He found Lucy in the Prayer Hall.

The War Maiden had stood up after Miriam’s call, stiff as a lamppost, and forced out a smile. She said she needed to go check on something and requested Adam’s permission. He had said yes, more out of surprise than anything else, to which Lucy scarpered out of the room before he could protest. If this were two days ago, he would’ve welcomed the solitude. Now, it was plain inconvenient.

He didn’t approach her immediately. Lucy was down on her knee in front of the mural of Astraea’s goddess. The Goddess’s faceless smile stretched wide, proud and loving, as Lucy clutched her hands together and whispered something in a soft tone. Her blonde hair slumped against the back of her white coat, the trails of which brushed against bullet holes in the floor.

She opened her eyes as Adam sided up next to her.

"Hey." He said, leaning against a nearby pillar.

"Ah!" Lucy jolted, then relaxed. She did not break her stance. "Oh, Chosen, it's you. Is something the matter?"

"Should be asking you that," Adam said. He crossed his arms. "You ran off like some dog bit you in the ass. What’s up? Because we’re about to start something major and I want to know if it’s gonna be an issue."

"I…" Lucy stood up. Her gaze lingered on the mural for a moment. "I…merely wanted to clear my head after the call with Operator Pereia. I apologize, that wasn’t professional of me. That nasty, corruption-seeking girl could’ve tried to harm you in my absence."

"Sheesh, Penny again? I could snap her in two. She’s so skinny." Adam said, "I’m not blaming you. Miriam's a real cunt."

Lucy fidgeted with her hands. "I wouldn't use those words to describe her..."

"Pain in the ass, then," Adam said. "Annoying, motormouth, a complete dumbfuck…"

Lucy covered her mouth and failed to hide her giggle. "You…sure know your profanity, Chosen,"

He shrugged. "Grew up in the streets. I’d have to be the Virgin Mary to not absorb at least some of that shit. Like, even my sister got into the habit. It’s pretty cathartic, swearing and you should get into the habit."

Lucy cracked a half-grin. "I cannot, but one of my fellow War Maidens would. She got into so much trouble back at the Academy for her mouth, to the point they almost scrubbed her tongue with alcohol wipes! She would’ve liked to meet you."

That same grin faded. Silence fell upon them. Adam rubbed the back of his neck as he examined the rest of his surroundings.

Damage aside, the Prayer Hall was impressive in its expansiveness and artwork. There was a synthetic quality to the painting as if it had been done via drone instead of a brush.

The Goddess of Astraea cradled a star. It was pure white, almost formless in its radiance. Thousands of other stars, in yellows, reds, greens, and purples, were embroidered in the space behind her, weaved into her wings, streaking down her hand and ethereal limbs. Surrounding her were tiny figures, dressed in uniforms and carrying glowing swords.

Stellaris Humanis Malkuea, the silver-colored inscription at the bottom read, As one, as together, we stand atop Her foundation of the universe. The religious on Earth prayed to gods whose existence they could not prove. The Goddess of Astraea, however, was immutable and omnipresent, according to the documents he read. Her actions had tangible, recordable effects on human society.

When Lucy prayed, did the goddess hear all of her? Did she personally guide all her followers, their lives spanning across nearly a hundred colonies, to salvation?

His plasma synapses tingled from beneath his nerves and blood vessels as he looked up towards the Goddess’s smiling face. There were no eyes, yet he felt as if she was watching him.

He turned back to Lucy and remembered Esther’s words. Be nice to her. Everyone wants to be comforted. It sounded simple, but how the hell was he supposed to accomplish that?

Oh, he talked to girls before. Shared drinks, smokes and even half-assedly dated a couple. An old mate of his, John or Jake the Slasher or whatever, wanted to impress a girl at the pizza den by beating up her ex-boyfriend. He helped, if only to pay off a stray debt. That led to his first kiss from one of the girl’s friends, a taste like honey mixed with cigarettes.

He always kept them at arm's length, though. Something within him just kept him from going serious. Maybe it was the environment. Maybe it was because none of them compared to Mary.

He didn’t consider women inferior to men, unlike some of his peers. Mary running with a female-only crew, whose members broke kneecaps on the regular, scoured any notion of chivalry from his young mind.

Mary was soft on him. She always had time to listen him out, no matter how busy she was. She’d pull up a chair, its legs squeaking against the floor of their crappy one-bedroom apartment, and sit with her hands on her lap, fully listening to whatever stupid or inane childish woe he had.

Maybe he could be like Mary, just this once.

"Lucy."

"Yes, Chosen?"

Adam paused first. "You want to, uh, talk about it? What you’re feeling and all, y’know."

"Oh no!" Lucy said, raising her hands. "I wouldn’t want to trouble you, Chosen. It’s okay. I can handle it. Praying here makes me feel better."

"Hey, like I said, we’re going on a major operation. I don’t need anything distracting you. It’ll mess us up." Adam said. "So spill. Ain’t like I have better things to be doing. If you want, I’ll stay here and practice [Psychokinesis] or something."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. He was in too deep now.

Lucy looked at him for a moment, then sighed.

"I had hoped, Chosen." Lucy said, "I had hoped that some of my fellow War Maidens would remain uncorrupted."

"That’s…"

"It was a foolish idea, wasn’t it? We were led astray for too long. No way could we have avoided that awful corruptive influence for all these years. Operator Pereia was right, and I shouldn’t have argued with her."

Stolen story; please report.

"I don’t think you lost any feelings with Miriam, of all people," Adam said. "She’s just miserable. And besides, what sort of cold bastard doesn’t miss her own friends?"

He hesitated. "Uh, you and the other War Maidens were friends, right?"

"Well…" Lucy trailed off.

"Christ, don’t tell me…"

"Don’t worry. It’s a common assumption. Let’s just say we’re all comrades who would miss each other if one of us fell." Lucy said. "But the ones Operator Pereia mentioned? They were almost my own flesh and blood."

"Damn, then what the hell are you apologizing for?" Adam said. "Of course, you’re gonna want to see your sister again. It’s common sense. And, they’re still out there. We just have to hunt them down and throw me at them."

Lucy bowed her head, in thought. He walked over and sat down next to her. That’s when he noticed a pile of metallic plates arranged in neat hexagonal patterns in front of the mural. Their tops glinted sky blue, independent of the flickering light fixtures.

He inspected one. "T. Smithson, 451B, C-Holor, ID number..." The plate suddenly felt heavier. It almost slipped out of his grip. He placed it back down gently, "Hold on, Lucy, these are..."

"Identification," Lucy said. She held up one to her chest, cradling it like a precious treasure. "I collected them off my fallen comrades while you were recovering. There were more when I searched for mechanical parts this morning."

His gut tightened. "You knew some of these guys?"

"A couple. We War Maidens go from base to base, performing whatever purging or task is necessary. MOB Tiferet-56 was nice to us. I wasn’t stationed there for very long, but for them to perish in such a place, rife with corruption, it’s just…!"

She placed down the plate with a trembling hand. Her teeth gritted, yellow light immolated her form, then it all cooled off in a flash.

"It sucks," Adam said, voice ringing hollow. Lucy mumbled in affirmation.

"Least we cleared out all the wraiths," Adam said, "Their souls were probably released from their shells, or something,"

"They should return to beneath Her wings, now that our connection has been restored. They must have. They deserve it."

Adam stared at his feet, then back at the plates. A bouquet of gravestones. He felt sick. Sick enough for his next words to tumble out, unprompted.

"I saw my guys die too."

"Pardon?" Lucy said.

"Shit, I mean…I rolled with a bunch of guys when I was fourteen. We were in a crew. Had our territory. Real tough bastards with tattoos and a crappy warehouse and stuff," He said, crossing his arms. He wasn’t looking at her anymore. "One day, while we were in a pizza joint, one of our rivals pulled out a gun and began blasting."

"Goodness!" Lucy exclaimed. "Were you hurt, Chosen?"

"Nah, I was small. Hid under the table. Bullets went over my head. But the other guys weren't so lucky. They bowled over, blood pouring outta their skulls. Others took out their guns and..." He shuddered. "Guess what I'm trying to say is I uh..."

What had Sally said back in juvie? Empathy? Yeah, that was it.

"I'm with you. Coz, they were my crew and they all got whacked on our turf too. They died, your guys died, so I sorta know how it feels."

Lucy stared at him, expression unreadable. He averted his gaze as the heat rose on his cheeks. God, what the hell was he saying? How was a pathetic little gang war comparable to what Lucy was going through? This was her home. Hundreds, maybe thousands of her comrades, had lived on this base, all of which were dead or corrupted into monsters. She collected her dogtags all by herself while he slept like a brat in the Medbay! Screw Esther, next time he was keeping his mouth shut—

"Thank you, Chosen."

"What?"

"Thank you for telling me," Lucy said, "It’s reassuring to know I’m not alone."

Adam blinked. "You’re welcome?" He half-asked, half-questioned. He rubbed his eyes. Nope, that wasn’t a mirage. Lucy wasn’t pissed at him and she wasn’t about to blast his head off for the word vomit.

"Chosen, where did you come from? It sounds harsh," She then gasped, "Wait, I asked you this before. You don’t have to answer. I’m sorry."

"Steeldale," Adam said. "It was a crap place. Run-down, narrow streets, full of garbage..."

"Surely the Overseers would have done something to help? I can't believe you were almost killed at such a young age!" Lucy cried. "That's terrible, Chosen! I'm so sorry."

"Why? You weren't the one there. Not your fault." Adam said.

"You deserved better!" Lucy said, tone indignant, "Definitely the work of untrustworthy governance. I hope a Proselyte was sent to rid the filth of that place."

Adam wanted to snort, then thought better of it. A bunch of Astraean soldiers roided to the lungs with augs couldn't do worse than some of the pigs he grew up with. They probably had better morals too.

Seriously, did all War Maidens get angry at problems not their own? It was their job, but still.

So weird.

Lucy prayed one last time, then stood up and stretched her arms. She extended a hand to him. He took it.

"Thank you for coming here, Chosen." Lucy said, "It was nice to pray with my fellow man. And you know what, I think you’re right."

"About what?"

"My fellow War Maidens. Have you met some of them? They’re so persistent and hardy, especially that Saria! As terrible as their corruption is, I can’t imagine nothing short of a missile bombardment taking them down."

"Or a shit-ton of bullets…" Adam muttered.

"They are corrupted, and that is terrible. But they’re still alive. As long as we’re here, we have hope, just as She has planned," Lucy said. She gave him yet another smile. This time, it was with hope, "I’m sure they’ll be delighted to meet you, Chosen."

He snorted. Someone looking forward to meeting him? That'd be a first.

Whatever. His job was done. He was about to turn and leave when ADOSCH displayed a new notification.

[War Maidens’ Bond: Lucy Klavdia] has increased from Level 0 to Level 1! Activate again to witness the additional effect(s).

Experience (Persuasion) Acknowledged: +15%.

User Adam Westfield’s Competency Level has progressed from 1-6 to 2-1!

Acquired 3 Biometric Keys for progressing to the next main Rank. The majority of augmentations will require 2 or more Biometric Keys to unlock, so User Adam Westfield should approach his choices with caution!

Then, finally, he felt the plasma inside of him stir and tingle.

The bond with one of Her War Maiden’s has grown stronger. Her Providence has been bestowed upon User Adam Westfield 30 Stellari.

----------------------------------------

Adam and Lucy spent the rest of the day kitting themselves up for their expedition. Food, water, medicine, ammunition, and more needed to be supplied, counted, and rationed. They packed their stock into duffel bags found in one of the Warehouses. Their weapons were the same. Adam packed his tomahawk, while Lucy carried her folded sword. They also carried standard-issue ADO laser rifles. Their belts held emergency plasma tablets, two regenerative syringes apiece, and grenades.

"You sure they'll let us in?" Adam asked Penny.

Penny nodded. "Glenn's Rest isn't walled off or nothin'. Raz and the guys rolled up one day and they were cool as long as Raz paid for the chips. They might, uh, look at you funny but I don't think you care about that, boss."

He and Lucy were going to stick out like a sore thumb, given their abundance of Astraean tech, and militaristic getup. It was a risk he was willing to take.

Penny went quiet. "I can't believe you're doing this. You're hunting a Witch."

"They all over the place?" Adam asked.

"They're nightmares. Bad omens. Ma used to say that if I didn't behave myself, a Witch would come and tear our house to bits." She giggled, hysterically, glancing at Lucy. "Guess she had some meat in that brain of hers."

Lucy, in response, pointed at herself. She pointed to the exit, then at Penny, and finally drew a line across her throat. Penny turned pale.

"I swear, I won't do anything. You have my word. I'll guide you straight and true, Boss!"

He patted her on the shoulder, "We’re counting on you, Penny."

He went over the plan again. Travel to the nearest village, find information about the communications beacon, and activate it. Miriam was to then search for the War Maiden. Take down the War Maiden and purify her.

It was simple. It was straightforward. It was the type of mission fit for a Marine.

Adam knew it wouldn’t be anywhere near easy.