Unfortunately, we aren't keeping filterless Cerberus for long. Don't worry, he can still say out of pocket things in Church's mind. After all, would anyone love him as much if he didn't?

The morning after Church had been disastrously reunited with Cerberus, the young man found himself sitting back in the 'room' that had been his before being committed to the infirmary instead. He had gotten the go ahead to return there instead of the infirmary if he chose to. For obvious reasons, he had elected to do so, even though he knew he would have to pop back into the infirmary for pain meds and probably another treatment or two.

Upon successfully retreating to his room, Church had questioned Cerberus about the full extent of its damage, and whether or not that was even the reason the AI had been acting up in the first place.

Despite the issue and numerous strange outbursts, Cerberus had informed him that damage to the processor was indeed the culprit for its strange behavior. That in and of itself was a little odd: part of Cerberus was able to acknowledge that something was wrong, but another part lacked the ability to care. The part that knew there was a problem was incapable of restraining the part that was damaged. It was kind of like schizophrenia for a robot.

Naturally, Church had asked what course of action they should take to fix the problem, only to learn that Cerberus would not be able to repair itself due to an inability to access any nano-machines for repairs. Apparently, it had no connection to the Hyperspace Arsenal that would usually provide them, likely due to damage suffered by both the core processor and the suit itself. They would have to find another way to conduct repairs, and fast.

After all, Church couldn't very well go to England with everyone while Cerberus was still in this shape. Ideally, he'd want Exeter itself to be back up to snuff before leaving as well, but if he had to pick one or the other, Cerberus was the way to go. After all, since fighting probably wouldn't be much of an issue while on vacation, the things Cerberus offered were of more value. Of course, this was a state of the art technology school: chances were that they could find the things they needed to fix Cerberus up.

Right now, following the night in which they had shared this discussion, Church was getting an early start on the day since he had important things to do and he didn't exactly know when he would run out of time to do them. Glancing over to his side as he stretched, Church eyed the little blue disk that was Cerberus' core processor. He hated to say it, but with nowhere else to really put it except the floor, he had laid it in the bed beside him. The notion that he had 'slept' with Cerberus was not lost on him, but he chose to ignore it.

"You were awfully quiet throughout the night. I guess I should be grateful."

There was a slight whirring sound that probably wasn't supposed to be there before Cerberus answered. "I managed to partition my damaged aspects to a more controlled sector, for the time being. Of course, it's not a permanent solution. Also, you are somewhat of a tool."

Church raised an eyebrow at the parting shot. "I see you didn't get all of it under control..."

"My apologies, Operator. I did not mean that you are a tool in the sense that you thinking of. More like, you are a tool for my amusement."

Unsure if Cerberus was actually saying such things because it was malfunctioning or because it just wanted to punk him, Church rose from his bed and started to get dressed so he could go out and take care of business.

"Say, why are you talking out loud right now? I mean, I get the malfunction and all that, but did it cut off your ability to communicate, uh... telepathically, I guess?"

"It's not quite as simple as all that, Operator. You recall that you have a chip implanted in you from Umbra Stratum, yes?"

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Well, that chip is what tethers me, electronically, to you. Obviously, telepathy does not exist. That chip serves many functions, but the most important is the manner in which it allows me to operate independently of my core processor. Think of the processor as a server, the place where I truly reside, and the chip as computer that operates on that server. I can communicate with you wirelessly, activating the proper neurons and neural paths in your brain to 'hear' what I am saying. I can even ensure you hear me in the voice I desire."

Admittedly, Church thought that sounded a little questionable. "Forgive me if I say that sounds like bullshit."

Cerberus didn't seem bothered by the implication. "Come now, Operator: do you not believe there are neural pathways in your brain dedicated to 'thoughts?' When you speak in your own mind, when you read words in your head, in a certain voice: there are neurons and neural pathways for that. It's not difficult to manipulate them when I have direct access."

"Remind me to be extremely scared of you and what you can do to me next time I'm appreciating you."

"Will do, Operator."

Church wasn't really happy with how nonchalantly Cerberus said that, but there wasn't much he could do about it. "OK, wireless communication though... isn't that a huge problem? Lots of things can get in the way of wireless communication."

"That is true, Operator. Hence why I was unable to communicate with you during our brief separation, considering my damage. Of course, this is usually not a problem, as I am normally within the Exeter suit, which is on your person. Even when the suit is not manifested, both it and my core are stored as digital data in the aforementioned chip, effectively cutting out the middleman and allowing direct contact. Wireless communication would only be necessary in a situation such as this one, where my core could not be digitized and stored back in the chip due to a malfunction with the Hyperspace Arsenal functionality required to do so. That is also why this unit is equipped with speakers: one must be prepared for every eventuality."

"I don't know what I was expecting, but I guess that actually makes sense, for the most part."

Church moved to pick up Cerberus' core. "So do you have your own Hyperspace Arsenal functionality? If we fix the core, will you be able to digitize again? I don't think I want to carry you around on my person, seeing as how you're too big to fit into my pocket..."

"Indeed, Operator. Repairing my core will be enough to allow the Hyperspace Arsenal to be used again. This should be our primary objective."

"You don't say... well, have fun being in the back of my waistband. And for the love of God, don't talk while we're out there!"

"I suppose I can try, Operator."

Shaking his head, Church made his way out of his room, doing his best to ignore the pain that was still etched onto his back. Painkillers kept it from being too overwhelming, but he wasn't happy about it regardless. He would definitely need to see the nurse again before leaving the Academy.

Standing out in the hall, Church acknowledged that he didn't quite know how he was going to get his hands on what he needed. But ultimately, he figured that his best bet was just to go back to the R&D room where Exeter had been undergoing testing. Surely that room had some of the stuff he needed to conduct repairs.

Knowing the route by heart now, it didn't take long for Church to arrive at his destination, especially since no one really bothered him along the way. Just like before, the halls were mostly empty. Stepping into the room as soon as he arrived, Church waited for the automatic lights to activate before he started perusing the equipment and stocks available. He wasn't a technological genius by any stretch, so unfortunately, all he knew was that he was looking for a nanobot cache. While nanobots were often directly stored in Hyperspace Arsenals these days for ease of access, they were still often kept in caches for direct physical use, precisely for situations such as this one, where a Hyperspace Arsenal may have been inaccessible.

Unfortunately, Church didn't exactly know what this thing he was searching for looked like, and Cerberus was actually doing as he had been told and keeping quiet. That was why he was on a knee, searching through some shelves, when he heard the door to the room open behind him. Glancing over his shoulder to identify the newcomer, Church was surprised to see Chifuyu. She spoke to him before he could speak to her.

"So, you are in here."

Needless to say, Church was a little confused. "Uh, yeah... how did you know that?"

"Tatenashi saw you come in."

"Is that girl spying on me or something? She's like one of those little minions, reporting to her master. All she needs is a teleport ability, so she can do that thing where she poofs into a pose of reverence at your command."

Chifuyu actually smirked just slightly at that. "She was actually looking for her sister. Kanzashi often spends time here in the R&D wing, doing her best to tweak her I.S. to optimal performance. As for why Tatenashi told me, I'm sure she just felt that it would be fun. She probably also assumed that I had enough reason to talk to you."

Finishing her sentiment, Chifuyu stepped fully into the room, so Church got to his feet to talk directly to her. It would be a little weird if he was crouched down while conversing. When she got close enough, Chifuyu drew something out of her pocket: turned out it was a smartphone.

"I heard yours was destroyed during the incident. Will this suffice as a replacement? It's the latest model."

"Of course, but you don't really have to do that..."

The older woman was undeterred. "Don't worry, the Academy covered it. It's the least we can do, all things considered. Besides, even if I was paying out of pocket, I make more than enough to afford a new phone."

With no real reason to refuse, Church gratefully accepted the phone, though he supposed it was compensation more than it was a gift. "Then you won't see me saying no to it. Thanks."

Since he would have to jump through some hoops to get service on the device again, Church merely pocketed it for now. Chifuyu appraised the rack of equipment and tools he had been searching as he did so, likely attempting to determine his purpose there.

"Are you here to repair something?"

Unsure of how much Chifuyu knew, Church decided to just keep things vague. "Uh, yeah... it's not a big deal though."

The dark-haired woman beside him folded her arms, clearly not really believing that. "Indeed? It's not a big deal, but you had Houki sneak around under her sister's nose to make sure she didn't get it? That sounds quite important to me."

Church grimaced since he was busted. "Man, does everyone around here tell you everything?"

Chifuyu didn't miss a beat in her answer. "If they value their lives."

Honestly, Church forgot that Chifuyu actually knew how to tell a joke. At least, he hoped she was telling a joke. She continued explaining herself rather than cracking a smile to reveal such a thing.

"Naturally, Houki had a lot to say about your little favor. Ichika told me everything she shared with him. I hear there was quite a fiasco at the cafeteria..."

"I promise that was a result of the damage to the equipment."

Surprisingly, Chifuyu didn't ask for any specifics on that. "I see. And why don't you want Tabane to know about this? I'm sure she could have fixed this piece of equipment upon request in no time at all."

The American agent wasn't quite sure what the best answer was, but he figured that, Chifuyu being a reasonable woman, he could probably tell a half-truth and she would accept it. After all, she had to deal with all sorts of politicking with her regular job anyway.

"Well, I know the whole point of me coming here was to be open with new technology and all, but there are still some things we don't just want to fork over the the creator of Infinite Stratos, you know? I know she hasn't really made a new core in some time, but she did make Akatsubaki recently, so we don't want her putting any of our cutting edge tech into a new frame if the mood strikes her. That would kind of ruin what little edge we have."

Church didn't really know how well this excuse was going to go over, but ultimately, Chifuyu seemed to take him at face value. Then again, it was actually a pretty reasonable excuse.

"Makes sense. I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting Tabane to get her hands on something. She might be a genius, but she's also a menace half the time. What is it you are looking for?"

"A nano-machine cache."

Chifuyu cocked an eyebrow at him. "Do you know how to program one of those?"

"Uh..."

Since that was answer enough, Chifuyu sought to enlighten him. "Nano-machines aren't AI, they're just computers. They can only act on their programming. If you don't program a cache to carry out the functions you need, it's not going to do you any good."

"Oh... unfortunately, no, I don't know how to do that."

Internally, Church berated Cerberus for not sharing this mandatory information with him, not that the AI could hear it under the circumstances. He also questioned whether or not Cerberus would be able to guide him through this programming process, but obviously, he couldn't ask that right now. Well, he supposed he could, since Chifuyu already sort of knew that Church had an AI on him, but he didn't get a chance to do that anyway, since the woman in question responded to his admittance.

"Don't feel too bad about it. I don't actually know how to do it myself, either. That type of thing is usually left to technicians. If you don't want Tabane to take care of it, I can ask Kanzashi if she would be willing."

"If there's no alternative, I don't think I'm really in a position to say no..."

"Very true. I'll see if she is available to help you."

With that, Chifuyu used her own phone to send a text, presumably to Kanzashi. Church thought it was a little weird that she would have the number of a student like that, but considering how many serious incidents had befallen particular students at this institution, maybe it made sense. Having an instant way to communicate with someone that might be in trouble or be needed to save someone else from trouble was just a good idea.

After a few moments, Chifuyu pocketed her own phone. "Kanzashi says she can come and aid you in ten minutes or so."

"Awesome. Thank you. I guess I'll just sit and wait..."

Moving to the table he had often sat at during tests, Church pulled out a chair. Surprisingly, Chifuyu did the same. He would have thought she was too busy to just sit around like this, but maybe she actually was pretty worried for him? He had to admit, he was touched by the thought. Taking the seat that she too had often used, Chifuyu leaned back a little.

"Ichika also told me about Cecilia's offer for everyone to stay with her during the vacation. Will you be taking her up on that offer?"

"Well, I'm not actually sure that I could afford to say no. I don't really have any other options."

Chifuyu closed her eyes as she tilted her head back. Honestly, it looked like she would have preferred to be resting. Church couldn't really blame her: waking up this early every day on a regular basis sounded like it would suck. Even so, she spoke evenly, not sounding as tired as she looked.

"That's not true. If you could not return home and had no alternative, the Academy would have paid for you to stay in a hotel nearby. That is still an option, if you have some reason to prefer it."

Glad to hear about this choice on principle, Church nevertheless turned it down. "Well, I think most people would agree that turning down an opportunity to vacation in a mansion in a country you've never visited before would be incredibly stupid. Although, I'm really going to miss our morning talks. I hate mornings, but somehow those actually made them bearable."

Not looking directly at her as he said this, Church missed a slightly shocked expression from Chifuyu, who even opened her eyes to appraise him for a moment. She hadn't been expecting something of that nature to be admitted.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say they made my mornings bearable, but... our talks certainly have been the highlight of my mornings lately. I am starved for mature conversation most of the time."

Church's first reaction to that statement was to feel immensely gratified. He hadn't known Chifuyu for terribly long, but even so, he knew already that this kind of praise from her was probably very rare. She struck Church as the type of person that was not easily impressed, so surpassing her expectations in any form meant a lot.

Still, he felt like he was blushing, so Church swiftly tried to deflect the praise, though it wasn't like he was making up his sentiment. "I mean, I get that with all of these teenage students, but what about your fellow teachers and staff?"

"I'm not on friendly speaking terms with most of them. Maya's really the only one, but she's... a bit of an idiot savant, for lack of a better term. She's incredibly knowledgeable about I.S. and piloting, but to call her mature outside of that would be... well, not entirely accurate, so to speak. Still, at least she's better than Tabane, who takes those qualities to miserable extremes..."

The young man next to Chifuyu cocked an eyebrow at the woman. "I know you've mentioned how busy you are before, but do you really not have time to socialize at all? I mean, to not even talk that much to fellow staff..."

Chifuyu merely shrugged. "It's less about time and more about interest. I just can't find much of a reason to speak with them, most of the time. Aside from being in similar fields of work, we don't have much in common, and half of them are intimidated by me for some reason."

"For some reason? Are you seriously saying that you don't understand what that reason is?"

Getting the feeling that Church was calling her out, Chifuyu glanced at him with a sharp gaze. "I go out of my way to intimidate sometimes, but people act scared of me even when I'm not doing anything. What are you trying to say the reason is?"

Feeling somewhat comfortable with the idea of being cheeky, Church simply said what was on his mind. "Well, come on: you have the sternest face of anyone within a hundred miles, and I don't think I've seen you smile since I got here. Smirk or grin, maybe, but that's really not the same. You look like you want to strangle someone pretty much all the time."

Having said all of this, Church noticed that his conversational partner did actually seem somewhat bothered by it, going so far as to frown. That being the case, the young man made an addendum.

"I mean, that's probably just what it's like for people who are total strangers or acquaintances. Can't say I didn't feel that way when we first met... but after getting to know you, it's obvious that you just have a serious countenance and all that. Once one knows that you aren't actually thinking about murdering everyone for being incompetent, there's actually a serene beauty to it, if you ask me."

Hoping that was enough to appease the woman's ire, which was kind of ironic all things considered, Church noted with satisfaction that the frown did indeed leave Chifuyu's face. While it was hard to tell considering the exact nature of her expressions that Church had just finished speaking on, she actually looked ever so slightly sheepish.

"Is that how you see it...? It still seems to me like everyone is either blinded by my reputation or cowed by my appearance. But considering the people I do speak to regularly, I suppose you may have a point."

Feeling a little proud of himself, Church smiled. "Speaking of those people, I'm part of a pretty exclusive group, aren't I? I mean, the people you talk to regularly only includes your brother, Tabane, Yamada, and myself, right?"

With a somewhat rueful look on her face, Chifuyu cocked an eyebrow at him. "Inducted yourself into that group already, have you? Doesn't that seem a bit presumptuous?"

Since it was hard to tell when this woman was joking, Church actually questioned whether or not she was judging him, but the look of concern on his face must have been enough to convince Chifuyu to allay his fears.

"Don't look so upset, I'm merely joking. I truly do find you to be good company, though I'm surprised I can say such a thing about someone so much younger than me."

Church swiftly expressed his confusion on that front. "What do you mean 'so much' younger? How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"Well I'm seventeen, and not that far off from eighteen, actually. We're almost in the same age bracket."

Chifuyu actually looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I knew that already based on your dossier. I'm just so used to being around first-year students, I suppose everyone feels younger than they really are. I apologize for the preceding statement: it seems you are a man in both body and mind."

While he got the feeling that Chifuyu didn't mean that in the way he was interpreting it, Church still blushed a bit. It was kind of hard not to, being told that by a woman like her. He didn't really know what he was supposed to say to it, but ultimately, he didn't have to say anything at all. That was because the door to the room slid open behind them, prompting both individuals to glance over their shoulders. It didn't really come as any surprise that Kanzashi was standing there, since she had been summoned by Chifuyu a scant ten minutes ago.

That said, Tatenashi was right over the girl's shoulder. Church supposed that shouldn't really have been a surprise either, all things considered. Kanzashi seemed to find it taxing, but her sister stuck to her like glue whenever they encountered one another. Church didn't know enough about their relationship to assume why that was. Tatenashi was also generally the first person to speak in such situations, and right now was no exception.

"Sensei, we're here! Kanzashi wasn't eager to please but I made sure she knew what would happen if she didn't."

Church didn't know if Chifuyu understood what the girl was getting at, though admittedly, he was hoping that his own assumption was mistaken. Surely, after everything that had happened by now, Kanzashi couldn't be upset with him over the incident in the showers? He had saved her life not long ago, it would be crazy to still hold a grudge over something like that at this point. That said, the look on the bespectacled girl's face was still one of obvious discomfort.

Being as sharp as she was, Church couldn't imagine that Chifuyu was unable to pick up on the expression, but if she did, the woman didn't mention it in any way as she got up from her seat.

"Well, that's my cue to get back to work, as much as I hate to say those words."

She turned to Church after uttering this. "If for some reason I don't see you again before you leave with the others, though I seriously doubt that will happen, take care of yourself. You're still recovering, so don't let a bunch of girls push you beyond your limits."

"I will. Or won't? I mean, I will take care of myself, and I won't let them drive me too hard. Though I'm sure they'll be preoccupied with Ichika anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem."

With one of those rare smirks, Chifuyu shook her head and made for the door. "Think so, do you? I wonder if that will be as true as you're assuming."

Church didn't get to question the woman on what exactly she meant by that, as she was already heading out the door by that time. Instead, he got a comment from Tatenashi on the matter, though she was talking to her sister.

"Lucky break for us, eh, sis? Maybe our hero here will snatch away some of the competition?"

Kanzashi looked a little embarrassed by the insinuation, though perhaps it was just due to having her feelings openly outed in front of someone she wasn't close to. Then again, it wasn't like Church didn't know how she felt about Ichika already. Still, the slightly younger twin spoke her mind as she moved into the R&D room.

"I'm not sure how you can be so optimistic. We're going to be left totally out of the situation for who knows how long. Ichika will probably forget all about us while he's in England with everyone else..."

Picking up on what that implied fairly easily, Church expressed his surprise. "Wait, you two won't be coming for the vacation? Why not?"

While her younger sister took a seat, Tatenashi followed her into the room and answered the question. "Because Cecilia didn't invite us, dummy. Shouldn't that be obvious?"

"I mean I figured that, but why wouldn't she?"

Pulling up a chair so she could sit next to Kanzashi, Tatenashi offered an answer for that question as well. "I think you might have gotten the wrong idea so far. We're friends with Ichika, but we're not really friends with his friends. Not that the girls hate us or anything-"

Kanzashi cut in. "I believe Lingyin really does hate you."

"She's just being petty. That incident was so long ago, she should really let it go. Anyway, not that they hate us or anything, but we're definitely not close enough for Cecilia to go and invite us to her home for an extended period of time. Which sucks, but I mean, it's totally understandable. They all formed a certain bond after facing life and death together. Even if you aren't trying to act like a clique, it's hard to resonate with people who didn't share the experience with you. The good news is, we have our own bonds with Ichika due to similar events, so it's not like it really matters if the other girls are super tight with us or anything."

Since Church was pretty much an outsider in this, he felt alright making the assessment that was on his mind. "So you say, but from a competitive standpoint, having a tight-knit group of girls as competition with Ichika is definitely causing some issues for your goals. It's one thing to compete with others as individuals, but even if they don't mean to, they're kind of intervening in your advances just by being close enough to abide each other and not you. I mean, they are about to run off on vacation with Ichika for some undetermined amount of time and there's nothing you can do about it."

Kanzashi didn't interject in the conversation, instead choosing to pull her computer and a few cables out of a laptop bag she had been carrying. She opened the device wordlessly, then began to type on it while Tatenashi continued with the discussion.

"First of all, you are seriously underestimating me if you think there's nothing I can do about it. Secondly, Chifuyu kind of has a point, you know. You did just do something very heroic and dashing that also saved everyone's lives. You might not be too far off from commanding the attention of a few of those girls, y'know?"

While Church would readily admit that the notion appealed to him, he didn't exactly see it as being accurate. "That seems like wishful thinking on your part, doesn't it? I mean, they've been pining for Ichika a long time. I just got here not that long ago. Feelings don't change that fast."

"Shows what you know about a girl's fickle heart. Well, not to say that we're all shallow, but look at it this way. If you're a girl that likes guys in this school, Ichika has kind of been the only option all this time. So even if he wasn't someone's ideal type, if they were interested in a boyfriend, they'd kind of just have to 'settle' as it were. There were no alternatives, after all. I mean, I guess it's not farfetched for a girl to nab a boyfriend in the city nearby, but with how much time students have to spend here on campus, that would be hard to work out."

Kanzashi cast a glance at her sister, likely a little annoyed by her rambling. Said sister didn't actually pick up on it, but oddly enough, she did try to wrap up her thoughts as though she had.

"What I'm saying is, now that there's two boys who are pretty different from each other, there could be a not insignificant number of girls around here who find you to be more their speed. That's true even for the girls really close to Ichika. After all, being completely stonewalled in nearly all of your romantic advances is going to tire out any girl eventually, no matter how much she likes someone."

Admittedly, Church understood what Tatenashi was getting at. Even if you were very attracted to someone, if you were unable to ever do anything with those feelings, they couldn't hold on forever. Love was patient and all that, but unrequited love was painful too. At some point, even the most committed person was going to decide that the misery of never achieving the relationship they hoped for wasn't worth it. Of course, how much endurance a person had on this front came down to the individual. Some people might be able to hold on to unrequited love for years. Others, perhaps not as long. Still, Church didn't see himself as the type of guy who could push a girl to shift away from her unrequited feelings for another guy.

"OK, but... me though? Why? I mean, no one even knows how long I'll really be sticking around. What's the point?"

Tatenashi merely shrugged. "Hey, no one said that any relationship that blooms would last a long time. But at the same time, both you and any of the girls in question could probably easily see each other regularly even if you were in different countries, considering your professions and all. Aside from that, while Ichika is more my type by far, give yourself some credit. You're clever and perceptive, and witty too. Your knight in shining armor vibes aren't as strong as Ichika's because you're a little less serious, but some girls like that. Especially if their knight in shining armor ended up being a little less fairy tale than most girls imagine such a guy as."

Still typing away on her computer, Kanzashi nevertheless cut in here. "In other words, you're bad hero material. A protagonist like you would only be good for a slice-of-life anime, but those are a dime a dozen. You would be a supporting character at best in any serious genre."

Certain that an eyebrow was twitching, Church refrained from saying that he thought otherwise. After all, he had dark secrets, an ulterior motive, a badass mobile suit aircraft, and, humbly speaking, he was decent looking. He thought he could be an alright protagonist of a serious anime. Naturally, he couldn't say all of that, but he didn't have to. Surprisingly, Kanzashi actually had a little bit more to say.

"Still... there's a reason many people turn to the slice-of-life genre for comfort and stable expectations. I prefer my knight in shining armor, but there's a certain type of reliability to your type of character too."

It was a little weird to say it, but Church honestly found the sentiment a little heartwarming after all of this time of Kanzashi detesting him. One could say he was touched. Unfortunately, the girl in question felt the need to amend her statement after a moment.

"But the fact that you're such a degenerate pervert kind of ruins it. Tell me what you need me to do here so I can go back to my room."

Hanging his head, Church sighed in defeat, accepting that he would probably never be on fantastic terms with Kanzashi after the first impression he had made. Thankfully, he wasn't that invested in the two of them being particularly close. Still, he couldn't help but find her words scathing.

But an hour or so later, Church was back in his room. Turned out that the process of programming nanomachines to conduct diagnosis and repairs on a physical object wasn't that difficult, or at least it wasn't for someone with Kanzashi's expertise. Once that was done, it was just a matter of letting the nanomachines loose on Cerberus' core so they could get to work. Kanzashi had told him that he was free to leave at that point, since the nanomachines were only good for one use in this scenario. Once they were out of the canister, there was no way to recollect them for later use.

Naturally, the bespectacled girl had been quick to make her exit once her job was done. Tatenashi had offered an actual farewell to Church, mostly on the grounds that they were unlikely to see each other again before he left with the other girls. After he was left alone, Cerberus confirmed that the nanomachines were working, and that repairs were underway. Since it would have been best to remain isolated until Cerberus could once again be digitized, Church had returned to his room to wait out the repair process. Naturally, Cerberus had kept him appraised of those proceedings that whole time.

"Full functionality is nearly restored, Operator. It should only be a few more minutes before my core can be returned to the Hyperspace Arsenal."

Sitting on the edge of his bed in this mostly barren room, Church raised a certain question. "What exactly is going to happen to that weird partitioned part of yourself that was acting up once the repairs are done?"

"It will cease to exist. In fact, it already has."

"Sounds existentially grim."

"It's not the way you are imagining, Operator. I am not a human being. That aspect of myself had no unique existence to be erased. It was simply a part of myself suffering a malfunction. It is not as though that aspect was its own entity."

While Church had some thoughts on that, he figured it was best to not get too involved with the conversation. Besides, there were more important things to attend to. "Have the repairs progressed enough that you can establish communication with headquarters again?"

Following the Crucible incident, Church had been without any means of contacting his superiors, since Cerberus had been out of action and malfunctioning after being reacquired. Naturally, after such a catastrophe, it made sense that he needed to see what they wanted to do. Besides, he had left Marcus on a tough note: for all the engineer knew, Church was dead. The young operative would have liked to remedy that thought as swiftly as possible.

"Repairs have indeed reached that point, Operator. I can make the connection now if you so desire."

Thinking on it for a moment, Church specified his intent. "I want a direct connection to Marcus first, if possible. I'm sure the Commander will have something to say, but Marcus and I need to discuss something first."

Cerberus was quiet for a moment, seemingly processing something relevant to this statement. "Is this about your hypothesis regarding the aircraft that attacked the Academy?"

"You don't think it has merit? That aircraft didn't behave like it was controlled by a human pilot. Some of the maneuvers it pulled wouldn't even have been possible for a human pilot without inertial dampening."

"I do not disagree with your hypothesis, Operator. I am, however, curious as to what implication you are making from it."

Honestly, Church himself was curious about what conclusions could be drawn as well. Marcus had said during the incident that the SU-60 had been stolen by a rogue pilot, allegedly. But that seemed unlikely for a myriad array of reasons. First of all, what reason would any Umbra Stratum pilot have to even carry out such an objective? Two, Church knew from personal experience that Umbra Stratum security was very good, especially when it came to valuable assets. The chances of a pilot decked out in all of the proper gear just waltzing up to a plane and flying away with it without anyone noticing was next to zero. Three, even if that did happen, there was no chance the stolen aircraft wouldn't have been shot down soon after leaving the hangar.

Needless to say, the situation was obviously more complicated than it was being made to seem. If the aircraft had been drone controlled, that would explain away at least two of the issues: there would have been no unscrupulous pilot to notice, and anyone with the authority to control drone operations from Umbra Stratum would also be more likely to have some sort of reason for trying to do all of this. Then still didn't answer the inefficacy of the air defense systems, but there was always the second option: maybe it was a hack from the outside. Maybe someone else had infiltrated the system and pulled the strings? Anyone good enough to do that in the first place would almost certainly be able to spoof the air defense systems long enough for the SU-60 to get away. But who would even have the capability to do that?

Shaking his head at this confusing mess, Church turned his attention back to Cerberus. "I'm not sure what any of it means. That's why I want to talk to Marcus about it."

"As you wish, Operator."

With that, Cerberus began the process of contacting Umbra Stratum HQ, which naturally took a bit longer than your usual phone call. After all, there were a lot of security loops to jump through in order to establish contact. An organization as secretive as Umbra Stratum wanted to be very sure that they were only accepting calls from the right people. Moreover, assuming Cerberus was following Church's instructions, there were the extra hoops of making a secure connection to Marcus alone, without letting anyone else know. Church wasn't going to jump so far as to say that there were moles in Umbra Stratum right now, but it only seemed prudent to speak directly to the one person in the organization he trusted implicitly first.

After a minute or two, the connection was established. With the proper systems repaired enough to allow a remote connection, Church was able to receive a visual feed directly into his optic nerve, allowing him to see the relieved face of his bespectacled friend with a steel wall backdrop. As an aside, Church wasn't sure why Cerberus had still been talking to him aloud if he could have done mental communication already. Either way, his friend was quick to express the sentiments on his mind.

"Oh my God, Church! Jesus, man, I seriously thought you were dead!"

Knowing that Cerberus was probably offering a visual feed of some sort for Marcus, though he had no idea how, Church smiled. "I came pretty close. Sorry for taking so long to get in contact. Cerberus suffered some damage during the attack, I wasn't able to get him sufficiently repaired until today."

"I don't doubt it. What the hell happened out there, Church? Before the transmission ended, it sounded like you were going through with a crazy plan."

Considering the situation in which he had ended the transmission with Marcus, Church couldn't fault him for being confused. Looking back on it, the plan he and Cerberus had enacted to deal with the Crucible missile had been insane. With that in mind, he spent a few minutes detailing the entire incident to his friend back in Nevada, including the situation with Cerberus afterwards and how things stood right now from a mission perspective. When it was all over, Marcus was free to express his initial concerns.

"Tabane Shinonono, huh...? I'm not exactly thrilled to know that she's working on Exeter. Cerberus is more than capable of preventing sensitive data from getting out, but against someone like her? She could really learn everything there is to know about the suit and do whatever she wants with that information."

Church, not being privy to the engineering side of things, merely shrugged. "I feel you, but there's not really much of a choice. Exeter's damage is too extensive for typical nanomachine repair, at least as far as I'm aware. And besides, is there really any technology in Exeter that Tabane doesn't already know about?"

"Well, you're probably right about that, but it's more about the knowledge of Exeter's existence that could get out. We've got the means to intercept and deal with any evidence coming from the Academy and its students, but I wouldn't bet on any of our countermeasures being able to stop someone like Tabane if she really felt like it."

"You say that, but come on: we've revealed the suit to hundreds of people here considering the staff and the student body. Between smartphones and social media, a picture is going to crop up somewhere."

"I think you're underestimating how many dumb AI we have sweeping every corner of the internet over here, Church. The estimated time to detecting and terminating anything related to Exeter, be it picture, text, or video, is three seconds. The only thing we'd have to actually worry about is word of mouth or someone taking an old school picture and sending it to someone via snail mail, but come on: no one is doing that these days, and word of mouth is completely without proof or meaning."

Ultimately, Church figured that there was no point he could raise that Umbra Stratum hadn't already thought of, save for this issue with Tabane. But while he didn't know the woman that well, Church didn't peg her as the type to even interact with the public that often. If anything, she'd probably grow bored with Exeter and forget all about it: just preferably after fixing it.

With that thought in mind, Church turned the conversation towards the real reason he had called Marcus first. "Listen, Marcus... I was going to bring this up during the attack, but you know, shit got wild. That SU-60... it was a drone, I'm certain of it."

While confused, the look on Marcus' face grew instantly serious. "A drone...? What makes you say that?"

"A lot of things. For one, it makes a lot more sense as to how the aircraft was taken from an Umbra Stratum base in the first place. But during battle, the way it behaved... its reaction times were far beyond what any human could manage without AI assistance. And it maneuvered exactly like Strelka's ADU-1 models, right up to the high-G turns that no human could ever manage without inertial dampeners. The aircraft wasn't supposed to have that functionality, right?"

Putting a hand to his chin, Marcus quietly pondered Church's musings for a moment. "Well, the aircraft also didn't have Hyperspace Arsenal functionality when it was taken either. It's not entirely unlikely that whoever was able to add that was also able to add inertial dampening for a human pilot. Still, I'm not saying I don't believe you. It's just that the implications are pretty alarming..."

"Umbra Stratum is the only one working on drone operation of standard aircraft, right?"

"That we know of. Plenty of other countries could be working on it and we just don't know about it. I didn't even know that the prototype involved drone control. But if it did, Strelka would have had to be involved somehow. She runs that whole department. Still, there's no way... it had to be hacking from an outside source, right?"

Church was quiet for a moment as he thought of the possibilities. "I mean, Strelka might be the head of the drone operation department, but she's not the only one in it. There are other people capable of pulling off what happened in Umbra Stratum. Plus, what would she even gain from something like this? I know she disliked Exeter because it was competing with her own project, but going this far to try and get rid of it? If that was her goal, attacking the Academy would be pointless. The fighter could have just engaged me directly and nothing else."

Before Marcus could answer, Cerberus interjected. "It is also possible that the attack on the Academy was merely a means of gaining advantage over Exeter, Operator. Even with its many advancements, that fighter would be outmatched by you in a straight fight. Distracting you with a threat to the Academy made you vulnerable to attack."

Recalling how that exact scenario had played out, Church shook his head. "But when I was vulnerable due to exactly that, the fighter broke off its attack. Why would it do that if the only objective was to destroy Exeter?"

From his end of the conversation, Marcus agreed. "Yeah, that doesn't really make sense. Not that any of this really adds up to begin with. There are just way too many questions... was this a hack from outside, or someone within Umbra Stratum? But who would even benefit from an attack like this? Were they attacking you or the Academy?"

Church turned his attention back to the sandy blonde. "I don't suppose Umbra Stratum managed to keep track of the SU-60 after it broke away from the battle?"

The engineer shook his head. "Not a chance. Whoever modified that thing after it was hijacked went far out of their way to ensure it had the best stealth capabilities available. It ghosted us after the attack just like it did before it."

"Then how did you detect it just before the attack? What changed?"

Marcus was silent for a moment, contemplating what Church had said. "That's... a good question. If it was able to avoid detection both before and after the attack, there's no reason it should have been revealed just before it. Did it want to be seen...? That makes even less sense."

Silence reigned between the conversationalists as they each pondered the questions that had been raised. There were definitely a lot of question marks in this scenario, and Church didn't know how to answer any of them. Then again, that was exactly why he had come to Marcus with it.

"I think it's safe to say that we need to do a little digging. Although, I'm not really in a position to do that, all things considered..."

The implication that Church was making was pretty obvious, with Marcus picking up on it without any trouble. "Yeah, leave it to me. I don't know what all I'll be able to find out, but I'm definitely in a better position than you. I just hope we're overthinking this... do you want to be patched through to the Commander now?"

"Want is a strong word, but I can't exactly refuse to report in."

"Fair enough. Stay safe out there, Church. I'll contact you if I learn anything definitive."

Marcus pressed a few buttons on his end so he could connect Church to the person in charge at that Umbra Stratum base. To this day, Church wasn't sure if the Commander was in charge of just that one base or the entire organization. Either way, it didn't take long for the visual of Marcus to be replaced with the beady-eyed, graying buzz cut man that Church answered to. As expected, the man in question accosted him almost immediately.

"A2, what the hell is your major malfunction?! Where do you get the god damned gall to wait this long to report in after you got blasted off the grid?!"

While this attitude still irked him, Church managed to stay calm mostly because he had been expecting it anyway. "My apologies, Commander. Exeter and Cerberus both suffered damage due to the attack, and I had no means of establishing communications until today."

Naturally, the Commander did not seem thrilled with this revelation. "Damaged? How damaged?! Quit making excuses and give me a SITREP!"

Growing slightly more annoyed, Church nevertheless managed to rein in what he really wanted to say. Obviously, it wouldn't be a good idea to get on the bad side of the Commander, who was responsible for his paychecks. Much like with Marcus, Church laid out the current situation for the Commander, including the immediate aftermath of the attack, how much damage both Cerberus and Exeter had suffered, and the current situation. When it was all done, the older man said exactly what was on his mind.

"A2, are you aware that the last person we want to get their hands on Exeter and its data is Tabane Shinonono? Why the hell are you letting her work on it?!"

"Sir, there's not exactly much I can do about it. No one else here is capable of making the repairs in the first place, and it would be suspicious if I were too heavily invested in keeping Tabane away from the suit when our whole excuse for being here is open and honest data sharing. I managed to recover Cerberus before she could learn anything about it, but there's nothing I can do about the suit itself."

While the Commander didn't look happy with the notion, if the way he was gritting his teeth was anything to go by, it also seemed like he understood what Church was getting at. Truthfully, Church wasn't really in a position to do anything about the current situation. Still, that didn't stop him from completely neglecting to agree with the operative, instead choosing to move on to something else.

"Fine. What exactly are you doing about this mission? The primary objective isn't going to make much progress with this shutdown the Academy is doing for god knows how long. What are you going to do about it?"

Admittedly, Church really didn't like the Commander. He was the worst kind of boss, constantly pinning blame for things on his subordinates and expecting them to take responsibility for things that were outside of their control. Honestly, Church would have loved to point out how the attack never would have happened if Umbra Stratum hadn't lost an experimental cutting edge aircraft, but he knew better than to do so.

"Well, I've effectively been invited to go with the Representative Candidates to the UK during the vacation. That's-"

Before he could even finish, the Commander was accosting him. "That's your plan?! A vacation?! Just what in tarnation do you think you get paid to do, A2?!"

"With all due respect, sir, this is a great opportunity. Getting the Akatsubaki data will be much easier in a relaxed environment where I have every reason to be near Houki Shinonono on any given day. I'll also be away from any type of supervision provided by the Academy. This will undoubtedly be the best opportunity to secure the data thus far. Ease of access will be much greater than usual."

Even though his eyes sucked at expressing easily readable emotion, Church could tell that the Commander was not entirely pleased with this assessment. That said, it seemed like he couldn't exactly deny it either. After all, Church wasn't wrong. It was probably just that the man didn't like the idea of Church hanging out and 'vacationing' on the dime of his organization.

"...fine. But you'd better not muck around out there! You are an operative on a mission, not some giggling teenage twat trying to hook up with girls. I expect that data to be acquired within a reasonable timeframe, you get me?"

"Affirmative, Commander."

Instead of offering any answer of his own, the Commander simply ended the communication, much to Church's chagrin. "Man, I hate that guy..."

Having been quiet for all of that exchange, Cerberus piped up now. "Indeed, he is quite obviously the type of individual that would most often be considered 'disagreeable."

"I'm surprised you're allowed to even say something like that about him."

"My creator shares no particular fondness for the man, and thus did not program something so arbitrarily limiting in me."

Leaning back on the bed in his windowless room, Church didn't say anything in response, instead dwelling on the upcoming few days. Despite the annoying exchange with the Commander, he actually wasn't in too terrible of a mood. After all, he would soon be vacationing with a whole gaggle of pretty girls, and at a mansion no less. The Commander may have been able to harp on him about not being frivolous with his time, but chances were, Church would practically have to.

Taking everything into consideration, this didn't seem like a bad outcome to the Crucible incident at all. It definitely could have ended a whole lot worse.

We all have that one boss we hate or hated in the past. Why do the worst people often manage to get put in charge of things? Well, maybe being a dick counts for something when you are trying to get things done, huh?