Only Human (Goddess of Victory NIKKE SI)

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Chapter 01 - It's Just Begun
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Gazing out a window overlooking the fantastically futuristic city below, Joseph Pholus took in the sight as he stood quietly, periodically adjusting the… Uniform he'd been provided.

As distracting as the physical discomfort of the stiff military wear might have been, it was nothing much at all in stark contrast to the quiet awareness of the nature of the sky he stared up at.

An artificial sky complete with two-dimensional clouds, a gargantuan projection hanging high over the underground arcology that was the Ark; mankind's last, deceptively frail hope for survival.

A week he had been present here, having awoken in a local hospital with no memory of how he'd been displaced from his comfortable apartment bed back in Canada.

A week that had passed by, somehow in some infernal combination of an imperceptibly fast whirlwind, and an agonizingly slow crawl at the same time.

Earth had been invaded by honest-to-god extraterrestrials, known to the remaining people of the world as 'Raptures,' and there was no human life on Earth which was not entirely contained within the Ark's own walls now.

All of this had happened a century prior. Which, if nothing else, cleanly disabused Joe of any notions that he had simply experienced 'amnesia' as the hospital staff had assumed: this wasn't, couldn't have possibly been his Earth.

For starters, it was the year 2130. It was 2023 last he'd checked. Unless he aged rather remarkably like ambrosia compared to the average person, there was simply no way he was merely experiencing lost time. He simply had to have awoken in the body of an alternate self of his—the Joseph Pholus of this world.

A man who had, when faced with the cruel reality of mankind's encroaching extinction, signed up to serve on the front lines of the war. Joined the phalanx holding the line for the sake of those precious few remaining here in the Ark.

That, on the face of it, wasn't so startling. It tracked with what he knew of himself, if nothing else.

'Do not go gentle into that good night,' 'stand and fight to the bitter end,' 'make life struggle for each solitary inch it takes from you.' All maxims he held true to in his previous life, all of which had carried him through the hardships of his early life and into an adulthood he doubted he'd ever get the chance to see several times.

Apply that to a timeline wherein he was among those that remained in the midst of a hostile alien invasion of Earth? Yeah, signing up for the military in that context was exactly the sort of headpants decision he'd make.

Yet now, it wasn't his alternate self, but him that would be forced to live with that decision. For a good number of reasons, he rapidly found out. Including the fact that he didn't really have anywhere else to go.

No employment records, no place of residence, no known contacts even a week after they started looking. Hell, there had been a minor emergency while he was out in the hospital on account of them having no records on him either, and by extension, having no idea what his blood type was.

Some military bigwig had apparently had to intervene on that matter, though nobody seemed keen on elucidating what exactly that had meant to him after the fact.

Otherwise, by all accounts, he'd simply popped into existence on the day he had signed up for military training.

Startlingly, when it seemed obvious to Joe that he would no longer qualify for the position his previous self had earned, he was made to run a battery of tests which included directing mock battles in full-on holographic simulation rooms.

This culminated in the confirmation that, somehow, his command compatibility scores had increased after the accident which had landed this body in the hospital.

Almost like losing what training he'd apparently previously gone through resulted in a marked improvement in his tactical and strategic decision-making.

He didn't like the implications of what that said about not only his alternate self, but the average Ark Commander in general. This, given that he was noted to be outperforming his immediate peers now, too.

The Ark's Central Government was also, it turned out, more than a little remiss to accept resignations from 'perfectly capable' Commanders without severe justification. To the tune of 'loss of bodily autonomy' or 'treason.'

So, basically conscripted.

He was given the standard-issue uniform of a Commander. This consisted of a no-frills olive drab suit, with things like the typical high-waisted belt and tall leather boots common to such uniforms.

Luckily, he wasn't forced to cut his hair, and was only made to trim and gussy up his beard to 'professional standards' rather than shave it outright. Though Joe would be lying if he said that seeing his long dark brown hair tied up in a tight man bun didn't make him want to punch himself in the face.

'Twas better than the alternative of braiding his hair when in-uniform, at any rate, he supposed.

Damn military regulations. He hoped they wouldn't make him apply hair gel to keep his shorter forelocks off of his face on top of that.

Thank God they didn't make him wear the optional hat.

Afterwards, he was basically exposited at to get the ball rolling on his understanding of the world around him, and informed of what exactly being a 'Commander' entailed.

He would be travelling to the planet's surface in accordance to 'contracts' issued by the Central Government, and accepted at his own discretion. Outside of situations wherein he'd be directly commanded in a more traditionally military manner, to fulfill objectives issued by his superiors.

Then who, exactly, would he be commanding in the field?

Why, cyborg super-soldiers, of course.

Humans augmented to be capable of unthinkably preternatural feats such as shoulder-firing guns that would tear a regular human's arm clean from their shoulder socket. Leap multiple stories into the air. Run faster than a red-lined race car. Tank damage that would turn a regular person into a fine red mist...

Nikkes, the Goddesses of Victory.

Because for some inscrutable reason, only women were augmented into cyborgs and deployed into active combat as actual combatants.

Joe's role on the battlefield? Observe from a 'distance' using whatever methods were available to him, and direct the Nikkes under his command to victory. Using one of the weapons used by Nikkes was… Ill-advised, for the aforementioned reason of 'shoulders torn clean from sockets.'

Needless to say, he wasn't expected to directly engage Raptures, and, in fact, was very firmly informed that he would only be provided a personal firearm for the purposes of defending himself from wild predatory animals on the surface, should the need arise.

Shooting a Rapture with anything less than a Nikke-grade gun just pissed them off, as it turned out. And shooting a Nikke-grade gun as anything less than a Nikke was a really good way to find oneself in a hospital, if not a morgue.

So. Big fucking yikes all around.

The only reason Joe wasn't actively quaking in his boots was because he'd achieved some horrible form of zen, a distant acceptance of something, though he wasn't quite sure what at this point. But it kept him calm where he otherwise probably should have been a panic-ridden mess.

Of course, looking far more put-together than he really was, underneath the veneer of unshaking self-assurance, had earned him no small amount of approval.

He was cleared to have a Nikke squad assigned to him, and he was to begin training with the girls he'd be commanding for the foreseeable future, in preparation for deployment within the next month or so.

Talk about sink or fucking swim.

But, that brought him back to the present, standing in one of the many underground towers that filled the Ark, the last city on Earth.

The Ark was paradoxically abuzz with life below—looking for all the world like a future-tech utopia at a glance. The city proceeded along with seemingly nary a care in the world; all the while, he waited to meet his squad.

Behind him, he heard the automatic door leading deeper into the facility open up. The voice of a man, a fellow officer who had been leading him about the building, filled the waiting area once more.

Immediately, Joe could hear that he was informing his apparent squad of the situation and all of that.

Quickly enough, a pair of footsteps turned the corner.

"Commander Pholus," the fastidious young man declared. "The Nikke who will be serving under you from here on out."

Letting out a sigh of quiet resignation, Joe turned to be greeted by a single, sharp gasp from a lone, young woman standing astride the young man who had been guiding Joe about.

Where the guy had been as unremarkable as a man could be, she was, simply put, breathtaking.

At once, Joe was reminded of the fact that the 'Goddess' part of the descriptor was shockingly apt. Nikkes, more often than not, were stone-cold stunners.

Whether this was because they had been lucky enough to be born beautiful, and had that natural beauty preserved into their augmentation, or they were altered to be gorgeous post-alteration, he didn't know. But, this eye-catching brunette was no exception to the established norm.

She was dressed in what could be best summed up as a sexy flight attendant get-up, complete with the little cap sitting atop her crown. Blue, white, black and accented in gold: taut to her curvaceous figure in all the right places. Anyone with an attraction to women would be blown off their feet at the sight of her.

Previously, seeing a girl dolled up as she was, would cause Joe to immediately assume that she was a cosplayer. But, from what he'd seen of Nikkes, it was pretty damned common for them to just flaunt what they had. Sometimes, to the point of excess.

Apparently, being capable of casually outpacing a prize racehorse at a full gallop—in three-inch heels—opened the door wide open for what could be considered 'functional combat apparel.'

Hence the sheer tights worn under a form-hugging miniskirt, which left precious little to the imagination.

Despite himself, Joe couldn't help but stare at least a bit. Which is what caused him to catch sight of her breathtaking heterochromic eyes—sapphire blue with strikingly photogenic chocolate brown splotches, wide and locked firmly onto him. Accompanying a-reddening of her cheeks?

Was she sick, or something?

After a bit of an extended quiet, the uniformed young man standing astride her gave the Nikke an unimpressed sidelong glance, as she simply continued to stare at Joe.

He broke the silence before it could begin to really get awkward. "Her name is Marian. As you can see, she is no mere mass-production model. She will inform you more of her specific capabilities and such in the coming days as you two sort your business out. Be sure to make the most out of her during your tenure as a Commander."

With a jump, Marian gasped. She sheepishly averted her gaze as her blush intensified, before she took a deep breath. "...Hello, Commander Pholus. It's nice to meet you. I'm looking forward to working with you from here on out."

She came across as downright shy. Shocking, considering she could most assuredly tear apart a main battle tank from back home, with just her bare hands. Though, he supposed that some people were just like that.

Moreover, Joe was somewhat caught flat-footed when no other girls followed. Was Marian the only Nikke being assigned to him?

Adjusting the tie of his suffocating military uniform, Joe figured that, either way, it'd be best to just focus on making a good first impression on the one girl that was present, for now.

Putting on a wide smile, Joe stepped forth, presenting a hand to the deceptively demure girl. "Happy to meet you, Marian. Thanks for taking up a position under a complete greenhorn. I hope you'll be able to help whip me up into shape before our first real battle together!"

He was putting it on a little thick, yes, but better to overcompensate than not, and risk letting his nerves actually poke through right now.

"And 'Joe' is fine. No need for that 'Commander' stuff either, I'd rather we be-"

"Ahem!" The utterly unremarkable man cut him off even as Marian's gaze resettled back on Joe, eyes widening with each word spoken and expression growing more visibly joyful. "It's hardly appropriate to undercut the boundaries between a Commander and Nikke, lest they forget their place-"

"Didn't ask," Joe harshly cut the man off, having learned perfectly well just what the average Ark dweller thought of Nikkes, and he didn't care to take to that particular aspect of the local culture at all.

While Marian remained quiet, the officer that had been showing him around let out a displeased huff, then rolled his eyes. "Enjoy the inevitable write-up, then. Your funeral, new guy."

With that, he turned and started off down the hallway, calling back over his shoulder as he left.

"Answer any questions the Commander may have and show him to his room and all of that. More importantly: remember your place relative to his, and the consequences of disregarding that fact just because of your unorthodox assignment, Nikke."

Not having slowed to wait for a reply, quickly enough, it was just Joe and the sexy flight attendant super soldier that was Marian, standing in the waiting room overlooking the Ark's Government sector. While her expression had fallen at the other officer's parting words, Joe wasn't about to let that guy being an ass ruin their first meeting.

"Anyways, now that we're free of that asshole," he started, presenting an outstretched palm to the young woman with a genial smile. "As I said before: pleased to meet you. No need for the stuffy 'Commander' stuff unless we're around folks that've got steel rods up their backsides. If we're gonna be working together from now on, I'd rather we be able to be personable to each other."

At once, Marian's eyes began to sparkle, and an earnest, beautiful smile found purchase on her features.

Reaching out eagerly, she took Joe's offered hand and grinned widely at him. "Okay. I'll do my best, Command- J-Joe," she corrected herself with a sheepish chuckle.

"You, um, I was told that you actually have amnesia, and can't remember most things about the way the Ark works?" she asked somewhat tenderly, understandably unsure of just how to handle talking to him yet.

"That's what they told me when I woke up at the hospital 'bout a week ago, yup!" He replied without missing a beat.

Both, because he was making a concerted effort to be friendly and welcoming, and because holy shit, was he still in the coping phase hard.

Thus not quite reacting as he probably should have to that question, and the situation in general; he was making a concerted effort to not let himself think too hard about any one thing just yet.

"Honestly, I'm a little concerned about what might happen if I step outside, without someone to lead me around by the nose at this point… Worried I might wind up bumbling into the most dangerous part of the city without realizing it!"

With a small, amused titter, Marian gently shook her head in response to the concern. "I doubt you'd find yourself wandering into the Outer Rim, while looking for a coffee shop, C- Joe. But, if you really don't remember your way around the Ark, I could show you around after we're done touring HQ. Assuming, of course, you aren't averse to the idea." She finished hesitantly.

"Considering I have some vague recollection of getting lost and wandering into the most dangerous part of the city at some point when I was a teenager? You might be giving me a bit too much credit there," Joe countered with a chuckle, recalling that time he found himself on Hastings Street that time he was in Vancouver.

Country boys didn't take well to bus routes and schedules and all that their first time in the big city, as it turned out.

"That being said, I'd love it if you'd be willing to show me around. I'm not kidding when I say that I don't remember where anything is. God forbid you have to be called to pick me up, because they found me trying to buy clothes at the soup store, or something!"

"You mean a restaurant?" Marian asked, clearly not taking his statement about getting lost too seriously, as the projected image of the sky scrolled on by, framing them through the window overlooking the Government sector.

"I heard that your command scores actually improved after you left the hospital, though. Are you saying that bumping your head actually made you smarter, Commander?"

Not catching her own slip-up that time, Joe chose not to grill her over it. She'd get the hang of it, sooner or later. "I mean, when you have nothing but room for improvement…" he replied, knocking his knuckles against his head in a comical display, sticking the tip of his tongue past his lips in an askance manner for emphasis.

"When you're at rock bottom, nowhere to go but up, right?" He rhetorically inquired, directing a finger skywards to punctuate his point.

Though she attempted to give the rookie Commander a reproachful look of disapproval, an amused grin couldn't help but poke its way through her expression.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're already the best Commander I've ever had. Plus, it's unusual for a Nikke to be permanently assigned to a Commander in the first place, you know. Normally, rotating through brand new squads every mission is strictly enforced by the Central Government. You can't be a complete goon with credentials like that already."

…Hold up. Commanders and Nikkes never worked together for more than a single mission?

They were never given a chance to fall into a proper cadence, learn how to work together as a team, and become a functioning unit in the first place? What the fuck kind of logic did that make!? Furthermore…

Why was he permanently assigned Marian specifically, then?

Questions for later, he supposed. Best not to get lost in the weeds right away when he should be getting to know Marian better.

"Well, anyways," Joe inelegantly moved to shift the topic. "Let's not get right into work stuff just yet: it'd be better if we could at least take the rest of the day to get to feel each other out and stuff, yeah?"

Marian cocked her head at Joe in an appraising manner, a small smile worn on her face as she gazed at him—some measure of satisfaction apparent in the way her cheeks shifted up and presented a wonderful little expression his way.

"In that case: have you eaten yet today? I happen to know a good 'soup store' nearby. We could stop by to get the ball rolling so we don't wind up wandering around the entire Ark on empty stomachs."

"Hell yeah, sounds like a plan to me," Joe declared with a bit of an exaggerated thumbs-up, motioning down the hallway with a smile. "Lead the way then, ma'am. I'll be right behind you."

At that, Marian turned towards the hall in question, but paused part-way, motioning for Joe to sidle up alongside her. "Partners should walk together, right?" She asked, seeming to test the waters.

"I suppose they should, huh?" came the burly brunet's reply with a hearty chuckle, marching up to walk astride an increasingly satisfied Marian. "So, any places beyond the 'soup store' you think would be good to visit?" he asked as he checked the tablet he'd been provided as a part of the job. "I've got no orders or anything for the rest of the day, such as it is."

Letting out a melodic hum, Marian led her new Commander to the building's entrance down its myriad hallways. The rhythmic click-clack of her heels falling alongside the heavy thumps of his boots. "I can think of a few places we could visit before the day is done," she asserted, doing her best to not let how overwhelmed and taken aback she was show.

This was the first, genuinely the first time she'd been treated like a person, since she'd been turned into a Nikke.

Already, he was an odd one, but if she was really to be permanently assigned to a Commander for the rest of their shared career, one that was easy on the eyes and pleasant to talk to, no less…

Well, in a startlingly new experience, Marian felt like just about the luckiest Nikke in the world right about then.

---

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRtnUVaRwXM

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Chapter 02 - The Strength to Make it Through
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Of all the things Joe could complain about in regards to the Ark, he had to be forthright about one simple fact that kept blowing him away each time he was confronted with it: the food was simply amazing.

No matter what he was served, the green Commander kept sitting down, expecting to have to grimace and bear flavourless military food, gruel barely fit to feed a dog. But, without exception, everything he was provided blew his socks off.

He wasn't sure how that was the case, but it was. Thus, he got lost in how damned good the bowl of soup he's ordered was, sitting at a small but decently-trafficked restaurant, with an increasingly contented Marian.

"You sure do seem to enjoy eating," the brunette cheerily remarked as she reached up with her free hand and adjusted the blue ribbon keeping the left side of her hair tied up, primary hand occupied with her own bowl of soup. "Most people are pretty sedate about how they eat in public, from what I've seen."

Pausing to process what she said, Joe lowered the bowl from his lips and set it back down on the table between them, sheepishly coughing into his fist and feeling a little self-conscious.

He sure hoped nobody had noticed him apparently eating like a pig while being in his full uniform. "Sorry, the food around here is just a lot better than I'm used to…"

Just in case, he took a napkin and wiped at his goatee—mercifully, he hadn't gotten any soup in his dutifully trimmed beard in front of the pretty girl.

Blinking, Marian brushed a few loose strands of chocolate brown hair from her shoulder as she cocked her head at Joe. "Really? All food in the Ark is made from the same stuff though, isn't it? How… Hold on, you haven't been eating expired Splendamin, have you, Commander!?" She asked with some degree of fervency, leaning forward as her brow furrowed.

"You're supposed to recycle anything that falls out of date, you know!"

What the fuck was 'Splendamin,' and what the fuck was this about recycling it?

Of course, Joe didn't go asking that aloud—something told him it'd make him look like a complete idiot if he did so. Instead, he just brought up a hand to rub the back of his neck with a hangdog smile and a nervous chuckle.

"Commander! Are you being serious right now!?" Marian now looked more than a little put-off, leaning forward even further and almost pouting at him outright. "No wonder you seem so out of it, you must be constantly sick for being so inattentive! Your personal health is no laughing matter, you know!"

Day one, and he'd already somehow managed to get Marian scolding and lecturing him. Great start, that.

Presenting his hands in a placating manner, Joe let out a weak chuckle and replied, "Sorry, I'm sorry, sometimes, you just have to make due, you know?" He attempted to deflect.

He really should have looked over that codex he'd been provided with a keener eye, instead of glossing over everything as he had. Marian was gonna think he was a man-child incapable of taking care of himself at this rate.

Leaning back in her seat, which audibly groaned more than Joe would have expected, given how sturdily built it was and Marian's own build, she let out a small exasperated huff. "Well, if I have to help you take care of yourself, I suppose that's hardly the end of the world. It's pretty common for Commanders to need help with that sort of thing, anyways."

…Yikes. Joe might have been something of a fish out of water, but he wasn't a complete boob, as was apparently common among Commanders what the fuck.

"Hey, I may have hit my head harder than normal, but I'm not a total nincompoop now. I'm just a little flat-footed right now is all. I know how to do things like buy a toothbrush and junk. Not gonna make you do any more work than you need to do as it is."

Considering Marian would be doing all the actual fighting whenever they deployed, he wasn't gonna be a complete headass and put even more work on her plate when they weren't in the field. What kind of loser Commander would pile all the administrative work on the girls working under them on top of being the actual combatants?

For her part, Marian blinked, and a fair bit of tension seemed to leave her body, the corners of her mouth upturning again slightly. "I don't mean to sound put-off by the idea of helping you get your footing again or anything, Commander. I'm just trying to tease you a bit."

"Is insisting on calling me 'Commander' a part of that teasing?" Joe asked with a bit of a reproachful grin.

With a bit of a recoil, Marian's eyes widened and it was her turn to sheepishly clear her throat. "I-I apologize, it's just, I've never had a Commander that actually asked me to use his name, before."

Joe really hoped that was just a result of most Commanders having a stick up their arse on account of the military thing, and not because they were discriminatory shit heels. "Well, I meant what I said earlier. If I get to use your name, you get to use mine. Simple as," he asserted pointedly.

Marian stared at Joe for a few moments, blinking a few times before the contentment on her face rose yet higher, and she gave him a closed-eyes smile, her cheeks rising beatifically as she did so. "Okay. I'll do my best to keep that in mind. Thank you, Joe."

In response, he gave the beautiful brunette a patented dumb guy thumbs-up. Though, he couldn't help but cringe at how his jacket protested against the motion. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to design military wear to be so restrictive?

Blinking at the display, Marian asked, "Are you okay, Commander? You keep shifting around uncomfortably."

"I just hate this uniform is all," he admitted in turn, doing his best to adjust his sleeve so he could move his arm around freely. It didn't seem to be taking. "Is this thing undersized or something? Wish I didn't have to wear this."

"You don't, though?" Marian noted, quizzically tilting her head to the side. "You, you know that there's no rule that actually says you need to wear your uniform outside of official dignitary duties, right?"

"Wait, seriously?" Joe's face lit up at her assertion. "Every other Commander I saw was doing it, so I just sort of assumed."

"Most Commanders enjoy the attention wearing their uniforms gets them, so they almost never take them off," Marian stated matter-of-factually. "I thought it was a bit odd how uncomfortable you looked, whenever someone thanked you for your service as we were walking here."

"Well, now I'm instead mad that these are the only clothes I have in the first place," Joe grumbled at the revelation, reaching up and immediately loosening his necktie and undoing the top button of his button-down. "Suppose I could at least take the jacket off, then."

"Oh, you need new clothes? I suppose that's where that little 'buying clothes at the soup store' joke came from earlier?" Marian inquired, an ever-pleasant smile remaining fixed on her porcelain features.

Joe's eyes lit up, realizing that he might be able to get out of this stuffy-ass uniform lit a fire under his ass. "Do you happen to know a place?" he asked eagerly.

The expression on the girl's features became a little strained from apparent amusement.

Tapping the fingers of her free hand on the table top, she reached up and adjusted her own tie in a manner that called attention to her form-fitting attire. "Well, while I could take you to the place I usually shop at, I'm not entirely sure if a miniskirt or backless button-down would work too well on you…"

Man, and here he was making a concerted effort to not think about Marian's clothes, or how pretty she was, and damn it he could already feel sweat threatening to bud from his forehead, move on you idiot before you put your foot in your mouth!

With a warm chuckle, he replied, "Certainly nowhere near as well as on you, yeah."

Stupid-ass mouth, you were supposed to not do that!

Marian's eyes went wide, visibly taken aback by the declaration, then a blush played across her features as she cleared her throat, holding her fist over her lips in an attempt to hide how she couldn't stop her smile from widening upon processing his statement.

"Ah- I'm sorry-"

Joe's brain registered that he'd started talking again, though could do nothing as he started to lightly panic beyond watch in horror. As the word vomit came, his mind wound up to attempt to catch him and mitigate the worst of the coming damage.

"I'm just trying really hard to keep focused and not make you uncomfortable, but I get nervous around pretty girls and you're a really pretty girl and your outfit is really nice and compliments you perfectly and now I'm thinking about stuff like that and I just realized that I've started stream-of-consciousness panic rambling and I'm gonna stop before you get mad I'm sorry I-"

He reached up and physically forced his mouth shut with his hand and a click of his teeth, staring off to the street outside in pure horror and embarrassment.

Unfortunately, Joe was a complete goon that was a bit of a gormless idiot around pretty women at the best of times. Here, he was having to juggle a good deal more stress than he usually did in his previous life, and not look or act like the anxious wreck he was on top of that.

Fortunately, offence was just about the last thing Marian took from being gushed over by the only seemingly decent man she'd met in a long, long time.

With some degree of budding coquettishness, she replied with intent to keep the conversation moving along in an attempt to preserve her own dignity, lest she embarrass herself in front of Joe as half as badly as he'd just embarrassed himself in front of her, however endearing it was.

"I'm sure we can find a good place to get you some comfortable casual wear," the stunning woman said as her face strained against her attempts to stifle the goofy, satisfied grin that wanted to present itself to Joe. "The Royal Road is right nearby—ah, that's the Ark's big famous shopping district. We'll definitely find something good for you to wear there, alright? There's all sorts of trendy clothing shops to browse."

Eyes still averted out of sheer embarrassment, Joe, once more, presented a thumbs-up to the woman who would be his partner going forth. Praise be that, for once in his life, instead of pouncing at the smell of blood in the water, she wasn't a mean lady.

---

"So, much, better," Joe almost cried as they stepped out of a work wear store. A good, simple Henley with the sleeves drawn up past the elbows, dark denim pants, and hiking boots. Not to mention his impressively long hair let loose.

"Now I get to decide on your new jacket," Marian proclaimed as she sauntered out of the store and pressed her index finger into his chest. "It won't do for you to not even try to look halfway trendy, you know!"

But of course, Marian was actually disappointed when Joe attempted to go for a plain t-shirt and jeans—to say nothing of the actual factual horror on her face when he reached for a pair of plain black boots.

When she tried to push to pick out an outfit (and accessories) out for him herself, he compromised and settled on a 'less boring' Henley shirt. That, along with an agreement to let her pick out an accessory or two, and a jacket for him—so long as it met the requirements of being some shade of military green, and being in the style of a military coat.

Turning and looking about the noisy, highly-active shopping district, Marian scanned for something which might catch her eye.

"Hmm… I shop pretty exclusively at a dedicated boutique that markets specifically to servicewomen. Where would we go to find nice coats for men then- Ah!" the blue-clad lady perked up and pointed down the street a ways. "That place looks promising, let's go check it out."

She urged the taller brunet on, reaching back and tugging him by his arm as she did so.

Seeing little reason to protest, Joe allowed himself to be pulled along. His Commander's uniform was tucked away safely in what was basically a dry-cleaning bag slung over his shoulder; the clerk at the store he bought his new clothes from had been happy to provide it free of charge.

Commanders really did receive a lot of respect, it seemed.

Rapidly making their way through the crowd, the pair boldly passed through the sliding doors of the establishment. Marian confirmed that it seemed to be more fashion-conscious than that Joe had chosen, and immediately spotted the men's outerwear section.

With a bubbly glint in her striking two-toned eyes, Marian cycled through a fair few coats in rapid succession. Any one, Joe would have been fine with on its own, if a mite put off by how they all had unnecessary greebles, staps, buckles, zippers and stuff to make them look 'cooler' than the plain utilitarian look he preferred, but, hey, if it made Marian happy-

"Pardon me," a woman's voice cut the pair off, and upon turning to face her, it was clear to see that she was an employee going off of the branded top she wore. "But ma'am, I noticed that you're wearing heels. Your feet must be killing you, yes? Why don't you take a seat while I help the sir?"

The unassuming young woman motioned towards a chair set near the footwear section—presumably there for people trying stuff on.

Of course, regardless, the concern was unwarranted. Marian could fall into a dead sprint for hours if she chose to push herself in those heels. Just ambling around as she had been with Joe? Like walking on clouds he'd wager.

Not that he was about to go speaking for her, so he looked to Marian, still holding a jacket up to his chest as she was.

Her expression had gone stiff, a visible degree of discomfort etching itself across her features as equal parts muted anger and resignation, of all things, seemed to have hit her.

"...I think she's fine, miss," Joe decided to interject after all, motioning to wave the employee off. "We're fine, thank you-"

"Sir," the woman pointedly cut him off. "I insist-"

At once Marian harshly returned the jacket she'd been holding to its place, a displeased scowl plain on her heretofore seemingly unshakably cheerful features. "Let's just go, we're clearly not-"

"Oh, well if you're going to be upfront about it, then yes, leave. We don't serve your kind here," the employee declared, now openly scowling at Marian herself.

"What the fuck did you just-!?" Joe immediately went into attack mode for entirely understandable reasons, nostrils flaring and eyes going wide as he took an aggressive step towards the store employee.

Only to have Marian thrust out her arm and stop him—it was like walking into a padded steel bar.

"Commander, don't, it's not-" she let out a frustrated huff, "I mean J-"

"Oh. Ah, I see," the employee's disposition immediately changed to become far more neutral, smoothing out her features and the waist of her shirt as she did so.

"I apologize sir, I didn't recognize that you're a Commander out of your uniform," she declared with a sudden, newfound respectful tone as she spoke, glancing at the long bag slung over his shoulder, obviously containing the aforementioned uniform now.

"You may shop at our establishment to your heart's content, but I must ask that you leave your Nikke outside the business's premises as you do so. You understand, obviously."

There was a long, overbearing beat as the three just stood in dead silence for a few moments.

Sharply turning to the door leading back outside into the street, Joe moved to depart with a purpose, before he lashed out and broke the openly discriminatory woman's nose. An act which would get him in obvious legal trouble for 'unprovoked' assault.

Nikkes didn't have human rights, and so there was no law protecting them from discrimination in the Ark, after all.

Marian needless to say, was right alongside him, her expression set in a grim countenance.

Vaguely, Joe could make out the store's employee trying to call him back, "I meant no disrespect towards you or your service, sir, please, allow me to-"

Neither he nor Marian paused to hear the woman out, and quickly enough, were back out in the street putting distance between them and the establishment lest they be followed.

Once they were about a block away, Joe peeled off to the side and came to a stop next to a lamp post, setting the underside of his forearm against it as he reminded himself to breathe. Heart going a mile a minute, eyes twitching in abject fury.

"How could that wretched bitch even tell?" he quietly wondered, just loud enough so Marian could hear as she approached him.

The heterochromic brunette had set a hand on his chest in what was clearly meant to be a calming gesture. "I'm sorry, Joe. I got careless and forgot to look for the signs before rushing in. I promise, it won't happen again-"

"Don't you act like you did anything wrong-!" he snapped before catching himself with a sharp hiss, brows crinkled together. Not her, idiot. Don't you dare snap at her, he thought to himself as he took a bracing breath. "Marian," he did his level best to refocus and not lose his temper again. "How the hell did that awful person even know to target you?"

Expression having fallen, Marian looked genuinely upset, taking a quiet, but deep breath as she replied.

"It might've just been a hunch based on my looks," she answered, making note of how some of the pedestrians filling the street were giving them a wide berth, given the minor interpersonal commotion they were causing. "Or they might have a weight-sensitive pressure pad installed at the front door. Either one would make sense."

"A what?" Joe asked, looking for all the world like he'd just been slapped in the face with a fish.

"...Right, amnesia," Marian shook her head as she removed her hand from her companion's chest to instead gently set it in the crook of his elbow, arm still set against the lamp post.

"Nikkes are extremely heavy compared to humans. You probably noticed, when I was sitting in that chair at the restaurant—even though it was the kind designed to support Nikkes, it was straining under my weight, right?"

"That's why that woman tried to offer me a regular chair meant for Humans. If a woman refuses to sit in an unreinforced chair, she must be a Nikke that knows it'll break the moment she puts any of her weight on it. Clever trick for sussing out one trying to poke around where they aren't welcome, huh?"

Disgusted by the low cunning displayed in such a tactic, Joe just shook his head and did his best to not go off the deep end. "That's what you meant by being 'careless,' then?" he inquired.

"I didn't think to look for signs of hostility to Nikkes, yes," Marian admitted reproachfully, giving Joe an apologetic look. "The most obvious one is a lack of furniture Nikkes can actually use, to get around having to do something as gauche as hanging up an eyesore of a sign."

Jesus fucking Christ. Customers didn't like the look of signs banning Nikkes, so establishments were instead just nakedly passive-aggressive about broadcasting their discriminatory values that 'regular' people could just choose to not notice, huh? Sounded about right.

"I…" Joe paused for a moment to consider his words before relaying his thoughts to his partner. "I'm sorry, Marian. You shouldn't have to put up with disgusting bullshit like that when you're just trying to go shopping."

There was a beat wherein Marian's expression softened in a small, melancholy smile. "If I'm not allowed to apologize to you for things I apparently didn't actually do, then you aren't allowed to apologize to me when you haven't done anything to me either."

"That's not fair," Joe protested.

"How is it not fair?" Marian inquired.

"Because it's not."

"Is it because I'm a woman, and you're a man?" Marian cocked her head at him slightly with an increasingly amused grin.

Joe just grumbled at her for saying the quiet part out loud.

"Isn't that kind of sexist?" Marian asked in a teasing tone, clearly not having actually taken offence.

"Chivalry really is dead and buried in this day and age, huh?" Joe pouted in response to her line of inquiry.

Marian's response came quickly and with yet more rising amusement. "The future is now, old man," she lightly declared. "But, in all seriousness," she leaned in, expression falling into one of pure, deadly serious concern.

"Truly, genuinely, thank you for being so openly considerate and sympathetic to me. I really can't express how much it means to me that you're so open about how much you care. It- It makes it easier, more than you realize, makes me feel strong enough to weather it all. But, that being said: Joe, never show me sympathy in public again. Okay?"

The man in question was absolutely, positively dumbstruck by that demand, staring at her like she'd grown a second head in stupefied silence.

Sighing deeply, Marian elucidated. "It's treason to openly sympathize with Nikkes. I understand that you hate it too, but it is what it is. It's not worth risking your safety. Okay? So please, don't make me have to worry that you'll do something that'll get you taken away. Please?"

She was letting all of her worry and concern shine through, and mother of all that was good and holy, it broke his heart to hear someone so genuinely ask him to not stand up for them. Especially since… "But, all the sacrifices you make for them. For the Ark," he weakly countered.

"I know," she replied, closing the distance between them and setting both hands on his chest for emphasis. "But it's not worth your life. The only thing you'll accomplish, again, is getting taken away. Disappeared. Don't make me go through that, Joe. Please."

Ah, crap, she was already figuring out how to get him to capitulate. Damn, he was that predictable, wasn't he?

His expression shifted into one of resignation.

"Thank you," Marian said with audible relief, clearly able to read him like an open book already.

"Now," she took her eyes off of him, and started to look around once more. Her eyes settled on another shop in the distance, giving it a critical stare, then she nodded with a satisfied smile.

"There, we should be able to get you that jacket from there without having to worry about being harassed," she declared as she took a hold of Joe's wrist and immediately started dragging him along. "Come on, slowpoke! I'm sure I'll be able to get something that'll make you look dashing in no time!"

He could see what she was doing. Don't let him dwell on it, drag him along back into fun immediately, remind him of what they'd come out here for in the first place.

Man, it had only been a few hours, but already, Marian was an absolute joy to be around. He didn't know if it was so common for Nikkes and their Commander to just click like this, but he was happy that this seemed to be a match made in Heaven.

Even if, now that he knew how some shops treated Nikkes, he couldn't suddenly help but notice how many particularly pretty and ostentatiously dressed girls there were just milling about in front of certain stores. Even more, occasionally catching a glimpse of a man wearing a uniform identical to his through the windows of those same shops.

Though there was precious little he could do for those girls, if nothing else, he supposed, he could at the very least do everything in his power to spoil Marian going forth.

Picking that perfect moment to glance back at and smile at Joe widely while still drawing him along, at once, he knew that was a fantastic plan he'd come up with.

===
Chapter 03 - You Won't Be Alone
===

Settling down into his room for the night - a small but functional little utilitarian thing not so different from a common city apartment back home - Joe slipped off the jacket Marian had picked out for him, gave it another amused once-over, and set it on the coat hook next to the door.

His specifications had been pretty clear - an olive drab military-style coat. Of course, that was before he had decided that it was now his solemn duty to spoil her as much as was possible after that incident with that discriminatory clothes store. Thus, he loosened the requirements he'd placed on her options.

Quick to take advantage, it took a fair while to pin down exactly what she wanted, but boy, she sure did find it.

Ergo, Joe wound up with a military-style jacket, yes. Albeit one which was blue, black, and accented with a degree of gold. Kind of gaudy for his tastes, but it seemed to please her considering the palpable pride on her face as she adjusted it to fit him just so. Just as noticeable was the incredible amusement on her features when it took him a solid twenty minutes to realize that she'd gone and tricked him into colour-coding his outfit with hers.

It actually looked like they had a squad uniform now, at a glance. Which, Joe had to admit, he wasn't too torn up about. In fact, he'd have agreed to it in the first place had she just asked, but, tricksey little lady Marian turned out to be, she wanted to see how attentive her new Commander and partner was. The answer turned out to be not very, but he was under a lot of stress! It was hardly his fault she'd managed to make a fool of him!

Regardless, claiming a seat at the desk and computer he'd been provided as a part of his duties, Joe settled in and went about the process of getting everything set-up. This is where he'd be doing all of his 'paperwork,' such as it was, so it'd do for him to get it broken-in sooner rather than later.

In the midst of getting logged in to everything, his tablet buzzed a few times in his pocket. Withdrawing it, he blinked at the notification pointing him to a messenger app - titled blabla, appropriately enough - and he opened it to find a few messages from Marian.

[Today was fun, Joe! I hope you enjoyed our little outing as much as I did! I'm really looking forward to working with you from now on.]

[I think that we have a lot of good chemistry and click really well, so I'm excited to see how well we synchronize in the simulator room tomorrow. So be sure to get a lot of sleep, you don't want to disappoint your partner right after such a good first impression, right?]

[Sleep well! And be sure to let me know if you'd like to go out for breakfast before we go to the simulators tomorrow! : )]

The rookie Commander cracked a smile at the messages capped off with a smiley face emoji. She even came across as a sweetheart in her texts.

Firing back a quick reply, Joe then set the phone down and settled into getting everything all set up for tomorrow. Better to have all your ducks in order ahead of time. Then, he'd crawl into bed and try to get some rest.

…Despite that underlying anxiety still being there, somehow, after spending an afternoon with Marian, he got the feeling that it was going to be his first decent night's rest in the Ark.

---

Taking a very deep breath, Joe set down the plus-sized tablet he'd been provided as he remained outside of the simulator room proper. Its purpose had been to function as the simulated drone he'd be expected to use to oversee battlefields on the surface, where he'd direct his squad using comms with an elevated vantage point as he remained somewhere relatively safe.

Notably, this was not common practice for Commanders. In fact, most Commanders just went and basically stood next to the Nikkes under their command as they gave them orders no matter the circumstances, like fucking American Civil War officers directing musket lines. Joe had to put in a special request for a drone, which had been delivered as a scouting kit usually provided to - well, scouts. Because why in the fuck would he be stupid enough to voluntarily stand in the line of fire as a squishy, unaugmented human?

This, apparently, was some kind of revolutionary idea and line of thinking when combined with his basic application of tactical awareness, given that a military bigwig - he wasn't sure if it was the same one that had intervened on the operation to save his life when he was in the hospital or not - had directly approved of the request and had the kit fast-tracked to him.

Marian had no complaints about making use of tactics which kept him out of direct harm's way, and was eager to put it to the test.

The only real issue came when he wound up, repeatedly, well… getting distracted by watching Marian at work, such as it was. Saying she put regular human soldiers to shame would be an understatement. She was, simply put, awesome to watch. Like a much prettier Doom Slayer, he'd wager.

"I'm not used to receiving such clear and concise direction," Marian declared as the simulator room doors opened to let her pass through into the observation chamber, locking her personal submachine gun - a heavily customized number she had dubbed 'First Affection' in her elbow and lifting her visor to get a clearer look at Joe. "And the ideas you have… funnelling Raptures down a narrow alleyway so they can't flank me, and First Affection can excel… I can see why Central wanted to hold onto you as a Commander - normally, it would have taken at least a squad of three to pull off that sort of objective, even with simulated hostiles!"

Somehow, Joe hadn't quite been expecting Marian to turn up to training wearing actual, functional sci-fi armour, yet here she was. It was even customized to retain her colour scheme and everything. Regardless, it seemed that her sexy flight attendant outfit was just her casual wear. Mercifully, Nikkes weren't forced into combat wearing lingerie as he'd been low-key worrying, as it turned out.

And the Raptures themselves… he wasn't sure if it was just the simulation or what, but they weren't quite living up to what he'd expected. Just… typical 'alien' robots vaguely shaped like insects with energy guns strapped to them so far.

Otherwise, they'd been training together for the better part of the day, and, simply put…

"Wow! Your compatibility is amazing!" A green-haired lass with her hair tied up in high twintails declared as she hovered over to the pair on her floating hoop-chair-thing. A pair of pointed elf-like ears poking out from her verdant tresses, themselves adored with a halo floating above her crown, large blue eyes shifting between the Commander and Nikke appraisingly. "I haven't seen scores like this in a long time, for just a lone Commander and Nikke, at least! Impressive!" Notably, her outfit was rather understated compared to what he was used to, given that she was just wearing a fairly functional sleeveless button-down with a skirt. The cape was a bit much, but compared to Marian's miniskirt…

Einkk, the girl that ran the Ark's simulator room. A bit of a chatterbox, Joe found. And apparently evidence that Nikkes could be bestowed with overtly non-human characteristics, given that she looked like an elf-angel. He'd interacted with her a fair bit in the week since he'd awoken in that hospital, and she just would not stop heaping on the praise for his 'unorthodox' methods.

It was difficult to convey the sheer, overwhelming feelings of dismay and mounting dread over the fact that his applying a singular degree of tactical thought to his methods made him stand out so much. But, it was what it was. All eyes, it seemed, were on him. And he had had no more than a month to prepare for a true deployment with Marian on top of that.

No pressure or anything.

"So, are you comfortable with the difficulty as it is? Or have I been going a bit too easy on you?" Einkk asked in a condescending manner. Though cute, Joe had rapidly found that the simulation room operator was also very much a gremlin. One that made a habit of poking at a Commander's pride. Must have been their way of encouraging Commanders to push themselves, he supposed.

"Let's do it, Commander!" Marian pressed, pumping her free fist as she did so. "I want to see just how far the two of us can go together! Make sure everyone knows who the Ark's two most up and coming stars are!"

Joe couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at Marian's eagerness to push the envelope and prove themselves. Normally, he was the sort to be content if his efforts got the job done, but, hell, if she was so excited to press on and see just how far they could go together… "Alright then, bump up the difficulty and let's see how far we can take it, Einkk."

"Yipee, I'm gonna enjoy stepping on you two, then!" the verdette simulation operator cheered as she floated back to her typical place at the main controls of the whole machine. "Chalk one up for me!" she proclaimed with a girlish giggle.

Sharing a confident look with Marian, the brunette closed her visor again as she about-faced and marched right back into the simulation chamber.

Well, he wasn't about to go letting his partner down. Readying up, Joe furrowed his brow as he prepared to get serious.

---

"...So what're the chances of us running into one of these big bastards on our first outing, then?" Joe anxiously asked, pointing to the image of the massive Rapture displayed on the tablet set in the middle of the table overlooking the Government sector they'd claimed on a patio.

"Tyrants aren't that common," Marian assured him. "It's good to be wary, but we'll probably only have to deal with small fry. Like those in the simulator room." Presenting a confident smile to the burly figure, she added, "Plus, even if we did happen upon one of those monsters… I'm sure you'd figure something out, big brain genius that you are." Reaching over, she poked him on the forehead for emphasis.

Joe did his best to not openly panic over the continued affirmation that his grasp of the most basic of basic tactics made him a genius by typical Commander standards, instead trying to just move the conversation along. "So, uh, anything else we need to worry about? Like, in terms of threats?"

"Well, Raptures generally leave animals alone, so, depending on where we land there's a small chance that a tiger or bear or something might take an untoward interest in you…" Marian remarked, setting a dainty finger on her chin as she did so. "Of course, you won't have to actually worry about that with me around, but it could come up."

Joe had seen Marian in action. He wasn't worried about apex predators deluding themselves into thinking he was an easy meal. Instead… "Is there anything that's actually a serious threat to you?" He asked with no small amount of cheer. Nikkes were genuinely amazing, weren't they?

However, Marian didn't immediately react to the question as confidently as he'd expected, and in fact, her expression fell. "Corruption," she said with no small amount of melancholic dread.

There was a beat as Joe was caught off-guard by her reply. That… didn't sound good. Not in the least.

However, she shook her head, reaching over and swiping on the tablet's screen to move along to the next thing on the list. "So, you might see some of these little guys out there too," it looked to be about the size of a baseball, at most. "They aren't a threat. So, they're no immediate danger, though, I'd still recommend not letting them hang around. Who knows if they might be harmless just so they can be the perfect scouts, right?"

So, clearly an uncomfortable topic. Something Joe figured he'd have to ask for details sooner rather than later, but he didn't enjoy the notion of making Marian talk about something she clearly didn't want to.

For now, he'd just let her continue to brief him on what to expect in terms of hostiles and dangers on the surface. She'd know better than him what was most important to familiarize himself with at this point anyways.

---

In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed. Joe and Marian had rapidly settled into a comfortable routine, and the pair found themselves growing ever more comfortable with each other as each day passed them by. Despite himself and the situation he found himself in, Marian's being so… open, and eager to connect, it seemed, was precisely the salve he needed to power through his immediate anxieties.

"...This is nice, isn't it?" Marian asked, sitting next to Joe as the pair just enjoyed the small park they'd decided to visit.

"I'm beginning to think anything is nice with you," he replied easily and truthfully, causing a light blush to play across her features.

To say nothing of how she helped him acclimatize to living in the Ark in general. A veritable font of knowledge that girl was. How to get around, where to go, what to expect… when they weren't training, it felt like he was living a fairly regular life. Fun, relaxing times with a beautiful woman, good food, a shockingly minimal amount of overhead from his superiors… hell, one could be forgiven for forgetting that they were members of the last military on Earth, supposedly holding the line against an all-destroying invading force.

"Hey, there's a nice little Italian place nearby that I think would make a fine stop for dinner tonight," Marian suggested, inching closer to Joe as the artificial sun hung low in the false sky.

"At this point, you could bring me to a shady hot dog stand and I bet the company would make it a worthwhile trip," Joe replied, rooted in place on the bench as he just enjoyed the atmosphere.

For being the last holdout of mankind on the planet, the Ark was surprisingly comfy. At least, well, when you weren't confronted with all the rampant anti-Nikke discrimination. Joe really wished that he could say that the incident at that store was an unfortunate one-off event, but, well… a lot of people were really vocal about their dislike of what was their last line of defence against extinction. Even if it wasn't necessarily always directed right at him and Marian in particular, it wasn't so uncommon to just walk past people in the streets, and overhear anti-Nikke sentiments discussed in casual conversation.

It made Marian's quick attachment to him make a good deal of sense, though. At the best of times, she'd be allowed to just blend into the crowd and go about her business without being bothered. Entirely too often, though, it seemed she was just made to have to bear being spoken down to, for having the temerity to… not just be an unthinking weapon. He was in all likelihood, genuinely the first Commander she had that treated her like a fellow human being.

"So… is that an affirmative to Italian today?" Marian asked, scooting close enough that their shoulders were touching. The smile on her face only became more deeply set with each exchange of words the pair made.

"I could go for some spaghetti and meatballs, sure," Joe declared, entirely unperturbed by the contact with his partner. In truth, part of him wanted to ask if she was sure the restaurant was Nikke-friendly, but at this point, it was reasonable to assume that Marian was doing her due diligence.

It made Joe's blood boil, but, given how many times Marian had pulled him aside and absolutely made a point to hammer home the point that she'd rather he not get disappeared for stepping out of line in public…

It was all he could do to just make her happy despite all of that. Go out, do things with her. Watch movies, visit the park, hell, she was even talking about going to visit a dog shelter soon too. Marian, by some freak stroke of luck, just enjoyed being with him, it seemed. Given that he enjoyed being with her too, it was a hell of an arrangement to his sensibilities.

Sitting on this park bench, just enjoying each other's company as Marian scooted up right next to him as they gazed out into a picturesque little pond, reflecting the artificial sky above in a way that was so convincing that even Joe almost found himself failing to remember that it was all just that - artificial. A facsimile of the world that was. A beautiful one, but a facsimile nonetheless.

All in all, it made it really easy to forget that it was supposed to be the end of the world.

"...Hey, Joe," Marian started, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder, her arm wrapping around his as they enjoyed the peace and quiet. "You… don't care that I'm a Nikke, right?"

"Not at all," the rookie Commander replied easily. "Outside of, you know… thinking that you're a complete badass for it."

That caused the brunette to let out an amused titter, shaking her head lightly as she continued to lean into him. "Well, then… if it really doesn't matter to you…" she continued as her free hand inched towards Joe's own, her heart's beat picking up somewhat as she steeled herself. "Would you mind if I asked you something?"

"'Course not," he declared with a disarming grin, not having noticed how her fingers drifted close to his own. "Fire away."

"Well, then…" taking a breath, Marian felt her pulse quicken and resolve waver. As much as she wanted it, knew she'd be a fool to not leap on this opportunity, given how she knew how dangerous this line of work was, how few chances Nikkes received to get a shot at real happiness, the jitters were so bad… "I mean, it's not like much would really change, we're basically already…"

Turning to face the woman using him as an impromptu pillow, Joe cocked his head at her and asked, "What wouldn't change?" Genuine confusion lacing his tone.

Pulling back, Marian finally let her fingers drift over his, gently wrapping her digits around his as she locked eyes with him. "Joe, would you-"

The pair jumped at the harsh, new chime that interjected between the pair from his midsection. "...That's a new sound," the long-haired man remarked at the noise coming from his government-issued tablet.

Glancing down, Marian let out a small, annoyed sigh. "That's the alert that means it's from command. You should check it," she said, sounding more than a little put-off and disappointed.

Odd, but, given that they were soldiers and were getting contacted by their bosses…

Joe withdrew the device from his pocket as Marian too withdrew her arms. Upon unlocking it, his heart dropped into his stomach. "...Shit," he started, immediately rising to his feet. We… We just received orders. We need to report to the command centre for deployment."

At once, reality came crashing back down around him. This was… too early, wasn't it? He was told to expect deployment in a month, not two weeks!

Shit, he and Marian still hadn't been given more members for their squad! Were they going to be sent out as just the two of them? This was-

Marian took a hold of Joe's hand again as she too stood, squeezing to catch his attention. "Breathe, Joe," she directed him.

Indeed, he'd stopped breathing. They were about to be deployed to the surface, this was like, the most reasonable response he could possibly have to being sent out into active combat.

"Hey," Marian stepped in front of him, taking both of his hands as she stared up into his eyes. "It'll be fine. You don't have to worry Joe. I'll be right here, by your side the entire time. I promise I'll protect you no matter what happens, or what we encounter. Okay?"

There was a beat as Joe took a steadying breath. That was right, he'd seen Marian in action. She would keep him safe. It would be fine, he would be fine, she'd protect him.

"Okay," he nodded. "Yeah, okay…" Pausing again, he looked down at the girl, he nodded. "...Before we leave, what were you going to ask?" Best to get that out of the way, right?

Marian kept holding his hands, considering something for a moment before, with a small smile, replying, "I was about to ask if you'd like to enter a relationship with me," she answered honestly.

For an instant, Joe was shocked still by the statement. Blinking more than a few times as he suddenly found himself enraptured by her gorgeous two-toned eyes…

Parting his lips to say… Joe wasn't quite sure, but Marian cut him off by releasing one of his hands, and setting a finger over his mouth as she smiled up at him. "Wait," she instructed him. "Wait until we get back to give me your answer. To give me something to look forward to… Okay?"

She was serious.

Holy hell.

But… "...Okay," he said, nodding lightly. As sudden and fast as this seemed… their line of work meant that any particular day could be their last, didn't it? If they found something good, they'd be fools to not lunge for, hold onto, and make the best of what made them happy.

And Marian did make him happy, despite everything that was happening. He actually started regularly getting decent amounts of sleep after meeting her. Went out and did stuff instead of locking himself in a closet to brood and dread. Smiled and laughed with genuine earnesty…

Would they maybe be moving a bit quickly? Maybe if they were civilians. But, they weren't. They were front line combatants, stepping up to hold back the tide of extinction. To sit on their hands and let anxiety get the best of them would be the real fool move in this situation.

Yeah. Hell yeah, he was going to say yes. What better way to cap off a successful first mission? At once, Joe couldn't help but smile widely in anticipation at the brunette.

Beaming up at him in response, Marian motioned towards the Government sector. "Now, come on, Commander. We have a job to do."

"Let's blow their socks off," he suggested.

"Let's," Marian enthusiastically nodded as the partners set off with a purpose.

===
Chapter 04 - No Need to Fear...
===

Joe and Marian's mission was to board a transport craft to the surface relatively nearby to support a squad requesting emergency back-up - pointedly emphasizing the need for a replacement Commander in particular. Given that they had just been sort of… milling about when not training, combined with Joe's top percentile performance, it only made sense to press them into service given the situation.

Not that said logic made Joe feel any better about being deployed into active combat for the first time. Especially when he was handed his drone operator's backpack and gear… which did not include a combat uniform. Pointedly. Apparently, his stuffy, restrictive dress uniform was his uniform - period. He was expected to wear it if he wanted to wear a uniform at all.

Meaning he was being officially deployed into an active war zone in his casual work clothes, supplemented only by the backpack he needed to carry his drone gear.

Oh, and a single handgun strapped to his hip. No context given or information provided. He didn't recognize the make or model, he wasn't familiar with how it functioned, or how to handle it. Why, in God's name they hadn't given him a chance to at the very least take one of these things to a firing range beforehand, he didn't know. But hey, it was a magazine-fed autoloader?

Maybe it was based on a Glock's ergonomics? Or… was a Sig-Sauer? A futuristic Sig-Sauer? Fuck, not that it would help him much at all if that were the case - he only knew how to operate M1911's and Single Action Armies…

He did come to the conclusion that he was overthinking it, though. Marian would be by his side the whole way, and he was pretty fucking sure she'd react to a tank shell to the face with little more than an annoyed pout.

So, at any rate, there they were: sitting in the transport that'd be taking to the air shortly. Just them, the pilots in the front, and the equipment they were bringing to resupply their comrades. The jitters were getting to him, though Marian was doing a good job quelling it by gently taking hold of his hand and giving him a reassuring smile. Her comforting grasp could only do so much, though.

"Don't forget to put in your ears," Marian reminded him, patting the breast pocket of his jacket lightly with her gloved hand. "You would be surprised how many first-time Commanders have to make their way back to base with permanent hearing damage because they forget."

Right. His 'ears.' Reaching into the pocket, Joe withdrew what might've been mistaken for wireless earbuds back home - ones with absurdly overblown nibs in particular. Electronic ear plugs - a technology that actually existed in his time, though these were advanced enough that he shouldn't need dedicated ear muffs on top of them. He still requested over-ear protection as a back-up option though, he was no fool. Keep them around his neck just in case, if nothing else.

Otherwise, they'd let safe sounds in, and block out or at least heavily dampen anything which might otherwise damage his eardrums. Put 'em in, do your damnedest to forget about the thick material physically jammed into and unpleasantly blocking your ear canals, and come back without crippling hearing damage.

They wouldn't be comfortable, but having blood erupt from his ears would probably be even more unpleasant.

So, he put them in with a grimace, switched 'em on, and nodded to the battle-ready brunette. "Say something?" he asked.

Marian's mouth moved, and hearing nothing, Joe let out a low groan of annoyance as he reached up and fiddled with them. "Okay, great, how do you even begin to troubleshoot these things-"

A low, barely-suppressed snort came from Marian, and after a moment, Joe turned back to and glowered at her in annoyance.

"You set it up perfectly, though," she protested with a perfectly innocent face. "How could I not play a little prank on you?"

"Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by mean ladies…" Joe groaned in exaggerated dismay.

"Well, it's your fault for being so bulliable!" Marian replied, reaching out and lightly shoving him on the shoulder - barely enough to move him. The soft touch came to her quite naturally. "It's okay, I'll make it up to you when we get back from the field," she asserted with a… playful, mildly suggestive tone.

Did the transport's temperature suddenly spike? Wiping at his rapidly clamming brow, Joe cleared his throat. "Y-yeah, I'm sure you will," he said, not quite able to suppress his rising nervousness. Grown-ass man or no, some guys just had their weaknesses, and Marian was a very pretty woman.

"You'll see…" Marian let out a low, throaty chuckle from her seat next to his. That was the point when a series of mechanical clangs and whirrs came from all around them, and for the first time since he'd awoken here - Joe saw natural sunlight begin to fill the hangar in which the transport sat. "They're opening the hangar aperture - guess it's that time, then," the Nikke remarked, gazing out the same window he did, shortly before the sensation of movement became palpable, the transport gradually achieving direct vertical lift-off and drifting upwards.

It didn't take long for the sights of greenery to fill the view outside, followed by a clear blue sky visible past tree tops. Earth, despite mankind's desperate situation, it seemed, thrived regardless of the Rapture invasion.

In an apocalyptic war, to Joe, at least, the mind was filled with images of vast stretches of wasteland, ruin and heart-rending loss. The area above the Ark, though… it just looked like a patch of wilderness from back home. Nothing outwardly wrong. It created something of a disconnect in his mind, and left him reeling a bit.

It was silly, yes. Humanity and the planet's survival weren't necessarily inextricably tied together, and the Raptures, by and large, didn't seem to have any interest in targeting anything but people. But it didn't make the dissonance between Earth's seemingly untouched condition and mankind's decimated state any easier to reconcile.

It was what it was, though. In a scant few minutes, the transport's vernier reoriented themselves, and the craft was soaring forth far faster than Joe might've expected it to.

"...How long until we get there?" he asked aloud, a stone rapidly forming in his stomach.

"ETA is about twenty minutes," Marian replied coolly, now circling her fingers on Joe's palm in a massaging motion. "Just remember our training, Joe. You're genuinely the best Commander I've ever had… I can see that you don't believe in yourself, but, honestly, I feel safer than I ever have before under your command. We'll be fine, we'll complete our mission to provide support to the search and rescue team, and we'll be back home in time to go out for that Italian dinner," she smiled brightly at him, chocolate tresses flowing off of her armoured shoulder as she did so. "I'm not afraid... and you don't need to be either. I swear, I'll protect you, no matter what happens. You aren't alone."

Having turned back to face his partner again, Joe couldn't help but grin at her affirmation. Marian was wonderful, and even if Joe didn't believe in himself… Marian believed in him, so it was his duty to live up to her trust. "Okay," he nodded, now smiling himself. "Alright. I'll do my best."

"I know you will," Marian declared purposefully, reassuringly squeezing Joe's hand. "Now… relax, things could wind up getting pretty intense when we land. Best to take any opportunity we have until we're back at the Ark."

"And if I'd rather spend that time chatting with you?" Joe asked, giving Marian a small smirk.

"Then I'd remind you that we'll have the rest of the day to spend time together as soon as we get back," Marian said in a mildly chastising tone. "Let yourself relax. You won't have many chances after this."

Rather than rebel against her instruction, with a nod, Joe leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Though he sure as shit wasn't going to be falling asleep, he could at least recenter himself. Lord knew he'd need every ounce of focus he could garner as Marian and who knew however many more girls would be relying on him to lead them to victory.

---

"-oe!" Marian's voice faded in, distant, muffled, as though trying to get through multiple layers of insulating material. "Joe! Joe! Please, open your eyes! Joe! Please! Please-!"

Then, the pain hit him. Eyes shooting open wide, the sight of Marian framed by the blue sky filled his vision, followed shortly by the putrid stench of acrid, choking black smoke streaking upwards and making his head swim - or maybe that was just the aforementioned pain.

His senses, needless to say, rapidly returned to him in full.

"Oh thank goodness…" Marian let out a heavy breath when Joe locked eyes with her, leaning in and cupping his cheeks. "Can you hear me? Joe, are you alright!?" Her concern was clear to see, eyes glimmering… the brown splotches in her eyes almost looked red?

It must have been the way they were catching the light of the nearby flames.

He didn't remember the past… few minutes? So, he must have hit his head. Not so hard as to experience serious memory loss, he figured, but even a few minutes of lost time wasn't a good thing.

What a great start to his career.

"...What happened?" he managed to reply, pushing down the panic that threatened to launch itself out of his chest and into the stratosphere. Focus. You're a soldier now: you're a Commander now. Marian is depending on you to keep your shit together, focus.

"The transport… there was an explosion," Marian explained, gently patting Joe down, seemingly to check him for injuries. "We crashed… it's a miracle you aren't hurt. Does anything feel wrong?"

"...I feel like I fell out of a tree," Joe replied, moving to attempt rising to a seated position, to which Marian set a hand on his back and effortlessly helped him up. "But, I don't think anything is broken… I'm thinking too clearly to be in shock. I think I'm fine."

The relief on Marian's face was palpable, and after a moment, despite herself… she leaned in and hugged him. "I thought I lost you, Joe…"

…So, it was basically unspoken, but official, wasn't it? He was fine with that.

During the moment of quiet between them, Joe could hear, in the distance, the harsh crack of automatic weapons fire and explosions - muffled by the sheer range from which they were coming. The squad they were supposed to help, he surmised.

Hugging her back, Joe let out a low sigh of his own. "I'm okay, I'm okay…" Focus. They weren't safe, they had a mission to complete. There was no time to lose themselves. "Did anyone else make it?" he asked.

In response, Marian pulled back, and twisted around to look at… the nose and cockpit of the aircraft, completely detached from the back half and all but flattened against a ruined skyscraper.

"Ah, well, shit," he grimaced. It was quite evident that the pilots hadn't made it. Focus, do or die. No time to get caught up on it. "...Where are we?" he asked, "how close are we to our objective?"

"We were only a few minutes out… check your GPS, we should be able to orient ourselves and get a bearing on our location. Or, if nothing else, your drone should be able to fly high enough to let us get an idea of where to go."

"Have you tried contacting the Ark?" Joe asked as he rose to his feet, confirming that his drone bag was within reach, he immediately started fishing through it.

"I have. I couldn't get through. We must be in a dead zone… You can walk, Commander?" She asked warily.

"Yes, I should be fine," Joe assured her. He hurt all over, he really wasn't prepared for this, but, he needed to to keep focused, press on. Luckily, it was his mind that was needed for this. As long as he kept his shit together, that was all he needed to do his job.

Worst case scenario, he'd piggyback ride Marian and give her commands on the move. Otherwise, for now…

Finding the GPS, he tested it, and confirmed that they were getting no signal. That being a wash, he sighed and resorted to the drone. Marian didn't say anything as she readied First Affection, chambering a round and standing at the ready. She was more than a little scuffed up, having lost a fair few pieces of armour, including her helmet, but nevertheless, she seemed unshaken; Joe's own safety aside.

The drone was small, fitting in the palm of his hand until deployed. It reacted to being flung upwards by activating and hovering in place while he whipped out the control tablet. It wasn't so different in form from a Switch, and quickly enough, he directed the robotic camera skywards.

Well, they were certainly in a city. Not one he recognized at a glance, but a city nonetheless.

…He had never actually asked where the Ark was located, had he? He supposed he'd find out sooner or later. It wasn't anything resembling a priority right now, though.

"What are we looking for-?" Joe asked, only to have a flare appear a few blocks away, arcing… towards them. "Emergency flare. That the squad we were sent to support?"

"It must be," Marian declared. "Which direction? We should get moving, Raptures will have doubtlessly noticed our crash and will be descending on our location soon."

"They shot us down, so yeah, I'd imagine they know where we are," Joe gruffly declared. "Okay, this way," he started walking away from the crash site - only to have Marian brusquely step ahead of him. "Stay behind me, Joe."

…Yeah, right, she was the one with the gun - the gun that could actually kill Raptures, at least.

"Right… I'll warn you if I see anything coming then-" Breath catching in his throat, Joe stared in horror before speaking up. "Speak of the devil…! Raptures, incoming, four o'clock!" he declared, pointing in the specified direction down a street blocked off and filled with rubble from a collapsed tower.

Marian was quick to about-face, lunging forward and placing herself between her and the approaching hostiles, regardless of her inability to see them yet. "Commander, orders?"

Quickly enough, he could hear the bastards approaching. Skittering along on their insect-like legs. This wasn't a simulation - he and Marian had just been in a fucking plane crash, he was aching but doing his best to ignore it, it was up to just Marian and her submachine gun to protect the both of them…

…And she was relying on him to not fall to pieces. He didn't have to be afraid, not when she was here to protect him.

Glancing at the screen, the direction the Raptures were coming from, the cover and available sight lines…

Well, there was the obvious solution…

"Down this alleyway!" With the amount approaching, how much ammo Marian carried on her, and the fact that she loaded her gun with massive drum magazines, she should be able to easily handle them as long as they just funnelled them down tight corridors. Make them charge her single-file. Simple, but clean. Just like in the simulations.

"Understood!"

Quickly enough, the two had sprinted down to their minor tactically advantageous location. "They're coming…" Joe grimly noted as he ducked the corner, just as the Raptures could be heard right around the corner and seen clearly from the unnoticed drone above.

Marian just scoffed, casually dug her fingers into a whole-ass industrial steel refrigerator sitting abandoned in the alley, and with a terrible crash, threw it onto its face with a single hand before taking cover behind it. With defiance, she declared with nary a hint of fear as she shouldered First Affection, readying herself for her and Joe's first encounter together: "Let them try!"

===
Chapter 05 - The Road Ahead
===

"This is nothing like the simulations!" Joe cried as he and Marian charged down the twisting alleyways, weaving in, around, and through cover with wild abandon to escape the oncoming tide of Raptures.

Where in the simulator room, Raptures were dumb, predictable, marching straight onwards - almost like Space Invaders - these ones had immediately overcome his tactic by crawling along the high walls of the alleyways in waves Marian just couldn't handle on her own. Bobbing and diving between bits of cover as Marian did her best to pepper them with fire, and breaking formation and skittering into other back-alleys to perform what Joe had immediately realised was the lead-up to a flanking maneuver...

Many of the Raptures pursuing them had four insect-like legs, a crab-like mechanical body, one massive cyclopean red eye, and two simple arms with gun pods. Others had only two limbs, with legs not unlike those of a dog's hind quarters, giving the impression of the back half of a hellish, tailless canine. All chittered along with mechanical growls and roars, all were armoured in plain white carapaces. None were moved in the least by the destruction of their fellows, none displayed a hint of fear towards the Nikke that cut them down in swathes.

Firing over her shoulder, Marian made a point to keep herself between the pursuing alien beasts and Joe. Each shot which whizzed past them punched holes clean through the walls on either side of the Ark's soldiers. If even one managed to hit Joe, he could tell from the damage done to their surroundings that it would be game over. Marian, apparently, could handle damage which would kill him outright.

It still didn't make it feel any better whenever he heard her grunt behind him, and a glance revealed that what remained of her armour had absorbed another attack. Marian was strong, and brave. But she wasn't invulnerable.

Joe even less so. It felt like his lungs were on fire, his legs already grew weak. Where Marian seemed unshaken, the weakness of Joe's flesh was immediately apparent. Glancing back over his shoulder, his eyes went wide at the sight of a Rapture leaping forth, aiming to pounce upon the Nikke just behind him. "Marian-!" he cried out.

Marian spun on the ball of her foot - heel outstretched, she caught the mechanical menace in a spinning roundhouse kick which crumpled the machine's shell, smashing it into the wall to her side. With a pitiful whine, the Rapture's legs dangled in the air, falling limp from where it had been embedded.

Without missing a beat, Marian was righted and blew forth again - now moving faster than Joe could, she scooped him up on her shoulder and bolted forward with far and away greater speed than he ever could. Comparing the sensation to being on the back of a galloping horse would do it no justice - Marian moved with a rapidity that would render a motorcycle obsolete in her wake. "I'm right here," he heard her utter as she held onto him, just tight enough to secure him on her shoulder, not so tight as to cause him discomfort. "They won't hurt you…"

It must have felt like lifting a feather to her. Despite Joe being so much physically larger than her, she'd hoisted him as though he weighed nothing at all. Then she only sped up. He'd been holding her back by attempting to flee under his own power.

Nikkes were unbelievable.

Of course, Joe was now stuck staring back at the extraterrestrial horrors attempting to chase them down, seeing each bolt of energy through their way. This did nothing for his rising dread. Twisting around to see what was coming up…

Blinking, in a flash of keen awareness, he noticed that the highway overpass they were about to charge under was rather precariously propped up - it looked like the slightest breeze might cause its obliterated foundations to give out. "Marian!" Joe called out from the Nikke's shoulder. "Shoot out that support pillar as we pass under the highway!"

She did as instructed, lashing out and pelting the ruined pillar as they soared by - the supercharged bullets of her so-called 'submachine gun' utterly ravaged the concrete and steel, Nikke weapons being nightmarishly overpowered relative to what he'd known from the early 2000's. An electric jolt lanced down his spine as he watched the overpass collapse just as they slipped under it - a cacophony of screaming construction material which might've been deafening if not for his ear protection.

The terror of them only damn near avoiding being crushed was rapidly overtaken by the sight of their Rapture pursuers failing to avoid that fate. The lead chaser had been partially crushed, half of its body sticking out from the many tonnes of rubble which had fallen atop it. The single limb sticking out of the rubble twitched and kicked for a few moments before falling still.

Marian kept going briefly afterwards, until Joe called out to her. "That got them, you got them, we're safe, Marian!" he declared, patting her back to catch her attention.

Coming to a gentle stop so as not to overwhelm Joe's weak physiology with excessive g-forces, Marian slowed, and after glancing back to confirm it herself, set the Commander down with a sigh. "...That was clever, Joe," she approvingly declared, presenting a pleased smile to the taller man. "I don't think I'd have had enough ammo to take out all of those Raptures with just my gun…"

"Hey, if you're not fighting dirty, you're not fighting," Joe declared with a shrug. Otherwise, he had to vocalize his own thoughts on what had just happened. "Jesus fucking Christ, you're amazing," Joe declared in naked awe, staring at the little brunette with wide, earnest eyes.

Though she scoffed, Marian could not suppress the pleased smile and small blush that found purchase on her features at her Commander's praise. "I'm just a regular Nikke, there's nothing special about me-!" the young woman attempted to deflect his praise, only to suddenly limp on an attempt at taking a step, hissing as she set her hand over a very visible leg wound. She'd taken what must have been a glancing blow where she'd completely lost her armour, blood running down her unguarded leg freely.

Joe was quick to tear into his bag, and relieved, he actually found a basic medical kit. He… didn't actually have any medical training, and the thought of that on top of everything else he hadn't been prepared for before he was deployed pissed him off even more, but Marian's injury took priority over fuming. At the very least, he could clean and bandage the wound to staunch the bleeding. "Hold still," he ordered her as he quickly went about dressing the wound, causing Marian to blink and stare in confusion, taken aback for a moment before she spoke up.

"W-wait, Joe, what are you…" her voice trailed off, and she went quiet as Joe went about cleaning the open injury with an included saline solution, applying a styptic to stop the bleeding, at least slow it somewhat, followed by an antibiotic ointment, and bandaging the wound carefully. He could only hope he'd done that properly, or at least not horribly. His hands were rapidly stained red, but that was nothing he would even acknowledge when his partner was hurt. Applying a… pin? The metal sheet with inwards-facing teeth that secured a bandage wrap in place, he nodded when it seemed like it wouldn't come loose.

"...I'm sorry I obviously don't know what I'm doing, but-"

"Don't apologize-!" Marian cut him off, sounding more than a little reproachful as she looked about ready to cry, pausing and taking a breath before continuing. "...Joe, I- thank you," she said as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the rookie Commander. "Thank you, but those medical supplies are for you. Wounds like this look bad, but Nikkes are tougher than humans. It hurts, but I can't get infections or suffer blood loss. It's just… cosmetic. Don't waste supplies meant for me to use on you. Okay?"

"...Is that why you winced in pain? Because it's just 'cosmetic?'" The Commander asked.

"Joe…" Marian pulled back, giving him an apologetic look. "I just- look," a moment passed, and she stepped back, expression becoming completely neutral again, all traces of pain fading in an instant. "I shut off my pain receptors. It… It's on normally to help us feel human, but it won't debilitate us. It won't be an issue for the rest of the mission, okay?" she asserted, and as if on cue, in the moment of quiet that followed, the gunfire and explosions they'd heard a few minutes ago were noticed once more - a lot closer this time, now. "...They've been holding out for a while now. We shouldn't keep them waiting any longer than we have to," Marian suggested, motioning for Joe to follow her. "Come on, before we run into any other distractions."

With a sigh, Joe followed. Checking on the status of the drone, he confirmed that it was still automatically following them, and that no more Raptures were immediately converging on their position.

Following the Nikke, Joe did his best to not weigh her down too much - as much as he could in the already worn-down state he was in. The limitations of flesh never felt so constricting.

---

Emerging from a ruined building, Joe and Marian finally found themselves on a street absolutely overloaded with dead Raptures - including a few he was pretty sure he'd never seen before, not that he could make out what they probably looked like when not in pieces. There, was the squad they'd been sent to support.

If one could call a duo a 'squad.'

Hoisting an assault rifle with an underbarrel grenade launcher was a woman dressed in blacks and striking, almost luminescent reds. A dark beret sat atop her long strawberry blonde tresses, a heavily cropped leather jacket adorned in military insignias. Her dark-grey button-down was accented with a bright red necktie, her bottoms-

…Ah, she wasn't wearing bottoms. Or rather, her shirt was just long enough that it served double-duty as a short skirt. One which was wide open on the sides, and thus functioned as a loincloth of sorts? If not for the two bullet belts she wore like loose suspenders hanging from her combat belt, a light breeze would be all it took to reveal her undies to all the world - though on a closer inspection, he wasn't even sure that would be enough to shield her modesty. There was no way she wasn't deliberately dressed that way specifically to call attention to her (admittedly impressive) midsection.

Otherwise, she wore thin thigh-highs adored with a single red star each, and black high heels…

Wait. Why wasn't she wearing armour?

Beside her was a grenade launcher-wielding blonde, similarly wearing a beret, but her locks were cut into a messy bob. Rather than the black and red, this one was bedecked in blacks, yellows, and some dabblings of light greys. Her outfit was… both more and less revealing than the other's. A… sports jacket, Joe supposed, worn over a grey undershirt cut so low that it was genuinely shocking that she hadn't popped out of her top, given how it strained as though its life depended on it against her curvaceous figure.

A grenade harness hung from her waist over her booty shorts-adorned midsection. Thigh-highs that protested against her meaty legs which ended in… again, high heels.

Why in the fuck were neither of these girls wearing armour!?

"-Well, it took you long enough!" the girl dressed in the colours of a yellowjacket cried out from where she stood, checking the cylinder of her launcher. Joe was, more than anything, caught off-guard by how adorable her voice was. High-pitched in a way that somehow hadn't been what he'd expected. "Just after we finished taking care of that last wave too... Hey, was that huge crash earlier you two?"

The black-and-red one had been scanning the perimeter, turning to face Marian and Joe with a… completely blank expression. Notably, now that she was directing her attention towards them, he could make out that she had striking ruby eyes, and… overdone makeup. Like, noticeably, she was wearing way too much red eye shadow, her lipstick was a little thick, the blush on her cheeks practically caked on…

…Combined with her lack of expression, it made her a bit uncannily doll-like.

Her partner, on the other hand, didn't seem to doll herself up to any degree, and was rather remarkably expressive. She'd gone through what had to be ten completely distinct expressions in the few moments they'd set eyes on them. Amber orbs regarded Joe and Marian warily and with more than a little suspicion.

It went without saying that they were both gorgeous, even if one of them was teetering a bit far towards the uncanny valley right that moment.

"Yes," Marian, regardless, answered the question asked of them as she approached with her blue-clad companion alongside her. "Joe- I mean, the Commander had me collapse a highway overpass on top of the Raptures chasing us."

"That-" the yellow-clad one started, blinked, and gave Joe an appraising look. "That's actually pretty clever. It's not common for Commanders to be that-"

"Squad 04-F, Anis and Rapi," the red one interjected, tonelessly cutting her fellow off mid-sentence by way of introduction. "You are the back-up and replacement Commander we requested?"

"Rapi, I was right in the middle of-!" Anis, apparently, began to protest being cut off before letting out a heavy sigh and seemingly giving up with a roll of her eyes.

"-Yes," Joe replied, seeing as how he was the resident Commander. "Commander Joseph Pholus, we'd have been here sooner, but-"

"Yeah, we saw your transport go down," Anis interrupted. "Surprised you managed to crawl out of the fireball that had to have turned into… how did that even happen anyways? We should contact the Ark about-" she paused, eyes going wide before she jumped in place, declaring, "Holy- wait a minute, you're that guy!? That new Commander that's scoring those crazy numbers in training!? Why'd they send- hey, wait a- doesn't that mean this is your first mission!? What the hell is the Ark doing sending a complete rookie out to provide back-up!? Are they trying to get us all killed-?" She demanded to know, jabbing an accusatory finger out towards him.

To which Marian stepped forward, and outright slapped Anis' outstretched hand aside. "Don't you dare take that tone with him!" She protectively commanded her fellow Nikke, outright glowering at the dumbstruck blonde. "Joe's an amazing Commander, and you're lucky to have him-"

"Marian, fucking chill!" the man in question called out with widened eyes and an alarmed tone, grabbing Marian by the shoulder and pulling her back - a motion he knew only worked at all because Marian allowed herself to be pulled back by his weak human arms. "It isn't like she doesn't have a point! They deployed us like, two weeks earlier than they said they would! And under equipped at that, I should note!"

As Anis stared at Marian like she'd grown a second head, holding her offended hand with wide, uncomprehending eyes, Marian gave Joe her own utterly reproachful look of confusion. "But, she-"

"Marian, do not pick a fight with the girls we were sent out here to help! In the middle of an active battlefield!" Joe outright commanded Marian when she didn't back down immediately. He didn't want to have to pull rank and actually have to talk to her like a commanding officer, but swinging at an ally on an active warzone was so far out of line that it made his head spin.

That, mercifully, seemed to cause Marian to realize what she'd done, and she backed off, a regretful expression finding purchase on her features as she replied, "...I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"...Look, I get it, okay?" Joe stepped closer to Marian, softening his voice as he tried to take on a comforting tone. "I was the same way the first time I met the first person that treated me decently. That's why I'm not going to let you act as over-zealously as I did - I'm not made of glass, and you don't need to treat anyone not approaching me like a priceless artifact like the enemy, okay?"

Marian was quiet for a few moments after that, expression growing visibly strained as she just stared at Joe, eventually speaking up with, "...Who, who treated you badly…?"

Ah shit.

"This is neither the time nor place, Marian!" Joe reminded her, caught off-guard by just how… volatile she was all of a sudden. Marian had been nothing but a chill sweetheart back at the Ark - did being in combat fray her nerves that badly? "Just- we have a job to do!" Turning back to Anis and Rapi, Joe gave them each an apologetic grimace. Anis looked like she'd walked in on her friends' parents fighting, while Rapi, again, was completely expressionless in an increasingly uncanny way. "Sorry, this was a search and rescue op, right? What can you tell us about the situation?"

"As we reported to the Ark: we lost our Commander shortly before sending out the distress call you responded to," Rapi replied without missing a beat - all business all at once. "He disregarded our warnings and attempts to protect him, charging out into the open and trying to engage the Raptures with a handgun not rated for Rapture combat. There was nothing we could do."

"It's like he was trying to die…" Anis grumbled, visibly upset by the recounting of events.

"That's the only conclusion we can come to, and Command confirmed his death as intentional suicide," Rapi asserted. "Therefore: we required a new Commander to take charge of the operation."

Marian was the next to speak up again. "You wouldn't mind if we confirmed that with Command?" she asked. "We have a stable connection here, it seems."

"Not at all," Rapi replied, utterly nonplussed by the request.

Jumping at the buzz in his ear, Joe learned at that moment and not at any more reasonable point beforehand, that his electronic ear protection was also his communications equipment. "This is Shifty at Ark HQ, I read you loud and clear: Commander, what's the situation? I'm not seeing any indication of the transport you took being nearby," yet another girl replied on the other end.

"Bwa-!?" Joe couldn't help but cry out in confusion. "I- how did, I didn't even see Marian do anything-"

"...Commander, Nikkes have integrated communications suites," Marian remarked by way of explanation.

…Right, gynoids. "Ah- right, Shifty? The transport we were in was shot down. The pilots… didn't make it. Marian and I had to walk the rest of the way to Anis and Rapi's position."

"Hey, that's right!" Anis suddenly interjected, stomping a foot and crying out into the air, "How the hell did that happen!? Why would you send search and rescue support through dangerous airspace!? Were you trying to get them killed!?"

"Commander, you claim that you were 'shot down?'" Shifty inquired, audibly confused and paying Anis little apparent mind. "That doesn't make any sense - the lane you took should have been clear for miles around. Did you get sight of what had done it? Anti-air that would have been close enough to take down the transport should be showing up on our scans."

Turning to Marian, given that he hadn't been conscious or otherwise just didn't remember what had happened at the time…

"No," Marian answered plainly. "There was an explosion, and the transport was blown in half. The Commander would have likely died had I not held onto him and used my body as a cushion to soften the fall for him."

…Joe hadn't realized that must have been what happened, but it made sense. He wouldn't have been able to just stand up and go about like nothing had happened if he'd fallen from an aircraft and slammed into hard fucking tarmac. Another thing he owed to Marian - something else he'd pay her back a dozen times over once they weren't on the clock anymore.

There was silence for a few moments, Shifty eventually spoke up again. "I've managed to secure a connection to the transport's onboard computer - thankfully, the black box seems to have survived the crash. I'll get it unlocked and look it over to see if I can find out what caused the crash in the first place. For now: your orders stand: proceed with the search and rescue operation. You will be extracted as soon as your operational objectives have been fulfilled. Any questions?"

"Rapi and Anis are claiming that their Commander's death has been ruled as a suicide, is this true?" Marian asked.

"Affirmative," Shifty replied without missing a beat. "The manner in which he conducted himself can't be read in any other way. Therefore: they can not be held responsible for his death and will not be decommissioned. Please cooperate with them in completing their original objective and following exfiltration. Raptures will doubtlessly be coming the area in search of you, so I would advise that you proceed with haste. Our connection seems to be growing weaker, so I'm going to let you go for now."

"Understood," Joe replied, pointedly not acknowledging or dwelling on the 'decommission' bit. "Over and out."

"Good luck, Commander," Shifty replied before the connection was cut.

There was a small moment of extended silence as everyone just sort of… stared at each other. Then Joe remembered that he was the commanding officer here, let out a small choking noise, and motioned down the street. "T-this way, I guess-" he paused. "Wait, were are we even-"

"Shit, that's right!" Anis slapped her own forehead. "The Commander - our former Commander was the only one that knew where we were actually going! We should have asked Shifty where to go-!"

"Here, the objective is this way," Marian interjected, moving towards and motioning to an alleyway leading deeper into the city. "It's not that far off, we should be able to get there in about twenty minutes if we don't run into any problems on the way."

There was a pause as everyone looked at Marian in surprise, and more than a little suspicion in Anis' case. "Wait," Anis started, "How do you know that?"

"I checked the dossier before we set off from the Ark," Marian replied easily, the light of the sun seeming to catch her eyes in a way that almost caused the brown splotches in them to sheen red again. "Now, Commander, we should get moving."

Joe felt like a complete boob. There was a dossier they could have read before leaving? Fucking hell, that would have been nice to know. Went to show how much more experienced at this Marian was, if nothing else. "Right, uh, c'mon guys… let's mosey," he awkwardly directed everyone onward, still not quite being used to this whole commanding thing.

"...Seriously? 'Let's mosey?' That's the best you could come up with?" Anis seemed unimpressed, eliciting a glower from Marian as Rapi just silently followed, not seeming keen on speaking up at all unless she had reason to.

Well, Anis and Rapi sure seemed like they'd turn out to be interesting temporary squadmates, if nothing else.

===
Chapter 06 - …I'm Right Here
===

"Marian, what's wrong?" Rapi stopped, pointedly calling out to the brunette as they moved along the overgrown ruins of the city, passing through what was once a small café in particular.

Brows rising in confusion, Joe was caught off-guard as he looked at Marian with no small degree of concern. "Wait, what? Something's wrong? Are you okay, Marian?"

Reaching up to rub at the back of her neck, Marian let out a weak sigh. "I-I'm fine, it must be a minor malfunction from the damage I took earlier. That's all-"

"Take off your top," Rapi immediately cut her off, utterly expressionlessly and without her tone shifting in the least.

That, needless to say, caught Joe off-guard, to say nothing of how Marian's entire head seemed to turn red at hearing the demand.

"W-what!? No!" Marian cried, retreating as her eyes snapped between Rapi and Joe, even as Rapi advanced on her. "Wait, it's-"

"All malfunctions must be addressed and corrected as soon as possible," Rapi elucidated, demonstrating all the social awareness of a bull moose. "I need to perform maintenance on you, and your gear will get in the way."

"But Joe's right there-!" Marian started, horror and building embarrassment writ large on her features as the man in question began looking about for somewhere to retreat to. He wasn't about to be party to Marian being exposed right in front of him.

"-Hey, Commander, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Anis, however, seemed to have other ideas as she reached out and snatched his arm as he went to flee past her, into what looked like a storage room. "Stay in eyesight at all times! We didn't request a new Commander just so he could run off and get killed right away too!"

"B-but-" Joe started, not wanting to make this any more difficult for Marian than it needed to be.

"Let him go! He-" Marian called out even as Rapi reached out and started grabbing at the straps locking what remained of her armour in place.

"What the heck is up with you two?" Anis asked, brow heavily furrowed as she kept Joe locked in place effortlessly despite the apparent difference in mass between them. "Why are you acting embarrassed? You're a Nikke, he looks at you about as sexually as he would a toaster! Right, Commander-?"

Anis' words stopped dead when she looked aside at Joe, who himself was wearing a mixture of offence and embarrassment.

He didn't get the chance to interject on his own behalf, however, "Don't you dare liken Joe to them!" Marian cried out, looking about ready to blow past Rapi and charge at Anis. "He's not like those other Commanders! He sees Nikke as women, as people! I've had to stop him from assaulting a dozen anti-Nikke store owners for disrespecting me in just the two weeks we've been together!"

Of course that was the example she went to…

Rapi had stopped and turned to give Joe a critical eye - or he at least thought it was critical, her expression remained completely blank, after all. Anis, on the other hand, gave the impression of utter disbelief. "...Uh huh," the blonde seemed unconvinced, but, upon catching sight of the glower Marian shot her way, she relented her grip on Joe's arm and instructed him, "Just keep your back to her then. Not gonna have you run off and get shot where we couldn't see you."

"Lift your arms," Rapi robotically instructed the beleaguered brunette, seemingly unperturbed by the conversation going on around her.

"I- I can undress myself-!" Marian protested, almost whining.

Joe, not wanting to cause difficulties for anyone, just remained with his feet planted where they were, and did his best to not think about the fact that a topless Marian was just behind him.

---

"Commander, I could not find anything out of place - Marian is in perfect working order," Rapi informed Joe after the sounds of shifting fabric eventually stopped.

"...Do you have to use that sort of language?" Joe asked, not being willing to turn around until he was explicitly informed that Marian was dressed again.

"Yes," Rapi replied matter-of-factually. "It is protocol to speak in as clear a manner as possible so as to mitigate potential misunderstandings and other miscommunications."

Well, shit, if she was just doing things by the book, he couldn't exactly harp on her for it, could he? They were military personnel on a mission, after all. "...Alright, thank you, Rapi," he remarked, given that she was, ultimately, checking to make sure nothing was wrong with Marian.

There was no indication that Rapi cared about the basic courtesy Joe showed her. Girl was all business, it seemed.

Anis, standing right where she was at the start of this, was staring at Joe out of the corner of her eye with naked skepticism. He couldn't blame her, most Commanders were pieces of shit, by the sounds of it.

"Are you decent, Marian?" Joe asked, gaze fixed forward.

She was quick to reply. "I- yes, Joe, you can turn back around."

With a sigh, he did so, and found… "...Why didn't you put your armour back on?"

"Her armour is too damaged to make its continued use worthwhile," Rapi answered for Marian, emotionlessly and to the point as ever.

Ah. Well… "Fair enough," Joe replied as he nodded Marian's way. She was now wearing what looked like a stripped-down version of her casual outfit - a white, sleeveless button down, with… was she always wearing a pencil skirt under her armour? Fashion was apparently just something that Nikkes refused to disregard.

Either way, she'd stripped the tactical gear she'd had from the armour and now wore it over her basic clothes. She looked good, of course, but that kind of seemed to go without saying as far as Nikkes went.

"...Why do you have a bandage around your leg?" Anis asked Marian, looking at the wound Joe had patched up as best he could.

"I admittedly wondered the same thing," Rapi added onto the question. "It's entirely superfluous, you realize? These sorts of resources are meant to be used on Commanders; Nikkes don't benefit from their application in the least."

"Joe put it on me when he saw that I was injured," Marian answered easily. "And I must contest that last point."

Rapi's expression actually shifted, however minutely. A single eyebrow popped up ever-so-slightly to indicate her confusion at Marian's assertion.

It was, however, Anis that replied to that declaration. "...How? It doesn't benefit us, we're just machines. Flesh wounds like that don't actually mean anything."

"No, you're wrong," Marian asserted, making a fist and resting it over her chest. "And you… you would understand if he put a bandage on you," was the brunette's response. A look of quiet conviction in her eyes.

"...Ooookay then," Anis stopped just short of rolling her eyes, slightly shaking her head as she motioned for the group to move on. "Alright, well, let's keep going. The longer we're out here, the lower our chances of making it back get, and I'd rather not become more of a statistic than I already am."

As Anis started off in the direction they were already headed, Joe stared after her, brows furrowing at her choice of words. He didn't like that statement in the least, to say nothing of how disbelieving she was of any notion of him just... giving a shit about Marian.

All that he'd heard of the average Commander gave him the impression that they were just pricks not worth thinking about. Which, in retrospect was probably the reason he just didn't have much of a reaction to being told Anis and Rapi's previous Commander had essentially committed suicide by Rapture. He was getting to the point where he was just starting to file them away as not worth consideration.

She must have had her reasons for not trusting the notion of a decent Commander. He wouldn't hold it against her.

Rapi, meanwhile… Joe would probably wind up falling into the trap of acting like an emotionless robot that just did things by the book all the time, every time too, working as she had to as a Nikke.

They were products of their environment. They hadn't had time with someone that actually gave a shit about them to get out of the sorts of mindsets they'd been baked into.

…Maybe if they turned out to be decent girls, he'd look into having them transferred into his squad. Lord help him, he couldn't stand the idea of someone being in the kind of situation that left them acting like this.

But maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He was just one Commander, after all. It was hardly like he was going to be able to lunge for, and catch every Nikke that slipped through the cracks. Doubly so when they were in the middle of a war of extinction…

In the few moments it had taken for Joe to get lost in his own head, Marian walked up to him, reaching out and briefly taking a hold of his hand with a beaming smile. She could see the concern plain on his face. It was, honestly, more than a little sad how just being decent had such a strong effect on the girls fighting on the front line of mankind's last stand.

But, it was what it was. What remained of the world as far as humanity was concerned was more than a little fucked, but such was the lot of those who had the misfortune of being born in this era.

They'd just have to hope that those who followed in their footsteps would have the benefit of peace, the security to condemn the steps taken to ensure they had the chance to live at all.

"Joe," Marian nodded after Rapi and Anis. "Over here," she instructed the rookie Commander, already pulling him along.

At least, if nothing else, they had the means to enjoy the time they had together with good people.

---

Pushing on, the group marched their way into yet another overgrown street. Joe was seeing a lot of English signage all over the place, which tracked with the Ark proper. So… he presumed they were either somewhere in North America. Or South Africa. Didn't a few Asian places have English as an officially recognized language too, like Hong Kong though?

But, given how common western names were from what he saw, they were probably in a western region. Probably. He'd expect a lot more Asians if they were like, around Hong Kong.

Regardless of that, it occurred to Joe that they hadn't encountered any Raptures since landing, given how his mind had been allowed to wander. "Is it usually this quiet on the surface?"

"Yeah, actually," Anis answered easily, glancing back over her shoulder. "When you're not being mobbed by Raptures, at least. Tends to be a whole lotta nothing. Which is boring-"

"It is preferable to open combat," Rapi interjected with all the enthusiasm of a beached whale.

"...Yeah," Anis let out a shallow sigh. "I mean, can't argue with that, but still… it'd be nice if they let us listen to music or something-"

"Distractions while in unsecured locations is inadvisable," Rapi cut the short-haired blonde off. "Do not listen to music when we need to be prepared for combat."

"I didn't say-" Sighing in exasperation, Anis shook her head and just dropped the subject, a bit of a sour expression finding purchase on her features.

…Rapi sure was… fastidious, he supposed was one way to put it. Not that it wasn't warranted, Anis' more lackadaisical attitude was probably a bit problematic, all things considered. He wasn't going to get on anyone's backs at the moment, however. Especially since the budding problem seemed to have worked itself out.

Marian had drifted to the front of the pack, leading everyone on, being the only one that actually knew where they were going. How long had it been, now? She said about twenty minutes until they reached their destination, right? "We almost there, Marian?"

"Over here," she simply called back, not breaking stride as they continued to march on.

There was a moment of silence in which Anis glanced back, giving Joe a perturbed look, though she didn't say anything as they continued to move. Marian was taking this pretty seriously, though it was warranted given that it was a search and rescue mission. So, it'd probably do to just keep focused.

Checking his tablet, his work one, not the one he used to control his drone, Joe confirmed that it had been about twenty minutes, and nothing had really slowed them down. So, they should have been coming up on the place the squad they'd be looking for had gone missing.

Indeed, shortly after that, Marian came to a stop at a large intersection, little other than a gentle breeze accompanying the group as they ceased movement.

"...This it?" Anis asked, looking about with her grenade launcher hoisted on her shoulder. "I… don't see anything. Like, no traces of Nikkes or whatever. Hey, you sure this is the place?" she called out to the brunette.

"...Over here," Marian replied as she started ambling down the street again, eyes fixed forward, not bothering to turn around to address Anis.

"...Marian?" Joe started off after her, growing mildly concerned over how she seemed to just be repeating herself. "Hey, you okay-?"

Meanwhile, Rapi halted, lifting a hand up to her ear. "The Ark is trying to contact us," she declared, visibly trying to focus on her comms. "Shifty? There's interference, I can barely read you - repeat, interference, I can barely-" she froze on the spot.

At once, Anis stretched her arm outwards, catching Joe as her brow furrowed and she shifted her feet to a bracing stance.

Caught off-guard, Joe's gaze snapped to Anis, then Rapi, and he called out to Marian again. "Marian! Are you-"

"Marian, freeze!" Rapi called out in a commanding tone, suddenly shouldering her rifle and levelling it at the brunette's back.

Heart leaping into his throat, Joe reached up as if to push his way past Anis, but, it was like trying to shove over a power line pole. She was utterly unmoved by his attempt to get past her. "H-hey, what the hell is-!?"

"Shifty decoded the transport's black box," Rapi explained, braced to open fire at a moment's notice. "There was no anti-air or attack from Raptures - the craft was brought down from an internal detonation- one caused by explosives flagged as being intended for this operation in the craft's manifest."

"Wha-" Joe balked at the assertion, struck dumb by what he was hearing. "What the hell would explosives be needed for on a search and rescue operation..." That didn't make any sense, what the hell was-

"Those types of explosives do not go off without an outside trigger - a deliberate signal that can only be tripped with intent…" Rapi continued to explain, keeping her sights trained on Marian all the while. "That signal came from you, Marian, in the seconds before the transport was brought down."

Marian kept her back turned to the rest of the group, not responding to the allegations being thrown at her at all.

"...Marian?" Joe called out again, not trying to force his way past Anis, who herself had shouldered her weapon, holding it in place with a single hand as she glared warily Marian's way.

"There's no mistaking it, you caused that explosion," Rapi continued, taking a few steps to the side, clearing a lane of fire for Anis, Joe recognized. "Two pilots dead, the Commander was unlikely to survive the initial explosion either, let alone the crash… what was your goal? What was the plan there? What reason could you have for this sabotage?"

"-No!" Joe tried to intervene, "Marian didn't- she wouldn't- she's a sweetheart! She's been nothing but- She protected me! Saved my life from those Raptures, damn it! If she was trying to get me killed, why would she have let herself get hurt shielding me!? She took multiple shots that would have killed me outright, damn it!"

The grim readiness on Anis' face wavered as she glanced back at Joe, uncertainty tracing across her features as he could practically hear the gears in her head turning.

Still, Marian remained quiet, not turning back to face them, just seemingly staring out into the street beyond.

"Answer me!" Rapi actually started to sound irritated, adjusting the grip on her weapon as she did so. "...You're with Heavenly Ascension, aren't you? You smuggled those explosives onto the transport, deliberately set it up to sabotage this operation." Actually scoffing in rising anger, Rapi looked about ready to open fire on the spot. "I wish I could say this was a new low for your group, but no, sabotaging search and rescue operations is right in you terrorist's wheelhouse, isn't it?"

"Fucking what!?" Joe cried out, mortified by the accusations being thrown at his partner. "What the fuck are you talking about!? Marian's not a… a fucking terrorist! Who would even- why- that's insane! Where would you even-!?"

"I hate to say it, Commander," Anis cut him off. "But it's all adding up, and nothing else makes sense. The way she's been talking about being 'treated well,' obviously leading you on to treating her sympathetically… Heavenly Ascension sells itself as a Nikke rights group, but then they do things like this on a regular basis." She looked like she was biting her tongue before moving on. "I suppose we should be happy it wasn't a civilian public transport this time, huh?" she darkly mused.

Joe felt like he'd been punched in the gut a dozen times… Marian couldn't be a terrorist. Why the fuck were there even terrorists to be worrying about!? When mankind was on the verge of extinction!? What kind of sick, soulless abomination would slaughter innocents en masse to send a political message when their entire fucking species was teetering on the brink on account of an alien invasion!?

Yet… Marian wasn't saying anything. She wasn't countering, wasn't arguing, she was just standing there, back turned to them. "Marian," Joe called out, unable to mask the rising horror in his voice. "Marian, say something," he pleaded with her, throat rapidly trying and constricting as he tried to fight the lump rising in his throat. "Marian, please, say something!"

Silence fell, and reigned for a long, suffocating time.

Eventually, however, Marian did respond. Turning around, simply shifting about so that she was facing Joe, she met his horrified gaze.

There, in that moment… he just saw Marian. Just… the girl that had opened herself up to him, those kind, gentle eyes, that reassuring little smile, those soothing dual-toned eyes. She just looked at him, as kindly, considerately as ever. That's all he saw. Not some nefarious monster, not a mad bomber, not a murderer. Just… Marian.

So, why? Why was she not saying anything? Why didn't she defend herself? Why was she just…

Her lips parted, staring at Joe all the while. He felt his heart stop, somehow, he dreaded the words that were about to come out of her mouth-

"Over here," Marian said.

Joe blinked. Anis blinked. Rapi blinked. All stared at her in rapidly mounting confusion.

"...What?" Rapi asked, utterly dumbfounded.

"Over here," Marian repeated.

Another stretch of confused silence.

"What the hell is-" Anis started, before her eyes widened, actual horror replacing the confusion she'd been wearing just moments previously. "-It can't be, that's impossible, how, where would she have…!?"

Eyes snapping over her shoulder, Rapi looked to an increasingly terrified Anis in hopes of an explanation.

"Rapi," Anis continued, rapidly backing up, arm outstretched so as to drag an increasingly stupefied Joe along with her. "Rapi! Retreat! Retreat!"

Marian raised her hand, and, as though with great difficulty, pointed at Joe… or rather, she pointed past him, eyes locked with his, he saw in her gaze something… "Over here," she repeated. "Over here," she said in what he only now recognized was the exact same intonation every time, like a broken record, "Over here," she cried, as Joe saw in her eyes, rapidly taking on a sinister ruby glow… Joe recognized a terrible struggle. Marian silently pleaded with him to turn around, and flee. "Over here over here overhereoverhereoverhereoverhere-"

"She's corrupted!" Anis cried, levelling her launcher at the brunette. "Rapi, move-!"

Joe ducked under Anis' arm and lunged for her weapon, wrapping his hand around the end of the barrel, he cried in a panic and desperation, "Don't!" having recognized that she was about to launch a grenade at Marian, at the girl that had been there for him, at the girl that had opened up to him and offered her heart to him and showed him that there was something worth fighting for and getting out of bed for and-

"Overhereoverhereoverhereoverhere-"

"Commander, you idiot! Stop!" Anis reached out to try and stop him, but halted upon setting a hand on his chest, eyes snapping between him and the 'corrupted' Nikke just a few metres away. "Rapi! Do something!"

Rapi, whose eyes had settled into a grim determination once it became clear what was happening, grit her teeth and- "Commander, permission to open fire!"

"Overhereoverhereoverhere-" Marian's voice rapidly grew more distorted as her eyes lost their natural, soothing tone and became glowering red beacons.

"-Are you serious right now!?" Anis actually screamed. "Rapi, he's snapped! Just shoot her! She's sending out a boosted distress signal on every wavelength, every Rapture in the city is going to know exactly where we are!" Anis screamed as she visibly couldn't bring herself to manhandle Joe to get his hand off of the end of her weapon's barrel. "We're going to die! Stop screwing around, damn it!"

"Commander!" Rapi repeated, backing up as she kept her sights trained on the corrupted Nikke. "Permission to engage!"

Anis shouted at the top of her lungs, "RAPI, HE'S NOT GOING TO- YOU IDIOT-!"

All were silenced when a great and terrible crash came towards them, something large, something massive barrelling down the street, towards the intersection Marian was standing in the middle of. Seconds was all it took for Joe to turn and witness a pair of tentacles, black, covered in almost rotted-looking, pitted flesh stretched too thin, lashed out and grabbed her - lifting Marian from the ground like she was a featherweight rag doll…

A monster large enough to take up the entire width of the city street crashed into view. It was like a crab made of wretched, rippling artificial flesh adorned in spikes both chitinous and mechanical which had been split open to reveal a mechanical endoskeleton - spewing out jets of what looked like blood from its underside which coated the ground beneath it in splashes of crimson ichor. The creature stood atop six armoured, mechanical, insectoid legs. It had a head in the vague shape of a bird of prey, but lacking eyes or nostrils, it was almost a featureless silver-grey skull - below that was a massive inorganic eye glowing the same frenzied red as Marian's had been.

Worse yet, hanging beneath the abomination's crab-like main body, were what were obviously fucking gun pods.

"Tyrant!" Anis cried out as she bodily dragged Joe back from the hellish creature. "Shifty, Tyrant-class! Type: Blacksmith!"

"-Understood!" Shifty called back, comms clearing enough for the radio operator to actually engage with everyone. "You're in range of artillery support, ETA two minutes, but I advise a full retreat! You are not equipped to engage a Tyrant! Repeat: advise full retreat, disengage and retreat! Commander, do you read me?"

Joe heard her loud and clear. He saw everything around him, the Nikkes, these seemingly all-powerful Goddesses of Victory backing away in open terror from one of the great creatures that had brought their species to the brink. But, moreover…

He saw Marian, drawn in and lashed to the creature's fleshy carapace, helpless, after all she'd done to protect him…

"Commander! We can't win this, we have to retreat!" Rapi advised him, pulling back and taking cover behind a concrete barrier along with Joe and Anis, itself behind a car which had crashed into it decades before. Cannon fire immediately tore into their defences, each round fired even at a distance shaking Joe's core.

…He couldn't. He wouldn't. Marian was- "That thing still has Marian," he said firmly.

"...Ah, shit," Anis immediately grimaced, falling into the barrier and taking on an expression of utter resignation. "It was nice knowing you, Rapi…"

Rapi, meanwhile, looked at Joe seriously, meeting his gaze wordlessly.

What could he say? "I can't abandon her," he said, and he couldn't. She wasn't a weapon to be thrown aside, left behind when it suited him. She was his companion, his friend, his… his…

Rapi just nodded once. "Orders, Commander?" Fearlessly, she didn't hesitate to stand alongside him.

Anis, meanwhile, quietly whined behind them as she leaned around cover and launched a grenade at the Blacksmith, itself roaring in response to the assault. "Of all the places and ways to die…"

"-Commander," Shifty declared over their comms. "If you intend to fight it… Artillery can fire in salvos with thirty-second pauses to reload, and I can redirect a nearby patrol to provide sniper support. But you need to make the call now."

…He wasn't abandoning Marian.

"Anis, I'm going to use my drone to search for environmental hazards - nearby buildings and signs and shit to drop on that thing's fucking head! I'll direct your fire, and use your grenades to destroy supports!" He looked to Rapi as he withdrew his drone tablet. "Rapi, get me somewhere out of the direct line of fire where I can direct you both over comms without getting in the way. Focus on being quick over being gentle - and tell me if you know of any weaknesses that thing has-"

"Blacksmiths have a noted tendency to hyper-focus on a single target, and struggle to effectively track moving targets," Rapi answered with an interjection, wasting no time. "If both Anis and I remain on the move and separate, it should decrease its chances of landing an attack on either one of us. Doubly so once we have sniper support to further distract it. They normally have support from smaller Raptures to make up for their deficiencies, but this one seems to have charged in alone. It may be the only reason we have any chance of defeating it at all."

Nodding, Joe turned over his shoulder, "Anis! Distract that bastard for us!"

"Guess I don't have a choice…" Anis replied, glowering angrily at Joe as she did so.

Turning back to the black-and-red clad strawberry blonde, Joe continued, "Rapi, get me the hell to a good observation point and let's save Marian!"

With a single, determined nod, Rapi reached out, setting a hand on Joe's arm to take hold of him and plant him over her shoulder. She capped off the plan with a declaration of, "Encounter!"

===
Chapter 07 - Goodbye...
===

With Joe hoisted atop her shoulder, with three mighty leaps using a burnt-out bus, then a lamp post, Rapi came to a firm stop atop a roof, all but dropping the Commander flat on his ass. "Orders, Commander?" the strawberry blonde inquired.

"-Return to ground level," Joe declared, taking direct control of his drone with a grimace of discomfort from the rough handling. "You and Anis take turns distracting that thing from each other - it fixates on one target at a time, and- the artillery will be able to take it out, right?"

A boom and roar came from below - Anis doing her job as best she could.

"It will help," Rapi matter-of-factually declared. "With luck, the combination of myself, Anis, and our oncoming sniper support should keep it distracted. Long enough for the artillery to at least do enough damage to open it up to an execution manoeuvre."

A series of booms followed - Anis could only fire so many rounds before she needed a chance to reload.

Nodding harshly, Joe replied, "Good, then get to ground, Anis will be needing support."

"Understood." With that, Rapi about-faced, charging for the ledge and leaping with abandon - falling and slamming into the aged asphalt with enough force to crack it. Anis was scrambling for cover down the street, the Blacksmith hadn't seemed to take notice of Rapi - and it had left itself wide open in doing so, revealing a known weak spot.

With quickness, Rapi shouldered her rifle, shifting her grip to her rifle's underbarrel grenade launcher, and she took an expertly aimed shot. With velocity more in line with a bullet than the gentle lob of the conventional launchers of old, it punched through the sound barrier and impacted with a thunderous burst.

With a frenzied scream, the Blacksmith skittered about in place, its damaged arm-mounted weapon, having been reduced to dangling from a few strands of carbonized flesh, snapped free entirely with a crash. One cannon down - the thing's danger immediately reduced by thirty percent.

Rapi was already on the move when it started bounding for her, letting loose a stream of cannon fire, each round projected her way accompanied by an eardrum-shattering percussive boom.

With practised grace, Rapi darted forth, taking opportunistic bursts of rifle fire as she deftly avoided the monstrous gunfire directed her way, her superhuman perception allowing her to see each individual impact on its unarmoured flesh even at these speeds - a miniature explosion of artificial meat and ichor which painted its white carapace with splotches of red.

Dozens of dangling, vestigial spider-like limbs undulated furiously from beneath the creature's crab-like upper body. Serving no apparent purpose but to reinforce the abomination's nightmarish appearance. It was mad, that much was clear. Which meant the Commander's plan was working, at least right now.

Furiously slamming a grenade into the final chamber of her launcher, Anis took up position atop a ruined ambulance, ignoring the protesting groans of ancient metal as she aimed her weapon - Rapi was, as expected, weaving around the Blacksmith's attacks like a persistent fly might a human's hand.

Waiting for an opportunity to land a meaningful hit as Rapi had, Anis watched as her partner came to a skidding halt to avoid a burst of explosive orbs launched from the Blacksmith's back - followed by the creature lashing out with its free tentacle, striking with such speed that a sonic boom accented each strike.

Rapi ducked, the swing soaring high. Then, with a furious reversal, she back-flipped to avoid the following low strike.

"Anis!" Joe called out over their comms, "Launch grenades at the following pings, in order!" a pair of digital indicators lit up in her vision, planted one after the other, the first at the base of a ruined concrete pillar of some kind - the other at the wall behind it.

"What?" Anis began to protest with naked confusion. "Why-!?"

Again, the Rapture swung its tentacle at Rapi, snarling in a blind fury necessitating a side-ways spinning dodge - wherein Rapi fired another burst at it - actually landing a few blows directly at its core mid-air and mid-spin.

"Fire!" Joe commanded the grenadier despite her perplexion.

Again, the Blacksmith tried to swing at Rapi. Anis, with a cry of "-Damn it!" obeyed, not having the time to question the Commander's bizarre orders.

The first grenade at the base of the pillar struck, destroying its foundation and destabilizing it, teetering forth agonizing slowly. The second created a shock wave which blew the entire thing forward and into the street like a rocket - landing directly on the Rapture's sole operational tentacle with a ruinous thud, trapping its limb and eliciting a screeching roar of what must have been anger and pain.

Anis blinked, caught entirely off-guard… that was actually really clever, holy shit.

This time, Rapi front-flipped. Not to create distance, but straight at the Rapture.

Cocking her leg, bringing it back as she flew towards it, just before impacting she shot her heel forward - an accompanying metallic report screaming in accordance with her rapid descent as a stiletto spike shot out from the heel of her shoe. Driven deep by the combination of her own extreme weight and the force of her kick, at once, she was anchored to the Blacksmith's back. Just so as to place her far too close for it to use any of its dedicated ranged weapons.

Its sole free tentacle trapped beneath a fallen pillar, Rapi jammed the barrel of her rifle into the creature's flesh even as it jerked back-and-forth, attempting to throw her off, and unloaded her entire magazine at point-blank range. The Nikke was immediately coated in putrid gore, but undeterred by the macabre shower, she reloaded her firearm with shocking mechanical speed and precision, and another magazine was dumped directly into the Rapture's fleshy back.

Two more pings came, the same tactic as before, however, this time, at a utility pole which would have once stretched across the entire street, but had now been reduced to an inverted metal L, the horizontal pole ending in a jagged spike. "Anis, hold fire until Rapi has disentangled from the Blacksmith! Rapi, lead the Rapture into range of the target as soon as you're forced to dismount it-"

With a berserk roar, the Blacksmith tore its own trapped tentacle in half to free itself - spewing blood everywhere as it brought the shortened but still long enough limb around in an attempt to swat Rapi from its back.

She reacted too slowly - taking the full brunt of the strike as she was blown clear from the creature's back and down the street like a pitched softball. Crashing through a wooden power line pole, she actually caught herself in a three-point landing once she started rolling along the ground. Her expression was one of grim determination, no indication of even discomfort or distress as a streak of the Blacksmith's blood was left in her wake.

Firing its singular remaining gun along with a throng of reddish-black explosive orbs launched from its back, the Rapture charged full-tilt at Rapi, intent on brutalizing her for her assault. It was moving entirely too quickly for Anis to be able to enact the Commander's plan…

"Commander, sniper support is ready-"

"Fire at will! Open fire, open fire!" Joe immediately interjected and directed the snipers, who wasted no time in unloading a salvo of high-calibre, extreme velocity bullets which had more in common with anti-material rounds than anything a modern sniper would have used. Fire came from the street opposite the direction Rapi had been thrown.

Huge bursts of ichor exploded from the Blacksmith's body - staggering it and eliciting a murderous scream as it skittered about one-hundred-eighty degrees to face its distant attackers - to which Anis took the opportunity provided by it stopping in just the right place and launched the two grenades she'd been previously instructed to.

The utility pole came down like a pick axe upon stone, propelled with such speed and momentum that it actually punched clean through the Rapture's hide and flesh, pinning it to the pavement with a terrible crash and brutal cry of pained fury.

More explosive orbs launched from the Blacksmith, propelled seemingly randomly in all directions at once - it was clearly overwhelmed, striking out with little rhyme or reason now. Immediately, it started fighting against the improvised spike keeping it pinned down, tearing it back out of the ground foot-by-foot - though not fast enough, as Anis could clearly make out the drone's targeting laser fixed on it.

A salvo of artillery fire struck true, utterly ravaging the Tyrant-class, blowing massive chunks from its topside, gore exploding outwards and painting everything around it. With great, smoking craters left in its flesh, the Rapture still attempted to stand, however weakly. It defiantly moved to rise and continue the fight, even as its beak-like 'head' fell clean from its body, leaving its core plainly exposed.

A series of percussive bursts followed as the snipers took aim and unloaded at the beast's weak spot - doing terrible damage which brought the monster back down, like a steel pipe taken to a rising combatant's face. Then, arcing overhead, Rapi slammed into the street before it, levelling her rifle at the core, and unloading yet another magazine into it.

That, finally, had been enough. With its core burst, the Tyrant's roars rapidly withered, faltering and quieting as it slumped down. One final, shuddering breath followed as the beast fell silent, then still.

Silence followed, Rapi, having reloaded her weapon without hesitation, remained in a readied stance for several long moments. Anis just stared in shock at the sight of a dead Tyrant, killed by just two Nikkes with long-range sniper support and a single artillery strike. That… wasn't supposed to happen. This sort of thing didn't happen. Had they even taken any damage? Did they just kill a Tyrant without suffering any losses of any kind-!?

As if on cue to punish her for her hubris, the Blacksmith's second tentacle unravelled, and Marian slid from the creature's underside, landing on her rear with her back against it's mass with a dull thud. Even from this distance… Anis felt her heart drop into her stomach at the state the brunette had been left in, clearly having taken no small amount of damage from the onslaught just the same as the Rapture had.

"-Marian!" Joe shouted from the roof, rapidly finding a ladder and scrambling to descend it as quickly as possible. Actually sliding down, he hit the ground harder than he should have, cursing as he struggled to upright himself, he cast aside the tablet he'd been using to control his drone, having fallen into a dead sprint.

Horror coursed through his veins alongside adrenaline. Blowing clean past Rapi, Joe rushed to Marian's side, dropping to a knee and drawing an arm across her back, the other set on her cheek.

Marian… had lost her entire right arm, half of her left leg above the knee, and - worst of all… had a hole blown in her skull. Covered in blood, not all of it the Rapture's, she was visibly in dire condition, her singular remaining eye locked forward, dull, still glimmering red. Lips parted, her mouth was hanging open blankly… Already, she looked like a corpse.

"Marian…!" Joe started, unable to take his eyes off of her, unable to blink. "No, no, God, please no-"

"She's still alive," Rapi declared, no inflection present in her voice as she wiped what Blacksmith blood clear from her face she could manage.

As if in response, Marian's lips moved. Ever-so-slightly, but, it was an indication that she wasn't dead.

Letting out a pained, gasping breath, Joe immediately drew his partner into a clinging hug, mortified by the state she'd been left in, but, thankful all the same. She was alive, that meant she could be healed. That meant she could be helped. "It's okay," he did his best to assure her, assuming she was even conscious with the amount of horrific damage she'd taken. It's okay, Marian. We'll get you back to the Ark, we'll get you help, you'll be as good as new, and… and we'll go to that Italian place, just like we planned, right?" he weakly chuckled painfully. "Just, just hold on a bit, okay?" he pleaded with her, holding her close, ignoring the sounds of another set of feet approaching - Anis sidling up next to Rapi.

A sound passed Marian's lips - a response, she was trying to speak to him. Quieting himself, he focused entirely on her.

"I'm listening, Marian," he assured her. "I'm here, listening."

Seconds crawled by in what felt like hours, until… "...Here," she finally uttered.

There was a wretched, soul-crushing beat.

"Over… here…" Marian continued to repeat herself, just as she had been doing before the Blacksmith had captured her.

Joe just stared forward blankly, still holding Marian tight as he did so.

"Commander," Rapi stepped forward, slinging her rifle over her shoulder as she spoke in as professional a tone as she ever seemed to. "She's still sending out a wide-band distress signal - though a severely weakened one. She's received brain damage - and is at risk of becoming an irregular."

"Rapi!" Anis reached out, planting a hand on Rapi's shoulder as if to lock her in place, her voice having taken on a pleading tone as well.

"Marian is an ongoing danger to everyone present, including you, Commander," Rapi pressed, seeming to ignore Anis entirely. "Protocol dictates that she must be decommissioned to end the threat to yourself and the Nikkes under your command. The handgun on your belt is specially designed and loaded with ammo capable of penetrating a Nikke's skull for this exact purpose. You have to put her down."

The world had become tilted, colour seemed to drain from everything around him, his body instantly ached terribly with tension.

Silence. Joe met the instruction with utter silence, continuing to cradle Marian in his arms. This wasn't right. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. They'd saved her, they'd rescued her. They'd done the impossible. It… it couldn't end like this. They were supposed to be… they were supposed to be happy together. They were supposed to give each other something to live, to fight for. Something to look forward to, something to come home to. Not… not…

"Commander!" Rapi's tone took on a far harsher, more urgent edge. "The corruption has set in, it's too late to help her. She's already dead, and is an active threat to us all - you must-"

"I'll do it!" Anis immediately moved to shove her way past Rapi, slinging her grenade launcher across her back. "Commander, give you your-"

Rapi lunged for Anis, grabbing her by the wrist and tossing her back, nearly causing the short-haired blonde to lose her footing. "Stay away from her or you'll become corrupted too!"

Those words echoed in Joe's ears, yet more horror mounting as the severity of the situation bore down upon him harder and yet harder by the second.

"Rapi, for god's sake-!" Anis cried out, her face twisting in sympathetic pain at the sight of Joe visibly breaking down at the realization that Marian couldn't be saved.

"-Commander," Rapi continued. "Even being near her is placing myself and Anis at risk of becoming corrupted as well, to say nothing of the fact that she's still broadcasting our location to nearby Raptures. You are human, you're the only one that can safely do what has to be done. This is your duty, as our Commander, and as hers as well. Leaving her like this would be cruel, unnecessary, and a violation of protocol I would be forced to report you for."

"...Over… here…" Marian uttered weakly.

…There really was nothing he could do. All of that effort, that battle, that terrible risk…

"...Over… here…" the Nikke continued piteously.

After all she'd done, all she'd offered, this was how it ended. This was the result of her being placed under his command. This was the result of her placing her trust in him.

"...Commander!" Rapi pressed him from where she stood. He didn't bother acknowledging her.

…Every moment he hesitated, was a moment Marian suffered longer. It was his duty to release her from her's. It… he owed her that much, at least.

Unlatching the strap holding the pistol in place, Joe drew the handgun that had been thrown to him before they set off. His left hand still resting behind Marian's back, he took several deep breaths, before chambering a round.

Even through the ear protection, even after witnessing a battle between Nikkes and a Tyrant-class Rapture first hand, somehow, it was the most deafening thing he'd heard yet.

Using his free hand to cup Marian's cheek, he stared into her remaining eye. Unfocused, tainted red, uncomprehending…

Was she even still in there, anymore?

Taking a deep breath, Joe focused on the next step. Raise the pistol.

Bring it up.

Press it under her chin.

Finger set on the trigger…

…

On the trigger…

…

On the trigger-

Teeth clenched together, eyes and lungs feeling as though they were on fire, Joe realized he'd stopped breathing. He'd tried to focus on the mechanical motions of the act he was about to perform.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't not see her.

He couldn't pretend that this wasn't Marian, that in the short time he'd known her, she'd been one of the most wonderful girls he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. All the fun times they'd spent together, the movies, the shopping, the dining, the long walks spent getting to know each other… the injuries she'd suffered, the damage and pain she'd experienced protecting him.

He couldn't do it.

Gasping, the pistol's barrel fell. He didn't drop it entirely, but he couldn't even hold it up. He felt his soul ebbing away just from holding a loaded gun to her head, even in this catatonic, lost state. This wasn't the ending she deserved. She wasn't just some statistic, another name to be forgotten in the sea of lost souls.

She was Marian. She was there for him. She'd chosen to trust him despite how cruel life had been to her.

Tears began to flow, he closed his eyes. He couldn't choke back the sob building at the back of his throat. He couldn't. He just couldn't-

The sensation of a hand gripping the barrel of the pistol jolted him back into reality.

Marian had grabbed onto the end of the firearm. Marian was looking at him.

She was looking at him. Recognition had returned, he could see it - she was aware again. It was her. Against all odds, despite Rapi's cold words to the contrary… it was her, it was Marian, hope wasn't lost, she could still be-

With a small, weak smile, she slowly lifted the pistol.

What…

Gradually, inch-by-inch, it found its way back to its target.

No. No.

The barrel of the pistol was once more set just below her jaw. Her eyes again, one last time, glimmering weakly with the awareness of a conscious being - the vile crimson of corruption glowing past it, threatening to overtake what little remained of her permanently.

"...Joe…" Marian spoke with what little strength remained, loosening her grip on the end of the barrel when it was clear it was frozen in place from sheer shock alone. He felt the tips of her fingers brush against his own, before reaching the back of his hand, repeating that same gentle massaging motion she'd done to calm him on the transport ride from the Ark.

"Thank… you…" she weakly uttered, her hand drawing back… her delicate thumb slipping into the guard of the trigger, settling itself over his index finger. "My… friend…" she rasped out as a single tear fell from her remaining, bloodied eye. "My… love…"

Silence hung for what felt like years. Eyes locked wide open, staring in uncomprehending horror, Joe couldn't react. The pain was overwhelming, paralyzing. There was nothing he could do as…

"...Good…"

With her last words, Marian pressed down on Joe's trigger finger.

"...Bye…"

A single report cried out. A brass casing hit the ground an instant before Marian's hand.

The pistol followed shortly.

Joe didn't know how long he knelt there. His hand still curled around Marian's back. Staring. Tears streamed down his face despite the complete lack of sound coming from his throat.

Love.

How terribly cruel.

Eventually, Joe disentangled himself from Marian… removed his backpack, and withdrew the same medical supplies he'd used to bandage her leg not even an hour ago. Undoing the blue ribbon keeping the left side of her hair tied up, he then proceeded to wrap up the hole where her right eye used to be.

Pulling back, he took in the sight of her. Sitting there. Back to the Rapture responsible for her death. Eye closed, expressionless. She didn't look at peace. There was nothing peaceful about this. She looked tormented. Tortured. Not at rest. Just…

…Gone.

"We can't take her with us back to the Ark, Commander," Rapi spoke up, her tone dry, lacking in emotion of any kind. "She's still hazardous to other Nikkes. She has to stay behind."

…This was no proper final resting place.

But what did the world care if Marian deserved better than this?

Joe stared at Marian, where she'd be unceremoniously left next to a rotting Rapture. A place he couldn't come back to. A place to which he couldn't return to visit her.

This was it. This was the last time.

He reached out, and pulled her into one last hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I'm sorry… that I wasn't good enough."

He held her for several seconds longer.

"Goodbye, Marian."

With that, he pulled back from the corpse of the woman that had given him so much in so short a time. Realized he was still holding her ribbon… and pocketed it. That… and the ID card hanging from her waist. A picture of her - the only one he might ever have the luxury of keeping.

Cupping her cheek one last time, Joe rose to his feet. Looking down at Marian, he let out a shuddering sigh, and turned around, marching back towards-

His foot hit something. Glancing down… he found First Affection. Marian's personalized submachine gun.

He picked it up, and slung it over his shoulder.

Then, he marched past Rapi and Anis, either not noticing, or not caring about the tortured expression the yellow-clad Nikke wore as she watched him go.

Anis looked at Rapi, brow furrowing in anger. Rapi acknowledged the stare, as emotionlessly, bereft of expression as ever. Reaching up to her ear, the strawberry blonde engaged her comms to the Ark. "Command. Nikke: designation Marian confirmed deceased. Search and rescue operation deemed a failure, lost Nikkes likely to have been captured and disassembled for parts by the Tyrant-class: Blacksmith. Continued searching is no longer worthwhile. Requesting transport back to base. Out."

She then moved to pick up the drone tablet Joe had dropped.

"...Damn it," Anis growled before she whipped around and followed after Joe in naked frustration.

Meanwhile, the Commander, despite knowing it would do him no good, couldn't help himself.

One last time, he looked back at Marian.

For several long moments, not acknowledging Anis or Rapi, he stared at his partner.

Then, wordlessly, he turned back as the falling tears redoubled.

In the wake of the destruction of a Tyrant-class Rapture, there was no victory to be found on this day.

===
Chapter 08 - Tip of the Iceberg
===

The view of the Ark on approach from one of the personnel elevators was, simply put, absolutely breathtaking. From so very far up - far enough that skyscrapers looked like toothpicks, the sheer technological wonder of the place was put on full display. The elevator to the surface was transparent material, Joe couldn't say if it was glass or something akin to transparent aluminum, and so gave a full view of everything not directly blocked by the elevator's roof or floor.

It was difficult to convey just how large the cavern the Ark was located in was. It honestly boggled the mind that it was apparently structurally sound. There were no visible support structures he could see, just… an opening kilometres wide in all directions beneath the surface of the Earth. To say nothing of the fact that the artificial sky, from the opposite side it was usually visible from, was a technological wonder - a series of massive holographic circles that likely constituted the constituent parts of a single, gargantuan semi-sphere encapsulating the entire city proper.

From this high up, looking directly at it from up top kind of felt like having a flashlight jammed right in one's face.

The light show would have made Micheal Bay proud.

Otherwise… from Joe's perspective, it almost looked like the Ark was built on top of some kind of impact crater, or something that had hit the ground at monstrous speeds. Like, to his eyes, the base of the Ark almost looked like a bullet flattened against a sheet of steel. It was strange, but at the same time, what the fuck did he know? Joe was no engineer, so pondering the design choices of this great underground arcology was kind of above his pay grade.

The atmosphere as Joe, Rapi, and Anis descended towards the Ark could be most charitably described as 'awkward.' While Anis glanced between Joe and Rapi, visibly uncertain and uncomfortable, Rapi just blankly stared ahead. And Joe…

Joe made every effort to distract himself from what had just happened on the surface. He didn't want to think about it. Not yet. He'd have plenty of time later, when he was alone. It was bad enough that these two had seen him freak out as much as he had. He didn't know them, they didn't know him, he and Marian had just been sent out to reinforce them on a mission they'd… ultimately failed.

Best to just move along and let this be the end of their time together-

"Shifty," Rapi suddenly spoke up, raising a hand to her ear as she did so. "Do you read?"

"Ah, yes, I read you, what is it, Rapi?" the radio operator replied without missing a beat.

"According to the Black Box, Marian sent out the signal to detonate the explosives in mid-air, correct?"

There was a beat before Shifty answered. "Yes, according to what was recorded, that seems to be the case."

"Where did the transport land before proceeding on to the mission objective?" Rapi pressed.

"It didn't," Joe interjected, answering himself, given that he was there. "We took off from the Ark, and didn't touch the ground until crashing."

"...As the Commander says," Shifty continued after waiting for a moment. "The Black Box records that the transport achieved lift-off from the launch pad, and proceeded onward to convene with your squad without pause."

"Then how was Marian corrupted?" Rapi asked, brow furrowing. "All known information on corruption suggests that a Nikke must come into direct physical contact with a Rapture, specifically a higher-ranked model to be infected - and even then usually through penetration via tentacle directly injecting malicious code into her body. If Silver Gun didn't have the chance to come into contact with Raptures at all before Marian showed signs of infection-"

"Silver Gun?" Joe asked, wondering where that term came from.

"-Marian was recorded as being a member of Silver Gun, which I'd assumed is the name of your squad," Rapi asserted plainly before pausing and continuing to ask Joe a question. "Was Silver Gun deployed at any point prior to this operation?"

"...No, Marian and I had just been… milling about for the past two weeks," Joe answered, gaze drifting off as he made an effort to be as professional as he could, despite his intense desire to avoid talking about or thinking about Marian right then and there. "Doing… normal things, aside from practising in the simulator rooms with Einkk."

"She hadn't left the Ark for at least two weeks prior to being deployed to reinforce us… Nikkes show obvious signs of corruption within hours of infection, at the absolute most…" Rapi mused, the gears in her head almost audibly churning.

"...Hey, Shifty," Anis spoke up, brow thoroughly knitted as she did so. "When comms were down, Marian mentioned having read a dossier on the mission, which she claimed is how she knew how to lead us to the search location. The Commander seemed surprised that there even was a dossier-"

"Because there was no dossier, he would have been informed and expected to read it as a matter of course otherwise," Shifty cut her off. "You two requested reinforcements in short order, for an emergency operation that itself happened on too short a notice to allow for documentation in the first place. You're saying that Marian was the one that led your squad to the Blacksmith's ambush location? It was assumed that your previous Commander would have shared information on your destination with yourself and Rapi."

"He didn't," Anis very dryly declared.

"...So he was taking point and having you two follow him in an active war zone, then," Shifty sounded unamused.

"Yup," Anis, again, replied with all the moisture of the Sahara. "'Weapons don't need to know what they're pointed at, so just shut up and follow me,' were his exact words."

"I presume this will be reflected in your personal recordings of the operation?" Shifty asked.

"Yes, neither Anis nor myself experienced any sort of issues with our internal recording equipment," Rapi answered.

"...Wow," Shifty did not sound impressed in the least. "Well, if you two weren't already off the hook for his suicide, you sure will be if your recordings line up with your testimony."

"It will," Rapi replied matter-of-factually.

"...Guy sounds like a stupid asshole," Joe mused aloud, obviously in regards to Anis and Rapi's previous Commander.

Both girls pointedly gave him a look. Rapi's as flat and unreadable as ever, while Anis was making one hell of a perplexed, uncertain face that, honestly, Joe've probably adored for being so exaggerated if not for his current head space. What an expressive girl Anis was.

"...Anyways," Anis turned to address her squad mate. "Rapi… I suppose you're thinking that Marian… must have been corrupted before even leaving the Ark, and that, somehow, is how she knew the location of our objective ahead of time?"

"That's the only explanation that makes sense, yes," Rapi asserted.

"Wait, but that would mean-" Shifty immediately sounded panicked. "Are the Aegis Barriers down!?"

"No, they are clearly operational," Rapi cut her off.

"...But, then, how would…" Shifty's voice trailed off, audibly uncertain.

"I don't know…" Rapi trailed off as well, evidently not having an answer.

It seemed obvious to Joe, however. "I don't know why you both are acting like there aren't malicious actors in the Ark. Heavenly Ascension is a known terrorist organization, isn't it?"

"Okay, I understand why you'd make that connection," Anis held up a halting hand to him, "But, no, Heavenly Ascension can't have access to the means to corrupt Nikkes. If they were working with the Raptures to bring down the Ark from the inside-out… we'd already be dead. Everyone. That would also imply the kind of intelligence Raptures don't have. They're dumb, like really big, really aggressive, nearly bulletproof animals. They can't plan in the way you're suggesting. It just doesn't happen."

"It also still wouldn't make any sense for them to specifically corrupt a Nikke heading to the surface, where the amount of damage she could do to the Ark would be minimal at best…" Rapi added on to Anis' point. "This… doesn't make any sense no matter how I look at it. Someone must have corrupted Marian from inside the Ark itself, but it couldn't have been the likes of Heavenly Ascension, they'd have timed it better than that. It couldn't have been the Raptures, because if they had infiltrators inside the Ark, Gravedigger would have zeroed in on the Ark's location and we'd have been overwhelmed in hours. It's just…"

The strawberry blonde trailed off, seeming to just not know how to finish her thoughts.

'Gravedigger' must have been another Tyrant-class Rapture. Something to file away for later reference.

Otherwise, from what it sounded like, it was pretty fucking obvious that Marian had been targeted by some kind of traitor. Someone that had access to corruption code, that had somehow infected Marian with it - when she was gearing up away from him? That was one of the few times they weren't together in the lead up to deploying, and Rapi made it pretty clear that physical contact was needed to cause infection… "...Shifty, can you check security footage of the changing rooms where Marian would have put on her armour? That's the only time she and I were separated before we were sent out. If she was infected, it would have had to be then."

"I'll initiate an investigation," Shifty replied. "Given the severity of the incident, it should be cleared shortly."

Well, that was that, evidently.

Though no small part of Joe wanted to just go full no thoughts head empty for the rest of the day, having spoken about Marian as little they had got him thinking about her, and he didn't want to do that right there and then.

So, latching onto the first otherwise errant thought that drifted into his head, he spoke up again, asking the two Nikkes: "Why aren't you two wearing armour?"

Rapi didn't miss a beat as she responded, "It is better to simply never be hit in the first place than it is to rely on movement-impeding armour."

…If he hadn't seen her moving like an anime character in real life, he might've struggled to not scoff at that statement. But, if anyone could back up that sentiment through action, it would probably be her.

Anis took a bit longer to answer, doing so with a long "Ehhhhhh," the short-haired blonde shrugged. "I can't be bothered to get dressed twice in one day."

…Well. That was certainly a statement.

With that, there was nothing else to really discuss, and Joe would really rather not have to think about anything for the time being. The trio was now maybe half the way down to the Ark - the cavern it was located in was many, many kilometres high. Maybe there was a reason there was a bench in the elevator.

This was going to be a long fucking ride.

---

"Commander," Shifty spoke up just as the elevator finally came to a stop inside the Ark proper. "Deputy Chief Andersen has called for an audience with yourself, Anis, and Rapi. He has requested that you all come armed."

Blinking, Joe turned to Anis and Rapi. The black-and-red clad strawberry blonde didn't have much of a reaction to the statement at all. Anis, meanwhile, starting looked like just about the most put-upon woman in the world, then like she'd been slapped with a fish upon hearing the second half of the statement.

"...That's weird," Anis noted dryly. "We've been called to get a pat on the back for being part of operations that took out Tyrants before… never been asked to bring our guns to those meetings before."

"Orders are orders," Rapi interjected, giving Joe a bland look. "Commander, we shouldn't keep the Deputy Chief waiting."

This day was never going to fucking end, was it?

---

Stepping into the finely-furnished and decorated office, Joe took in the room just the same as the entire area leading up to it. It was no surprise to find that military bigwigs of the Ark enjoyed luxury in their work areas. All very modern-chic, he thought. Joe wasn't one for interior design or the terminology attached to it.

Regardless, he, Anis, and Rapi's entrance didn't go unnoticed, and a well-built, incredibly ruggedly handsome man decked out in a prim-and-proper high-ranking military uniform rose from his seat to reveal that he and Joe were at about the same height.

The officer's chestnut brown hair was worn… longer than one might've expected for a high-ranking military officer. His fringe just barely met his eyebrows, hanging loosely and parted from the right. Though he had stubble, it was clearly carefully trimmed and tended to. Stern blue eyes fixed on the rookie Commander, and moved to adjust his cuffs as he stood. "Commander Pholus. Nice to meet you all," he began as the three fell into salutes - Rapi far more smoothly and promptly than Joe or Anis had. "-No need for the formalities," he continued, cutting off whatever adherence to protocol was to follow. "Address me as and how you will."

Though his voice was a marginally gravelly baritone, he spoke with a clear assuredness to his voice one would expect of someone of his station.

"...Andersen," Joe replied. He didn't know the guy's given name, and he wasn't going to lunge for the low-hanging fruit either. "May I ask what we were summoned for?"

"Cutting to the chase, hm?" Andersen appraisingly mused. "Very well then, I can appreciate the efficiency, if nothing else. I simply wish to conduct a small test. Proceed straight onward to the simulation room, wherein you will be filled in on the details by the instructor there-" the high-ranking officer halted, making note of the open look of distaste stretching across his features. "You seem displeased by this. Why?"

Rapi remained completely still and at-attention, like a perfect little military doll. Anis, meanwhile, gave Joe a deeply intrigued look out of the corner of her eye.

"Permission to speak freely?" Joe asked.

"I already said to dispense with the formalities, didn't I?" Andersen rhetorically inquired in turn.

Well then… "Are we being sent in to simply test Anis and Rapi's aim and efficiency at handling their weapons?"

Popping an eyebrow at the question, Andersen again adjusted his cuffs - a habitual tick, perhaps. "Hardly, it is intended to test your abilities as a Commander in simulated combat as well."

"Then, bluntly, sir, I'd rather we not waste our time on that horrendous excuse for a combat simulation system," Joe decided to be very blunt about his experiences. "It is a glorified shooting gallery; the two weeks I spent in there with Marian before deploying very nearly got both of us killed in our first encounter on account of how grossly unrepresentative it was of actual Rapture behaviour. We'd have been rapidly overwhelmed in the field had I not been able to recognize that they were attempting to use flanking maneuvers on the two of us, on top of the other varied tactical decisions they made when not forced to simply charge after us in a dead sprint. We would never have managed to convene with Rapi and Anis in the first place, if I'd not chosen to entirely disregard everything I'd 'learned' from those simulations. In all frankness, the fact that this is the standard to which new Commanders are trained goes a horrifyingly long way towards explaining the high mortality rate of fresh recruits."

Andersen just stared at Joe in absolute silence, his expression utterly unreadable. Rapi was side-eyeing him, her gaze just as impenetrable. Anis was actually grinning at him, in contrast.

"...Brave one, aren't you?" Andersen mused. "Well, Pholus. I would still like you to go to the simulation room, however, I'd also like you to repeat what you just said to me to the woman waiting for you there. Preferably verbatim. Understood?"

Joe wasn't sure if Andersen was pissed off or not, and so wasn't sure if he should be dreading his instruction. Was the woman Einkk? Probably not, she was always there, so calling attention to her expected presence there would be redundant at best. "Understood, sir."

Andersen sighed. "Again, I said to dispense with the formalities…" shaking his head, he just shrugged. "Anyways, Marian. The Nikke that had been assigned to you prior to your deployment…"

Andersen very clearly noticed the look on Joe's face, halted, closed his eyes and simply finished with a simple statement.

"She was an exemplary soldier. I'm sorry for your loss."

He was that transparent, huh? Trying to avoid thinking about it didn't stop the pain from showing on his face, it seemed. Or maybe Andersen was just that good at reading people.

"...It is protocol to turn over the retrieved weapons of fallen Nikkes to the Central Government to be redistributed to active military units," the Deputy Commander added.

Though that seemed like a complete non-sequitur, suddenly, Joe realized that he still had First Affection, Marian's submachine gun slung over his shoulder. …Yeah, it tracked that he had to hand it over. Her… ribbon and ID card would have to do as far as mementos went-

"It's a shame you were unable to locate and retrieve Marian's before returning to the Ark," Andersen continued. "That is all. Dismissed."

Rapi looked mildly confused. Anis' gaze snapped between the gun on Joe's back and Andersen at a rapid, perplexed pace. Joe… just had to take a moment to process that, and consider that Andersen had actually shown sympathy over the death of a Nikke too.

…Maybe he was one of the good ones.

"Thank you, Andersen," Joe replied as he nodded, making an effort to remain stern-faced despite the wave of emotions he struggled more and more to repress, and threatened to breach the walls.

With nothing else seemingly needed to be said, he did as instructed, leading Rapi and Anis off.

===
Chapter 09 - A Higher Standard
===

"So you're the new Commander?" A brunette woman, tall, blue-violet-eyed and of a fair complexion gave Joe an appraising look. A hand set on her cocked hip, she was wearing a white uniform accented in red, a stark greatcoat with an equally crimson lining hung from her shoulders, with a popped collar and a broad stance. She projected no small amount of authority and confidence as she stared Joe down critically. "My name is Ingrid, and I'll be your instructor for today. I'm given to understand that you're already quite familiar with the Simulation Room?" Notably, with a somewhat harsh voice, she spoke louder than seemed necessary.

In response, Joe nodded stiffly once in reply. "Yes, and the Deputy-Chief asked that I repeat to you what I said to him about them."

"Oh?" Ingrid seemed mightily intrigued by his statement, "Do tell, then."

Joe paused, making an effort to remember exactly how he phrased it-

"Commander," Rapi interjected, "If necessary, I can repeat the statement made verbatim, as per the Deputy Chief's request."

Ah, that was helpful. "That would be swell, yes, thank you Rapi," Joe replied.

Rapi did as instructed.

Having taken in Joe's reiterated critical assessment of the Simulator, Ingrid was very quiet for a time, staring at the rookie even more critically than she had been previously. After what felt like an eternity, she turned to the strawberry blonde standing beside him, "Rapi, after having been directed by him in live combat: what is your personal assessment of the Commander's tactical acumen?"

"Ma'am," the black-clad Nikke was quick to reply. "Though lacking in polish of any kind, a seeming complete lack of awareness of operational language, and a minimal degree of discipline… he also demonstrates a keen level of cunning I've not seen in a Commander before. His awareness of the environment and ability to take advantage of it to entrap and indirectly maim a Tyrant-class was inspired. We would not have won that encounter if not for his direction."

She continued unabated.

"To say nothing of the fact that his instruction was not obstructive. We were allowed to operate without an overbearing amount of input - when he directed us, it was minimal, but impactful in a positive way. Additionally… he demonstrated an uncommon consideration for the well-being of Nikkes. All-in-all, I would place him in the top percentile of performance, despite his distinct lack of refinement. With proper training, I imagine his performance as a budding Commander would only increase as his untapped potential is realized."

Ingrid's eyebrows popped further and further with every overly generous word out of Rapi's mouth, and once the blonde was finished, the taller brunette looked to Joe with no small amount of intrigue as she considered something - only briefly though, before she spoke up again. "That was very high praise from Rapi. Enough to make me reconsider my plans. Today's assessment is cancelled. Instead, I'm going to have you undergo a training regimen personally vetted by myself, typically intended for top Elysion operatives. This is a significant privilege not typically afforded to the average Commander. You'd better take this opportunity seriously, and give it everything you have."

That caught Joe off-guard, though… The Simulator Room really sucked, so he wasn't gonna complain about getting what may well be proper tactical training. "I will be nothing but the epitome of gratitude if I'm given the training necessary to ensure that I never lose a Nikke in the field."

"I would rather you be effective than grateful," Ingrid dryly noted. "The sentiment is understood, though. I will summon you within the next two days - preferably tomorrow at the earliest if I can fast-track things. Understood?"

Joe nodded, "Loud and clear."

"Good," Ingrid declared. "Then consider yourself dismissed."

With that, the uniformed woman projecting an aura of authority marched past Joe, Rapi, and Anis to get to the hallway door…

And there, following Ingrid's departure, he caught sight of Einkk, who had been sitting in her hover chair, milling about in the background. The green-haired Nikke was glowering daggers at Joe - with all the intimidation of a pouty puppy, but still.

Well, unfortunate as it was that Einkk was offended, her Simulator courses had nearly got him and Marian killed. Sometimes, the truth hurts. Joe had nothing to apologize for. Einkk could step up her game and actually properly train new Commanders properly if she didn't want to receive a scathing critique of her job.

So, with that, Joe moved for the door, Rapi and Anis followed shortly afterwards.

Once they were in the stark, generically future tech hallways of the Ark's Government Sector, Anis spoke up. "...So, that was the CEO of Elysion."

That gave Joe pause, causing him to halt dead in his tracks. Elysion - that was the company that had augmented Marian, the most militaristic of the big three megacorps that produced Nikkes and other military equipment.

"...Why the hell would the CEO of Elysion have been waiting here to coach us in particular, right after we got back from a mission?" Joe asked, openly befuddled.

"That's what I've been wondering!" Anis proclaimed, clamping her hands on her hips as she leaned forward. "It was weird enough when a Deputy-Chief called us in to tell us to go straight to the Simulator Rooms right when we got back from a mission, but then it's one of the Big Three's CEOs that meet us when we get there? What the heck is up with that!?"

It was Rapi that immediately spoke up in response to that question. "Ingrid is known to take matters of tactical training and the applications thereof extremely seriously. She might have heard about the Commander's established acumen in the Simulators and wanted to test him herself."

"And she went through Andersen to do that why?" Anis asked, seeming unconvinced and bamboozled.

"...I don't know," Rapi admitted with a small shrug. "As one of the Big Three's CEOs, she has the authority to directly issue orders to common Commanders herself. I can't determine why she would have used a middleman like that if she intended to directly test the Commander herself anyways."

"That's weird," Anis declared, puffing up a single cheek as she furrowed her brow, side-eyeing the air as she pondered the mystery.

From Joe's perspective, part of him immediately wondered if those two, Andersen and Ingrid, had anything to do with the 'military bigwig' he received aid from in the hospital, and how quickly he'd been cleared to receive a drone. He had been told that was an 'unusual' request and not something he'd probably get very quickly unless for some reason someone relatively high up pushed it through for him.

Not to mention that it was noted as being 'unheard of' for a Commander to have even one Nikke permanently assigned to him. Was it that big of a deal for him to have done so well in the Simulators? Especially when they sucked so bad anyways?

"...A 'military bigwig' was apparently responsible for help I received when I was in the hospital a few weeks back," Joe started, gently rubbing at his trimmed goatee as he did so. "And someone 'high-up' is apparently responsible for how I actually got that drone I requested so quickly…"

"Strange," Rapi observed, her pose changing little as she stood almost perfectly still - if not for the gentle motions of breathing, there'd be little to indicate that she wasn't a particularly life-like mannequin or wax statue at a glance. "Your performance scores were impressive, yes, but I fail to see why that would warrant such attention compared to actual field performance."

"Yeah, it's not like they'd have seen how you did in that fight until after Rapi and I uploaded our mission data to the Ark," Anis added to that point, crossing her arms under her chest as she pondered the bits added to the conversation. "I don't get it… are you related to someone important, or something? I guess it'd explain a lot if you've got a silver spoon in your mouth-"

"Anis," Rapi pointedly cut her off for the perceived impropriety.

"What!? I was just saying-!"

Before they could start squabbling, Joe interjected. "By all accounts, there's no real evidence that I even existed in the Ark prior to signing up for Commander training," he noted, which earned both girl's attention quickly. "No family history, no contacts, no recorded place of residence… I even almost died in the hospital because they had no information on me and couldn't safely perform a blood transfusion - until a 'military bigwig' intervened, at least," he noted, glancing back down the hallway towards Andersen's office. He wasn't even sure if it was him that had done it, but, everything about this was weird, and Andersen's downright casual, if not familiar way of interacting with him had been incredibly strange in retrospect. Especially considering he was a high-ranking military officer, while Joe was a glorified cadet.

Anis blinked owlishly, then scratched her head before asking, "Well, why didn't you just tell them all that stuff then?"

"...Amnesia," Joe admitted somewhat sheepishly.

"What," Anis voiced her dubiousness shamelessly.

Of course, he didn't actually have amnesia, it was just that he wasn't about to go telling a shitload of hospital workers that he like, swapped consciousnesses with this world's Joe or whatever the fuck had happened. Somehow, he figured that telling everyone he'd been isekai'd would get him locked in a psych ward. So it was easier to just run with the notion that he'd 'forgotten' about the Ark and living in it, by and large.

"You can check my medical records yourself if you don't believe me, it was officially diagnosed," Joe asserted. "I only have vague memories of things, and the Government hasn't found any connections I might have to anyone or anywhere since they started looking. It's like I just sort of… manifested at the training academy one day, by all accounts."

Anis side-eyed Joe suspiciously, while Rapi shrugged as she spoke up. "I suppose that would be enough to get you some attention on its own. Combined with the incredible Simulator scores… yes, that makes sense."

"What, you actually believe him?" Anis shot Rapi a dumbstruck look. "Seriously? Amnesia? Having no records in the Ark before he signed up at the Commander's academy? Everyone has records of living in the Ark! He'd have to have had a birth certificate and proof of citizenship at the very least to get accepted and not arrested at the front door of the building!"

"Then check his records yourself. Records for Commanders are available to servicemen and women. It doesn't really matter either way, though. Especially since we're not going to be spending much more time around him after this."

"...I guess so," Anis sighed, lightly rolling her eyes.

Indeed, Marian being permanently assigned to him was out of the ordinary. Rapi and Anis having been called to Andersen's office with him in the immediate aftermath of that mission together made sense, but… yeah, he wasn't going to be seeing much of these two after today. Which, on that note…

"Might as well call it here, then," Joe noted with a sigh. "You two were impressive in the field, and I don't think I could have asked for more effective compatriots for the short time we served together," he declared. "Whatever Commander you're next assigned to will be lucky to have you both." He lightly saluted the pair, holding if only to receive an acknowledgement before they went their separate ways.

What he instead received was a pair of blank stares. Or, rather, one blank stare, and a dumbstruck stare. "Did you just…" Anis started, "Compliment us?"

Joe blinked. "Yes?" he replied. "We defeated that Tyrant because both of you are skilled at what you do. The sniper support clearly helped, but I'm sure we'd have managed it even without them, though someone might have been hurt."

On that note, Joe realized that the snipers had just… never revealed themselves. Had they just broken off and immediately went to continue whatever they were doing before being rerouted to support him and the girls?

Something he could consider asking about, he supposed.

Regardless of his internal musings, there was a beat as Rapi and Anis just stood there, seemingly unsure of how to handle Joe's assessment of them.

Anis wound up being the first to reply. "I just lobbed a few grenades at the thing and did what I was told; Rapi was a lot more impressive than I was out there…" she grimly asserted.

So Anis was that type of girl, then?

Rapi meanwhile, just responded by returning Joe's salute, though hers was far crisper. "Thank you, Commander. I wish you luck on your next operation." With that, she adjusted the rifle slung over her shoulder, and started off down the hallway.

"W-wait, Rapi!" Anis took a few steps after her, paused before the rookie Commander, and after an awkward moment, sheepishly replied with an uncertain, "L-later," before she went after her squadmate in earnest.

Thus, it was quickly just Joe, alone with the low background drone of people in other sections of the building going about their business, cars and pedestrians in the streets outside, and his thoughts.

He quickly decided that it would be wise to proceed straight to his quarters. He'd gotten enough odd looks for having a gun slung over his shoulder as it was.

---

Drone bag dropped next to the door, First Affection set down on his desk, followed by Marian's ribbon and ID card. All were set close to the wall, and Joe then sat down, thankful for the chance to sit down and just… relax.

How many hours had it even been? Since he and Marian-

He halted, taking a deep breath, and refocusing his thoughts.

Rapi and Anis had performed admirably, Rapi in particular was an amazing soldier, honestly. The way she moved was mind-blowing. And Joe had thought he'd been impressed with the way Marian had moved-

Again, he paused, harshly taking in a deep breath as he recentered himself.

Marian was-

With a crash, Joe rapidly rose to his feet, desk chair flipping onto its back as he was already moving for the door again. He needed a walk. To go to a restaurant, to window shop. There was something to do, he'd find something to do. There was much to do in the Ark, many ways he could pass the time. Why should he spend all of his time just sitting around on his hands?

Idle hands were the devil's playthings, after all.

===
Chapter 10 - One Foot in Front of the Other
===

Having spent some time wandering around the Ark's commercial district, Joe found himself filled with a… hollow ringing, but that was better than doing nothing, wasting his time just sitting around his quarters, right?

Eventually, he'd found himself at that first restaurant, the one he'd visited with…

He'd claimed a seat, been served, and, after a moment of staring at the menu, somehow not able to… focus on anything listed, for some reason. He just wound up ordering the same bowl of soup he'd had last time.

Ever since that day, it had been stuck in the back of his mind: how delicious that soup had been. How that first sip had blown his socks off, how he'd been longing for another serving since that day.

Lifting the steaming bowl to his lips, Joe braced himself for an explosion of flavour, and…

Blinked. Paused, and sat there in silence for a few moments. Somehow, the food was… almost flavourless, and at once, he realized how very hungry he wasn't. Despite having been on the surface, having been in the midst of a firefight, having hoofed it to and fro, having expended no small amount of energy… he just wasn't hungry.

Lowering the bowl, setting it on the tabletop of the outdoor eating space, as people went about their daily lives, in a metropolis that looked the part of the platonic ideal city, at least on the surface… Joe just stared blankly at his food, and quietly pondered the curiosity of how one of the most delicious things he'd ever tasted in his life, suddenly, had a flavour profile comparable to water.

Somehow, the "Commander's Discount" and well-wishes for his 'absent lady friend' he'd been offered after forcing the soup down so as to not waste food felt like a slap across the face, and the young man was quick to take his leave.

---

Joe had wandered about for some time after that, eventually finding himself making his way back to his room after artificial night had fallen. He'd thought little during his time outside, and was quick to settle down for the night, entering the room, bee-lining for the bed, and throwing himself onto it to sleep with little consideration for much else.

Having awoken the following morning, he'd rapidly realized that he'd made a mistake in not showering as soon as he'd gotten back from the field, and, better late than never, corrected that mistake.

Then… he sat down on his bed, and waited. About a half-hour into that, it occurred to him that he should see if he could put on any music using his computer or tablet, and quickly enough, he was streaming music over the Ark's internet. He'd just gone with the first thing on the list, and continued to sit, waiting for orders.

Two hours after that, he realized during a news break that he wasn't even absorbing any of the music he heard - he might as well have been listening to a desk fan.

Now laying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling, Joe took a deep breath. What was he supposed to do? Ingrid had stated she would contact him… if she got things worked out quickly enough, at least.

So, he might well just wind up sitting around all day in his room, doing absolutely nothing.

…A report, he should file a report of what had happened and submit it. That was among his duties when he looked over them, and when he'd asked Ma- when he'd asked about them.

Rising to his feet, Joe fixated on the computer at his desk, focusing on it over anything else, and began the process of doing one of the duties expected of him.

He worked on that with a singular fixation above all else.

Having lost track of time, Joe wrote and submitted the report with clinical precision, as best as he could within the stated requirements.

Then, he stared at the computer screen.

…In silence, not thinking, considering much at all.

He just started clicking on shit, deciding to start digging into the computer's start menu and folders and such, if only to explore and better familiarize himself with it. What was he supposed to…

…Games launcher? Was there a video game service built into Ark work computers by default? Though, he supposed this was supposed to be his personal terminal in his own assigned quarters as well…

Better than just sitting around, waiting for orders that might not come, he supposed.

---

The following day, Joe rolled out of bed, wondered why he felt so shitty, then realized that he'd forgotten to eat yesterday. He still wasn't hungry, though. So… he bought a few packets of snacks from a vending machine not far from his quarters, and forced down a few baggies, then…

His device chirped to catch his attention. Ingrid had finally summoned him - not to the same Simulator Room he'd used previously… but to Elysion's corporate headquarters. He supposed that would make sense, all things considered.

So, having made his way to one of the three great corporate skyscrapers, Joe was quickly let in and led through the building into a section that was pretty heavily locked down. A good deal of well-armed and armoured Nikkes guarded the otherwise typically corporate halls with militaristic rigidity. Surprisingly, it felt a good deal more… well, more military than the Central Government's own headquarters. The guards there gave more of the impression of common mall cops, guys with handguns on their belts, but clearly not expecting much more than to potentially draw their batons, if even that.

Elysion's guard detail, on the other hand? Fully kitted-out soldiers, ready to throw down as if on an active battlefield at a moment's notice.

Suddenly, the state of the common Simulator Room made a good deal of sense. Maybe he'd actually learn something here, in contrast.

Ingrid gave Joe a severe once-over, immediately criticizing him once he was in her presence. "You've made no attempt to take proper care of yourself since we last spoke, clearly."

That gave the brunet pause. He… yeah, he hadn't been thinking about much at all, had he? He hadn't even washed his clothes, come to think of it. How… embarrassing? He wasn't entirely sure how he felt, and that was probably a problem in itself, considering what his job description entailed now.

Giving Joe a measuring look, she continued, "You're obviously stuck on thinking about Marian-"

She paused, taking in Joe's pointed non-reaction, the way his eyes almost glazed over for a moment after she mentioned the late Nikke's name.

"Correction: you are clearly not thinking about Marian. To the point of making it a problem."

When Joe's reaction was to just uncomfortably avert his gaze, Ingrid took that as a prompt to keep going.

"I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't feel bad, that you shouldn't mourn her or that you need to just move on. What I will tell you, though, is that the world doesn't care, and will not hesitate to take advantage of your inability to adapt. You are a soldier now: learn to compartmentalize, at the very least, or you and the Nikkes under your command will rapidly pay the ultimate price for it."

"...You're right," Joe admitted. "I'll just get more girls killed, at this rate-"

"You are not responsible for Marian's death, Pholus," Ingrid interjected pointedly. "She was corrupted before she even left the Ark, and you went above and beyond in your attempt to rescue her. You did nothing wrong, and in fact, are an exemplar of what a good Commander should be; regardless of how little you may feel it right now."

That… didn't feel right. He should have done… something-

"Most Commanders would not have cared," Ingrid clearly saw through him, and pressed the point home as best she could. "In fact, Marian had just come from working with a previous Commander that got her entire squad killed, himself included. Recordings recovered from her and her squadmate's hardware showed that he was nothing more than the typical chaff pumped out of the Central Government's mills. He treated them like weapons, got annoyed when they fell around him, falling as a consequence of his all-too-common incompetence. Now, you?"

"You made her feel like a person. Treated her like a comrade, someone that mattered to you, as a companion, not a tool. Most Nikkes don't receive that luxury. So, again: mourn her, weep for her, but do not act as though you failed her. In just one mission, you've put most of your peers with entire careers to their names to shame in your consideration for the well-being of your comrades. Do not discount the importance of this fact."

…Yeah. No wonder, then, that she was so moved by how he'd treated her, if she'd just lost her entire squad to some asshole's malicious negligence and incompetence, treating her and her comrades like disposable tools. That, followed by… Well, his just treating her like a person, even having to be held back from swinging at anyone that tried to discriminate against her in front of him…

…Shit. Shit. He had no idea, he wasn't trying to make himself look like some kind of knight in shining armour that showed up immediately in the wake of something like that…

"Now," Ingrid continued. "The Raptures won't care that you haven't had enough time to pull yourself together, and if you can't operate under pressure, focus and keep your head in the game when everything seems to have gone wrong, then you're just going to be a burden on the Nikkes that will be depending on you to bring them home."

"...Yeah, you're right," Joe agreed. Softer folks might've accused Ingrid of being overly harsh and unreasonable - but if anything, she was applying an overly soft touch to him considering her apparent militaristic nature, even if she wasn't actually officially proper military. He was a soldier now, which meant he needed to get his shit together, and if nothing else, learn to operate effectively even when something horrible had just happened. So, as much as it fucking hurt to lose Marian as he had… "Ma'am, are we able to begin training now?"

Letting out an appraising hum, Ingrid nodded once. "Before that: we will address the matter of your squad. You had previously been assigned Silver Gun. However, with Marian's passing as the last surviving member, the group has been officially retired. Ergo: owing to their performance when operating under your command during the battle against the Blacksmith, Rapi and Anis of the team newly christened 'Counters' have been permanently assigned to you. However: note that Anis is not permitted to take part in these training exercises, owing to the fact that she is a Tetra Line Nikke. Company secrets, you know the drill."

Ah, yeah. Because not spreading tactical information among all members of Earth's last line of defence was clearly the way forward, yeah?

That was a sudden and unpleasant reminder that he was also technically stuck in the midst of a cyberpunk dystopia, considering the Ark was by all practical means, run by the big three megacorporations that developed and produced all of the hardware and software that kept the arcology running.

Grand. Corporate politics were barring one of the girls that he was supposed to be fighting alongside from partaking in practical training with him, and the other half of her two-woman unit.

"So… I'm going to be just training with Rapi, then?" Joe asked, grimacing openly as he lightly scratched at the back of his neck.

"Of course not. For the time being, Anis' role will be filled in by a mass-produced Soldier EG model Nikke armed with a grenade launcher of her own," Ingrid noted matter-of-factually. "Apply what you learn with her to Anis, and otherwise, adapt as best as you can. Besides that," she continued, giving him no chance to press the matter of Anis being excluded from these training sessions. "The Scouts will also be participating in these operations. Signal and Delta - the reconnaissance team that provided sniper support to you during your battle against the Blacksmith."

Ah, the sniper team themselves. Joe was wondering if he'd get the chance to meet and thank them after all. "I'm looking forward to meeting them."

Ingrid appraisingly hummed in response before moving on. "So, this is the team you'll be moving forward with for this training - unless the Scouts find themselves preoccupied with actual field work, that is. In which case, more mass-produced Nikkes will fill in for them. Familiarize yourself with them - we'll see about arranging to have the Scouts accompany Counters if there's enough synergy to justify it."

That… "...Ma'am," Joe started, now feeling as though he really needed to ask. "Why am I having multiple squads of Nikkes permanently assigned to my command, back-to-back, when standard operational procedure is to never have a Commander and squad work together for more than one mission?"

"Because you do not display the personality failings which necessitate such measures with typical Commanders in the first place," Ingrid very candidly replied. "Most Commanders drive the Nikkes under their command to insubordination in short order. As you might imagine, this plummets the already ruinously low survival rates of active squads practically into the negatives. If you are able to properly command a consistent team, competently, at that, then you will have turned out to be a truly massive boon to the Ark."

…

Jesus. Fucking. Christ. If that wasn't one of the largest indictments of the Ark's entire military structure and culture he'd heard yet…

"...I see," Joe nodded quietly, doing his damned best to keep his cool and focus. "Well then, shall we begin?"

Looking at the rookie Commander, Ingrid let out a single huff of approval before declaring, "Best to meet your team first, don't you think?"

"...Right," Joe sighed quietly. "One step at a time."

Time to meet the crew, such as it was.