As Commander disembarked from the elevator, Shifty spoke up about something she had admittedly forgot to mention sooner. Commander and the squad of Nikke under his command during the search and rescue mission were to report to headquarters immediately. 

“Aw man, not this again.” Anis heaved a deep sigh as she stretched, clearly irritated about the implication of Shifty’s words. Completing a mission was such a rare occurrence that the commanders and Nikke who manage to come back alive receive plenty of empty praise. “Come on, Commander. Let’s get this over with.”

Curious as to why Anis was being so negative about seeing their superiors, Commander asked her about it and she proceeded to deepen her voice and talk like she was a military officer that had never seen real combat. “Excellent job taking down a Blacksmith with such limited resources! Simply amazing! Keep fighting the good fight my most loyal and subservient Government lapdogs.”

For the first time since Marian’s death, Commander managed a genuine, albeit weak, smile. Anis was probably right. They were being called in to be praised for a job well done and that would be about it. Considering Commander was having thoughts about how his superiors may be involved with corrupting Nikke, he wasn’t exactly excited to meet them. He was questioning whether he could contain his anger in front of his higher-ups if he found out they were responsible for Marian’s death, and by extension a dozen humans and Nikke. But at the same time this could be a good opportunity to find out what was going on. Commander had to keep his cool and gather information, for her sake.

“Well we did perform well during this mission.” Rapi replied sincerely, unable to decide whether she found Anis’ comments amusing or insulting. “I doubt we’ll be held for long. Just bear with it for a few minutes.”

“Yeah, let’s just get this over with. The sooner we deal with it, the sooner we get to leave.”

Commander couldn’t agree more. So much had happened that, despite the mission taking a little under half a day to complete, he felt the day would never come to an end. All that was left was to receive some praise from his higher-ups and then get his arm sorted out. Afterwards he was free to do what he wanted, and he was going to head straight back to his apartment to get a good night’s sleep. Those days where he was so tired from training that he would fall asleep the second his head hit the pillow were days worth living. They were eventful days, for better or for worse. He wanted to look on the bright side of his first mission, and that was his meeting with Marian and feeling affection for another person. Her being a Nikke didn’t matter in the slightest. He would treasure this day for the rest of his life.

“You’ve been ordered to arrive armed.” Shifty said after listening to Anis complain. This was a rare order that she had never had to give anyone before, although it most definitely had happened to someone else at some point in time. Reports always had information regarding why certain orders were given, and the Deputy Chief was a responsible man that made sure his reports were perfect. Because of this, Shifty knew Commander was going to be ordered to go to a Simulation Room. She felt a little bad for the man, he probably just wanted to rest at this point.

“Really? That’s strange.” Anis looked at Rapi and Commander with an eyebrow raised in confusion, which was then immediately followed by a sly grin. She peered down at her hands covered in scratches and still missing a few fingers. “But sure enough, I’ve got two of them.”

Once again smiling at her joke, Commander ordered everyone to follow him as he made his way through a bland metal building near the surface elevator that acted as a checkpoint. There were plenty of seats to rest on before and after a mission, some Nikke on guard just in case Raptures came down the elevator, which had never once happened, and a few vending machines for anyone that was hungry or thirsty. Commander was parched, but he ignored it for a while longer. He moved onto a platform on the other side of the checkpoint and was hit by rushing wind as a train swiftly arrived beside him. Perfect timing. He climbed aboard the vehicle that would take him directly to the Ark’s military headquarters and was finally granted the opportunity to sit down and get some rest. Transportation between headquarters and the surface where missions were performed was a must have for military personnel. It was a special train that civilians couldn’t board and there were no stops along the way.

On the way to his destination, Commander could feel his eyes closing as he sat on the plump chair. When he was on this train before his mission, he was certain the seat hadn’t felt this good. For a vehicle seat to be this comfortable must mean he was beyond exhausted. Fighting to stay awake, he soon felt something heavy hit his shoulder. Anis, with seemingly no care in the world, had fallen asleep and was now resting against Commander. Thankfully she was resting against his shoulder. His arm was broken at the elbow so he didn’t feel any pain from her weight. Commander’s only gripe was that he wished he could do the same thing. Oh, and he wished Anis didn’t snore loudly. She was quiet right now but that could all change if she fell into a deeper sleep.

“I’m sorry about Anis.” Rapi said with a sigh from her position opposite the pair. Since the squad consisted of six members right now, they’d split into two sets of three and were sitting across from each other. “She always just says and does what she wants. She rarely gets paired with new commanders because her attitude is hard to handle.”

“It’s fine. I appreciate her, honestly. It’s nice to have someone like Anis around.” Commander yawned after saying this. He really wanted to close his eyes and get some rest.

“Go ahead and sleep if you want. There’s some time before we reach HQ, I’ll wake you when we get close.” Rapi nodded at her friend. “If she’s going to sleep then so can you.”

Commander recalled Marian taking Rapi to task for the way she spoke to him. He couldn’t help but think Rapi was now taking what their deceased ally said to heart. She may appear emotionless and stoic, just getting on with her job of saving humanity from Raptures, but Rapi was more thoughtful than Commander expected. She was tough but did allow for some leeway. Commander expected her to be a lot more serious, but he was glad he was wrong about her. “I’ll take you up on that offer then. See you in twenty minutes.”

Exactly twenty minutes later Commander was awoken by Rapi shaking his free shoulder. He woke up quickly and was immediately alert to his surroundings, rushing a hand to his pistol grip just like he’d trained to do. There may occasionally be times where commanders have to sleep on the surface so they need to be able to wake up and be ready to fight or run at a moment’s notice. But then he remembered he was just on a train to HQ and settled down. Commander was the type to remember his dreams well, but he wasn’t surprised about not recalling anything this time. He only experienced dreams when he slept at night. A short nap was never long enough to kickstart his imagination. Seeing that Commander was awake, Rapi moved to Anis and was prepared to shake her much more violently compared to her boss. However, Commander put a hand up to stop Rapi and said he’d deal with waking Anis.

He began by poking her cheek, which he found to be surprisingly soft and squishy. Although maybe he shouldn’t be surprised, as looking at the rest of her body made it clear she had plenty of fat to go around. When Anis didn’t even stir from being prodded, he began to gently brush her neck in an attempt to tickle her. This worked a little, she began shifting around in place to get comfortable again. But it still wasn’t enough. His last resort was holding her nose. With her mouth closed, Anis had to breathe through her nose. When her airway was cut off for about ten seconds her eyes burst open and Commander quickly let her go.

“Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty.” Commander joked as he watched her take in deep gasps of air and sit up straight. Anis’ personality was infectious, which Commander was thankful for right now. Mimicking Anis was allowing him to temporarily put Marian to the back of his mind and act normal for a bit. He would mourn for Marian when he was ready. Until then his squad would benefit from a commander that acted normally. He couldn’t be brooding about the circumstances he found himself in when there were still people under his command.

“Watch it, buddy. You’re the damsel in distress that’s going to constantly need us Nikke in shining armour to protect you.” Anis pointed at Commander after her breathing calmed down.

“Are you saying you want me to be your Prince?” Commander retorted, seeing it in his mind’s eye. He would most likely get saved by Nikke countless times in the future, and maybe fall for one of them too. He was starting to think he was a bit of a shallow guy, just chasing any woman that looked half decent and was willing to look after him. His first choice was to imagine Marian, but with her not around anymore he was going to pick someone else eventually. Maybe not this week, maybe not this month, but eventually he would move on. A huge majority of people fall in love again after a while. Commander doubted he would be the exception to the rule. There would always be a special place in his heart for Marian, but that didn’t stop him loving someone else.

“Stop it you two, you’re acting like children.” Rapi looked at them sternly. Any outsiders viewing this scene were sure to think Rapi was a mother chastising her son and daughter for being nuisances.

And Anis actually went there. “Okay, mom.”

Commander could hear Rapi’s teeth crack as she locked her jaw and grit her teeth. He also heard a faint chortle from his other side. Apparently Fay thought it was funny. The train came to a stop and the few people aboard their carriage got off as Rapi raised her voice, although it wasn’t quite loud enough to be classed as shouting. “Both of you, off the train. Now.”

Neither of them were going to protest. While this was their destination so they had to get off the train anyway, they were more concerned with angering Rapi further. She was scary when she was angry. Up until now she’d been relatively calm and collected, always just getting on with her job. But now she was visibly angered by Anis’ joke. Commander was curious as to why. Given that they were androids, Nikke were incapable of having children. Did Rapi want children one day? Maybe she just wasn’t enjoying Anis’ attitude. Or a third option could be that she saw herself as too young to have children and was offended by being classed as a mother with adult children. That was like calling her old. Commander was betting on the second option, Rapi was just annoyed at Anis. Considering Rapi was stoic at all times it was easy to see her slowly being worn down by Anis’ jokes over time, and then eventually snapping.

The squad moved on without uttering another word and Commander took in his surroundings once he was off the train. The digital sky above was painted orange to match the sunset above ground. A large grey stone road circled some bright green fake grass. At the centre of the fake grass was a fountain spewing water. Considering the Ark was limited on resources, it was easy to believe the water used for the fountain was the same few litres regurgitated over and over again.

Looking beyond the fountain surrounded by a road, Commander saw the military’s base of operations for the entirety of the Ark. Headquarters looked like every other structure in the underground city, it was a building constructed exclusively by metal. Reaching fifteen-storeys tall, military headquarters was a hulking structure with no windows. While the main building was infested with military officials and high-ranking commanders, there were two smaller, three-storey structures either side of the main tower which housed other aspects of the military like the academy and the operator hub where people like Shifty worked. Out of view, behind headquarters, was a dormitory for commanders that were either still working to attain their rank or had just recently started working so didn’t have enough money to pay for their own home. That dormitory was where Commander still lived.

Another thing that stood out to Commander was the fact that, in this district of the Ark, it was mostly empty. Every other district in the Ark was packed to the brim with houses and shops. People found ways to cram structures into any remaining tight space since the underground city had a limited amount of area to work with. The military had a district all to itself that it barely made use of though, with just a handful of structures littering the open landscape.

Forcing his way through the hordes of people and Nikke leaving headquarters for the day, Commander made his way through sliding glass doors. He was greeted by a receptionist behind a marble desk who, the moment she saw him, raised an eyebrow. They both understood that Commander had been called in immediately, she’d seen his file and knew what he looked like, but the young man should’ve been allowed to get his arm checked out first at the very least. Regardless of this, the woman shot Commander the expected secretary smile and directed him on where to go. Apparently the Deputy Chief himself, one of the highest-ranking military personnel in the Ark, was awaiting Commander.

Taking into consideration the mass of people moving about and wanting to use the building’s elevators, Commander decided it’d be easier and possibly quicker to just take the stairs. Lugging his worn-out body up to one of the higher floors in the building, he eventually led his squad down a hallway. At the end was a sliding door with a nameplate on the wall beside it confirming this was the Deputy Chief’s office.

“It’ll be a bit cramped with all of us in there.” Anis said as she peered around Commander. “Unless you’re into that kind of thing.”

“Right. 08, FA, Ocean, you three wait out here.” Commander ordered as he tried to figure out what the second half of Anis’ comment meant. He knocked on the thick metal door and heard a voice from inside telling him to enter as he figured Anis’ joke was referencing a large group of people sleeping together. How rude. Doing as he was told after the metal door slid into the wall, Commander walked into the room and was greeted by a small office decorated in various shades of brown. Dead ahead was a beige settee, shaped like a bracket, with cushions sprinkled atop it. Some small personal touches were on the wall behind the sofa, like framed pictures of nature and a cactus on a shelf. To Commander’s right was a blank wall that was likely used as a projector screen during video conferences because to the left was a marble desk and a man sitting behind said desk. 

The man gave a faint smile and stood up as Commander entered, coming around his table to shake Commander’s hand. His short dark brown hair was slicked to the side and he was growing a short beard. Commendations lined his military coat, making him appear impressive. “So nice to meet you all. I’m Andersen, Deputy Chief of Central Government Command.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Commander said, shaking Andersen’s hand. The Deputy Chief seemed like a man that’d lived through a lot as his hand was coarse and his grip strong.

Chuckling to himself, Andersen gestured in the direction of his sofa large enough for everyone. “Like nails on a chalkboard. There’s no need for formalities, it’s just us here. Andersen will do just fine.”

Everyone walked over to the back of the room and took a seat on the settee. Commander’s initial impression of the Deputy Chief was that he was a capable gentleman. He likely reached his current position by appeasing his higher-ups with his charisma and succeeding on missions where it mattered. Someone didn’t get those medals and commendations strapped to their military coat for nothing. Even so, there was a chance this man was involved with Marian’s corruption and therefore the death of numerous people. Commander wasn’t ruling anyone out. Especially someone in such a powerful position. The young man was on edge.

Once everyone was sitting still, with Rapi having to keep Anis on a leash due to this being the comfiest couch she’d ever sat on, Andersen continued talking from his position opposite Commander. “First off let me congratulate you on defeating a Blacksmith. That’s quite a rare accomplishment, especially for new commanders. But that’s not what I called you here for. Once I heard what you’d done, I felt the urge to conduct a little test.”

“A test?” Commander stiffened slightly, unconsciously sitting up straighter. Beside him, Anis’ ‘I told you so’ look turned into a glare. He could only imagine that she didn’t like the sound of extending her day any further. 

“You can relax, it’s nothing too difficult. I just want you to head to the Elysion Simulation Room after this. After that your mission is officially complete so you’re free to do as you please.” Andersen then looked at Anis. “I heard your weapon was destroyed so I contacted Tetra Line. They’ve already sent your new weapon ahead to the Simulation Room. It’s ready and waiting for you.”

This seemed like a strange test to Commander. Considering how he and his squad rose to the challenge and beat a Blacksmith, he felt like he’d already proven what he was capable of. But then again, the Central Government might want more data on his performance. A report from the field is different to a test run by the Government, for the Government. Commander was thinking they just wanted to confirm he was as good as it appeared he might be.

Seeming to have relaxed a little, Anis spoke up. “Wait, is that all you called us here for?”

“Anis.” Rapi retaliated with some side eye, but ultimately kept her cool. If she was angry then she was good at hiding it. Rapi was quite used to butting in when Anis went too far.

“What?” I’m just asking! No harm in that right?” Anis scratched the back of her head and turned to the Deputy Chief. She wanted to add a snide comment about how Chief’s precious feelings weren’t hurt by what she said, but she didn’t want to push her luck. Anis was sitting before one of the highest ranked military personnel in the Ark. He could have her decommissioned for her attitude.

Andersen shook his head. “I was just interested in meeting you all. I wanted to personally see what kind of squad could beat a Blacksmith. That’s quite a feat for someone’s first day.”

Everyone went silent for a minute as Commander and Andersen sized each other up. Seeming to reach a quiet understanding of one another, the silence was broken by the Deputy Chief saying they were done here for today. This truly was all he wanted, to personally see the squad responsible for completing a search and rescue mission that had gone off the rails. He had his eyes open for an ace team that could complete any mission he threw at them. Someone needed to do the hard jobs around here. If the commander in his room right now was a person capable of great things then Andersen wanted to get to know the man.

As they all rose to their feet and began walking to the exit, Commander was struck by various intrusive thoughts. Ever since Marian had died and he realised she must’ve been corrupt before setting out for the mission, Commander had a voice nagging away at him. He was desperate for answers. He wanted to know why she had to die. If her death was caused by what he suspected, an experiment to see the effects of corruption on Nikke, then it was entirely possible that Andersen was responsible. He seemed like a decent man on the surface, but it could all be an act.

Just before they reached the door, Commander turned to his superior. “May I ask a question?”

Moving his sleeve aside to look at his wristwatch, Andersen nodded. “Go ahead, but I have a meeting soon so make it quick.”

Narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at Andersen, Commander spoke his mind. He was already fond of his superior, Andersen seemed like a man who knew how to get the job done. However, if the Deputy Chief was involved in what happened to Marian then Commander was willing to do anything to stop him. “I had another Nikke with me, Marian. I believe she was corrupted here at the Ark. I don’t suppose you know anything about that, do you?”

The room felt like it froze over as Rapi and Anis opened their eyes wide in shock and looked at Commander. They opened their mouths, ready to say something, but there was nothing they could say to diffuse the potential fallout from questioning a superior in such a manner. Commander may have just dug his own grave. But they could see where he was coming from. Commander and his squad were on the same page when it came to the topic of Marian. She must’ve been corrupted before the search and rescue mission began, which meant something bad was happening in the Ark. But that didn’t mean they were going to question a superior like this. Especially not the Deputy Chief. No, Rapi and Anis were going to do some digging of their own, discreetly asking around to see if any strange rumours were drifting about the Ark.

“Marian? Doesn’t ring a bell.” Andersen replied matter-of-factly. He put a hand to his chin as if deep in thought and continued. “No, I’m sorry. I can’t help you, I’ve got nothing. We’ve started an investigation into the operation though. If I hear anything I’ll be sure to let you know.”

Commander didn’t like that answer, but he had no justifiable reason to be against Andersen. Commander had no reference point. If the Deputy Chief was like this to everyone, on other topics, then he was acting like his normal self. Considering he only just met the man, Commander couldn’t outright say his superior was being dishonest. But still, there was something in the back of his mind that was saying he didn’t like that answer or the way Andersen was acting. His concerns were brushed off too quickly and with too little interest for Commander’s liking.

With that said, however, there was one thing that Commander appreciated. His first mission was being looked into. He didn’t quite know what that meant, but he was hoping this meant a culprit for Marian’s corruption would be dragged out into the light. At the very least it appeared as though Andersen had his own questions about what had happened, which spawned an investigation. Perhaps he wasn’t such a bad guy.

“But there is one thing I am absolutely certain of, and that is that the Aegis Barriers are impenetrable. They work both ways. If a Nikke was corrupted within the Ark then they wouldn’t be able to leave.” Andersen once again brought his hands in front of himself and pulled a sleeve down to see his watch. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have other business to attend to.”

Nodding and exiting with Rapi and Anis silently following behind him, Commander began running through scenarios. If Andersen was involved then this problem likely ran right to the top of the military and Central Government. It wouldn’t be surprising to find out someone had ordered Andersen, who then proceeded to order someone else, to corrupt a Nikke. But then again it could just be Andersen working separately from the rest of the organisation. He could have some goal he wanted to achieve that went against the Ark. There just wasn’t enough information to work with.

As the heavy door slid open and Commander stepped out to rejoin his mass-produced Nikke, Andersen called out to him. “Young man, let’s say someone did corrupt one of your Nikke. Maliciously. Let’s say they were so powerful that you couldn’t touch them. You wouldn’t stand a chance of beating them. What would you do?”

“I’d make them pay.” Commander looked directly at the Deputy Chief with a fierce fire in his eyes, not hesitating with his response. What Andersen said had sounded almost like a taunt. It was like his superior was saying he did it and that Commander could do nothing about it. But no one deserved the fate that befell Marian. She was a kind, gentle soul that deserved to live. It didn’t matter what he had to do, Commander would avenge her somehow. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day.

“You’re a mere commander so I would very much like to see how you would make them pay. Well then, goodbye for now. I’m sure we’ll meet again in the near future.”

The door between them shut and Anis began tugging on Commander’s sleeve to get him to move. He was so fixated on Andersen that even after the door closed he glared where he’d met Andersen’s eyes. Commander suspected the Deputy Chief now. How could he not when it seemed like the man was flaunting his untouchable status right to Commander’s face. Of course there was the possibility that Andersen was innocent but knew what was going on behind the scenes. What Andersen told Commander could be seen as a warning. It was like saying people had attempted to fight back before and failed. Perhaps Andersen had personally attempted to defeat the dark side of the Ark and lost, so now he was trying to get to a higher position and fight the Central Government from the inside. But that means if Andersen tried harder then Marian might have lived. Flower and Sun, as well as a dozen fellow commanders, could have lived. Andersen could’ve saved them all. He could’ve saved Marian. Her blood could still be on the Deputy Chief’s hands due to the man’s inaction.

His blood boiling, Commander began walking down the hallway with his squad right chasing after him. They all felt a need to stick by Commander’s side and help him achieve his goal. His anger about Marian’s death secretly made his squad very happy as it showed someone would remember them and be upset by their deaths. They felt like humans again.