Emerald was surprised at how fast flying had gotten boring. When she'd lived on the streets she'd looked up at the airships flying over the city. To start with it had been awe, which had turned to envy as she grew older.

She'd imagined herself with a yacht, one decorated to her every whim. With servants of her own to wait on her. Her own little cloud of luxury.

Now she wanted to retreat into that dream again as one of Mercury's legs twitched and kicked her as he slept. He kept insisting it was just a quirk of his prosthesis but he always managed to hit her and not the air. Her desire to hit back was dampened given he had guns built into his artificial limbs and she didn't want to find out it doing so would set one off.

Rolling over and sighing, she looked over at Watts, who'd been sitting there for hours over a spread of scrolls trying to draw out more clues about the goings on within the COG. He'd been resigned at first but now seemed almost drooling at the challenge. Every refuelling stop they'd made his little corner of the hold had expanded till her and Mercury were stuck on two folding cots.

With a grumble she got up and staggered through the hatch to the cockpit with her blanket. Penny was still at the controls, as she had been since Watts' had agreed to let her take over. She didn't seem tired at all, from what Emerald could recall she hadn't stopped to eat or for anything.

'Salutations Emerald,' Penny said without looking back.
'How'd you know it was me?' Emerald asked with a yawn.
'Oh uh… I guessed that Uncle Watts would have announced himself and Mercury's steps are quite loud due to his prosthetics.'

'Huh… You can tell just by footsteps?' Emerald tilted her head, Mercury's steps tended to be a little louder than hers, but he was still quiet compared to most people plus his shoes would cover some of the clanking.
'Did you need something?' Penny asked to change the subject.
'Just to get out of the hold. This thing was not built for long haul flights,' Emerald said, dropping into the copilot seat and reclining it back.

'That is correct. Based on its configuration and serial number, this craft was intended for entry to denied airspace, combat intersions and extractions along with close air support,' Penny said before slapping a hand to her mouth.
'Huh?' Emerald yawned, 'What was all that?'
'I said, yes it's not set up for long trips,' Penny said before hiccuping.

'Yeah. Right. Whatever. Wake me when we get there,' Emerald said before nodding off again.
'Of course,' Penny said with a smile, she'd managed to pull it off.

That was close though, she'd almost slipped twice there. The first was when she'd matched Emerald's footsteps to when she'd been patrolling the secure lift at Beacon, and then when she'd run the Bullheads serial number. Both times she'd been distinctly not within human norms.
Her father had been quite strict, she was not to reveal her true nature to anyone. Uncle Watts already knew but only him. She wasn't sure if Emerald or Mercury would understand.

Perhaps Ruby would have, she seemed, odd but pleasant. But they'd not exchanged messages in sometime, it was making Penny worried. But she trusted Ruby would be okay; she had a team with her after all.

For the next few hours Penny flew along the designated transit corridors from zone to zone. The COG was very organised like that. Which made the place somewhat like Atlas but still new to her.

At least it seemed new in some way. In others it was already reminding her of the questions she'd wanted to ask Father. Checking Emerald was asleep and the door was closed Penny held up a finger.

The tip opened revealing a standard port and she plugged into the Bullhead. At once her mind was hearing the radio bands, seeing the radar beams and felt the engines as if it were a part of her. It was mainly the first part though that interested her.

She listened as a Condor heading the other way reported its status. Not by a pilot speaking, but the on-board computer sending out burst transmissions. Penny could understand them a little to start with, the COG encryption codex in her core was outdated, but the more she learned the more she could correct.

It was a scary thing on one hand, her Father had never spoken about it, and she didn't know how to ask without explaining how she'd found out about it back at Beacon. But it was also quite interesting, like learning a whole language she could only recall bits of. Few people on Remnant bothered to learn any of the Seran languages, since Tryan was prevalent and the same as their own there was no need.

But she wanted to learn and perhaps by doing so she'd find something out about herself. So she let herself fly along and just took in a world that only existed in bursts of energy. By the time they reached Drake Bay she was almost able to guess any craft by its signature.


'Do I have to wear this?' Mercury grunted, pulling at the collar of the Atlas Academy uniform he was wearing.
'Yes you do, so stop whining and get into character,' Watts snapped, 'Remember we're here as part of the Atlas inspectorate. I'm the distinguished Dr Arthur Watts. Penny here is my assistant and you two are our escort in the form of two student Huntsmen.'
'This is never going to work,' Emerald sighed, running a final check on her own uniform and straightening the beret.

'Why so?' Watts asked, rolling his eyes.
'Because we got changed in the hold one at a time. And the fact that anyone who knows what a kid from Atlas Academy is like will notice we're not quite up to their standards,' Emerald said thinking of how long this plan would last. Minutes were her guess.
'Atlas admits a wide variety of students,' Penny said, adjusting her own beret with precision.

'Yes. And if anyone asks then this is a punishment assignment, that ought to cover up any slacking on your parts,' Watts said with a grin.
'Uncle!' Penny said with a pout, 'That is not very polite.
'For the last time don't call me uncle,' Watts groaned as he hit the hatch control.

The door slid away revealing Drake Bay. They'd set down on a landing area and a small welcoming party was waiting for them. Watts made the introductions and it seemed things were going to plan.

They walked along behind the greeter and into a checkpoint. Emerald and Mercury turning over their weapons for inspection before they were returned, Watts had left his revolver in the Bullhead. Then it was a quick step through to the security archway.

At which point an alarm went off. A rolling set of shutters boxed them in and two squads of DBI security androids burst out of side doors. Their guns aimed squarely at Penny.


Ramos glanced out the window as the train arrived at Drake Bay. This was one of the COGs major industrial organs. Other factories could make nearly anything with the right resources and time.

But this was where the big toys got made. Ships were being assembled in the drydocks. Alongside some of the largest railgun foundries ever, far bigger than anything back on Sera.

She felt a faint pang recalling they didn't have a way back home. It was softened by the fact she had more freedom here then she likely ever would back there. DBI had enjoyed its position as the primary partner for nearly everything before when the COG had been rebuilding. But this time they'd had to do it faster, better, in a hostile environment and pulled it off.

Her private moment of pride was broken by the sight of one of the site managers waiting for her with a set of Security DeeBees. So much for getting a chance to look around the place. Collecting her case and walking out she nodded to the other woman.

'What happened?' Ramos sighed.
'We had some visitors from Atlas. All last minute. And well… You'd better see for yourself,' The manager said, nodding to the door.
'Oh this had better be good.'

Ramos was led into a security room with one wall taken up by a screen showing a holding cell. Sat in said cell was a young girl with red hair, green eyes and with several DR-1 security units with lethal Overkills pointed at her.

'Oh please tell me you have a good reason for this,' Ramos signed into her hand.
'She came in with a new group of inspectors,' The manager said, tapping control to bring up a screen.
'Ah… I see your reason,' Ramos said, her eyes scanning the display.

The girl in the seat wasn't normal by any measure. She was an android, quite an advanced and well equipped one going by the snapshot the scanner had taken. Beam emitters on remote antigravity drives, high power synthetic muscle fibers and more still.

'Huh. She is quite the little walking tank,' Ramos said walking out of the viewing room.
'Uh Ma'am, where are you going?' The manager called.
'To talk,' Ramos said, opening the door to the cell.

The girl's turned to look at her then started to raise a hand, 'Salu-'

A synchronised click came from the Overkills as the DR-1s adjusted their aim. The girl froze, remaining totally still bar her eyes. There weren't any tears but it was clear she was upset and unsure how to react.

Ramos waved her hand as she drew up a chair facing the girl, 'Stand down and get out. She could have blasted her way through you at anypoint. No point upsetting her.'
'Acknowledged,' The DR-1s replied, lowering their weapons and leaving the room.
Waiting till they were out Ramos nodded, 'So they didn't tell me your name. I'm Gracie, how about you?'

'Penny. I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused,' Penny said, still slightly withdrawn.
'Eh. We've just never seen someone like you before. Your specs are well outside what we've seen before,' Ramos said with a shrug.
'Father will be upset. I wasn't meant to let anyone find out about me.'

'Hmm. Well why don't we see what happened,' Ramos said, pulling out her PDA and checking some things,' Seems you came in with a few other people who got their own tags from the system. Butttt. Your documentation doesn't say you're human so I think I can get this to be brushed under the carpet.
'Wait… You'd do that for me?' Penny asked.
'Why not? No one said you were human, not like we didn't sneak a bot into Atlas once, though I didn't approve that time. You've behaved yourself and I'd rather not be a bad host.'

'Host?' Penny asked, confused.
'Oh right, formal introductions,' Ramos stood up and held out a hand, 'Gracie Ramos, CEO of DBI, this whole place is my patch.'
Penny took the offered hand and shook it lightly, 'Oh… Well that is most fortunate. Thank you for being so kind.'

'Eh don't worry about it. I like solving problems and you don't seem to be one. Hell if needed I can ring up the First Minister and get her to stamp my decision as well,' Ramos said with a shrug.
'N… No thank you. I really don't think that kind of attention would be good for my mission,' Penny said holding up a hand.
'Oh really? What kind of mission?'

'I uh… Am unable to tell you… Sorry,' Penny glanced down.
'Come on. Provided you're not planning to smash up the place or steal stuff you can't really do much to upset me,' Ramos said stepping back, 'Come on your buddies should be in the next area.'
'Right,' Penny said, getting up and following her.

Ramos led her out and across to what should have been the other holding cells where the others were meant to be. Penny reached out grabbing Ramos' shoulder and stopping her. Before she could ask what was happening Penny coughed loudly.

'You can come out. It's just me and a… Friend,' Penny said, the last part hesitantly.
'Penny?' Emerald said her head poking around the junction.
'How did you get out?' Ramos asked.

'The doors were unlocked,' Mercury said with a shrug as he appeared as well with Watts behind him.
'Really? The magnetically sealing doors which I know the specs for… Were unlocked?' Ramos asked deadpan.
Mercury shrugged, 'Well you just can't get the quality these days.'

Ramos rolled her eyes, 'Penny would you be so kind as to introduce us?'
'Oh of course,' Penny said, gesturing to Ramos, 'Mercury, Emerald, Uncle Watts, this is Gracie Ramos, CEO of DBI, the company that built this place.'
'Oh crap,' Mercury muttered, not quietly enough, 'Ow!'

'Nice work dumbass,' Emerald hissed, withdrawing her elbow.
'My apologies for the behaviour of my escort. He's had a number of challenges to overcome in his life and still has some rough edges,' Watts said with a bow.
'Hey! Ow! Will you stop that,' Mercury snapped as Emerald elbowed him again.

'Well aren't you all just a bunch of characters,' Ramos said with a smile.
'If we might ask,would you be able to forgive us for being a bit premature in exiting our cells?' Watts asked, 'We were just concerned for Penny's well being you see.'
'Oh concern gets you through security locks and hiding from anyone you hear?' Ramos asked, folding her arms.

The others exchanged looks, weighing up what they could do. Attacking her wasn't an option, with her job someone would be looking for her shortly. Running wouldn't get them anything but the guards coming after them.

'Before you opt to threaten me, how about I make you an offer?' Ramos said, breaking the deadlock.
'That would depend on what you're asking for?' Watts replied.
'I need a few people to skulk around. Things don't seem to be quite right around here. I think someone is tampering with the reports that get sent out. If that's right it stands to reason they'll work to divert me so I can't find out what they're up to.'

'Hmm. It seems we may have some common ground after all,' Watts said with a growing smile.
'We'll talk on the ground. I don't want people hearing this kind of talk,' Ramos said, turning,' Come on.

With a shrug they followed her along to an exit. Ramos passed out helmets, hi vis vests and helped them set a private channel. Then they walked out onto the facility proper.

To say it was deafening was like saying the sun was bright. Even with the sound dampening offered by the helmets they could feel the force of machinery around them. As they passed through one building they saw presses the size of houses coming down to forge metal into shape.

'I thought the COG could just magic stuff into shape?' Mercury asked over the channel.
'Fabricating is expensive, in terms of energy and complexity. At scale it's still better to do things the most efficient way even if it's not fancy it works,' Ramos said with a shrug.
'What are they even making?' Emerald asked as the strange parts were lifted away.

'Hmm. Parts for Vultures looking at it. Stuff has to be press forged to meet requirements,' Ramos said looking around, 'This is as private as we're likely to get. I've got a few places that need to be looked into. What about you guys?'
'Something odd struck me about the booster maintenance facility here. We want to check inside to see if anything stands out. What places are you concerned about?' Watts asked.
'Here and here are the two ones that twig me as wrong,' Ramos said, taking out her PDA and highlighting a set of buildings.

'What the hell is an improved airframe test unit complex?' Mercury asked.
'According to this it's meant to be producing prototypes for assessment. But I and… Someone I'm close to, needs to sign off on both the military and civil side of those projects. Neither of us know anything about that place.'
'Huh and intelligent munition concept review. Sounds like a really expensive bullet. Ah not this time,' Mercury muttered, stepping back before he could get hit.

'We'll look into them. Do let us know what you find at the booster facility,' Watts said with a nod before walking towards the first location. Once they were away he signalled to change frequency.
'Are we sure we can trust her?' Mercury asked after adjusting his radio.
'We don't have a choice. Besides we've effectively switched opponent's that might have deflected her has a chance not to affect us. And of course vice versa she has access we don't.'
'Fair enough. So let's go peek about shall we?'


Ramos didn't like letting those people creep around, aside from Penny they all stuck her as shady. Still she was looking for shady goings on so they might as well have been the best people for it. She called a cart to head to the booster facility.

Something struck her as odd just as she was about to enter the destination. Rather than put the place out of the way far from anything else the place was right near the dry docks. The rocket propellant should be safe and the building would be fitted out with safety measures but still.

Her eyes flicked to the closest dock and then widened as she read the name above it. The dock wasn't being used for construction, it was fitted for repair/refit. The CAF Honor was just across from the place Watts had asked her to check out.

She hit the button to set the cart off and tried not to think too much about it. Which worked for all of eight seconds. Ramos had often been frustrated with that airship's repairs.

Every time she got an update it had been that they'd found more damage and there were delays. She'd tried to get time away to come and show her face to see if that kicked things up. But something always came up that made her cancel those plans.

The cart passed two technicians who were working on a junction box. That was strange in itself. Why didn't they have a DeeBee doing something like that?

Ramos rubbed the back of her neck. Perhaps they were running tests on something. This whole sneaking sound thing was getting to her.

As the cart reached the factory she looked across at the dry dock. It was covered, not without reason. The Honor was one of the few Virtue-class cruisers they'd managed to build.

Sure the ship had gone down swinging and been key in the battle for Vale. But seeing it nearly melted and cored out had not been a good image. Once it had been brought back it had been kept under wraps to avoid anyone posting images of it.

Ramos shook off the feeling and walked up to the doors that would let her into the booster factory. With a swipe of her ID she walked in. The place seemed normal enough.

A few confused staff wondered why their biggest boss had turned up without notice. She explained that she'd run into the inspectors and they'd been delayed but she'd offered to come have a look on their behalf today. They shrugged and showed her around.

'So this is one of the faulty boosters?' Ramos asked as they showed her the working area at the rear.
'Yes and no,' One of the engineers said, 'System says its faulty but we can't find anything wrong with it.'
'Nothing at all? No bad parts or software glitches?'

Another engineer shook their head, 'Nothing. The diagnostics show it as faulty so it has to get pulled and brought back here to be reassessed. But the amount of times we've done it now we could do it in our sleep. Never find anything wrong, just that after a full check they start reporting fine and we put it back into storage.'
'Have we contacted the team responsible for the diagnostics? Asked them to check for any gremlins in the code?' Ramos asked, tapping her chin.
'Yes. They think we're using shoddy parts since apparently their code is working fine. They're down right insistent on it. We keep telling them we're using the same parts when we put the thing back together but they just tell us to stop bothering them.'

Something clicked in the back of Ramos' mind at that statement, 'And the software team… Are they based here? Have you spoken with them at all?'
'No they're based off site working remotely. We don't get to speak with them unless it's remote comms and then it just turns into a shouting match,' The first engineer said.
'I'll have to look into getting that fixed. We're not meant to be working against each other.'

With thanks for their time and guidance she walked out to the cart and stared at the dry dock. There was too much wrong here. The Honor was being kept by a potential blast hazard rather than in the main docks, there were people doing tasks that should have been for DeeBees and someone in Atlas had noticed a system fault with their processes before they had.

All of those things should have been flagged up and triggered their own checks. How much more was there though? Ramos couldn't trust the reports anymore so she started pulling the raw data to her PDA.

She'd need a semi-sentient agent to scour it all. One she could trust not to have any risk of being affected like the rest of this place. Or perhaps a rather helpful young lady who owed her one.