Manager Haukeinse,

  How is life in your new position? It’s been years since we last spoke, before we both departed Evergrove Cybernetics Industrial, and I regret allowing our working relationship to lapse.

  Pleasantries aside, I unfortunately have a strange development to ask about. Related to my work for ECI, I received a notice yesterday of one of the devices we serviced being damaged, then destroyed entirely. The product in question was a spinal monitoring ring that was purchased by planet 148.87.4 over a hundred years ago. Relatively speaking, that would be a few hundred years in that system. I’m not sure what to do with that information, though. Normally, the company would send out a notice to the purchaser, but somehow, the notice arrived in my personal inbox.

  Even stranger is the final reading from the device. The cause for termination was a sudden concussive impact, which shouldn’t be enough to break one of those products. Furthermore, the device still sent out a signal for a brief time after the concussive impact, then went dead afterwards without any reading on the secondary event.

  This seems like the sort of information you’d like to look into. I would rather confer with you than report this to ECI, anyway. The new management can jump into a black hole for all I care. Perhaps you’d like to look into the status of 148.87.4 for yourself? We could discuss the precise details over drinks the next time you’re in system.

  Best regards,

  Alyssia Maey Harlocke

  Silvergleam Cybernetic Security

  Chief Engineer

  Mari:

  “I’m sorry.” Mari inclined her head in submission as Kris fretted over her sore muscles.

  Kris glared so hard Mari could feel it boring into her from behind. “I know you mentioned your weapons were dangerous if not properly maintained, but seriously. Even the ones you make for yourself can seriously injure or kill yourself. That’s unacceptable. I’ll have to start designing your equipment for you.”

  Mari almost turned to face Kris, but a stinging sensation caused her to stop and relax again. Her neck being jerked suddenly had pinched something, and Kris had been trying to help the swelling go down ever since.

  “Will Anise be home soon?” Mari asked.

  “That’s quite the non-sequitur. I have no idea, though.”

  There was a chill in those words. Mari literally shivered upon hearing the tone.

  “You called?” Anise’s voice came from the stairs where she was calmly descending.

  Kris turned her frosty glare towards the girl immediately. “You have been here the whole time and didn’t even bother to get involved when you heard an explosion?”

  Anise visibly worked her jaw for a few moments before looking Mari straight in the eye.

  Telepathy, please. Mari did her best to convey the request visually.

  Yeesh. Now I’m the medium for settling your lovers’ quarrels? It gets a little annoying after a while, you know?

  Mari winced as she gained yet another voice in her head.

  I’m glad to see you healthy, Anise. Marielle’s voice joined the conversation quite suddenly, throwing everyone off as the more mature tone joined them into a four-way chat.

  “Oh. Is that Marielle?” Kris said, suddenly intrigued.

  Mhmm. Nice to meet you, Kris.

  Let’s try not to pollute the mindwaves here. What’s up that needs a private talk?

  Anise… Mari had never heard Marielle sound so dejected to have been ignored before. Then again, she’d been completely snubbed by her own daughter.

  It’s obvious that some private chats need to be had eventually, but we should stick to the topic at hand first. Mari, doing her best to be the voice of reason, cut through before things went in a strange direction. For starters, I’m worried about a real person monitoring us through the nanites, hence the silent discussion today.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Kris and Anise each settled onto the couches, with Anise across and Kris beside her.

  Then, Kris gave a calm gesture to continue.

  I discovered a device attached to Mari’s spine. It needed to be destroyed, hence today’s explosion. Marielle conveyed.

  Anise didn’t look even remotely surprised. Figured. I already knew, but I didn’t really know what it was, so I decided not to mess with it. I can heal the pinched nerves and reduce that swelling though.

  I’d rather you not! Kris glared at Mari even more dangerously at that. Clearly there should be some punishment for doing something so stupid intentionally. So long as it’ll heal up normally, let her learn her lesson for now.

  Mari released a long sigh as she bowed her head again. “Sorry.” She thought she would’ve lost count of the number of times she’d said that, but it was the seventh time in less than half an hour. Her mind really was sharper than she realized at times.

  It’s still concerning. What sort of device was it, anyway? Kris, never one to leave out the important facts even when she was emotional, circled back to the topic.

  It was made to be able to sever the connection from her brain to her limbs. Paralyzing her. I can imagine a few reasons to do so, but in particular, I’d say someone wanted to be able to control her, either by threatening her or outright capturing her later on.

  Kris seemed to think over Marielle’s words carefully, but Anise simply shrugged.

  I’m not great with technology overall. I’m kinda devoted to my magic theme. Was there more to discuss?

  We aren’t exactly done discussing the first topic. Kris rebutted.

  Yeah, we kinda are, to be honest. It’s gone now. We don’t know who made it, who put it there, or who might know if it was destroyed. Unless and until something related to it ever comes up, it’s kinda a non-issue now. Just saying.

  You’re not wrong, Anise. Mari had to give her that much. “I wanted to talk to you all about what I’d like to do next. With my school engagements out of the way, Karin gave me some free reign over my own actions while they investigate some global matters. Once they have something they need from me, they’ll let me know, but for now, I’d like to try finding Marielle.”

  “The one living rent-free in your head?” Anise asked with some snark.

  I’m just memories. I know I’m not actually your mother, but I still have the lifetime and experiences of the person who gave some of your DNA. Marielle truly sounded resigned, but it was clear she was bothered about her own identity as a person.

  “So you want to find my actual mother. I don’t really mind, I guess. What do you know already?” Anise asked, withdrawing from the mental conversation. They’d really have to discuss how the girl felt about Mari’s implanted memories.

  “I have a rough location. We just need to travel there and investigate.” Mari replied.

  Kris tapped her chin thoughtfully, making that cute face Mari loved. “I’m on board. What do we have in mind? Are we just going as the three of us?”

  Mari shook her head immediately. “Better to go with a full team. Vilke for sure. Barclay, if possible. I’d love to find one or two of the others from my—Marielle’s—old squad.”

  “About that.” Anise grinned. “So I was chatting with your buddies earlier. Andrew has been looking for his family for a decade. He actually succeeded in finding information about a few of the other cryo pods. He happened to find where a group of them are located. Not that he was ever allowed enough leash to learn more.”

  Mari hadn’t even thought of that angle.

  “Don’t keep us in suspense. Where are they?” Kris asked.

  Mari nodded, then added, “And who’s there?”

  Anise gave a small shrug. “Barclay mentioned someone named Miranda Clarke?”

  “Oh.” Mari paused. Memories flowed through her, fed by Marielle. Miss Clarke, as she preferred, was not someone most would call ‘miss’ anything. She was quite the workout fanatic. And she ate enough food for a family of four. That really summed her up succinctly.

  “Who?” Kris asked, looking at Mari with a frown.

  “An absolute wrecking ball of a woman.” Mari opted to leave the rest for when they met her. If they met her. “Where is she?”

  “A facility beneath Hallitheen, I guess.” Anise gave another lazy shrug, turning to toss her legs over the arm of the couch and lay back.

  Kris winced. Not just in her expression, either. It was a full body thing, like a brief shiver.

  “Do we have to?”

  Mari grimaced, but not for the same reason. “I slept through a lot of geography. What’s so bad about Hallitheen?”

  “Mari!” Kris exclaimed.

  Anise also looked over, sensing the mood.

  “Ughhhh.” Kris sighed in disappointment. “It’s one of the remaining Sylpharien cities. Basically a city for the ones who surrendered so they could live and function separate from the rest of the world. Mother has been working on a project to get global transit worked around Hallitheen, because as things stand, the city is the primary stop between Elitheen and anywhere else. The current mass-transit system out of Elitheen is disabled and blocked off.”

  “Meaning that regardless of the circumstances, we need to go through there to get pretty much anywhere else in the world.” Mari recalled the map she’d seen to Uriel Point. Hallitheen was the city to the north that Constance had pulled up earlier. “That complicates things.”

  “Maybe not…” Kris bit her lip, an idea clearly coming to mind.

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