Space News: The Universal Authority will be celebrating a thousand years since its formation this weekend. Chief Syla War has assured security will be tight, and the guests have nothing to fear. The attendees are reminded it's a black-tie event. Anyone who fails to abide by the dress code will not be allowed to enter.

Arriving at The Universal Authority, Detective J went straight to Syla War's office. It was the largest room on the moon, fitting for a man of his stature and ego. A red carpet covered the floor, and there were two couches—one in front, and the other opposite Syla's desk, with a floor-to-ceiling window behind the one in front.

Syla sat behind his desk with a glass of wine in one hand and a cigar in the other. As the Chief of TUA, nothing happened without his approval. Even though he was sixty-two years old, he didn't look a day over thirty with his skin as smooth as a baby's bottom and inky-black hair.

"Glad you could join us, Julian," Syla said with a raise of his glass before he took a sip of the wine.

J looked away from Syla, and towards the other seven people in the room:

Director Beatrice Ernest of Galactic Space Force, Wizard Brianna Trucker of the Mages Guild, and Overlord Alita Spears of The Executioners sat on the couch opposite Syla's desk. A wooden table stood before them with bottles of alcohol and snacks on it.

These were the most important people in the system—after the members of The Council, of course.

Baron Samson Christ of the Detective Division, Baron Nina Tow of Space Patrol, Baron Hippolyta Rome of the Military Division, and Baron Dante Wielder of the Science Division sat on the other couch. There was a glass table in front of them with four bottles of water.

These four worked under Syla, ensuring the smooth operation of The Universal Authority.

I don't see Master Brandon Banks of the Witches Association. "Is this everyone?" J asked Syla.

"Did yuh expect anyone else?" Overlord Alita asked with her fiery eyes. She wore a navy blue blazer, a white shirt, and black pants. She styled her light blue hair in a pixie cut up and away from the head. With rings in her septum and tongue, she looked like a rockstar. Many assumed she was, but that wasn't the case.

Out of everyone in the room, Overlord Alita was the one to watch out for. She loved picking fights, knowing no one in the system was as skilled as her. After retiring from bounty hunting at twenty-five, she became the CEO of The Executioners, making her the youngest to hold the position. Under her leadership, hyenas rivaled coyotes in the number of bounties completed yearly.

"No." J shook his head. Master Brandon hated attending such meetings anyway, leaving them to his wife, Alita, to go to and later inform him about what happened.

Overlord Alita frowned, seeming disappointed J hadn't taken the bait. She leaned back on the couch and crossed her arms. She scoffed. "Yuh no fun."

Wizard Brianna laughed and patted Overlord Alita's head. "There, there, Little Ali, no need to look for a fight. We're all friends here, yes?" She wore black kimono pants, white wooden flip-flops, and black cloth around her chest. As a mage, she had earned the nickname Wraith for how ruthless she was.

"Can we start the meeting?" Director Beatrice said, wearing a gold uniform with five white stars above each breast. She was the smartest person in the system, and no one rivaled her—a former hacker turned CEO, having never been a bounty hunter. But no one cared. She turned the GSF into the best bounty hunting company within the first two years of her reign. If there was someone who had called this meeting, then it was her.

"Yes, please," Overlord Alita said, mischief swirling in her eyes. Whatever it was Director Beatrice was about to reveal, she seemed to know about it. And from the looks of it, it excited her.

Director Beatrice walked to the standing desk at the center of the room before the others joined her. She placed her datapad on the desk and activated a holo-screen. "Alita, Brianna, Samson, and Syla know what I'm about to tell you," she said to J and the other barons. "First, I have a question: do any of you believe in aliens?"

"I don't believe in a lot of things: love, marriage, outdoor pants, crystal water, and fish. But aliens? I know they exist. We just haven't met them yet," said Baron Dante, surprising no one.

"Not me," Baron Hippolyta said. As the head of TUA's military, no one matched her grit. She emphasized showing proof and not theory. Thus, if she didn't see it, then it didn't exist.

"I believe if you do," Baron Nina Tow added. No one liked her because, as a former child therapist, she treated everyone as a child. But she was good at her job, and that was all that mattered.

"I don't care." J shrugged.

"What if I told you aliens are real, and they live among us?" Director Beatrice said.

"Yes!" Baron Dante shook his fist, smiling. "I knew this day would come. So, where are they?" He glanced around the room. "Are they on the moon right now?" He gasped. "Is it one of you?" He looked at everyone with narrowed eyes and stopped at Samson. "I always knew you were an alien."

"Me?" Samson pointed at himself. "I'm not an alien."

"That's what an alien would say."

J laughed. He always enjoyed Baron Dante's company the few times he had it. The man was insanely smart and funny.

"Look at this," Director Beatrice said, ignoring the two bickering barons.

A video played on the holo-screen, showing a man hovering in the sky while below him buildings burned and disintegrated. It wasn't hard to tell it was Coupon City—the day it vanished. The entire system had seen the video, as it was a hot topic on social media and news channels.

The video switched to a different feed, showing inside Coupon City. People screamed and cried for help while running away from something. It didn't take long for that something to appear, looking like a metallic bug. It used its six legs as a skewer, lining people up like meat and eating them. The video ended when the creature noticed the person recording and attacked them.

"The creature you saw is a golem. They are humans turned monsters. The Forgotten Nuns used religion to lure people to Coupon City and harvest their organs. What remained of them became... that."

"That wasn't an alien?" Baron Dante asked.

"No." Director Beatrice shook his head.

"Tell them the good parts, Beatrice. We have little time, yes?" Wizard Brianna said.

"The Forgotten Nuns were the aliens. They are an extinct species known as olden. Sister Mary is the last of her kind," Director Beatrice said.

"How do you know this?" J asked.

"The flying man at the start of the video is a coyote. When Coupon City disintegrated, he captured Sister Mary and brought her to me, and she told me everything. There's so much more I want to divulge, but right now it's a need-to-know basis."

"They are blaming Cleopatra for the disappearance of Coupon City. The same thing happened to The Council's headquarters, and she took credit for it. Is that true?" Baron Hippolyta said.

"No," Director Beatrice replied. "Cleopatra has no reason to attack Venus. Her target has always been Mars."

"An' she not gone stop we," Overlord Alita, the only Martian in the room, said.

Wizard Brianna scoffed. "We will see, yes?"

Mars has an unstoppable army. It'll take a galaxy to beat them. "Why am I here, then? I'm the only one in this room without rank," J said. He tried to not ask when he had arrived, but he couldn't help it anymore. What they divulged was above his pay grade.

"We have a mission for the barons, but Samson refused to go. He's too scared. Instead, he said you'd be perfect for it," Syla said.

Of course, he did. J glanced at Samson, and the baron looked away from him. "What mission?"

"Beatrice, if you will," Syla said.

Director Beatrice cleared her throat. "As you all know, many years ago TUA sent explorers to search for habitable planets in other galaxies. We sent some of our best bounty hunters with the explorers in case they ran into trouble. And they did."

Another video played on the holo-screen.

A woman with blood on her face and tears in her eyes stood before the camera. Rods and wires hung from the destroyed ceiling behind her, while lights flickered and grey liquid poured to the floor and mattress. She was in her room. "We found a habitable—" Static played over the screen before it smoothed over. "—return and show our discoveries. But we were—an imposter among us. We're stuck at the edge of space with—" Her head fell to the floor while blood splattered out of her neck.

A gold metallic creature with the body of a spider and the face of a man appeared on the screen. It had two stingers—one on its forehead and the other on its back. The one on its back had blood on it.

The creature stared at the camera for a while before smiling. "If you want me to spare the other humans, then bring Sister Mary to me."

The screen went blank.

Director Beatrice closed the holo-screen. "The reason you're here is we want you to retrieve the data gathered from the exploration. It won't be easy, but we trust you to complete this mission."

"Only the four of us?" Baron Nina Tow asked.

"Yes. We can't go because we have companies to run. Samson will temporarily run your divisions while you're away."

"Can we bring our subordinates?" Baron Hippolyta asked. Her wife was her second in command. She went nowhere without her. They were like yin and yang.

"No."

The room fell silent.

That was expected. "What about Sister Mary?" J asked, seeing as she was at the center of all of this.

"She's locked in the spaceship we've prepared for you. We've equipped it with medic droids in case you find survivors," Syla said.

That's a positive. "Does The Council know about the aliens?" J asked.

"No," Director Beatrice answered instead. "Only the people in this room do."

"You don't trust The Council members?"

"Yes."

Wow. J's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because they're golems."