A middle-aged Irken man, slightly on the younger side, struggled to turn on his stove.

"Dammit…" He hissed, as he pressed harder against the knob with his right hand. He hoped if he applied enough pressure, like last time, the ancient machine would turn on and he could make his breakfast.

"Oh, come on!" He pulled his hand back, trying the knob again with more force this time. Finally, he heard that telltale click as the electrics turned on.

"Thank you," he breathed out. "Honestly, when the fuck is Gotho going to fix this thing…" He shook his head as he poured out the mixture he already made into a pan; and the blue liquid sizzled as the stovetop heated up.

He stepped back from the contraption to grab a spoon to stir his food with, but nothing happened. He clenched his teeth together in frustration upon remembering, for what felt like the millionth time, that he had no left arm to grab it with anymore.

"...Fine," he muttered, awkwardly reaching over the left side of his body with his right arm to grab the spoon. His aggravation was increasing as he admonished himself for not putting the prosthetic on first thing this morning. It was clunky, annoying, and the feeling of it on his arm, along with the lack of feeling in its fingers just… bothered him, but he needed to get used to it.

Frowning, he stirred the thickening liquid slowly as he thought. Today was Laykoín and tomorrow is Youlkikoín, which is payday. After work, he could go grocery shopping. Maybe get that pair of gloves he wanted? No, he thought. A waste of money; he should get a repairman instead since Gotho sure as shit wasn't sending anyone for the stove.

Food was almost ready now. His breakfast mix turned an appetizing dark blue. He set his spoon down and turned the stove off. He needed to scrape the food out onto a plate… but he couldn't do that without that blasted prosthetic.

"Alright…" He turned around, walking the few short feet over to where the silver and neon green metallic arm was charging, and sat down next to it. Putting it on was always a bit of a process. With the lack of a second arm to keep it still, he had taken to holding it between his legs for the added bit of stability he needed to pull the cable out. Then there was putting on the sock, next the arm itself, and finally attaching the inside port to the plug in his arm.

The man hissed as he struggled through the entire process, until the arm clicked to life with a low hum. As he flexed the fingers of the metal appendage, he looked at it apprehensively. He still felt the pain of his old arm… It hurt to move the new one, hurt because he couldn't feel the new arm as it explored its environment. He couldn't feel the air, or the warmth or cold, the feeling of his soft pajamas. None of it, and it was horrible.

His green eyes blinked slowly. How much time did he have until work? A little more than he needed, he could eat without being rushed and then get dressed and go. With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself up from his seat- with both his arms now- and walked back over to his kitchen area.

Now, with two arms, he could plate his food and sit down at his small dinette table and chair to eat it. The mix came out… alright. A little bland, but spices were a touch pricey and his work provided better meals for lunch and dinner anyway, so he was fine with a bit of "blah" in the morning. Better than nothing, anyway.

Once he finished with his meal, he tried to clean up, but all those tasks requiring two hands came awkwardly and frustratingly to him. It made him feel the same way he did as a kid, struggling with basic math over and over again, and no matter how hard he tried, he never made any progress. So he dumped the dishes in the sink, promising himself to return to it later. If he struggled with it now, he might be late to work.

And… he needed to get dressed. Stripping from his comfy pajamas, he then put on the dark red pants and light pink undershirt, the first pieces of his uniform. Next was a light maroon coat, knee-length with a double-breasted closure in the front and high collar. Finally, matching red boots, gloves, and waistband that held his standard issue pistol.

All to make up his standard issue guard uniform. A red one… The color made him feel uneasy with the reminder, but a job was a job. That's what the other guards told him, anyway. So take a deep breath, grin and bear it. Just until he found something better. So he gathered himself, his keys to his cramped studio apartment, and left.

After walking through all the winding halls of his mega-building, he finally made it to the city streets of Goyyan, specifically Etpoltok district. The man thanked the stars that at least he had made it out of the Geiraukh district. After being discharged, that was all he could afford… and it was not smooth sailing.

"Happy thoughts… happy thoughts." He muttered. Etpoltok was where he grew up. He knew this place like the back of his hand. So… left to go towards the transport station. He had to get to the Ikhaoga district before his job started, and he would prefer it with time to spare.

He hurried, the people on the street often making way for him. A part of him felt proud that people had respect for his uniform, but the rest of him knew it wasn't respect, it was fear.

Finally, he reached the transport station, and after waiting some time in the throngs of other irkens in the dim and dirty place, he boarded the train and rode the thirty odd minutes towards Ikhaoga district. Luckily, it was a quiet commute this morning, which the man was grateful for. He didn't have the patience for being solicited or anything like that before his day had truly begun. So, enjoying the peace, he closed his eyes and waited until he reached his stop.

"E'íbaíchez station. Stand clear of the closing doors." The train conductor's voice droned out and his eyes snapped open. Quickly, he made his way out onto the station platform. Unlike the platform in Etpoltok, this one was new, fresh. Silvery metal and bright lights illuminated the new age, newly renovated platform. He expected nothing less from this part of town.

"Excuse me," he muttered as he tried to push past all the people arriving. Thankfully, his work was close to here. He only had to walk a block to get there now.

"I said- oh nevermind…" After what seemed like a lifetime, he made it out of the station and out onto the street. A clean and organized street, smelling faintly of cooking meat at a local restaurant. They lined the walkways here with shops and government buildings, the latter ever increasing as he walked closer to work. He shivered as he walked. The city was so much colder here, the sea breeze coming in felt like it went through his bones. The man squinted his eyes at the enormous structure ahead of him. Unlike the tall and thin giant skyscrapers, this one was low to the ground and wide. Only four stories tall at most, the building and its grounds took up at least two city blocks. The most distinct part about it was its materials. Brick and stone and… wood on the inside, it was a relic. He often felt it was older than the empire itself, and the damn thing constantly needed extremely expensive renovation projects just to stay up… or maybe that was just because of the Tallest's vanity…

He took a deep breath at the northern gate and walked up to the two security guards waiting there. One was taller with pink eyes, and the other one with an orange color.

"Morning, Ensa," the taller guard said, pressing a button in his guard station to open the gates.

"Good morning." Ensa smiled at them both as he flashed his badge for approval. The shorter guard nodded.

"Looks good, have a good day," he said, as if on autopilot.

"Yeah, I'll try." Ensa looked forwards at the ancient structure, and walked up the long walkway to the north wing's grand doors.

The capital city's palatial compound was massive on the outside, and like a maze on the inside. Looming, high ceilings and winding passageways lined with doors made up a majority of the structure, only broken up by the enormous entertaining and government rooms. And it was a gorgeous place. Well, most of it. Ensa thought that the decor preferred by the Tallest was tacky at times, but that wasn't his place to comment on. Not by a long shot.

He walked the sleepy early morning halls for a while as he made his way to the north wing guard post. Ensa passed by a few servants, or at least for the north wing, fewer than the scant amount to begin with. They avoided this place like a coward does a battlefield.

Finally, he reached the guard post, a small room tucked away behind a parlor room near the center of the compound. Inside were some tables and chairs, a clock in computer, some snack storage, and the security screens and monitor for the north wing. Ensa didn't envy the guy who had to sit there all day. That sort of job was much too sedentary for him.

"Good morning!" He called out as he stepped through the door.

"Morning Ensa," his coworker Kep said, leaning against the back wall and eating a donut.

"Morning uh- Ensa." The security monitor said, clearly distracted by the screen in the kitchen.

"Did you eat something this morning? Bivo brought in donuts." Kep said.

"Oh, yes I did, thank you. Had some engíp for breakfast. Nothing fancy, just grains and milk, you know how it is."

Kep chuckled and gestured at the donuts with his free hand.

"Sure you don't want any donuts, then?"

"No thanks, I'm trying to get back in shape now that recovery is over, plus I want to do well for this new job." Ensa said with a good-natured smile.

"Ah, okay I see. But hey, I think you're in great shape right now! You kicked Sakh's ass last week in training!"

"Well… that's still not good enough for me yet. I used to be a lot faster in the army."

"Yeah, I get that. My cousin is in the army, and he's great at hand to hand!"

"They teach you well there. I almost miss it… or I guess I miss the routine."

"The routine." The security monitor supplied without missing a beat. "Trust me, no one misses that shit. We all just miss the security, haha."

Kep and Ensa both chuckled at the bad pun, but it faded quickly.

"So," Ensa began. "How's your wife? Uh- I'm sorry, I can't remember her name. Tagmi, right?"

"Nagmi. And she's… She's doing alright. As well as we can hope, I suppose." His tone became somber as he spoke of her.

"I'm sorry." Ensa muttered.

"Hey, 's not your fault. Anyway, since it's payday tomorrow, we're going to go see the doctor again on Zouíchoín."

"Oh, that's good!" Ensa tried to lighten the mood somehow with a more perky tone, but the hollow look on Kep's face told him it wasn't working.

"Yeah. We're staying optimistic."

"As you should." Ensa glanced at the clock on the back wall and froze. "Oh shit, I-I'm sorry Kep, I have to get going to my post."

"That's alright, have a good day man. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you. And bye Ort!"

The security monitor grunted in response as Ensa left the room. His assigned post wasn't far, and it encompassed half the north wing. He was to walk up and down his section every hour on the hour, and standby at the garden doors. Ensa walked down the hall leading to his section. He had ten hours to go in his shift, and he was already thinking up ways to entertain himself mentally, when he suddenly noticed the sound of arguing in the distance. His antennas shot straight up and he slowly advanced forward.

He was just barely able to make out the voices as he got closer…

"-need to-"

"-don't-"

Those voices… Ensa cringed as he realized who it was. One was the general… Odd it had taken him so long to recognize it, but those voices were clearly coming from the Tallest's office. Ensa relaxed a bit, realizing that the other voice must be the Tallest, and he was likely just angry and not in any danger. Still, he had to go this way anyway and he should check it out, so he continued forward. The voices got clearer and clearer with every step until finally Ensa stopped to stand and listen.

"I don't care what you think I should fucking do! I'm not doing it!"

Ensa identified that voice as belonging to the Tallest, although it took him a minute.

"You don't care? You don't CARE? You SHOULD care!"

And that one was general Zei. Ensa had never met him during his service, but he recognized the voice immediately because of countless announcements and video memos.

"I am the fucking Tallest, Zei! I do what I want, remember?"

"Oh please! You are a sham and you know it!"

"You can't talk to me like that! Get the fuck out!"

Ensa flinched and took a step back from the door. Others warned him about the Tallest's temper, but he couldn't bring himself to run away. But before he could think of what other steps he should take, the office door flung open and general Zei stomped out. He rolled his eyes and made a hateful sign with his hand before he walked away.

Ensa was a bit surprised to see this. In the first week or so, he was given the impression that the general and the Tallest were friends, close friends. And now… It was a new argument every other day. Typically about governmental policy or… Rez. Ensa winced just thinking about Rez. Poor kid.