I don't get home until half past midnight, and I've only now restored what I lost. Although it's hard to call this home: even a four-star hotel I've reserved during our time here in Smaragd still feels as sterile and blank as the map I was left with. I throw my jacket off onto my bed, undo my tie, kick my boots off, strip my work pants off, and leave myself in a pair of shorts in a tank top, not caring to do anything more than that. I pop a leftover TV dinner in the microwave and flip on the TV.

It has been far too long since I've committed to a TV show, seeing as a three-year gap of being occupied in war can derail you from several of your favorite serials. The late night talk shows have ended, and they matter little to me since I've been so far removed from pop culture. The only thing I know I have any vested interest in is the news, and this 24/7 news station the only channel this TV has been on.

I tune out through most of it. I've landed through the movies and celebrities portion of things. None of the movies particularly interest me, considering it's the middle of January. My TV dinner finishes microwaving, and as I grab it I hear something that interests me.

"A strange new development has appeared in Orange Star," a newscaster says. "Just north of Verdant, a former national park has miraculously sprung back to life."

I stand with my dinner, giving a quizzical look to the TV. Now that's just silly.

She insists on continuing. "Lockley Range was one of the many places in the nation that was left tarnished in the Macro conflict between Black Hole. Crew members have been working on reforestation, but in an alarming twist, this afternoon found the entire forest not only decades ahead in restoration, but even more lively than ever. The nation plans to make scientific advances on discovering the source of this anomaly, while keeping on guard for any more surprise developments."

I still don't quite believe it. I take my TV dinner and set it on the nightstand, immediately whipping my cellphone out and searching up Lockley Range. The news links for the development are overwhelming, so I click one at random. In the article it confirms everything I've just heard, including some images. It's been awhile since I've seen a good movie, but I'm astonished that this isn't a special effect. The trees are gargantuan, and the mountains lush.

I finally tear my eyes away from it in order to read. I already knew it was a battleground used in the first true Black Hole conflict that I was involved in. I didn't know that leading the charge was Sami, who was fighting against…

...oh.

I can't tell if things make more sense or less sense, and I also don't know how I'm getting any sleep tonight.

~MoD~

I walk into the HQ with a portable mug of coffee at seven in the morning. I'm downing it like a car running out of fuel as I walk into the elevator, punching in the number. I barely slept at all last night; at one point giving up and doing all the research I could on Lockley Range. I'm still slightly groggy and dazed, but my throat can handle the coffee being dumped down like a bad drink, so I inject myself with it in large gulps, not minding the heat.

I get to my floor and walk to my desk, placing the mug down. I realize that I have no clue how effective my work will be if I have to put up with random terraforming. It'd be useless to construct roads when I have to wait on the world to change. Not much else to do but wait.

I look around the room and see that Eagle is here, already nose-deep in his work. I wave him down, and he takes his headphones off. "Can I help you, Red?"

I keep my distaste on my tongue. "Eagle, have you heard about the incident in Lockley Range over on Orange Star? It's well worth a read."

He nods. "I've heard back from sources about it. No signs as to what the inciting incident was."

I know that's code for "my girlfriend is texting me about it but I'm trying to appear productive" but I brush it off. "Lockley Range was a battle site between Sami and Lash. Any information we can get on what happened there could be useful. I think it could tie in with Lash's bizarre behavior."

"The only bizarre behavior Lash could show is if she were to act normal," Eagle points out.

"Agreed," I admit, "but in particular the incidents around the road map. If the terraforming continues, it'd make sense to plan the road maps around it."

Eagle nods, slumping into his chair. I let him do whatever he's doing as I fire up the map, trying to make some sense of things. As I open the map, I hear him mumble, "goddamn it."

I turn towards him. "What's up?"

Eagle looks away, but I can tell he's embarrassed. "Nothing, it's just… concern. That we're finally building something up again and something risks tearing it all asunder."

I understand, but I don't respond, because I was the one who took the risk of bringing Lash here. I'm the one who put such unwarranted trust as to give her the power she now has. Whatever happens from here on out to Green Earth could very well be my fault, and that's ammunition I refuse to give someone I know I can't trust with my fears.

The map opens up. The road in the center is still there, and thankfully the rest of it is still here, but the road to Brahm's Port sticks out to me. I recall it being the last remaining line, but I'm not sure why. The only thing that immediately hits me is how it leads directly to one of the only battle sites that I was part of, during the battleship fight-

Wait.

Oh, for fuck's sake, Jess.

I lock my computer and look for that damned girl. I don't bother explaining to Eagle, letting my clomping footsteps slam against the carpet to deliver my message. I cross the office hallway and run down a flight of stairs to find Lash's office. The door's not locked, so I barge in.

No reaction. No swerving around, no shriek of surprise, not even the faint sound of typing. All to see is a normal office cubicle with her laptop hooked up to several computer towers like an accident victim hooked up to a myriad of hospital tubes. I fear that were I to lay a hand on it it would be scalded off by one of Lash's many inventions, but my curiosity overpowers my rationality, and I move the mousepad.

Predictably, the password screen shows up. That's the end of that. I wonder if there's a way I could get underneath the computer's skin, give Lash a taste of her own medicine. Not sure what else to do, I take my cellphone out and snap a low-res picture of it. The flash is overpowering and I have to blink it away.

That's when the door creaks open. I hear Lash's voice in all its crackly glory call out "what the hell?!" I turn around just in time to get slapped in the face. It doesn't hurt as much as it stuns me.

She continues to accost me. "What are you doing in here?" Her voice raises to a shriek as she slams her laptop shut. "I can't believe you were messing with my stuff! You're just the worst, I swear to God. I thought Eagle was bad enough, but now you're in here trying to spy on me?" She yanks the computer up and storms out of the room, trenchcoat soaring behind her like a cape. "If you can't even trust me that much then I'll just leave then!"

She shoves open the door, prompting me to act. I don't know how to deal with a teenager's temper tantrums, especially not a teenager like Lash, but my patience has been wired thin. I grab her by her coat, yanking her back sharply. She yelps, falling back dramatically like a rubber band. I spin her around to face me.

"Now what?" she whines.

"Now you tell me about Lockley Ridge."

I thought Lash was pale, but she managed to blanch nearly translucent at the sound of Lockley Ridge. "I heard about that," is vaguely what she says, give or take enough stammering to gnaw human bone in half. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"Your past battlefields. Freak botanical growths. Your love of nature interfering with my work. The fact that you are as easy to read as blank paper."

She looks around for salvation that doesn't exist. "Whatever. Fine." I let her go, and she goes to put her computer back, before turning around and saying, "what does it matter anyway? It's helping. It's making things better. What do you even care anyway?"

"I'm your manager, Lash," I fire back with an answer more rehearsed than honest. "I need to know everything you're doing. I've got my counterparts breathing down my neck because of everything that's going on. I can't help you if you don't help us."

For the first time in possibly her entire life, Lash is quiet. She's not even typing. Still, her nonverbal communication is loud and clear. She turns back to the computer, not plugging it back into the towers. She's just standing there, breathing deeply, looking for something she can't quite find.

Finally, she's got her ultimatum. "I'll show you how it happens. Only you." She stands up, becoming animated again as she rants. "But if you leak this stuff to anyone without my okay, I swear to God, I'm out. And not just out of here, you'll never freakin' see me again, and you'll be so far in the dark ages even Javier's gonna feel it. Capiche?"

Before I can weigh the pros and cons, I nod. She nods back, immediately taking her computer and leaving the room. "Meet me downstairs," she orders. I didn't expect our working relationship to lead to me following her instructions, but I tell myself it's for the good of Green Earth, not just my innate curiosity. The problem is that I'm a horrible liar.