Alarm Clock

Stan Graham walks the polished corridors of Opertal Prison, a place where the stone walls have been worn smooth by countless steps, reflecting the setting sun like a giant mosaic. Once a hopeful cadet at the Stellar Guard Academy, he now finds himself marked as a failure, shunted from the elite Gravitics program after a series of unnoticed slip‑ups. As he passes the heavy metal grills and bar‑lined cells, his mind drifts back to the last conversation with Major Michaels—a stern reminder that talent alone isn’t enough when every flaw is scrutinized.

Within the bleak routine, Graham senses a tension that goes beyond the prison’s stern discipline. The opening musings on explosives hint at a hidden volatility, a precise trigger waiting to ignite something far larger than a simple academic setback. As he settles back into his cell, the quiet hum of monitors and the distant clatter of other inmates whisper that the real test may be just beginning, and the answers he seeks could lie in the very walls that surround him.