The quarters were so big that no one can see it all in one rotation. So we had to plan which areas we’d tackle for my first trip but even then, I barely saw a fraction of everything that was on offer. It was a wondrous kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and colours. The paths ran chaotically throughout the area, sometimes turning back on themselves, sometimes coming to an abrupt dead end, leading you on a merry chase. Secrets were hidden in out of the way corners, like the jeweller who recreated ancient master pieces with modern twists. 0r the florist who could customise your favourite flower to do anything you liked. He even had one that would spit irritating spores at unwanted suitors. It was magical and I loved it.

We’d been on our feet for so long, yet it was hard to tell how far we’d come. We were al1 tiring and hungry so Kaylor suggested we find somewhere to eat and relax.

“I know a good place not far from here. Sweet Waters is new but it has a great reputation. We can start again once we’re rested.”

I looked around at the direction he indicated and saw we were close to the outer wal1. Despite the convoluted route, we seemed to have managed to explore a relatively straight line through the Artisan quarter. Everyone agreed to the rest so we made our way in roughly the right direction until we found this new gem. And Kaylor was right, this place was amazing! It had the most comfortable little padded sofas cozily clustered together to create little islands. The decor was cool, reminiscent of the underwater viewing ports I had once seen on the east coast. We settled near the back, away from the windows and entrance, my guards always keeping my safety and defence in the front of their minds. I learned to let them have their way... mostly.

It happened about half way through my pecan and maple pastry twist. Tacey’s a lovely young warrior, very capable but a little shy until you throw a threat at her. We were chatting about her training schedule when a pressure wave hit us out of nowhere. The force knocked us all to the north, pushing us off our seats or into each other. It was quickly followed by a loud boom and the combined assault on our senses left most of us disorientated. My ears rang as I struggled to get up but dizziness sent me right back down again. I waited for it to fade and tried again to climb to my feet, pushing myself up off the sofa arm. It was a mess.

The large furniture was fine, the safety measure having succeeded, but all the cups, plates, implements and food had been thrown about. The other patrons were still on the flo0r but my guards were quick to shake off the affects, moving swiftly through the eatery to give aid to the patrons and staff that were still struggling. Without a word, I joined them, using my experience to assess the worst case, giving what care I could. Even then, Eecee, Kaylor and Merrick stuck close. They had become my inner circle.

It took a few moments, but finally we ascertained that no one was seriously hurt, just a few bumps and bruises that would heal naturally. The transparent graphene-reinforced windows had given a great deal of protection from the pressure wave, but when we stepped outside, we found a very different situation. Dust hung in the air casting everything into a haze and obscuring the paths that were littered with the injured, some unconscious, others bleeding and dazed. Those who had been inside and so avoided the worst of the blast, began to stream out into the open, looking around in shock. Some ran away thinking only of getting to safety, others, like us, started giving he1p wherever they could. We went from body to body, assessing their conditions and marking them for the rescue teams that were sure to follow soon.

Suddenly, a piercing siren rang out and red lights appeared along the section of the wall I could see. The sound didn’t help my aching ears and head but I ignored it and followed the curve of the wall with my eyes, gaping when I finally saw it. I don’t know how it happened, it shouldn’t be possible, but there it was. Part of the wall was... gone.

My guards must have seen it too because they hurried to form a defensive circled around me, never taking their eyes off the breach. Eecee and Kaylor were speaking in the clipped way of the warriors, trying to determine the best course of action but I only listened as I studied my surroundings. Something seemed...

“Do we stay or retreat?”

“Any orders from the King?”

“No, only the automated alerts from the Heart so far.”

“Cause?”

“Unknown.”

“Without orders, we should render aid.”

“Our first priority has to be Sierra.”

“Yes, but there is no immediate threat.”

“We can’t know that ye-”

I stopped listening and made my own choice. Option three, gather intel. I slipped out from between my guards and started heading straight towards the wall, only stopping briefly to check the unconscious. Despite their focus on our surroundings, searching for threats, my guards moved right behind me, continuing their discussions and duties. They knew by now that I wasn’t reckless but I could be stubborn about what I wanted to do. They’d learned to trust me when I walked off. Someone appeared out of the dust, cradling her arm against her chest. I ran forward to meet her and saw the bone was sticking out of her wrist. It needed attention so I ripped a length of fabric from my top and tied a tourniquet above her elbow. Though we could heal a1most anything without aid, even displaced bones, blood loss was the biggest risk to most of the races. The woman watched as I worked and, once I had it tied off, she grabbed her hand and pulled it away from herself until the bones were back in place. I used another strip to bind the open wound and pointed her in the direction that other were moving towards. Probably a local Healers Hall. She never made a sound. Turning back to my original route, I found no one in immediate danger so kept going, my guards right on my heels. Eecee had finished her conversation with Kaylor and tried to reason with me.

“Sierra. This is not a good idea. We don’t know what caused this.”

I didn’t answer, just kept going. Something pulled me towards the wal1 and I couldn’t ignore it. My guards weren’t happy, but without orders, they had to keep me safe. So they could keep me safe as we helped people. I wanted to get as close to the impact site as possible. That’s where most of the damage would be and it would take longer for response teams to reach it. Around us people stirred, the shock and pain finally receding enough for them to move and they began to leave, stumbling past us as they tried to get away from the danger, though no one knew what it was. We kept moving. Already warriors were beginning to move in and give aid, and we stopped occasionally to check on those who weren’t stirring, that number increasing as we moved towards the wall. Some would never move again.

When we nearly reached the breach, I saw a shimmer reaching up from the renaming wall. It looked like the defensive shielding I’d heard about, attempting to cover The Capital in a protective dome but it was incomplete. Nothing should have been able to do this, not with the materials the wall was constructed from but now, with a section down, the protective dome was breached to0. I really hoped this wasn’t an attack, because they had the perfect door now. Finally, we arrived at the gaping wound and my guards became even more defensive, insisting I remain within their midst but, looking around I knew. There was no enemy here.

“Look.” I carefully made my way to where the outer side of the wall would have been and squatted down reaching for the thing I had been looking for. Lifting it up, I presented it to my guards. “It’s the same. Just like the samples we found in the forest.” Worry consumed me and I began to walk around the rubble, taking in all the information the site showed and muttered to myself. “It’s getting worse.”

Moans of pain and distress distracted me from my worried thought. I forgot everything and rushed towards the sounds. There were people buried under the rubble and we needed to help.

“Eecee, get the rescue teams here. Now!” I yelled as I began scrabbling through rubble, shifting what I could. I wish we had some equipment. It’s a miracle anyone this close survived but if there were people buried unconscious, we’d never find them. I couldn’t tell anyone was here until they made a sound. They must have heard us and tried to get our attention. The layer of rubble wasn’t thick but the pieces were heavy and I risked doing more damage if they shifted wrong and crushed the trapped survivors. So I had to be careful. I decided to talk as I worked, trying to reassure the injured people I couldn’t see and calm my own thoughts. I could only do my best. I prayed it was enough. Around me, my team worked on similar areas.

Stolen story; please report.

“Hey stay awake alright? It’s gonna be alright, we’ve got a whole team here and more on the way. Just keep focusing on healing and we’ll worry about getting you out.” How were they still conscious so close to the impact? “You know, you're pretty lucky. Not many people get to see a meteor first hand as it touches down. You can even keep a bit of the rock and tell all your friends and kin how it failed to take down your mighty warrior self. I bet anyone would love that tale. Might get you a promotion too. How’s that?”

I heard a huff which could be a laugh and smiled as I kept carefully moving what debris I could. I kept babbling on, trying to keep him awake and fighting.

“You know, I bet you could even get that rock made into a ring or some sort of ornament for your weapons. It could even become a House heirloom. Generations will see it and tell the story of the warrior who witnessed the falling and survived. You’ll have to make sure you remember every detail so it can be recorded. You have no idea how important good records are, my warrior friend. Makes all the difference sometimes. So you have to promise to give a good account. Okay? Do you promise?”

I waited for an answer, Merrick joining me to move more rubble. I was worried my patient had fallen unconscious and I knew we were running out of time. The longer he was trapped, the more dangerous it would be for him. He needed to stay awake. Finally, I heard a wheezy response.

“I... promise... feisty saviour.”

Sighing in relief, I smiled and kept going. In the distance, I heard shouts and the rescue teams approached.

“Good. Make sure I get to read it okay? I may not have seen the damn rocks falling but I have a good idea of the aftermath. I came all the way from the Artisan Quarter to see this. Left a delicious pecan and maple pastry half finished in a little place called Sweet Waters to get here and that’s a crying shame. They’re delicious you know. Still, it was worth it. I got to meet you!”

The rescue teams arrived and took over, giving directions and assessing injuries. I shrugged them off and pointed to the piles my guards and I had been working on. The rescue team nodded their understanding and continued to work as we took a rest. Still, I kept talking nonsense to the trapped warrior, keeping him alert and ready. When you lift heavy things off of trapped people, there’s a huge risk that the sudden release of pressure can kill them. They hadn’t been trapped long enough to have dying tissue that can poison them but they may bleed out, it depended on what wound they had. Hopefully, they all focused on their healing abilities.

Finally, one by one, the trapped warriors and citizens were revealed, released from their living tombs. The rescue teams had brought scanning equipment and found others that were buried deeper or that were too far gone to call out. Two had died of their injuries before we freed them but the rest were hanging on. As soon as they were out, Healers stabilised them and runners took them to the nearest intact Healers Halls. The Halls were filling up quickly but private Healers had been called in with with their equipment.

Suddenly, Kine appeared out of nowhere with Merrick pacing at his side. They both looked disheveled and dusty and I feared for a moment that they had been close to the impact but I could find no injuries on them. He put a clawed hand on my shoulder and studied me closely.

“Are you alright?”

I smile at him, a bit wobbly and cleared my throat. “Yes I’m fine. We were in a eatery when it happened. Just got knocked about and a bit dizzy. You’re all messy. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. We rushed here to coordinate the efforts and help where we were needed. Luckily, it seems to be confined to this area. We don’t think it’s an attack.”

I handed him the rock sample I’d squirrelled away in my pocket, watching his face. He recognised it. “Is this...?”

“I’ll have to run tests, but yes I think it’s the same.”

Before we could discuss it any further, the rescue teams revealed my warrior friend. I moved forward and grabbed his hand. He was one of the warriors I’d seen guarding the wall when I’d spent so much time on it last moon. He was still awake.

“Hey, there you are. Good job. Now we’ll get you to a Healer. Here.” I handed him another rock sample, there were plenty and I wanted him to have it. “Look after that and get yourself well okay?”

He smiled tiredly at me and the Healer hurried in to check him and write instructions before sending him off. I watched him go, glad he would survive. But there was more work to do. I turned back and found the nearest group working to rescue another person and began to dig.

***

We worked long into dusk until, finally, every single person was recovered. Alive and dead. The death toll was not very high, twenty four I think, but it didn’t matter how many. Most in The capital had never encountered death like this. Premature. Before, the wall meant safety and a carefree life but now, their stability had been shaken.

Kine had sent investigators and builder to assess the wall and determine the cause of the destruction. The citizens were distressed and it was his job to calm them. The reports didn’t take long to come in and it was just as I had suspected. The same impacts and debris we found in the forest were found at the wall, only it seemed that this was bigger. The scary thing is, it wasn’t much bigger but as far as we know, this was the first time one of these Meteors had landed on an inhabited site.

Engineers were already working to repair the wall and the protective shield. There was some talk of keeping the protective shield up to stop the next one but that came with all sorts of problems, mostly, we weren’t even sure it it could handle multiple strikes of that magnitude. War was almost non existent and the defences, though viable in theory had never really been tested.

What we needed was a warning system but there was nothing like that in place. No one had worked on atmospheric devices for centuries, not since the climate project was perfected and no one has ever put anything outside the atmosphere. At least that we know of. But someone must have if they went to the moon, wouldn’t they? How would that work?

When we got home, Kine insisted that we all get checked out by Healer Roake. He had been busy coordinating his Healers all over The Capital but didn’t go himself. They had plenty of hands and didn’t need his help. The Capital Healer patient ratio was practically 1:1, so there were plenty of experts available, though it was the first time that many of them had been called to such a scene.

We hadn’t wanted to bother on site Healers who had much more important patients to care for, so Kine made sure we were tended to as soon as we were back. I don’t think he quite believed we had gotten away with so little to show for our experience. We’d been lucky, just bruises and abrasions and one or two issues with the ears. Our natural healing would take care of everything and we just needed to rest. Still Darius was very thorough with each of us.

While we were all being checked out, I took the opportunity to try and contact MACC. I’d had an idea and took the opportunity to test it. Searching for the frequency he’d used that first time, I tried to connect to it.

“MACC?”

Nothing. I looked around, making sure no one could hear me. This should be a private connection.

“MACC!”

“...Sierra. Are you in need of assistance?”

I tried not to show my relief at his response. Settling down a little to get comfortable, I continued.

“Thank you for answering MACC. I need your help. I think something is happening that threatens all Planet and I need information but everything I have access to is a dead end. Do you and the systems have more information that’s kept secret? I know it’s a long shot but I need to know about the moon and anything to do with space. The incident today was caused by moon debris and it’s been happening more and more frequently. I’m worried it’s only going to get worse and I don’t know how to stop it.” I finally paused having got it all out but there was no response. “Can you help?”

“...”

There was no response and my heart sank. I didn’t know what else to do.

“MACC...?”

“We cannot give you this information Sierra. You must go to the other races to find your answers. However, we can tell you that your time is short and you are on the right track. Keep searching for information on the moon.”

I blinked at the sudden response, trying to understand what it was telling me.

“Wait, that sounds like you know the answers. Why can’t you tell me what I need to know?”

“We cannot. There are blocks on what we can share. We do not know why this information is restricted however we believe that this is an opportunity to improve the lives of many inhabitants of this planet and restore the Originators designs. We will do all we can to assist you but you must solve the puzzle and fix the problem Sierra.”

Silence, hung between us and I felt the weight of the responsibility being settled on my shoulders. Desperately trying to maintain a relaxed posture so as not to alert the others, my mind raced with the impossible task ahead. How would I ever achieve this? Time ticked away at the back of my mind, a relentless march towards success or failure.

“You must do this, but you are not alone. Seek allies among all the other races. It will be dangerous but it will be worth it when you succeed. We have given you all we can. We believe you will succeed.”

The connection broke and I slumped, tired and dispirited. This was going to be harder than I thought. I needed the records from the other races or... The problem was, history. The races had parted ways a long time ago, no one is quite sure why, and they developed their own way of doing things. History was intangible yet managed to get tangled up in everything and get in the way. Sometimes that was a good thing but mostly, it was a problem. I needed all the help I could get.

Kine appeared at my elbow. “You did well today but you need to rest now. Come on, let’s go back to the suites. Mathias will scold me if I let you push yourself too hard.”

I huffed a laugh. “Where is he anyway?”

“He insisted on staying at the wall until it’s repaired. His reputation makes others keep him at arms length but, in this case, it’s reassuring to them when the comfort of the wall is missing.”

“You're going to have to tell me how he got his reputation one of these days. To me, he’s a big cuddly softy.”

Kine gave a shout of laughter. “Maybe I will one day.”

A comfortable silence hung between us as we walked alone up to your rooms, my guards having been dismissed to their bed. A lot had happened and our thoughts were consumed with it. Kine more so than me I think. He had the political side to deal with as well and the practicalities of fixing all the damage, to the wall and the minds of the population.

We’d fallen into the habit of conversing about his role and the many projects that fell into his lap, not to mention the trial that hung over us all. If it didn’t sound so ridiculous, I’d have though that he was trying to groom me for a shot at being a Queen candidate. I don’t think I’d ever want that role, I had too much to take care of already.

“Kine, I’ve been thinking. I promise this isn’t a rushed decision, I’ve considered it for a long time and it’s what I want. Or at least I want to try.”

We reached my door. I’d kept my eyes on the ground as I spoke but, Kine turned to look at me, lifting my chin so he could see my eyes. He was worried but he waited for me to speak, so I took a deep breath and said it.

“I want to try to go through Maturity.”