Frederick, Eliza slammed her hand down on the door, leaving the office as she entered the living room.

His voice immediately stopped at the door phased back in place, leaving her… feeling alone, in the living room.

Well, not alone. Synthia sprouted up.

‘Not so well, I hear?’ asked Synthia. ‘Don’t worry, mere playground insults won’t let us down.’

Eliza gave a simple nod as Synthia disappeared, a mental nod and understanding that she needed some peace. Synthia always obliged, and as always: gave an audible nod, whatever that meant to Eliza.

And as she turned towards the sofas, she laid her eyes on two of her accompanying guards. Nihara and Claire, both were sitting down on the large sofas. The former is apparently one of Kazuki’s guards, sent to protect Martinez…

But here she is, Eliza notes that she’s even paler than her, a collage of bronze skin against her short black hair.

She had completely fallen asleep as Claire was relaxing. The two were sinking into the high-grade furniture that her mother had bought decades ago.

They stretched out and acted like cats. Eliza took a moment to stare out the large window, comprising an entire wall. In the dim Anagoran sunset, she could see her reflection. A thin jacket covered her buttoned down blouse, tucked neatly under her skirt.

She frowned at herself. ‘Miss Elizabeth…’

‘I know… I know…’ Eliza answered, pushing her cheeks up as her rose-red eyes stared once more. She brushed some dust off her thigh-highs and short, tailored white boots, before turning back to Claire and Nihara.

Claire waved at her, absolutely relaxed. “Don’t worry Lizzie, you don’t need him. We can do your mission ourselves! Let me tell you, if we could fight a rebellion at our odds, we can see your thing through.”

The two of them wore large coats over office tunics and work trousers, rather mundane, Eliza thought - but there was a sense of absolute dash in the looks, which Eliza found rather nice. And it was nice to see them outside of their battle tunics and combat armour.

Claire guessed as much as she could from the shouting. But Eliza sighed, taking out a small key-drive from her back pocket. It glistened with Police Identifiers. “I hope so, but, where’s Archius?”

“Huh? He said something came up.” said Claire, slapping Nihara awake as he jumped up from the sofas, her head twisting left and right. Drool was falling out from her mouth as she wiped it off immediately, her black hair tied up neatly in a ponytail.

“Oh, am I in heaven?” Nihara blurted out, surprise and apathy mixed in as she glanced around Eliza’s family penthouse.

They got it back when their mother was alive, but it was probably the only thing her family had of worth nowadays, especially after their family’s fall into obscurity. But that thought only helped to invigorate her. A drone activated at the loud voices; its arms started to feed the family’s pet Kakira-bird.

“Yes, yes, we’re all in heaven,” Claire joked, dragging Nihara up. She was small, compared to everyone else. Claire placed her hands around Nihara, as if she was picking up a domesticated angcat, but Nihara immediately punched her in the liver, the slam sending a chortle of pain out from Claire.

Safe to say, Eliza’s face contorted to one of empathised pain as she watched Claire drop onto the sofas, clutching her sides. She slowly sunk into the cushions and pillows.

“Don’t you dare pick me up like an angcat,” shouted Nihara, grabbing hold of Claire as she dragged her upwards, despite their size difference. “I took on the third of the seven. And lived, would you say the same of you?”

Her voice was a mixture of apathy and aggression, one that does not back down - one that

“H—hey, stop that!” Eliza shouted, placing herself between the two as they started a brawl in her family’s living room. “No… fighting! Please, let’s just leave, alright? I got what I wanted. Nihara, you should probably go back before Martinez realises anything…”

“He can protect himself if need be,” said Nihara, uncaringly front-faced. She very much gave off ‘Kaz’ vibes. “He’s more experienced than me anyways, and better, probably.”

“Jeez…” Eliza shook her head. “You really do act like someone I know…” She trailed off, pushing her glasses up her nose.

“Kazuki? People back in Eden mistook us for siblings. We are not siblings, might I add,” said Nihara. “Some of the girls were into him…”

Nihara’s face slowly glanced up at the ceiling lights and the drones doing repairs on the various pieces of furniture and hanging lights.

“What?” Eliza froze. Her mind spiked as she glared at Nihara.

“They’re all dead, if you’re worried,” Nihara said with a fake chuckle. “And most liked him since he was good at fighting. That was what was prized most of all. Don’t worry, I know he has the personality of a brick.”

Eliza tried the hardest to not say that Nihara would fit in the category as she relented. Claire glanced up at Eliza, heaving for oxygen as she recovered, injecting a stimulant into herself. “Martinez’s a tough nut, only Kaz ‘nd Hosea could ever match him. Quinn or Lilly might give them a run.”

A ding from the elevator attached to their penthouse came to their attention as they heard the energy-door splutter off. All heads twisted towards the sound… Both Claire and Nihara were prepared to gun down anyone if they posed a threat, but if they knew the code to the energy-door and had a key to the penthouse, that must mean… her brother. Eliza’s heart stopped.

Twisting around the corner of the hall, she was met face to face with Ulysses, the only real family she had left. He gave her one glance, ignoring the group as he walked past them and up the stairs… He kept his eyes off them as he placed his hands in his pockets. He had the same charm-pink hair and pale skin, yet his blue eyes made him look much like his father… who hates him the most. Upon entry, he simply pricked his brooch off and dropped it onto a side-table without much care.

After that, Ulysses seemed far more energised.

“Hey, is dad in?” Ulysses asked awkwardly, turning towards her as he nearly tripped on the stairs, recovering quickly as he grabbed onto the bannister.

“Mind your step… and yes, he’s not in a friendly mood, though.” said Eliza. Claire and Nihara both watched with piercing eyes. “Sorry if it inconveniences you.”

“Hmm.” Ulysses shrugged, taking his coat off and throwing it onto a nearby drone, activating its feature as it started to hover upwards, exploding into a flurry of beeps and boops… She didn’t understand what it said. “Whatever, when is he ever friendly?”

Ulysses stormed across the inside-balcony, towards his room. But as he was about to open the door, Eliza said, “Welcome home. Hey, if you’re free later we can go get something to eat? Bill’s on me.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It was all she could say, whilst she was never unfriendly to her brother, he wasn’t exactly amicable. Ulysses froze for a moment, turning to look down at his sister.

“Yeah…” said Ulysses, entering his room and sealing the door shut behind him.

She’s rarely had the chance to talk to him properly. But now? She finally has a chance to speak to him, and he didn’t sound too enthusiastic, but she’ll bring him along either way! After all, it’d be nice for him to meet new people. Her mind started to wander, perhaps she’ll bring him along to the next Solarspark Dassant?

She let off a slight smile as she looked at Nihara and Claire. “Come on, let’s go.”

Standing up, the two followed after Eliza as they entered into the elevator, walking past the dozens of old artworks, decor and pristine furniture as Eliza pressed down on the elevator’s button.

Her objective has been completed, though much messier than she’d liked it to be. She looked down at the floor, her father’s wrong about everything. He has to be, she thought. But the words still stung.

She held back tears as she stood in front of Claire and Nihara, facing away from them. “I’ll show you, dad…” she muttered to herself, despite everything: she still wanted to prove herself to him, even if he’ll never accept that.

The elevator doors closed, sending the trio downwards as a dormant cleaning drone that had been injected with Sato’s Krystalink virus activated. Dormant within the living room, its bright eye activated with a green and black hue, powering on as its face corrupted and blinked in and out of colour, eventually stabilising into a proper form.

Its hover anchors activated as Archius took control.

∗ ∗ ∗

That was the easy part, Archius noted, now he has to have a nice little chat with the Commissioner. He sat idly on a packed metro-train, with no guards. He’s no one, and there’s no point in protecting no one. He simply hummed as he controlled the drone, thrusting it up and forwards, towards Frederick’s study. Archius wasn’t worried, he knew how to talk to stone-cold assholes like him.

But he won’t talk in a way that Frederick will like, after all he has to get back somehow for Eliza, though merely a silent courtesy; it was a little thanks for keeping her head on for this operation. And as the drone hovered towards the door, he forced the small arm of the drone to reach out to the door’s controls, opening it. Driving the drone forward, he entered the office as the door phased open.

“What do you want now?” asked Frederick, twisting his head up as he stared at the cleaning-drone. It stayed motionless, its face buzzing with glitches. “Dammit, drone, get out, I’m busy, go clean Eliza’s room, she always leaves her study material out.”

Strange, Archius thought.

‘I’m afraid that’s not happening.’ said Archius, driving the drone forward as he piloted it in front of the desk, retracting its limbs.

Frederick paused for a moment, before grabbing his revolver from its hover-stand, drawing at the drone. It was a Miturabi model, sleek and clean. Powerful and angry. But he felt no intent to harm the drone, after all: Frederick wasn’t the type to shoot first, not without a justified reason; despite everything that has happened, a fragment of the old him was still in there.

“What do you want?” asked Frederick. “You’re with her, aren’t you?”

‘Elizabeth Celeste-Delmara is irrelevant to what I am about to tell you. I will get straight to business, do you concur, Commissioner? Now. Gun,’ said Archius. ‘This is a cleaning drone, it won’t kill to have some manners, would it?’

Frederick slowly lowered his revolver, placing it back onto the hovering gun-stand on the desk. He gave the drone a suspicious nod, understanding that its purpose here was not to kill it. If that was the case then he’d already be dead, maybe Frederick still has something in him.

‘Good. I represent a party that benefits from the extension of your arbitrary deadline. Seven days is not enough, and there will be consequences if it comes to pass.’

“So you’re sent by him?” asked Frederick, standing up as he sighed, frowning.

‘I am sent by nobody.’

“That doesn’t answer my question, drone.”

Archius sighed. He looked through a few logs of codephrases used by known intelligence cells within Republic Intelligence. Most people in the know will know what it means, but Archius needed one that had a kick to it… And he found it, one that even the Commissioner would bend to.

‘By the Maelstrom’s teeth, I command you.’

Frederick paused. His glare intensified. “I should have known…” he trailed off. It seems he has the jist of things.

‘The elimination of the gunrunners is paramount. You are to allow the AGENCY to thrive,’ said Archius.

The drone slowly projected out documents and information for Frederick to see. It was the purest blackmail they had on the commissioner, snippets of what the CRIS and him had on Frederick. It was everything from reports to hidden messages, after the P-1 Incident the Commissioner lost favour, and has been throwing things around to keep his power… How the mighty have fallen.

‘This isn’t everything.’

“What is this?!” shouted Frederick, “This is… gibberish, slander!”

‘You have been hiding reports of police failures to the rest of the Judiciary,’ stated Archius. ‘You do like to keep the idea of police supremacy, especially with your little stunt with the media after P-2.’

“LIES. You have no proof.” said Frederick, “What do I gain from manipulating the media?” His yapping bore no fruits, because Archius already knew the truth, that time he spent with a few associates have been quite helpful, it seems.

‘I have some friends within the media and net industry, they gave me some convincing evidence… I’m not even going to mention the lacklustre police response to a shooting… involving your daughter.’ said Archius, ‘Perhaps, you wanted your daughter to die, I can understand that to an extent.’ It was a lie, but he wanted to gauge how Frederick would react.

“Say that again and I’ll have whoever you are put on before a grand jury!” threatened Frederick, seemingly more offended at being seen as a weakling; or perhaps about the comment with his daughter. “Patrol officers have bought time for the SPTU to arrive.”

‘Except the SPTU took too long. Five civilians and eight officers were killed. Many more wounded. Things only stabilised once the AGENCY arrived,’ said Archius. ‘And P-2. The AGENCY has been a more willing partner for the judiciary than your assets.’

Frederick remained silent, taking one look outside the window as the blues started to merge into the red and orange. Its overpowering night taking over the lit up sky, still vibrant with stars.

‘You covered it up… these associates of yours cannot catch a break, can they?’ jeered Archius.

He slowly leaned forward, placing both hands on the desk. “Then what do you want? You clearly work for them.”

‘Work? No. Benefit? Yes. A simple extension of the deadline, and two SPTU patrol-craft. It’s not much, but I can divulge more, if you wish.’

Frederick sighed, taking out a cigarette box from his pocket. Taking a Camerian-Rio out, he lit a cigarette. From the other side of the uplink, Archius could tell that it was high quality, the patterns within the smoke and the low colours and thinness of the vapours falling upwards.

‘Collaborate with local police.’

‘The AGENCY has stated previous that it will not collaborate with local police,’ said Archius, creating the layer of plausible deniability. ‘The AGENCY has dealt a death blow to them. Will you sit and watch them take all the renown of this victory?’

Frederick glanced up. Archius could see his jealousy behind thinly veiled eyes. Fine… two patrol vessels. And one more day. That is all I can give you.’ said Frederick, pointing the cigarette at the drone as he grounded the end up. ‘The SPTU will take credit.’

‘That is enough for me.’ Archius said, satisfied. They get paid and the SPTU gets the credit, sure. This will be a nice little surprise for Kazuki.

Moving his ICAPAD towards his face, he looked at a flurry of incoming messages. Ignoring all of them, he sent one message to one man, Osmond. ‘Fret not. Be unflinching in your determination. It will be your liberation. Speed things up.’

Read immediately. And a mere confirmation…

The metro train he was riding stopped as a new batch of passengers entered, replacing those that left. Anyone from fine suited businessmen, poorly made tunic-wearing officers, tourists and shoppers came and went; all with their blank faces in a blank city.

Not a soul here knew a thing. All of them were ignorant to the suffering across the Republic’s hinterlands, its fringe aligned systems such as Enga, isolated and safe to the now-dead-world of Máwt… Let alone the galaxy. Nor do they know one Deep Warp Jump away is a planet still stuck in the fallout of war.

All here wanted a piece of that prestigious cake, to climb up and rise above the rest… But not everyone can win.

With everything done, he switched the drone, the feed to the drone’s camera cutting off as Archius felt satisfied. It was heavy handed, very powerful, but things are now back on track. Archius straightened his coat. A job well done, he thought, tidying up the plethora of random gadgets he has in his coat and khaki pockets.

And as the bright holographic lines blared up, showing a map of the District Metro, he allowed himself to breathe. Frederick might know that someone knows his secrets; but he now knows that he's not invincible. A good trade off, if any conflict with the police arises…