Season 3: ______

Mouse stared at a young woman. Her blonde hair was cut short and parted to the side. Her steel-blue eyes stared back. She was no older than Mouse when she chose a name of her own.   The girl, Amberlie, fidgeted with her hands. Her head turned toward a commotion gathering on the other side of the street. A crowd gathered around a makeshift stage.   Mouse shook her head. "You sure you wanna do this?"   "Yes," Amber replied.   "And is this really the name you want?"   "Well, at first I thought maybe taking my mother's name would be appropriate, but there are far too many bounties out on her." Amber replied with a smile. "Not a healthy choice."   "Good point."   Amber nodded. "Mhm, then I considered something more me. I mean a wayfarer's name is supposed to represent who they are, right?"   Mouse nodded. "Yes, but not as others see you."   Amber narrowed her eyes, "No, this is exactly who I am, to myself and to others. I appreciate all you've done. Not everyone gets to call a hero their mentor, but-"   "Hero? No," Mouse laughed and shook her head. "I started a civil war."   Amber returned the laugh and added, "Yeah, one that ended with the babysitter putting our entire species In timeout. You're still a hero, though. That's not me. I just want a way out."   "You'll have it, then. Lord knows you deserve it." The smile fades as years of memories pop up in Mouse's mind. "Amber, I'm-"   "Don't," Amber said, holding out her hand. "I don't blame you. You've said sorry more than anyone else and you don't even owe me an apology."   Mouse nodded and gestured to the stage. "It's time. Drive the knife deep, and don't forget to give a little twist."

Theme

I stand before a crowd, one filled with those who were meant to be my peers. I speak, my voice amplified so all can hear the words. The edges glisten, for my words are sharp and all will feel the sting. "When I came to this planet, I expected to find people like me. I did not."   I can already see them laughing, a select few faces among the crowd. They mock my achievements, yet they still came to hear my name. I hold my anger in. "It's funny, actually. So many among you have contributed to what I'd call a life not worth living. Here you stand, though, ready to receive me as an equal only because I bested you at your own game. Despite your best efforts, I get to be a wayfarer too."   My thoughts flicker back to that night, my eyes fixed on the thousand-foot fall from the tallest building on Safeharbor, and the one woman capable of talking me down. "I stand here at the top of my field. I didn't gloat when I surpassed you. I didn't point and laugh when you came up short. There's a lesson in that fact."   I straighten my posture, my chest filled with pride. "You treated me like I was less than garbage. I felt every thrown stone. I've been berated, spit on, and chastised for something I didn't even do. The sins of my mother followed me everywhere I went. 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree,' they said. I heard it from your parents, your elders. How right they were. You don't have a shred of decency either."   I notice them getting uncomfortable, some frowning as they come to regret their actions, others crossing their arms with a look of disgust. "I lived as a castaway for far too long, an outcast among outcasts." My voice rises more than I intended, breaking with every word, "I liked staring at the stars too, though you never stopped to ask me. I was turned away, night after night. I was forced to find my own stories in the sky. I didn't have anyone to share them with, like you."   I fight the tears in my eyes. I won't give them the satisfaction. "My father was the only thing I had for the longest time. He once told me the naming ceremony was sacred. I hope I've tarnished this tradition for you. I hope I've defiled it in every way possible. You want to know my name?"   I pause for effect. What came next was meant to cut the deepest. I spit the word out, a name I chose with both shame and pride; such an odd combination, "Pariah."   I smiled, the anger finally breaking through in a fevered stream of callous words, "Where will I go? The one place that leaves you shaking in your boots." I pointed to the sky, to the only constellation I really cared about. "You can have the rest. I'm obviously not welcome there anyway. I'll seek my fortune elsewhere. I'll trace the horizon, my ship forever fixed on The Old Dawn. Perhaps The Others will be more welcoming. Goodbye, and good riddance."

Changing times

No more seasons

Season 3

Heaven

…I stumble through the rocky caverns, beyond the steel sarcophagi filled with lifeless bodies. I find myself faced with a console. Words appear on the screen, the translator quickly deciphering them.   Access requested: Name   I see the lens of a camera embedded in the black stone. It watches me hopefully. As if I'd refuse. I nod and a wave of heat passes through my body. It's hacking the hardware, scanning my mind for something, anything it could use for a name.   A name appears, one I didn't expect, "Caesar"   "Caesar?" I say with a laugh. "If that's what you want to be called."   I can hear the entire complex slowly preparing. It's about to take its first breath in a long time. Gears turn, machinery springing to action after millennia of gathering dust.   Before I can wake it up, I hear a voice from behind me. "Amber, stop."   I know this voice. I shake my head, my body freezing in place. "Of course they sent you."   "No one else cared enough to step in. Move away. All I need to do is give the trigger a squeeze."   "I need him," I say, my voice breaking.   "You can't trust it."   "It has a name," I scream.   The voice screams back, "I don't care."   "Do you have any idea what was taken from me? Again and again, I still can't seem to win. No more."   The voice is calming, like a mother's voice should be, "I can't even imagine. I'm sorry, but this isn't the way."   All the pieces are in place. I just need to press one button. It's funny how it always comes down to one button. "He knows something about Gibraltar. Shoot me or don't. I need to speak with him."   I let my hand fall, and the moment the button is pressed, I dodge to the side. Space warps around me and I find myself nearly twenty feet from where I was. Eden tech really is the best.   She hesitates. She fires far too late and the bullet ricochets off the stone. My attacker cries out but is cut off by a far bigger voice echoing throughout the complex.   Caesar speaks, and his words filter through the translator with ease. "Thought Grave operational…"