Monday was supposed to be a return to normalcy for the small-scale combat team, but the news from Dr. Crux had them all sitting in anticipation. They could be sent out to planet Rengues at any moment for a long-term mission that the interns were not properly trained for. Lunai was terrified of what could happen, if Bliss was indisposed by reality glue, she and Argalax would have to do something, but she wasn’t sure what that would be. She was still confused about Dr. Crux’s decision to send Bliss, but if seeing him would prevent Placebo from selling it in the first place, it was well worth it. She just hoped they would be able to reach him before the potential kidnappers Bliss mentioned.

  “Is there anything in particular we’re waiting for before deploying?” Argalax asked, only briefed on the situation that morning.

  “Well, there’s a few things Crux needs to set up on Rengues before we head there, like housing and supplies, but the main thing is Armageddon’s trial.”

  Armageddon’s trial. Those words stopped Lunai’s heartbeat in its tracks. Of course he would have a trial, every prisoner of the GSA had a right to one, but she didn’t think about it for the man currently stuck in a gravity-stasis chamber.

  Bliss continued, “This Rengues mission is time-sensitive, so I suspect he’s going to streamline the trial process. Even then, there’s millions of people who could make a victim-impact statement. He’ll probably find like twenty of them and call it a day.”

  Lunai piped up. “Is he going to be in the courtroom?”

  “I’m not sure, to be honest. I think Crux would opt for a hologram-call, but if needed his whole chamber can be hovered in.”

  Lunai did not want to face him again. It was entirely possible that Dr. Crux would have her take the stand as a witness, which would mean keeping it together with him in the same room. Even if he was only present in hologram form, she didn’t trust herself to speak with him there.

  Silence your thoughts. You will have me with you, I promise.

  This voice was starting to worry her, it could be a parasite, or some sort of psychic communication. She couldn’t rely on it as a crutch for her rampant neuroticism, not when she didn’t know its intentions.

  Whatever you are, I doubt you’re helping me out of the kindness of your heart.

  You’re a skeptical one, just like your senior. There may be a time when I ask something of you, but for today, let’s just breathe and get through the day. You may not be one of my children, but you are a child of my galaxy nonetheless. Ignore my words now if you must; I am certain you will change your mind when the time comes.

  I’ll take your help at the stand but I am not doing any favors for you, nothing I wouldn’t do by myself at least.

  The voice remained quiet. Lunai crossed her arms triumphantly, as if she had just won an argument. Argalax and Bliss were discussing the trial while she was talking to her mind worm.

  “If I had to guess, the trial will probably be scheduled for Wednesday,” he said, answering a question from Argalax.

  Wednesday? I can see if Ashetana is free Tuesday evening. It would be a nice distraction.

  The team only had one mission for the day, clearing an abandoned warehouse in Rengues that could become their temporary base. Using a hotel was not an option; Dr. Crux informed them that confidentiality was key for tracking Placebo. No one could know that there was a new source of reality glue. While they were preparing for transport, Lunai took her chance. She opened her CellPulse and found Ashetana.

  [Lunai]: Hey! So, something happened and my team has to go off-planet for a while. We'll be here tomorrow at the very least, could we have dinner then?

  [Ashetana]: Damn, your team is being thrown all over the place. I’m free tomorrow, let’s meet at 1800 outside the office.

  [Lunai]: Great! I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m happy to talk about something that isn’t Armageddon; I need him off my mind.

  The whirring of the teleportation pod brought her face up from her wrist. They appeared within a quiet satellite building owned by the GSA. Another one of Dr. Crux’s fragments greeted the interns as they stepped out of the pod.

  “It’s nice to see you two again. I want to apologize for cutting your time at small-scale combat short. I hope you don’t see it as an interruption to your education.”

  “Honestly, it feels like a lot right after the gala incident,” admitted Lunai, “but I understand the urgency of the mission. I wouldn’t want Bliss to be here alone.”

  “Yes, I wanted his team to support him here. Remember, if anything were to happen, you can always report to this satellite building. Everyone here is equipped to support this mission.”

  Dr. Crux always knew just what to say. Lunai’s favorite thing about the agency so far was its interconnected teams. A mission could completely go to hell and someone would still be there to back her up. The agency didn’t blame its heroes for any failures, at least not the interns. She was brought back to the memory of Crux grilling Entropi about the Armageddon mission.

  I don’t think it was appropriate for him to single her out, but I agree that a hero of that caliber does have certain responsibilities…

  Bliss’s eyes immediately found the nearest window. He walked up to it and surveyed their outside surroundings. A small whistle escaped his lips.

  “This place is beautiful…”

  His words were filled with hesitancy, as if the beauty was an annoyance. Lunai walked up to him to see it for herself. She now realized that they were very high up in this building, getting a wide look at the scenery in front of them. An ecological marvel sat across a river with a pink hue. The area appeared to be an urban center, but luscious trees filled the streets as vines flowered across the buildings. The fauna cycled through different colors on their own. Serpentine creatures flew through the skies, leaving starry trails behind them. Lunai certainly enjoyed the sight, but it was nothing compared to the jungles on her home planet.

  “It’s likely Placebo chose a planet that would appeal to agent Bliss,” Crux explained.

  “Bastard,” Bliss muttered under his breath, still staring outside. Even with his anger, the ever-changing scene in front of him had his full attention.

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  Crux went on. “Before you're officially deployed, we need to be sure you can remain discreet on a foreign planet." He knocked on a door in the back of the room and a few GSA workers filed in, carrying two full outfits folded in their arms. "You will wear civilian clothes for this mission and the next. You will have to deactivate your costumes, but your suit will still respond to danger as usual.”

  The clothes looked comfortable, consisting of loose, flowing robes. The interns deactivated the costume mode of their suits, and Lunai happily stretched her arms in the air. She liked the leafy dress that made up her costume, but her current outfit was certainly more comfortable.

  Crux pointed to their wrists. "You will need to activate the appearance modification feature of your suits. You may be new heroes, but your faces have appeared in several high-profile cases."

  “Appearance modifiers don't work on me, so once we're deployed I have to be very careful about when I choose to go outside,” said Bliss. "I will only leave the safe-house when it is necessary for the mission, or if there's an unexpected threat that needs to be addressed."

  "As such, Bliss will not accompany you on this mission," Crux added. "We will monitor your progress from here in case backup is required."

  After all she had been through in her short time at the GSA, Lunai wasn't surprised by the sudden solo-mission. It wasn't unusual to send interns by themselves to a low-stake mission, and Lunai needed to try one sooner than later to get past her mission-anxiety.

  The two of them were escorted out of the building and into a street-ship with tinted windows. The flight to the warehouse was gorgeous, colors flashing in and out of the window. They were dropped off just a block away from the warehouse. Despite being abandoned, the fauna that covered the rest of the planet remained present. Lunai led Argalax around the building until they found a side entrance. The door opened without issue, revealing dusty metal shelves.

  This is where we're gonna live? Gross...

  They continued through every room of the first floor, nothing but dust to be found. The building seemed like a health hazard. It wasn’t suitable for living, but Lunai hoped it would be cleaned before they set up camp. The second floor was no better except for the vines making their way through the window.

  At least something here looks nice.

  They started casing the second floor as methodically as the first. Lunai cautiously stepped over patches of rust and loose nails. It was a bad time to be barefoot. Thankfully, they noticed a small streak of light emerging from a crack under a nearby door, ending their search early. Lunai started walking forward, but Argalax stopped her.

  “I can take a look. That door is metal,” Argalax whispered.

  Argalax merged with the door, keeping part of his body out in order to speak with Lunai. "I see two men sitting around a lantern. They look like they're both reading from their CellPulses. At least at first glance, they look non-threatening," he whispered.

  "Alright, let's do this," she replied.

  The door pulled open under Argalax's influence. The men inside looked up at them, immediately scrambling to turn their CellPulses off.

  “Wh-who are you?” one of them stuttered.

  “This building was deemed a health hazard. Unfortunately, you must evacuate," said Argalax.

  “What? Who's even inspecting this place anymore?” The man stood up and got closer. "What office are you from? Show me your badges!"

  "I apologize. This situation is not going to proceed in your favor Please evacuate." Argalax's politeness lent itself well to his civil servant story.

  The interns weren't aware of how they currently looked with the appearance modifier, but based on the man's reaction, Lunai assumed they looked weak. He drew a syringe from his sleeve and lunged at Argalax.

  Clink.

  The sound of the needle hitting metal echoed through the room. The man looked up, eyes wide. Now that he had attacked them, the heroes were authorized to lay hands on him. Lunai grabbed his extended wrist and pushed it towards his face, successfully unlocking the CellPulse. She then pulled it towards her own face, searching for information on why the two men were there.

  “Hey, stop that!” He tried to pull back, but his strength was outmatched.

  Lunai found a message and started reading out loud. “Reports of a new supplier have infected our ranks. Reality glue cannot be manufactured in venom. This story is preposterous. We will not waste our resources on this.”

  The man spoke up again. “Hey, I can explain that. We’re not trying to trade anything illegal, just investigating! We wanted to prove our boss wrong…”

  “That letter was from your boss?” asked Lunai.

  He nodded in response, still thrashing against Lunai’s grasp. Bliss took the paper from her, scanning for any names available. He locked on one written at the top, indicating who the sender was.

  “Nula.” She thought back to her lessons on galactic crime. “I know that name. You're poachers.”

  Their faces went pale. Lunai’s captive stopped struggling.

  “Please… We didn’t join her for fun. Our planet was almost devoured by void sirens until her team showed up. We owe her…”

  Lunai looked up with genuine concern in her eyes. “She’s a poacher. She’s didn’t do it to help you, and now she's using it to keep you loyal. It's a trap.”

  “It doesn’t matter!” he yelled out. “She still saved us. She’ll still save others. She can do more with the pharmacist’s venom”

  Argalax walked over to the other man with a pair of glowing handcuffs. "She is a high-level criminal. It is not simple work you are involved with." The cuffs clicked on without resistance from the man. "Working for her would not end well for you. Trust me..."

  Lunai moved her wrist to her captive's, initiating a data transfer between their CellPulses. Argalax stood with the man in the corner, now silent. Lunai caught him staring towards the ground.

  He was speaking from experience, for sure. Was he previously at the corrections center?

  "Argalax, why don't you request prisoner transport from Dr. Crux? This transfer should be done by the time it gets here," she said.

  He only nodded in response, taking out his wrist and tapping away. After sending them off, they checked the remaining rooms for good measure. The area was officially cleared, unless you were counting super-bacteria as intruders. Lunai absolutely was. She rushed to board their ship out of there. The pristine floors of the safe-house greeted them when they returned.

  “Great job, that was a clean mission." Dr. Crux was sitting next to Bliss in front of a large monitor. "I could see that the state of the warehouse was a problem for you. Rest assured the area will be cleaned and disinfected."

  “Great job getting his data, Lunai." Bliss was looking at his wrist. "Looks like our old friend Nula doesn’t believe Placebo’s rumors. I guess that’s one less competitor to worry about.”

  “Yes, but we can assume that everyone else looking for him wants you specifically,” Crux warned.

  Bliss waved him off. “It’ll be fine; once Placebo knows I’m here he’ll come running. Won’t be able to resist himself.”

  “Be careful. If the interested buyers know you’re here, they might escalate any plans to enslave him.”

  They went back and forth, with Crux trying to ensure that Bliss would not act callously. Placebo seemed to mess with the young hero’s mind. He seemed more willing to behave recklessly, more confident that nothing would go wrong.

  I think you trust Placebo more than you think, Bliss.

  It wasn't an interesting mission, but Lunai got a small confidence boost from succeeding without her senior. Dr. Crux kept up formalities and gave them two handshakes before they got back into the teleportation pod. Bliss brought them to case management to see them off.

  "I'm gonna hang around for a bit longer and help Entropi out, but you two should go home. Small-scale combat is already being covered by another team, so there's nowhere for you to go." He vanished into the long hallway.

  Lunai turned to say goodbye to Argalax, but found that he had already started walking away. She sighed and made her way out of the building by herself. Intrusive thoughts started sneaking their way in again.

  I don't need two emotionally detached men on my team! Go to therapy! She paused, then settled herself. That was mean. I didn't mean that. Except the therapy part, I did mean that.

  Lunai returned to her apartment for some study time, doing extra questuons to account for tomorrow’s date with Ashetana. Before going to bed, she checked her mind one last time for any psy-pings. She found the one she had been dreading, the trial date from Dr. Crux.

  WEDNESDAY - TRIAL OF ARMAGEDDON. Lunai Hiraetha, you have been summoned to make a victim-impact statement. You may refuse. Please provide your answer ASAP.

  The message had a response request included, requiring a solidified thought as an answer. Before she knew it, yes was selected and the message vanished.

  What! I didn’t say yes yet!

  But you were going to. I just saved you the trouble of thinking about it. You’re welcome.