The new pair of Commander and Nikke hung around BA-01’s wreck for just a while longer. Commander ensured his handgun was okay. To his surprise his standard issue pistol was still in its holster strapped to his waist. Besides a few scratches, it seemed to function normally. The magazine could be ejected and re-seated just fine, and the slide moved as it should. Chambering a round, Commander holstered his pistol and grabbed a few spare magazines from a fallen ally. He knew he couldn’t harm a Rapture in any way, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to believe he could defend himself when necessary.

Taking one final look at Flower and saying goodbye to her in his mind, Commander was ready to leave. That was until he saw a gash in Marian’s thigh. Without saying anything, he moved to the blue canvas medical bag that had saved his life, pulled out some bandages and approached his Nikke. 

“Commander, I’m not a human anymore. That’s not going to help.” She immediately understood what the young man wanted to do and protested his actions. Androids needed repairs back at the Ark. Out in the field there is little that can be done to fix up a Nikke, unless someone in the squad is capable of using nanomachines for a rushed repair. Marian was aware of Noise, a Nikke who used music to control nanomachines that could patch up her allies. She sounded like a useful Nikke to have in the squad.

“I don’t care, sit down and let me fix you up.” While Commander’s plan was to make Nikke feel human again, he didn’t expect the first step towards his goal to be treating a Nikke when she was injured. Commander saw a wound and the thought simply came to him. He decided he needed to do something about the damage, even if he couldn’t truly heal his Nikke.

Once Marian overcame her reluctance, she flashed Commander that same gentle smile from just a few minutes ago and sat down. It was a little embarrassing to focus on Commander as he fixed up her leg so she spoke about what they were going to do next. “I’ve double checked the map. Our rendezvous point is about a mile North, but I doubt it’ll be a straight shot.”

Right, the mission… Commander thought to himself. So much had happened that he’d almost forgotten why he was in this city. He was here to assist in finding a lost patrol of Nikke. Because information was on a need-to-know basis, and he was a brand-new commander, he didn’t know anything else about his objective. He was simply there to follow orders. But with everyone else dead, it fell to this inexperienced young man to complete the mission. By the sound of it they were heading to meet more allies, since it was a rendezvous point, not the actual objective. It was safe to assume he would relinquish command of Marian and take control of some mass-produced Nikke again when he arrived.

After Commander spun bandages around Marian’s leg four or five times, her wound was completely covered. Standing and stretching a hand out to his companion, he spoke. “It’ll have to do for now. Let’s get going.”

“I appreciate the thought. Thank you, Commander.” Marian said as she took Commander’s hand and stood up. She pushed her injured leg into the ground with some force, happy that her bandages appeared to be sturdy. A bit of pressure wasn’t going to reveal her wound again by causing the bandage to loosen. “Now then, let's move out.”

Walking away from BA-01, Commander and Marian headed East along a road four lanes wide. With the city they found themselves in being the home to countless battles over the years, there was no easy way to get to their destination. Fifteen-storey buildings had toppled, blocking streets. Checkpoints were overflowing with rusty, worn-down vehicles. No matter where they looked, there were no signs to suggest humanity had called this place home anytime recently. Grass burrowed through cracks in the asphalt roads, trees grew wherever they could and moss was forming atop cars. It was hard to believe this was once a city jam-packed with millions of people rushing around all day, every day.

Ten minutes into their walk, Marian spoke up. “I think we’re getting close, but are you okay? Do you need to rest?”

Commander hadn’t thought about it much, but since Marian had asked he realised that he was a little unsteady on his feet. It wasn’t surprising, his heart had momentarily stopped not too long ago. His body was most likely still in the recovery stage. Pushing himself to move forward and finish his mission wasn’t the smartest idea. But if he didn’t complete this mission then who would? The Central Government didn’t know the squad was down to just two members, one of which couldn’t fight. The Ark may not care about Nikke, they may be doing this search and rescue mission just to save face, but at this point the reasoning of his higher-ups’ decisions didn’t matter. Commander wanted to find the lost Nikke for better or for worse. They deserved to be in someone’s memories at the very least. If he had to lay them to rest in his mind then he would do so, but he was definitely hoping he would find them alive.

“I’m a little dizzy, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“I can always carry you if you want.” A mischievous grin crept across Marian’s face. At least her mood had improved since earlier. It was a life-or-death situation but that didn’t mean they had to be emotionless machines. A bit of levity never hurt anyone.

“Maybe when we’re heading back to the Ark.” Commander returned her smile with one of his own. He would feel bad for actually taking her up on that offer, but he could see himself doing it. Resting on her back while she walked towards the nearest Ark elevator sounded like a good way to get some rest.

Nodding happily, Marian continued to say that lifting a person was nothing to her. Like lifting a feather. Commander was well aware of how strong even an average, mass-produced Nikke was. It was why his pistol would do nothing to Raptures but Marian’s submachine gun was able to tear through metal like it were a single sheet of paper. Nikke had high calibre weapons while Commander had a regular calibre that had been used by humans for centuries. If Commander were to fire a single bullet from Marian’s weapon, the recoil would probably dislocate his shoulder. Maybe it would even break a bone or two.

“Get to cover, quick!” 

Marian’s shouting snapped Commander out of his dream of imagining what it would be like to use a Nikke weapon. He could hear them. Raptures. There was only one way to reach the rendezvous point so it was up to Marian to push through and destroy any and all enemies in Commander’s path.

Commander ducked behind a concrete blockade that had probably been placed here during the height of the Rapture invasion of Earth and watched around the corner as Marian fought.

She was strong, there was no doubt about it. Marian ran head first into danger, thinking that if her enemies got too close then Commander would be in trouble. She couldn’t allow such a thing to happen. Unleashing quick bursts of bullets that pierced Rapture bodies and dropped them, she sprinted around the battlefield, ducking between cars and other solid objects while constantly pushing forward.

It didn’t take long for Marian to arrive in front of a Rapture with two miniguns on its back. She got in close as the Rapture fired its weapons, so all of its bullets missed her. In response the Nikke weakened her grip on her weapon and held the trigger down, allowing recoil to take control of her gun and shoot straight up the Rapture, carving it in two. Letting go of her gun completely and letting it swing to her side thanks to a sling, Marian grabbed one of the still firing miniguns and ripped it from her enemy’s corpse. Some cords and an ammo belt dangled between the minigun and the Rapture, connecting the two. This was exactly what she needed. The minigun was still being supplied with power and ammunition. Once her new weapon was pointed at Raptures, she mowed them down with ease. She must’ve dropped a dozen Raptures with the minigun before it stopped firing.

And then she noticed it. An Orchestrion. An annoying Rapture to fight due to the rockets strapped to its back. Marian was so focused on dealing with any Rapture within her site that she forgot to assess the attacking force properly. Orchestrion launched one of its eight rockets at Marian. She had long since ditched her Rapture weapon and dove for cover, but the rocket hit no more than ten feet away from her. The subsequent orange explosion deafened Marian and sent her flying through a building’s wall. Nikke were weighty, metal constructs, but that didn’t mean they were completely unaffected by powerful forces. Many higher tier Raptures packed enough punch to knock Nikke down.

Shrapnel had embedded itself in her back and arm, but it didn’t ruin any of her important functions from what she could tell. Coughing after inhaling some dust, Marian brushed her hair back and stood up in the fast-food shop’s lobby lit by dull sunlight still struggling to pierce the clouds. It was now or never. Running out of the building as another Orchestrion rocket approached, Marian decided to activate her Burst. 

Plenty of Nikke had what could be described as a magic power and it was often referred to as a Burst. No one knew why, as when Nikke were human they displayed no such characteristic. Creators of Nikke just had to assume there was something about the technology used to transfer a brain into an android body that appeared to also give Nikke a power if they so desired it. Some Nikke are able to create shields to protect their allies while others can take control of friend and foe alike. Marian herself was able to wield a Burst and it was well suited for combating hordes of enemies.

Upwards of twenty dazzling blue lights appeared above the Nikke’s head as Orchestrion’s rocket flew past her and hit the store she’d just exited. Digging her heels in, Marian was unmoved by the explosion at her back as she pointed the palm of her hand at the Raptures and her power was unleashed. The blue lights floating around the immediate area were raw energy akin to laser beams created by Raptures. Her sapphire lasers fired and tore through all the metal enemies standing against her, leaving absolutely none of them alive. Orchestrion’s rockets were hit in the sea of azure, causing them to explode on its back, turning the boss of this enemy group into dust.

Having so many explosives detonate next to a high-rise tower caused the already dilapidated building to moan and crumble. Seeing the structure falling, Marian began running in the direction she’d originally come from. Back to her commander. She didn’t want herself or her commander caught up in what could end up being a domino effect. One building could fall into another with such force that the second building would fall too. Luckily Commander had watched the entire fight so knew why Marian approached him. He was already ready to move.

“Fall back, Commander!” She shouted over the sounds of concrete crashing into asphalt, before grabbing his arm and pulling him along. Marian may be in a rush, but she was sure to limit her own strength. If she pulled him too hard his arm could come off.

As the falling building struck the ground, dust was pushed one-hundred metres out and completely engulfed Marian and Commander, but they were not injured in any way. They continued to run for a few more seconds until they were out of the dust cloud. Marian let go of Commander’s arm but they continued to jog until they felt like they were a safe distance from the devastation.

Panting heavily, Commander spoke. “Well, this is an eventful day at least…”

Giving him a wry smile, Marian nodded. What concerned her more was that they just had their route cut off. The high-rise that’d fallen due to Orchestrion being destroyed had stretched across the road they were walking along, cutting them off from an easy route. She needed to get Commander to the rendezvous point as soon as possible. There were sure to be more Nikke there, which greatly improved Commander’s chance of survival.

Tapping the side of her head, Marian created a hologram from her right eye. Commander had heard of something like this. A Nikke was capable of emitting a sound that could create a map using echolocation, and then one of their eyes acted as a projector so the map could be shown to others. That was a handy piece of tech, but it belonged specifically to unique Nikke. Mass-produced units didn’t have this handy feature. 

Marian stood there, tapping at the map with her right hand. She would spin the map around, pinch to zoom in and out, and then move on until she seemed to finally see what she wanted to see. Commander wondered if Marian’s hand movements were actually moving the map, or if she was moving the map with orders from her brain and she just found it easier to think the orders if she also acted out the movements with her hands.

“There.” She said, pointing at a specific part of the map. Within a one-hundred metre radius there was only one way through. It wasn’t surprising, so many areas were off-limits due to all the destruction. “There’s a way through a building nearby. It looks like a tight squeeze, but I’ll break the wall and make the opening larger if I have to.”

Nikke may be strong, but commanders were not. Marian couldn’t just punch a path through any building in her way. These structures were already on their last legs, going and destroying multiple walls could cause them to topple. If she were alone then sure, she could basically just run straight to her objective, straight through any wall that was in her way. But with a commander around it was better to be safe than sorry. She needed to refrain from causing too much destruction.

With Marian in the lead, Commander followed her as the pair soon arrived at a rundown, moss-covered clothing store. Heading inside and walking into the back of the shop resulted in the pair finding the gap Marian had pointed out. It was indeed a small gap. The corner of the back wall had crumbled away, likely due to stray bullets hitting it at some point in time. But this was not a big gap at all. It was fit for a child, not an adult.

“Wait here a moment, I’ll go ahead and make sure it’s safe.” Marian said after exchanging glances with Commander. They were probably thinking the same thing, that this gap was too small, but neither of them said it.

As gently as she could, Marian began punching at the wall to open up the existing gap a little more and then began to squeeze herself through the gap. Commander was honestly surprised her chest made it through the hole without issue, but then Marian moved up prematurely and got her waist caught on the side of the oblong hole. While he watched her rear move about, he was also rude enough to think of her chest. In his mind Commander saw Marian’s chest bouncing around as she frantically tried to free herself.

Commander scratched the stubble on his cheek as he tried to turn both his eyes and his mind away from such things, but it wasn’t easy due to Marian’s next move. She had become exasperated at her situation and used brute force to open the gap in the wall further, freeing herself but falling onto her hands and knees in the process. Commander definitely saw something that time. That skirt was way too short.

“You can come on through, it’s all clear.” Marian sighed, rising to her feet and patting herself down. She even took note to straighten her light blue tie so she looked presentable.

Following his Nikke’s lead, Commander went ahead and squeezed himself through the gap in the wall. A perfect fit, pretty much. Once he was through to the other side, Commander instinctively raised a hand to cover his face for a moment as he was hit by a bright light. He’d been in the building for a minute or two so his eyes had naturally adjusted to the dark interior, but just as he got back outside the clouds above parted, allowing the sun to shine down on him. It was nice to see the sun for the first time today. It warmed him.

“The rendezvous point is just up ahead.” Marian stated right as gunshots rang out from nearby. She didn’t need to say anything else. Both herself and Commander understood the situation. They were most likely late, so the squad they were meant to meet had been waiting around too long. It also wasn’t farfetched to believe BA-01 blowing up was what was drawing Raptures to the area, so the rendezvous was under attack because of Commander and Marian.

Racing off to aid their allies, the pair soon arrived at the battle. Flying Raptures with turrets hanging from their main body were firing at some chest high walls, and Commander could just about make out two people occasionally peeking around corners. Considering they were in the fight, it was safe to assume they were Nikke. They were pinned down in a dead end, a multi-storey structure on either side and then one behind them.

“We’re helping them, Marian!” Commander raised his voice over the heavy gunfire. He looked at her, seeing her acknowledge his orders and shoulder her submachine gun.

Marian moved in to flank the Raptures from the side, firing her weapon and swatting the enemies out of the sky like flies. One of the allies pinned down popped up from behind cover and fired her six-round rotary grenade launcher, hitting a few enemies with just one shot. It was their own fault for being clustered together. Rapture fire focused on the Nikke with the grenade launcher, so she swiftly ducked back behind cover. She moved so fast that her black hat was left floating without a head to rest upon, to which the Nikke reached up and grabbed her hat just before any bullets hit her or, God forbid, her hat.

Some ground-based Raptures entered the fight, jumping off a nearby elevated highway that was heavily damaged. It was weird for them to ditch the high ground, but no one ever accused Raptures of being smart. They relied purely on brute forcing fights until they won.

Their miniguns spat hundreds of rounds of lead in mere seconds, completely destroying cover and forcing Marian to advance. More explosions littered the battlefield as the grenade launcher Nikke covered Marian and forced the minigun Raptures to change who they were shooting at. This allowed Marian a chance to run without being struck and she used this opportunity to her advantage. She slid under a Rapture, used a small amount of her Burst to blow it up from beneath, then once she was out from underneath the Rapture she kicked herself off the ground and rammed into an enemy with her shoulder, crushing its lens.

Backing off by jumping through the window of a bus, Marian took cover as the Rapture she damaged fired its miniguns wildly, hitting friend and foe alike. That took care of a decent number of Raptures, but she prematurely believed the fight was all but won. Much to her dismay, when she assessed her surroundings she saw more enemies approaching. They were arriving from the North and the West. There was some luck to her situation though, and that was that the bus she was on was big and bulky and vertical on a compass. It would completely cover her from the enemies approaching via the West, so she only needed to focus on the North.

Clambering out of one of the bus’s windows, Marian caught a stray round with her shoulder. She just kept taking more and more damage as the day progressed, to the point where she wondered what state she’d be in by the time the mission was over. Firing upon Northern enemies in an attempt to suppress them, Marian managed to avoid taking any more damage by getting behind a concrete blockade. Her two Nikke allies, the one with the grenade launcher and the one with the rifle, fired North as they approached her.

“Are you the only one left?! I know beggars can’t be choosers but I wouldn’t mind some more support!” Grenade Launcher Nikke shouted as bullets and the occasional laser hit all around them. She swung open a yellow cap on her weapon’s cylinder and pushed four bronze, rounded grenades into the cylinder with practised efficiency. She always kept her current ammo count in mind during a battle. It was best to be topped up whenever possible.

Dread immediately filled Marian’s chest as she looked around like a child that had lost her parent. Where was Commander? She rushed into this battle without ensuring her commander was tucked away in a safe location. She was confident in his ability to look after himself, he should know the drill already, but she couldn’t help but worry. She needed to find him immediately, she needed to make sure he was alive and uninjured. Nikke were to protect their commander no matter what, she should’ve kept a closer eye on him. Marian wanted to get up and rush to where she believed Commander should be, but the Nikke with the rifle stopped her. 

“We’ve got company.” She said in a monotone voice. 

And she was right. Perennial, a flying Rapture with a brutal energy attack that could home in on targets, had appeared. It hovered about ten metres above ground, in line with the damaged elevated highway. It almost looked like a flower that wasn’t quite ready to bloom, but in reverse. Its thin, petal-like wings were aimed down at the ground. No one really knew how Raptures worked, but it had always been safe to assume those petal-like appendages functioned as wings and were responsible for the machine’s ability to fly.

As Marian debated how to defeat her enemy in a swift manner so she could make sure Commander was safe, something happened that not only Marian but the other two Nikke that were taking cover beside her couldn’t believe. A young man who looked suspiciously like the commander currently in charge of Marian was atop the elevated highway. He tossed a small red canister over Perennial, whipped out his sidearm and shot it three times. A small orange explosion spawned from the canister Commander had thrown. It was a gas canister he’d found sitting in front of a nearby store. When no one was looking and the Raptures were focusing fire on the three Nikke, Commander had taken it upon himself to act. He wanted to be as useful as possible. The explosion he had created was no high-grade Nikke weapon like a grenade launcher, but it should at least stun Raptures and make it easier for Nikke to take them out. It wasn’t much but it was the best he could do given the circumstances.

Commander’s thought process was correct. Perennial was knocked down to the ground, to which the Nikke with the sleek black rifle gave orders. 

“Anis, go!”

“Gladly!” The one called Anis replied, vaulting over a car bonnet. She fired two grenades at Perennial as she ran, hitting her target both times. With two of its petal wings heavily damaged, the Rapture that was supposed to be airborne couldn’t gain any height. It was a sitting duck. Jamming the barrel of her weapon between Perennial’s wings, Anis winked at the Rapture and said, “No hard feelings, yeah?” as she pulled the trigger.

A massive hole opened up in Perennial as its internals blew up, taking it out of the fight. While Anis had moved to take down the highest-ranking Rapture, both Marian and the Rifle Nikke flanked her and laid down some covering fire, taking out the remaining Northern Raptures.

From his perch, the elevated highway, Commander shouted down to the Nikke trio. “More enemies from the West!”

Wasting no time, the three combatants took cover and proceeded to lay waste to their Rapture foes. It was just business as usual. Even another Perennial enemy was no match for the trio. Marian’s Burst carved holes through metal, Anis unleashed volleys of grenades and the one with the rifle was extremely accurate. She knew exactly where to hit Raptures to drop them fast.

No more than a minute had passed and the second phase of their battle was over. They’d won. Commander made his way down a collapsed piece of road that connected the elevated highway to the street below and dusted himself off before approaching his allies.

“Good work you three.” Commander said, observing that the Nikke with the grenade launcher was around the same height as Marian, but the one with the rifle was noticeably shorter.

Continuing to get a good look at the two women he’d never seen before, Commander was once again surprised by how attractive Nikke were. On his left stood a woman wearing a black coat coloured red on the inside. Her light brown hair was a little messy as it swayed across her back. What drew Commander’s attention the most were her exposed thighs. Did all Nikke have such plump legs? Discreetly stealing a glance at Marian and Anis, he was certain of it. Their thighs were so plump that there was no thigh gap. There was no space separating the thighs. Whoever was making these android bodies had an acquired taste.

To his right, the woman named Anis not only revealed her thighs thanks to some absurdly short jean shorts but apparently she had no modesty when it came to her chest. Her shirt looked about ready to slip off. And it appeared as though she hadn’t bothered with underwear because Commander was certain he could see her areola. The cherry on top was her shirt being too short and revealing her tummy. But besides her revealing outfit, Anis seemed somewhat normal. Short brown hair that wouldn’t get in the way, a thick coat that would typically cover someone up and ammo belts for her grenades. It was a strange appearance, she seemed ready for multiple types of combat. Commander quickly had to dispel the image of a bed in his mind.

Putting her hands behind her head and interlocking her fingers, Anis complained. “I wondered when someone was going to show up. I was getting real tired of waiting.”

“Thank you for the assistance. We were told to wait, so we did. I was not going to abandon my post.” The one with the rifle stated confidently, shooting a glare towards Anis who responded by putting her hands above her head as a gesture for surrendering. “I’m Rapi and this is Anis.”

Cradling her right shoulder, Marian spoke up. “Well I am Marian, a member of Silver Gun…” She said, then gestured to Commander with her left hand. “...And this is my Commander.”

Anis’ eyes widened slightly, recognising the name. She recalled reading a brief overview of the mission which had a list of assisting Nikke. The Nikke before her right now was on that list. “You were on the transport ship, right? How on Earth did you two survive? That explosion looked crazy even from a mile away. And this guy’s a human to boot. Damn, that’s some insane luck you got there. Can I have some?”

Commander smiled wryly, remembering why he survived. As he did, Anis continued talking about how this whole situation seemed fishy. As she questioned his authority and whether he really held the position of commander, the young man just nodded and confirmed his status. Suddenly remembering Flower and Sun had certainly put a dampener on his mood. Just moments ago he was appreciating some good-looking Nikke, but now he was reminded of death and sacrifice. 

Without Commander realising it, the Nikke in red and black spoke into a microphone. A code of ‘04-F Counters’ was read out. If Commander’s memory served him correctly, that would be her squad’s code and name. She was transferring herself over to him in order to continue the mission. Seeing as there were no other people around, the young man could assume Rapi’s previous commander was deceased. This was no good. He wasn’t paying attention because he was stuck mourning for those he’d lost. He needed to force it to the back of his mind. Once he was back at the Ark he could think about Flower and Sun all he wanted. For now he needed to focus.

“Rapi, we don’t even know him. Are you sure about this?” Anis said, side-eyeing Commander. While it was true that he was the only person around to command them, she didn’t like the idea of serving under someone she just met. Anis usually had a bit of time, maybe upwards of a few hours, to get used to a commander before needing to take orders from them. This was too sudden for her.

“We don’t have time to argue, Anis. This place is crawling with Raptures. We work together to complete our mission.” Rapi spoke with authority but she was stuck with that monotone voice, it seemed.

Anis begrudgingly accepted what her ally, and likely friend, was saying. She gave a nod and said, “That’s true I guess…”

Turning her attention to the last human attached to this mission, Rapi spoke clearly. “From now on, you’re in command. As the former commander is unable to issue orders at present, no formal procedures are necessary to transfer authority over to you.”

“Guess I’ve got no choice. Welcome to the team, New Commander.” Anis said as she put her hands back behind her head and rested against them. “So, what’s our next move?”

Taking a look at this ragtag team of survivors, Commander smiled. The slovenly Anis, the super serious Rapi who was standing at attention and awaiting orders, and the severely injured Marian who seemed to want to sit down and rest. For some reason, despite how mismatched they were, Commander was confident they would make a good team and help each other survive this day.

“First things first…” He said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out some bandages he’d snagged from BA-01’s wreckage earlier.

Marian simply smiled and sat down on a car’s bonnet, removing her left hand from her right shoulder. As Commander wrapped pristine white bandages around Marian’s shoulder, Rapi and Anis looked at him as if he were an alien.

“You know that’s pointless, right?” Anis questioned him as if he were an idiot.

“So?” He replied. “I want to look after the Nikke under my command.”

Before Rapi could respond in earnest or Anis could come up with a funny retort, Marian spoke up. “It’s not a gesture that goes unnoticed, Commander. Thank you.”

Once Commander was done looking after Marian he gave her the order to rest for a few minutes. She looked like she needed it. With a bit of spare time on their hands, he turned his attention to Rapi and Anis. He already had a rough idea of the situation but he still wanted confirmation. “What happened to your previous commander?”

“Dead. He shot at Raptures with his pistol while talking shit, as if that was going to do anything.” 

Anis seemed almost amused by her original commander’s final moments. In a way it was understandable. Commanders should understand their weapons were useless against the metal menaces. Instead of attempting to face them, he should’ve ducked behind some cover and left the fight to his Nikke.

“Sounds like you two couldn’t fulfil your duties correctly.” For the first time since Commander had met her, Marian sounded genuinely angry. From her seated position she glared at Anis. “I’m not sure I feel comfortable with you around my Commander now.”

“Yeah, let me just teleport to some moron who can’t do something as simple as take cover.” Anis retorted. “We tried. Of course we did. We protect our commander with our lives. But you know, sometimes our best isn’t good enough.”

Marian backed down somewhat, contemplating what to say next. It wasn’t unreasonable that, in the heat of battle, a Nikke and commander can end up separated. In the event such a thing happens, it may not be possible for a Nikke to keep her commander safe. With Anis’ annoyance on full display, it appeared as though she was being truthful. She had attempted to follow protocol but had unfortunately failed after finding there was some distance between herself and her previous commander. It was likely that Marian, in the same situation, would fail to protect Commander.

Seeing Marian eye the young man standing next to her, Anis sighed and scratched the back of her head. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll try harder next time.”

An awkward silence persisted for a moment before the conversation could progress. Seizing the opportunity to make an impression, Commander raised his voice and spoke. “What’s done is done, we just have to make do with what we have left. Our mission is to track down a lost Nikke patrol and, if they’re alive, get them back home to the Ark.” Now that Commander was in charge of this mission he wanted no more deaths. Everyone was returning to the Ark today.