The crowded undercity streets were tense as Will walked down the metal pathways. The people huddled in close-knit groups, eyeing passersby suspiciously. Knives and weapons were openly displayed. Tensions were high, and the whole city was a powder keg ready to explode.

It was three days after the attack, and one would think that the tragedy would have united people, but it only seemed to have deepened the divide.

Will strode with purpose, trying not to display any weakness. Sweat drenched his brow, and he was still running a low fever, but even in his sickness, he couldn't be complacent. He would be in a load of trouble if any passing groups thought he was an easy mark.

Will walked into the bazaar and spotted a large board erected in the middle of the square. On it, in flickering blue light, flashed the photos of missing people since the attack. Names and information scrolled on and on as more photos emerged. Will watched the faces scroll by, his jaws tight. He tore his eyes away from the board and made his way towards Uncle John's shop.

Angus manned the front desk, staring off into the distance. As Will closed in, he saw that he was watching the news. The plump boy was so engrossed with the coverage that he didn't notice Will until he was right in front of him.

"Will!" he exclaimed and muted the monitor. "Didn't expect you to show up."

"Where is Uncle John?"

"He is away," said Angus. "Marry's out too."

"That's unfortunate," said Will. "I was looking to buy something."

Angus leaned forward. "They have gone to see old man Shelby's. Haven't you heard?"

"What?"

"His grandson... they found the body," said Angus.

The color drained from Will's face. "How did it happen?"

"He was on one of those transport ships, guarding some mining ship. Him and his entire company... just gone."

"Oh, dear lord." Will leaned on the counter. "What about the old man?"

"The Donners took him in," said Angus. "He is not doing well, still in shock I would say."

Angus stared back at the screen, and Will followed the scrolling list of the dead. Live footage of the recovery process was shown on the screen. They were sifting through debris, bringing out charred corpses.

"You think they will catch whoever did this?" asked Angus.

"These are dangerous times to be asking questions like that, Gus," said Will. "I can only say that they'd better, or else..."

Both of them watched the screen some more. Angus sighed. "So, what are you here for? You did say you were buying."

Will slid over his slate towards Angus. "I want everything on that list."

Angus scrolled through the list and frowned. "This is a lot. I'm going to have to disappoint you; most of the stuff listed is not in stock. We sold out."

"Sold out? Really?" asked Will.

Angus pointed at the burned-up cargo ships on the screen. "No one is flying at the moment. No transport means no goods."

"So how did you sell—" began Will when it dawned on him. "People are panic buying."

"Yup. Also, some of the bigger players are hoarding, so expect prices to reach sky-high."

"Son of a—" Will cursed. He didn't consider this.

"We got another delivery coming in from another route, in five days. I'll add your stuff to the list," said Angus.

"Another route?" asked Will. "Ryder?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Angus made a zipping motion on his lips.

Will let out a breath and nodded. "Alright, add me to the list. I'm going to need those parts soon."

"I noticed a few pharmaceutical chemicals in there. What are you building?" asked Angus curiously.

"Final year project," Will waved carelessly as he stepped out of the shop. "I'll be back in five days."

"Alright," came a lazy reply from behind him. Will looped off to a side alley and dialed Remy. The slate barely rang for two seconds before it was picked up.

"Hello," said Remy.

"Yeah, it's a no-go on the supplies," said Will. "All transports are messed up. It's going to be a while before the new shipments come."

Remy sighed. "Yeah, Becca said as much. What now?"

Will paused as he considered. "Isn't there one more VR in the back? We could cannibalize its parts."

"On it," said Remy. "You coming over?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit," said Will as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Still feverish, he shivered. He would be glad when this is over.

▼.▼.▼

The next four days passed by in a hurry, and both boys worked tirelessly on the VR pod. The other tank provided enough spare parts to fix theirs, and the hardware was ready and working. The only thing left was for them to reboot the software on the machine.

Will wiped the sweat from his brow as he finished tightening the last bolt.

"That's done," said Will. "How long is the reset going to take?"

"Less than an hour," said Remy. "You take a break. I got this."

Will sighed and collapsed on the floor. His temperature was running high, and the cold floor was soothing. A mild fever still lingered over him, and he had been powering through with sheer stubbornness.

Will yawned and closed his eyes. He dozed off, only to be awakened a few minutes later. There was a quiet click of the door from behind. Soft footsteps soon followed, and Rebecca stepped around the bend into their little alcove. Will glanced up to see her standing over him.

"Come on," she said, "it's time to practice."

Will gave a groan and pulled himself up into a sitting position as Becca sat cross-legged in front of him.

"You guys done with the pod?" she asked.

"Only the software reboot is left," said Will as he stretched.

"There is still your medication and the stimulant," Becca pointed out. "You still have to synthesize the last one."

"No need to worry about that one," said Will. "It's an easy one to make once you have the right chemicals."

"Shipment is arriving tomorrow," Remy called out from the side. "By that time, the VR will be ready."

Becca nodded. "I guess we have it all set. Come on, let's get to practicing."

Will straightened himself and pulled himself into a lotus position. He evened out his breathing until he felt his shoulders lighten. His heart rate slowed, and a sense of calm washed over him.

"Very good. You are in the correct state," said Becca softly. "Now feel about your channels in your leg. Take it slow."

Will focused his bio field around his amputated leg. It swirled about the etherite shard, and he felt around its edges. The shard had a field of its own and held firm against his own. It flexed and bent under his field until he managed to snake a tiny bit of his psions into the shard. The crystal began to glow but did nothing else.

Will didn't get discouraged. He continued to feel about the shard and connect to it. The process was a lot similar to tuning, and he fell into a steady rhythm of matching the shard's signature like he did with all crystals.

Half an hour passed, and his reserves were about half empty. He managed to connect to the shard many times, but it didn't respond in any noticeable way other than emitting a subtle glow.

"I think that's enough for today," said Becca, and Will slowly fell out of his trance. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Was there any change?" asked Becca. "I didn't see any shard skills."

Will shook his head. "No, the shard didn't respond."

"There is something that we are missing," said Becca. "You activated it once already, so it can't be all that difficult. Maybe it requires some special conditions."

"I was about to have a seizure at that time," said Will. "I hope that is not the condition."

Becca frowned. "Seizures... you lose control of your body, and your psion channels go haywire, which means your bio fields move at random. Okay, I can see how that could have triggered the crystal, but there is no way to replicate that."

"No, there isn't," said Will.

"Also, there is something wrong with the skill itself," Remy chimed in from the side. "How is forming a temporary blood tattoo of the military insignia a skill?"

"It could be a secondary effect and not the skill itself," said Becca.

Remy shrugged. "I'm beginning to think that the crystal might be man-made and not from a rift beast."

"What do you mean?" asked Will.

"Well, for one, it is not the standard shape," said Remy. "Natural shards are usually oval, and created ones are cubes."

"This one isn't a cube," said Will.

Remy shook his head. "It isn't oval either. Also, what selection pressure would make a crystal draw a perfect rendition of a human coat of arms? It is bonkers. It is not natural."

"Alright, let me put a stop to you right there," said Becca. "Manufactured shards always have a near-homogeneous crystal structure, and this one is a little varied. You can see from the slight shift in coloration."

"Sure, but it also doesn't fit in the standard box for a natural crystal either," said Remy. "So, what does it make it? A hybrid."

Becca bit her lip. "I don't know."

There was a ding from the VR, and lines of code flashed across Remy's slate. He grinned. "Alright, done and done. The pod is fixed. It's got to run this code, and we are golden."

Will glanced at his slate, and he saw an unread message from Angus. "Shipments confirmed to arrive in the morning. That's everything set."

"So, tomorrow, huh?" said Becca.

"Yup, tomorrow," Remy grinned.

Will stared at the crystal jammed in his leg. "I hope nothing goes wrong."