Chương 248: Volume 2 - Chapter 64 - Just Another Day

"And you are certain of this…?"

"Yes, sir. I've cross-referenced and triple-checked everything. I even went to several of our Long-Term Precogs personally —one at a time, isolated consultations—just to make sure there was no cross-contamination. But every single one reported the same exact result." A long silence followed, heavy enough to bend the air.

"That's impossible," the superior officer said quietly.

"All Long-Term Precogs, across multiple inquiries, seeing the same massive shift in the Galactic War? One anomaly, perhaps. But universal alignment? No. There must be something else at play."

"I know, sir. I can't explain it either… but I'm certain about this. This has happened twice now." The chair creaked as the superior officer slowly sat back." Twice?"

"The first instance was a few weeks ago. It was dismissed at first, because no one filed anything formal—nobody realized others had seen similar visions. Long-Term Precognition is an inherently difficult and, at times, faulty Path after all. It was dismissed by the Psykers as nothing more than the usual inaccuracies. It was only after several of the Precogs casually compared notes later that they recognized the overlap.

By the time this was reported however, the data was already too old to start any real investigations as to its origin."

"And today served as confirmation."

"Yes, sir. The moment the second event happened, reports flooded in immediately." Another silence—longer this time.

"You're absolutely certain here? They all say the same thing?" The report-bearer swallowed.

"Gravely certain, sir. They all describe a massive shift radiating from Terra's southern Factions—the Stellar Republic, the Celestial Dominion, and the United Human Federation. Something happened among one of them—or maybe all of them. Something there has detonated through the Void like a sort of… psychic supernova, for a lack of better word. It is drowning out every other Thread. They can't see anything past it at all." The officer's fingers drummed once, sharply.

Silence stretched to the breaking point before he finally prompted, "There's more, isn't there?"

"It's not just ours, sir." The words came out strained, reluctant.

"I have a… friend, in another Faction. One who should not be speaking to me at all. Especially not about things like these…" The officer's eyes narrowed, but he didn't interrupt.

"They've confirmed the same thing. Their Precogs saw it too. All of them. Every single Long-Term Precog they have is reporting an identical end to their Threads." The report-bearer exhaled shakily.

"It… It might not just be ours and theirs, but all of them, sir. Every single Long-Term Precog in the entire galaxy…" — [Unknown Excerpt: Report Of Galaxy-Wide, Long-Term Precognition Anomalies, PFC943] When Thea woke the morning after her long Gram-and-weapons deep dive with Peria, she knew instantly that something was very wrong. Her whole body felt tight, her chest wound up with a heavy knot of anxiety that tightened with every breath she took.

"W… What's going on…?" she whispered, slowly pushing herself upright and scanning the room. She was in her own quarters. Everything looked normal. Nothing out of place, nothing broken, no alarms blaring, yet the dread in her stomach only got worse, coiling like she was waiting for an impact she couldn't see.

'Did I forget something important…?' she wondered, going back through the last day in her mind. But there had been no schedule set, no appointments, no looming deadlines or lectures that she needed to attend. This had been supposed to be the first day in what felt like weeks where she didn't have anything planned—her own self-declared break from the never-ending madness of the UHF Marine Corps' schedule. And still, the feeling wouldn't let her go.

It sat in her chest like a warning she couldn't interpret, like something was coming and she was already too late to stop it; could only look on in dread as it approached. She got up from her bed and took a steaming-hot shower to try and uncoil her tense muscles, but even before she stepped out to dry herself off, she already knew it hadn't really helped.

"No, seriously, what the fuck is going on…? Do I need to check with Kara if I'm sick or something…?" she muttered, slipping into her favourite pullover—comfortable clothing usually worked wonders against anxiety.

"Good morning, Thea," the Sovereign's voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once, like it always did when she started her morning routine.

"Is everything alright?" Thea sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

"I'm not sure. I'm feeling really tense today… Did I forget some kind of appointment? Anything I mentioned and then spaced? Something happening today that I should know about?" She didn't really want to lean on the ship's AI too much, given both Kara's and Æht's warnings still echoing in her mind, but this kind of request wasn't exactly breaking the bank in terms of offered trust, she figured.

"I have no records of any planned or scheduled meetings involving you today," the Sovereign answered smoothly.

"Nothing forgotten or unaccounted for that you had planned, from what my records show."

"Hmm." Thea hummed under her breath as she finished getting dressed, pulling on simple black pants to match the pullover and checking herself once in the mirror.

"Not my best work, but I'm not exactly trying to impress anyone today…" She considered putting on make-up—something she'd been experimenting with a bit lately—but decided against it. Today was meant to be low-effort, pure relaxation. But as she moved toward the door to step out into Alpha Squad's communal area, something odd finally caught her eye. As the display beside the door lit up as it always did when she got closer, a small red number 2 resting above a delivery-box icon made her stop dead in her tracks.'

Two deliveries…?' Thea frowned. She'd never woken up to anything like that before. She'd ordered things to her room before—tools for her small workbench, basic materials to experiment with—but she had never gotten anything overnight. And she definitely hadn't ordered anything recently that would take extra time to arrive; everything she'd purchased had already shown up days ago. Carefully, like the screen might explode if she tapped it wrong, she swiped the display and opened the details for the first delivery.

Her eyebrows shot up when she read who it was from.

"Councilor Lumis…?" She accepted the delivery request, and a package immediately materialized on the floor in front of her door. Her fingers brushed the smooth, matte surface of the small rectangular parcel as she gently picked it up. It was wrapped in a sleek, dark packaging with the Sovereign's standard delivery seal and a tiny holo-tag clipped to its side. She peeled the tag open first and started reading the Councilor's message.

"Of fucking course that's the reason I'm feeling like shit today…" Thea muttered under her breath, stomach twisting as soon as she caught the first line. She forced herself to read the entire message anyway:"Happy Birthday, Thea. I have received the go-ahead to provide a gift for you on this day from the UHF, to both celebrate your special day, as well as continue to show our goodwill towards you, given everything you have gone through as a result of our mistakes.

Please accept it as a token of our appreciation for you. I hope that you will enjoy this gift and find plentiful use for it in the upcoming years. Have a wonderful birthday. – Councilor Lumis" A humorless laugh escaped her as she finished reading.' No wonder I'm feeling like this. Of all the things to forget about…' She opened the actual package and immediately froze when she laid eyes on what it contained.

Inside—resting snug in shock-foam—sat a sleek, silver-black device shaped a bit like a reinforced forearm bracer, its smooth surface splitting into modular segments towards the front that hinted at its hidden transformations. A faint blue trace light ran across its spine as it recognized her body's proximity, almost like it was breathing in anticipation of being put on. Thea couldn't even breathe. She knew exactly what this was.

"Is that… a fucking Helion-Works VectorForge Omnitool…?" She had stared at one of the predecessor models on the GalNet back on Lumiosia—watched every review, every flashy ad, dreaming about it—but she never even as much as considered owning one. First and foremost, Helion-Works didn't ship to Midworlds, period. And even if they had, the price tag alone could've probably bought half the damn Undercity itself, if not more. Her hands trembled slightly as she gingerly lifted it out of the foam.

Two things stood out to her close scrutiny of the tool immediately, just like in the ads: First—the adaptive toolface: Thousands of micro-machined components able to reorganize into different toolheads on demand. Need a soldering pen? A precision cutter? A micro-wrench for weapon internals? It could shift forms in a fraction of a second and could even be controlled via simple thoughts, once paired with a proper link.

Second—the integrated holo-lens: A tiny projector along its side, which naturally could also move around the tool without impediment should other angles be required, capable of magnified holographic schematics, material stress overlays, component tracking, and so much more—it could map the full internal structure of any given item in real time as she worked on it. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Even weapon schematics, like the one Peria had shown her yesterday, would make a heap more sense with something like this assisting as she took the weapon apart.

"This… This is too much," she said quietly, shaking her head. It was simply too expensive. Too advanced for somebody like her. Too perfect a dream gift. Something she'd wanted for years but always assumed she'd never even get to look at, much less touch—and definitely not own. Thea swallowed hard, staring at the gift in stunned silence.

"Holy fucking shit…" she whispered, unsure whether to feel grateful, overwhelmed… or maybe even a little terrified about what a gift like this could imply. A thought struck her then. She turned toward the air as if the ship's AI itself was standing there with her.

"Sovereign… how do gifts like this work inside the DDS? What happens if I leave the DDS? Does this… come with me?" The AI replied without hesitation.

"Items purchased within the DDS fall under several categories: Licenses, Digital Items, and Products. Licenses you are already familiar with. Digital Items are things such as your clothing, the tools and materials you have obtained for your workbench, and most things bound strictly to the DDS environment. Products, however, function as both Digital Items within the DDS and as a limited physical item once outside; a sort of hybrid between the other two.

"Unlike Licenses however, Products are not infinitely reprintable. They exist as a singular item that becomes part of your physical equipment upon exit. Products acquired within the DDS are transferred into your personal storage aboard the ship once procured—typically within several weeks to a month, depending on the exact item and current supply routing.

"The gift you have received from Councilor Lumis is classified as a Product. A real-space version of the Helion-Works VectorForge Omnitool will be delivered to your storage locker once acquired. The current estimate of procurement for this particular Product sits at around a week. It will be loaded aboard during the next scheduled resupply window." Her disbelief only grew with the Sovereign's answer. Real-space. Not just a digital toy she'd lose once she left the DDS. A real VectorForge Omnitool was coming her way.

"That's insane…" she breathed.

"What the fuck did I ever do to deserve something like this…?" Her hand moved almost on its own as she slid the omnitool's bracer onto her forearm. The metal adjusted instantly, tightening and reshaping until it rested perfectly against her skin like it had been custom-made just for her. A tiny, excited laugh slipped out when the holographic interface pulsed to life. She went straight to her workbench, grabbing a few scrap mechanical parts to test the VectorForge's different modes.

A plasma cutter the size of a pen-tip sliced through metal like it was softened wax. A micro-welder fused pieces back together without even leaving burn marks. She switched to scan mode and the tool threw up clean, detailed diagnostics right into the air above her arm. A simple flick of her wrist moved the schematics to overlay with the circuit, showcasing exactly where it had detected damage from her earlier slicing and splicing experiments. For a few minutes, the anxiety that had owned her morning simply…

vanished. She giggled under her breath like an idiot, because this stupidly amazing tool was just that fun. Eventually though, after spending far too much time just playing around with the myriad options of the omnitool, she forced herself to take it off.

"Focus, idiot," she muttered, setting it down as gently. She walked back toward the room's entrance, where the display still showed a second delivery waiting. When she tapped it, the only sender information listed was: Anonymous." Anonymous?" she said aloud, frowning.

"Sovereign, what's that about?"

"Interpersonal deliveries can be sent anonymously for an increased service fee," the AI explained.

"However, all packages are scanned for illegal or harmful materials before delivery. It is safe."

"Huh… okay." She scratched her cheek, uncertain.

"Kind of weird, but sure… I guess." She accepted the delivery. Another box shimmered into existence—far bigger than the first. The holotag attached to it only read: " Happy Birthday." No signature attached, no additional message, nothing. Thea opened it carefully, unsure of what to expect. And froze. Inside was an entire makeup arsenal. High-end palettes. Precision brushes. Skin primers and finishers. Even several datashards labeled: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Artistic Styles.

"… What?" Thea stared like the box might start explaining itself. She'd worn makeup for one day. One! And now this? Suspicion crept in immediately.

"Kara?" she muttered. It made sense… except it didn't. Kara would have just shoved the stuff in her hands and mocked her technique to her face. Anonymous wasn't her style. At all. That wasn't the kind of friendship they had. Unless Kara thought her makeup looked that bad yesterday. But even in that case, which Thea seriously doubted, she'd have roasted her while handing over the box, not hidden behind anonymity.

"Okay… so if not Kara… then who?" She asked the empty room. No answer came. Only the anxiety she'd briefly forgotten slid right back into her chest, heavier this time. Someone was definitely watching her. And they were paying far too close attention. But given the very clear cost of the gift—which had to be substantial, especially compared to how expensive her own tiny make-up haul had been already—it didn't seem likely that any normal Recruit could afford something like this.

Outside of Alpha Squad, Beta Squad and maybe a handful of the top Assessment scorers, no one could realistically have the credits to pull off a present like that.' Maybe one of the Professors or Majors…? But why would they even care?' Thea let out a long breath, accepting that she probably wasn't going to solve the mystery sitting in her room. She tucked the whole box away into her wardrobe—well out of sight.

Kara was due to drop by sooner or later, and Thea really didn't feel like navigating questions she couldn't answer. Only then did she finally step out into Alpha Squad's communal space—then paused immediately mid-step. Everyone was awake and present. All of them. Usually, only Corvus or Kara were up at this hour, but today, every single member was already there, moving about like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Thea took two steps into the common room—then Lucas looked up from his plate, her door right in line of sight from his usual spot.

"Ah! Morning, Thea! Happy birthday." A big toothy grin was plastered on his face, but Thea saw little of it, because her stomach lurched at the words. Anxiety spiked so fast she thought she might actually vomit, her vision going slightly blurry. Corvus appeared, having gotten up from his seat and walked around the table before she even had time to respond, moving with that perfect social grace of his. He spread his arms like he was announcing a parade, urging her to come take a seat.

"Thea! Good morning and happy birthday! May the Emperor grant you a year of clean shots, stable footing, and minimal paperwork." He grinned like this was a galaxy-wide holiday. Isabella, meanwhile, didn't even look up from her plate, "Morning, Thea." Kara had practically launched herself out of her seat when Lucas had welcomed her. Before Thea could really brace for impact, warm arms wrapped around her waist and she was guided toward the table.

"Happy birthday, Thea!" Kara beamed, tugging her down into the empty seat beside her.

"Pancake for breakfast—still hot, don't worry." Desmond was the last to speak up. His voice caught in his throat before it came out—quiet, almost unsure.

"Uh… morning. And… ehh, happy birthday, I guess." He scratched at the corner of his datapad, clearly wrestling with how much eye contact was considered appropriate for their newly agreed upon neutrality.

"Hope it's… good." Every word, every well-meaning syllable, twisted that coil of dread inside her tighter. She forced herself to smile anyway.

"Thank you all," she managed, nodding to each of them.

"Really. Just… surprised. I honestly completely forgot about it myself." She blinked at them all sitting there—like a staged intervention—and asked, "How did you even know?" All fingers turned simultaneously toward Corvus. The Squad Leader froze mid-sip, having sat down at his usual spot.

"I specifically told you not to tell her," he said, voice razor-flat as he stared down his traitorous unit.

"There will be consequences for this insubordination." Lucas didn't look up and simply continued eating, Isabella gave him a shit-eating grin, Kara hummed innocently and Desmond pretended to check a notification that definitely didn't exist. And Thea—still dizzy from the tight dread grinding at the back of her throat—did her best to laugh along with them. Corvus exhaled slowly, then met her eyes.

"Well, that's out in the open now… anyway." His tone softened.

"We thought it might be nice to do something for your birthday. Nothing crazy, nothing stressful—just something you'd hopefully enjoy." She forced her smile a little wider, doing her best to sound curious instead of nauseous.

"Oh? Like what?" Corvus' grin grew, and he motioned to the rest of Alpha.

"Everyone pitched in. We know you'd rather be productive than sit around, even on a break day, so I figured we should aim for something up your alley. A squad-wide first-DM review. All of us did ours as soon as we could so we'd be ready for today, and no one has shared their footage yet. We'll watch them together, break them apart, talk improvements, maybe plan build adjustments—just a productive sort of fun." He tilted his head slightly.

"Sound good?" That actually did sound really fucking good. Far, far better than she had expected, if she was being honest with herself. Even with her chest still tight and her pulse too loud in her ears, the idea of reviewing their DMs together—improving, analyzing, learning—was exactly the kind of thing that clicked right into the part of her brain she trusted most. So she nodded, showing a toothy smile.

"Yeah… that sounds great. Thanks, Corvus." She sat down at the table and tried to eat the pancake Kara placed in front of her. Tried being the key word. Every bite felt like it got stuck halfway, the tension still there, still coiled and ready to snap. Thankfully, the others mostly slipped back into their usual morning rhythm. Soft chatter, utensils, casual noise—but not pointed at her. Not centered on her.

Only Kara nudged a few questions about yesterday's meeting with Peria, and Thea answered them quickly between bites, sharp and short, hoping it didn't sound rude. Kara just smiled and let it slide, so either she hadn't noticed, or she assumed Thea was just hungry and half-asleep. Probably for the best. Breakfast ended. Corvus clapped once, loud enough to pull every eye.

"Alright. Couch. Let's get this thing started. I'll go first, so you guys can laugh at how terrible this all went for me and we figure out how we should structure this whole thing—bit of a free-form setup. Didn't really spend much time thinking about what we should do here, figured that would be more fun." They migrated over to the living room setup—big couch, cushioned seats, a holo-projector ready and waiting.

Thea took a spot beside Kara who was busy talking to Corvus about how they should structure everything, leaving the space on her right open for Isabella as always. But Isabella didn't sit down next to her right away. Instead—sudden warmth. Strong pressure. Heavy, muscular arms wrapped over the back of the sofa and around Thea's upper shoulders from behind before she could even turn. Close enough that Thea felt breath on her ear.

"No need to speak; don't turn. Just listen, yeah?" Isabella's voice was low, rough around the edges, almost reluctant.

"I'm... not good at this kind of stuff, but here goes: You're fine, Thea. I won't let anything happen to you, okay? The others… they don't understand. Won't really get it, even if we explain. Midworlds aren't kind; never were. Undercities even less so. Birthdays aren't happy for most of us, least of all for those of us that crawled out of those terrible orphanages alive." Thea didn't breathe, her heart hammering in her ears.

"But we're not there anymore, Thea. Not me. Not you. We're here now. Together. So just know—nobody's going to do anything to you just because you got older. They'll have to get through me first, Princess. And I just so happen to be the strongest damn fighter in this whole fucking Drive. So… Just another day, right?" Thea felt a warmth radiate through her. So sudden she almost shook with it.

The anxiety was not gone, not fixed, but markedly softened by the unexpected words—like someone had finally wrapped a blanket around all the splintering glass in her ribs. Then Isabella released her, stepped around the couch, and dropped into the open seat next to her like nothing happened at all. She looked at Desmond with a grin that was ninety percent teeth.

"Hey Des, think you'll survive watching your DM with an audience, or should we set up a bucket in case you cry? What's the over-under on whether you offed yourself with a drone again?" Desmond sputtered, "I… What?! I don't cry—Fuck me, one accident and suddenly everyone thinks—" The room erupted in laughter and Thea simply took the time to breathe. Really breathe. And for the first time that morning, she felt something other than dread…