters with them. They were nightmares to work with. Stuck-up, bossy, full of themselves… the works. They just didn’t understand. Finn was pretty sure that he had already failed probation.
As she took a seat next to Finn, she smiled charmingly at the older man. Surprisingly enough, he smiled back. Finn had thought him incapable of it. He raised an eyebrow, noting that she had hardly even glanced at him.
“Kerrigan, meet Ms. Vaughn. Ms. Vaughn, would you care to introduce yourself?”
“Of course, Lucifer.” She looked across and gave a smug smile "Sofie Vaughn, Senior Officer of the Investigations Department.” She held out her hand to him.
Finn wasn’t surprised. He had expected a title like that. He stared at Sofie’s extended hand blankly for a second, not quite registering everything that had just happened. He looked at her, and she raised her eyebrow.
“...Oh.” He shook hands with her quickly, hoping his hand wasn’t too sweaty. “Er, nice to ….meet you.
“You are…?” She let a small smirk play across her lips as she wiped her hand on her jacket.
Great, he thought. And this was his companion. He was pretty sure Lucifer had especially chosen Sofie Vaughn to show him to what extents his power went. To let him know who was in charge. “Finn. Finn Kerrigan,” he said with as much sauve as possible; trying to work his charms on her, but to no obvious result. If she had noticed, she didn’t let him have the pleasure of seeing it. She turned away as if she had forgotten he existed.
He didn't get time to dwell on that much though, because Lucifer had started speaking again.
“You will begin your mission in approximately...” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Three hours. That gives you enough time to receive a briefing and pack your supplies.”
“Three hours?” Finn sputtered. It wasn’t fair! He had to spend the next who knew how long with Sofie. Just great, he thought.
Lucifer’s lips curved into a smile. “Yes. Today. And note that you are to address me as sir. Understood?”
“Yes.” Finn pursed his lips.
“Yes sir. Now for the briefings of your mission. Sofie-” - Finn didn't know that he was on first name terms with her, but he should have guessed - “will fill you in. You are dismissed.” he said, waving a hand lazily, obviously dismissing the two. Sofie stood up and made for the door immediately, standing in front of it as if waiting for Finn to follow.
He got up and made his way to the door when Lucifer spoke again, almost as an after thought. “Oh, and Kerrigan? Do change your uniform. It’s terribly scruffy. I expect all my Guardians to be in perfect shape everyday.”