Chun Liao was very proud to have her job. Born on Mars and trained at Saturnalia Station, she now had a good five years of experience under her belt as an Administrator. The job wasn't usually very difficult; nobody had a lot of hopes that the Two Worlds would really be livable anytime soon, and Administrators weren't responsible for putting down conflicts on the planet. If anything, Administrators just served as silent witnesses to the dangers of the Two Worlds.

The Administrators didn't do much of anything anymore, but Liao was happy to work with them anyway. If this group of people were morose watchers who had given up on progress, the mood on Mars was worse. Some of the people there were actively against any form of innovation, and technology was restricted even if you didn't toy with it. The Two Worlds might be a dangerous garbage pile now, but they were at least trying to dig their way out of it.

A blinking light on her console showed another request for intervention. Without responding to it, Liao pulled up the database on the caller. Teddy Helmann, scrapper, possesses a rare Keyshard that lets him interact with ...Pandora Engines? Liao's eyes rose silently. The Pandora Engine was tech that the highers-up refused to give any information about. They had been the source of an Archon's power, making those who received one into "superheroes"--from a certain point of view. Nigh invulnerable, with supernatural powers, these were creatures that were set apart from the world so that they could adapt to having more power than the average human being. Supposedly, the idea was eventually everyone would have those same powers, if they were worthy.

Then came the War... and then the Great War, and then the Last War. The Last War was... the last war. It ended with the fall of the City, the Reign of Fire, and the end of the Two Worlds. Everything since then was because of that.

Liao put on a collected face and accepted the call from Mr. Helmann, noting without any surprise that he was confused and quite a bit put out. "How may we help you, Mr. Helmann?"

"Yeah... uh, I don't know if you know me, but I'm a scrapper--"

"We know who you are, Mr. Helmann." Liao doubted he had any idea how much they knew about him, or his Keyshard. The Administrators were a tight-lipped bunch.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Okay, well, uh, I found... one of those things out there, and it was different than usual..." he paused. "You know what--"

"We know what you scavenge, Mr. Helmann." Liao's voice remained even, even as she ran her hands over the controls, trying to locate the system that he was connected to. Finding him and his call terminal was quick and easy, but trying to navigate a sensor probe from there to his workshop was trickier...

"Well, when I got inside... uh, the status terminal was unusual." He fidgeted, clearly anxious. "It normally says something about a disruption, but this one said 'Standing by'. Like maybe the woman was still alive."

That... should not have been possible. As a matter of habit more than anything, Liao hit the button to page her superior, but kept an even face. "Where is the Archon now?"

"I didn't bring, uh, the body with me. That's... that would be... I don't do that."

Liao nodded calmly, receiving a notice on her screen that the supervisor was watching. After a moment, the status updated to Request for transfer. Stay on line. So Liao, still with her even expression, refocused her eyes on the man and gave polite smile. "My supervisor will speak with you. Just a moment."

The woman who was now speaking with Teddy was so badly scarred that very few people doubted that she was from the old world. There were no wars anywhere outside of the Two Worlds, and those on the surface were not... not nearly survivable enough to earn you those kind of scars. The Administrators didn't do much healing, but when they found reason to, they would usually wipe scars out anyway.

"My name is Ciddia," said the woman. "I believe we met once before, Teddy Helmann."

"Yes, when you took that other... thing away. I remember." Teddy seemed uncomfortable. Liao privately thought that nobody who saw Ciddia's face would ever forget it.

"I am authorizing an agent to investigate the status of the Archon you are reporting. As always, we have no interest in interfering directly unless necessary. It may be necessary for you to show us where you found the Archon, so that we can recover the body. Do you believe that will be possible?"

Teddy thought for a long moment. "Yes," he said, "...probably."

"I am sure you understand, if we have the ability to save that Archon's life, we will take whatever measures necessary to do so."

The man just nodded. "That's why I called."

Ciddia, for once in her life, actually smiled for a moment. "Indeed. We will be with you shortly." The connection ended, leaving Liao alone with her boss on the line. "Chun Liao. I will authorize you to carry a series of diagnostic tools. Bring along the remote access beacon in case anything comes up. And... bring at least one anti-nightmare weapon."

"Yes, boss." Liao felt a surge of excitement. New tools, a chance to fight something, and maybe the chance to meet an ancient? This could turn out to be a very interesting week.