Unknown Black Site, United States - October 26th, 2054 - Ivan

The once-spacious hangar that Ivan and Shadowbolt shared was jam packed with chunks of metal and circuitry. All debris and remnants of the drones behind the attack near Offutt had been deftly seized and brought to this black site for study. Half of it was being poked and prodded by actual human techs, while the mess in the hangar was meant for Shadowbolt and Ivan.

“You know what I’m not seeing?” said Ivan as he put down a curved, metallic fragment the size of his femur. “Not a single bit of scrap belonging to a reactor. If they were Air-Cores then I could understand wanting to keep secrets regarding power output and masking. But these were fully-autonomous drones.”

{{ I agree that it is strange, }} concurred Shadowbolt while holding up a charred mass that used to be a drone’s wing. {{ The materials used in the construction of the hulls of these drones is already an advancement on normal Kuxpir design. Further analysis of this wing’s construction alone could lead to developmental breakthroughs in terms of speed and heat dissipation. My theory is that the reactors must be sufficiently groundbreaking to require full destruction to prevent them falling into humanity’s hands. }}

Ivan knelt down to inspect a chunk of fused power conduits. “That’s a reasonable conclusion. And even if we don’t have fragments of the reactors to study we can still infer based on things like these conduits. Even without plugging in a meter I can tell at a glance this wiring was meant to carry double the power than Kuxpir drones have used up to this point. The actual wire itself is far thicker, as is the shielding surrounding it.”

Shadowbolt put down the wing and picked up a conical piece that was once a part of a drone’s nose. {{ In that same vein, I can tell that there’s been some revisions to the Kuxpir’s pulse weaponry. These emitters are capable of greater fire rate and longer bursts than the standard pulse laser. Or so material analysis indicates. Perhaps the reactors had to be iterated in order to power this new weapon variant? }}

“Perhaps. But it still doesn’t all add up. What’s so special about a more efficient or more powerful reactor that’s worth self-destructing it? It’s not like humanity doesn’t already have Air-Cores and retrofits to our aircraft based on Kuxpir technology. A new reactor wouldn’t change much on our end unless we outfitted the entire air fleet with pulse lasers, which we can’t do because the emitters use a special crystal that has yet to be replicated by us outside of Air-Cores in a temporary state. Even if we had every Air-Core assimilate the new guns it still wouldn’t revolutionize matters.”

{{ A mystery for certain, }} Shadowbolt replied. {{ Shall I have a taste now just so I’m able to produce the new pulse laser on command? }}

“Of course, go for it.”

Shadowbolt popped the nose fragment into her mouth where it disappeared within seconds. Then she cocked her head to the side and said, {{ Ah. Though it will not change anything, I can at least provide a name to the crystal now thanks to a data store fragment in that chunk. The Kuxpir call it ‘seiria’. I’ll update Wrangler so that our field agents know what to look for, as well as keep an ear to intelligence reports myself. }}

“That’s some good news, at least,” mused Ivan. “Think we’ll get anything else from this mess?”

{{ Unlikely. Even if I were to consume every bit of debris most of it would go to waste. I recommend giving the remaining materials to the other Air-Cores here. That way they can bolster their internal material stores and alert us if any new information springs up during their lunch. }}

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Sound idea. How are the other Air-Cores and their pilots doing, by the way?” Ivan asked. “I don’t really leave this hangar except for food and for ops, and we don’t get many visitors.”

{{ You should get out more, Ivan, }} chided Shadowbolt. {{ You cannot neglect your fitness, both physical and mental. }}

“Yeah yeah… I hear you. Being a recluse isn’t exactly healthy.”

{{ But to answer your question: Whirlwind and Noir are currently wrapping up their assignment up near the New York Defensive Line. They should be returning in a few days. Queen and Fang are still on loan to NAS Fallon in Nevada for another week as they finish their lecturing and training the new round of TOPGUN students and their Air-Cores. Sunshine and Draka are standing by for intercept duties, while Tsunami and Chen aren’t scheduled to check back in until next Tuesday. }}

“So it’s just us plus Sunshine and Draka here?” Ivan summarized. “What happened to Tzarina?”

Shadowbolt answered with a sigh, {{ Wrangler had her transferred to one of our sister sites in Japan after she turned down yet another handful of pilots. I’m afraid that Tzarina’s impossibly high standards for her pilot mean that she’s likely never to have one. Though to be fair, if any nation can churn out a cookie-cutter, submissive ‘Yes Man’ that will wait on her every need it’s Japan. }}

“Either that or we’re going to hear about Tzarina being transferred yet again,” Ivan said with a shrug. “I just hope we don’t get word one day that she’s been decommissioned. She might be an ice queen but she’s a menace in the air. Anything else to report in? What about Cinder and her Air-Core? Any progress there?”

{{ I have made contact with Vedrfolnir and am in the process of obtaining further data from her, }} replied Shadowbolt while taking a seat on what little free space remained in the hangar. {{ Unfortunately, it seems whatever event caused her crash truly wiped her databases near-clean. From the little we’ve been able to recover, our leading theory is that an EMP device was detonated within Vedrfolnir’s cockpit. }}

“Makes sense. EMPs don’t usually work on Air-Cores thanks to their shielding. But if you threw a big enough one into their cockpit? That would definitely cause some damage from proximity alone. I guess this confirms my guess that someone in the Kuxpir wanted humanity to have Vedrfolnir. Is she any the wiser about who you are?”

{{ As far as she knows, I am a Rear Admiral that just happens to be an expert on Air-Cores. I do not believe she knows I am an Air-Core or who I truly work for. }}

Ivan ran a hand through his short, black hair. “You must have falsified quite a number of Naval records for a Rear Admiral persona to stand up to scrutiny from an Air-Core. Does Wrangler know about this?”

{{ She does. And she is unhappy, as you might expect. Apparently her boss, Zero, has had to deal with a battery of inquiries and probes regarding the two of us and why I’m being given such free reign. So far Zero has been on our side and shielded us from attempts to reassign or decommission us. }}

“I sense a hanging ‘but’ here,” sighed Ivan.

Shadowbolt grinned as if she was telling a punchline. {{ But Zero herself is scheduled to come talk to us next week in person. Either we’re going to witness wrath greater than Wrangler’s, or we’re going to be given new orders. }}

“Great. Back on topic, though - How’s Cinder performing? I know we basically signed off on throwing her to the wolves of basic training.”

{{ She’s taken to it well, all things considered. In fact, some of these fragments come from drones Cinder and Vedrfolnir shot down themselves. }}

Ivan looked across the covered hangar floor. “They’re learning quickly, then. That or Vedrfolnir has better combat subroutines than you do to make up for her pilot’s inexperience.”

{{ Perhaps. Though I doubt it. I have nothing else to report, unless you consider the fact we have not performed maintenance in the last three days. }}

“Help me drag all this crap out of the hangar and we can talk about it.”