Anya had just finished studying battle reports and recommended gear tweaks from the after-action reports she had dug up from recent House Essedar Security activities. She was determined to know everything needed to improve her combat gear settings. One of the many things she’s learned from her time with Noa and Hassan was that you can always find something new to learn; she loved that.

  Her dainty fingers gingerly held the small tool needed to adjust the settings on her long rifle and its peripherals as she hummed along to a tune that was playing. The lenses she wore helped to guide her, pointing and highlighting the relevant parts that needed work.

  The music paused, and Noa’s number and icon appeared on her phone as it rang.

  She tapped the frame of the lenses she wore, and the guides on it disappeared, as she smiled at who was calling as she picked it up.

  “Noakins! Everything good?”

  “Daze! Hassan says you should hang around the Sec Complex, just in case. How were the exams?”

  Anya chuckled away the question as she waved a hand, “Easier than I anticipated.”

  She smiled, detecting the tone of Noa’s voice and mood.

  “So, when can we expect you?”

  Anya had already laid down the tool she was using and started cleaning up her work table.

  “I’m surprised no one told you; I’m already at the Sec Complex, doing work on my long gun.”

  “Ah, okay! Well, come on over then! We’re at Basement C”

  Anya giggled softly, a wide smile accompanying her mood as she proceeded out. Basement C was where the House Security kept prisoners, who were few and far between.

  —---------------------------------------------------------------------

  Noa stood, arms crossed, as she watched the room through a large screen that filled the space of the wall she was facing.

  On the screen, which functioned the same way a two-way mirror would, Sawyer was leaning against a wall, facing a bruised man who had his feet and hands bound to the floor.

  Anya softly entered the room, and Noa greeted her with a tight hug before she leaned away.

  They looked at the bound man, who Sawyer continued to vigorously question.

  “I thought we were supposed to pass this guy onto Bones?”

  Noa nodded slowly. “Yes… but… it turns out he’s also working for the Apostates. Didn’t appear on his info set.”

  “Those machine god worshipping people? Why? How?”

  Noa shrugged as she slowly shook her head. “I have no idea.” The last word trailed off before her tone solidified.

  “Did you know those guys actually do sacrifices? But not human or animal blood, it's like. A failed Apostate would be tasked to perform a crazy act to redeem themselves as well as regain favor in the eyes of their machine god.”

  Anya chuckled, her head shaking slowly as she sneered. “Savages.”

  Noa slowly nodded. “Perhaps, but they are rather a talented bunch, too.”

  “So… talented… savages?” Anya chuckled as she nudged Noa.

  She continued. “Anyway, why aren’t we handing him over to Bones?”

  “About that. We have some interest in controlling the spread of their gang influence. At the moment, Hyenas and the Brotherhood hold sway, but the Apostates are beginning to give a strong showing. So… We are squeezing whatever intel we can get from him.”

  Anya took the reply in as she slowly nodded. Her eyes wandered to the prisoner being interrogated.

  Thin lines of alloy ran all along his neck, arms, and shoulders, and no doubt it continued under his ragged shirt.

  Noa looked at her sister.

  “Any word from your friends?”

  Anya shrugged her shoulders. “Usual stuff, no apparent reaction from whoever is doing the stuff from this kerb’s capture.”

  Noa’s eyebrow arched slightly as her fingers tugged at her lower lips. “Huh, so probably no relation to whatever is going on then. At least as far as your friends are concerned.”

  Anya shrugged again, then looked at her sister and continued. “So, what’s next?”

  “Sawyer is going to make sure this kerb reaches Bones. Hassan said we should be prepped for anything.”

  “Why hasn’t he asked Intel for help?”

  “Hmm?” Noa cocked her head at Anya.

  “You know, seems to be only the Sec guys; I thought Essedar had a solid Intel arm?”

  Noa shrugged. “I didn’t ask. Am thinking Intel is always busy, unlike most of Security.”

  “So?”

  Noa chewed the side of her lips, the simple reply from Anya triggering a thought inside her.

  “Hmm. I’ll ask Father. Or do you wanna ask Father?”

  “I dunno, I think they wanna set me up with some plathead fam.” Anya folded her arms while her brow furrowed.

  “What? No way, how do you know? Did they tell you this?”

  Anya rolled her eyes and groaned. “They didn’t have to. Remember Eric? Of the Cassidens?.”

  Noa smirked. “Transpo without cargo chuvak? Yes.”

  Her sister nodded slowly. “Yea, that one. Mother and that kerb’s mom were gushing all over the place. Was almost gross to be there.”

  Noa giggled softly; she had heard this before. But she was amused by her sister's expression as she continued describing what felt like a whole day of trying to appear nice and agreeable.

  “I should spend more time with the Sec peeps like you do, so much more exciting.”

  Noa chuckled, “You’re more than welcome to.”

  They both suddenly went silent when the bound man being questioned started screaming. Sawyer remained calm and proceeded to subdue the man. When he held the now-shaking man down, his hands moved to the man’s head and shoulder, respectively. The expression on his face changed as he started talking into his communicator.

  Hassan’s voice then broke the air in the small, dark room the sisters were in.

  “Get out of there.”

  Noa looked at Anya. Hassan never used that tone unless it was serious, and both of them left the room without question.

  He was outside waiting on them,

  “What’s going on?”

  “Breach, that man was nearly successful in planting a worm in our network. Intel stopped it, but it seemed to trigger something in his implants. We suspect an explosive. Follow me.”

  As Hassan led them out of the room, an alarm triggered in the section of the security complex where they were, and red lighting flooded the corridor.

  He paused at a wall and placed his hand on it. The sisters frowned. This was a dead-end corridor, and it made no sense to them to have come this way. They would have preferred to go outside or back toward the House.

  Just then, the corridor opened up into a similarly designed corridor, but with as much steel as it had concrete as opposed to the concreted corridor they were in.

  “This is a route back to the House. Follow it. At the end, there will be a room. Get in there and wait for the all-clear?” He looked at both of them. If they were worried, neither showed it as they nodded curtly.

  “Yes, sir.” They replied in unison and proceeded down the corridor.

  —---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  They spent what seemed like hours in the room that Hassan had told them to enter.

  It was spacious. In one corner, there was a double bunk bed and other amenities for some form of comfort, and the room was filled with supplies.

  Noa drifted to a rack lined up with four automatic rifles while Anya opened a door embedded into the wall, revealing a fridge with blood plasma and food within.

  Noa was leaning back in a chair, an automatic rifle on her lap as she held its empty magazine, a finger pressing repeatedly at the cartridge follower.

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  “This place feels like a prison; wonder why they have it here.” Anya looked around, having chosen to sit at one of the three tables in the room.

  “I think this is what a studio apartment looks like.”

  “Really?”

  Noa shrugged. “That’s the impression I got when they talk about it. Tried searching for it once on the network. The description they had seemed to describe something like this.”

  Anya sneered as she looked around at the sizeable room they were in.

  “Maybe a bedroom, but to live in just this space? Whew.”

  Noa chuckled and nodded in agreement, “I know, right? Not for me either.”

  Both of them looked at each other, silent for a few moments as their faces turned red, and then, finally, both broke out in laughter.

  “Wonder what’s going on outside. Issit safe?”

  Noa shrugged again. “Hassan will come when the time is right.”

  There was a quick rasp on the thick steel door as if on cue.

  Noa grinned mischievously, a finger raised at Anya as if signaling something before she turned toward a screen that sat on the wall near where she sat. Hassan’s face was on it as he leaned against the door.

  “What’s the password?”

  Silence.

  “Noa, open the door.”

  “That’s not the password. What’s the password?”

  “Noa, you know who it is, and we didn’t set a password, open the damn door.”

  She looked at Anya, who had joined her, a hand on her shoulder and an equally mischievous grin on her face.

  She leaned in close to Noa’s ear as if someone would hear her.

  “Ask him to tell you a secret.” She whispered as she giggled.

  “Are you really Hassan? How do I know that our systems aren’t compromised? What’s the password?”

  Hassan appeared to exhale frustratedly on the screen as he stood up straight. His eyes looked at where he thought the camera was, which made him look away from the screen Noa was looking at.

  “Noa. This is not funny. Open the damn door.”

  “Nope.”

  Hassan took a deep breath as his jaw tightened.

  “I have been training you since you were five. Officially, records show that you started at seven. We started with survival skills first. Then, at eight, you started on combat skills training. But I had started you early on knives before I was authorized to… Happy now?”

  Noa looked at Anya, who was trying hard to suppress laughter, and shrugged at her.

  Her sister smiled and pressed a button.

  “Ok, opening door now.”

  The heavily reinforced steel door opened outward to Hassan, who glared at the two sisters.

  “Is everything clear?” Anya approached the door and smiled at him pleasantly.

  His face seemed perplexed, and his eyes blinked like his thoughts were cut off midway as he looked at her and nodded.

  “The guy nearly died. Seems like a self-termination device that he triggered that sent out bursts of signals that simulated a breaching attempt, but it was just a simulation of it. He did have an explosive that was supposed to be set off, though; it just didn’t go off. Shoddy engineering and implant work.”

  “Heh,” Anya grinned smugly.

  “What?”

  She shrugged, “Nothing.”

  “Is he in any shape to be delivered to Bones?” Noa interjected before he could say anything.

  He looked at Noa and shook his head slowly.

  “In this condition now. No. We have to evaluate whether his mind still works, then we’ll know definitely. Personally, I don’t think the chances are high.”

  “So, what now? If we can’t deliver him to Bones, we’re back to square one.”

  Hassan sighed deeply as he leaned against the entrance.

  ‘I guess we have to owe him a favor then.”

  “What…” Anya started to retort before Noa placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head slowly.

  She looked at Hassan. “Weren’t we already doing a favor for him?”

  “That was a trade. This will mean we owe him for something in the future.” He eyed her.

  She chewed the inside of her lip as her gaze dropped, then looked at Anya, her thoughts in motion.

  Anya shrugged, her lips mouthing a silent “your call.”

  “Okay, say I agree, what sort of favor will I be owing him?”

  Hassan shrugged, something Noa rarely saw.

  “That’s really up to him, but we can probably draw some little caveat in it. And it’s we, not just you.”

  “Do we have a choice?”

  “Not that much of a choice. Unless you want to let this digger slide, and by what he has done, I myself don’t want it to slide.”

  Noa exhaled and nodded slowly, her face in deep thought.

  “Fine, can we sit down with Bones then?”

  Hassan shook his head. Then he started explaining to the sisters a deeper investigation he had initiated after his suspicion that the perpetrator had a High Rise insider who may be involved. Their prisoner didn’t expressly say it, but the answers they did manage to get from him seemed to confirm it or at least solidify his suspicion.

  “Huh, that changes things.”

  He nodded. “Somewhat, makes this a higher priority than originally anticipated.”

  “Okay, how do we proceed?” Noa said, focus etched on her face.

  “That guy inside? The security threat was real. If I know how human networks work in the quad-city, chances are word has started circulating about a silver-haired girl, and her goons are about. So… I’ll talk to Bones via Intel; you girls best lay low a bit. Besides, Isn’t graduation soon?”

  The sisters looked at each other. “Noa’s is. Mine is a bit later than that.”

  —--------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Noa sat, leaning against Anya. Both of them used each other to keep themselves balanced as they sat against each other’s backs.

  “So, what are you going to do after you’re done with SEHIL?”

  Noa chewed her lip as her mind pondered on the question. She was reluctant to divulge what she had been thinking about this past year.

  It was more because she didn’t want the same for Anya, but then, it wasn’t her place to decide for her sister.

  “I think I wanna go into merc work.”

  She could feel Anya fidgeting against her back, and suddenly, her muscles tensed as Anya’s counterweight moved away.

  Her sister was facing her, and her concerned face was starkly clear owing to the way she tied her voluminous red hair tightly back.

  “Merc work? Are you serious? What would Father say?”

  Noa shrugged as she spun around to face her sister. Her long legs bent up while she rested her arms on the bent knees.

  “If I don’t do something, I might end up getting paired off for alliances. Kinda bored of just, you know, doing nothing much besides. Fuck going to work for Prism, having to deal with more lameness.”

  Anya giggled. “That on its own. Having to deal with platheads on the regular.”

  “Right? Granted, some platheads are talented. But some are just, wow. You can take a lowbie out of lowbie-town, but you can’t take lowbie-town out of a lowbie.”

  Anya nodded slowly as she nibbled at the inside of her cheek.

  “Aren’t you slotted to be Father’s replacement?”

  Noa shook her shoulders again, blowing a raspberry with her lips.

  “I… dunno if I wanna cater to these High Rise people at all, their politics…it's… tiring… don’t you think?”

  Anya sighed yet nodded. “Can’t say I disagree with that. But.. Merc work. I dunno, Noa.”

  Noa’s green orbs were looking intently at her sister as if studying her.

  “What?” Anya shot back.

  “I think you will make a better head of Essedar.”

  Anya chuckled, obviously amused.

  “How so?”

  “I dunno, just a feeling, feels right too.”

  “Did you take the metaphysical courses in SEHIL?”

  “No?”

  “Then what’s this feeling crap. What do you see that makes you think so?”

  Noa chuckled as she shook her head, then smiled as she tapped Anya’s knee.

  “Just a feeling, okay, can’t explain it. Besides, I looked into the syllabus of that course, sounded so meh…to me, at least.”

  Anya smiled wide, and her eyes twinkled.

  “Oh, oh, I know that look.”

  Anya laughed out and just swatted Noa’s thigh.

  “What issit, spill it?”

  “What? You know what look?”

  “The Anya-is-in-the-middle-of-a-plan, look.”

  “I dunno if I wanna lead the House, though. Sounds like I gotta deal with the other houses just to keep this balance of the council thingie. Wheeling and dealing, et cetera, et cetera.”

  “Between you and me, I think you’re way more qualified than me for that.”

  “Just cause you wanna smack every High Rise lead doesn’t mean you can’t lead Essedar, Noakins.”

  Noa’s lip bent up at the side.

  “Can you imagine, though, you taking over Essedar then removing all these council Augaow dung business?”

  Anya chuckled, a look of understanding on her face as she nodded.

  “Oh, I get what you mean. I mean, can you picture Uren heading his House?”

  To the sisters, Uren, officially known as Timuren Ritta, was the designated heir to the control of his High Rise house after his aged father.

  “He probably would need to call on us to settle any dispute.” Noa chuckled madly, recalling how she had to fend off several would-be bullies who were preying on Timuren.

  Noa spun around again, this time leaning back, resting her head on Anya’s crossed legs,

  They both looked out to the horizon. The sun was long gone, and the horizon was lit up by the lights of the quad-city’s Commercial Zone, which spanned a significant portion of the city’s center districts.

  Anya was deep in thought, her dainty fingers absentmindedly caressing Noa’s silken silver locks, still loosely tied into a ponytail.

  “You’re not wrong, though. All these voting for decision business is so weak.”

  “Right? Its not like some of those on the council have an inkling of what they want to do or has to be done.”

  “Additionally. I don’t trust all these deals the High Houses make with each other.”

  Noa bopped her head. “Mhmm, can’t trust anyone when you gotta cater for interests.”

  Anya chuckled dryly. “So agree…Can’t trust anyone but family.”

  They continued chatting, discussing subjects ranging from school to lame boys, weak girls, boring crowds, sports, guns, and the latest hardware and software. They also compared illegal and legal civilian (or lowbie) markets and High-Rise markets.

  “Maybe, if you go through with this Merc work thing. I would join you?”

  “Don’t be silly. No head of a household should do merc work.”

  “Says who?”

  Noa fell silent, her mind wracking her own memories, trying to recall this unwritten rule.

  “You have a point, actually.”

  Anya chuckled as she leaned back on her hands, reveling in the comfort she was feeling. She closed her eyes and felt a soft breeze wash over them, filling the spot with the fresh scent of the meadows and manicured forests surrounding Essedar High Rise. The gentle coolness of the breeze contrasted with the warmth she felt from Noa’s head on her lap. The faint, distant hum of the quad-city gliding over their senses was like a soft background tone to the sound of crickets.