Chapter 1 - A Routine Job
The click of boots resounding on steel. Fie preferred her footfalls to be silent, but with the kind of ground beneath her there wasn't much to be done if she didn't want to waste energy on sound manipulation.
What made her wear chunk-heeled boots again? Right, her vanity.
She didn't need to be stealthy anyway. Job was a simple search and destroy. The only reason she hurried was because finishing early meant more leisure time to wander around Heimdallr and pester Professor Rean on his free day.
Not that he relaxed much even outside his history lectures or martial art classes. Just like his days at Thors, he remained an incorrigible busybody.
Fie came to a halt in front of a circular door. It was made of reinforced laser steel with a digital display showing 'STOP, authorized persons only' in red letters.
Fie took out her EXCALIBUR combat orbment and switched on the holographic screen. A turquoise plane of solidified light manifested. Some simple mind orders later and she was looking at the map of the Heimdallr Geofront, sector B. She pin-pointed her current location and sighed.
"I'm going to wring Franky's neck."
Figuring out his punishment could come later. The only route which led from her current location into sector F was blocked and apparently, her dear receptionist had forgotten to procure the necessary keycard.
She closed her eyes and forged a mental connection, several threads of low energy mirage woven between the CPU of her orbment and her brain-implant. Fie then went to the side of the massive round door and drew her boot knife. A simple thrust and flick to lever out the plastic casing, revealing glittering net-ports beneath. She dragged out the jack from her EXCALIBUR and plugged in.
The spiritual meta-data residue remained inside the hardware, an ethereal backlog of successful unlocking processes. She scanned the residue and activated a translating algorithm to convert machine language into binary and then hexadecimal. Running the translated signal backlog through a decoder yielded her nine out of twelve numbers that were sure to be part of the key code. That left sixteen to the power of three combinations to comb through. Given the processing power of her orbment's CPU, brute forcing it took the fraction of a second.
The steel door opened with a hiss.
Fie jammed the plastic casing back in, her brows furrowed. She was glad there wasn't any need to make a detour back to the guild or bust up public property. However the cybersecurity here was a joke. If a script kiddie like her could break through the digital lock it could as well be an open barn door for any dedicated hacker.
She took out her bracer notebook and wrote down her thoughts as well as the door's serial number. Then she continued her journey into the shining steel bowels of Heimdallr.
Sector F differed from the previous areas due to the waterways coursing through. The stench of waste and excrement was wafting through the air. Just like the Crossbell Geofront, this section served as a canalization complex to collect the city's sewage. There were plans to add a purification plant, but right now Heimdallr's increasingly putrid waste water was routed directly into the Anor River.
Even seven years into the project and the converting work was at most half-baked. The Heimdallr Catacomb's vastness, danger and cultural value all did their part in impeding progress. Even though the construction was spearheaded by Reinford, Alisa considered the project her pride and bane in equal measure. The construction work also revealed that Heimdallr's ancient underground tunnels meandered even deeper. There was a third layer of stone corridors just beneath the already built double layer of steel. The area was poorly mapped and according to reports, there were points of entry that led even further underground.
Considering all the metaphysical crap Fie and her friends had to put down during their trips into the catacombs - nighttouched, nosferatu, undead dragons, the good stuff - she wouldn't be surprised to learn that Heimdallr ended up being as expansive vertically as it already was horizontally. That Infernal Castle from twelve years ago had to be hidden somewhere, right? Or was it more pocket dimension shenanigans?
Perhaps she should ask Rean about this. Or would Emma be the better go-to person?
The rhythmical sound of an industrial pounding machine broke her out of her thoughts. She turned around the corner and came face to face with the target: a Magic Knight which prowled through the tunnel like it owned it. Menacing steel armor, four legs, its body created to the likeness of this mishmash between human and horse.
Whatever. Her Bestiary entry named it Azura-Lucier and the corresponding notes about characteristics and weaknesses was all she needed to know.
The golem from the Middle Ages uttered a battle cry, brandishing its lance instead of simply attacking her.
Fie gathered nohval energy from her EXCALIBUR and cast a routine anti-orbal debilitation art. The black tendrils of time caressed the constructs massive frame, corroding its magical based protection. The monster finally attacked, the thrust of the lance strong enough to punch through tank armor, but all it penetrated was her afterimage.
She activated the integrated goldia circuit inside her duster and accessed its subspace pocket mid-dash, taking out a panzerfaust. Fie then opened the distance and fired the weapon all the while the Magic Knight was turning its body. She watched the projectile's pondering flight until it detonated, the shaped charge creating a stream of high-velocity slurry to utterly wreck the creature's armor.
The centaur collapsed as the heated spall from the armor breach ravaged it's insides, but she knew these golems possessed limited self-regenerating abilities.
The solution? Kick them while they were down.
She threw the firing tube away and crouched, her left leg extended back, drawing further energy from her orbment to summon a wind barrier around herself. Additional nohval energy poured out in fits of miasma, staining the green tinged air around her into non-reflective black. She drew her gunblades and charged.
Her dash broke the sound barrier, her form a blur of monochrome as she passed each of the golem's leg in a zigzag, slicing into the steel like butter. The decaying effect of entropy stuck on the cut sections like atramentous grease, eating into the metallic legs even after she went past her foe.
The thing collapsed a second time.
Fie jumped on the back of the golem, right in the middle of where a saddle would be fastened, ramming her gunblades into the armor. She switched her weapons from shooting into hammer mode and pulled the trigger again and again. The recoil of the dual firearms was transferred into forward motion of the blades, turning them into improvised jackhammers.
Her weapons dug deeper and deeper. The golem's body rumbled and vibrated, energy returning to its limbs until it suddenly froze. Then, like a puppet with its strings severed, it collapsed a third time with the alchemist circle carved on the inside of the armor disturbed. It didn't rise again.
Fie pulled out her weapons and inspected the edges. Metal as dark as the black of her time incarnation stared back at her, but she didn't find any blemishes despite the punishment the blades were subjected to.
Kurdalegon Alloy II. After the dissolution of Ouroboros, a big part of their technological know-how was absorbed by the Zemurian scientific community. Among the research data was the Society's infamous special alloy which made a mockery of even the most advanced steel composition. The black casings of the Imitation Gospels used during the Aureole incident. The armor plating of the Gordias series, followed by the Aions. This metal was the backbone of the Snake's former technological superiority.
Currently, the material was used for special forces weapons and the armor of some prototype soldats and aircrafts. It wasn't as fancy as Zemurian Ore, but then again, her connections weren't quite as extensive as those of a certain Erebonian Hero.
Some people got all the best toys.
She walked to the front of the downed construct and accessed her subspace pocket again, drawing out a bottle and her trusty Deus Pistol. If a girl wanted to blow a big hole into something, the gravitational gun firing 1.27 rege cronos rounds was the way to go.
Fie shot the spherical core of the golem with the iridescent ball blown apart like it was made of porcelain. A sticky fluid poured out glowing in its own light. She squatted down and filled the bottle to the brim. The 4th Developmental Division was working on a project to reproduce a special liquid conducive for orbal energy. Fie didn't know much beyond this, but Alisa did some comparative analysis between Magic Knight blueprints pilfered from the Black Workshop and wreckage of the destroyed Liber Ark. Apparently, an energy conducive fluid is used in both cases and it was her job to collect the stuff whenever possible.
All hail science and progress. The things she had to do as a bracer...
"I'm so sorry ma'am!"
She cocked her hip to the side, her arms folded and her expression deadpan.
"Ma'am?" The Guild Receptionist whimpered.
Fie didn't speak a word, letting the silence stretch way beyond the point of awkwardness.
"You know how it is with the Geofront Project." Franky started to blab. "The left hand doesn't know what the right hand does and so on. All these outsourced companies doing their own thing. I guarantee - this morning all doors to Sector F were clear. I swear!"
She arched an eyebrow, but still kept quiet.
"Please, say something! Are you mad at me, ma'am? Yes, you are, aren't you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't let it happen again."
The receptionist bowed at the waist. Repeatedly. "Yes, ma'am! Thank you, ma'am!"
For someone who had been doing this gig for five years, he sure was green behind the ears. The guy was one of the people helped by Rean. The son of the Leeves mayor who did clerk work for several years at the Thors Branch Campus, until he finally made it to guild receptionist. She hadn't worked with him for long, but out of some reason he seemed intimidated by her. It has only been a week, but Fie was already missing Francesca, the former receptionist. Nice woman. Capable, reliable, charming. A shame she was shuffled to the Crossbell branch.
"Mission reports were send through orbmail." Fie gestured at the receptionist's terminal. Then she took out the bottle with the special fluid. "Send this to Alisa Reinford. Express mail. Capua Delivery service only."
"Is that the sample for the Reinford science project?"
She nodded.
"Wow, Ms Clausell. Doing errands for such an important person. I guess that's an A-Rank Bracer for you." He took the bottle with admiration written on his face.
Fie shrugged. "Just take care it arrives. Unbroken."
"Y-yes, of course. Can I do something else for you, ma'am?"
She tilted her head. "How about payment?"
"I was going to transfer the money to your online account at the end of the day."
She suppressed her urge to groan. "I want cash."
He looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "This is pretty unconventional these days. Is there a reason?"
"There was an update to guild procedures two days ago." She glared at him. "Look it up. Now!"
Franky winced but he didn't continue to ask stupid questions at least. After a few moments of skimming over the terminal she heard him gasp. "Wait, what? For the foreseeable future all mission payments are going to be handed out in cash?" He looked at her like a lost kitten. "But we don't have any reserves here at the guild house."
Fie could already feel the beginning of a headache. "Pay the Heimdallr Bank a visit then." She leaned over the counter until their noses almost touched. "Take a Junior Bracer. Running through the city with suitcases full of money isn't safe."
He gulped and took a step back, his face burning. "Yes, ma'am. Will do. But is there a reason for this change in procedure? This will make book keeping more time-consuming."
She pinched the bridge of her nose. For the last few month, she had discussed this topic to death with the guild's higher-ups, not even mentioning the fact that she belonged to these higher-ups now. Gone were the days when military organizations praised the bracers for their operational flexibility and supreme adaptivity. The ranks of the organization had swelled in recent years to meet the demands of the time, but this in turn caused the guild to become sluggish.
And right now it was dragging its feet while failing to keep pace with the second orbal revolution; the digitization of society.
"Have you read about the revisions to the Banking Secrecy Act adopted three weeks ago?"
Frankie lost his clueless demeanor for once. "I think I read about it in the Chronicle. Wasn't law enforcement empowered to lift the banking secret on an organization if they had due cause?"
"Yes. But there's a loophole: in Erebonia, intelligence agencies count as law enforcement. It's stupid, but that's the way things are. And here lies the rub - "due cause" is interpreted as being dependent on the mission statement of the respective law enforcement agency. For the Heimdallr Police, it's investigating and stopping crime. They could only revoke the guild's banking secrecy if they raise sufficient suspicion of us committing a crime. The Imperial Intelligence Agency has a mission statement that is applicable to practically everything, which is collecting information to protect national interests and maintain national security. Spooks are also harder to be held accountable for their actions, so..."
Fie saw his eyes glazing over. "Erebonian Intelligence can spy on our transactional data whenever they want."
"Correct. And because the mira paid out for missions correspond to difficulty and importance, a bunch of analysts can compile activity profiles of entire guild branches."
Franky looked frightened for a moment. "But this cash thing is only a stop-gap measure, right?"
She shrugged. "Guild's trying to move their financial assets to a bank in Ored state. How long this will take..." She left the words hanging in the air.
"Why not the IBC? Oh, dumb question. Crossbell's political situation."
"That too." She felt her lips quirking to form a bitter smile. Even after the SSS wrestled their home's independence back, everything just regressed to the old geopolitical mess a few years later. "The main problem is that the IBC is part of the Western Zemurian Banking Union. Happened during the annexation 12 years ago and hasn't been revoked yet."
"And that's a problem why?"
Fie tilted her head again. At least the guy was willing to listen and learn. "Banking unions exist so that if one bank goes bust, the others can pick up the slack. But this only works if account data is shared between them."
Franky blinked again. "Oh." He then slumped down. "This is all so complicated, Ms Clausell. As a Guild receptionist, I should be on top of such information." He sighed deeply. "Just shows how far I still have to go."
"I'm not that knowledgeable about politics myself." He looked at her skeptically. "Just have a good friend who I pester about this kind of stuff."
The receptionist scratched his head. "You think he could spare some time to coach me, ma'am?"
She looked at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. "I can ask. He's chief of the Government Accountability Inspectorate."
Watching him choke on his own spit was quite funny. "Y-you have a friend in such a high place? Please forget everything I said. A lowly receptionist like me would never presume to take up the time of such an important person."
Seems like she made the correct choice not to tell him that she was also buddy-buddy with Erebonia's Empress. He would probably faint on the spot.
"Anything else?"
"No, ma'am. I'll deal with the cash issue posthaste. Please drop by tomorrow to collect your money."
"Got it." She decided to throw him a bone. "And keep at it Franky. You are doing good."
He blushed again. "Thank you very much, ma'am!"
Well, his performance was middling at best, but stroking his ego might help him overcome his skittishness. Keeping up morale and stuff. "See you."
Making her way from Alto street to Mater Park took her thirty minutes on foot. She would usually make a detour to Elliot's home, but her favorite redhead was on his first international tour, sweeping the Calvardian populace off their feet and his teddy bear dad was probably intimidating the new recruits at Dreknor Fortress. Sweet Fiona was of course always worth a visit, for she could whip up some of the best pancakes and sandwiches this side of the Zemurian Continent. However the last time Fie checked her social media status, she was still visiting her husband's family at the countryside.
A shame. She was feeling peckish. Then again, she could always ask Rean to treat her. His resistance against her puppy dog eyes was pretty much non-existent. She opened her orbment and send a quick message.
Despite all the changes in Heimdallr - the red brick houses being replaced by highrise buildings for one - Mater Park and the Crystal Garden remained much the same. It continued to be a favorite meeting spot for couples and academy students, with the meadow, flowers and hedges preserved lovingly. It was one of Fie's favorite places to relax and stretch out her limbs after work. Watching the gardeners was also a joy and sometimes she gave a helping hand. It wouldn't do to throw away the skills Edel taught her.
And then there was that precious memory tied to this place. Fie sat down on a park bench and looked to the side. Just across the winding road was that half-hidden corner where Laura and her came to a true understanding all these years ago, followed by a duel she lost. How silly their conflict was back then. But it was something both of them could look back at in fondness.
"Hi, Fie. Am I late?"
She heard him coming of course. He knew better than trying to sneak up on her, though he was probably one of the few people who could pull it off. He was wearing his usual suit and tie combination as well as his teaching glasses, his bluish black hair the usual stylish mess.
Her lips quirked up into a smile that showed teeth and her heartbeat became a tad faster.
"A little", she teased. "But I'll forgive you, if you've brought food."
Rean Schwarzer, Erebonia's Ashen Chevalier and current professor of history at the Imperial Academy sat down beside her and chuckled. He put the boxes between them and took out two bottles with a beautiful violet liquid.
"Well, you didn't specify what you wanted, so I went with my gut feeling. Shrimp curry rice from the Foresta Tavern as well as my personal mix, the Yuzu honey soda."
Her smile became wider. "You know how to spoil a girl." She folded open the cardboard box, revealing piping hot rice that was golden in color. The smell of curry wafted across the air, stimulating her appetite. She reached out with her hand and as if he read her mind, he was already presenting her a set of disposable chopsticks. Fie broke the wooden implement apart at the top. Rean did the same with his own set.
As an internationally active bracer she of course knew how to eat with chopsticks. And Rean always had a passion for Eastern culture. It was one of these small things shared between them. None of the other Class VII members except Juna and perhaps Gaius knew how to properly eat with mere wooden sticks.
And Sara of course. But as the big, noisy sister she didn't count.
They dined the next few minutes in companionable silence. The shrimp rice was as good as the aroma suggested with the right amount of acerbic tomato to give a mundane dish that mix of nostalgia and novelty. The honey soda was the perfect beverage to complement the curry.
"So Rean, how was your day?" She asked between mouthfuls.
"Pretty slow all things considered." He scratched his head. "Then again, ambassador Newgate ambushed me when I was doing my rounds on campus."
Fie raised a single eyebrow. "She hasn't given up yet? Persistent woman. Does she have a crush on you?"
He gave her a playful stare. "Don't even joke about it." He then sighed. "I can understand where she comes from, but I already met her halfway when I introduced courses for Eastern etiquette in my sword dojo."
She shrugged. "She's a political negotiator. Give her a finger and she will try to take your hand."
"But offering me her own position in the Erebonian Embassy in Edith?"
She paused a little. "Me and the others would hate to see you move to Calvard, but it makes sense. You'd do a phenomenal job keeping things peaceful between the two superpowers."
Rean chewed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure about that."
Fie rolled her eyes. "I was there as neutral observer. The trilateral conference of trade and technology two years back. Alfin and Musse disarmed the president while you pacified the entire Calvardian Cabinet. The hardnosed Minister of Defense was reciprocating your strange eastern swordsmen greetings, the Minister of Science lauded you in front of the press and the Minister of Trade? You could have asked her to sleep with you and she'd have agreed."
"Fie!"
Still so easy to rile up. How cute. "Just saying how I see it."
"That's not respectful towards Cyn... I mean Ms Langley."
"First name basis?" She smiled like a sharkodil that smelled blood. "How do you know she's still single?"
He cleared his throat. "The wonders of modern communication I guess."
"Stalking her social media account?"
"Aaanyway, how was your day?"
"Smooth, Rean. Real smooth."
"Well, I don't want to talk this out of proportion."
She waggled her fingers. "Being so defensive only makes you look suspicious."
"You are relentless, you know?"
Fie giggled and stroked his cheek with her index finger. "Sometimes, a girl has to make her own fun.
"You are hardly a girl anymore."
"True. I'm a bit older than Sara when she started teaching us. That's a scary thought."
"Now that you mention our dear former instructor, how was her last date?"
Fie retracted her hand. "Guess."
Rean palmed his face. "Another bust?"
"I keep telling her to buy a couple of cats and get it over with. She doesn't listen."
"That's not very nice, Fie."
She rolled her eyes. "Then she shouldn't shoot for the impossible. Guys like Estelle's or Laura's dad? That's her daydreaming. Seems she toned down her expectations, but... what was it that Instructor Thomas loved to say?"
Rean became pensive. "Tempus fugit. Time waits for no one."
She nodded. "Ja."
They finished the rest of their meal in silence with both of them lost in thought. Rean was the first to speak again.
"You know...", he fumbled his words, which was very uncharacteristic. Fie knew him as the guy who always found the correct thing to say. "Technically, I still have one errand to run."
"Didn't you message me that you were finished for the day?"
He scratched his cheek. "This is an older errand. Something I've put off for quite some time. And the recipient is sitting right beside me."
Fie needed a few seconds to process his words. Then she felt her pulse quicken. The way the conversation was going. Was he...
Her eyes were glued to his every motion as his hand wandered to the inner pocket of his suit. It was like she saw everything in slow motion.
What he took out was an envelope with the crimson wax seal of the Imperial Family.
Stupid of her. Badmouthing Sara because of her unrealistic expectations when she was doing it herself. As if Mr Oblivious was suddenly going to propose to her.
"This is an invitation from the Empress. She entrusted this to me two months ago. While the issue is serious, she emphasized that I should only give this to you when I felt you were ready."
Fie exhaled to calm her emotions. When they were among friends, Rean only called Alfin by her title if it was highly official business. She needed to calm down. This was no place for teenage fantasies.
"What's this about?" She took the envelope.
"A job offer. From the Imperial Government."
She quirked her eyebrows. "I might complain about the guild, but I'm needed, you know? Given my rank and all."
He chuckled. "I'm aware and the Empress, too. The bracers aren't going to be happy that the government tries to poach one of their S-Rank Bracers. But as I stated, the issue is serious and highly classified. Technically, I shouldn't even know about it. What I can assure you is that the job will pique your interest."
Rean sounded confident and he was very good at gauging people's aptitudes. Probably came with the job. "Alfin asked you because you know everybody."
"Eh, that's an exaggeration."
"Right, Mr Legendary Class VII Instructor. Leading six generations of Erebonia's brightest and becoming the favorite teacher of the Branch Campus five years in a row." She folded her arms and gave him a half-lidded stare. "You are on a first name basis with most of the young movers and shakers of the Empire. Makes you an ideal recruiter."
"I guess that's pretty much the way Alfin explained her reasoning." He smiled at her fondly. "She was less blunt though."
"Who else have you scouted? Do I know them?"
He sighed. "As a matter of fact you do. One big reason I decided to hand you the invitation was due to the other two also wrestling with their future job prospects. The Empress will grant all three of you an audience to discuss the details."
"I'm not wrestling with my bracer job."
Rean looked straight at her with that open and earnest gaze which seemed to peer directly into her heart. She swallowed. "Aren't you worried about the guild having grown too much too fast? That the standards for junior bracer evaluation have deteriorated? That the bracers have become too slow to react to the challenges of a digitized society? The lack of proper doctrines to deal with cybercrime?" He stroked his chin. "Should I go on?"
Had she really complained this much? Ugh. Now she felt almost bad for unloading all her frustrations on Rean for the past few months. It was all his fault for being such a stupidly good-looking, attentive listener. Ash put it best - a clueless woman-magnet was the worst kind of player.
"Okay, you win." She mock glared at him. "Now spit it out! Who are the other two?"
"Altina and Crow."
This she didn't expect. Fie looked at the fancy envelope again. This whole job gig just got a lot more interesting. Her instincts warned her that the moment she broke the wax seal, something would be unleashed. Something that couldn't be retracted. It was the same feeling as a leap into the unknown.
And as always, her spirit cried out in excitement at such a prospect.