Spending the next few days for maintenance I request a few raw materials justifying them for my weapon repairs but focusing them towards repairs and material storage. I don't plan to reveal my bionics, the only question would be the amount of energy being drained. I can't keep up with heavy work of fighting and exploring without sufficient time to build reserves. If I could demonstrate proficiency in a craft I might be able to stay back a bit more.

The day we are leaving for our exploration I wake up to find Hadrian waiting near my door.

"Hey, we are heading out today. I'm here to ask for your choice. We gave you some space for the last few days to let you think," he looks at me, "We're not forcing you to join us, but we'd really appreciate if you wanted to, even as more of a support or non-combatant member. Just let me know before we leave and I'll help you with what you need." He pushes himself off the wall he was leaning on before starting to head downstairs.

My mouth opens slightly before closing, thinking about it for several seconds I finally speak, "I'll stick with you guys until I figure out what I want to do. I may end up wanting nothing to do with this world though."

He turns around quickly at my answer forgetting he was about to put his foot on the first step as he falls backwards down the stairs. As he lands on his rear he groans loudly, grabbing onto his leg and looking at his ankle.

"Nothings broken!" He shouts as he stands back up, "Just bruised! Ow ow ow…" he walks back up the stairs holding onto the banister with one hand and rubbing his hip with another.

Reaching the top and facing me again he laughs to himself, "You still haven't even cracked a smile yet. You sure you aren't just a robot?" He asks with a chuckle, "I mean seriously, there must be something wrong with you, you didn't crack a single grin as I fell down the stairs."

Staring blankly at his attempt at a joke I move on, "Do we plan to eat or are you going to continue your attempts to flirt with me? I'm starving right now." My stomach growls quietly.

His eyes widen before he smiles broadly, "Ah, sorry. Right, yeah, breakfast. Let's get moving then, shall we?" He starts walking out of the building towards a tavern across the street.

The group is already eating when we arrive, a mixture of some types of meat, a porridge and a few fruits dot the table as I sit down opposite Hadrian. Everyone else is talking amongst themselves except for Turi, who keeps shooting me glances every so often. She seems to be watching me intently whenever she catches sight of my gaze on her, making me feel uncomfortable and awkward.

After everyone finishes eating, Hadrian lays a map out on the table with numerous markings and small flags marking countless locations, my chip immediately springing into action recording all the information it can. "So, Meidu has decided to stick with us, as agreed on before through a vote, she is welcome here." His voice carries clearly across the table. A couple of nods appear among the others before Hadrian addresses me directly. "The group has decided, that if you'd like, we can follow your directions for a short while. If anything on this map looks familiar; or if you have an understanding of where something might be in relation to where we found you; it would be helpful.

Staring at the map for a few moments, with my biochip overlaying data and analysing geographical tends at a slightly higher cost of energy I map out some of the most likely points of interest, being more hidden labs, vaults and potentially some old military storage caches which might be hidden with camouflage technology. I look up to see that everyone is staring at me.

Hadrian speaks up, "Meidu, are these places you recognise? Do they match anything from your memory?"

"Most of them are either lab sites or similar facilities. There are a few areas that your people don't seem to have found as well as some caches I might be able to repurpose. Some of the labs are probably destroyed too since they were abandoned." I reply with a shrug, "But none are exactly like the ones from my memories."

Everyone seems confused by my response so I elaborate further, "It has been so long I don't know if some places are buried or if someone decided to move a mountain or two to hide something. But I am fairly certain that if you dig deep enough you can always find something."

Turi speaks up, "Well, thank you for your assistance Meidu, if you wouldn't mind following with us and pointing out any interesting landmarks you remember, it would save us considerable amounts of effort."

With a quick nod of agreement, I stand up and walk over to grab my pack before turning back to the table and nodding to Hadrian. "Let's get moving then, I'll show you what I came up with." With that said, we begin walking towards the exit, everyone follows behind us.

Walking along side Hadrian I watch him carefully; his movements are fluid and controlled despite his injury earlier. Something about his posture tells me he is experienced in combat and survival techniques. After a while he stops suddenly causing me to bump against him before realising what he did.

"Sorry," I mumble apologetically before continuing onwards. When we reach the edge of the city limits we turn south-westwards towards the mountains.

JHarp

Really busy week this last one; I'll aim for a longer chapter for this novel next week since I gave [CORE] a bonus for being less popular, this one has similar ratings and deserves a bit more of a boost.

Thanks for reading.