"Nothing dies like hope. I cherish it." -Dredgen Yor

Meren woke with a start to find the morning sunlight already filling her small apartment. She rolled over frantically in a tangle of blankets to check the time on the chron. The display read 07:00. She wasn't late - yet. She couldn't be, not today. The hubub in the streets of The City had already begun and she was surprised she hadn't been woken sooner.

Stretching out from her cocoon, her eyes fell on the pages of an open book beside her in bed. She had fallen asleep reading, she realized. When did it start getting so light out so early, anyway. Extracting a hand from the sheets, she reached for the small scrap of cloth that served as a book mark and tucked it safely away between the pages. The Siege of Twilight Gap: An Anthology would have to wait until tonight, and it would be a shame to lose her place in the text.

Books are too precious to be stored in bed , Meren thought to herself, getting up to set the leather-bound volume on her table next to the likes of Cryptarchy in the Golden Age, Eliksni Grammar Essentials, and The Fallen. The shelves of her small apartment were filled with self-bound tomes. Paper and book binding supplies were pricey and hard to come by, but engram de-encryption wasn't cheap either. The Cryptarchs offered their services free of charge to the Vanguard, but members of the Academy didn't have that luxury. Besides, the smell of the books was enjoyable. It's probably the glue, she paused and laughed to herself.

She knew she was dawdling as she slipped into her best clothes, but she wasn't exactly looking forward to today. The Tower had unexpectedly summoned her to serve as an expert for a hearing of some kind. Her specialization wasn't usually welcomed as the Vanguard preferred guns to diplomacy.

Still, as she bound her hair up into a tight bun, she wondered if the tide was turning. The City's Consensus had begun to push for a more judicial approach in recent months. Maybe this hearing would be a reflection of that. Or maybe it all was just a facade to make the residents of The Last City feel like progress was being made. Onward and upward - within the City confines, at least. Outside the walls it was a different story, she knew.

Picking up her datapad, she quickly checked for any new messages. A few queries from academic colleagues had come in during the overnight hours, but none were urgent. There was no time to peruse the holo feed either; the news could wait.

A few light taps to the screen put the device on standby and she slipped it into her bag. The satchel's leather was embossed with alien heraldry, and always drew looks when she was out and about. It had been a gift from a mentor at the Academy, and she used it whenever she had the chance.

She took a quick look around the small apartment for anything she might be forgetting. Books and engrams filled the shelves around the solitary window. There wasn't much else in the way of material possessions, and she was content with that. A quick look at her reflection confirmed that she was presentable enough to be seen by the denizens of the Tower. Meren Hale touched the door's access pad and stepped outside.

Cool, morning air filled her lungs as she walked out into the breezeway and down the stairs. They creaked and groaned all the way down, and she was careful to step over the worst offender, the third step from the bottom. Crumbling infrastructure plagued the City, and constant threats of attack kept the focus on defense instead of upkeep.

The street was already bustling with activity - vendors were setting up their wares, storefronts were opening their doors, while other City residents were scurrying off to work. Turning west to walk through the bazaar, Meren glanced at the ramshackle buildings that lined the streets. The bright colors of merchant tents brightened the atmosphere considerably. Her thoughts were interrupted momentarily as her favorite fruit vendor called out to her.

"Professor," the merchant's voice called out, "we have fresh figs today!"

Meren acknowledged her title and smiled at the man. "I'm in a hurry today. Tomorrow. I promise."

She quickened her pace past the market stalls, there was no time to browse this morning. The Vanguard had a transport waiting for her a block or two away. As she walked her thoughts again drowned out the merchants' calls. What would the Magistrate expect her to say? Would she serve as a translator? Maybe they just wouldn't call on her expertise at all and she would just get to sit there and watch the proverbial wheels of justice turn.

The transport was an open-topped golden age speeder, passenger capacity four. Meren eyed it skeptically. "This thing must be held together by space magic to still be running." She directed her dry comment at the Exo who waited in the pilot's seat.

"Something like that," he replied.

With a sigh, she took her seat in the back. Once she was secure, they were off. As the speeder turned north, the Tower came into view, cresting over the tops of shops and homes. It stood in stark contrast to the lifestyle that most City residents were accustomed to. The proverbial ivory tower. Her eyes remained fixed on the structure, filling her field of vision as they neared.

She thanked her Exo chaffeur as he dropped her off on the marble steps at the Tower's base. No sooner had she exited the speeder than she was flanked by two armored Vanguard personnel. They were immediately recognizable as Guardians. A Titan and a Hunter, from the looks of it.

"Meren Hale?" the Titan asked.

Meren nodded in affirmation.

"Come with us, please," the Hunter, this time.

She was escorted up the sweeping steps and into a lift. The Guardians said nothing as they were conveyed all the way to the 78th floor. When the lift doors opened, a long hallway was all that greeted them.

"Fourth door on your left," the Titan stated, "should you require assistance, please direct any and all inquiries to the hospitality bot in suite 778."

With that the Guardians retreated back into the lift and Meren had the hallway all to herself. Since when has the Vanguard ever shown hospitality, she mused to herself. Following instructions, she found the fourth door on her left. It was unmarked and required a key code for access. As she raised her hand to knock, the door snapped open with a hiss. Peering inside, Meren was greeted by the strangest sight she had ever seen within the confines of the City.

A Magistrate sat at the bench in the middle of the room, a commanding presence. This command seemed to be enhanced by the fact that the man easily weighed over 300 pounds. His job was to oversee any and all proceedings within his chamber. Seated next to him were two Faction representatives. Meren immediately recognized one of them as Arach Jalaal, the other she didn't know.

Flanking them all were four heavily armed Guardians. Unnecessary, but not unexpected. Several other civilians sat about the room, prosecutors or moderators. So this is the Vanguard's attempt at due process, she thought. True courtroom proceedings had not been seen since the Golden Age. And, even then, all she had to go on was vague book knowledge about how those had been conducted.

This excess of personnel was not out of place for the Tower, however. It was the two hulking Eliksni, all four arms bound in two pair of stun cuffs, that set the scene apart. They were dressed as if they had just been pulled from the field of battle. Both were armored, one the size of a Captain, from the look of it. Meren met their unblinking alien gaze until the Magistrate broke the silence.

"Professor...did I read that right?" the big man muttered to himself, "Professor Meren Hale?"

"Yes."

"You're late," he stated flatly.

"My apologies." She was certain she was right on time. But arguing was pointless.

The Magistrate lazily waved his hand in her direction. "Have a seat."

As Meren sat, she opened her satchel to retrieve the datapad. She was vaguely aware that the Magistrate had begun speaking again, but she was focused again on her own thoughts. What were their names again? Revys and Brelor? From the insignia on their armor, she knew they both belonged to one of the earthbound Eliksni Houses.

The hearing's briefing automatically populated on her datapad and she tapped the screen slightly to scroll through the text. They are accused of an attempted nighttime breach of the City wall near Gate number five. Regular Guardian patrols discovered three Fallen attempting ingress and placed two under arrest, one did not survive, she read to herself. The Wall had been built to keep threats out of the City, and even when working as intended, the Vanguard resorted to violence. Her stomach immediately sank, it was all political posturing.

The sound of growling interrupted her thoughts and she looked up. The two Eliksni had obviously been agitated by something that was said.

The Magistrate rubbed his temple in annoyance. "Professor Hale. What is your specialty at the Academy?"

"Eliksni Culture, Language, and History, your Honor."

"Good. Then you can tell those bugs to shut the hell up in my chamber," the Magistrate grunted.

"That term is...offensive-," Meren began to counter.

"Do you desire to be held in contempt of this court, Ms. Hale?" It was Arach Jalaal this time.

Meren opened her mouth to argue, but her better sense told her to focus on Revys and Brelor. "Velask…" she started with a traditional greeting before continuing to address them in their own tongue.

Though the room's occupants stared at the human grating out a string of words in the Eliksni language, Meren persisted. She knew this wasn't a real court, and her only goal now was to keep the Eliksni quiet in hopes the Vanguard would turn them loose. The Magistrate was the judge and jury, the Faction leaders would side with his decision if only to maintain the facade of an orderly proceeding. If she failed to keep them calm, Revys and Brelor might not make it out of this room breathing. Thankfully, upon hearing a few words in their language, they quieted down.

As silence fell over the chamber the woman serving as prosecutor spoke, "These two were seen trying to enter the City by night. We all know these Fallen eat human children. Why else would they be trying to get past our walls. They're a continual threat and should be put down." She turned to the Kings Captain, Brelor, "What do you have to say in your defense, insect?"

Meren let her eyelids fall shut so the chamber couldn't see her eyes roll. She had never heard a more blatant lie. The Eliksni were likely more interested in stealing City tech than harming a single human child. Even then, it was probably that they were just curious. The added insults did nothing to defuse the situation, she knew.

A translation bot quickly spouted off the prosecutor's words to Revys as Meren formulated her next words. She would tell the Magistrate that the Eliksni could be reasoned with. She would tell him to let them free in good faith, they would tell the others.

But it was too late.

Brelor exploded upon hearing the bot's insulting words. The cuffs shattered off the Captain's wrists in an impressive display of strength. He roared in his own language, gesturing wildly at the Magistrate.

"No!" Meren jumped to her feet to intercede, but it wasn't enough.

Brelor turned toward the fat man and took a single step, snarling. Everything happened too fast, then.

The nearest Guardian had their rifle leveled in a second. Without warning, a blast rang out and a well-aimed shot took off Brelor's head, dark Eliksni blood splattering the far wall. The Captain's containment suit hissed as his body collapsed, lifeless.

The room erupted.

Meren was vaguely aware of Revys being subdued by at least three Guardians. The Magistrate was laughing. Arach Jalaal was shouting. So, the idea of due process had been a charade all along.

She hadn't planned on attending an execution today. The acrid smell of Ether reached her nostrils and made her head spin. She wanted to be sick.