Aidan returned to his room like he was walking to his own execution. He quietly entered the room and lay down on his bed without bothering to remove his ABS. With a thought, he logged out and returned to the real world.

As usual, he was shrouded in darkness when he woke up. His coffin opened, and he felt like a vampire rising from the dead to plague the land of the living. He was surprised to find a uniformed Marine waiting for him.

“Ambassador Steele?” The young man questioned.

Aidan nodded before confirming, “that’s me. Although the Ambassador part is fairly new.”

The Marine looked relieved before clarifying why he was waiting for the ambassador. “Coordinator Marsh wants to see you. He’s not in his office. He’s in a conference room, so he sent me to find you and bring you there.”

Aidan gestured to the young Marine. “Lead the way.”

As they walked through the labyrinthian compound, Aidan was thankful that Marsh had sent a guide. He didn’t know if the crypt had been designed to be confusing on purpose, but for someone who spent most of their time in the System, it looked impossible to navigate.

Soon, Aidan was led to a nondescript door in the middle of a long, lifeless hallway. The Marine gestured to the door and said, “he’s inside.”

“Thanks,” Aidan replied before opening the door and stepping inside.

The room’s interior looked like every other government conference room that Aidan had been to. The walls were painted concrete blocks, and the floors were thin, ambiguously colored carpet atop a concrete foundation. At the end of the room, there was a large tv mounted to the wall with a media cart underneath it for the untold number of PowerPoint presentations this room would witness.

A large faux wooden table took up most of the space, with mismatched chairs surrounding it. Rows of extra chairs lined the room lengths so that subject matter experts could be called on if necessary. Overall, the furniture had seen better days and matched the demeanor of the fed who waited for Aidan.

He looked up as the envoy entered and closed the laptop he was clicking away on. He rose to his feet and addressed Aidan.

“I’m not sure what to call you, Steele. Ambassador? Commander? Major?”

Aidan shrugged and crossed the room. He sat down in a chair across from Marsh. “Whatever makes you comfortable, Marsh. Usually, JSOC doesn’t get so wrapped around titles—only what gets the job done,” he replied. “Did you get the report from Gray?”

“I did, and JSOC isn’t the only interest here,” Marsh said before retaking his seat.

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the desk. “We’re fucked.” He finally pronounced.

“I have every intelligence agency, oversight committee, and military leader in the know calling for your head. They all think they have a replacement in mind who could do a better job.”

“What did you tell them?” Aidan wondered.

“I delayed. I told them we were still waiting for details but that we were sure the PRC was behind the attack. That’s not even the worst part,” the fed continued. “The PRC demanded that we turn Dr. Smith’s coffin over to them for safekeeping.”

Aidan was about to object, but Marsh waved him down. “Don’t worry, that isn’t going to happen, but it’s no secret among the various international bodies that we suffered a defeat at the hands of the Chinese. Our allies are distancing themselves from us, and people on the fence between us and the Eastern coalition are moving closer to that side. This shit has landed on the President’s desk, and he wants answers.”

“I can’t imagine the pressure you’re under, Marsh, but my people have a plan,” Aidan assured him.

“A plan?” The fed barked a laugh. “Aidan, we’re past the point of a plan. We’re trying to do damage control.”

“Hold on,” Aidan stopped the man. “We disabled nine of the ten craft the PRC sent to our camp. Our scientists think they can refit one of them and get it airworthy in less than twenty-four hours. I’m going to take two teams and get Dr. Smith back.”

Marsh frowned. “I want Dr. Smith back,” he said slowly. “She’s clearly compromised and I would like to debrief her. Who has she been talking to? Who did she report to? How many other spies do we have in our camp? These are all questions that need to be answered and she’s the best positioned to answer them.”

The fed heavily sighed. “However, this has become an international embarrassment for us and capturing Smith isn’t what the President wants.”

Aidan was confused. He thought this whole problem was centered around the doctor. “What does the President want, then?”

Marsh began tapping his fingers on the desk again. Aidan realized it was a nervous tic for the fed. “They want her gone. Basically, the President wants to throw away our toys and go home. If we can’t have the good doctor, then no one can.”

Aidan was quiet as he thought through his plans and the collar sitting in his inventory. “We can split the baby,” he quietly said. “I can get you the information you need and then the doctor can disappear. We’ll claim the Chinese did it.”

Marsh nodded his head. “I can give you seventy-two hours before the wolves start scratching at the door. I can say that we never had this conversation and just report the matter resolved. If Smith dies in the hands of the Chinese, that’s ammunition for our politicians.”

“They want to martyr a traitor,” Aidan rolled his eyes.

“Better that than the alternative,” Marsh admitted. “No one in the political class wants to admit that our main researcher for the Codex was working for the PRC the whole time. China and the United States will know the truth, but everyone else won’t be able to say for sure what happened.”

“How did they get to her anyway?” Aidan wondered.

“They got her young,” Marsh said flatly. “When she was still in school for her Ph.D., a Taiwanese think tank gave her grants to do her research. Over time, they asked for small favors in return. They recommended she take the position with the U.S. government and then stayed in contact when she was put in charge of the Codex.”

Marsh made a disgusted face and waved his hand. “It’s a common enough practice for the PRC. Our intel guys missed the connection to China because the Taiwanese government assured us that this was an independent group.”

“That seems like a large oversight,” Aidan said dryly.

“It was, but it was also a different time then. Everyone was in a race to understand what was happening. There was a lot of confusion surrounding the Codex, and everyone wanted to get in on the action as soon as possible. Things were glossed over in Smith’s past that never should’ve been overlooked. She was practically a poster child for typical PRC collection strategies.”

“Alright,” Aidan sighed. “I need to get back into the System and ensure everything stays on track.”

“Hold on,” Marsh said. “We need to talk about your stunt with the military dictatorship.”

“Stunt?” Aidan asked. “There was no stunt. I logged into the System to find that everything had been decided without my input.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“So you didn’t intentionally choose a military dictatorship and name yourself the commander?” Marsh clarified.

“Not at all, but it’s a good thing it happened,” Aidan argued. “Especially in light of the PRC’s attack. If we hadn’t already been developing Camp Plymouth and working on our military technology, who knows how that firefight would’ve gone.”

“We probably would’ve been removed from the system entirely.” Marsh agreed.

“We wouldn’t have the technology to strike back at the PRC, either,” Aidan added.

“Do you know why the System recognized you as the leader of the camp rather than Smith?”

“Not definitively, no,” Aidan admitted.

“But it sounds like you have an idea?” Marsh asked.

“I don’t have any proof, but I think the System recognized she was a spy for another faction on the continent,” Aidan began. “Not only that, but her intentions were never to build up the camp. She didn’t bother creating a leadership structure. She performed as an individual contributor with no ties to her own faction. Nothing in her mindset or behavior indicated that she was leading a faction.”

“You think the System can make leaps of logic like that?”

“I know it can,” Aidan’s tone left no room for argument. “All you have to do is look at the mission system. When I tell someone to do something, the System decides whether it’s worthy enough to warrant official recognition and whether a reward should be assigned. Not only that, but the reward corresponds to the activity the mission is based on.”

“How so?” The fed asked.

“When my team cleared a communication post, we were rewarded with an engram for quantum communications. When we fought a kobold with powerful psionic abilities, we got an engram for a psionic focus,” Aidan explained. “Clearly, the System is analyzing all of our behavior in real-time and making decisions based on our actions and intentions.”

“Do you think it’s guiding your development?”

Aidan wasn’t sure how to answer Marsh’s question. On the one hand, he knew the System was guiding him toward an outcome. He had Astra and his position as the Envoy to prove it. He was supposed to unite the factions before the world was assimilated. On the other hand, he couldn’t explain that to the fed without revealing his status as an envoy. He was willing to do that with his personal team, but he was never going to do that with his government. He might find himself in a CIA black site before the day was out.

“I’m not sure.” Aidan finally said. “It’s not lost on me that as soon as we started participating in the System as intended, we were rewarded with technologies that rapidly progressed our faction. We went from a tent city to a functioning outpost in less than a week.”

“That’s true,” Marsh agreed. “I’m going to include that fact in my report. Under your leadership, the Camp has made more progress getting new technology than Smith did under her entire tenure.”

Marsh leveled a look at Aidan. “You know that this whole military dictatorship thing can’t last.”

Aidan nodded. “I know, and as soon as we have enough people in the system to make a change, I’ll shift us to something else.”

“Can you be removed from power if you don’t want to be?” Marsh asked with a guarded tone.

Aidan shrugged. “If you want my honest answer? Probably not. I guess my team could probably betray me, but you’d have to permanently kill me. With my psionic abilities, advanced weaponry, unique relationship with the gnomes, and loyalty of the camp personnel, that isn’t a likely outcome.”

“Thanks for telling me. I value your honesty, even if I refuse to include your assessment in any report to the chain of command.” Marsh sighed. “So then, what are your intentions?”

“I’m going to work the System the way it was intended,” Aidan resolved. “I’m going to build up our forces, increase the size of our factions, expand our influence, make more trade or defense agreements with the locals, and try to bring every other faction under our leadership.”

Marsh nodded. “I think that aligns with our goals as well. We want the technology that the System is providing us. Everything you learn there advances our scientific progress by leaps and bounds.”

“I need your help, though,” Aidan stated.

“What do you need?” The fed tapped his fingers on the desk.

“I need more people—way more people.”

“What kind of people?” Marsh frowned at the request.

“Off the top of my head? More warriors, agriculture experts, biomechanical engineers, and commerce people.” Aidan listed off the people with his fingers. “For a more detailed report, I have Plymouth HQ working on a strategic plan for our growth. I’ll send someone with a copy.”

Marsh nodded. “Alright, when I get the list, I’ll start working on it. Just know that we have some built-in limitations. This entire project is a secret, and we’re not like the PRC, who can simply order their people to do what they want.”

“Can I make a suggestion?” Aidan asked.

“Sure,” Marsh agreed readily.

“Instead of focusing on scientific experts, go after gamers. The System feels like a game, and the mechanics are easy enough to pick up for anyone who has played one. As we progress further down the technological tree, you’re going to find fewer and fewer people who have relevant backgrounds. Not only that, but some things in the System don’t translate directly to real-world experience in the first place.”

“That means we’ll get a bunch of random classes that might not help the development of the camp,” Marsh argued.

“Maybe,” Aidan agreed. “But for those people, we can take a page out of the PRC’s book and give them guidance for the tutorial under the guise that they’re beta testing a particular function of the game.”

Aidan thought for a moment before continuing. “I don’t think we even need to do that, though. Select college students who are majoring in something we need. Or pick people already employed in trades that would be useful to the camp. There are a ton of gamers out there, and we don’t need the best and most established researchers in their fields. We just need people and allow the System to care for the rest. Each engram is like becoming an instant expert in that particular technology.”

Marsh nodded thoughtfully. “I can’t promise anything,” the fed said slowly. “But I’ll start making noises in the right places.”

The coordinator pointed at Aidan, “that’s assuming your operation is successful, and you can get the politicians off of my back.”

Aidan laughed and rose to his feet. He held out his hand for Marsh to shake. “That’s a deal then,” he said.

“Deal,” Marsh agreed as he shook Aidan’s hand.

“Now, I really need to get back to the System. Do you think you can have someone guide me to the crypt?”

The fed rolled his eyes. “I really wish you wouldn’t call it that.”

“Why?” Aidan asked. “What do you guys call it?”

“System Storage Bay One,” Marsh admitted.

“I think I’ll stick with my name,” Aidan laughed. “Besides, when you log out of the System and come out of a coffin like a damn zombie, you’ll start calling it a crypt too.”

Aidan’s tone and face grew pensive. “Besides,” he added. “this side of the System is starting to feel more and more like a bad copy of the other side.”

Marsh frowned. “Don’t go losing yourself in there, Steele.”

Aidan’s pensive look passed like a cloud over the sun before he smiled brightly. “I’m not. You just have to experience it for yourself.”

“Not any time soon,” Marsh laughed. “Someone has to keep watching your ass from this side.”

Aidan left the room on a positive note, and while the same Marine led him back to the crypt, he reflected on the exchange with Marsh. Things were growing complicated on Earth, and events within the System had an outsized effect on geopolitics. The more he pushed the influence of his faction, the larger the waves he created on this side. Even if Marsh didn’t report the power Aidan held in the System, someone would eventually notice.

Once they realized that the System would become the real world, there would be an exodus of influential people trying to enter and retain some of their influence in the new world. They would become more dangerous than any of the other factions. They were the kind of unstable element that could tear his faction apart. If he wanted to survive and make sure the Earth successfully assimilated, he would need to lay the groundwork to neutralize such a threat before it materialized.

The problem was that he wasn’t sure how to do it. No matter how strong his coffin was, his body still existed on this side of the System. With enough time and effort, someone could pry open his coffin and stake the vampire inside. When that happened, none of his System attributes would change a damned thing.

He wasn’t sure he was even the right choice to lead the Earth to assimilation. There were probably people out there who were more intelligent, more savage, or better equipped to deal with the political nightmare the System was sure to become. When he had agreed to come into the System, he hadn’t thought he would be forced to lead all of humanity. He had just wanted to relive the good ol’ days for a while. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to be the System Envoy for Earth.

It was these thoughts that followed him into his coffin. As the liquid filled the interior of the chamber, he sighed. He would just have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, he had a mission to worry about. None of the other concerns mattered if he couldn’t reclaim Smith from the PRC. He refused to let down Camp Plymouth and his Spectres by backing out just when things were getting complicated. That wasn’t the type of person he was; it certainly wasn’t the type of leader he wanted to be.

When he opened his eyes, he was back on his own bed in the System.

“Nikita, you there?” He asked.

“Always,” came the simple reply. Aidan sighed and rolled to his feet. Yanovna was perched on the compact chair and desk combo that served as a small workspace. She was sitting in the chair with her legs crossed over the desk. A small knife was darting around her fingers as she played with the blade in boredom. Aidan noted that she was wearing all her equipment, including her helmet.

“How was the conversation with Marsh?” She asked.

“Could’ve been worse, but there’s been a change to our mission.” The envoy answered.

“What kind of change?” The woman’s voice was wary.

“The President doesn’t care about a rescue. He wants Smith to disappear.” Aidan said.

Yanovna tapped the point of her knife against the side of her helmet. “I guess she disappears, then.”

The commander appreciated the shadow trooper at that moment. While his thoughts were all over the place, Nikita brought him back to reality with stark clarity. The mission was the mission. They had no other option but to complete it. The System appeared to agree.

MISSION: Debrief and then kill Dr. Smith

REWARD: 1 rare engram