Lanada bolted up in a cold sweat, still cringing from the pain in their ears. They felt as if they could still hear it, even though they were awake. They also found themself exhausted, as if they hadn’t gotten any sleep and instead had been doing cardio all night. Their head ached as well as the rest of their body. What was even the point of a bed?
Their Circle confirmed that it was only a couple minutes before 10; they would surely be late for the meeting. They didn’t care though, STAR deserved to wait for them. Lanada took a well deserved slow pace to get up and ready, making sure to really clean their teeth and make a fantastic, nutritious breakfast.
They were halfway through a bite of breakfast zerkin, enjoying the subtle flavors they’d worked in, when their Circle rang, a light spinning around the perimeter to alert them. It was Sam, unfortunately.
“Lanada, where are you? You’re not breaking our arrangement, right?”
“Don’t worry, I’m just eating breakfast.”
“You can’t eat a little faster?”
“No. Yesterday was stressful, I got no sleep, and I am really just trying to enjoy my damn breakfast for once. I’ll be there when I get there, fuck off.” Lanada hung up on him, smiling as they returned to their food.
Already they were making Sam look bad. They imagined all of his coworkers waiting to see the new recruit he’d worked his ass off to get, only to be disappointed when they weren’t there on time, let alone within even the next hour. Lanada had a television show to watch, unfortunately for Sam.
Thirty minutes later, Lanada was cuddled under a blanket, sipping a cool smoothie while they watched the latest episode of Love Dove, the show about a gay bird with guns. Sam tried to call them again, but Lanada quickly declined it, laughing as they finished their smoothie. With every ring, Lanada planned on watching another episode, giggling helplessly the third time Sam called.
As the theme song came in again, Lanada joyfully singing along, there was a knocking at the door. It was Sam. Lanada pretended not to hear him, turning up the TV and singing louder. His knocking by result grew louder until he was practically pounding it. Lanada finally paused the television and comically cupped their ear towards the door. They waited for Sam to knock one more time before finally getting up to meet him.
“Oh wow hey! Didn’t expect to see you here Sam!”
“You’re supposed to be at the STAR office.”
“Oh, wow, really? I must have forgot! Want a smoothie? Got some Love Dove on!”
“You kill people for a living and you watch Love Dove?”
“It’s a good show. Lot of action.”
“It’s a bird.”
“Yeah.”
“So you coming with me? Or would you rather go to rehab today?”
“I guess I could come since you want me so bad. Gonna smoke first though.”
“It would probably be better if you didn’t meet the Ingalderin STAR team while blazed.”
“Who the hell says blazed?”
“Just get in the car.”
Sam’s patience was waning. Lanada found it hilarious. They swore to continue the bit as long as possible.
“I’ll bring it with me. First though, I’ve gotta take a REALLY fat shit, Sam. I’ll be right back.”
“No, you can shit at the office or in your pants, we’re going.”
Lanada rolled their eyes as Sam began walking to the door, expecting Lanada to follow. They didn’t of course. Instead, they walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer.
“For the road. Gotta stay hydrated.”
“Fuck it, fine. I really don’t care how sober you are, as long as we get you there.”
Lanada shrugged and smiled, taking a few gulps of the open bottle before following Sam outside. The usual muffled moans could be heard from Gerry’s apartment, and Lanada worried again. They wouldn’t even get to say goodbye if they left that day. They prayed that he would be safe, they couldn’t live with themself if he wasn’t.
Sam eyed Gerry’s door for a moment before leading Lanada down the stairs, inviting them into his sleek, STAR car. It was long and smooth, barely a sharp line through the whole body. It was a deep, glossy black, still absorbing the light despite its reflective surface. On the side in a matte black was the word STAR, making itself legible to only those who looked for it.
It was really pretentious, especially since Lanada could tell Sam expected them to be impressed; they were not. Even when they both sat in the car he had a smug grin, powering up his complex car. Electronics, screens, instruments, hell the whole car whirred to life, every part preparing itself for the drive. Lanada scoffed, remembering their simple truck that just started and drove, a novel idea.
“Wow so what's this, some fancy spy car? Does it have gadgets or something? Bulletproof?”
“You watch too much Love Dove. No.”
“Hmm… How fast is it?”
“Why?”
“You're the one showing it off. I'm just entertaining you.”
“Zero to a hundred in three seconds. If you must know.”
Sam almost looked smug, but before he could get there Lanada released a sharp scoff. His smile stopped forming immediately.
“And they made this thing a hatchback? The cargo area is so tiny! Don't you need the space for like, tactical gear or whatever?”
“It's perfectly fine, thank you.”
“Oh yeah, probably only stuff your designer briefcase back there or something.”
“I don’t even have a briefcase.”
“Oh. Well there’s gotta be something! It has some fancy screens, let’s see… Oh. Does it normally lag this much? It’s barely keeping up with my finger, look!”
Lanada taunted Sam with their smile while they messed around with the car’s navigation map, showing Sam just how bad the screen was. He finally slapped their hand away, quickly bringing the menu back to its home.
“Stop, you’ll break it! No more car questions! That’s enough!”
Lanada cracked up, whipping their head forward in their laughter. Sam only looked angrier.
“Are all your other toys this lame? STAR not getting the funding they used to?”
“Hey, this is a nice car! STAR didn’t even buy it for me, it’s my personal vehicle.”
“Oh thank gods, I thought I’d be forced to drive one of these.”
“No, we’ll make you use your old, decrepit truck,” Sam tried to smile, as if Lanada was supposed to be offended.
“Good, I love that truck! It’s so much fun to drive, and it’s reliable… And its map doesn’t lag!”
Sam was silent again, dodging Lanada’s jovial stares. They ran out of ways to annoy Sam though, and so they kept quiet, occasionally turning on his heat seater for laughs. His hands gripped the wheel tightly, leaving an imprint when they finally reached the office.
It was one of the taller buildings in Ingalderin, stretching nearly fifty stories into the air. It was absolutely pretentious, shaped largely like a sex toy and covered in glass otherwise.
“Hah! Is your office building a dildo?!”
“No, and that’s a stretch.”
“Oh it’s definitely a stretch. Cover it in lube and I know a couple guys who could take it.”
“Never heard anyone say that before.”
“I find that hard to believe. Unless all the STAR jackoffs are too embarrassed to say something.”
“Lanada… Please…”
“Hey, you wanted me so bad.”
Sam sighed as they passed through a revolving door, Lanada taking a couple spins inside for fun. When they finally emerged, a few agents going about their business let a few stares at them, shaking their heads as they attended to some business. Sam’s demeanor was a lot more understandable upon seeing the other agents, it was no wonder he seemed so serious. Everyone’s mouth was a straight line at the very least, and an absolutely furious scowl at the most; the far more common expression.
“This way,” Sam guided them, tapping his foot while he waited in the elevator door.
“What floor we going to? Can we go to the roof so I can jump off?”
“You wouldn’t be useful to us dead.”
“Yeah, kind of the point.”
“Look, I know this isn’t perfect, but please try to work with us here. Things would be a lot easier.”
“Would be a lot easier if you weren’t blackmailing me.”
“I know, but we’re in a tough position.”
“What, your pants weren’t pressed right last night? Someone brought you a merlot instead of the riesling you ordered?”
“No, we’re having somewhat of a national security crisis. A group of organized terrorists are attacking the Monarchy’s facilities, shutting them down. In the last week alone over fifty have been murdered by people with direct connections to these groups. Then we've been seeing them using new guns, enough to be a threat.”
“And why’s any of that my concern? They’ve never had a problem with me.”
“It’s your concern because you’re a STAR agent now.”
“It would be so embarrassing for you if I turned out to be the worst agent ever.”
“No, that’s embarrassing for you. I don’t even want you here, I’d rather have you in rehab.”
“Wait, you said you never got evidence on me before, right? So is the only reason you have something because they made you recruit me? Hahaa! That’s rich!”
“Yes, I never had the budget before to truly operate surveillance on you.”
“But they finally gave you the funding to blackmail me?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. Sounds like they already like me more than you. Or they just never thought you could get the job done.”
“They definitely did, that’s why they gave me the responsibility of you.”
“I’ll have to make you work then.”
“You already have.”
In a wild fit of glee, Lanada jumped forward and began pressing as many elevator buttons until Sam stopped them with a slap. He sighed at every floor they unnecessarily stopped at, awkwardly eyeing the agents outside each level. The long elevator ride finally ended, bringing them near the top floor. The hall outside was clean looking, allowing in natural light from the enormous windows beside the elevator.
Sam led them down a short hallway and through a door halfway down the hall. Inside was a large office space, filled with a couple dozen people quietly working. At the end of the room was a large desk, a serious looking saumryan typing away at it. When she saw Lanada and Sam enter, she glanced up a couple times before finishing her typing and standing. She wore a smile on her face, outstretching her hands in surprise.
“You got them in here! Never thought you could do it Sam. They are a couple hours late though.”
“I’m aware. They were watching Love Dove.”
“Oh, I was just watching that too. I just pretend I’m typing sometimes, you guys don’t even know. Anyways though, Lanada, I’m Rendell, commander of STAR. I answer to Mikoril’s high commander and King Lactain. Today we’ll get you kitted out as well as evaluate you. That will let us know what training you need, and where your skills would be most valuable.”
“I really think they would be most valuable at home. Alone. Not with any of you.”
“Perhaps, but honestly we need your help.”
“You need my help?”
“Training a rookie STAR agent is a long and arduous road with a lot of bumps. You’re already skilled though, so there’s hardly any training we’d have to do. We can have you out in the field in only a few days this way.”
“Is that why I’m here? To save a few bucks on training? What if your intel is shit and I’m actually really bad at everything?”
“Then we’ll have to train you a bit more. I doubt that would be an issue though, Sam here has told me all about your exploits, even if he couldn’t find any evidence on his own.”
Sam looked very embarrassed.
“So I’m stuck with you is what you’re saying?”
“Yep. So get comfortable, we’re really tight knit here.”
“That makes it so much worse. I thought you just had like one job for me, and the whole recruiting thing was Sam trying to manipulate me.”
“Nope, you’re one of us now. In fact, let’s get your ID photo taken. Stand against that wall!”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Lanada groaned and followed Rendell’s finger, crossing their arms and leaning against the wall. They wore a very irritated expression, nearly scowling at Rendell as she held up her circle to take the picture.
“Come on, smile!”
Lanada cocked their head and kept their frown. Rendell still wore a smile on her face, eventually giving in to take the photo after realizing Lanada wouldn’t get any happier. She darted off to her desk to pull out a keycard, slipping it into a laminated sleeve to give Lanada.
“It’s official now, you’re a STAR agent.”
Rendell melodramatically handed Lanada the ID. They looked absolutely pissed in the photo, as if it were a mugshot. It was a perfect representation of Lanada’s feelings for STAR.
“Wow, I’m so proud. Now I get to murder for the government! Yay! What do I have to do to get discharged?”
“Um, honorably or dishonorably?”
“Both?”
“Nothing Lanada. You’re stuck with us.”
“That sounds illegal.”
“We make the laws, Lanada.”
“Wow, really saying it out loud, mask completely off. At least you know.”
“I’m just being real with you. STAR isn’t a police force, it’s not a military, a militia, spies, not specialists. Our primary duty is to protect the people of Mikoril, nothing more or less. Every operation we have is another step to peace and safety for all.”
“Wowww you really believe all that?”
“I have to, I’m the commander. I can’t speak for every agent or control them individually, but I lead our organization’s direction. All operations and all our agents follow that direction, so they are all therefore working for peace.”
“Wow you sound full of shit! That was sooo pretentious.”
“Okay, your opinions are your own, but I don’t care about them. I want this to be as easy for us both as possible.”
“How? By blackmailing me?”
“Well, made it pretty easy for me. All you have to do is follow orders, Lanada. Simple as that. Sam, go ahead and start their training.”
Rendell still smiled, but it was obvious even she was annoyed by Lanada, her fake happiness starting to crack. They silently giggled as she returned to her desk, the smile leaving her face as she sat down. As expected, she looked exhausted. Sam was silent as he led Lanada out the door, walking fast back to the elevator.
“What kind of training am I doing?”
“Like Rendell said, gonna do an evaluation first, check out where you’re at with shooting and, uh, people skills.”
“My people skills are great! Guns though? I don’t know, never even touched one.”
“Lanada I can see three pistols, two rifles, and four knives on your person just from a quick glance.”
“That’s all you saw? Amateur.”
“If these are your people skills I don’t have confidence with your test.”
“If I fail, do I get discharged?”
“No, I’ll just teach you how to actually shoot a gun. I’m sure neither of us have the energy to let me train you though.”
“You’re right, I really don’t want you teaching me.”
“Then shoot and talk straight, seriously Lanada. If you’re stuck with us, I’m sure you’d rather be in the field than training here.”
Lanada didn’t want to agree with him, but he was right. Lanada really didn’t want to experience Sam’s teaching, assuming he’d be nothing but degrading and unskilled. They were obviously good at killing people, and given that’s all STAR really cared about, they decided to try and finish the evaluation as quickly as possible.
They reached the third basement floor, Sam sliding his card to unlock the elevator door. A small hallway led them into a large room. The walls and floor were lined with a polished dark sandstone, tables and desks laid intermittently. Apart from a large safe in a locked glass room, tables were filled with deconstructed guns and gadgets, people tooling around with the different components.
Some of the technology Lanada had never seen before; it was clear they had cutting edge tech they hid from the public. The guns STAR said the Geldor had probably didn’t compare to the firepower and accuracy of their own weapons. Rendell claiming they weren’t a military force was even more ironic. Lanada doubted even a fourth of the agents wanted peace.
The room full of weapons was enough to tell Lanada that STAR was preparing for a full scale war, not a few disorganized terrorists. It wasn’t enough to protect the Monarchy’s power, it seemed they wanted to prove themselves.
“I see you eyeing those guns. They’re brand new, use some experimental tech our engineers have been working on.”
“You have your own gun engineers? Thought you guys wanted peace?”
“We do. But if we're under attack, we need these to protect people.”
“More yourselves. Everyone hates the Monarchy and wants you gone. If you just went away, it would all be over. You wouldn't even need to shoot civilians or anything!”
“If only things were that simple. The Monarchy is the only thing keeping all this running. You really think a whole planet could operate alone?”
“Yeah. And a lot of people have shown it's possible. It's a lot better than people getting shot for resisting.”
“Yeah, we don't shoot people for resisting.”
“Maybe you don’t, but I doubt you’d want to take a department wide body count. I’m sure you gave a couple mass murderers a gun and a badge.”
“We don’t operate like that. We have much higher standards than a police office for example.”
“At least you know the cops are bad.”
“Let’s just do this evaluation, okay? We’ll start you out with a standard issue handgun, then work up from there, see how you adapt.”
“Are you the target I hope?”
“No.”
Sam guided Lanada to the weapon locker, leaving them outside while he went in to browse. As usual, he seemed to lose his tension as he got away from Lanada, proving they were exhausting him. He returned with two pistols and a rifle, handing them off as he walked to the small shooting range in the back. It was behind a glass wall, giving a clear view at the agents practicing inside. They weren’t the best.
“Easy.” Lanada said as they aimed the pistol Sam gave them.
The target was moving, but not too fast. Lanada easily hit the middle several times, draining the clip before they missed. They reloaded and the target moved back, performing more difficult maneuvers. There were three more stages, quickly passed by Lanada. They had a smug smile when they side eyed a couple of surprised looking neighbors.
“As expected. Try the new one now, see how different it is. The round will be fired a lot quicker, near the speed of sound. You won’t have to account for air time this round.”
Lanada simply nodded as they grabbed the experimental pistol. It looked mostly similar to the last one, being slightly thicker and painted with a blue stripe at the bottom. A couple screens fed information about ammunition, aim, and its condition among other things. It was very pretentious. Lanada shrugged and aimed it forward, eyeing the target as it moved.
The first round was explosive, kicking back Lanada’s arm as the target was blown in two. They glanced left without moving their head, confirming that Sam did indeed look smug, likely assuming Lanada was impressed by the gun. They were, but after their skepticism, he didn’t need to know. As if nothing were different, they finished their clip and the targets, accurate every time. The rifle was next, being a lot heavier even in their two hands.
“It has three settings: it can shoot fully automatic, semi-automatic, and you can configure it as a burst shot sniper.”
“Has a short barrel, is it accurate enough for that?”
“Yes, it even has a scope that can pop up. It’s adjustable.”
Sure enough, the rifle had a little scope, popping up with a little lever. Like the handgun, it had the blue paint and screens, designed otherwise for function.
Lanada took aim again, taking a good stance to properly absorb the kickback. When the target passed their sights, they unloaded, shredding the paper nearly instantly. The metal plate behind even suffered a multitude of holes, bullets embedding themselves in the back wall. It was very powerful, almost terrifying. They tried the other two settings, effortlessly clearing the targets with precision.
They turned around smug, watching Sam take the last of his notes.
“That’s basically perfect. Better than most of the agents we recruit. Well done.”
“Was that a compliment?”
“You’re the one who’s been an asshole this entire time. Quite frankly I think you could be a good partner.”
“Partner? We’re going to be partners?”
“Yeah, it only makes sense. I’ve been watching you for years anyways, I know you pretty well.”
“That’s creepy, did it really take you that long to find evidence?”
“Well, I had several other jobs that interrupted my surveillance, but, yeah.”
“No wonder you need me then, sounds like you’re terrible at your job.”
“Nah, you’re the only target I haven’t caught.”
“Well, that’s not true anymore. You got me.”
“Not on my own, Rendell had my whole division working with me. I never had those resources before. Got a couple more tests for you though. There’s a gym course you’ll need to get through so we can determine your athleticism, then a written quiz where you’ll have to give feedback on different scenarios.”
“This is school all over again.”
“You don’t have to climb a rope.”
“What? When did they ever make us climb a rope in school?”
“Um, I went to a private school. That could be why.”
“Wow no wonder you’re so pretentious. It all makes sense now.”
Sam was quiet as he took the guns back from Lanada, returning them to the weapons locker. He then led them to the next floor down, taking a short staircase back outside the hall. A room similar to the last was on that level, containing what looked like a gym inside.
Several people were using the equipment, all at varying levels of nudity. Typically brestyrians and saumryans didn’t wear much clothing, contrasting the more conservative humans on Mikoril. Sam ignored it though as Lanada followed him to the back of the room. There was a line of equipment, some being straightforward exercise equipment, and the rest unrecognizable.
“I thought it would be an obstacle course or something.”
“Nah, STAR doesn’t have the budget for that.”
“Well, we’ve seen what they spend it on…”
“Start on the first machine, I’ll let you know when to go to the next.”
He just blankly watched them as they got going, recording notes or whatever on his clipboard. They wondered if any of the testing was supposed to be difficult, because it definitely wasn’t for them. Sam seemed satisfied afterwards though, finishing off his paperwork as he walked up to them.
“Yep, cleared that easy, as expected. Good work.”
“This is so ridiculous. Did you really grade me on my running?”
“Not a grade, just recording data.”
“You sound like a shit tech company ruled by a mining mogul.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t sell anything to ads. If you really need to know, got an average walk speed of 7 kilometers, running is 28, you’re fast. Measured your strength and stamina, things like that.”
“Is that really it? Thought you’d want to see how well I’d take a bullet or something.”
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes! Yes please! Shoot me in the head! Then I won’t have to be here anymore!”
“You’ll get shot at enough in the field, don’t worry.”
“Are you always getting shot at then? Sounds like you’re doing something wrong.”
“Operations can be dangerous sometimes. Oh, and speaking of which, we’ve gotta go back upstairs. We’re going to measure you so we can get some fitting armor.”
Lanada didn’t have an annoying joke or tease at all, instead they were surprised.
“A whole suit of armor? Not just like a vest or something?”
“Yep. Every STAR agent has one.”
Armor was rare, especially armor that could stop a bullet. Cheaper armor would force them to take a round at half the force, barely better than if it wasn’t there at all. The armor the military used though wasn’t cheap, and could stop a bullet entirely before it even crossed though the plating. Even if Lanada could afford one, it was impossible to source. Much like weapons, they were produced exclusively for the military.
“That’s actually a solid. I’ll gladly take the armor.”
“Glad I finally piqued your interest.”
“No, you didn’t, it’s just the armor.”
They reached the armory again, finding the armor opposite the weapons locker. There wasn’t a lot of variety to choose from; all the armor was a slick black, mostly matte. Slim, glossy lines climbed each suit, supporting the structure with a rigid frame. Around every joint was an intricately sewn fabric, tough enough to absorb cuts. The entire suit had an environmental seal, allowing for technology to interface with the user. With a helmet, it could even be worn as a space suit, containing enough backup oxygen and pressurizers to keep someone alive in deep space for hours.
“Do I get to pick the color?”
“You never get to pick the color. It’s always black. There’s a few different designs, each one is a little different to fit each user. I have to grab our armor tailor, take a browse until I get back.”
Lanada gave Sam a nod before he walked off, not taking their eyes away from the armor. The differences were very subtle, requiring Lanada to examine them closely to notice anything. Behind them, Sam returned with a rather stout brestyrian, already a measuring tape in their hand.
They were silent aside from a few commands, making Lanada lift their arms and various other limbs until they were happy with the measurements. They wrote down the numbers then scurried away to a back room, various fabrics and armor plating scrapped about.
“Let’s get back up to the office for your last test. Armor should be ready by the time we’re done.”
“Worst job orientation ever.”
“We don’t have computer training at least.”
“I’d prefer that over talking to you.”
“Trust me, we’re both on the same page.”
They climbed back into the elevator, Sam silent. He seemed very broken after a whole day dealing with Lanada. They almost felt sad for him, but decided against it when they remembered they were being blackmailed. When they returned to the office, Rendell barely looked up, allowing Sam and Lanada to find a small desk without interruptions. He poked around his computer for a couple minutes, clicking and typing until he prepared some papers and looked at Lanada.
“The test will consist of five questions, answer them honestly and to the best of your abilities.”
“Ooh, will I find out what type of bread I am?”
“Don’t have to, you’re rye.”
“That’s offensive.”
“First scenario; you spot a dangerous person you’ve been tracking and confront them. They use a nearby child as a hostage, aiming a knife at you. The target attempts to convince you to allow them to flee upon release of the child. What do you do?”
“Shoot ‘em.”
“In front of the kid?”
“Yeah? Gotta grow up sometime.”
“Hmph. Scenario two; you’re following your target in a car late at night. They begin to make erratic turns, but they’re ahead of you, so you have no trouble following…”
The other questions were rather straightforward, Lanada’s response primarily being “shoot them.” Sam didn’t react to their words at all, instead silently writing some notes in his little packet. When they finished the last question, he took slightly longer, finishing his report.
“All good.”
“What? Really? But I said ‘shoot them’ for every question.”
“Yeah, I made answers up for you. Otherwise you’d have to take a psychology training course.”
“Can you do that?”
“Technically no, but Rendell doesn’t care and we don’t have time to train you.”
“You keep talking about how little time STAR has, are these people you wanna fight really that threatening?”
“Yes. They’re building, so we are too. We can’t watch an enemy stockpile weapons and not prepare ourselves. That’s where you and a couple other recruits come in.”
“So I’m not the only one? Did they blackmail the others too?”
“Not sure, I only dealt with you. You’ll likely see them at the Capitol, they’ll be working there too.”
“Wait, you’re dragging my ass all the way to the Capitol?!”
“Yes. This office in Ingalderin is the second largest we have, but most operations take place from the Capitol, that’s where our intel is along with our best agents.”
“I hate you.”
“Yes, you’ve made me aware of that. Several times. I thought it was clear there was a possibility you wouldn’t be staying in Ingalderin.”
“I got it, just didn’t think you’d have the audacity.”
“You’ll at least have a couple more days here, we’re not going yet. I’d take some time to sort out your other affairs though. You’ll have time in a few days.”
“Why not tomorrow?”
“Because, tomorrow is your first operation in the field!”
“What? Already?”
“Yeah. I’ll be honest, you got some of the best scores on these tests we’ve ever gotten. And we already know everything about you. You’re clearly loyal; you haven’t run off yet. If anything, you’ve proven you’ll be invaluable to us.”
“If I knew I was proving my worth I wouldn’t have tried so hard.”
“That was you trying hard? Wow, next time I’ll give you easier tests then. I didn’t know all that took so much effort for you.”
“What was all that for anyways? Is the surveillance state really this pedantic?”
“You’re a statistic now, Lanada. We use this data to compare agents, and determine assignments and partners.”
“Oh, I hope they get me a new partner then. One that’s more compatible, you know.”
“Nope. This was just procedure for you. You’re stuck with me.”
Sam shot Lanada a smug smile, which they returned back more aggressively to be petty.
“Can I get my armor now?” Lanada sighed.
“Yeah, fine. It should be ready by now.”
When they returned to the armory, the tailor was putting the final touches on the suit, polishing one of the support struts. They handed it off to Sam before retreating back to their room.
“Go home and try it on. Want you back here at the same time tomorrow, 10. Please, please don’t get caught up with Love Dove again.”
“No promises. I finished the second season and it ended on a really exciting cliffhanger.”
“Lanada, seriously. What we’re doing tomorrow will be important.”