“Well, Mr. Faun,” I began, “Nice to meet you. Please never bow to me again.”

The man straightened, and as he did so I found a massive grin on his face that crinkled his eyes, “Hah, looks like I owe Doug lunch.”

I frowned at that, to which he quickly explained, “Just a bit of fun.” He coughed, “In any case, we have transport back to Headquarters. If you’d like, I can fill you in on some details while we’re en route.”

I examined the man longer, his overall countenance reminded me of a kindly father figure, though just entering into the ‘grandfather’ territory. He carried himself with a subtle confidence and warmth, one that was somewhat at odds with the combat-grade mesh suit he was wearing. Perhaps those were fairly standard issue these days.

Looking at the other Reaper’s, most of which who bore helmets with one form of skull design or another, it was apparent that at least some level of armoring had become standard. I highly doubt the lot of them were merely armored, likely at least an exo-suit with armored covering. Less outfitted than power armor, but quite a bit stronger than anyone would have been pre-apocalypse.

“Lead the way,” I nodded to him, following into the armored interior of the APC. Two other vehicles aided in the convoy, something that felt strange to me. I wasn’t so numb to my position to think that they were here for any other reason than to escort me, but the fact that this was considered necessary was odd in and of itself.

“What's with the armored convoy?” My curiosity got the better of me no sooner than Derrick Faun had closed the door.

He blinked owlishly, before sighing, “It’s a necessary part of the theatre we’ve been playing while you’ve been… indisposed. Every now and then we’d make a showing of an armored convoy like this moving in and out of the city.”

I thought about it for a few seconds before nodding, albeit stiffly, “So it was for the general populace to make it seem as though I was still around.”

“Just so.” A chagrined expression quirked his lips, “Albeit, recently that was becoming untenable. You can say that ‘The Reaper’ is away on duties only so often before people become suspicious. Hence, good timing.”

“I’ve received some information as well that I’d like to confirm with you,” I willed my helmet to retract now that we were alone. He tensed for a moment, but quickly relaxed. No doubt, he was getting used to seeing cybernetic enhancement. Mine was merely more… thorough.

“Certainly, though I have to warn you I’m not terribly abreast of every little thing in the city as of yet. I’ve held this position for a few weeks now.” He folded his hands idly across his lap, awaiting my questions.

“Don’t worry, they’re going to be fairly general, I’d think. The first thing that I’m concerned about is the Hunter’s Order.” I started.

“Tsk, them. Yes, I’m certain they would have come up, indeed.” He shook his head, “Their leader is one enthusiastic - if naive - Cassandra Vera. She overtook previous leadership with her idealism and vigor, but has of late been wavering in that conviction.”

“Similar to what I’ve learned, then. Her vice-leader, Alex Werrick, has been pushing for a more contentious position that puts more power in their hands, rather than more rights. Is that so?”

“Just so, I’m surprised you know that already.” Glaring, he continued, “That man has made what could have been an amicable and constructive event into something that now must be dealt with far more… firmly.”

My brows furrowed at that, “So, there is a plan in place, then?”

His expression loosened up considerably, “Yes, actually. Doug and I could not afford to put off this issue any longer. I do apologize if we may be overstepping our bounds, but with your continued absence, we didn’t want this to spiral any further out of control.”

I nodded my assent to the motion, honestly I’d have rathered they’d taken care of it on their own before it could have reached this stage. A topic for another time, perhaps.

“Doug is actually speaking with Ms. Vera now, we’re no longer seeking conciliatory measures, though I fear that the damage has been done within the Hunter’s Order. I was hoping that you would be able to offer an appearance in order to assure that a united front is presented. The Bulwark and the other Orders - at least, the ones that matter - have already been approached. If you show as well, they should hopefully understand that the issue is settled.” He spoke, looking hopeful, if not convinced.

I couldn’t help but feel the problem would only grow messier, “Are we expecting any issues from Ms. Vera?” I idly felt outwards with my senses, tapping into communications and security systems to see the area around us. The city had come along nicely, many portions of the roads having been reinforced to handle much heavier grades of vehicles, and in some cases had been retrofitted to have hanging rails that acted like a pseudo-train system. Personal vehicles weren’t common, if at all allowed. If someone needed to move across the city, it appeared that public transportation was the method selected.

This made sense, it would be faster to just create a new transit system than to make previous vehicles roadworthy. Now, the only things allowed on the roads were military-grade, letting for faster response times if something went awry in the city. I couldn’t help but nod appreciatively at the positive changes I was seeing.

“Well… perhaps. We aren’t sure exactly what her stance will be. After all, the Hunter’s Order is still one that she built up to where it is now, albeit it is being usurped. Perhaps she will want more control over things going forward? We’ve already been in a few public talks with her, and she clearly exhibits some animosity towards us. How much of that is fabricated and real, though?” He shrugged, “We’re not certain. Perhaps she’ll be more amenable to our conditions than we believe.”

“And those conditions are?” I flexed my mental muscles, a proxy of myself now dedicated to gathering information on our surroundings just in case something interesting presented itself.

“Well, we definitely think that people should be allowed to hunt, if they wish. However, they should be subject to the same taxation system as we in the Legion are. After working things over, we decided that twenty percent of a Reaper’s earnings would go to Bulwark. Anything additional would be voluntary, but we’ve strictly forbidden the direct trading of Matter Energy to any personnel. It must go only to The Bulwark for further sorting.” He gesticulated as he spoke, animatedly, “That way we can avoid favoritism and anyone feeling beholden directly to any individual, and direct that to the organizations as a whole. In theory.”

“What tax rating are we expecting for non-Legion?” I asked.

“Fifty percent,” he held up a hand then, “Before you object, consider the ramifications of being a Legion member. We are required to hunt biotics every week, every month as discerned by biotic density in the area. Also, we must range further and further out, no doubt increasing our chances of fighting new biotics. Given that we are also expected to clear hives and pioneer the wilderness, there is significantly greater risk to our lives than a weekend warrior.”

He paused then, seeing the thoughtful look on my face. I mulled that over, and for the most part I agreed. “That should be fine, then. However I would suggest that we examine a clause for individuals who hunt as much as Legion members do, and for those who range as far as we do. I don’t intend on the Legion smothering any competition, but I do expect anyone with the audacity to claim our benefits to put forth the effort.”

Derrick smiled, “You hardly have to ‘suggest’ anything. That sounds fair, in any case, so I hardly believe Doug would have an issue with that clause. Though, given the pace that you’ve set in the past, I hardly think we’ll have an issue with that going forward.”

“Ah, maybe.” I ran a hand through my hair, “Well, so long as my Legionaries are doing their jobs, I won’t mind pulling back on our requirements a bit.”

“With you back,” He smirked, “I have the feeling that your team can climb the ladder quick enough to lit the fires of competition again.”

“Alpha team hasn’t been hunting as much?” That surprised me, considering that we’d held an extremely healthy lead at the time.

“Not quite. Though, that has been in part due to the other projects they’ve been helping out with.” Derrick, gestured to something, sending me information from his Obelisk display, “They’ve been quite helpful. So, while they haven’t been too active in hunting, they’ve made up for it elsewhere. Although, there haven’t been too many groups of biotics in the area of late. I think we’ve finally cleared the area around Gilramore sufficiently that we don’t have to worry too much about that. We do, however, have a few enterprising teams that have been setting up ‘farms’ of biotics to hunt.”

That gave me sudden pause, “Farming biotics?”

“Yes, they’re leaving a handful of hives active to the west in a plains area. Thus far, they’ve set up for round-the-clock surveillance and cleanup. It’s been quite lucrative, last I’d heard.” He didn’t look up from his screen, not noting the flinty glare I bore.

“And they think that’s safe?” I ground out.

He noticed then, and looked to me with a neutral expression, “Of course not. We’re not fools. Every three days we clear the hive and examine the core itself. I won’t be so arrogant to say that we have the situation well in hand, but it’s true that we have it as under control as can be expected. Honestly, Reaper, how do you expect us to continue harvesting Matter Energy if no biotics are around? Yaga and Dr. Ross regularly examine reports on the subject as well. It's simply too valuable for us to destroy at this juncture. We may even discovered the mechanism by which the cores generate Matter Energy, create biotics, or mutate. While no one is happy with the idea of allowing such biotics free reign, we-”

“Alright, alright,” I stopped him, “The idea… It does make sense, from a purely logical standpoint. And so long as it’s being managed properly I’ll deal with it. But, if at any time containment fails,” I stared into him, “I expect the hive to be annihilated.”

He nodded and exhaled, “Apologies, this is a sensitive topic for a myriad of reasons. And please do have faith, we have the core being monitored at all times. If something happens, we have several teams ready to clear and destroy the hive. It shouldn’t be able to do anything out of the ordinary.”

I leaned back, listening to that and forcing myself not to get worked up over it. There were reasons to do so, and logically it was more beneficial to hold a small number of them. Honestly, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to like the idea.

But a part of me just didn't like the concept of allowing a hive exist anywhere near Gilramore. Eager to find another topic, I turned my attention back to the projects that the others had been undertaking.

Daniel and Fran had been, perhaps unsurprisingly, working with various groups in the Legion to help fine tune their strategies. Now it was possible to say that you wouldn’t be able to find a kill-team that didn’t have a mech-pilot and a mag-specialist in their teams. There were others, too, as varied as my own team was.

Richard had worked with a small group - scientists among their number - to figure out what chemicals would deal the most damage to a biotic. With that, and his recent additions to a hybrid mesh exo-suit armor, he’d truly come into his nickname The Adder. Few others took his route, but those that did specialized in zone control and wearing down larger targets. If given time, the varying acids and specialized toxins would destroy many targets, all while only engaging once. It was, all told, a very safe method of combat.

In the research lab I’d learned that Terry had been busy, but actually reading his projects were another beast entirely. Terry had branched out considerably, enlisting engineers of all types, including the concrete foreman, Quill Masterson, and his team in several massive construction projects. Among them was an overhaul of the walls, which also now ran down into the earth by ten meters. The roads, reconstruction, and reorganization of several city blocks were his handiwork, as well as other professionals. A hefty hand from the Civic Orders and The Bulwark was included, and it was no overstatement to say that Terry Garand was synonymous with the Legion’s civic-minded side. Moreover, he’d helped with the creation of the Legion’s power plant, one that ran much of the city until The Bulwark got theirs online.

I’d have thought that Alice would have little to do, but I was woefully incorrect there as well. It brought a smile to my face to see that she’d been hard at work using the Obelisk system - and more mundane technology - to attempt to contact other cities. She’d organized a Civic Order for a singular purpose, the Communications Order was responsible for organizing and sorting all communications from other Obelisks in order to determine what the landscape beyond Gilramore looked like.

It was a grueling task, there were no rules for transmissions yet and keeping the many hundreds of communications in line was a daunting task. The Obelisks didn’t necessarily do all of this themselves, and needed to be given instructions for new contacts to be filtered. It was a bear of a task at first, but now the A.I. was catching on to what we wanted. These days, it was now about keeping track of what was going on elsewhere and issuing our own information.

That information, being that we’d mostly cleared out our area of biotics, was met with enthusiasm from a few sources. Unfortunately, it also came with pleas for help.

Few cities had gotten organized as quickly as we had. And unfortunately, it seemed that some contacts that had been live for weeks had grown dark. We hoped there was something else going on than the obvious, and grim, possibility. To know that other cities were possibly falling was… sobering.

However, not all was dire, Alice’s hometown was, in fact, still alive. They seemed strong enough, albeit their choice of official structure was odd. I wondered if she’d found any news of her family. Hopefully she had, and that they were okay. She deserved that, after everything she’d gone through.

I turned my attention back to Derrick, finding only a few seconds had passed while my digital mind turned the information over several times.

“Thank you, by the way.” I nodded to him, “I’m glad to know that the Legion is doing well, even in my absence.”

He smiled warmly, “Well, it’s home to a lot of people now. Just wait until you see the building. Ah, speaking of, we should be nearly there.”

I nodded, turning my attention outwards, and finding that the building was very, very different. “There certainly seems to be some… additions.” I stated, feeling a thrill of excitement race up my spine.

Derrick Faun’s smile grew, “Welcome home, Reaper.”