I'm hoping that Mutti will at least have sketches ready by the time this chapter comes out. I think something has happened IRL with them, because I haven't heard back yet. Even poked them to see if everything is okay to no response.

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  Her combat capacity is holding steady. Gradual improvement, but nothing out of the ordinary.

  Ingrid looked at the report. Elen was taking to her new body well enough. There were no signs of a second core. No sign that Cinderella or Anachiro was emerging from Elen’s unconscious. Even when they pushed the simulation and Elen to her limits, no response.

  And contrary to popular belief, no news was not, in fact, good news. It was simply no news. They were missing pieces about Elen and her connection. Without that information, all they could do was guess.

  And simply stabbing into the dark was not a wise choice. Ingrid would prefer to have Elen not return to the field until she was certain they'd learned all they could. But that was a luxury they didn't have time for. Eventually, Counters would return to the field, with Elen along with it.

  Perhaps such would only be revealed during the stress of combat. Real combat. No matter how much the simulation emulated combat, it was still a simulation. It wasn't casual by any means, but there was enough of a difference that it still had an impact.

  But she was adapting, no longer having a sword hanging over her head. Those two things were allowing Elen to bloom. While the pure happiness had faded a bit, Elen was still in a good mood.

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  “So, Exia, I heard you have something for me,” just because we had a month to recover, didn't mean we were spending it on nothing. Snow White had left Johnson with a parting gift.

  A bullet made out of a substance Vapaus. What was Vapaus? Damn good question! That's what the entire team wanted to know. The problem was, none of us could find anything. Frankly, our biggest hint was that the Central Government had considered it important enough to scrub from the Central Database.

  Sorry, did I say important? I meant dangerous.

  “This is the first time I'm getting to see your new body in person, and that's the first place you go?” Exia gave me an annoyed look. It wasn’t without good reason. With my new body came some fun new stuff, including a civilian grade body.

  Unlike before, I could now explore the Ark without much fear. Take off the uniform and put on some regular clothes, I was almost just another civilian. And the Ark was full of a great many distractions. Coin Rush, numerous restaurants, mostly high end. There was just a lot to do, and not much time to do it.

  “Sorry, but I prefer business before pleasure,” I offered. Largely because if I did things in reverse, nothing would get done. But even the bags under Exia's eyes were looking at me with disapproval. “Fine.”

  “Many thanks!” Exia plucked the ancient flash drive-like device out of the air. “Think this one has that old version of Boom you talked about?”

  “We can hope and pray,” I chuckled. Boom was functional, from what I saw. But I liked the classics. Sure, between age and everything else, the odds of getting anything useful were low. With that low being generous in the extreme. But Wardress went to places that were less traveled by usual Ark forces. And with Wardress not really caring what I did unless it was illegal? I kinda had a free hand. Sometimes, you struck paydirt when it came to old stuff.

  Eligg would probably love it. But the odds of getting anything useful, much less a game, was insignificantly small.

  “Speaking of prayers, it seems like you got a fair few answered," Exia looked me up and down as I blushed a little. It was still something to get used to. But I enjoyed wearing shirts and shorts once again. And the uniform was surprisingly cute, in a professional sort of way. “Not as hot as me, of course.”

  Yeah, Exia was way more confident in her figure than most people would be in her shoes. Despite the bags under her eyes and a body that I could generously describe as petite. Nevermind her outfit, which consisted of short shorts that she only wore when she was outside and the rest being an oversized shirt that I would only wear to sleep in. Other than that, the only thing that adorned her head beside Exia's long black hair was a set of gaming headphones.

  So would I agree with Exia's assessment of herself? Not particularly. She was cute, yes, in a don't feed after midnight sort of way.

  “Flat,” was the only dignity I decided to grace her with, as Exia only shrugged.

  “And? Better flat than average,” Exia's response nearly made my eye twitch. Resisting the urge to escalate the matter, I took a swift sip of water.

  “Getting to the point,” I offered, hoping to get this back on track. Exia let out a sigh, tapping a few times at the tablet sitting on her lap.

  “Yeah, yeah, just making sure nobody is listening in,” Exia said. The fact she could do any degree of job like that from an underspec'd laptop was spooky, but I doubt that was anything close to what you could buy at a store.

  But the Central Government didn't want anyone knowing about Vapaus. And I was under no illusion. The Central Government would have no problem vanishing or executing people. Hence why we were doing things like we were.

  A meeting between friends. Anyone who overheard would assume we were talking about a game, while Exia could mess with the cameras as she pleased. Nobody was going to hear us. None that would care, at any rate.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Like I said, the Central Government has scrubbed the word in every Database I have access to,” which wasn’t as impressive as it could be. The Soviets could erase people, and the Central Government has decades. With a far more advanced surveillance system than any government ever had in human history. Yes, the Outer Rim was a complete mess of criminal activity and God knew what else, and the Central Government only poked it when it had little choice.

  Sure, there was little doubt in my mind that if the Central Government really wanted to, it could bring the Outer Rim to heel. It would just take a mountain of blood and bodies the Government didn't seem particularly keen on spending. Or really even had.

  “Yes, you were pretty clear about that, and I doubt anything has changed on that front,” I said. The Central Government had decades to patch anything that slipped through the cracks. But Exia wouldn't reach out if she didn't have anything new.

  “Correct. It cannot be found as a word anywhere in the database. But, as it turns out, not everything involving it is,” Exia explained. My eyebrow quirked up. “Now, most of the files are old, and the word itself is missing. But I was able to find something that's a reasonably likely match to what you're looking for. Or at least, a place where you can find more answers. ”

  “I am assuming there is a catch?” There had to be. Knowing our luck, probably several.

  “Naturally. For Counters, I imagine one of them is more problematic than the other,” Exia grinned slightly. Oh, I did not like it when she grinned like that.

  “And that is?” I really wanted her to get to the point with this. When Exia started getting smug was when I started getting worried. I'd hoped getting her outside would put her off her game.

  “It's an Invasion-era database,” Exia said, like it explained everything. And it kinda did.

  “Meaning that it's on the surface itself or the only way in is from the surface,” I frowned slightly. It also meant it had been sitting in Rapture territory for more than a century now. Even under normal circumstances, a building abandoned for a century was at best, going to be in bad shape. A database on the surface that was likely targeted by Raptures?

  If we got anything relevant out of it, I would be surprised and consider it a miracle. Still, it was better than what we had before. Which was jack shit.

  “Correct. That shouldn't be a big issue for Counters,” Exia grinned. “I managed to get the coordinates for it, too.”

  She tossed me a flashdrive, a pretty fancy looking one at that.

  “It has everything I was able to get on it, including defenses, if any managed to survive the years,” Exia explained as I marveled at the thing.

  “Thanks Exia. You're the best,” I smiled, slipping it into my pocket. The smug look on her face only grew.

  “So you're saying I'm better than Newbie?” For a moment, I blinked in confusion. Newbie? It took a moment for me to realize that was her nickname for Johnson. I think Exia could track my changing expression, as her grin grew until I let out a groan, letting my head rest on the table.

  “Am I really that obvious?” I asked, though I knew the answer to that question already.

  “Like a very telegraphed boss,” Exia nodded. Well, I presumed she nodded. I was resting my head in my hands. Curse being uselessly bisexual.

  “Relax. All you have to do is make the first move,” Exia continued as I groaned. Even before now, I was always too shy to make a move first. Which I will fully admit was a me problem. Plus, I'm pretty sure the entirety of Counters had some degree of feelings for the man.

  “Enough about my love life,” I slapped my checks as Exia muttered something under her breath. “If you want, you could join us. There might be something left worth hacking into up there.”

  “Tough call. Do I go up to the surface, where I can get shot at and risk life and limb?” Exia weighted out the two options with her arms. “Or do I stay where it is safe and I get to play my games? Tough call.”

  “Just trying to be nice,” I rolled my eyes. “Besides, getting some real sun would probably do you some good.”

  Yes, I was more than aware of the irony as Exia blinked at me. “Right, I forget you know what the sun was like. Before even the Raptures arrived.”

  I looked up toward the screen that hung above our heads. The sun was nearing its apex, a mockery of noon. Much like with splendamin, it was a convincing enough fake if you didn't know what the real thing was like. But if you knew what the real thing was like? The illusion feel apart pretty quickly.

  Even the Rapture invasion seemed to have done something to mess with the atmosphere and climate, making some places into scorching deserts. And there was our whole previous mission. The earth had changed, and not for the better.

  “Well, thanks for the offer,” Exia said, pushing herself up. “You better not be heading out right away. You've missed enough games as is with the shift.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. Johnson was given a month, and he's going to use every single day,” I nodded. “Just hope Maiden is less stressed.”

  “We both know that's a tall order.”

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  “It's not much, but it's the best lead we have,” I said, putting the flashdrive down. “It's a database the Central Government wouldn't have been able to get to. But there is a pretty decent chance that the data is corrupted by this point.”

  That was the problem. We had a way to scan the bullet at the site. If the database was intact, it could be useful. But how it tied in to saving Marian was unknown.

  “You had to go to Exia for this?” Anis looked surprised.

  “Yeah. We run in the same social circles, and I know she's a hacker. If there was anyone that could help, it would be her,” I shrugged. “Why?”

  “Becuase she's the one I had to go to get any information about Heretics,” Anis said, crossing her arms. “Besides rumors, at any rate. She said Heretics are Nikkes that surrender to Raptures. They get upgraded and are turned into loyal soldiers in the Raptures war. But she said she's never heard of a case like, Marian, before.”

  It was either wince or shutter in fear. The whole point of why Commanders even went to the surface was to kill corrupted Nikke’s. Which Johnson did, to his credit, even if, as I understood the story, at Marian's insistence. But if she was still turned into a Heretic, despite being shot in the head?

  Then we were missing pieces of the puzzle. Very large pieces. How much of it was the Central Government trying to keep something under wraps like Vapaus? Or how much of it was simply them not having the information in the first place?

  I couldn't discount either option. The number of squads that could successfully kill one was tiny. Meaning the list of victories the Ark had against such foes was small. And that there was no easy way of knowing if information was just assumption, or myth. Or deeply buried to keep the people from panicking.

  “Wait, you know Exia?” Neon gave Anis a confused look. Exia hadn't said she knew her, but I also didn’t ask. Then again, I didn't know Neon did either.

  “Yeah. It's a bit of a story,” Anis said, not explaining further. Part of me wanted her too, but at the end of the day, it was her business.

  “We could always speak to Anderson about it,” Rapi suggested, trying to get things back on track. Her suggestion was more than a reasonable one. Special Commander or not, it was clear Anderson was still largely our boss. The mission report for this would still end up crossing his desk. Even if we had to fudge things, letting him know so he could calibrate our story was wise.

  On paper. In practice?

  The Central Government was willing to go as far as it was to erase the term Vapaus from its database? I wasn't sure that Anderson would want to know what we were poking. If for the sake of his own plausible deniability than anything else. Vapaus was clearly something the Central Government considered dangerous. And given how the Central Government was some flavor of authoritarian, what they considered a threat had a very wide range.

  From something genuinely dangerous to something they saw as a threat to their power. And no, those were not necessarily mutually exclusive things.

  “The Central Government clearly views this Vapaus stuff as a threat. Whatever it is, it might be best to play our cards closer to our chest. At least until we have a better understanding of what it is,” I offered, getting a few looks in turn. “What?”

  “Nothing. Just figured you would second going to Anderson about this,” Anis frowned.

  “Same,” Neon nodded, without either noticing what Anis was implying, or not caring.

  Then again, with Ingrid getting to read whatever came across Anderson's desk, she was the most redundant spy in the world.

  Unlike Anis, I didn't share that level of paranoia. Not with Anderson. If it were any other member of the Central Government, I would support bold face lying in a heartbeat. But Anderson had done right by me, and was competent. But she seemed slower to trust than me. Which was saying a lot.

  “I think Elen is right. The Central Government does see this as a threat of some sort. Until we know why they are willing to scrub an entire database, it's best that we keep this to as few people as possible,” Commander Johnson spoke up. His voice was calm but firm. I nodded. Loose lips sink ships and all that.

  The only people who knew anything were the five of us plus Exia. Exia I doubt was going to end up saying anything to anyone else. Neon I would always question how good of a spy she actually was. Or even if she was all that loyal to Ingrid.

  We would likely be assigned some sort of mission control. Hopefully it was Shifty. Despite her name, she did good work. We could probably swear her to secrecy. Sure, the more people that knew about something, the harder it was to keep a secret. But seven people wasn't going to be unmanageable.

  “We head out in three days,” Johnson’s features softened into a gentle smile. “Please be ready by then.”

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  A bit of a transitional chapter. While I didn't work it in, Elen did manage to develop a bit of a friend group during her time with Wardress. Yes, this does hint at what events Elen is likely canonically involved with (on top of the Summer events), as well as a few others depending on exact timing.

  I do see the next two main story chapters passing a bit quicker than than the previous arc, meaning Elen's introduction to Absolute and the return of Mattis are close at hand.