The Empire's Age of Exploration: Fatima Fattash's Motive

Mars, Ares Detention Center:

"I have rights!" Dr. Foster shouted as she pounded on the energy shield of her cell. Under normal circumstances, she could punch through a planet with all her strength, but here, she was even weaker than an ordinary person from the Old Era.

"I have the right to request a lawyer, and I have the right to contact my family," she continued. "Let me make a call." Dr. Foster threw a tantrum for over a minute before a guard finally sauntered over. The guard entered a string of codes on the holographic panel on his wrist, transmitting the sound into the cell.

"You bastard. You—"

"You have a call from your family," the guard said calmly before pressing a few more buttons. A screen appeared in Dr. Foster's cell, and the guard turned and left without a word. Dr. Foster glared through clenched teeth at his back, but the person on the screen soon drew her attention away.

"Darling, you have to get me out."

"Are you fucking insane?" William Benson said. He was a Seventh-Tier Arcanist and the CEO of Steelheart Company, which had signed a contract with the government to manufacture magic crystals.

"What—what?"

"How many times have I told you? That woman is a Tower Master. She can destroy our lives with a single word!" William roared. "You told me you would control yourself."

"I—I—I."

"What is wrong with you? Is controlling yourself really that difficult?"

"Why are you taking that stupid woman's side?" Dr. Foster retorted. "What kind of Tower Master would believe in a fictional god? I refuse to believe there was no fraud involved in her Tower Master assessment."

William stared at his wife in horror. That woman was actually questioning a Tower Master's assessment. There were trillions of Arcanists,