The consequences of that explosion were severe. It had blown a giant hole within the planet.

The planet B1 was also fragile, after all, it was hollow. It was like a matryoshka doll. Having expanded from the centre with concentric ring after concentric ring. Layer after circular layer. Each layer a level on which people lived on.

From the outside. It looked as if the planet had formed a hollow eye. You could see though the planet from one end to the other.

On one of the higher levels, level 20. A young girl and her minder, a cat shaped alien being sat in an automated two person limo as it flew from her home compound to a more secure location.

An old balding man in a bluish hologram floating in the centre of the limo glared fiercely at the girl sitting in the car.

“I want you out of there as soon as possible,” said the old man. “You can come and stay with me. I’ll be done with all of my council sessions soon”

The old man was right to be worried. The explosion that had occurred had left a giant hole only several hundred metres away from the compound which the girl had been living in.

“Yes, father,” replied the girl distractedly. Her expression was surly. Her arms crossed. Her pink robes forming a flowery shape.

She looked outside staring at the hole, sadly. These were the last moments of her freedom. Her father was very strict.

The car flew quickly away from the hole. Rushing to escape. As the limo increased its height to enter an exit lane the las thing she was a boy passed out in the middle of the street directly in front of the hole. She also saw a squad of the (PGU) planetary guard units in their red combat armour. Their full face helmets were on. Their exoskeletons were engaged, puffing up the armour like a viper puffed up for attack. It made them all look like bulky giants. The on the one piece-garment hung various implements, extra guns and rifles, munition, combat knives, other specialised reconnaissance tools and weapons.

Several squads, each containing 30 men, marched towards the hole. The PGU was making its way down, level by level, checking over the damages. Hunting for clues.

The limo flew into the sky and vanished.

****

On the ground the squads moved in overlapping v-shaped formation. Stopping to interrogate people who were not supposed to be on the level.

Their headsets containing live camera feeds that fed back to HQ and automatically identifying those with access to the level.

Two squads eventually approached where Jian had passed out. Only several metres away from the hole.

“Identify yourself.” screamed on of the men to a passed out Jian.

“Identify yourself.” yelled one of the faceless men in red again.

That was the first thing that Jian heard when he woke up startled.

He looked around confused. His heart beating out of his chest. He wasn’t in the lower levels. He had no idea where he was.

For one thing he could see a clear sky, ripped out through a giant hole in the ground. The other was that the place was too clean. He lay on perfectly moulded synthetic nano-concrete. The buildings that he could see were all perfectly replicas of ancient Roman buildings: a theatre here, an amphitheatre there, a temple here, a fake market square there. They were designed in the currently trendy Neo-Roman style.

The squad of the PGU didn’t give him that much time to goggle.

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“Identify yourself.” said one of the faceless men a third time. The rest of the squad tightened up on their weapons. The guns and cannons all facing towards him.

Oh no. Thought Jian to himself. He had gone from disaster to disaster all day. This was the worst of it all.

The PGU were known thugs. Whatever they wanted. They would take. They were merciless.

He needed to escape. He had seen too much. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t responsible.

The psychic readers of the PGU would scan his memories and find out everything he had seen. They would make him disappear.

Probably to some off world colony hidden away on a comet. They would jack his brain into some torture device and leave him there in endless agony.

Boom.

There was an explosion behind the squad and Jian.

With an almost terrifying grace, the back half the squad turned and started engaging.

There was gunfire and explosions. People were screaming.

That brief moment of distraction was all Jian needed. He stood up and turned to run.

“Don’t move.” said one of the men in red. The few members of the squad who still maintained eyes on him trained their weapons even tighter on him.

Jian turned and ran towards a side street. I need to escape. That was the only thought in his

brain.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The squad had shot several warning shots. Each bullet getting closer and closer towards him.

He had somehow arrived and passed out on a main street. It was lucky for him that there were several side streets nearby that he could duck towards. He was only a few hundred meters away.

On a building directly across from the side street Jian was running towards hid a shadowy figure. The same figure that had watched him get sent through the void earlier.

Boom. Boom. Boom. The shots got closer and closer to Jian.

The shadowy figure sighed. And made a gesture. Slicing diagonally through the air with two fingers.

The shots that were swerving towards Jian all flew past him and missed.

Jian ran into the alleyway.

“After him,” said one of the men in red, a squad captain, he pointed to two of his men. The two men peeled away and chased after him.

The others continued on slowly and methodically. Maintaining discipline.

Jian ran and ran and ran. His heart pounded through his chest. Feeling as if it was going to pound out of his chest. His arms pumping madly as he ran through alleyways. Ducking left and right.

The shadowy figure trailed invisibly from above. Leaping from building to building effortlessly. Gravity seeming impotent. Moving from shadow to shadow.

Every time the two figures got close to the boy, the shadowy figure gestured and blocked them off. Causing car to pull up in front of them. A man to trip and land before them.

Little coincidences that added up. Letting Jian pull further and further away.

Jian saw none of that happening behind him. He just ran. He felt nothing except his heart beating through his chest. Breathing harshly. The lack of oxygen squeezing his chest so painfully he felt as if he would die at any moment if he stopped. He ran barely managing to breathe. His eyes blurring.

He sighed in relief. He had somehow escaped from the PGU.

He eventually arrived at a dead end street. It was shadowy. And there was nobody around. He stopped and turned around.

But he heard footsteps and saw a shadowy figure walk towards him.

He tensed up again in fear.