Chapter 50 – A Rather Solemn Gathering, Is It Not.

Two days later. As the last of the adrenaline was fading out of the air, the group convened in the Seldia Administration Bureau's formal guest reception room.

A wide window overlooked the orderly streets of the administrative district. Around the heavy round table at the center sat five people: Grain, captain of the vigilante corps; Milea, chief researcher; Letaria; and Zein and Fal, who had been there for the events in question.

A uniformed bureau attendant moved quietly around the table, distributing herbal tea to each of them.

"...I feel a bit like I've wandered into the wrong building."

Fal said it under her breath. She was out of her usual work gear and pilot suit today - a cream-colored blouse and a checked flare skirt, something genuinely pretty. Behind her slightly oversized glasses, her hazel eyes moved with the restless energy of someone not quite at ease, and the brown hair she normally had up for combat was loosely braided at the side.

Zein, sitting next to her, looked exactly like Zein always looked. Black tank top, leather jacket. His long blue hair was tied back in a single tail, and somehow the casual outfit made it stand out more.

"Can't say I've ever been properly invited somewhere like this before..."

"Well, we mostly take whatever jobs come our way. A room with the bureau's name on it is a bit above what a back-alley odd-jobber usually gets to see. But the tea's good. That counts for something."

"Boss..."

Across the table, Grain watched the exchange without intervening. He took a measured sip of the herbal tea, set the cup down, and got to the point.

"The reason I've called you all here today is to go over the events of the other day - specifically, to share the progress of Blang's interrogation. At the same time, I want to compare notes with those of you who were there on the ground."

The room tightened. Milea brought up her terminal's holographic display and had the data ready to open at a moment's notice.

Grain began with Blang's interrogation.

"After being defeated by Letaria-san's group, Blang retreated with what remained of his crew deep into the debris field. They chose one of the scattered derelict structures there as a hiding place."

"The ruins of old mining relay stations," Milea added. "Some considerable age on them."

"Correct. All of them appeared completely non-functional from the outside. But shortly after taking shelter in one of these ruins, Blang says he received a transmission. In his own words - a woman's voice."

A woman's voice. Letaria drew a quiet breath.

"...Now that you mention it. When we opened the container after the rescue, Blang said the same thing. That a woman's voice had drawn him in."

"Yes." Grain continued. "Following that voice, Blang went deeper into the ruin - and found an old Makina, deep green. An Escado military model."

"Escado military... well now."

Milea put a diagram of the machine up on the hologram. Zein narrowed his already narrow eyes further.

"I could tell it was old when we were up against it. But an actual military frame - and a serious antique at that."

"Here is where it becomes strange."

Grain dropped his voice a register.

"According to Blang, the moment he got into the cockpit, the voice in his head became sharper. More vivid. And the machine - despite that slow, heavy exterior - began putting out reaction speeds and output that defied any reasonable spec. More puzzling still: it only happened with Blang. No matter how many of his crew touched the machine, they heard nothing. No voice. No elevated performance."

A machine that would only arm a specific person. The fact sat among them in cold silence.

"At the same time, parts of the ruin began to reactivate automatically - maintenance capabilities came back online. After that, the same woman's voice that Blang had heard in his head began broadcasting through the facility's speakers and external comms as well. His crew never identified who was speaking, but Blang's transformation frightened them badly enough that following the voice's instructions was the only option they felt they had."

"There were other similar derelict facilities nearby - several of them - but every one was too heavily protected to enter. They were stuck using the single building where the machine had been dormant. That's the whole of it, more or less."

Milea closed that section of the briefing and swept her violet eyes around the table.

"So. With that much on the table - does anyone have something that connects?"

Letaria rested a fingertip against her chin.

"...Blang's behavior when he came after me. The erratic quality of it, the way it never quite made sense. If the voice was behind that - if it was distorting his judgment - then it fits."

"But."

Zein turned his gaze to Milea, turning the herbal tea cup idly in one hand.

"Even with a mysterious voice doing the coaching, how does an antique frame perform at that level? You can't push a Makina past its rated specs with willpower alone. That's not how machines work."

"It isn't anything you could call a modernization upgrade."

Milea answered without inflection.

"The interior was a patchwork nightmare - layer after layer of forced modifications. Old-standard components running unmodified, but with the internal pathways rerouted in ways that shouldn't be possible. By current standards, the parts are antiques. By the standards of when they were built, they were the best available. And they were being driven past their limits."

"So you're saying - the system was... rewriting the machine on the fly? Forcing it to work by changing itself in real time?"

Fal adjusted her glasses.

"Most likely. Using the pilot's brainwaves as fuel. Or something beyond brainwaves."

Fal gave a small shiver at that.

Zein folded his arms and pressed on.

"And the unmanned machines - how do they connect to Blang's crew?"

"That came out in the interrogation as well. The most likely explanation is that whoever was behind the voice was also operating the unmanned machines directly. According to Blang and the others, once they returned to the ruins after being defeated by Grain - the voice cut out entirely. The moment it stopped, unmanned machines began emerging from the surrounding buildings. And turned on them."

Grain picked up from Milea.

"The people you rescued were, quite literally, the ones who survived. They'd been at it - slowly, deliberately - for a considerable stretch of time."

Grain didn't describe the specifics of what that had looked like. He didn't need to. The state the raiders had been in when they'd been pulled out of the container said enough.

"...One thing still doesn't sit right."

Zein's eyes went sharp.

"Why were those unmanned machines still sitting in front of that container at the end? They had the firepower to finish them. They had the time. Why leave them alive, with a distress signal running? What was the point?"

"...That, I genuinely can't answer. Not yet."

Milea chose her words with some care.

"We went through everything thoroughly - the pilot suits they recovered, the machine wreckage, a complete physical examination. No beacon. No external transmission device of any kind."

"Hmm."

Zein gave a low sound and let it go. He didn't push further.

But his mind had already given him the answer - the one he'd accumulated across years of working in the dark corners of the sector.

(... Nine times out of ten, the whole thing was designed. Not to have them rescued - to have whatever came to rescue them fight the unmanned machines. A live test run. Not something I'm going to say out loud in this room, though.)

With only his eyes, he sent Milea and Grain the signal: I'm not going there. And finished the last of his tea.

Beside him, Fal was looking at Letaria without saying anything.

Zein exhaled, put his hands behind his head.

"Well. Not much more a freelance odd-jobber can usefully worry about past this point. The puzzle-solving belongs to the bureau's people. I think that's about as far as we can take it."

"Agreed. There is a limit to what I can share with civilians."

Grain stood and gave both of them a careful bow.

"Thank you again for your testimony. We'll see that the appropriate remuneration is made for your time."

"Oh, now we're talking! Good tea and pocket money on top - makes tagging along on the lady's mad ventures entirely worth it!"

"Boss-- I'm so sorry, both of you. Grain-san, Milea-san. We'll take our leave. Letaria - see you!"

"Yes, until next time, Fal."

Half-dragged out of the room by Fal, Zein left behind a trail of easy laughter. Their footsteps faded down the corridor, and quiet settled back into the reception room.