Val approached the small door that Noir had highlighted in her vision. Set into the wall in the far corner, it seemed like it was constructed almost as an afterthought when compared to the large main door. A pile of boxes were haphazardly pushed up against the doorframe, leaving only the top portion of the door visible.

Leaning her shoulder into the boxes, Val grunted as she pushed them out of the way. After three good shoves, she had opened up enough space to slip between the boxes and the wall. Standing in front of the door, she tapped the control panel with her left hand. She frowned as the panel flashed a predictable red.

I thought you said this was our exit, Noir. I assumed that meant the door would open.

It will. Place your hand back on the control panel and give me a moment.

Following Noir’s instructions, Val lifted her hand and set her palm back on the control panel. She felt a tingling sensation as Noir activated some unknown subroutine that sent a pulse of nano down the traces in her arm into the device. A hint of panic flared up in Val as she remembered the burning pain in her right arm; luckily, this was a mere trickle compared to the torrent that Noir had used to incapacitate Brawn.

Prepare to run outside. Also, be aware of the impending loud noise.

What loud no–

Val lost her train of thought as everything broke into chaos around her. A burst of nano flooded out of the control panel and into the traces in her hand, rushing up towards her head. A headache immediately took root in the base of her skull as a massive data dump was unloaded into her brain. At the same time, the panel flashed green, the door slid open, and the alarm started.

The high-pitched blare of the alarm drilled into her mind. Gritting her teeth, Val sprinted out of the door, desperate to get away from the incessant noise. Her bare feet immediately met soft soil as she transitioned from the sterile hallways of the compound to the midst of the forest. The year of training with the Scouts took over instantly, precise footwork keeping her from getting tangled in the brush underfoot while her upper body ducked and weaved around low-hanging tree branches. Before long, she had settled into a swift pace that quickly put more distance between her and her jailors.

Val kept up her retreat through the forest for nearly half an hour before stopping to rest briefly and get her bearings. Several shallow gashes ran across her legs, arms, and even on her cheek where she had prioritized speed over care. If I still had my exosuit, I could have gone even faster without worrying about the forest fighting back.

Val grumbled as she let the rifle drop to her side before climbing up a nearby tree. Pulling herself up branch by branch, Val soon found herself looking over several of the shorter trees nearby. As the trunk of her tree started thinning out, she wedged herself into one of the forks and surveyed her surroundings. This far out from Peakpoint, she didn’t recognize any of the landmarks, but thankfully her sense of direction was not the one she was trying to calibrate.

Refining our estimated position now.

The map in the corner of her vision updated as the circle indicating Noir’s guess of their location shrank by several orders of magnitude. It seemed the better vantage point was enough to get the uncertainty down to about one square mile. Maybe not very small given Val’s travel time on foot, but compared to the vast wilderness of the Eastern Henian Mountain Range, much more accurate than Val expected. The map magnified with a thought, allowing Val to take a closer look at her position.

Huh. This map is more detailed than I expected.

It was part of the emergency data dump from Gaia.

Val remembered the pulse of nano slamming into her mind but was immediately distracted by the rest of Noir’s sentence.

Wait, Gaia? Like, the Gaia? How– Wh– I have so many questions.

I figured you might. The short answer is that we escaped because I activated an emergency protocol built into all exit points in post-Singularity War outposts. We were all much more paranoid in the aftermath of the war, so the early human-Daemon alliance built in ways to ensure they could escape in case their buildings were invaded by enemy forces. Our imprisonment mostly fulfilled the requirements of the emergency protocol.

Mostly?

I might have circumvented a few authentication procedures that I was concerned would prevent the activation of the protocol. Thus the alarm.

Ok, well I’m glad it worked. I’ve never heard of any of this before, although seeing how paranoid you are, it makes sense. But what does that have to do with Gaia?

Part of the emergency protocol involves a direct notice sent to Gaia. I suspect it was designed to enable follow-up action in the case of the loss of a base. In our case, though, it seemed Gaia directly responded by providing us with a high-quality map of the area, as well as up-to-date reports on wildlife and User activity. Everything a fugitive User would need to hopefully avoid further detection.

That’s… extremely helpful. But how is that possible? I thought the high ambient nano interferes with any long-range signals. That’s why Daemons stay in the city or are paired up with Users, and why we even have an entire Messenger Guild designed to keep communication up between the cities.

There was a pause before Noir spoke again, and when they did, there was a detectable undercurrent of nervousness in their response. I’m not authorized to answer that question.

Val frowned. I thought User partnerships didn’t have this sort of bullshit. Cut through the red tape for survival purposes, yada yada.

Mostly true. But there are still some restrictions on sensitive information regarding the Daemon collective.

And any questions about how you communicated with Gaia fall under that?

Yes. And to forestall your next several questions, most information about Gaia falls into that category as well.

Reading my mind, huh?

Technically I’m always reading your mind. Or at least, decoding the signals in your brain, which you probably consider the same thing. Of course, I’m also injecting additional signals for your brain that you interpret as sensations, or in this case, these words.

Val sighed. Why did I have to get stuck with the assassin-turned-philosopher Daemon?

Other way, actually. I was always more interested in researching how humans have adapted to the post-Singularity War environment. Nanosystems and neural links are both interesting technological adaptations.

Val was surprised to hear notes of enthusiasm enter Noir’s tone. For the first time since their partnership started, the Daemon seemed actively interested in something. The lightness of the conversation was short-lived, however, as Noir’s next statement was more somber.

Unfortunately, it turns out gaining a deep understanding for something is the first step in weaponizing it. Over the centuries, my programming has become so optimized for inflicting harm that I doubt many of my original analysis routines have survived. So I think philosopher-turned-assassin is a much more apt description.

The pair drifted off into an uncomfortable silence after Noir’s revelation. Val stared off into the distance at an unfamiliar ridgeline, feeling small as the inhospitable landscape stared back at her. Moments like these reminded her just how old and powerful Daemons like Noir were. Several generations of humans had lived since the Singularity Wars, but they still talked about those events like it had happened last spring. A gust of wind blew through the treetops, whipping through her hair. She shivered as the cold brought her back to the present moment.

Well, I don’t know how to fix all that, but I just want to survive. For now, that means finding some shelter for the night, and then making our way back to Peakpoint. Long term, maybe you can resurrect some of that code to look at my cracked core.

Indeed, that was the whole purpose behind our partnership. I do have one short-term suggestion, though. Take this route on the way back to the city.

A new path appeared on the map, taking her much further to the north. Rather than skirting around the base of the nearby mountain and heading directly for Peakpoint, Noir’s new route went through a mountain pass before slicing down across the next valley towards the city. Val frowned.

This will add at least two days of travel. Why the circuitous route?

The direct approach is more predictable, and we already know the Enhanced direwolf knows that route. This is less likely to encounter the A rank enemies we know about. We got away once because they underestimated us, but I doubt they’ll make the same mistake twice.

Val nodded grimly. Turning around, she gripped the bark of the tree tightly and started working her way towards the ground.

Secondly, this route takes us to one of my safehouses, where we can spend the night and hopefully get you some more equipment.

Val’s eyebrows raised as she dropped the final few feet to the forest floor. She gripped her rifle in both hands in front of her chest, ready to snap it up at the first sign of danger. Reorienting herself with the map, she strode off in the direction of Noir’s suggested map.

You have safehouses out here?

Of course. What sort of philosopher-turned-assassin would I be if I didn’t plan for a few contingencies stuck in the wilderness avoiding a manhunt? Or I guess, User-hunt is more appropriate.

When did you have time to set up this safehouse?

Oh, this particular one would have been maybe… four or five Users ago? Think of it as a gift from a past User. I expect you to pay it forward as well. And you owe me an extra safehouse for burning this one.

Val shook her head. Just when she thought she was getting used to being Noir’s partner, they surprised her again. A highlighted course flickered to life in her vision, allowing her to move forward towards the safehouse without needing to consult her map. Head turning frequently and eyes darting back and forth, Val set off again. This time, not a mad scramble to get away from her enemies, but a purposeful hike towards her next target.

It was well into the afternoon when Noir finally indicated that Val was approaching the safehouse. Despite several close calls with some aggressive wildlife that had forced Val to deviate from the route, they had made relatively good time. Val flexed out her right hand before wrapping her fingers around the rifle’s grip again. She hadn’t had to fire the weapon yet but she knew it was only a matter of time.

Her progress had slowed for the past twenty minutes as she splashed her way downstream through a small creek. She was less likely to leave a trail this way, but her bare feet found little purchase on the slick rocks of the riverbed. Without an exosuit, a tumble into the water would at best be wet and cold, and at worst cause an injury that would slow her even further.

As Val turned a corner around a large boulder, she was finally able to place the dull roar that had gradually overtaken the calm burbling sounds of the creek over the past few minutes. The trees came to an abrupt stop as the ground fell away, leaving Val on the edge of a small bluff. The stream rushed unimpeded over the cliff’s edge. The resulting waterfall fell over sixty feet into a clear pool with a thunderous sound.

Perfect, we’re here. Now jump off.

Val blinked in surprise. You can’t be serious.

It’s the logical decision. It’s fast, you won’t leave any tracks, and it’s probably safer than downclimbing over wet rocks.

Logical to you, maybe. How do you know the water is deep enough at the bottom?

It is. Well, it was when we first set this up.

Oh yea, and definitely nothing has changed in the intervening hundred years.

Now that you mention it, this cliff does seem further back than I remember.

Not helping, Noir.

Shaking her head, Val dropped to one knee and peered over the edge. She couldn’t see the bottom of the pool, although the churning surface didn’t help her visibility. She tried her best to not look at the jagged rocks dotting the cliff wall that she would pass on the way down.

I recommend jumping where the waterfall is. Erosion should have blunted most of those edges down.

Still not helping. We’ve talked about this, you need to get better at your “fact delivery”.

Standing up, Val took a few steps back from the edge. Inhaling deeply, she looked out over the forest. It really was a beautiful view – the dense forest draped over the sides of the small valley, the mountain peaks jutting out into the clear sky to meet the slowly lowering sun. Val let out her lungful of air in a long exhale.

She launched herself out over the open space with two quick steps before her survival instincts could stop her from this foolishness. The trip down was disorienting as time simultaneously slowed to a crawl and also flashed by. Distinct moments were burnt vividly into her brain where she could almost stop and count the trees or rocks surrounding the pool, or watch the ripples glide across the water. And then the surface of the pool was all too close as she slammed into the water feet first.

Having spent the better part of the last half an hour walking through the creek, Val expected that she would have been prepared for how cold the water was. And yet, she had woefully underestimated how different it would feel to be completely dunked. Her body locked up as the frigid water sucked away her body heat, the thin fabric of her shirt and shorts doing little to insulate her.

Behind the waterfall.

Val’s head burst out of the water as she gasped for air. Turning around, she stared up for a moment at the waterfall she had just jumped down. Shaking her head, she focused where the waterfall met the pool’s surface. Taking another deep breath, she dove down and swam under the waterfall towards the back of the pool. She came up in a small hollow carved out by the waterfall over time. Still treading water, she glanced around the space but didn’t see any obvious entrances.

Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a safehouse if it were obvious. There’s an underwater lock you’ll have to use.

Val’s brow furrowed in frustration. If you had a physical body, I would smack you so hard right now.

If you have the energy to complain, you have the energy to find this tunnel. Now hurry up before hypothermia sets in. Your body temperature is dropping quickly.

Gritting her teeth, Val took several breaths to fight down the annoyance before taking another deep breath and diving underwater. It didn’t take her long to find a small gap in the back wall. Val looked at the opening doubtfully for a moment, but a pulse of affirmation from Noir made it clear they expected her to just blindly swim in there.

Returning to the surface for a moment to get one last breath of air, she dove down and wiggled her shoulders into the crevice. Looking further into the tunnel, she could see the metallic hatch that marked the entrance of the safehouse. Pressing against the side of the tunnel with her arms, she pulled herself forward until her feet could find purchase on the tunnel walls as well.

The hatch slid open as soon as she touched the metal, but it took her several more precious seconds of exertion to clamber into a smooth tunnel past the hatch. As soon as her feet had made it past the opening, the hatch slammed shut ominously behind her. Val froze for a moment before kicking back with a foot to no avail. The hatch stayed firmly shut, leaving her trapped underwater in darkness.

I swear to Gaia, if you’ve forgotten about some security meas–

A mechanical whirring suddenly sounded and water drained rapidly from the chamber. Val soon found herself on hands and knees in an empty tunnel, coughing lightly. The locking mechanism on a hatch she hadn’t noticed yet in front of her deactivated with a satisfying click. Crawling forward, she was able to shoulder the hatch open, spilling out into a large room.

Breathing heavily, Val rolled over onto her back. Her eyes reflexively slammed shut as lights flickered on in the room around her. Val pushed herself to her feet, blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted. She started to bring her rifle up as her gaze swept across the room, but froze halfway as she took in her surroundings.

Welcome to one of my safehouses.

Noir sounded smug, but Val couldn’t even blame the Daemon as her jaw dropped.