I thought I'd at least manage a day to myself to rest on the issue, but life had other plans. At just past eight in the morning there was a pounding on my bedroom door. Our individual rooms in the barracks contained only a single bed, desk and chair for documenting if it was necessary. Sammy sleeps at my feet, the bed hardly big enough for the two of us, but I'm not in the room much besides when I'm asleep.

Every bed is plugged into the wall and flowing with electricity, allowing our mims to charge while we lay down. Lin has told me our minds actually are asleep at that time and do need about as much rest as our real bodies did. Lin and Elma agree sleep feels different in a mimeosome, and though I don't remember sleeping before, I think I'd agree with them.

With a yawn I stretched as the knocking continued. With a call of, "Just a minute," I rose, blanket still draped around me, and answered the door. Standing on the other side was the great, muscly figure of General Jack Vandham. "Yes… sir. Yes sir?"

"Still tired, huh?" Vandham pointed toward my transmitter, sitting on the desk. "I forwarded an assignment from Mission Control asking for you specifically to your list. Whoever wrote the thing clearly had no idea what she was doing."

I sighed, "Thank you. Is that all?"

"Per policy I'm supposed to be here to lecture you that the Mission Control panel is not for personal favors, that requests like this clog up the queue for other BLADEs and warn you there might be disciplinary action for doing it again… but considering we both know you were part of the team that saved us all from extinction back in the Lifehold Core, I'm willing to let this one go."

I cracked half a smile and looked up at his harsh, moustached face, reminded of the good, kind man concealed underneath. "Thank you, General."

When he had left, I sat on the side of the bed, one hand scratching at Sammy's back, the other scrolling through my personalized request. He was right, Ashley clearly hadn't ever made a request before, the grammar and two apologies making it evident she hadn't done much planning. Still, the call was there, asking me to meet here at the Mimeosome Maintenance Center, and that we'd be meeting Eli in his office on the twelfth floor.

I stepped into the shared space, Elma in her usual spot at the briefing table, typing something and Gwin on one of the couches, scrolling through information on his transmitter.

Gwin looked up and smiled, brushing the light brown hair from the left side of his face. "Morning, Aina. You and Sammy sleep okay?"

"Well, I was. Been kind of a stressful day. What about you?"

"We took out Candelario yesterday. I know I'm the resident animal guy, both those spider-things creep me out. But anyway, what's wrong? Irina didn't mention anything while we were out."

"It was right after she left. It's… I don't know. Complicated."

"All right, well, if you need to talk it out, you always know where to find me."

I gave him half a smile. "Thanks, Gwin. I know." With that he rose and bid us both a good day, saying he'd say hi to Irina for me. Almost mindlessly, I slipped out my transmitter again and sighed as I gave the message another scroll.

Elma stepped toward my spot. "Any new developments?"

"Looks like Ashley figured out how to make a request. She wants me to come over to the maintenance building and meet with her… and him."

Elma took all-too common stance of standing straight and crossing her arms, the crease in her eyes hinting at frustration. "Your supposed cousin and this man really aren't being very considerate of your situation."

"I know… but I don't think I can ignore this."

Elma took a seat next to me, scanning me up and down. "Is there something you haven't told me?"

I sighed and rubbed against my temple. I knew my real mind was far away and I couldn't hope to soothe it, but I get something out of the illusion. "I don't know. I got so used to not knowing I didn't think I cared any more. But maybe, deep down, I do want to know. I'm just… scared?"

Elma put a hand on my shoulder. "At ease, soldier. It's not as if it doesn't happen to all of us."

I laughed so quietly I didn't think she'd hear me. "I've never felt like this before. I thought fear was what I felt when we fought the Ganglion, but it's nothing like this."

"Fear comes in all kinds of forms and shapes. But you know something that helps to quell those concerns?" I looked toward her and she gave me a single pat on the back. "Your squad. I'm coming with you to meet this man."

"I don't think Ashley and him would like you showing up uninvited."

"Well then she shouldn't have put her request in through Mission Control. That makes it an official assignment and means you can bring along whoever you need to accomplish the task at hand."

I looked to her and, with another moment of hesitation, nodded. Since the beginning, standing beside me has always been Elma's nature. If I was going to have a shot at making it through this, she was probably my best resource.

Around noon that day we made our short walk from the barracks towards maintenance. For the most part, the BLADES up in admin seem to have quietly accepted Elma's radical change in appearance from a few months ago. I'd heard some rumors from civilians that she'd had her mim altered, but I think most of the military had accepted the truth as an open secret. Elma was, after all, one of the most celebrated and decorated warriors on Mira, and NLA had become a giant asylum for peaceful xenoforms. At least that's why I'd like to believe most everyone kept quiet about it.

Elma pushed open the doors to the Mimeosome Maintenance Center, revealing a great and open central hub, a dozen doors leading off to different research labs and an elevator in the center. Off to the left there were a set of chairs and two vending machines. An employee or two stepped from one door to another as we approached the sole member of permanent staff, a man with a buzz cut and moustache off to our right.

He didn't look up as we approached him. "Names?"

"Elma and Aina," Elma said.

"Divisions?"

"Reclaimer and Curator." Elma continued. I decided to just let her handle it.

"Purpose of your visit?"

"By special request to meet with Eli Anderson."

The clicking of the man entering our information paused as he frowned and looked up at us. "That's… unusual. You don't mind if I call him and confirm that, do you?"

"Go ahead."

The receptionist brought his phone to his ear and dialed an extension. It was a few seconds before he spoke again. "Mister Anderson? Yeah, I've got two women here to see you. By special request, they say. Said their names were Elma and Aina… Hm? I see…" he put a hand over the receiver and turned to us again. "Mister Anderson doesn't recognize those names. Are there any others he might know you by?"

A tiny shudder ran through my body before I answered, knowing facing the tiny bits I knew were the only way of moving forward. "Tell him… tell him it's Joanna Hoskins."

"One of them says you might know the name Joanna Hoskins… okay, sounds good." He hung up the phone. "He's sending down someone to escort you. You can take a seat over there."

The wait was agonizing, though it didn't last more than five minutes, I'm sure. Five minutes shifting in my seat, fingers twitching and curling hair with my fingers. Finally, the elevator gave a Ding and, to my continued unease, Ashley stepped out with a big smile on her face.

"It worked! I can't believe I got that thing to actually work!"

It was off-putting for me to feel so nervous at the same time she seemed so happy, it was the mess back at the café all over again. I struggled to smile as she walked over and I rose. "Hi again, Ashley. I brought a friend with me, I hope you don't mind."

Ashley's warm smile dissipated a bit when she got a look at Elma, and I think she was trying as hard as she could to not ask why she looked the way she did. "I… um… hello there—"

"Elma," she said, extending a hand.

I don't like seeing anyone else in pain, but Elma's appearance throwing Ashley off of her otherwise chipper attitude was kind of comforting. With a moment of hesitation, Ashley took it. "Ashley Hoskins… I hope you don't mind, Miss Elma, but this is kind of a personal affair. Eli was really hoping we'd just be discussing this as a family."

"Your cousin told me about the situation, and I just think it would be beneficial if I came along," Elma said. "Her memories still aren't all in one piece yet and I've spent more time with her since we landed on Mira than anyone else. I'm sure I can be helpful in this situation."

Ashley bit her lower lip as she looked between Elma and I a few times before she sighed and said, "I know you're probably right. You can come, if you insist."

The three of us walked to the elevator and began our ascent. I leaned over to Elma and quietly said, "Thank you." The elevator was large and had an odd, orange glow to it, contrasting the largely blue aesthetic of a lot of NLA. The journey lasted only a few minutes before we stepped onto the twelfth floor. Here the ceiling was tall, dozens of men and women exchanging thoughts around tables littered with mechanical limbs. It was always unsettling to be reminded of exactly what we were here on Mira.

Ashley led us directly to the right, away from the research teams and scientists toward what looked to be the only other door on the floor. There it was, looking me in the face. "Eli Anderson, CEO."

"CEO?" Elma frowned. "I thought Eli's father was the CEO."

"Oh, that?" A tiny shudder seemed to run through Ashley as she scanned her key card and opened the door. "Maybe it's better he tell you himself." With that she held the door and, unable to fight any longer, I stepped through first.

At the end of the large, four-windowed room, he sat behind a desk of mahogany. Judging by his appearance in the chair, he was probably of average height, had a slicked back head of orange hair, glasses and a mark, identical to mine, on the right side of his face.

Something overwhelmed me in the moment, as he looked up and the smile came to his face. I don't know what, the receiving end of empathy, maybe? I'd had that mark since we landed on Mira and I'd always thought it was mine alone. Something felt almost amazing about seeing it.

The way he moved suggested he had more tact than Ashley, moving toward me slowly, though unable to contain the great smile he sported. He came to a respectable closeness and met me in the eyes. He looked almost as if he was about to cry.

"Joanna, is it really you?"

For a moment, it was as if my mind was a glass. And he had shattered it.

My next breath was fast and deep, my internals accelerating like the first time we'd encountered the Prone. I was afraid.

Very, very afraid. There was nothing inherently threatening about his voice. He sounded perhaps just a little high pitched and a touch nasally. But all the warmth in his look was overwhelmed by a blizzard when he first spoke.

"Joanna?"

"Aina!"

I hadn't even realized I'd blacked out for a moment there, only returning when Elma called my name. I shook and held my head, struggling to piece myself back together. "I'm sorry, I don't know what just happened."

My guard was up before Eli spoke again, so when he said, "Are you all right?" I didn't completely crumble again.

"Let's sit you down," Elma said. "Whatever it was, you're not looking well."

"I guess it was a good thing you're already in maintenance," Ashely said as Elma led me into the chair across from Eli's desk. I didn't remember illness or stomach pain, but something about how I felt was unnervingly familiar.

"Maybe you're malfunctioning," Elma said. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea right now." It was subtle, but I could recognize something in Elma's tone. She was using her negotiation voice, saying whatever would be the most beneficial in the moment. I knew the Colonel, I was sure she noticed it was his voice that affected me.

Still I shook my head. "No, no I'm fine. I'll be fine. I want to talk."

The whole room was unsure of what to make of this, no one saying anything at first. As a minute or two passed, Eli took a seat on his desk and looked down to me. "Well, if you're sure, then I'm glad. We have a lot I was hoping to talk about."

I was reminded of my first journey into Cauldros. Lava couldn't destroy our mims and they were designed to recover quickly after exposure. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Between his words, I always recovered quickly. But that didn't mean they didn't hurt.