The polls came in a cycle ago. Lucian is a clear crowd favourite, coming in first, then Lazarus, then me.

I wasn't that surprised after I disappeared the night of my birthday and skipped on the following proceedings the next day. My parents were livid but it still feels like I'm floating in a cloud of condensation, hazing out the rest of the world.

My heart has been taken, a part of it remains atop that mountain in Cixin, in the cabin Lazarus made for me. We spent three days in that cabin, completely ignoring the rest of the universe and our duties.

To say the sex was phenomenal would be an understatement and maybe Lazarus feels the same way because we haven't been able to keep our hands off each other since we came back.

I twirl the seasoned vegetable on my plate with a fork, counting down the minutes till I can escape this draggy dinner to meet with him.

"Luna," General Grievous says after swallowing a large piece of medium rare wargol. "Have you thought about marrying yet? I notice you have been spending a lot of time with Lazarus."

I bite my lip to keep that ridiculous loved up smile from forming on my face as my parents study me.

"I only just turned eighteen. I haven't thought of marriage yet." I answer tentatively.

"You know you have my full support with, Lazarus. He might need your help to obtain a majority vote when twelve moons go by." My father says it quietly but the finality in his tone makes it seem like an instruction.

My skin prickles with annoyance even though the thought of marrying Lazarus feels like a dream come true. After all these moons my parents still think that I'm incapable of leadership. That I need to marry someone and become their side piece to gain their approval.

Their thought process is so primitive, I wonder why they still think like this when the rest of our civilisation moved on years ago.

"I don't need to marry him to become first in command. Or Lucian." The mention of Lucian stings slightly. I was supposed to meet him the night of my birthday but I'd completely forgotten about it until I came back to Pluto three cycles later.

Every time I think about him, guilt consumes me but aside from apologising I haven't been able to do much else. I've barely seen him because he's been busy with his missions.

"At the rate you're going, you'd be lucky to make it as third in command." My mother bristles sarcastically, her long nails clutching the stem of a crystal glass flute as she takes a delicate sip of sea apple wine.

My lips purse and I look down at my food. "It's just one poll. They change every week."

"Lucian's a strong contender. He always comes out first or second." My father says mechanically but the dislike is evident on his face. It's no secret he hates Lucian's father, General Mondric. "Everyone on that war council loves Mondric."

The jealousy on my father's face is highlighted by the swirling turquoise green lights from our ceiling.

"We can't let him come out on top. General Lyra already holds too much power. Do you know she was recently elected as the advisor for the Trade and Affairs commissions board?" My mother says angrily. "You must marry Lazarus. That is the only way we can kick the arrogance off that family's face."

If only my mother knew how much I disagreed with that statement. Despite my parents sentiments, I love both General Lyra and Lucian. Even General Mondric has been kinder to me  than my parents ever were.

Growing up I spent most of my time with General Lyra and she grew to become the mother I never had and Lucian would make an exceptional leader. Everyone on Pluto knows that.

"I'll think about it. We've only just started seeing each other romantically. It's too early to think about marriage." I state stubbornly and my mother sighs.

She pushes her chair back and stands up. "When are you going to grow up? Marriage isn't about romance, it's about making alliances. I'm done with this sordid dinner. Grievous, tell me when our daughter starts thinking straight so that we can all have a proper conversation for once."

She walks away dramatically, like she hasn't walked out on us a thousand times before but her words don't hurt any less.

My appetite disappears and I cast a nervous glance at my father, wondering if he's going to scold me as well.

He just looks at me tiredly, like I'm the most exhaustive Plutonian he's ever encountered.

"Just think about it, alright? We've never asked for much. You need to think about our future, as a family." He then leaves our enormous dining room, going through the same corridor my mother went through.

I kick the side of the chair next to me absent mindedly and grab my communicator. Lazarus and I were supposed to meet later but I'd rather leave the house now.

I grab a glider and drift through the busy streets of the North City. Citizens who recognise the logo on my vehicle rush out of the way, traffic lights going green automatically. It makes me think of Lucian and how he complained when the special privileges were granted to us.

"We should be promoting equality not further segregation." I remember him saying. Unlike me, he's always been so vocal about what he feels is right. It either makes you hate him or love him, which is probably why he scored so high every poll.

Our people knew what he stood for.

What do I stand for?

I realise I've been holding traffic with my day dreaming but no one has dared to blare their horns at me.

I quickly wave an apology to the rows of cars behind and zoom ahead, going straight to the bar Lazarus usually spends his time in. We were supposed to meet there later but there's no harm in surprising him, right?

I leave my glider out front at the valet and walk inside, the soft sensual music sifting through the half open door.

There's an attendant checking trackers, not just anyone is allowed access to Lazarus's club and bar lounge. The tall well dressed Plutonian recognises me immediately and he shifts to the side.

"Welcome Precursor General."

I nod at him, casting a polite smile before walking past the dark LED infused curtains. The music is louder now, pulsing beats specifically designed to make your core throb with want.

There are numerous couples lining the darkened corridor, making the already small space narrower. I greet the few that I recognise until I finally reach the large dance space.

On Taygetha, intoxicated parties occur during the day so they can nurse their hangovers by nightfall. On Earth, clubbing starts late, carrying on to the night with humans nursing their headaches the following mornings.

On Pluto, a party can start at any time and carry for days or end within minutes. It all depends on the host and their guests.

Lazarus's bar opens in the evenings, when our atmosphere readjusts itself to make way for night and the guests who come here usually stay till morning.

I catch a few ambassador's children by the bar, some prominent trade dealers occupying the private booths at the far end of the room and notice the staircase to the lounge has been blocked off.

Is Lazarus holding a private event today?

I walk over to it and push aside the fickle piece of ribbon. A Plutonian officer immediately appears from behind the bar.

"No access allowed tonight miss."

I turn to him and his eyes widen in panic.

I walk ahead anyway, ignoring the way he has started muttering into his earpiece rapidly. My shoes clank against the swirling floors below me, the micro lighting making it look like I'm walking in outer space.

My heart starts beating rapidly as I ascend, not liking the way Lazarus's officer looked at me just now. Was I not allowed here and more importantly why?

I hesitate before pushing open the heavy doors, afraid of what I might see. Memories of Lazarus with his previous girlfriends fill my thoughts and I remember how bitter I used to be whenever he dated someone new.

That was before you, Luna. Before your birthday.

I try to psyche myself but when I push open the door, I immediately catch Lazarus sitting in the middle sofa with two scantily dressed Plutonian escorts on either side of him. There are other males in the room, I recognise one of them as the arms dealer who supplied our recent excursion to the Fire Constellation.

There are escorts all over the room, some male, some female, all scantily dressed as they serve the select few here. I notice Lazarus has a palm over one of the girls laps but he shifts when he catches sight of me.

"Luna, what a pleasure. I didn't expect you here so early."

I smile at him, even though my chest is silently caving in. I hate myself for being suspicious of him, of course this is just an outing between prominent Plutonians and these girls are here to appease his guests.

But why did he have to move his hand then? If he has nothing to hide.

The guests in the room immediately greet me.

"PG Luna, nice to see you. General Grievous has invited us over this week for dinner. Looks like we'll be seeing each other rather often." Za says with a sly smile.

He's well over fifty and married to Commander Hydra but the animalistic desire in his eyes always makes my skin crawl. Za and his wife have been known to abuse their paramours but because they are so powerful, we Sympathizers have never been able to touch them.

There are three arms dealers in this room; Za, Alcyonne and QP. All three were our main suppliers during the Milky Wars. This gained them incredible wealth and influence over all others in their professions.

In a war mongering society like ours, the relationship between leaders and arms dealers has always been co-dependent.

I take a seat next to Alcyonne, the only Plutonian arms dealer that I respect, even though Lazarus got rid of one of his escorts to make room for me.

The night passes and I drink more and more to silence all thoughts of my parents and Lazarus.

"You haven't been yourself the entire night." He says once his guests leave.

"Has it been that obvious?" I slur, and lean against the couch to support myself.

"Tell me what's wrong." He holds on to my hand, looking dead serious.

"My parents," I sigh in disappointment. "They don't understand where I'm coming from. Sometimes I wonder how we are even related."

Lazarus cups the back of my neck and smiles at me affectionately. "That makes the two of us."

He kisses me softly and then more urgently when I respond. "I've been wanting to do this all night."

"Me too." I admit softly and then groan. "I don't want to go home."

"Stay with me." He suddenly says and then pulls me up from the couch.

"Tonight? At your place?" I ask him in surprise. He's always been so paranoid about outsiders intruding his space. Everyone knows he never takes his girlfriends to his official residence.

"Yes, come with me. Let me tell my staff a few things and we'll leave, okay?"

I nod as he walks out of the lounge but then notice he left a mini computer device in the crevice of the seat. A closer look tells me it isn't his but Za's.

I pull it out and the screen lights up, revealing a blur of images before automatically locking. My body stiffens as I drop the computer, wondering if the computer glitched or what I saw was true.

The documents and contract clearly looked like an assasination attempt. I've seen proposals like those before.

I try to activate the tab again but the screen remains blank. I close my eyes and draw a breath hoping that I had just imagined Lucian's name on that screen.