In the king's palace, the air buzzed with urgency. Servants rushed across the marble floors, placing medals and starch badges carefully onto golden trays, symbols of honor that would soon be pinned onto the armor of the Plazie squad members. Every movement was rehearsed, every plate gleamed under the polished lights of the court.
As our ships landed horizontally onto the royal launchpad, the difference in treatment was obvious. The Plazies walked across a lush red carpet, their boots clicking with pride and thunder. We Btellians took the side route. A narrow, chained pathway, patrolled by silent guards.
We had fought beside them. Bled beside them. And yet, our boots touched dust instead of velvet.
Around the edges of the court, Plazie families stood waiting with joy, greeting their returning warriors with open arms and proud eyes. Cheers, warm embraces, flowers, children clapping. All of it.
None for us.
And then something shifted.
From within the crowd, Raj stepped forward, holding his head high. His voice cut through the hum of nobility as he gestured toward me with boldness.
"This is Bjorn," he said. "He's not one of us. But he's one of the best I've ever known."
He raised me above the other Plazies with those words. And just like that, the noise dimmed. Heads turned.
Among them, I saw her.
She didn't speak. She didn't have to.
Raj's sister.
She stood a few steps behind their mother, silent and poised. Unlike Raj's strong, open stance, she carried a quiet edge, her silence was not shyness, but restraint. Her skin carried a golden hue, polished like smooth stone beneath moonlight. Her sharp, observing eyes didn't blink as they met mine. And when she raised her hand slightly to gesture hello, her hair moved in the wind like silk ribbon caught mid-dance.
She was… carved. That's the only word that came to mind. Like someone sculpted her out of something too perfect for war. But she resembled my facial features on her.
She didn't say a word, not even after the greeting. Her family vanished into the crowd as silently as they'd come.
But in those few seconds, something inside me shifted.
My Btellian heart, which had hardened over years of war, loss, betrayal, felt strangely warm again. Like something ancient had stirred.
As we walked down the chained path carved solely for Btellians, it felt like we were being led across a stage, not to be honored, but to be placed where we wouldn't be seen too clearly. The pathway opened into the grand Award Hall, where two columns of warriors stood, Plazies on one side, us humans on the other. And we were made to face them… like shadows cast by a brighter flame.
Each Plazie soldier stood tall, their armor polished, their chests proudly waiting for the Star Badges, symbols of strength, loyalty, and blood spilled. The king took of his metallic helmet from his face and wore a white cape which flowed like a flag on him which was plugged on his shoulders. One by one, the king himself pinned the golden stars onto their armor. There was silence in the room, but it wasn't respect. It was performance.
And then… he turned.
The king stepped toward us. Slowly. Calmly. Eyes warm, not empty like the others. And when he reached me first, he extended his hand.
Plazie King:(with a knowing smile)
"You've done your job well. Your scars speak of trials… deeper than most."
For a moment, my heart dropped like a stone in cold water.
Did he know?
Did he recognize the truth buried beneath my uniform, my hidden identity, my stolen name, the betrayal of the Lazuli clan?
But no. His eyes held no suspicion. Just a strange kind of kindness.
One by one, he shook hands with all the Btellians. His expression never changed, still kind, still warm. And that alone shocked the Plazie crowd. Kindness wasn't forbidden, but it was… unpracticed.
Still, every one of us knew the truth: a handshake does not erase the chains.
Kind or not, the king would never give us equality. Not here. Not on Elizes.
From the podium above, the Princess stood still beside her father's throne. Her gown shimmered like it was stitched from stars. And her gaze?
Cold.
She looked down at me like I was filth beneath polished glass. Her eyes didn't blink, just pierced. I tried to meet them. Tried to understand if she knew me. But before I could, the steel end of a Plazie rifle pressed into my back.
Guard (low growl):
"You don't look at the royal eyes."
I lowered my gaze, but the fear stayed. Not because of the rifle. But because of her stare. That was not just arrogance.
That was suspicion.
And she was dangerous.
As the ceremony ended and we were moved out, the military General walked in, inspecting us like tools lined up on a dusty shelf.
General (to Raj):
"You've trained the Leish Squad well. Who's your best Btellian?"
Raj didn't hesitate.
Raj:(pointing directly at me)
"That tall one. The one surrounded by the nalined drunks."
The general studied me.
General:
"Doesn't booze like the others?"
Raj:(walking beside him)
"He's wired differently. Built like one of us, thinks sharper than most of us."
I could hear them faintly from my position. I stayed still, but every word etched deeper.
Raj (continuing):
"Back on Btell, we gave the humans a new booze batch experimental. Most of them spiraled into illusion. Saw false worlds. He didn't. Even in that fog, he knew what was real and what wasn't."
The general didn't speak.
He just looked at me.
Grave. Calculating. Impressed.
That look made my spine straighten with something I hadn't felt in a long time pride.
Later That Night
The desert wind howled as I sat in the camp, surrounded by my usual crew some laughing, some passed out, most still haunted. Our food rations were lined up. Raj appeared at the edge of our tent, his face relaxed.
Raj:(with a smirk)
"Why are you wasting your brain in this sandpit with nalined fools? You've trained them for eight years, and they still can't match you."
He waved toward the sky.
"Come. Dinner at my home. My mother cooks rare Plazie fish tonight."
Bjorn:(dryly)
"Humans aren't allowed past the walls, Raj. You know the law."
Raj smiled wider. Like he had already broken it.
Our camp was like a honeycomb of hexagonal plots, five of us in each cell. From above, the layout looked like a geometric ritual: two plots at the top, then three, four, three, and finally two again. Sixty of us packed into one camp like numbers on a ledger. Each cell had a slanting roof, sharp like a blade, and on those rooftops stood the Plazies, watching us, patrolling us. The roofs were connected by narrow beam paths so they could move like spiders over our heads.
After flashing me a smirk, Raj took off a electric badge from my chest and thrown it on my bed, also clipped something to my belt. The next moment, the world spun. My body twisted as if I was a puppet yanked by its string. When I blinked back to focus, he placed a badge on my chest. Instantly, I vanished. Even Raj couldn't see me. Also my men couldn't veiw me but kept their voices down, since I was with Raj.
"Invisible now. Don't talk, just follow," he whispered.
He climbed to the top point of our plot. I followed, unnoticed. A Plazie soldier stood guard with gleaming armor, weapon in hand, eyes cold like polished steel.
Soldier (with suspicion): "Why do you keep checking the camp? You and your father built this zone. You know we've mastered the art of controlling these creatures."
Raj: "Just ensuring none slip out. Like that blonde-haired man who escaped when I was with my father."
Soldier: "That idiot? He forgot we had cameras on him. Didn't matter. Locals caught him. His attendance log was wiped clean. The Plight Badge fixed that. What's the worry?"
Raj (with a grin): "You always underestimate humans from Btell."
The soldier snorted and shook his head. The kind of shake that says, you're not even worth arguing with.
We slipped away. Raj led me through the city, past the symmetrical skyline of Elizes. His home stood like the others four stories, sharp corners, no balconies, no curves. Just a monolith with no arms. Like a proud man who never hugs.
Once inside, he unclipped the badge. I blinked into existence before his mother.
Mrs. Elisha.
A Plazie woman with soft eyes and a face that held centuries of pain and patience. She looked at me not like a species but like a son. Her smile wasn't formal. It was warm. Then she kissed my cheek.
I froze.
That kiss... felt like something I didn't even know I had missed. Not from my father. Not even from my mother. Something older, deeper, and pure. That kiss hit my soul.
Then she arrived.
Anna.
Raj's sister.
She stepped out from her room like a scene drawn in slow motion. Something about her mirrored me, her bone structure, her silence, her stillness. I didn't fall in love. I didn't lust. I... felt responsible. Like I needed to protect her.
Raj: "This is my mother, Elisha. And this... is Anna. I had a brother once. He had a disorder that made him... different. He became one of our planet's greatest scientists. Died years ago with my father on a mission to a planet called... "Ath" I think because back then I,Anna and my mom were unaware of it and also too far from the Chorosh Batallion."
Bjorn (shocked): "What year did your father serve?"
Raj replied.
And I stood still.
That was the same year my own father betrayed the Plazies. The same year he vanished from my life.
A traitor's son now befriending a martyr's family? I felt sick. Like I didn't deserve to sit at their table.
At dinner, we sat as one family. I watched their faces. They looked like me. They chewed like me. They passed the bread just like my father once did. People... are just people. But somewhere along the path, someone taught us who to hate.
The food tasted terrible.
But when Mrs. Elisha fed me with her spoon like I was her baby boy, it didn't matter. The food became something else—like love disguised as a bitter medicine.
Bjorn: "You said your brother had a disorder. How did he become a scientist?"
Raj: "People with disorders are nurtured here. Our best research labs are run by minds that see the world differently."
Bjorn (with a smirk): "Then please tell your sister not to stare like she's dissecting me."
Raj (laughs): "She has face blindness. She memorizes features to recognize people."
That one line melted the weight from my chest.
Night fell. Raj gave me his bed. Mrs. Elisha handed over her mat and pillow. Their kindness wrapped around me like an old childhood blanket. For a second, I forgot I was on an alien planet.
As I sank into the pillow, dreams swallowed me.
I stood in a world unrecognizable. Candy-colored skies. People of every skin tone, laughing, dancing, eating sweets that smelled like memories I never had. It was a world without hate. No Plazies. No Btell. No classes. Just... life.
Then, darkness fell like a curtain.
From that black void came him.
A man my height, more scars, my walk.
He stood barefoot on a scorched land, hands stretched out as if catching the sky. Infront of him, a nuclear explosion, rippling like a demonic flower. Two more warheads fell like stars into his palm. He didn't flinch.
His skin bled from gunfire wounds.
He turned.
It was me.
He smiled not with joy, but with warning.
Like he knew I was watching. Like he was me in another time, another universe, another war.
My heart raced.
My lungs tightened.
I screamed.
I woke up breathless, drenched in sweat. My eyes darted. A mirror stood in front of me, placed by someone who thought it would bring comfort.
It didn't.
It reflected me.
But it wasn't me.
It was the man from the dream.
Same stare.
Same haunted eyes.
Same war in his bones.
I stepped closer. The mirror fogged. My face twisted not in the glass, but in my mind. My reflection wasn't copying me anymore.
It was smiling back.
I stumbled backward, heart pounding like a war drum. That wasn't just a dream.
That was a memory from a future not yet lived.
And somewhere, deep inside my gut—I knew...
The war is already written.
And I'm not ready for it.