So here we are! Enjoy!
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Part One: The Prelude
Chapter One

The imperial capital, Archades
Year 704 of the Old Valendian Calendar

Blotches of clouds covered the night sky, blocking out the stars in clumps. Ffamran could remember many nights darker than this, and many brighter as well. This night wasn't dark and malevolent, nor was it bright and beautiful; it was somewhere in between. Dark or light, good or bad, yes or no? These were questions Ffamran found himself asking a lot lately.
The city of Archades hummed with quiet activity, even at night. At the moment, Ffamran was on his way home from a meeting of the Archades council, the squad of Judges that guarded Archadia's thriving capital. It was a rather boring debate about patrol schedules and the like, but it was necessary. It was late now, and Ffamran wanted to get home quickly. The Judges were a board of highly skilled tacticians and soldiers and an integral part of Archadia's government, working with the high council under the emperor to govern the nation. Becoming a Judge wasn't easy, and there weren't that many in the empire. One or two to command the knights in other large cities, and about a dozen in Archades. Needless to say, Judges were powerful, respected, and with good reason. Ffamran hadn't been a Judge for very long, and he knew he couldn't hope for that sort of authority yet. No, not for a long time, until he'd proven himself both able and trustworthy. At the moment, he was content with this position. Using his combination of wit and familial connection, Ffamran was confident his internship would last only a short time.

Until just two months ago, Ffamran had worked at a governmental weapons lab known as the Draklor Laboratories. His father was the director of Draklor, so no one was surprised when Ffamran went to work there. He and his father had lived on the top floor, and Ffamran had spent his whole life around the lab and the scientists who worked there. He had known the basics of myst and magicite before he learned to read and write.
Ffamran's father, Dr. Cid, had always been a bit of a strange man. Most of the time, he was kind and considerate, though always obsessed with his work. But sometimes, that dark, angry side of him would surface. One of Dr. Cid's friends had said he hadn't been like that before Ffamran's mother died, but Ffamran didn't remember that time; he had only been a baby.
About four years ago now, there had been a sudden change in Dr. Cid. He started talking to himself, and that hidden angry side became his normal face. Ffamran had only been sixteen at the time and was rather frightened. Most of the time, his father seemed okay, but it was those dark moments when he would mumble to people who weren't there that made Ffamran worry…
At around that same time, an expedition brought back a research specimen, some new strain of magicite. Dr. Cid had called it "nethicite," and they experimented with it off and on. The nethicite was extremely powerful, and many of the scientists wondered if it was safe to use.
The timing when they found the nethicite and when Dr. Cid began to change- Ffamran couldn't call it going mad- were so close together that sometimes Ffamran wondered if there was a connection. If there was one, he couldn't find it. Even so, that nethicite had always made him uneasy. It had always left him feeling tingly. It made him feel…
Ah, the one thing Ffamran never liked to think about, the one thing that really made him different. It wasn't that he was born into a noble family or that he was a scientist or a Judge, it was… that. Those strange abilities that Ffamran had hid ever since he was a child. He called them "abilities" rather than powers because powers were always something you could use. Ffamran had never found a good use for these abilities.
Ffamran could read people's minds, hear their thoughts buzzing through the air. At least, he used to be able to. The cacophony of everyone's thoughts ringing through the air like voices had been too much for Ffamran as a little boy. Rather than learning to filter out the background noise, he'd just learned to block it out, put in mental earplugs. After a while, he couldn't hear thoughts anymore. Ffamran liked it better that way; it made him just a little more normal. He had also been able to make light or fire in small bursts, but he soon stopped trying. The more he ignored his abilities, the more he could pretend they weren't there. As far as he knew, no one knew about Ffamran's abilities, except, of course, his father, and Dr. Cid never said anything about it, not to Ffamran or anyone else. Ffamran liked it better that way. And the nethicite… it sent a weird tingling through the back of his head, a strange sensation that Ffamran knew no one else could feel. The fact that it reacted so weirdly with his abilities made him wonder what it was even more. But he didn't work at Draklor anymore, so Ffamran had no way of knowing. It had been by his father's influence and prompting that Ffamran had left Draklor and become a Judge. Sometimes he wondered why…
Ffamran rounded a bend in the street, banishing his unproductive thoughts of the past. He'd mused over that subject far too much, and always came up empty. Whatever was going on, it didn't really concern him. His father could do what he liked, and the less Ffamran got tangled up in it, the better. Especially now. Now was not the time to try and uncover secrets and schemes. Not when in just two weeks…
That thought lightened Ffamran's mood. Yes, only two weeks. If anything could get Ffamran excited, that could.
Ffamran reached a transport, hovering just beyond the edge of the street. The city of Archades was divided into several vertical levels, with the palace at the top and the slums at the bottom. One had to take transports, small passenger airships, to get between the different levels. Ffamran's home was on the level above, called Tsenoble, and he was one level below. He quickly conferred with the transport pilot and boarded the small craft.
Ah, yes, the one part of Ffamran's strange abilities he did still use. Skystones, the magicite cores that powered airships, had a kind of intelligence. Their personalities were all very similar, and none of them were very smart, but they were alive. They didn't have free will enough to control the actions of their shells, but they could listen and talk to each other. And Ffamran could communicate with them. He could reach out with his mind and talk with airships in the same way they talked with each other. They weren't very interesting people, but they often knew almost anything you could think to ask. Whatever someone said inside an aerodrome was soon known by almost every airship in the city, and Ffamran could easily find out. Airships weren't very good at keeping things to themselves in general, and most were thrilled at the chance to talk with a human. The only reason Ffamran hadn't sealed away this talent along with the others was because airships were a readily available source of knowledge, and it would have been horribly inefficient to let that go to waste.
Transport YZ-52 was chatty, as usual. All passenger and freighter vessels were chatty and rather dull. There wasn't anything interesting in the transport's chatter, so Ffamran ignored it for the most part, only answering back to be polite. The transport landed after just a short trip, and Ffamran disembarked and headed for home. He glanced up at the moon, half-hidden by the clouds, noting with displeasure how late it had gotten. He had important things to do the next day, and he had hoped to get some sleep.

The Judges' meeting had been boring as usual, but afterward, before headed for home, Ffamran had had a chance to catch up with some old friends. Cheff and Ross, brothers and Ffamran's longest standing friends, were also stationed as Judges in Archades. They had been Judges for longer than he had and were already quite well settled in the ranks. Judge work kept them all quite busy, and it had been a while since Ffamran had been able to just talk with them. As usual, Cheff had started things up.
"Things have been quiet round Archades for a while," Cheff had said. "You'd think the criminals were trying to make our job easy. I suppose that's one more thing going right for you, Ffamran. So, are wedding plans keeping you busy?"
Ffamran had felt an involuntary smile lift his face. "Well, you know, we've only got two weeks left to pull everything together."
Ross had nodded. "Oh, you and Reina must be bursting with excitement. You're even smiling for once!"
Ffamran had let out a light chuckle. That was why he couldn't be worried about his father and everything else. He couldn't let anything spoil this, and he knew it would if he dwelt on it too long.
"Oh, and I bet you got lots of planning done at your lunch today," Cheff continued with a chuckle.
Ffamran sighed. With Cheff, teasing was inevitable. "Yes, lots of efficient planning."
"I heard Draklor's prepping for some big experiment," Ross had said, changing the subject.
"Yes." Ffamran nodded. "It's a class five, and I was asked to accompany them." Class five experiments were ones considered extremely dangerous, and by Archadian law, two Judges were required to be present.
"But you've only been a Judge for a couple of months!" Cheff had said. "I'm shocked they'd ask you to do something so important so soon."
"It was by my father's request," Ffamran replied. "He probably wanted me because of my scientific expertise."
Ross nodded. "That makes sense. Are you going to go?"
"Yes. It's got my curiosity piqued," Ffamran replied. That experiment was supposed to be with the nethicite, and Ffamran couldn't resist the temptation to take a peek. It was just an experiment, so it couldn't hurt, right?
"It's happening tomorrow, right?" Ross had asked.
Ffamran had nodded. "I'd better get home if I want to get enough sleep." He had quickly bid his friends farewell and started off down the streets of Archades.
Ffamran's memories dispersed like fog in the morning sun as he rounded the corner onto the streets where his house was. It was a small apartment, on the second floor of a building full of such apartments. Ffamran was a Judge, and he probably could have had a larger house if he wanted one, but why would he? This one suited his purposes just fine. Reina had once said that the place was a little dull, and, when they finally did get married, she'd have to bring in a flowerpot or two to freshen the place up. Ffamran could hardly wait.

…

Lightning cracked across the sky, sending a flash of light through the windows of the Draklor laboratories. Ffamran counted the seconds until the thunder came, calculating that the lightning wasn't very far away. This night was dark and stormy, and the twelve-year-old boy couldn't sleep. He knew exactly where all the guards around Draklor were stationed, so it was easy enough to slip around the laboratory at night. And the view from his bedroom just wasn't sufficient to watch this magnificent storm.
Ffamran leaned against the windowsill, imagining he was in some forest far away, sheltering for the night while the rain dripped off the leaves around him. Yes, it was some dark forest, so much more exciting than this city he'd lived in for twelve whole years. More than a decade was far too long to stay in one place, Ffamran thought. Oh, how he'd love to be somewhere else. Anywhere else…
Ffamran pressed closer to the window as more lightning flashed through the dark clouds. He recalled how terrified all airships seemed to be off electrical storms. It made sense; lightning and aerodynamics didn't mix well. He thought of how they used "thunderbolts" as an exclamation of frustration, reflecting this inbred fear.
Another surge of light from the sky caught Ffamran's eye, and he sat watching the storm in rapt attention. After a few moments of crashing thunder and pattering rain, movement in the shadows caught Ffamran's eye. He pulled away from the window with a jerk. The guards wouldn't be patrolling there for another few minutes, so who could possibly be there?
"Hello?" Ffamran said, his voice barely more than a whisper. He hoped it wasn't a guard; he shuddered to think what his father would do if he found out Ffamran had been wandering around the laboratories at night.
Someone was there alright, but he wasn't a guard. It was a man wearing strange dark clothing, with a short sword tied to his belt. As Ffamran spoke, he froze.
"Hey!" Ffamran didn't bother to keep his voice down anymore. Whoever this was, he wasn't a guard. "Who are you? What are doing?"
The man let out a sigh. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You're gonna keep quiet, hear kid?" Ffamran's eyes widened as the man pulled out his sword. The length of steel wasn't very long, bordering between a sword and a dagger, but it was enough to make Ffamran freeze in fear.
"Th-This is a governmental research lab! Y-You can't just break in here!" Ffamran stumbled over his words, suddenly terrified out of his wits. When he was younger, he'd asked his father why they needed guards at Draklor. Dr. Cid had said it was because there were people who'd want to steal their research, either to use it themselves or stop Archadia from getting better weapons. Ffamran hadn't really understood then, but he was older now. He understood, but he couldn't imagine it happening. But he didn't have to imagine anymore.
"And you're gonna stop me, kid?" Lightning crashed outside again, illuminating the man's face. He wasn't scared at all. Of course not; Ffamran was no match for this intruder, and they both knew it. Ffamran back against the wall, his thoughts all in a jumble. What was he supposed to do? Get the guards? But how could he, with this man with a sword standing over him?
"Look, I'm sorry, kid, but I can't have you telling on me." The intruder raised his sword, and Ffamran dodged away just before he struck. The sword hit the wall with a dull thud. Ffamran hope the guards had heard.
"Hold still!" The man hissed, spinning around to face Ffamran. "The more you move, the more this will hurt!"
Ffamran was terrified, but he couldn't very well sit there and let this intruder kill him. When the man struck again, Ffamran quickly ducked under his arm, grabbing his wrist. He twisted it sharply, and the sword clattered to the ground. Ffamran was unusually quick for his age, and he managed to grab the weapon. He spun and kicked at the intruder as he dove for the sword, and he fell to the ground. Somehow, Ffamran found himself standing over the man, holding the short sword over his neck.
"D-Don't move! Or I'll… I'll… Just don't move!" Ffamran struggled to keep his breathing calm and his hands steady. The sword shook back and forth in his grip, and it was a lot heavier than it looked.
"You're gonna do what?" The intruder looked up at Ffamran with sharp eyes. "You'll kill me?" He broke off with barking laughter, and Ffamran felt his shaky grip on the weapon slipping. A few more seconds and he'd drop the heavy length of steel.
But Ffamran didn't have a few more seconds. The intruder stood up quickly, wrenching the blade from Ffamran's hands. He brought it quickly around, bringing the sword down for an overhead strike. Ffamran raised his arms over his head, though he knew that wouldn't provide nearly enough protection. It was all over…
A surge of energy rippled through Ffamran's arms, and he recognized it instantly. That energy… it was his power, surging out. The blast of energy sent Ffamran flying backward, and he crashed into the wall behind him. Everything was blurry, and his chest felt tight. He could feel energy like static running all through his body, sapping away his strength and breath…
The lights flew on, and a division of guards came rushing into the room. Then Ffamran saw the intruder…
He was slumped back against the opposite wall, which had crumbled from the force of the impact. Blood ran down the man's shoulders from the back of his head, and Ffamran couldn't see him breathing. That sucked the breath out of him far more than the aftershock of his powers.
"Ffamran!" one of the guards shouted, kneeling down beside him. Most of the staff knew the director's son. "Are you alright? What on Ivalice happened in here?"
Ffamran could barely get in enough air to breath. After a few moments, he managed to gasp out a horrified question.
"Is he… dead?"
The guard glanced back at the slumped body of the intruder, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"I think so," he replied. "Ffamran, what happened?"
But Ffamran couldn't talk. That rippling static that clogged up his lungs was growing thicker, and the horror of what had happened threated to overwhelm him. He's dead… I killed him…
And then the world faded away, and everything went black.

When Ffamran woke, his chest was still tighter than it should have been, and his head was swimming. It took a few moments for him to realize he was lying in his bed. Morning light fell gently through the window, painting over the floor. Ffamran's father, Dr. Cid, was pacing back and forth beside the bed. Ffamran sat up with a groan.
"Father? What happened?"
"Ffamran!" Dr. Cid quickly spun around, gathering his son in his arms. His father's desperate relief made Ffamran a bit uncomfortable for a moment. Then the memories of the previous night came flooding back: the storm, the intruder, and Ffamran's powers…
"Are you alright?" Dr. Cid asked, releasing Ffamran. Ffamran nodded slowly, not saying anything. His throat still felt tight like everything else, and speaking was difficult. He wondered why his powers had hurt him so much, and then he remembered… They'd hurt that thief a lot more.
"Th-That man… is he dead?" Ffamran asked shakily.
"Yes, the man who broke in last night was dead when the guards found him," Dr. Cid replied. "And what about you? Are you okay?"
"He's… dead?" Ffamran already knew, but the thought that he'd killed someone, and he hadn't even been trying to, that his abilities were really that dangerous… It scared him silly.
"I didn't mean to!" Ffamran blurted out. "I don't know what happened! It just… happened! I… I'm sorry!"
Dr. Cid squeezed Ffamran's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Ffamran. It was an accident."
"But I… wait…" Ffamran trailed off. His father was talking like he knew. That couldn't be…
"Ffamran, I know." Ffamran froze at his father's words, instinctively shrinking away from him.
"But… how? I tried so hard to hide it… I…"
Dr. Cid let out a sigh. "I'm your father. It would be hard for me not to notice."
There was a long moment of silence. Ffamran had no idea what to say. His father knew about his… abilities? And that thief… It had been an accident, but the thought that Ffamran could kill someone by accident frightened him. What if I hurt someone I care about?
"Do you feel alright?" Dr. Cid asked, finally breaking the silence.
"I think so," Ffamran replied. "I'm just… tired."
Dr. Cid nodded. "You rest."
Then he stood up from the bed and walked over to the door, exiting the room. Ffamran, exhausted both physically and emotionally, crashed back into his bed and went to sleep.

A little later, Ffamran crawled out of his bed and left his room. He found his father waiting outside.
"Are you feeling better, Ffamran?" he asked.
Ffamran just nodded.
"Then, I have something for you." Dr. Cid held out something small and long, made of silver metal. Ffamran took it and examined the object. It was a small wrench, the words Ffamran Bunansa emblazoned along its length. Ffamran stared at it in confusion.
"Now, there's a story that goes along with that wrench," Dr. Cid said. "It may look like an ordinary tool, but that little thing has been passed down in our family for as long as anyone cares to remember. That name written on it, too, has been passed down through our family for centuries."
Ffamran stared up at his father, eyes wide. "But, Father, Ffamran isn't your name."
Dr. Cid let out a sad sort of chuckle. "No. You see, I had an older brother, and his name was Ffamran. But he died when he was very young. It was left to me to carry on our proud line. But you, Ffamran, have inherited a very special name, and that wrench comes along with it."
"You mean, this thing is hundreds of years old?" Ffamran asked, suddenly growing excited. "But there's no rust on it or anything! How can that be?"
"Well, we Bunansas have taken good care of it over the years, and that's your duty now, Ffamran." Dr. Cid's voice grew more serious. "You know, they say the intelligence of our family is passed down with that wrench. But there's more. I heard from my father about powers, too."
Ffamran's eyes widened. "You mean… like mine…?"
Dr. Cid nodded. "My father never talked much about it, and I never experienced any sort of… abilities, so I thought it must have been just a story. But now…"
Ffamran nodded slowly. He hated talking about his powers, but knowing that this was something passed down in his family… It made him feel just a little less alone.
"You have to promise me you'll take care of that, Ffamran," Dr. Cid said, pointing to the small wrench in Ffamran's hand. "And promise me you'll pass it on to the next Ffamran Bunansa when the time comes."
Ffamran closed his hand tightly around the precious treasure his father had entrusted to him.
"I promise, Father! You have my word."

Ffamran awoke with a groan. Sunlight fell through the window into his bedroom, proclaiming that the new day had begun.
Ffamran hated having that dream. The ending wasn't so bad, but the beginning, when he found the intruder in Draklor… Living that scene once had been bad enough. He didn't need to keep reliving it in his had been eight years since that day, and still the dream was as vivid as ever. Ffamran would never forget, not the man he had killed, or the promise he made to his father. Dr. Cid wasn't the same man he'd been back then, but still, Ffamran kept his promise. He always carried that little wrench with his name on it in his pocket, so it was always nearby. It was a reminder that there was a reason for Ffamran's strange abilities, even if he didn't know what that reason was. One day he'd find out. He had absolutely no idea how, but he would one day.

…

The sun was bright that morning, golden light falling over the rooftops of Archades. Serah had seen many mornings like this one, and she didn't really see the appeal of starring at the horizon, but she knew her little sister would be raving about it. And she was probably already awake by now.
Serah threw off the covers and sprang out of bed, hurrying to get changed. She tugged a brush through her hair a few times, then decided it was pointless to try and get all the tangles out. The stuff was sun-bleached blond, curly like springs, and a lost cause when it came to neatness. Serah tied it back in a lop-sided ponytail and called it good. She only had so much time before she left for work, and she didn't want to waste it.
For eight years, since her parents died, Serah and her little sister, Reina, had worked at Draklor Laboratories. Back then Reina had only been twelve, and Serah sixteen. Technically it was illegal for kids like that to work in a government lab, but Serah sure hadn't minded. Her and Reina had both been prodigies when it came to science, and the director, Dr. Cid, had been willing to pay them for their services as long as they made a contribution. It was that or go to an orphanage, and Serah would have fought tooth and nail to keep her and her little sister out of that place.
Serah straightened out her dull grey Draklor uniform and pulled on a pair of high heels before leaving her room. Yes, she was already six foot one, but the extra inch made her more intimidating. Serah knew she had quite the capacity to scare people if she wanted to, and quite frankly, she liked that.
Serah and Reina's house was a tiny apartment with only two bedrooms and a joint living room and kitchen. That was alright; they hardly spent any time there anyway. In the living room/kitchen, Reina was already preparing breakfast. In a way, Reina was everything Serah knew she could never be. Reina was kind, selfless, innocent, sweet, and though she never came off that way, stubborn and spunky. Yes, Reina acted like a perfect lady most of the time, but she could be as stubborn as a mule when it suited her. Serah had done all she could to protect Reina since their parents died, and she was satisfied with her performance. Soon, she wouldn't have a chance to anymore.
Reina was about to get married. Serah was happy for her; it meant she'd done her job, that Reina had grown up properly and was about to start a nice, normal life. Serah was happy for her, but sometimes she wished she could have fallen in love with someone else.
The man Reina was engaged to was Ffamran, the son of Draklor's director Dr. Cid and a newly appointed Judge. Serah and Reina had known him all through school, and he'd always been around at Draklor. Ffamran, well… he wasn't Serah's favorite person. He may have been a stubborn, cocky, pompous kid who talked way too fancily, but Serah knew he wasn't a bad person. Reina loved him, Ffamran loved her- that was good enough for Serah. She would see Reina through to a happy, successful life, even if she did marry a guy who Serah couldn't stand.
"Good morning, Reina!" Serah called out. Reina looked up sharply as she set plates on the table.
"Oh! Good morning, Serah." A smile spread over Reina's face, that bright, innocent smile lighting up her green eyes that surely must have caught Ffamran's attention. Serah smiled back; she knew her own grin was less a charming smile and more of a toothy smirk, but whatever. Serah didn't envy Reina's romantic statis.
"Eat quickly or we're gonna be late," Serah said, plopping down in the seat across from Reina. Reina obediently sat down and started eating. Serah wolfed down her own portion and finished before Reina.
"Reina, I'm gonna be going on that class five they're having today, you know," Serah said as soon as she finished.
Reina nodded slowly. "And you want me to be careful while you're gone, right?" she asked after swallowing.
"Yep," Serah said with a grin. Reina had lived with her long enough to know the drill. Serah just hoped she really would be careful. She never seemed like a reckless person, but Serah knew her sister; if she got her mind set on something and no one was there to stop her, Reina could get into all kinds of trouble.
"Ffamran's coming as one of the Judges accompanying that experiment, you know," Reina said. She didn't say any more, but Serah could see the hidden plea in her eyes; Please, get along, okay?
"Don't worry, Reina," Serah said. "I won't kill your fiancé."
Reina didn't reply. She stood up and gathered the dirty dishes, setting them in the sink with scientific precision so they didn't make a sound. That's what comes from working in a laboratory since you were twelve.
"Ready to go?" Serah asked, standing out of her chair.
Reina nodded. "Ready!"
The two sisters started off over the streets of Archades, like they had so many times before.

…

"We had a deal, Dr. Holdre," Judge Zargabaath's voice echoed from inside his full body armer. The Judge was dressed in his full, formal uniform, and Dr. Holdre was certain it was designed to scare him. But he didn't scare that easily.
"We do have a deal," Dr. Holdre replied calmly. "The Archadian government has funded our experiments, and we will provide you with the results. But, according to the terms of our agreement, we still have a month to complete out research. I will have you know, Judge Zargabaath, that YPA is private laboratory, and you have no right to change the terms of our agreement."
"From what I've heard, you've competed the necessary testing," Zargabaath said. "So, I don't see why you can't hand over the craft now."
"And why do you need it so soon?" Dr. Holdre struggled to keep his calm. "It's just a fighter jet. I don't see why you need it so badly now."
"We both know this is no small matter," Zargabaath shot back. "To my understanding, this fighter is equipped with new, specially designed weapons and has a unique power source. It's supposed to be a controversial weapon. What I don't understand is why you won't give it to us per our agreement if it's completed. What use is a fighter craft to a scientist like you?"
Dr. Holdre sucked in a sharp breath, trying to maintain a calm exterior.
"YPA is a private research organization," he repeated. It seemed like the Archadian government couldn't get that through their heads. "Our agreement dictates that we will give you the new fighter craft in one month's time. Come back then and it will be ready."
"We need to weaponry now!" Zargabaath's voice suddenly raised, and he slammed one fist down on the desk. Dr. Holdre couldn't see his face under his helmet, but he could guess it wasn't happy. "You may be a private laboratory, but you are based in Archadia. And as such, you answer to the Archadian government."
Judge Zargabaath turned and exit the room, slamming the door behind him. Dr. Holdre was glad he left before things got even uglier. But the project…
"What do we do, Dr. Holdre?" Dr. Carks, Dr. Holdre's assistant and secretary, asked. He'd been so silent through the debate that Dr. Holdre had forgotten he was there.
"We give them what they want," Dr. Holdre said after a moment. He hated admitting defeat, but there was little choice. It seemed the Archadian government did whatever it wanted these days.
"But what about Project Buversia?" Dr. Carks asked. "We need that specimen!"
"It will have to go on hold," Dr. Holdre replied. He hated saying that, saying that the project they'd worked on for so long would have to be halted. He'd been a fool to make a deal with the government. That basically removed YPA's independence and made them another government lab like Draklor. He'd been a fool to think they could finish the project in peace with Archadia peering over their shoulders. But at least the government didn't know about the full extent of the project. They only knew they got a shiny new destructive toy. And it was only on lease. Once Archadia was done destroying whatever they needed destroyed, YPA would get their work back, and Project Buversia could continue. That, at least, was a comfort.
Dr. Holdre reached under his desk and pulled out a small black box. They kept the specimen in his office, because that was the last place anyone would think to look for it. And he liked to have it nearby. He placed the box on the table and opened it, pulling out the specimen.
Specimen GB47 was a skystone, at least in theory. The small, orange lump of crystal could be used for so much more. They just needed that one more month to finish the experiments. They had been so close…
Of course, the original intent of Project Buversia had been to create a military airship unrivaled in power output and weaponry, and that side of the project had been completed long ago. It was the rest that they had discovered along the way that they wouldn't be able to use…
Dr. Holdre picked up the small skystone, and it responded to his touch with a warm glow. The clear orange surface, smooth as glass and streaked with a vein of red, shimmered with an inner light. Surges of sparkling energy danced to and fro under the surface, flitting like butterflies in a field. A glistening glow rippled over the surface, then again and again in uneven patterns. Each ripple sent a tingling feeling up Dr. Holdre's arm. He held it out to Dr. Carks.

"Take this down to the docking bays and install it in the shell we prepared," he said. Dr. Carks nodded and gingerly took the skystone. He left the office though the same door Zargabaath had used, leaving Dr. Holdre alone to simmer over this interruption to his plans.