Miya watches as the elevator doors' middle crack continues to pass by multiple floors, with blue light gushing from the edges.

The elevator's momentum slows down and then comes to a complete stop, with the white alloy doors separating themselves on either side.

Miya hops out and walks down the blue-carpeted corridor with windows on either side of her, looking into the darkness of space. She then stops at the long white receptionist's desk in front of her.

A woman with bluish-green skin and contrasting shiny black hair with cyan streaks sat behind the desk, humming a merry tune. She continues taking different ornaments out of a floating white box sitting on a disc, holographic picture frames, rock stands, and even a picture globe of a small white planet.

Her Federation uniform seemed to be costume made, shielding her lower face while providing enough exposure of her long hair wrapped into a cute bow at her backside.

Miya taps the glass desk, causing the woman to jolt as if surprised, then rests her eyes back to their dreamy and relaxed demeanor.

"Ohh, soorry… I was just so delighted that I was in my own little supasaa… You must be Patroller Miyaa. Coordinant Emelia has talked about you to a great degree."

"Yeah, right… Where's the other guy, and who are you for that matter?"

"Oh my… I'm Kamillaa, I'll be filling in as the new assistant for Coordinant Emelia in the E-24 braanch. The one before me had an accident and is on medical leaave. Apparently he fell and had a casualty causing him to become fully paralyzeed… Such a shaame…."

Kamilla then claps her hands together with a cheery smile. "Buut, I was soo excited to have been choosen for the positioon! I really admire the Federation's work including Coordinant Emeliaa's and was praaying for a chance to proove myself! You see me and her have similar ancestral ties along with our metaphysical proweess-"

Miya holds a hand up with a nod of her head. "Have you ever been told that your voice is kind of annoying?"

"Ohh… I do get that aloot…." Kamilla snuggles down into the lower hood of her uniform. "If it's bothersome I'll try to keep our sentences to a few words at beest…."

"No, I don't mind. We'll be working together so I want you to be as detailed as possible when we talk. I'll take your weird dialect over the crappy attitude the other guy had anyway. Nice to meet you."

Kamilla nods, poking her index fingers together while looking to the side. "Nice… Nice to meet you tooo…."

"I've got to speak with Coordinant Emelia about something urgent. Is she in right now?"

"Yees, she just came back from a meeting with the Mlynan Bureau regarding the incident that happened in the upper deecks."

Miya glides her nail across the table as she walks past with a wave. "Talk to you later."

"Yees, lateer…!" Kamilla watches as she walks down the left side hallway, then continues her hum while moving her desk pieces around.

Miya stops in front of the metal hexagon-shaped doorway and places her hand in the middle. The door then unwraps itself, revealing a white light as she walks in with closed eyes. Her eyelids peel up, and she looks at the spacious executive office she once visited before.

Its dark purple floors continue to suppress her footsteps along with the overarching walls and overhead window pane giving view of distant glittering stars.

Miya walks past the slow-turning white couch on the lower platform of the room and continues up a few steps leading to a white egg-shaped desk with multiple floating black desks on either side.

Emelia sat with her back pinned against the chair, leaning her cheek onto his fist with a bored sigh. She flicks a few holographic screens to the side, and her demeanor brightens as Miya approaches her from the other side.

"Coordinant Emelia. I would like to discuss something with you if you have the time.

Emelia swipes away all the screens and leans forward in her chair with a smile. "I see you're doing well after your little fight with the mecha-terrorist. I was going to let you rest a few more days due to your injuries but it seems only a few hours is good enough for you."

"That's what I came here to talk about. Someone leaked a video of the fight and it's getting a bit… Public…”

"Hmm? Really…?”

Emelia swipes a yellow screen back up and then taps several keys. The screen then blinks to the video showcasing Miya and the battle-suited brute fighting, bullets whizzing past continue to fire at each other.

"Yeah, that does look like you doesn't it." Emelia nods her head while scrolling down the comments.

"What do you mean by that? Isn't it a bit dangerous for my skills to be showcased to the entire QYI-net? I thought we were suppose to be discrete!"

"I see, so that's what you're bothered about." Emelia swipes away all the screens into the air with a chuckle. "Well for one, no one knows that it's you by name. They wouldn't be able to track you down or anything. And secondly, even if I wanted to take it down Aquos has regulations against discarding for personal or political reasoning. Though you aren't anyone with that much credible public appearance, me using my status would still fall under the guidelines."

"Okay, I guess… This is just a bit more confusing then being on the frontlines. Everything was kind of clear when all I had to do was follow orders…."

Emelia snaps her finger with a widened gaze. "Ah! I was so busy yesterday that I'd forgotten to get you sorted out!"

She then leans back in her chair and rubs her forehead with a huff. "As I told you before, I just transferred into this position. I'm use to the life of a soldier as well, so just bear with me."

"I understand. After you used my pistol the first time we met I knew there had to be more you weren't telling."

"Well, war stories for another time. I want to ensure you don't have any lingering questions before starting your next assignment. I'm sure you understand the different branches of Aestero Pol, correct?"

Miya nods her head. "Yes, it was very clear in the orders you gave me before leaving Tavaus III. Gala Fol consists of law enforcement, Mly Bol is informatics and criminal sciences, and Aqu Rol is innovation and scientific research."

"So you did look them over! That's good, and you're exactly correct. All of us here work very close together. I won't go over the founding of it all since it's kind of boring, but it's still good to know who does what."

"Speaking of the Bureau, I heard you met with them about the mecha criminal. Did they find out his real intentions or why he wanted to take the girl hostage?"

Emelia nods her head from side to side. "Unfortunately not. Apparently a few seconds after you were rushed for medical proceduring his suit injected his spinal cord with some sort of acidic substance that decomposed him from the inside."

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Miya scrunches her nose in disgust. "I see."

"He was ID'd, though. Name was Daldess Kostra. He was a bounty hunter with the Vela Pickem Family that went MIA after a recent job. He was pronounced dead by his organization, but that obviously wasn't the case.

"Do you think he has anything to do with the battle-suits that Stravos was having funded for them?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Rubient is still studying the suit but it's inner mechanisms are the first of it's kind. It's shell utilizes both cybernetics and reaction speed congruently for attacks. It's quite the advanced tech, something that even took my subordinates by surprise which isn't too good of a sign."

Technologies and weapons have constantly evolved since Aestero Pol took over the verse and started regulating trade and research conglomerates. Battle suits were derived from extravehicular mobility units or space suits used for mining excursions in space or dangerous environments. Though most of them were funded by private engineering firms for wars, some have decided to make them more affordable for the public. Thus, battle gear with specific quirks and arsenals for particular cases and combatants started popping up everywhere. Whoever made the mecha-terrorists' put a lot of serious work into its creation. Frightening to not know who its creator is and more threatening to not know whose side they're on.

Miya crosses both her arms in front of her abdomen. "And what about the mutations that they were doing back on 4056-E? Though that doctor… Erm… Turebormun, is dead, he did say he worked for Azeroth."

"I've already asked some personnel to start researching on my behalf. Once they have what I want, then I'll give you instructions on our next move. Not only that, but I've also asked some associates to find out about any crystal minerals similar to the ones they were growing on that planet."

"Hm." Miya raises an eyebrow. "You must be popular."

"Haha, yes!" Emelia giggles. "I suppose I am. Though you'll always be my number one Miya."

She then stands up from her seat and walks in front of Miya, leaning her back against the desk with folded arms.

"I also want to talk about the feelings, or emotions rather, that you felt back on 4056-E."

"What…? I don't understand."

"I want you to express how you felt during and after your engagements with the cyborg-girl and the Olfelfe."

"H-Ha!" Miya looks to the side with a nervous chuckle. "I felt nothing, what're you talking about? They just got lucky-"

"Look at me in the eye so that I know you're telling the truth."

Miya's open mouth shutters as she lifts her head, locking eyes with Emelia.

"That's good. Now how did you feel."

"L-like I said… It was nothing. They just got lucky… I-It won't happen again!" Miya explains with a pitched voice.

Emelia sighs with a hand up to her head. "You aren't being truthful with me. Your body is giving it away."

Miya looks down to her left foot, tapping on the ground, and grips the side of her thigh, causing it to stop. She then looks up at Emelia's hand covering the sides of her head as she smiles in front of her.

With a blink, she looks around, noticing her surroundings changed to the dimly lit stone-floored Stravos laboratory. Her eyes widen as she sees a woman with chestnut skin wearing a black trench coat dash around her with incredible speed.

Miya attempts to reach for her gun, but it's nowhere to be found. The woman inches closer until a ringing sensation fills her ears as a puff of wind hits her front. Her vision goes white as she feels the metallic taste of blood at the back of her throat, only able to sense several forceful jabs plummet her from all directions.

Miya falls to the floor with a sputter and gasp, backing away on her forearms as she looks around for her assailant. However, the room changes once more to white flooring with a large glass window shattering behind her. A young girl with white hair zips through the sky with the aid of her rocket holsters surrounding her body and latches onto Miya's throat, throwing her through the window.

Miya looks to the side as she continues to plummet, the wind rushing past her ears, and the increasing pounds of her heartbeat clouding her senses as tears flood her eyes.

"… Miya."

Miya's eyes widen, returning to the executive suite with Emelia holding her face in her grasp.

—Click

Her gasp is followed by a reactive flinch as she backs into Emelia and gazes at the far side of the room. Two individuals wearing short blue lab coats with black bodysuits underneath roll a rectangular metal box on wheels into the room.

Miya then falls to her hands and knees, her trembling lip lets out hurried gasps as she grips her nails into her palm.

Emelia kneels beside her, brushing the sides of Miya's lock behind her ear.

"You want to know why I chose to name this unit Valcro? Well, some starnuals back when I was deployed as a Marsh Leader for my regiment invading Nolla O2 in the Mensae Quadrant; We came across a formidable six-man squadron that didn't back down despite their technological disadvantages and fellow soldiers running past them with fear-ridden eyes. After capturing the squadron, I asked for the squad leader's name and he told me it was Valcronius."

Miya looks at Emelia, smiling at her side, biting onto her fingernail while gripping her breast beneath her latex shirt.

"I don't know if it was the melodic ripping of his green skin or his tortured screams resonating with my ochranus, but he was what the ideal soldier should be like in times of unrecognizable emotions or instability."

She then looks over to Miya with a wide-eyed and deranged smile. Her pupils gave off a pinkish glare as she lifted Miya's chin with a single finger.

"Some people use fear to empower themselves and make reactive decisions. Others use it as an instinct to know what situations aren't to their advantage. But you Miya, need to understand that doubt, unrest, and worriment live in everyone's mind. And once you're able to understand the way they think and how they will act, it won't matter how agile or powerful your enemies or allies are. Everyone has something to exploit, and once you find out what it is, they'll be powerless against you."

Emilia then raises herself from the ground while picking up Miya by the shoulders. She then guides Miya in front of the rectangular metal box at the front of the room.

Emelia taps the side of the device, causing different abstract shapes to unlock from the front of the box with a puff of white smoke. All the wings lift from different sides, revealing a purple mesh surrounding a monochrome-colored set of skin armor with flap-like vents on its arms, chest, and upper thighs. Its soles were raised into three-inch heels that gave off a neon-white glow.

Emelia walks behind Miya and glides her fingers down her shoulders and then the sides of her arms. She then places Miya's hand on the abdomen of the armor.

Despite its metallic shine, it felt soft like silk yet firm enough to stop a turo-steel carbine shot if needed. Miya's hand curls with a slight jerk as the vents on the chest release a puff of heat as she inches her fingers down the sides with a perplexed look.

"Do you like it? It's yours, you know."

Miya turns her head to the side at Emelia, then back to the outfit. "It seems a bit different from the normally issued Federation uniforms."

Emelia nods her head with a chuckle. "Haha, why yes, it is a bit different isn't it? While the outfit itself is not a living thing, its hide is made of a reptilic bird found in Nova 2 known as the Lylacin. Natives there capture these creatures and after killing them, stuff their severely wounded tribesmen in their still-heated corpses healing them in mere seconds. Though, when others came to their land to try out their customs on different diseases and the like, they instantly died due to their nervous system not being able to handle the creature's extreme heat or overload of toxins. However, with your unique ability to heal wounds on your own, this will amplify the capacity along with regulating your body's movements and muscle output."

Miya lowers her head to the floor, gripping her fists at her sides. "I still don't understand why you showed me those fights. I get it, I got my ass kicked. Why does it matter? I'll just kill the next person who-"

"You still don't get it. I don't want you to resent a loss. I want you to revel in it. The Valcro Unit, E-24, was created to combat the new wave of extreme cases surrounding the entire Nova Quadrant. This will not be the last time you're going to be outmatched."

Emelia then places her hands on Miya's shoulders with a gentle squeeze. "However, your job doesn't require you to combat every foe. Rather, find out their strengths and weaknesses, their resources, why they are important, and to whom. You'll have to spend more time thinking rather than acting in this position."

Miya shakes her head while looking to the side. "I excel at combat, though. I'm not really good at... At reading people or finding out stuff like that..."

"That's not true! The way you handled the conversation between you and that Stravos representative; Your orchestration in retrieving Dr. Yamuichi using limited detail; Even when you played several faces for that family you rescued on 4056-E. Though you're a bit rough around the edges, you have potential in deductions and reasoning based on your true nature."

"What... What type of nature do I have?"

Emelia smiles with a cock of her head, some blush locks falling past her ear. "You, Miya, are a natural manipulator. A very small few of gifted individuals who, with the right conditioning, could be excellent at discussions and negotiations. I can see a bit of myself in you. Though I'm able to exploit my nodic ability to see one's inner thoughts and memories; You'd have to work a bit harder than I to get to an equivalent level of behavioral and cognitive interpretation."

Miya turns around and looks up at Emelia with lowered eyebrows. "Then how would I get better at something like that?"

"Oh Miya, you're going to be instructed under me of course! I want you to stay on Aestero Pol for a short while. During this time we'll do conduct tasks that will get you ready for your deployment. You'd need to stay stationed here anyway, since you're going to need to get pre-conditioned for your new Linkmare and XMS-gun Model 1... Both of which, unfortunately, will hurt like hell."

"And what about the Ya'valt? Are you still certain we can take them down, just the two of us?"

Emelia bends down and wraps her arms around Miya's shoulders. Her lips then graze the side of Miya's ear.

"You needn't worry about that, my darling Xarzallon. They'll soon learn that they're just a small part of our bigger stratus."