The sky turns deeper violet as Vernicia, Rurin and Hal approach northern Chandonis in the Tetrider.
Vernicia looks around. "No fog yet… maybe an hour, tops. So where would Roy be?"
"They're most likely to appear near where they died," Hal answers. "Unless it haunts someone, or turns vengeful, or goes to rest on its own, or something like that. But if Rurin saw him die, then he'll be our best bet for making contact. In general, a ghost will usually recognize the last person it saw."
"Exactly how many ghosts have you encountered before now?" Rurin wonders. "You seem like a super expert on all this."
"I dunno. I never kept count," Hal replies. "But my first spirit was a fireman from the failed generation who burned themselves out. I guess you wouldn't know about 'em."
Rurin's gaze suddenly snaps upward. "There. It's that one."
"Yep, I remember this side of town," Vernicia agrees. "Let's stop at the starlight café after. I'm craving crempolas."
"Sounds good." Hal parks in an empty alley.
"Hal, don't enable her," Rurin chides, grabbing him by the arms.
The three of them land on the roof. The bloodstains are still visible in the evening light, dark and faded.
"He's been waiting for us," Hal observes. "I'm kind of surprised, actually. Haven't seen a spirit this strong in a while."
Vernicia and Rurin share a confused look. Meanwhile, the spirit draws closer.
Rurin. Rurin!
"Hey. Roy, buddy, he can't see you." Hal raises his hands in a friendly gesture. "I can, though. What do you want to tell him?"
I picked a horrible day to infiltrate that place.Metacorp, Neocon, Qinn Industries… They're all connected, and they all have secrets they'll go to any length to protect.
"Qinn Industries? Did you find their building too?"
That was Larry's task. I never heard back from him or Pex. Maybe they're both…
The spirit wavers, then drifts closer to Vernicia.
Ah, there it is. I'm glad the biometal skin didn't fall into the wrong hands.
"Yeah, we were wondering how you got ahold of it," Hal replies.
It was the fruit of my final mission. That's the only working sample based on Senna Foxx's schematics. I stole it and destroyed the data before reverse-engineering could begin, but… I was too slow. I ended up getting cornered by Deltas. Ironic, isn't it? My wings were faster than my mind.
"Hey, destroying their work was great, though! Now we won't have to worry about metal-skinned soldiers in the future."
Where's Shurikit, I wonder? She's practically my polar opposite… I bet she's dumb and reckless enough to succeed where I failed…
"You didn't fail, Roy. Ever hear of losing the battle but winning the war? Well, the war isn't won yet, but at this rate it's just a matter of time."
"Hal, heads up," Roy calls. "We're about to have some company."
"Hum?" Hal glances around. "I thought this sector was abandoned."
Rurin shrugs, equally at a loss. Then three Deltas emerge onto the roof.
"Three suspects found," Delta 1 intones. Then it locks on to Vernicia. "Biometal detected. All units, switch to capture mode."
Deltas 2 and 3 retract their weapons. "Engaging."
"Capture mode?" Vernicia draws her laser sword.
Rurin activates his energy pike. "We'll see if they're serious about that."
The three of them each engage a Delta in combat. Vernicia slashes at her opponent's armor, and sparks fly as the Delta takes major damage.
"Threat index raised." Delta 2 activates its weapons, then retracts them without firing. Verni blinks in mild surprise, then slashes its visor open, causing it to malfunction and collapse.
Rurin jumps back and fires his ice gun, coating Delta 1's visor in ice. While it attempts to recalibrate, he then launches a full-power strike with his energy pike. The force and clashing elements cause the Delta's head to explode.
Hal jumps back, having doused Delta 3 in flames. Of course, the attack didn't work. He's seen them in action before. Even so, it doesn't hurt to check, right? And aside from that, a fireman needs to drain their reserves every so often to stop the biofuel from fermenting. Makes the flames smell strange.
"Scan successful. Threat index raised," it says, raising its weapons. Then it retracts them again.
"What the… whatever, we take those," Hal mutters, charging a different type of energy in his hands.
"Hal, I figured it out," Verni calls.
"Gimme a sec," Hal replies, then flicks out his hands. Water sprays from his fingers, stretching into a hundred needles flying at sonic speed.
Hal's rainburst rips through the Delta's body, stunning and short-circuiting its systems. a second later, it shuts off, attempting to reboot.
"Meh. Close," Hal mutters, shaking off his fingers. "Can one of you finish it off?"
"Gotcha," Rurin says, lunging forward with his energy pike. He nails it in the head, properly disabling it.
Vernicia deactivates her laser sword. "Wow. I remember when they were a threat," she says. "I bet we could handle 'em even if they weren't in… biometal hunting mode? Seems like that was what happened."
"Y'know, considering that… you think we can just go into the Qinn place and be okay? 'cause, like, the big bots won't try to kill us," Rurin suggests.
"Uhm… we don't know where it is, though," Vernicia says. "By the way, Hal. Was that thing you did?"
"I'm glad you noticed. Jetta and I hit the grind with Mami for a reason," Hal states. "We know better than anyone else how much stuff is fireproof nowadays, so obviously we had to find a way to cover our weaknesses. After some exercises and meditation and aural resonance sessions, I awakened to my affinity, which is, drumroll drumroll drumroll – hydrokinesis! Ba-bam! That's right, I'm a mage now."
"Oooh." Ru and Verni give approving applause.
"Thank you, thank you. Anyway, right now rainburst is my only attack spell. But as you saw, I can handily bust fireproof foes with it. Not bad, right?"
"What about Jetta?" Verni asks.
"Last I checked she hadn't awakened yet," Hal replies. "Not that that's a problem, mind you. According to Mami, I mean, Master Lee, the process is different for everyone. It can be as hard as meditating for months, or as simple as seeing a Zaltruvi."
"A what?"
"I don't know either. She said it wasn't necessary when we were training with a Master. Oh, wait. Almost forgot. Roy! You still there?"
The ghost had wandered back to its bloodstained anchor point.
Hm…? You aren't Shurikit.
"Don't worry about that," Hal tells it. "You said Kit could succeed where you failed, right? Where's the Qinn facility? She wants to go raid it."
Northwest. Deep in the great central forest. Larry might still be there.
"Sure thing! Leave the rest to your trusted allies. They can handle this," Hal assures it.
Right… tell Kit that despite what happened, I believe in her…
"Of course. I'm sure she'll get it done. Rest assured."
Thank you…
Roy's spirit glows brighter for a moment, then fades into nothing as it goes to rest.
Vernicia crosses her arms. "You sure have a way with the dead."
"You saw that?"
"He appeared for a moment when you told him to rest," Rurin confirms. "Between this and your magic, I'd say you've got the stuff we can't smash handled."
"For now," Vernicia mutters.
"Now then!" Hal points northwest. "Larry was apparently supposed to go for the Qinn facility, which is somewhere in the forest. That way."
"We're good at finding hidden facilities," Rurin says, "But didn't Kit say he got caught?"
"Nothing for it. I'm betting it all on this hand!" Vernicia clenches her metallic fist. "And I don't take bets I can't win."
"Um… was that a reference?" Rurin scratches his neck.
"Ugh. Pearls before swine," she mutters.
The great central forest begins just west of Stonebreak's waveworn ridges and stretches across a sizable portion of Steralin's lowlands. The three of them walk through the trees, sometimes flying to get a vantage point.
"Good thing we didn't take the Tetrider," Hal mutters. "These trees are packed."
If not for the glow of Hal's aqua ring and the aeronauts' night vision, it would be pitch black under the dense canopy.
"Since when were you so good at navigating forests?" Rurin asks.
Vernicia looks somewhere else for a moment. "Maybe I'll tell you later. Hal, not a word."
"Okay." Hal apologetically raises his hands.
After half an hour of navigating the dense wildlife, they emerge onto a narrow pathway.
"Oh?" Vernicia looks down one way, then the other. "This is a hidden trail. I think we just found the way to our facility."
"Just a bit further, then? I should've brought a lamp," Hal huffs.
"What's wrong?"
"Just… low on energy," he replies. "I'd probably have run out faster if I was actually using my aqua ring to heal."
"You should be fine to drop it now that we're on a trail. Just head straight and follow our voices," Rurin tells him.
"You got it." The bluish light fades. "Phew… new PB though. Jetta's gonna be pissed."
They continue down the dark path, feet crunching in the dirt and flattened dead leaves. Then, at the end of the path…
"There we go," Vernicia grins.
"Hum… no guns or barriers," Rurin observes.
"This place is hard enough to find given the forest," Hal figures. "You'll probably see proper security at the trailhead… wait, I know how to get in! Stay behind me."
Verni and Ru fall in line, mildly confused but compliant.
Hal walks to the facility's main entrance, where an armed autoguard pops out of the wall by the door.
"Identified, Biotool 186-3C. Greetings, Hal Trevor," it says. "Who are your companions?"
"Subcontractors. It's a real mess out there," Hal replies. "Don't worry, it was on my dime."
The autoguard clicks a few times, then says, "Noted. You may enter."
They enter the facility, Vernicia and Ru keeping low and quiet. Inside, the halls are grey and dull-looking, lined with metal-lined doors. There don't seem to be very many people here, but that's probably a good thing.
As they round the corner, Hal runs into a female fireman standing in the hall. Two Deltas are idling near her, and judging from her tablet, she's currently their assignee.
"Hi, Danna," Hal says.
Danna glances up at him. "Oh. Hal, you made it. My mission didn't take too long, so I've been chilling here," she replies, then returns to her tablet. Diagnostics, probably. "Mathis said we'll all report back once they fix Tasmil. Where did Burns toss you, by the way?"
"Straight to the carnage, of course. I lost Jetta in the confusion, but she should still be fine," Hal says.
Danna raises an eyebrow. "What? She has fewer brain cells than you."
"I resent that," Hal states.
One of Danna's Deltas suddenly perks up. "Biometal detected!"
"Shut up! Oh, don't mind him," Danna says. "Were you there when the spy hit Tasmil and stole the biometal sample?"
"Before or after it blew up?"
"Before, obviously. Anyway, Burns freaked out about it and set all the big robots on full-scan mode," Danna explains. "It's all been false alarms, though. Hey, you're Gen 3, aren't you? You have those sensors on your face."
"I think I know what you're thinking," Hal replies, "and no, I can only detect heat with them. By the way, this is a Qinn facility, isn't it? Does he visit often?"
"Um… periodically. I guess this means you haven't met him?" She looks back up at Hal. "I think he's down in the wind farm facility right now. I dunno if he'll be coming back here any time soon."
"Meh, not like I'm in a hurry to meet him," Hal shrugs. "I've still got work to do, so I'll be going."
"Sure, sure, see ya around. Bang, Burger, with me." She turns to leave, and her assigned Deltas (Bang and Burger??) follow. "Oh yeah! Don't take the back exit, unless you can find an earthmover to accompany you," she calls. "The autoguard there is extremely particular."
Then she rounds the next corner. All that remains now are some researchers and guards walking by.
Rurin crosses his arms. "She didn't note us at all."
"That's a good thing," Hal replies. "Most of the Gen 2 firemen aren't very good with faces for some reason, so Danna would probably only have reacted if you flew or attacked."
Vernicia gives him a careful look. "Do you… act dumb on purpose?"
Hal looks away. "No idea what you're talking about."