The Meteor Shower (9) : One of the hallmark features of the Star Festival is the week long meteor shower that kicks off at the beginning of the celebrations. The first night is usually a little slow, and it picks up more on the second and third evening, but tonight is different. Within the first hour of the first visible falling meteor, something hits the ground with enough force that the ground trembles and power is lost for a few seconds. The impact can be heard throughout the city and the news reports that a small meteor made impact--only, they don’t report that they can’t find any damage and have no idea where it landed. Maybe that’s enough to convince some people, but anyone who knows about this powered war might expect that nothing good ever comes from space.
As a not-so-secret cosmic conflict raged on in Destiny City, there were plenty of reasons for people to come and go. Some people were afraid of what was going on. Some people couldn't handle it. So many people left out of a simple desire for safety.
Other people were curious, drawn to it and excited by the magic and mystery. So plenty of others came here out of a desire to know and experence what was going on. Some people ended up getting more than they bargained for: a new name, a new responsibility, an entire new place in the cosmos. New memories of an age long past. For some, these were fortunate developments that added new meaning to life. For others, they were a curse.
And then, past the dramatic and unbelievable reasons, there were all the usual reasons people might arrive, leave, or return to this city. Relationships changed. Priorities changed. Jobs changed. Desires changed.
The city was named after fate, but it was so very much shaped by choice.
Simon Ferris had plenty of his own reasons to distance himself from Destiny City. He'd grown up in a home that treated him like he was defective. He'd gotten drafted into a magical war without his consent. He'd risked his life fighting battles for a cause he didn't understand. He'd lost contact with his girlfriend, who at the time seemed like a fated lover -- they were both senshi of the Pleiades. The city had imposed burdens on him that he had never asked for, never wanted.
But he never moved away.
He had stayed here this whole time.
For a time, he wanted to. For a time, he'd made plans. But he couldn't bring himself to leave. Instead, he quietly put away his henshin pen and distanced himself from the magical side of his life as much as he could. He ignored the buzzing of global messages on his senshi phone, turned off news reports about magical fights and mysterious events. He set aside the hints of memory he had uncovered during his travels to the planet orbiting Atlas. He sequestered himself away in the quietest corner of the city he could find, trying to build a life for himself and figure out who he was on his own terms.
Astraea had tried to take away his right to do that. She hadn't asked him if he wanted to be the senshi he had the potential to be, he had realized. He'd been forced to do it. And as he became more sure of himself, he decided he didn't want to do anything he had been forced to do.
But then something he couldn't ignore happened.
Simon was out waiting for the meteor shower with a couple of work friends, happily chatting away with his tablet and enjoying some drinks. It was a perfect way to kick off the Star Festival. When he pointed up at the first falling stars to appear, everyone applauded -- and it was all downhill from there.
The ground shook. The city lights a mile away flickered. And then everyone was checking their phones, trying to figure out what had happened. Simon silently prayed it was just an earthquake, but something in him knew that it was going to be something that pulled him out of hiding.
And as the word 'meteor' reached the lips of his colleagues, his heart sank.
It was a mysterious object from space. And after ignoring sign after sign for years, he knew he was going to have to check this one out.
