When Ben entered the main hallway, he saw Elisa arguing with two men.

"Dad!", she shouted. "They want to move into our place. What is going on?"

"No time to explain. You have your ID on you? Good, come with me," Ben said. "The lease is sold."

"Wait, what about our things?"

"We won't be needing any of it. Now come, there is not much time."

Sensing the urgency, Elisa obeyed. They hurried to the elevator.

"I am so sorry," Ben shook, his nerves finally getting the better of him. In less than twenty four hours, a decade's worth of work had evaporated and his once impeccable reputation laid in ruins. Never mind the outright criminal implications. Just ten years earlier, Ben would have never imagined that he would be capable of such acts.

In retrospect, perhaps all the bending over backwards he had put into cultivating professional perfectionism was ultimately meaningless in hindsight. Perhaps his sense of purposelessness resulted entirely from having nothing important to live for besides his daughter, and the illusion that her life would somehow be different, better than his.

But his daughter had been right all along, he realized. The world had been slowly killing them all these years by draining away love, happiness and hope with its incessant pressure, not to get ahead, but to merely maintain their stratum. Ben had only maintained pride and self esteem by upholding external standards of conduct. All of that came crumbling down at a moment's notice if those same eyes looked inside and found him wanting.

Despite everyone agreeing that the world required fixing, nobody seemed willing to step forward voluntarily. That was why Ben chose to take matters into his own hands. Because there was only one way forward, only one way up for his daughter. And it would cost him everything.

Elisa's eyes turned towards him, intelligent enough to form a suspicion of what was happening.

"Mike will accompany you to the spaceport...", was all he could say as the doors to the rooftop landing pads opened.

"You aren't coming," Elisa said, her voice breaking as well.

"Hurry, there isn't much time until departure," Ben said. "Stop at nothing until you are onboard the shuttle."

Elisa hesitated, but Mike grabbed her firmly by the arm and carried her to the waiting aero.

===

The sky broke over the Fengjia compound as Guiren and Yuelang made it to their respective aeros. A sizable detail of guards and attendants stood at attention to see them off. Guard lieutenant Cui welcomed Guiren to the lead vehicle, and crewmen greeted them cheerfully in turn, guiding them to their seats.

After the boarding was complete and clearances given, flight controllers started prepping launch procedures. Soon, the two vehicles took to the sky, their engines roaring as they joined the convoy of unmarked armed aeros that were to escort them to the spaceport.

Guiren felt unsettled as they filed into the city traffic pattern and the geometric rooftop of the compound faded behind him. Part of him couldn't help but wonder whether his forced relocation in fact constituted banishment. Peering out of the window into the sky, he knew this would be the last time he'd see the familiar sunset. Guiren was worried now more than ever that the sun might go dark, the firmament split wide and release the lightning that would incinerate the hapless human forms below. It reminded Guiren forcefully of his belief that these particular events occurred simply when the universe decided to punish humanity for disregarding heaven's laws.

He twitched in shock when amongst the cityscape below, the facade of one of the top floors blew outwards in a bright flash, and the trail of a guided missile leapt up to meet them.

===

The operations room was cloaked in darkness, with only the blue-green of the instrumentaria illuminating the countless faces of the JS corp intel's inner cadre.

"Direct hit confirmed," the tactical officer announced stoically. "Analyzing debris now to confirm the kill."

The commander smiled with inward satisfaction, but cast a glance towards a figure seated quietly next to his console chair. Corp exec Ashanae Avril lounged lazily against her seatback, watching intently as the remaining aeros on the screen dispersed in an erratic pattern, fleeing the scene like a startled flock of waterfowl.

The tactical officer tapped his control panel nervously. A distressed look appeared on his face.

"Well?", commander Mangi demanded.

Another tap was audible. Everyone leaned closer. On the screen, the city was raising alarms, masses of panicking people fleeing from the carnage that had rained down on them from above. Several buildings flickered briefly, and lights dimmed around the compounds. After the illumination subsided, several areas remained blackened by shadows, outlined faintly against the hazy sky.

"Report, now", the commander prompted impatiently. His gaze settled on his subordinate again. An expression crossed the man's features, an unusual mixture of confusion and fear—but mostly resignation.

With steady fingers, the tac ops reputedly ran queries throughout, returning data points, which were displayed on the main view screen.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"The target was not present in the vehicle, sir...", the tactical officer reported after looking carefully at data that was instreamed from the other airborne units.

"Then who was?"

Ashanae let herself sit upright slightly, facing directly towards the commander. Her casual pose gave away a little hint of worry.

A series of ID tags showed on the screen.

"Three inconsequentials and aah..."

"Dear god," Ashanae exclaimed. "You shot down some random Feng child... We totally don't have casus for that!"

"We took out the correct vehicle," the tactical officer stammered. "The one our operative had tagged."

"Where is she?", the commander demanded.

The commline remained quiet. Wanzhan did not answer.

===

The last of the day turned to night, and soon Guiren traded Earth's night sky for the heavens above. He staggered through the orbital transit terminal on unsteady legs, his previously emotionless face contorted into a mask of despair and grief.

"Yuelang...", he muttered, over and over.

"You got to keep going, sir,'' Lieutenant Cui said, supporting Guiren and urging him along. They were late, and their ride to Proxima wouldn't wait, not even for them. With slots for Cyrus' acceleration laser in high demand and fully booked, the ship's captain was well within his rights to close the gates on anyone, topscale exec or not.

===

As the early pre-dawn light slowly crept down the duracrete spires above, Ben shivered. He had been walking all night, unable to rest even for brief moments to recover; sleep eluded him completely. Every sense affixed to any object near him, mindful of shadows hiding around corners, dreading the moment the ax came down on him, yet he still wanted to end this nightmare sooner rather than later. Each sound echoed louder than intended and made him flinch violently whenever someone walked past and overtook him.

Through the blanket of gray mist, wisps of damp vapor emerged occasionally, and vanished before settling solidly onto the pavements beneath. Sighing heavily, hoping the morning air cleared at least some visibility, Ben continued onward, forcing himself to stay focused. If he stopped and allowed anxiety and doubt set into hold, he knew they would eventually tear through his sanity. As long as he kept moving, however, as long as he didn't stop anywhere, he would remain whole. Nothing that could happen here mattered anyway, since nowhere was safe anymore. There was no future left for him. He was surprised it had taken as long as it had.

The shroud surrounding him was bathed in neon colors as Ben crossed the perimeter into Hinosun Plaza.

Dozens of restaurants eagerly peddled their food offerings and cheaply decorated baroque eateries served fine grub to workers seeking refuge in the morning cold. Others offered buffet style breakfasts and lunches outside where busy humans whizzed between tables piled with every type of greasy delicacy known to mankind. Street vendors mingled among hungry passersby offering fruit shakes, fresh juice concoctions, steaming teas of almost every kind, fish ball soups and plenty of local snacks and desserts of fried lotuses, breads and cakes smeared liberally with sweet sauce.

Standing at a table, his black helmet resting in front of him, was the man Ben was looking for.

"Mike!", Ben called.

Mike spun around with a speed that startled Ben.

"Sorry," he said, realizing that he had approached Mike from behind, quite inadvertently.

Mike studied his former client thoughtfully, observing how nervous he truly was.

"You're a mess, sir," Mike said. Then he held out a half-eaten package of fried squid. "Want some?"

The smell of food made Ben realize how ravenously hungry he was, yet stress made his stomach knot. He shook his head.

"Why did you come here?", Mike asked.

"I'll go sit over there," Ben said. "With a bit of luck, the pay should be enough to get your daughter into uni."

===

The interior of the first class cabin was spacious. Guiren would spend the next several days here, closing his remaining affairs he was leaving behind on Earth while he waited for the rest of the passengers to be put to cryostasis. First class entailed him the privilege to be amongst the last of the passengers to go in, and more importantly, the first to come out.

The acceleration from the ship's engines gently pushed him into his seat. In spite of earlier events, Guiren felt almost peaceful. Restricted movement meant less strain for both body and mind. Just a few more days awake, and then he'd be at Proxima. Life would find new balance, he tried to assure himself. Glancing at the empty seat next to him, he felt his emotions crop up again. He had hoped to make this journey with his son at his side, but it was not to be.

It hurt, but Guiren refused to succumb to misery. He comforted himself by thinking how his memories of the journey would be stored and integrated into his new incarnation upon arrival, and returned to tending his remaining tasks.

A notification was waiting for him.

With a heavy sigh, Guiren learned of Ben's fraudulent acts the day before. The franchise was already divvied up for scraps, and the investment credit unrecoverable. As the largest party with holdings, they were slated to lose seventy seven percent of its equity capital due to the fraud alone, not counting subsequent legal proceedings stemming from illegal transactions that had to be reverted and third party obligations that went into abeyance.

Guiren scrolled further down the report and could not hold back a smile of admiration.

The daughter, onboard the very same ship! Some miracle indeed! Guiren's admiration grew, the first time in a long while that he had seen deception and swindling used to attain a worthy goal.

He knew what he had to do however, the bounty contract for the father was already drafted up and in need of his signature. But did he really? What difference would it be to him? Here, on this outbound craft traveling lightyears away? Did he care about his reputation as leader and businessman on a planet he would never even set foot on again? Shouldn't he act according to his morals instead? After the loss of his own son, was it his conscience silently reproaching him?

The child's words echoed in his mind once more. If we did not, wouldn't this world be happier?

Perhaps he lacked proper motive. No matter though, fate was just beginning to play a role once more, by chance summoning him across space and time to choose anew...

Guiren read the document over twice. Still, he hesitated to sign.

A chime of the cabin door broke his thoughts.

Guiren bade enter, and lieutenant Cui appeared as the panel slid away silently.

"Sir, there is someone here to see you. Your attaché Wanzhan Sekhon?"

A familiar, charming face peered around the corner of the doorpost and smiled invitingly.

Guiren smiled back and beckoned her to enter, but not before approving the contract in front of him and pushing the panel out of the way.

She looked delighted when she stepped inside and locked eyes with Guiren.

"I can't deny I missed you," Guiren said after the lieutenant had left and closed the door.