Meredith took a deep breath upon seeing Chin weep and slowly got out of bed.

She then walked up to her subordinate and gently embraced her.

“You have nothing to apologize for. Everything you are, and everything you’ve done, is my responsibility as your captain and it is a weight I am willing to carry to the end. For both of you.”

Meredith unwrapped her arms and wiped some of Chin's tears with her thumb.

“But I was bitchy to her for no reason. What if she decided she didn’t want to help us any more or… or-“

“It’s alright. If Ms. Ardi was in any way upset with us she would have told us.”

Chin’s eyes shook for a moment.

She then slowly nodded before messily wiping her tears.

“Alright, Cap’n.”

Meredith nodded back and turned to B who weakly smiled.

“Are you feeling alright?”

B nodded and although it looked like he wanted to say something, no words came.

Someone then knocked on the door and it was here that Meredith realized that she was completely naked so she hurried back to her bed and covered herself in the small white blanket at the top before finally speaking.

“Come in!”

Director Hans entered the room with three nurses in tow who pushed three trolleys atop which stood three brilliant white suits that looked similar to Ardi’s Nanitesuit only they were spread open via seams along their centers.

“Good morning. I’m happy to announce that not only were your procedures successful, we made a few breakthroughs as well but I won’t bore you with the details right now since the Admiral is expecting you in the armoury as soon as you’re able. Feel free to slip into the removable Nanitesuit Mk. 3s and yeah.” Doctor Hans nodded before leaving with the nurses in tow.

“Did he just say it’s removable?” Chin frowned.

Meredith was just as surprised.

She stood up along with her men and cautiously approached the suits.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t apologize?” Chin swallowed and, as if instinctively, shook her head.

.

..

As a previously augmented human, Meredith was used to getting stared at but now that she was in a completely new body and wearing what could only described as a legendary suit of armour, she felt a little bit bashful although she would never let that be known.

Even the Archons who served as the New Genesis’s top-level security stopped and stared as the newly outfitted Condor Unit who eventually arrived at the armoury to find that Gudo and all of his men were taking turns at firing live Ammunition at Ardi who stood at the end of one of the firing ranges.

It was one of ten in the massive space that was the armoury and, while Meredith initially wanted to gasp and scream at the absurdity of the situation, she simply let out a sigh before walking up to Gudo who held in his hands a high-powered Plasma rifle.

He and his crew of twenty stood behind a barrier which separated them from the target area which was a hundred meters long.

A target area which Ardi stood in the centre of.

“Hold your fire, boys! We have guests!”

Gudo’s men lowered their guns and proceeded to gawk at Condor Unit which, for some reason, angered Ardi who, in a voice that could be heard from every point in the armoury, called to them.

“Guys, come on! We’re not done!”

Her words were cheery but her voice was knee-weakening, even for Meredith’s new body.

Gudo and his crew, however, seemed unaffected and so they dared to face her blinding eyes before raising their guns again.

“Open fire!” Guro commanded and what followed was a sea of explosive sounds as he and his men started shooting again.

Meredith then watched, with widened eyes, as their bullets and beams were nullified before they even touched Ardi’s skin.

Meredith’s enhanced vision allowed her to see that there was a nearly invisible field of energy that was absorbing each impact at a rate which should have been either impossible or extremely costly, energy-wise, but Ardi stood there like nothing was happening.

An icon then appeared above Ardi’s head and it explained what was happening.

[Admiral Ardi is using her Ultimate Defense Skill, [Samson Matrix], which uses up her energy reserves to absorb damage instead of her DI or HP.]

“Holy cow…” Chin muttered before Ardi suddenly raised her right hand.

“That’s enough!”

Everyone stopped firing.

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“Phew, looks like I can only take two hundred shots before the Samson Matrix gives up.” She noted aloud.

“Admiral, don’t you think we should be more careful about how we gauge your strength since our enemies could be watching?” Gudo scratched his bald head as Ardi approached.

“The fact that you’re asking means that my little scheme is working.” Ardi seemed to be proud of herself by the way she was puffing her chest a little.

“What plan?” Gudo asked.

Ardi jumped over the barrier and raised a finger.

“In order to be properly observed, signals from or about the target need to be sent back to the observer. However, my Ardinites are currently spread across the entirety of the New Genesis and they are preventing any data about me or our operations from getting out. Radio waves, light, and the whole spectrum are currently being tweaked by my little helpers to keep our goings on top secret. A small-scale example of this amazing ability is my new veil which takes full advantage of my [Distortion Field] Skill.”

Ardi raised her veil and almost everyone made the same puzzled expression.

Meredith tried as hard as she could but it was like Ardi’s face wasn’t there.

In its place was a deep, seemingly unending void.

“Now look at what happens when I deactivate it.”

Her face materialized as if it was always there but this also exposed everyone to her eyes and while her voice was enough to make Meredith’s knees weak, her eyes stole all Meredith’s strength.

Oceans of Cyan and Pink simultaneously blared their light out but were also rich and vivid.

Even Gudo was no match for them, turning his head down a little to avoid meeting Ardi’s direct gaze.

It was even worse for his human crew who began sweating profusely as their hearts raced frantically.

Ardi scoffed for some reason before veiling her face again.

“Anyway, we should arrive in Plinth soon but, before we get there, I’d like to stress test the new Condor Unit. Are feeling rested enough to do a little sparing?”

There was only one answer.

“Yes, ma’am,” Meredith replied.

“Good. Meredith, please step into the target area with Gudo and whoever gets pinned down first loses. No stakes, just a friendly duel.”

Meredith turned to Gudo who, even though he didn’t have a face, looked like he was grinning.

“Alright.”

Meredith and Gudo stepped onto the target area and as soon as he entered a battle-ready stance, dread flooded Meredith’s mind.

It was inconceivable for a human to stand toe to toe with an Archon yet here she was.

Standing before the obviously battle-hungry Gudo who was suspiciously quiet.

He also seemingly chose not to make the first move, prompting a terrified Meredith to take a single step forward while raising her arms to fight and as soon as she did, Gudo tried kicking her with what would have been enough force to tear a human in two but her instincts had her block the kick with her left forearm which, much to her surprise, stayed in one piece.

Her hud also showed that her Combined Dermis had taken 15% worth of damage out of 200%.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to take an endless amount of attacks so she decided to try and end the fight as quickly as possible.

Gudo sent forward a punch but Meredith’s sensors allowed her to not only see the speed it was coming at but also its predicted trajectory so she grabbed his approaching arm and threw him onto the ground, using his own punch to send his body over hers.

Gudo hit the ground with a loud thud and it was here that Meredith realized what she had done.

She quickly backed away, fully expecting Gudo to get onto his feet and try to kill her but he didn’t.

Instead, he remained on the ground and sulked.

“I dislike that the number of people capable of beating is increasing.” He crossed his arms as his men jumped over the barrier to gather around their captain.

“It’s alright, Captain!”

“Yeah, you could kill any of us in an instant!”

“Yeah! I bet you could kill everyone on this shiny boat in an instant if you wanted!”

Meredith was concerned by how Gudo’s men were trying to cheer him up.

“You did good. It looks like everything is in working order.” Ardi applauded prompting Meredith to bow awkwardly.

“Thank you, ma’am!”

“I expect you will use these newfound abilities of yours to stand faithfully at my side?”

Meredith raised her head to look at Ardi and while she could only see as far as a veil, she knew her gaze had met Ardi’s.

“I will.”

.

..

Her plan was a success.

Members of Condor Unit, even after being fitted with new bodies, retained much of their old selves, thanks much in part to the fact that they still had their original brains in their carbon Composite skulls.

Ardi now stood at the helm and beheld the world of Plinth. An earth-sized planet which had a thick dark, greyish atmosphere and murky oceans.

Since it held a population of less than 2000 humans, it was classified as a Dead World but Ardi wanted to see the surface for herself.

She’d then establish it as a governmental centre with Heatdeath as her Regent although that would have to come later.

[Initiating landing sequence]

A voice announced from speakers located all around the bridge.

“Descending into Plinth’s atmosphere,” Heatdeath announced as the gargantuan ship that was the New Genesis steadily fell.

Ardi stood behind him while Tsuro, Gudo, Meredith and Co stood behind her.

They all watched as the ship sunk into the thick clouds, revealing countless small lights below.

“A warning for our human passengers: Plinth’s air contains dangerously high amounts of chlorofluorocarbons, among other potentially dangerous substances so please wear a protective suit and mask when leaving the ship, thank you.” Heatdeath cautioned as the small lights on the ground grew bigger, revealing themselves to be cities only they weren’t full of homes and the like, they were vast stretches of buildings that looked like warehouses.

The only thing that broke the uniform sea of grey buildings were the Planet Mounted Gravfold Canons which were as big as observatories. Mounted atop them were massive Cannons that were pointed upwards.

“If you can think of an item that was ever produced by Archon or human hands, you’ll find it here. But I guess he couldn’t have everything.” Heatdeath said the last part equally clearly, which Ardi acknowledged.

The New Genesis eventually landed in a port that was big enough for it and Ardi was led to its landing port with her entourage in tow.

They then boarded a smaller craft which took them to the ground where they were greeted a row of heavily armed soldiers who lined the path towards the largest building on Plinth, a dark pyramid made only of three steps. Its matte, metallic surface was lined with golden glyphs.

The soldiers all saluted Ardi as she stepped onto the surface and they stood remarkably still as she was led towards the pyramids entrance.

After walking through two sets of massive sealed doors that acted as an airlock, the group was met by two peculiar individuals who stood in front of a row of ten heavily armed Archons.

The two individuals were human, one male and one female but they were fitted with archaic augmentation. Their arms were a series of Hydraulic Actuators and Aetherium pumps that weren’t connected to an Aetherium Core but instead connected to separated smaller nodes that helped charged their Nanites.

Same for their legs and all this was hidden behind their clothes.

The man wore a uniform resembling that of an ancient class known as the French maids. The skirt reached his ankles and the gown and accompanying apron were neatly ironed. His long dark hair was bound in a neat bun behind his head and his dark brown eyes contrasted sharp with his pale skin.

The woman, on the other hand, wore a black suit, white shirt and black tie.

She had short red hair and a face that was covered with freckles.

The one thing the two had in common was their white gloves.

“Greetings, Admiral Ardi. Welcome to the Great Repository.”

The two bowed deeply as Heatdeath floated forward.

“You may be wondering what makes these two humans so significant. The answer is that Orion and Andromeda are Earthlings. Two of the last.”