The alloy dome of the Council Chamber reflected a cold white light. Holograms of the twenty-four councilors hovered above the circular tiers of seats, every gaze like an ice-tempered blade stabbing into my bare shoulders and neck. The council speaker's voice boomed through the sound system, echoing again and again through the vast hall. Each word struck my heart like a heavy hammer: "First, your lifelong political rights are revoked, effective immediately. Second, all interstellar accounts, colonial assets, and military supplies under your name are frozen across the board. Third, you are permanently exiled from the Sky Garden. Without a special decree from the Supreme Council, you may never set foot here again."
I lowered my eyes and clenched the identity chip hidden in my sleeve. My old name was still engraved on it, every stroke a brand the Sky Garden had left on me. Only after the councilors' projections had gone dark one by one did I raise my head and look toward the enormous observation window beyond the chamber. Outside, the Sky Garden's ring-shaped ecological habitat rotated slowly. The light of its artificial star fell across layers of floating buildings: vine-covered corridors, the landing pad where I'd run around as a child, the training pod where I piloted a mech for the first time... Those memories flashed before my eyes like shattered stars, burning bright.
The guards escorting me walked silently on either side. Their metal boots struck the polished floor with a steady rhythm, as if counting down to this humiliating farewell. The starship was docked at the farthest edge of the spaceport. The lights beneath its boarding ramp flashed a cold red, as if warning me that this was the final notice. The moment I stepped onto the ramp, I couldn't help looking back. Against the dark backdrop of space, the Sky Garden gleamed like a jewel set with countless lights, yet not a single part of it belonged to me anymore.
