When Mari awoke the next day, she found the procedure in her digital calendar, having replaced her usual school schedule for the day.

  She didn’t really mind missing a day of the educational program she was supposed to be a part of until she turned twenty, but despite her grim determination, she felt the earliest vestiges of nervousness gripping at her heart. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was truly prepared for the possibility that she’d simply cease to be herself in just a few short hours.

  Still, she had sworn to go through with it, promising herself that she’d be better for it. Wilke’s decision to do the same procedure was touching, and she really had to consider if that vague notion that he’d have her back came from their shared predecessors’ histories. If anything, she supposed that Marielle wouldn’t be alone when all was said and done.

  So she made her way to the hospital in the Central District.

  The walk was short, since her housing complex was intended to keep students close to the school, which was also in the Central District. In fact, those were the only three structures in the innermost part of Elitheen. The Citadel, which housed the government, the Academy, which educated all children from ages four to twenty, and lastly, the Hospital.

  The buildings of Elitheen were all made from a uniform, pale blue stone that was treated with a chemical compound designed to make it moldable with the right process. It made for swift construction, even faster refurbishing, and minimal waste product. It also remained cool in the warmer seasons and repelled unwanted infestations of biting bugs or mold. It was a status symbol for the whole capital city to be so devoid of petty troubles.

  The Hospital itself sprawled across a large hexagonal space and stood six floors tall. According to rumors, it was also the most armored location in the entire city, bar none. The pale blue stonework of the city was then reinforced with a dense metal lining. Mari herself knew the rumors to be true. Many medical procedures were delicate, and the sort of technology often used for various scans and treatments required a lot of equipment with a lot of risk when faced with outside interference, including communication devices of all forms. The factors all added up to a large number of anechoic chambers throughout the building with the intent to prevent any chances of mistakes.

  While Sylpharians had supposedly devised a method to meld mind and machine, most races didn’t have any such implants. Memory mapping procedures for pure humans like Mari involved a complex external signal system she couldn’t even begin to understand. Something about electrical frequency stimulus to mimic the activations of the brain and recreate the mental structure of a brain scan.

  The problem was that brain scans weren’t the beginning and end of copying a person’s memories and personality. There were factors involved that Mari just couldn’t fathom. With the concept that their ancestors had been handling magic and nanotechnology added to the equation, she just didn’t stand a chance of comprehending it all.

  So she threw herself to the wolves. She didn’t need to understand it. Alynne had never tried to harm her before, so she simply had to trust.

  When the time came, she laid back, closed her eyes, and allowed unconsciousness to take her. Then, the memories began.

  Marielle's ears rang as she pushed herself to her feet, catching her bearings after the initial shock of the mortar shell wore off. The medical tent not far from her was torn to shreds. It had been abandoned fast, and the medic from her unit had just run in there before the explosion hit.

  Her unit slowly got back up and took cover while she ducked inside what was left of the tent. "Dammit, Kanno, I told you to leave it." She hissed under her breath as she approached the motionless form of her comrade. Rolling her over, she fought the urge to throw up at the ugly sight of the shrapnel in her neck. There, Kanno's eyes stared sightlessly into the sky. She closed them for her and moved to dig through what she could on the shelves for supplies.

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  The mortars had finally stopped, and she could hear gunfire going off outside. She grabbed anything that looked intact and tossed it into an open medical kit, then ran outside, keeping low to the ground as she took stock of the situation. She could hear gunfire to the north and east, while her team spread out to not give away their position. She found her way to her commanding officer and the wounded soldier they had found in the plains nearby.

  "Sir, I'll handle this while you hold them off."

  "No, Kishibe, you're the best shot we have, take your rifle on that ridge and cover our retreat."

  "Yessir," Marielle hefted the familiar weight of her sniper rifle and slung it over her back as she sprinted towards the slope around the side of the southeast ridge. It was dangerous to go up in the direction of their advancing enemy, but it would be over if they got a sniper on the ridge before the enemy did.

  Sure enough, she could hear heavy footsteps running up the opposite side of the ridge. Two sets of men's footfalls, carrying heavy gear. She got down low, drawing a standard issue handgun and quickly putting the silencer on. She couldn't give away her position, and at such close range, she didn't have to worry about body armor from aiming center mass.

  She crawled closer and saw their camouflaged headgear before they had even thought to stop running. The one in the back was down before his friend even noticed, and she took advantage of his poor choice of reflex as his head turned and looked back at the corpse of his friend. Two bodies lay crumpled to the ground as she quickly moved onto the ridge and slid beneath the camouflage cover left by the snipers posted over the camp. She could see the positions of most of her unit taking cover around the remaining sandbags and stone structures of the camp. She could also see several other forms in tan camo shifting around the cover in the camp. She had been living in the camp for a couple of weeks already, so she knew what was sturdy cover or not. She calculatedly rained misery down on the advancing enemy without so much as a hint of emotion.

  She had taken six shots before she moved positions to conceal herself again. That was twice as many as she usually would've afforded herself. She hoped it wouldn't be a mistake, but soon regretted her decision as she heard more footsteps ascending the ridge. She already knew the enemy outnumbered them two to one, "I feel oh so special. They're going to send a quarter of their remaining unit after little old me." She mumbled as she abandoned her new position.

  She was alone, and with only a handgun and a sniper. She didn't like those odds, but she knew she had a minefield set up at her back in the west. Her unit was already withdrawing to the stone structures of the nearby crumbled town, and her best chances were to pick her way through the minefield without being blown limb from limb. She withdrew in a low crouch, then crawled on her stomach into the bushes, and slid through the minefield slowly, picking her way meter by meter until she heard the first explosion behind her.

  "That was fast. They're stupid but they're not fools." She rolled over in place and looked back to see two of the three remaining soldiers getting back on their feet. They each had rifles and sidearms, and even at a similar range as before, she didn't think she could deal with three soldiers on alert by herself while being a sitting duck. However...

  She remembered seeing one of the mines not too far from where the third soldier was standing. Just a step further and—

  "Click."

  She could hear the mine trigger as he stepped on it and froze. His lip quivered as he mouthed a prayer. She drew her handgun and waited as one of the other soldiers worked his way over near his friend. She waited, watching for the right moment as she realized the third had abandoned all thought of pursuing her. If she remained still, they wouldn't have a chance to see the bush she was under shift and give away how close she was.

  The town behind her echoed with an explosion as mortars started coming in again. She sighed as she relaxed and waited out the men nearby. At least she could watch with amusement as the remaining two men tried desperately to save their friend.

  She didn't like the sound of more approaching footsteps, but she remained still and silent as what appeared to be a commanding officer pulled the two men back and drew his handgun, putting the poor soul on the mine out of his misery. The explosion was actually close enough to set her ears to ringing again. She breathed a silent curse as she realized the enemy position had moved close enough to make her escape an even trickier business.

  She wouldn't have much longer to get away. Her only saving grace was that they might use the minefield to cover their flank, allowing her to sit tight until nightfall and slip away then. She settled in for a long day, her senses remaining taut like an instrument string as she hoped for no more nasty surprises.

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