Ravine examined her transformed arms, studying the plant-like appendages that had replaced her normal limbs. As if sensing her curiosity, her assistant provided details.

  "Chitinus arms. Ability: Allows user to stretch their arms and use them to move freely around terrain faster and more efficiently."

  A second screen materialized with additional information: "Drawback: Ability can only be used in regions with dense vegetation. Using this ability without this requirement will severely damage the user."

  So this will only be useful in these types of regions, she thought. I wonder how many more of these abilities I can hold.

  She checked her trajectory display. "I have about twelve more kilometers before arriving at the others' location. But with this, I might get there even faster than I would have originally. Let's try this."

  Stretching her new arms experimentally, she considered her approach. Staying at high altitude might be my best bet for joining the others safely. Here we go.

  Her hands latched onto a high tree branch with surprising ease. Imitating the creature she had just defeated, she stepped back to create tension in her extended limbs, then released—catapulting herself forward through the canopy. She swung from branch to branch with increasing confidence, the momentum carrying her swiftly through the dense forest.

  A mutated anaconda struck from below, its massive jaws snapping at her as she passed. With a slight boost in speed, she looped over the branch, avoiding the snake's attack while gaining even more velocity.

  She checked her screen mid-swing. "Only five kilometers now. Good progress."

  After a few more graceful arcs through the trees, she spotted a small camp nestled in what appeared to be the ruins of an old cabin. Landing softly on the ground, she looked around for her teammates but found only empty space.

  "That's weird," she muttered, rubbing her chin. "Irene said they would be here. I guess they must have left to join with her after all." She shrugged. "I've got about thirteen kilometers left to reach there. As long as I stay high and sharp, I should be—"

  "Wait! Don't go!"

  The distressed female voice caught her off guard just before an invisible force tackled her to the ground.

  "What—what are you? Get off me!" Ravine protested, confusion evident in her voice.

  The attacker shimmered and materialized—a female android with bright yellow eyes and blonde hair arranged in pigtails. She was noticeably smaller than Ravine and helped her back to her feet with an apologetic expression.

  "It was Zhon's idea," she explained quickly. "He said it would be funny to see your reaction if we weren't..." She pointed toward what seemed like empty air. "Come on out, you coward! This is all your fault—she almost left by herself!"

  Slowly, another figure materialized from thin air. He had gray hair and brown eyes, and wore an expression of scientific satisfaction.

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  "See? I told you the cloaking chips would work. She had no idea we were even there." He approached Ravine with an extended hand. "Sorry for the bad introduction. We wanted to kill some time, and seeing that you were coming, I took it upon myself to test our cloaking chips to make sure they worked for our mission."

  He smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Zhon." He gestured toward the female android. "And this crybaby here is Aria. She gets emotional quite fast, so get used to it."

  Aria crossed her arms indignantly. "Shut up! I was just worried since she was all alone."

  Ravine took a moment to process this introduction. So this is my team, huh? I'm not sure we have a high survivability rate, but at least it will be better than nothing, I guess.

  She nodded formally. "Nice to meet you both." Turning to Zhon, she continued, "Captain Irene told me you were an engineer. Is that correct?"

  Zhon tossed her a small chip. "Here, put this in your core. If you ever need it, you can camouflage with the environment like us." With a grin, he added, "And to answer your question, yes, I am the engineer. This pea-head would never be able to handle that position."

  Aria immediately threw a rock at him, which bounced harmlessly off his armor. "Hey! I know Earth's maps like no one else on this team. Put some respect on my name!"

  Ravine's eyes widened at the circus unfolding before her. She cleared her throat pointedly. "I need you to fix my communications system in my left ear. It seems to have been damaged during my landing."

  "That's easily fixed," Zhon said with a dismissive gesture. "I'll also add sync data to your program so we can exchange information in real time. Neat, huh?"

  Ravine shrugged. "I guess," she replied, sitting down to allow him access.

  As Zhon approached with his tools, he commented, "Not the talkative type, huh?"

  "My mission is to report on what happened to humans, not be chatty," Ravine answered in her usual monotone.

  Zhon sighed as he worked. "Oh, you're just like the captain. You're both no fun."

  Ravine scoffed. "Fun isn't going to make us victorious."

  Zhon finished his repairs with impressive speed. "Yeah, yeah. Well, if you ever feel like being less robotic, come relax with us. We'll be by the fire."

  Ravine stood, testing her newly repaired systems. "We're not continuing right away?"

  Aria stepped between them, looking up at Ravine with determination. "What, are you crazy? We literally ran and hid to avoid getting mauled from the start!"

  Ravine looked between the two with slight disdain.

  Recognizing the expression, Aria poked Ravine's chest. "Hey, don't look at us like that! We're not fighters—you combat units are the ones supposed to protect us from the monsters."

  Ravine looked skyward. "I guess that makes sense. I, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. I got attacked almost right away and definitely couldn't run."

  Zhon's expression shifted to one of intrigue and concern. "How many did you encounter?"

  "Just one, but it gave me hell. I'm glad I could kill it without taking too much damage."

  Zhon's face fell. "Sorry, I can't fully repair you yet—I'm lacking the materials to do so." He looked at her with growing concern. "Wait, tell me, how many spheres have you absorbed?"

  Ravine gave him a puzzled look. "Just one. Why?"

  "Let me have a look at your body capabilities, if you'll allow me."

  Ravine nodded, and a screen appeared displaying her body statistics. Zhon studied the data intently.

  "It's as I thought. Your current body has an ability cap of four, and right now the one you absorbed took two slots, which means..."

  Ravine finished his sentence with dawning realization. "I would not have survived a second absorption... right?"

  Zhon nodded grimly. "Yeah."

  Ravine walked in slow circles, processing this information. I made the right call not to engage in further battle, or I would have been done for. She stopped abruptly and pointed at him. "Is there a way for me to boost my limit?"

  Zhon got up reluctantly. "There is, but... you might not like—"

  "Tell me," she cut him off. "Tell me what it is."

  He hesitated, glancing at Aria before answering. "If you find the body of one of our fallen comrades, you can extract their resources, including their ability caps."

  The revelation hit Ravine like a physical blow. Is increasing my cap so important that I would want to rob our fallen comrades? She shook her head. This isn't important right now.

  She addressed both androids with authority. "Tonight we rest. Tomorrow, at first light, we move."

  The other two androids nodded in determined approval.