May 16, 4021 14:30 [Matriarch 07- Cliffside Hangar]

The grating sound of machinery echoed throughout the Cliffside Hangar, a machinist’s haven supporting a wealth of mechanics and technicians as they worked on weapons, transportation vehicles, combat prototypes, and their own pet projects in their free time. It was here that Indra’s younger sister Aisha spent her days elbow-deep in axle grease working on DIVE Suits, skin-tight exoskeleton combat suits.

She worked as a mechanic, making use of her ‘Molecular Reformation’ Trait to transmute pieces of raw metal ore into processed and functional parts for various types of hardware. She felt her position to be an unfit designation, however, given that her Trait allowed for any inorganic material to be transmuted into any other inorganic object she could visualize; it just felt like her potential was being overlooked.

Yet, she didn’t care to complain; designation evaluations were based not only on physical and intellectual merit but a close examination of a person’s psyche was also taken into consideration when determining where one might exhibit the most efficient work ethic. For Aisha, remaining in the confines of Matriarch 07 provided her with comfort. She would be content with remaining within the Matriarch if allowed to, spending her days building machines with her own two hands and utilizing her recreational time to enjoy the plethora of amenities that Lunar Gate offered. Her friends, her family, all were here; Matriarch 07 was her home. Why would she ever want to leave? Her brother still had faint memories of their parents and their home in Dvaita, but to Aisha, those memories didn’t mean much. She did not feel remorse or regret for leaving faceless entities she could hardly remember. She had her brother, that was all she ever needed.

Finishing up some last-minute tuning on the DIVE suit, Aisha powered down the frame, setting aside her tools to lift up the hood on her welding mask and wipe the sweat from her brow. She removed the mask and a bandana tied tightly around her head, letting down locks of curly brown hair. She slipped on a sweatshirt over her tank top and removed the baggy flame-retardant pants she had been wearing to reveal cargo sweatpants underneath. She checked her HoloPad for the time. 14:30. Yikes. I might have stayed a little longer than expected. I should head to the Great Hall. Mirai's probably been waiting for at least half an hour. I shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer.

Scrolling through the social feed on her HoloPad, Aisha crossed the lengthy hangar floor, reaching security. She swiped a keycard with an air of indifference before stepping into a decontamination unit, removing any trace of Virya or other external bacteria transposed from incoming vehicles. Once clean, she stepped out only to be taken by surprise, finding Mirai standing outside the gateway to the decontamination room. He wore a black jumper and matching jeans.

“Mirai! You scared the shit out of me! I thought you were waiting in the Great Hall?” she exclaimed, pocketing her HoloPad.

Mirai laughed. “Surprised you? Seriously? I waited for at least half an hour before coming here. I’d say I’m the one surprised you didn’t get carried away with your work again,” he said, gesturing for her to lead the way.

“True, I do tend to get carried away sometimes. Immersion doesn’t even begin to—” she furrowed her brows. “You seem relaxed,” she stated trepidatiously.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, it’s ‘cause Indra’s not around,” Mirai leaned in to whisper. “He’s a little too observant when it comes to his little sister. I think he’s starting to pick up on us, y’know?”

“Us? Keep dreaming, Kitahara,” Aisha rolled her eyes.

“I’ll win you over one day, you’ll see,” Mirai grinned.

“I can’t wait,” she laughed.

Though she didn’t say it, Aisha agreed with Mirai’s assessment of her brother. I just wish he was a little more perceptive of his own issues, though.

“We should get our meals to go,” Mirai waved his HoloPad. “Akula sent me a message saying to meet him in the library for a study session.”

“Right, the Citizenship Licensure Exam. Is there any need for me to take it?” Aisha asked, underwhelmed at the prospect of leaving the Matriarch.

Mirai slapped his forehead. “Shit, I forgot, you missed the meeting this morning. Regardless of whether you want to make use of your citizenship, the licensure exams are still mandatory to pass under penalty of immediate contract termination.”

Aisha’s ambivalence turned to concern. “Seriously?! Now I have to take a stupid exam just to stay here, or else they’ll kick me out?”

Mirai nodded, wearing a troubled expression.

“There’s a problem with the terms of this exam. Say for instance a Homunculus does intend to terminate their contract with the company. Have you ever heard of one living outside the confines of a Lunar Gate Matriarch?”

Aisha shook her head, confused as to what Mirai was getting at.

“Okay, let me put it this way. This exam has been on the back-burner for years. Why now of all times did the Oligarchs decide to push this policy through? What do they stand to gain from allowing their science experiments to run free amongst civilians? Aren’t we first and foremost considered bioweapons?” Mirai explained.

Aisha nodded this time following along, still unable to see the big picture.

“So why give us designations as citizens with rights, unless the incentive to have us stationed within the domestic populace of Yuèliàng is exponentially more appealing than the potential fallout? This brings me back to my initial point: you never see Homunculi that aren’t contracted with Lunar Gate outside the Matriarchs. The examination itself seems to be serving as a tool to weed out anyone who isn't a company loyalist. Although the incentive to become a citizen is a major driving force for many Homunculi, what’s to become of those that refuse to follow suit? Do they just walk free? No, they’re still considered bioweapons, property of the company and by extension the state. Why have bioweapons in a heavily populated country such as Yuèliàng in the first place?” Mirai raised a finger.

“I think we may be in the midst of early preparations for war. One that requires the mobilization of Homunculi not just to our borders, but domestically as well.”

“Wha—how’d you deduce all that from just an exam mandate?” Aisha questioned.

“I didn’t come up with it on my own, Cecil’s been supplying me with information—”

“—Cecil? Did it ever occur to you that maybe he was pulling your leg? Throwing wool over your eyes?” Aisha threw her hands up in disbelief.

“Yeah the thought did occur to me, and I was initially suspicious about his claims, but Cecil’s been on the front lines more often than any of us. He was stationed close to Domestic Affairs at one point, so he probably overheard one of their conversations,” Mirai defended.

“Does anyone else know?” Aisha asked, still dubious of Mirai’s claims.

“Yeah, Akula does, and so does Dr. Ouma.”

“So I was the only one out of the loop?” she huffed.

“No, Indra is too, but I’m sure Akula’ll get him up to speed. It’s also the reason why he asked us to join him in the library today.”

“This is crazy,” Aisha groaned, putting her hand to her head. “So really, this exam could very well determine our futures?”

Mirai shrugged. “There are retests available for the exam, refusal is the only way to terminate your contract in this case. I wouldn’t sweat the details about the exam itself, but the circumstances surrounding the exam’s sudden approval is cause for concern.”

The two reached the Great Hall, grabbing a takeout box and stuffing it to the brim with food before hastening towards the library eager to learn more about the state of Homunculi affairs. Awaiting their arrival were a trio, hunched over a table, heads together suspiciously murmuring in what appeared to be a heated debate.

"...You basically said that you’re interested in her but that isn’t the same as telling someone you love them. Keep that in mind. At the very least she’s interested too, or humoring you,” warned Akula.

"And I'm telling you that it ain't that complicated. If Indra and Vivian are agreeing to go out there're definitely romantic undertones to this date. They're well past the 'getting to know each other phase' at this point," stressed Cecil.

“Okay, suppose she is humoring me, how do I go about securing a second date?” Indra whispered cautiously.

“Focus on making the first date memorable and endearing, if all goes well a second date should be the natural conclusion,” recommended Akula.

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying? She promised him three…” Aisha couldn’t make out the last word. “Three! How blunt does she have to be before you two morons realize that she’s definitely more than interested?” Cecil rebuked.

“Sorry to interrupt this extremely important conversation you guys are having here but don’t we have more pressing issues to deal with?” interrupted Aisha.

“This is important,” retorted Indra.

“Yeah well, we’ll see if you even have the guts to ask Vivi out,” she snickered.

“I already asked her to join us during the festival,” he grinned smugly.

Aisha was taken aback. She looked to the other two for confirmation. They both nodded. Something cracked inside her psyche.

“You asked her? Are you sure you weren’t dreaming? Maybe you just thought you asked her out.”

“Nope,” Indra waved her suspicions away. “Here, look—” he pointed to his HoloPad. “—Written confirmation.”

Aisha looked incredulously at her brother.

“What’s with that look?” he asked indignantly.

She closed her eyes, accepting the reality of the situation. Then, her expression turned serious. Aisha slapped her hand on Indra’s shoulder, her gaze boring holes in his eyes. “Don’t do anything weird,” she cautioned.

“It’s just a date! I wasn’t planning on doing anything weird!” Indra exclaimed, pulling away from his sister.

A wave of shushes came from the rest of the library's occupants directed at the noise. Mirai could only shake his head in embarrassment, a palm to his forehead. Cecil and Akula stifled each other’s laughter, a hand over one another’s mouths as Indra glared at them. It took a moment for the two to successfully suppress their laughter, after which they gestured for the others to take a seat at the table. Once all five of them were seated Akula began to relay the details surrounding the citizenship exam Mirai had discreetly explained to Aisha earlier.

***

“You’re kidding! That’s quite a stretch!” Indra leaned back in his chair in disbelief.

“It's true, I overheard Domestic Affairs talking about it while I was stationed near Levante, but I didn’t think they would go through with it until they actually announced the citizenship exam,” explained Cecil.

“I think it’s best if we just remain cautious of our situation. Let’s focus on the exam for now and when we go to Zìyóugǎng for the Duānwǔ Festival we’ll remain vigilant and observe the city for any further developments. Does that sound like a plan?” Akula asked.

The others nodded confirming their agreement.

“Okay, so now that that’s out of the way—” Akula pulled out a textbook from a bag underneath his seat and dropped it on the table with a resounding thud. “—Let’s start studying,” he grinned.

***

A couple of hours passed and the arrogant grin he initially flashed had all but worn off as Akula clutched his head struggling to memorize all the intricacies of the exam; hundreds of rules regarding civilian etiquette and interaction, identification of wildlife and flora, locations open to the public, restricted zones specially allocated for their training and stationing, standardized floor plans, building safety codes, and a mountain of other minute details riddled the informational textbook.

“Why’d they decide to include so much useless information in this piece of shit!” He tore at his hair.

Cecil grunted in agreement, also finding it difficult to grasp all the trivial information of the exam’s content.

“You guys said yourselves, the Oligarchs and Domestic Affairs might have ulterior motives in sending us out into the country. Stationing us in the cities as opposed to the Matriarchs carries numerous risks to the population so having candidates with a cohesive understanding of all aspects of the country is necessary for minimizing risk to citizens as well as their own expenditures,” Aisha deduced.

“We’ve been at this for a few hours,” Indra added. “Why don’t we call it quits for tonight and continue studying tomorrow? If we just chip away at it every day we can probably cover all the material fairly quickly.”

“The problem isn’t covering the material, it’s making sure that it sticks,” moaned Cecil, jabbing a finger at his temple. "I don't think I have nearly enough comprehension skills to retain all of this information come exam day," he complained.

"Don't worry about it. Indra and I can make cheat sheets for you guys to study. We'll condense key points for you to focus on for now," Mirai reassured Cecil.

"My kouhai, you're a lifesaver!" Cecil threw himself at Mirai’s feet. "You treat your senpai too kindly!"

Mirai looked at him with disgust. "On second thought maybe I'll keep the cheat sheets to myself."

"Wait! Wait! It was a joke! Just a joke, alright? Don't forsake me like this!" Cecil clinched his arms tightly around Mirai’s ankles, trapping him.

"L-let go! People are watching! Okay, I get it! I'll give you the sheets, just let me go!" Mirai attempted to wrench his feet from Cecil's iron grip.

Aisha couldn't help but chuckle. Looking at the scene unfolding in front of her, she longed for the six of them, including Vivian, to remain just as they were in this picturesque environment. But she knew that it was just wishful thinking. Circumstances would change as they would for any other person over the course of their lives. Indra and Vivian had already taken the first steps towards change and now with the citizenship exam drawing near she realized that none of her friends would be content with just staying put. They were too restless to sit complacently within the confines of Matriarch 07, living out the rest of their lives in ignorant bliss. She sighed wistfully, snapping a picture with her HoloPad, saving the moment to their shared photo folder. There would come a day when she would reminisce about memories long gone, but she hoped that day wouldn’t arrive anytime soon.

***

After saying their goodbyes the five Homunculi split up, returning to their rooms to rest before resuming the arduous task of compiling and memorizing every aspect of the required exam material the next day. Aisha strolled casually along the cool hallways, running her fingertips along the reinforced white walls, plastered with memos and advertisements for different products available for Homunculi to purchase. She ignored the messages and reached the girl’s dormitory, stopping by the shower room before entering her room swiftly.

She had a room similar to Indra’s, albeit her’s served as a two-person bedroom. Aisha had a roommate at one point, though the two hardly spoke and not long after they met each other the girl had died while on the front lines of the Levante-Yuèliàng border, leaving Aisha with a larger-than-normal room. She awaited the inevitable roommate reassignment, but it never came. Instead of mulling over the details, she decided to use the extra space to store her tools and extra gadgets that she had been tinkering with. It came as quite a shock to her when she opened the door to her room only to find a sleeping Vivian sprawled out on the extra bed wearing nothing but a tank top and high-waist shorts.

“Vivi?” Aisha inquired apprehensively.

“Huh? Hmm?” Vivian sat up from her slumber, rubbing the sleep from her eyes while letting out a light yawn. “You called?”

“What are you doing in my room? Don’t you usually go back to Zìyóugǎng? You have an apartment there, right?” Aisha looked puzzled.

“Yeah, I do, but work has been killing me lately. I’m absolutely up to my neck with orders to make sure Homunculi are fit to serve within the city, designing new equipment for field support and domestic operations, stealth technology for covert monitoring, et cetera et cetera. It’s gotten to the point where commuting back and forth from the city would just waste more time. So I’m going to be crashing here for a while, if that’s okay with you?” she said.

“Okay, but will the Resident Administrators be alright with this? I mean, won’t you get in trouble if they find out?” Aisha asked as she slipped into her own nightwear, an oversized t-shirt and shorts.

“Relax, Aisha,” Vivian stated nonchalantly. “I made preparations specifically for occasions like this. The RA’s are totally fine with this arrangement. Why do you think you’ve been able to stay in the double bedroom all this time in the first place?”

“So it was your doing? I always wondered why they never assigned me another roommate.” Aisha looked relieved.

“Hehe, it helps when you’ve got such an influential friend, doesn’t it? Plus, now we can be roomies for a little while!” Vivan laughed exuberantly. “Tell me all your secrets, muhahaha.”

Aisha laughed. Suddenly, she got an idea. Grinning deviously she asked, “Speaking of secrets, why don’t you tell me one of yours, Vivi?”

Vivan stared at Aisha confused. “Huh? My secrets? I don’t have anything to hide, though.”

Aisha grinned once more. “Then what is this I hear about you and my brother going on a date to the Duānwǔ Festival?”

Vivian’s cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. “W-well, y’know, he just asked me and I-I couldn’t say no...” she trailed off.

“So you were just being polite then?” Aisha asked, unconvinced. “So then why’d you turn down that guy from Kǔ Shén’s Hyenas the other day? He asked you the same thing, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but that’s—it’s different, okay?” Vivian pleaded for her to drop the subject.

“How so?”

“It just is!”

Aisha’s eyes narrowed. Vivian tried to avert her gaze as the girl picked her apart.

“Okay, okay I may have accepted his request for other reasons.” Vivian put her hands up in defeat.

She looked away again as her cheeks grew even redder, the color creeping into her ears.

“Are you really alright with it? You are aware of the way he looks at you, right?” Aisha commented.

Vivian gave her a nervous chuckle. “Considering I’m doing the same to him I’d say I’m alright with it.”

“Ah, I get it, you’re both creeps,” Aisha teased.

“N-no! It’s perfectly healthy to—”

“I’m just messing with you,” Aisha laughed. “But—” she paused, biting her nails. “—I am curious to know what you see in him?”

Vivian pondered for a moment. “I’m not so sure, myself. Indra’s considerate and thoughtful, he’s always conscious about the way he acts around me. He’s dependable; someone that I can always count on, putting out fires in my lab, helping me out whenever he can, keeping me company…I guess he’s always been by my side. He’s important to me, just like all of you are, but in a different way.” She twiddled her index fingers shyly. “There’s just one problem with this whole thing.”

Aisha leaned forward listening intently. She could barely contain herself, blurting out, “Well, what is it?” before she could stop herself. Vivian drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them, her complexion a bright red.

“When you both moved to this Matriarch I was sixteen. Indra was around eight and you were about four. As an older person at this compound, I took it upon myself to take care of you guys along with the others who came to the Matriarch: Akula and Mirai. Cecil was already eleven by then; he refused to let me take care of him.” She smiled. “I was happy to substitute as a big sister and watch you all grow, living contently, far away from war and famine. But you were all infected with the Aria Virus and had to undergo treatment to stop the disease. The payment for curing your ailments was to undergo Homunculus enhancement surgery and to sign a contract with Lunar Gate. All of you agreed to do it knowing the risks of the surgery and somehow all of you survived. To tell you the truth, the fear and guilt I felt for sending you to the surgical ward and the relief that rushed over me when I saw no one was missing upon your return still haunt me.” Vivian had a pained expression on her face. “The night of the surgery, before you were given anesthetic, Indra pulled me aside. He asked me ‘Vivian if I die, will you look after Aisha?’” She chuckled this time. “I thought it was sweet, he was just a kid, but he was still thinking of his little sister. So I told him that I would look after you. You should have seen his smile.”

“Where’s this going?” Aisha asked.

“He cares a lot about us. This group, we’re his family. I don’t think he realizes how much he relies on us and how much we rely on him. We all grew up together; I practically raised him, and now I’m entertaining the idea of a romantic relationship with him. He’s young and I feel like maybe I’m taking advantage of the situation…”

“So you’re worried that you’re manipulating him because you’re older and we’ve known each other for so long?”

Vivian nodded. “Maybe he’d be better off with a girl his age, but it makes me happy that he still sees me that way.”

Aisha sighed, falling back onto her bed dramatically. “You both make everything so complicated.”

“But isn’t it more fun that way?” Vivian replied, reaching for the light switch. The room turned pitch-black.

“Maybe to you, but if I were in that kind of situation I would just get fed up and walk away.” She rolled over in the direction of Vivian. “He’s only got about ten years left. Is this really a good idea, Vivi?” Aisha awaited Vivian’s response in the dark, not daring to close her eyes until she received an answer.

“I’m not worried. Whatever time we have together, I’ll cherish.” Vivian answered from across the room.

“What if another woman snatches him up?”

There was only silence.

Aisha rolled onto her back again. “Nevermind. Forget what I said. ‘Night, Vivi.”

“Goodnight, Aisha.”

There was a soft rustle of sheets as Vivian tossed and turned before getting comfortable in her mattress. Aisha lay on her back staring at the ceiling, watching a pale sliver of light from the moon peeking through the curtains. Ten years, huh? Now that I think about it, maybe staying here isn’t the solution. What do I want to accomplish in the next ten years before Indra, Cecil, and Akula have passed? Mirai and I will live for around the same amount of time, but even he’ll be gone before me. Eventually, I’ll go too and Vivi’ll be all alone. Indra said he was content living in her memories… So that’s what we’ll do. We’ll make lasting memories so that we can cherish these fleeting moments for the rest of our lives. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan…

Aisha’s eyelids drooped and her consciousness drifted into a state of tranquility. Tomorrow was the start of a new objective. A new goal for her to pursue, an outstretched hand always seeking the next memory, the next moment of reflection to share with the others. Yes, this was a good plan…