"The compound is divided into five buildings," Tom explained as Valerie cozied up to me. When she tried to hook her arm around mine, I kept pulling away, but she was annoyingly persistent. "You've got the lodge—which is where we are—and behind it, across the backyard, are the other four parts of the compound. I'll tell you about them as we get to them."
Walking down the hall, Tom gestured around, directing my attention as he spoke.
"The lodge's first floor is the lobby, which you already know. That's where announcements and team meetings happen—if you're not just hanging around. Second floor is mostly for recreation—video games, snooker, TV, poker, kitchen, the good stuff. Third floor is where everyone's rooms are, except for the commanders."
On the third floor, Tom led me into an unused room, while Valerie, for some reason, decided to throw herself onto the bed like it was the most comfortable thing in the world.
"This'll be your room," Tom announced, puffing his chest out like he had done something grand. "You're next to Jason's, and Nicole's on the other side. If you need anything, Jason'll probably help you out. Now—onto the other parts of the compound!"
He threw his arms up excitedly, prompting Valerie to cheer and me to clap out of courtesy.
We exited the lodge through a glass sliding door and stepped into what could only be described as a wildly overgrown field of grass, enclosed by four buildings and a ring of trees.
I stared at the chaos before us. "...How exactly is anyone supposed to walk through this?"
"This," Tom declared dramatically, "is the courtyard! Just follow the stone path, and you'll reach your destination."
To prove a point, he took a step onto the stones, while Valerie wandered straight into the tall grass. A second later, she reappeared on the opposite side of the yard.
I blinked. "Did I just—Did I just see water float upwards?"
Tom ignored my confusion and pressed on, leading me to the first building. Inside, the space was clearly a gym—though some of the exercise equipment looked like it had seen better days. Punching bags, a boxing ring, treadmills, weight machines... some of them were in desperate need of repair.
"First stop! The training hall. We've got a trampoline, some medieval torture devices, and Valerie's favourite—the blood pit."
I turned to Valerie, raising a brow. She grinned and grabbed my arm. "Come on! Let's have another fight—just you and me!"
I effortlessly pried her off and followed Tom to the next building.
The second stop was a storage facility, though my concern spiked when I saw how close the crates of ammunition were to the preserved food supplies.
"This here is supplies storage. Any living essentials you need—soap, ammo, midnight snacks—you can grab them here if the fridge is empty."
My mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario. "...How many people have accidentally grabbed live rounds, thinking they were snacks?"
Tom gave me a sheepish smile but didn't answer. Making me worry even more.
The third building finally looked like something belonging to a proper military compound—an advanced medical ward, lined with equipment as sophisticated as what I'd seen on warships and space stations.
"This is the medical ward. If you get hurt, our doctors will patch you up. But they're both out on missions right now, so you won't meet them yet."
At least that was reassuring.
For our final stop, Tom stopped short of the entrance to the last building, keeping a safe five-foot distance from the door. "This is the commanders' personal barracks. If you go inside and snoop through their stuff, they will kill you."
I nodded. Fair enough. I wouldn't want anyone going through my things either. "...Wait, does that mean we don't get locks on our rooms?" I asked, suddenly concerned.
Tom completely dodged the question. "Any other questions?"
Raising my hand, I asked the most pressing one. "Yes. Are you absolutely sure this is a military compound and not a bandit settlement?"
Tom blinked. "...Is this not what other places are like?" The dumb expression on his face made me hesitate to even respond. My silence, however, spoke volumes. "...Y-you just haven't seen everything yet!" Tom stammered, hurriedly leading me toward a small metal outhouse attached to the back of the lodge.
Valerie, faster than him, yanked down a lever before he could. The floor beneath the outhouse suddenly split open, revealing a well-lit metal staircase descending underground.
Tom puffed out his chest. "Won't be saying the same after this!"
As we made our way down, Valerie attempted to cling to my arm again. I used Tom as a human shield, much to his dismay. Valerie pouted but didn't push it further.
When we reached the bottom, my initial impression of Rogue Raven's base—a rundown farm-like settlement—was completely shattered.
State-of-the-art equipment lined the underground hangar, workstations meticulously arranged, and tools neatly organized. Across from us, two platforms held parked ships—one was the same transport Evan had brought me here in, while the other was nearly identical but with a white colour scheme instead of black. Behind them, even larger vessels sat waiting—clearly meant for multi-troop transport.
"Yo. How was the tour, Firefly?" The red-haired mechanic from earlier—Maya—strolled over, wiping her hands on a grease-stained rag. "No one's given you a proper introduction yet, have they? I'm Maya, by the way."
I nodded. "Nice to finally get a name. And, honestly? This place was pretty underwhelming at first—aside from the medical bay. But now? It more than makes up for it."
Glancing at Tom—who was poking at some equipment—and Valerie, who was still annoyingly close, I asked, "Why is this place so hidden, though?"
Maya shrugged. "It's an emergency bunker. Something one of the past generals came up with, and we've just kept it that way." She stretched before waving me toward the workstation. "Anyway, toss out your Knight so I can check its specs. I'll need to know what I'm working with if I'm going to be patching it up and modifying it in the future."
Stepping forward, I unclipped Andromeda from my belt and set him onto the floor before taking a few steps back. "Engage."
In an instant, the small metal beetle unfolded, expanding and transforming within three seconds into a towering, 20-foot Constellation Knight, his emerald plating gleaming beneath the hangar lights.
"Ooh! Just like the three commanders!" Valerie clapped, thoroughly impressed.
[Greetings, engineer Maya Fenwoski. How would you like to proceed with my 'fix-up'?] Andromeda's voice hummed through the hangar past his speaker systems.
Maya wasted no time directing him toward a Knight-bay similar to the ones I had seen back on Epsilon Station. Andromeda gripped the upper half of the ring-like station as Maya rolled over a trolley with a staircase attached, allowing her to reach his waist with ease. "This might tickle a little," she muttered, sliding a piece of armour out of place to reveal three glowing ports. With practiced ease, she pressed one of the ports, and a green canister ejected with a soft pop—its glow dim, indicating it was nearly depleted.
Tom had returned by now and was watching curiously. "What's that thing Maya's carrying?"
"A fusion cell," I answered. "It fuels Andromeda's cold-fusion core and powers his systems. All Knights use them, but Andromeda only needs three, whereas a standard Knight requires six."
Tom furrowed his brows, perplexed. "Don't Knights run on the energy produced by their pilots? Why would they need batteries?"
"Partly correct," I answered. "My spirit energy powers Andromeda's Constellation Drive and quick-response-combat functions, but that's about it. Regular energy sources can't sustain a Constellation Drive for long; they tend to explode under the strain. If I relied solely on my own energy, Andromeda would run for a while, but in a fight, I'd burn out fast."
"So the core handles movement and thinking, while you power and control the combat systems?" Valerie asked, finally giving up on trying to cling to me.
"That's close enough. I'm more like a living booster for Andromeda." As I spoke, Maya inserted a fresh fusion cell and slid the armour plating back into place over Andromeda's waist. "I'm not sure how it works for other Constellation Knights, but highly modified ones probably have similar energy-divergence routes for combat."
"Open that chest up, big guy," Maya instructed.
At her command, Andromeda's chest plates unfolded, exposing the cockpit. She climbed inside, clipboard in hand, and methodically checked different controls.
Watching her work, Tom mused, "You know, I heard Knights used to be sixty feet tall to fight the Dream Swarm. That true, Firefly?"
I scratched my cheek. "Not sure, honestly. My teacher once mentioned they kept downsizing Knights because of how much power their weapons consumed. Supposedly, the first Knight, Orion, was built when the Dream Swarm first emerged. Knights only became a proper battlefield asset after quantum shrinkage technology was developed."
Tom's eyes sparkled. "Neat."
A few moments later, Maya hopped back onto the ground. "Everything's green. The only real issue was a depleted power cell—aside from the armour damage. But what's this small compartment under the seat?"
[Medical nanobots,] Andromeda answered. [A previous pilot discovered an unused five-by-five-centimetre space and installed a nanobot container, linking it to my core's energy distribution. They have been effective in treating pilot Firefly's thigh injury, accelerating the healing process by two weeks.]
I glanced down at my left thigh, suddenly remembering the bullet wound. The bandage was still wrapped around it, but I hadn't felt any pain since before my fight with Pavo on Helios Station. Carefully peeling the bandage away, I saw only faint stitching where the wound had been. The staples I had originally used to close it were gone.
Maya whistled. "Anything to do with nanobots costs billions. A small box of medical-grade ones like that? At least five billion merits, minimum."
Valerie startled at the number, while Tom's jaw nearly hit the floor. But something else was nagging at me.
"You never told me about this, Andy," I said, flexing my leg.
[Apologies, pilot. I did not wish for you to assume any wound could be healed simply by re-embarking.]
I narrowed my eyes. "I'm guessing there was a pilot who did assume that?"
[Correct. They willingly shattered their leg during a mission to retrieve critical supplies, believing my nanobots would repair the damage. They bled to death inside my cockpit shortly after. I can provide the audio logs of our conversation before their passing if you wish to review them.]
I exhaled slowly. "I'll pass, thanks, Andy. Let's just assume the nanobots are only good for minor wounds from now on."
Andromeda gave a slight nod. [Understood.]
The towering mech released his grip on the maintenance ring and stomped over to me. "Miss Maya, would it be alright if I made a personal request?"
She smirked. "If you give me those audio logs, sure."
The request was a little unsettling, but I had no reason to refuse. "It's about my pilot gear—my helmet and boost-pack." I placed both onto the worktable beside her: my hornet-like helmet and the compact twin-thruster pack, no bigger than a satchel. "I designed them myself with Andy's help, but I only know enough about his systems to handle serious repairs. I was hoping you could improve them—make them more... comfortable."
Maya rolled closer in her chair, lifting the helmet and peering inside before giving the thruster pack a casual shake. "I can definitely do that. Probably upgrade your battle armour too—give you more protection. Might throw in a few extra features while I'm at it."
A grin spread across my face. "How long would that take?"
"Your designs are already solid, so... five days? Maybe longer if Tony and Monica's Knights are too banged up when they get back. That work for you?"
"Yes. Absolutely. Thank you, Miss Maya."
"Alright. Once you're done with your overall check-in, swing by the lobby. Peter's got something to tell you." Maya paused, her gaze flicking downward as I peeled off my combat overalls. Blouse back on, pants off. She lifted a hand over her eyes. "There are children behind you."
I turned to see Valerie blushing while covering Tom's eyes. Andromeda, at least, had the decency to say nothing. "...Is it weird to show people your bare body?" I asked.
Maya chuckled, shaking her head as she took my tattered overalls from me. "AKPs really don't have a sense of modesty, huh? Just get your pants back on and get out of here. You can learn about human intimacy later."
I tilted my head at her. What was so strange about this? At the Fallen Moon training facility, I bathed in the river alongside the other cadets all the time. No towels, no walls—nothing to obstruct anyone's view. I'd seen bare bodies constantly. Humans were practically identical apart from minor anatomical differences, so why was it treated as some kind of sacred thing?
Humans were so complicated.