As I looked out of the reinforced spire window in the palace hall I couldn’t help but wonder. How did people perceive rain on their planet?

My mother and father told me tales of their youth, how they played in the rain and got mud on their clothes. How they got scolded for going outside during the rain. How they enjoyed the rain.

I wonder what that’s like. To walk through the rain, to be able to wear nice clothes without hardware in it. To not be afraid to go outside, to have rain that doesn’t have acid and other chemicals mixed in. To have the luxury of bathing in clean spring water. That is why we work tirelessly, so that one day we too can enjoy our planet’s rain.

The door on my right opened with a hiss, accompanying it was the sound of familiar steadfast military boots clanging against the metal ground.

There stood my father’s trusty friend and military advisor, Xander. He came with us when my parents were ‘gifted’ planet Rafar by the Autarch Union for their exemplary service, along with quite a bit of credits. I think they gave those credits out of pity, as we are so far isolated that there is barely anyone out here that we can trade with. Good thing then that my mother used them to buy materials to build Rafar’s space station.

“Are you lost in thought again Jason?” asked Xander.

“Sorry about that..” I replied.

He waved nonchalantly “Don’t worry about it, considering the state of your parents and your recent interaction with your friend..”

I shook my head “What Lady Romira does from now on is her own business, but she ain’t no more friend of mine.” Xander hid his reaction well. If I hadn’t known him since birth I wouldn’t have spotted the sad look in his eyes hiding amongst the many scars etched onto his obsidian-colored skin.

I close my eyes to push away the memories of my former friend, replacing them with a cold feeling of resolve and duty. “Report, Xander.”

Xander assumed a crisp military stance, standing wide and folding his hands behind his back. “Currently both Lord and Lady Rafar are being treated for radiation poisoning. With them being indisposed for the moment, overall command falls to you Lord Jason El Rafar.”

I figured that would be the case.

“I see… How did the radiation get in?”

“As far as our engineers can determine their suits had minor leaks, which is how the radiation got in.”

“Was it sabotage…”

He shook his head “We checked for the usual spots and found nothing. It truly seems to have been an accident.”

“Really? Then why was it spotted so late? Those suits are reinforced and designed for the outer atmosphere, if there was a leak of any kind the internal systems should have sent immediate warning signs!!”

“They should have, alas those suits are ancient by today's standards, the fact they work at all despite the lack of resources is a testament to the ingenuity of our engineers.” Following Xander's eye line I saw my fist clenched without my knowledge

Get it together Jason.

I took a breath, unclenched my fist, and refocused.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t take my anger out at you, especially given the current circumstances.”Xander wanted to say something but I motioned with my hand for him to stop. “Right now my feelings can’t take precedence. For the time being my actions reflect that as the ruler of Rafar and not as Jason.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I sighed and showed a weak smile “I hope you can help me get through this Xander.”

Xander nodded “Of course. To change the topic then, there is a matter that requires your immediate attention.”

“What’s the problem?”

Xander let out a rare grin. “For once it’s not a problem.”

[ Rafarian Palace | Engineering Bay]

I flanked by Xander and three other royal guards walked into the Royal Engineering bay. The place usually bustled with life, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. Head engineer Grimar came to a stop in front of a heavily secured door and started the unlocking process.

“So ya see we found some of dem really old tech in one of dem derelict ships up er.” He motioned upward with a finger whilst fiddling with the door panel with his other hand.

I cocked my head.“How old are we talking Grim?”

“Colonization era olde.”

“Before or after the formation of the Autarch Union?”

Grimar turned and grinned, exposing the cybernetic teeth under his oily brown mustache.“Before.”

I shared a look with Xander. Pre-A.U era tech is almost unheard of in this day and age.

Grimar had opened the door. We left the guards outside to guard the entrance before proceeding onwards.

“It'll be a miracle then if anything is left functioning after that amount of time.” Replied Xander.

Grim nodded. “Ay, a miracle it certainly iz, luckily de lads ere are pretty gud at what they du.”

We stopped at a large empty metal table in the engineering section with all kinds of ancient parts strewn around.

“Okay enough with the showmanship, shows us what you found Grim.”

“Ay lad-” Xander stared a hole into the small man. “I meanz lord, one second ay.”

As Grimar looked for whatever it was he wanted to show me Xander turned to me with an inquisitive eyebrow “How do you even understand a word he says?”

I shrugged “You get used to his ‘accent’.”

A moment later Grimar brought a cylinder-shaped container up on the table from who knows where. “Dere ya go, lord, in ere lies da top of gud ol colonization era tech, an AdVancement chip.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes, one of the most prized possessions of the colonization era is in front of us. Sure many things have advanced quite beyond the old tech but this particular piece and its fabrication methods had been thought lost to time.

“Tell me if I’m wrong Grim, but if I remember my history correctly the A.V chips were supposed to help people get better at specific jobs by providing certain built-in skills or abilities that differed per chip?”

“Ay, dat i’ll be de gist of it.” Said Grim whilst cleaning his work goggles.

“What about compatibility issues? Will our cyberware be able to run it?”

“In most modern cases, nuh way in hell lad, but in ours? Our tech should be uld enough da run it just fine.” Xander seemed too stunned to correct the man.

I clapped my hands in excitement “This is the advantage we’ve been looking for! When can we expect R&D to produce more of these chips?”

Grim looked away awkwardly.

“Grim?”

Grim started scratching his bald head as he looked away from me.

“Da chip ain’t reproducible,” he muttered.

“What?”

Grim sighed “Wez did some research, apparently dis ere be a spare chip. By design, dem chips ain’t copieable. Dey likely made em dad way to prevent theft by enemyz. There ain’t no way we iz gonna be able da copy nor produze it. And frankly, even if wez could du it, we ain’t have da tech nor resources da make it happen.”

Of course, things wouldn’t be that simple. We’ve been looking for years to find some ways to improve our people’s lives, why do I even hold out hope for some silver bullet at this point...

“So why does this require my immediate attention?”

“Da chip be dying lord. During iz wee long stay in da broken ship in orbit it began lozing integrity, wez been able to restore it to a functioning state, but it can’t last longar.”

“So you want me to find a suitable candidate for it?”

Grim shook his head. “Wiz got dat covered.”

“Who?”

Grim pointed at me.

“Da chip be containing data on adminiztration, construction, and mangezement. It’ll be perfect for yee az a future rula. Besidez we’z got but a few hourz left before it goes.” Grim made a breaking motion with his hands.

“Any risks involved with implanting this relic into our lord’s head?” asked Xander.

Grim shook his head “We’z made sure that if somethingz gous wrong wez can remove it safely.”

“How long would the operation take?”

“Ay couple of hourz.”

I looked at Xander “Any other thoughts?”

“Normally I don’t think this would be a good idea, but we currently lack too many things, the populace can barely live in safety and even that won’t last long with the current trade convoys going missing, frankly we need any advantage we can get. That said I’m not happy with putting some ancient unknowable tech into your head, especially with Lord Collin and Lady Miranda out of action.”

I looked at Grim “We’ll proceed with the operation immediately Xander you will have operational control, I also need you to look into the source of these missing convoys.”

Xander looked resigned but nodded and left for the upper spire again.

After Xander was gone Grim gave me a grin.

“Ya ready to take a nap lad?”

“Let’s get it over with.”