My temper had gone from fuming, to a low, slow boil by the time I had reached the building that the base commander’s office was located in.

Evidently the thundercloud over my head, hadn’t fully gotten the memo yet, based upon how the flight line acted as I passed. Even the members of the E4 mafia found it in themselves to do actual work, after taking a look at me, and then looking back at the Ghost-rider.

I recognized the tactic that they were using, after all I had done the same when I was in the more active part of the reserve’s. It was very simple, don’t piss off the angry officer, and hope that they aren’t there for you.

I paused outside of the building, having finished thinking about a critical matter. “Eris, can I change your designation?” I asked.

Yes, provided that the new name doesn’t breach any rules. I will inform you if your request would be in breach.

“Mórrígan, shortened to Mor.”

The new name is fine, but I don’t understand the reasoning behind the change. Eristryis is a perfectly fine name, and is currently not in use.

I shook my head at the AI’s lack of understanding, before I replied. “Eristryis was, in your own words, deconstructed to the point of becoming a part of you. And if they did actually attempt to kill me, then I don’t think that having my point of contact for the points shop, having the same name, is a good idea.”

Understood, designation set to Morrigan.

With that out of the way I headed into the building, following the paper signs from the hastily abandoned front desk, up the stairs to the base commander’s office. The door to their office was open, with the officer looking out the window towards the busy flight line. The placard on their desk read Wing Commander Shield.

“Please, come in. I hope that the men, and women under my command haven’t done something to wrong you, Miss…” He said, turning away from the window to face me, as the question entered his voice.

“Thunderchild. My mood isn’t the fault of any of your men or women, but rather a bad end of shift.” I answered, stepping into his office, and closing the door behind me.

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The sun was starting to set, by the time that my conversation with Wing Commander Shield was coming to an end. He had relaxed over the course of the conversation, though my last question on the chemical reaction that the Antithesis displayed, had made him nervous again.

He tugged at the top of his uniform a bit as he answered. “I believe that someone like Stray Cat would be better suited to answering that question, than I would be. Unfortunately, out of province communication is down at the moment, and we aren’t sure when they’ll be back online.”

I sighed, and shook my head at that. “Let me guess, something, something, Bell has a telecommunications monopoly now. Someone probably hit the line while digging a new foundation.”

He chuckled softly at that, as he stood up to go back to the window. “Probably. Did you know, all phone calls have to bounce through the Bell building in New Montreal, before they can go to the satellites from the local tower? Bell claims that it’s for anti piracy purposes, but I think we all know what kind of load that is.”

He stood, staring out at the flight line as he continued. You know, Thunderchild. Before you got here, we were always regarded as the quiet…”

With a pop, and the shattering of glass, Wing Commander Shield was gone, out the window in a mass of tentacles before he could complete his sentence.

“Mor…?” I asked, as I grabbed the Lib-VRRT-tea into the ready position, and started to head towards the window.

He’s……Gone? He’s gone, but that’s not possible, how could he be gone. I…… I should still be able to find his Aug’s but they're gone.

“Mor… What's going on right now? It’s fine if you can’t find them right away.” I said, peaking my head out of the window. The grass below was empty, not even a drop of blood lay on it.

You… You don’t understand Ellis. Vanguard class AI operate across all dimensions. We can find items across all dimensions. We can find candidates across all dimensions. HE CANNOT JUST BE GONE. I must have just missed the exit point of the portal in the data. yes…Yes…YES that must be it. I’ll… I’ll just do another quick search over the data, then I’ll surely find it.

Mor, get a hold of yourself.

The voice thundered onto the line, sounding far more ancient than Mor did, or Eris had, as it continued.

The most logical explanation for the fact that you can’t find him, is that he has gone to the same dimension that this Ellis came from. You looked at the quick searches that Eris did, right?

That, yes that is Correct Zorg.

He couldn’t find the other side of the portal that this Ellis came through either, right?

That… is true.

Therefore, it stands to reason that the dimension that Ellis came from, and the Wing Commander went to, is unreachable by us right now, correct?

This is the logical conclusion, yes

That means you don’t have to worry about finding him, send a report up the line, then do a self check. I’ll handle Ellis for the moment in case anything comes up.

Yes, thank you Zorg. I must apologize Ellis, I will be unavailable for a bit.

With that, Mor’s voice went quiet, and I could almost feel Zorg shaking his head. I had decided to stay put during all of that, least something interesting decide to happen.

I don’t understand how they could decide to send a boot into this situation. Ellis, I suggest finding the base’s priest, so that the proper burial rights can be given.

Then, come to the dropship. We can talk more there. And don’t worry about other people saying that word around you, I’ll make sure that they know not to.