Dragon System

Resistance

"No," Ace refuted. The facts from Yvo's mouth was of no use. The chancellor yet failed again. 

A short stare stopped Yvo from replying, he was analyzing the looks of Ace's face, hoping to get just a single hint of what he was feeling. But he found nothing, the man was great with pretense. 

"Very well then," Yvo said. "I won't force you to believe or trust the Prime." 

Yvo backed away slowly, his time was running low and the high tower was waiting for him. Ace's eyes remained fix to Neo, it was a blank gawk, and he looked out of his senses. 

The medical team stood beside the chancellor, everyone was ready to leave. But before the crew went on with their steps, Yvo spoke. 

"Be wise Ace... be wise like Ashmeir." 

This time, Ace looked up with forehead crumpled in confusion.

The wondering began, "How did you know my father?" He asked.

A petite smile curved out from Yvo's face, "He was the Prime's friend." Those were the chancellor's last words.

He signaled everyone to move out, leaving Ace with the cold silence. The young man wanted to ask more, but he grew vehement of knowing the truth. 

'He was the Prime's friend...' It echoed over and over again.

Yvo and the others went out but Ace wasn't left alone. The thoughts of his father filled him, he started walking back and forth. Ashmeir lived 15 years before Ace could even think independently. His father died in an unknown cause, now that Yvo mentioned him, Ace assumed that the Prime has something deep in connection with Ashmeir.

Ace did not settle inside the living room, his feet climbed  up to the stairway. A familiar feeling of deja vu kept on tingling beneath his toes, it sent shivers  down to his spine. 

The upper floor of the house was unexplored yet in his sight it was too familiar. Not even corners remained masked, every door looked common. Ace started to feel more curious.

"What is happening?" He asked boldly.

No one can answer him but himself, Pier was still on voyage with the doctor. From his standing point, a door stood in a different aura. It looked  the same with the others, but there was something unusual about it.

Ace gulped before he resumed walking. Intuition told him a little secret, he was about to take on something bombarding. A foot after the other, it took him a bit long before his mind was fully made up. 

Finally, he faced the door with an aflutter look. Before his hand could extend, his heart raced firstly. Everything was unusual and perhaps the answer was behind the door. Ace was scared of disappointments, but he has no other choice.

Before his mind could change, he pushed the stainless handle open. Blue lights activated as they sensed Ace's upcoming presence. Feet set apart from the inside of the room, the door slowly opened to reveal things. 

A highly technological advanced unit welcomed the Vice, but it wasn't Ace's name it mentioned.

"Greetings Ashmeir Lior." 

Ace continued to walk inside, machineries and holograms of different areas in the city crowded every corner. It was a control room, things were already unusual for Ace, but something made things more peculiar. From the hind wall, he stopped. An electronic portrait of his father lied hanging. 

Every detail was cleanly mastered, "What is this doing here?" Ace asked. 

To answer his question, a 3D hologram from the near corner sprang to life. It was a life size image of his father, a spectacular manifestation of the deceased general. The holographic Ashmeir smiled sweetly to his son.

Ace caught the vision from his peripheral sight, he quickly turned to embrace his father. But his body just passed through the hologram, Ashmeir was only an image. 

Tears flowed from the young man's eyes.

"Dad..." Ace weakly uttered. 

"If you're listening to me Ace, follow my instructions carefully." Ashmeir spoke. Ace held his sobs backwards, listening attentively to his father's words. 

"Protect the Prime's son, don't let anything happen to Neo." Things started to became more serious.  

But instead of agreeing, Ace questioned his father, "Why dad?" 

A loud sigh became his first reply. Ashmeir predicted his son's resistance. He was once like that, so when the Prime asked for what he wanted, Ashmeir suggested a program to retain both his memory and care for his family. 

"We kept Sydon's rebellion from everyone. After the high tower was created, Sydon became greedy." Ashmeir paused.

Two big events took place during that era. The creation of the health elixir was recorded, but it still failed the Hemians. Sydon stole the first dose, making himself nearly invincible. 

Only a few believed the story, others assumed that it was only a gossip. The Prime tried his best to keep everything as a secret but Sydon's stinky personality still rose from the dark corner. 

"Don't expect that I'll trust the Prime like what you did Dad." Ace immediately interrupted. 

The hologram paused as if it felt the very same emotion of a real life parent, a sigh escaped from Ashmeir's throat. The whole operating room masqueraded in deception and lack of trust.

"You're not my father aren't you?" Ace spoke first. It was too unusual to hear the very words from Ashmeir's mouth. His father wasn't a nationalistic person, but perhaps something different. 

Ashmeir titled his head to stare deeper, he was dead, and only his body wasn't retained. Every detail and memory was kept during the operation. 

"You have a scar beneath your right sleeve, you got that from defending Simon." Ashmeir plainly added. 

Ace grew astounded by his words, only a few knows about that scar. He tried to bury it along with his stupidity before. A soft chuckle followed Ashmeir's reply. He sensed his son being embarrassed. 

"Tell me, what happened after your death?" Despite his doubts, Ace still asked.

Ignorance was far more deadly than his fears, but maybe what he will know is far more tragic than a horror tale.