Alice didn't wake up like most mid-level residents of the Arks with fake sunrise and melodious chimes. No, she woke up in a way she much preferred, her child waking her up, Alices daughter Judith, named after her lost brother Judas. Who she had no idea they were making their way there right now and even less that they changed their name, pronouns, or the other things that had changed in Their life. Judith peaked through the door, looking to Alice who was seemingly asleep. She quietly walks in, walking up to the side of her bed she looks at her mother then sharpens her eyes.

"Your faking~" She teased, and her mother huffed and opened her eyes. "How did you know?" Alice asked opening her eyes and smiling holding out her arms for Judith who happily joins the hug before being yanked onto the bed. "You seemed weird... and you snore~" She teased her mother as she savored the embrace before sitting on the empty side of the bed beside her. Alice sat up choosing to ignore the snoring comment and looks at her. "Well regardless of when I woke up. you better shower for class, I will get breakfast. She said with a soft smile rubbing a bad case of sleep from her eye. Her short dirty blonde hair a messy tangle from a restless sleep she had no intent to show her daughter. Judith hugs her happily before going out the door. Leaving Alice with her thoughts as she looks to a digital photo frame and grabbing it. Thumbing through photos.

She settles on a childhood family photo, an intimidating light brown haired, softly tanned man stands beside a golden blonde woman that could give Ms. Claus a run for her money as the cheeriest women alive in a small frame. With a young teen Alice and preteen Judas in front of them. His dirty blonde hair matching Alices own. "I hope somehow, you're okay... Safe at least or resting peacefully..." The dreams she had were clear in her mind still. The way only a dream that touches your very soul can linger. The replaying memory of her father who had just recently divorced her mother. Coming in the dead of night during a minor power failure. He said he needed to see her sleeping brother. He was ragged, a large bag on his back the usual intellectual composure replaced by a rambling mad scientist. How would her or her mother know he planned to steal him away. but in a flash. He had pulled a taser baton with judas knocked out in his arms. They had to let him go and hope security stopped him, and Judas was okay. But that was the last anyone saw of them in the Ark and led to years of therapy for Alice and her mom.

Alice set the frame down with a photo of Judith winning a children's spelling bee. Stepping out of the plain room and through the halls the soft lighting following her lighting her path and shutting off behind her. The shower in the background as she enters the kitchen a small four-person dinner table, a small kitchenet that looked like it was made for easy maintenance over being a homey kitchen, much like the rest of the house and many of the houses in the ark. Not made to be a long-lived family home, but more an economic apartment you could safely and comfortably live safe inside the arks false sky and ground.

Alice went to the fridge, taking out airtight containers filled with fruits, and a refillable almond milk container. Moving to the overhead cupboard for a box of oatmeal. Every container was both for storage and measurement; designed to be space efficient, and portion monitoring, measurements for how much to give a person of various age ranges on it. Whether you kept to it was up to you. Judith was a thief of oranges then sulked when they ran out too quick and beg Alice to get more. But Alice did her best to save ration points. Even if shed occasionally grab a few extra treats here or there when Judith was too lovable to ignore.

Alice sat down with two bowls and the ingredients turning on a warming element hidden in the table making a red ring appear in the center, setting the bowls on it as she made the bowl of oats, fruits, and milk. A simple but cost-effective breakfast. They lived well. Alice had a respectable job and all, but she wanted to make sure that Judith was safe, and that Judith had everything she needed so simple meals once and a while were worth making sure they had ration points for anything that came up. She grabbed a pair of streamlined blue lensed glasses from the side of the table and put them on, a streamlined version of the visors, scanning her eyes before coming to life.

"Good morning, Alice, you have work in 1 hour. Schedule Updates are as follows. "Normal routine Canceled" Your new routine will be delivered by Sgt. Davenport during mandatory carpool." She sighed annoyed and slouched. "Please tell me it's not another stupid tunnel fight." "Unable to confirm routine change." She glares at her own glasses and sighs. "Any changes to Judiths schedule?" "Parental access granted. Cerebrum course plans unaltered, Judiths school starts in one-hour, continued routine for Judith recommended." "Good, helper off." The screen switches to the normal minimal impact display with a rim of options.

Alice shuts off the heater as she hears the shower shut off in the background. Setting spoons in the bowls. "Dispenser. Black Tea, Extra strength, orange juice." the counter beside the table hums too life as a glass of orange juice and tea poured from a special drink dispenser into two glasses. She sips her tea as she stirs her food. Judith coming in a flowing dress made of the same soft but light material as the jump suits worn by most. But dyed a piercing bright sky blue. A set of simple blue rounded glasses over her eyes. She sits at the table swinging her legs softly as she grabs her bowl, shamelessly adding an extra handful of blueberries before grabbing her juice. "Thank you, mom, thanks house." She says warmly as she eats, focused on whatever happened in her glasses.

Alice watches her child glancing over to the Parent tab on her visor and switching Judith's visor off, making Judith groan with a mouthful of breakfast. "Rude" Judith says after swallowing. "So is watching cartoons at the table, family time is important" Alice says trying not to give a stern tone a soft smile on her face before sipping her tea. "Anything new at school?" She asks happily trying to give her daughter a chance to speak freely. "Mm. Not really... Our teachers are all being weird because smart people are getting recruited to some team." Judith says unsure of the rumor's students have been spreading; looking to her mother as if she somehow knew what she meant. "Ah... Yes, the new Icarus project is starting." She said a hint of nerves in her tone. "That projects going to ruin our supply of decent scientist if they keep messing up... Not to mention the resources." She said softly. She didn't have every detail, but military work gave her some information others didn't. "Don't worry... Substitute programs they have aren't too bad, and I can buy you tutor apps if we need them if the teachers start falling out." She says trying to comfort the possible worries her daughter might have over school. "I know that mom... Just sad we lost our botany teacher, he's the one that helped me grow my flowers." She says glumly. "Don't worry. He is doing an important job, trying to fix that project would mean a lot of new plants for you and a lot of new space. I'm sure they are getting someone very qualified to replace him and I'm sure they will be nice to such a bright pupil." But her reassurances couldn't beat a child's will to be upset about something they didn't like. Knowing her defeat to her daughter she got up, kissing her forehead before releasing her visor so she could watch cartoons. "10 minutes, then I want you to make sure your all set for school." She says warmly before setting her dishes up to be cleaned and heading to get ready herself.

After some quick showering and prep Alice looks at herself in the mirror, the common civilian fabrics replaced by padded security garb the armor made of graphite weaves and thin titanium alloy plates her visor replaced with a clear aluminum face shield with a variety of information and combat systems in her field of view on her belt was two sets of heavy duty binders, a large round ball with lenses on each side, seemingly a sort of reusable flash grenade and on her dominant side was a short baton, the only common weapons allowed in the arks. It could stun on contact or fire chemical tranquilizer darts out for ranged take down. Anything stronger was kept to the higher military guard meant for large scale threats. To the ark anything was a potential resource, so killing was seen as a last resort even for ark security like Alice, what better way to reform a criminal than force them on gathering missions or hard labor to remind them the arks safe function is vital to their survival and comfort.

Alice straightens her chest badge, a round brass badge with a pattern like the solar panels helping to power the ark. A bar on the bottom containing "Civ Spec. Storm." essentially on the edge from civilian security and military she gets good jobs and nice pay and for the most part the respect she deserves for hard work. Alice had a sense of pride in her ranked badge, a nearly flawless track record, numerous arrests, and civilian incident resolutions. She did her best to make things better knowing what harm disturbances in the ark's safety can cause.

Her mind is taken away from her pride or thoughts of the past by a small alert on her face shield. "Transport pools approaching: Cerebrum transport. Eta 2 minutes" She closes the alert and walks out to meet Judith. "Ready Darling?" She asks as her daughter smiles getting her shoes on. "Yeah mom, I got all my files and my allowance" she happily says. A glance in Alices field of view shows some points were deducted from the family account. There wasn't much need for backpacks for school in the ark. Most learning was augmented, or virtual reality based. The classroom was more for social structure then needed for teaching.

Alice and Judith waited outside their residential are with over kids or families. The large metal prefabricated structure in the background like some sort of modernistic but cheap and efficient housing block for squeezing as many people as they could together comfortably. The houses weren't bad, but they weren't dream homes of the future people might have hoped for before the arks. Alice new many of the families, both as a security measure and an attempt at friendly socialization. the adults offering kind smiles and soft hellos a bit intimidated by her security garb. And two children were talking with Judith talking about the teachers and class. Most people were wearing the simplistic function over fashion clothes everyone had on the ark. A few people had special work outfits, more rugged clothes for maintenance or harder labor, specially designed for their job.

Eventually, small hover carts started to pull into the area outside the houses Infront of the group. Different people got on different ones. It was rare to have your own transport. Most people used community transport like hover carts or bikes if they didn't just walk. The hover bikes and carts were designed to easily move through the ark at maximum efficiency as a mode of shared civilian transport. After a few pulled away and made way for more transports a longer hover tram came through, this one already partially full of various ages of children and teens. The kids all got in, one boy lightly guiding Judith to sit with him which she didn't fight making Alice raise an eyebrow at him in a way only a half curious half knowing parent could. She waved goodbye as the tram pulled away with her beloved daughter leaving her waiting with the few remaining adults.