The Moon

Spectre Moon Base

August 15, 2019

20:53 EDT

I stood there for a good five minutes or so watching the little arms inside the med chamber do their work. There were perhaps a dozen or so arms, but the only ones moving were two that pulsed some sort of energy at Aleena’s wound. Aleena lay on her side under anesthetic while the two arms were positioned directly opposite of each other. One would pulse and the other would pulse a few seconds later. The doctor said that the pulses would help promote growth, but I hadn’t seen any growth yet. Or it was happening so slowly that it wasn’t perceivable in such a short amount of time.

After a while, my stomach made its presence known, and my friends and I made our way to the cafeteria, but not before heading to our respective rooms to get out of our armor and take a quick shower. Mason and I were already on our second plates, while my friends were still on their first when I noticed my mom enter the cafeteria with Illia in tow. The two of them made a beeline over to the table my dad was sitting at, him looking up when they got close. After a short exchange, my dad stood up and hugged the small Scyftan woman who had a big smile on her face. After they released each other, my mom spoke once more and then led her friend over to the buffet line while my dad sat back down, continuing his meal.

“Who is that?” Sonja asked, having seen where I was looking.

“The leader of the Hellraisers, Illia Kulza. Apparently she and my mom go way back and were childhood friends. I don’t know the specifics, but they were supposed to meet each other for lunch one day, a few years after my mom joined the Spectres. Illia never showed, and my mom searched everywhere for her. I think they thought the other was dead until they saw each other thirty minutes ago.”

“She attacked us, so why is she free? Especially with how powerful she is?” Mason asked.

“She’s powerless right now and can’t even shapeshift or use Mindspeak,” I answered. “You see the band on her left arm? That’s an Inhibitor Band. As long as she is wearing it, anyone in this room would be able to take her down. She isn’t a threat.”

“What about dimensional storage? Inhibitors don’t affect that, so couldn’t she have some weapons in those?” Ben asked.

“Abi scanned her and all the other Hellraisers and had them remove all of their items with dimensional storage. All of those items are currently locked in a secure location so she doesn’t have access to anything.”

“What about the others? Where are they?”

“They were escorted to a lower level earlier. They’ll be held down there until Abi leaves with the dragons in a little over a week.”

We finished our meals in relative silence and then left the packed cafeteria so another group would have somewhere to sit. After making our way to the lobby or lounge or whatever you want to call it, I decided to roll off the remaining Skill Gems, having been interrupted earlier. Once everyone had their phones out, I called out the last of the Tier D Skill Gems, 806D.

It turned out to be a skill called Sweeping Strike. The ability was similar to Cleave, which dealt damage in a frontal cone, but it was different in that it dealt damage to all enemies within a certain range of his target. Whoever learned it could attack something in front of them, and also hit enemies who might be standing beside or behind them.

After hitting the roll button I waited to hear the tone signalling the conclusion of the roll. Looking down at my phone, I saw that Mason was the winner. I rolled 70, Mason rolled 80, and Anja rolled 10, with Ben and Sonja passing on it. After handing it over to him, I took one of the seven Tier E Skill Gems out of the pouch and called it out next.

“579E.”

“Minor Lifesteal,” Ben answered. “It’s a perk that heals for five percent of all damage done. Not a lot, but it’s something.”

Before I could start the roll, Anja spoke up, “I pass. I’ve already got it.”

“Alright, let’s roll,” I said, tapping the button on my phone to start the roll. It took no longer than before, and soon there was another chime. This time, I rolled 9, Mason rolled 53, Ben rolled 8, and Sonja rolled 82, winning it.

“Congrats, Sonja! Here you go,” I said tossing it over to her.

While everyone was congratulating her, I was already taking the next Skill Gem out of the pouch and rolling it around until I could see its face.

“Next up is 1066E.”

“Well this one is pretty crappy,” Ben replied after a short delay. “Rain of Fire...it’s somewhat similar to Meteor Shower, but does very little damage and it’s over a small area. The area and damage can be increased as it ranks up, but the real kicker is that it is a channeled ability, requiring the caster to remain stationary to do any damage. I think I’m going to pass. This might be the first Skill Gem that we sell off.”

“Anyone else want it?” I asked, quickly seeing shaking heads all around. I took another pouch out of my storage and dropped the skill gem into it.

I took the next skill gem out of the pouch and was about to call out the number when I saw a group of people stop just inside my peripheral vision.

“Everyone, I would like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Illia. Illia, you’ve met Jonathan. These are his friends and members of his team, Mason, Ben, Anja and Sonja,” she said, gesturing to each as she said their names.

My friends greeted Illia, and she greeted them in return.

“Jonathan, Illia tells me that Abi is holding on to her dimensional storage items.”

I nodded. “Not just hers. We had the Hellraisers remove all of them after their ship was tractor beamed into the landing bay. We didn’t know what they contained so we decided it would be better to be safe than sorry. I was planning on giving them back when they arrived in Pygmaean space."

“She told me about your job for them. I like it, though you didn’t need to offer them that much. The thing I don’t like is you planning to inject my friend with Inhibitor Nanites. I will not--”

“I told you it’s alright, Tesze,” Illia interrupted. “My team did try to kill his, which is something that I am very happy didn’t happen or our reunion would have been much more hostile, I imagine. I don’t blame him for not trusting me, though. Even if you do.”

“That still--”

“No. I appreciate you trying to protect me like you did when we were younger, but I don’t need your protection right now. I deserve the punishment he has set out,” Illia insisted.

“She did tell you that the nanites are modified, right mom? The majority of the time they won’t even do anything.”

“I may have neglected to mention that part,” Illia said, smiling rather sheepishly.

“Abi took the Pygmaean design and modified it. The Pygmaean version is just a batch of self-replicating nanites that follow a simple, unchanging command which is to emit a type of energy that interferes with someone's attributes and skills. Abi’s version works very much the same way, but the nanites are always in communication with a device that is either worn like a bracelet or injected as a subdermal implant. That device will constantly communicate with Abi and a different subdermal implant I will have injected. While the implants are far enough apart, the person with Inhibitor Nanites will function normally, but if they are too close together, then the nanites will begin emitting that energy until they are far enough apart once again.”

“What happens if the subdermal implant or the bracelet or whatever is destroyed?” my mom asked. “If that happens in combat she would be helpless.”

“Abi scanned all of them as they left their ship. Their levels, combined with the armor they were using will leave them with a one in one trillion chance of the implant or bracelet being destroyed, with that number being calculated by Abi. Each of them will be given a small device they can activate in an emergency which will shut down the nanites for five minutes. Enough time to evacuate themselves to someplace safe before meeting with Yuki to acquire a new bracelet or have another subdermal implant injected.”

“Yuki?” my mom asked, puzzled. “Why would they be meeting with Yuki when she is here?”

“I didn’t talk to dad about it yet, or my sisters, but I’m pulling Yuki off the protection detail for my sisters.”

“Pulling her off? Why? She’s one of our best!” my mom exclaimed.

“I’m not saying she isn’t, but my sisters weren’t the target earlier today. Yuki was. If Yuki wasn’t with them, then none of them would have been in danger, but Aleena was almost a victim of collateral damage. If Yuki didn’t have Precognition, Aleena would have been collateral damage,” I insisted. “She said that she wants to go to Pygmaean space to get stronger if she can’t guard the girls, something I told her she’d have to talk to dad about. If she goes to Pygmaean space, then it makes sense that she should be the contact for the Hellraisers.”

“How would the bounty hunters even know what Yuki looks like? Her human form looks nothing like her Scyftan form.”

“The only thing I can think of is that Dhir was given each Spectre’s file over fourteen hundred years ago. Mana signatures are a big part of security, so it would make sense for those to be in the file, right? Now he is putting out bounties using that data.”

“That’s how we found you, Jonathan,” Illia said. “Mana signatures are very often the way bounty hunters find their targets. Each of us carries a small handheld device which points us in the direction we need to go, if we get close enough.”

“So you’re saying that every single Spectre is a potential target?”

“Only the ones who were Spectres when you left Scyftan space. Any recruited since then are safe.”

“Damn it!” my mom spat under her breath. “Is there any way to stop the scanners?”

“Not unless you can block someone’s mana signature entirely. Or keep them somewhere that isn’t easily accessible,” Illia answered.

“I’ve got Abi working on it. She’ll let me know if she comes up with anything.”

“Well, I’ll probably go grab your dad and take him to talk with Yuki in a while. The reason we came over is that we need one of Illia’s dimensional storage items. The hairpin, in particular.”

“My scanner is in one of my rings as well. It might help to have Abi take a look at it,” Illia added.

“Well, we’ll have to go up there to get them. Abi can’t keep them in her dimensional storage which means I can’t get them from here.”

“I figured as much, which is why we came now rather than later when you might be busier.”

I nodded looking over to my friends and holding the Skill Gem pouch up, “I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll finish with these.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Mason said. “There isn’t really anything else to do for the rest of the night.”

“Actually, there might be,” I replied, looking back over to Illia. “What are the chances that another group of bounty hunters made it to Earth already?”

“Very low. We didn’t detect any other craft nearby, but that doesn’t mean that other bounty hunters don’t have shrouds. Abi would probably be able to give you a more definitive answer.”

“Alright. Ben, check what time the new Fast & Furious movie is airing and then buy us five tickets. I’ve been wanting to watch it for a while now.”

“You got it,” he answered, looking down at his phone.

I nodded and turned back to Illia and my mom. “Let’s go.”

We quickly made our way through the portal room and up to the moonbase while Illia and my mom chatted. After pulsing the door with my mana, I led them over to the area that the hatch usually appeared. The hull was seamless, but as we got close, an opening started taking shape. It was also a surprise when a ramp appeared as well, making it much easier to actually board her.

They followed me as I navigated to a room adjacent to the landing bay. The massive vault door opened as we neared. On other ships, a room such as this vault might have numerous security measures to prevent entry, but Abi was a security measure all on her own. She is able to keep track of everything happening inside her, and if she doesn’t want someone in the vault, it simply won’t open.

Entering the vault, I walked over to the large crystalline chests that were sitting up against one of the walls. After finding the one with Illia’s name, I pulsed my mana at it. The top split open and sitting inside was Illia’s armor, as well as all of her accessories. I quickly spotted the hairpin, but didn’t know which of the four rings she needed, so I grabbed all of them.

Standing back up, I handed the hairpin to Illia and then held out my hand which was holding the four rings. She grabbed the plainest looking one and after a second a small device appeared in her hand. She handed it, and the ring back to me, and then took a couple of tablets out of her hairpin’s dimensional storage, before handing that back, too.

“I don’t need them for anything else, so you can lock them away again,” she said. “You can let Abi take a look at that, as well. Maybe she’ll be able to use it to come up with something that will stop it from working.”

“I’ve already scanned it, so you can put it away again. I should know in an hour or so if I’ll be able to block it,” Abi replied.

I shrugged and handed both the ring and the scanner back to Illia. The scanner disappeared and she handed the ring back. After I had put the items away, I gestured for them to walk ahead of me. When the vault had locked behind us, I led them back through the halls to the ship’s exit, and then out of the hangar.

“Illia and I are off to go speak with Tich and Thomas. If you go and see a movie tonight, make sure Abi is nearby. Or have her pilot the shuttle, just in case.”

“Will do,” I said before they turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

[Abi, my friends and I are probably going to see a movie at a theatre shortly. Can you have the shuttle on standby, in case we need to make a quick getaway?]

[Certainly,] she answered. [I will also position myself in geosynchronous orbit directly above your location, since my sensors are vastly more powerful than the ones on the shuttle. You will have to come up with a name for it, by the way. We can’t just keep calling it ‘the shuttle’.]

I laughed as I was walking past two technicians who were in conversation. I had expected them to look at me like I was a weirdo, but they just kept on chatting. ‘I guess its normal when your race is telepathic,’ I thought to myself.

[I’ll let Yuki or someone else name them. How are the other two shuttles going?]

[Slowly. I need Tich to deliver some power plants, since I won’t be using a small part of my core for these ones. They’ll be a bit bigger, but still quite powerful, able to hold eight people in the back and the same six up front.]

[Cool. We’re going to the theatre near South Keys, so if you want to position the shuttle there, we’ll be teleporting there shortly,] I said as I walked through the portal.

[It’s starting up now and will be there in about twenty-four minutes. You may want to delay a bit if you can, just so it will be close enough should you be attacked shortly after arriving. You really should be more careful, you know. You were attacked mere hours ago, and you’re putting yourself at risk.]

“Back to the base, please,” I asked the two guards before replying to Abi, [Illia says that there is a very remote chance of another group being here already. We’re far away from Scyftan space. Besides, as soon as I mentioned the theatre in front of my mom, I’m betting she had a large number of Spectres secure the area.]

I nodded at the guards when they gestured me to go through and then turned to meet back up with my friends.

[If Illia’s group received the bounty, then there are likely other ships nearby that have also received it. I estimate that there will be teams showing up within the week. I’ll be placing additional sensors on approach vectors that will detect most of them, but that may not detect shrouded ships.]

[Well, hopefully you’ll come up with something that will stop those scanners from working, and then we won’t have to worry about it. Any bounty hunters would be looking for a needle in a very large haystack.]

[Hopefully,] she replied back. [I’m not putting much hope in it, though.]

[The Spectres will have to be vigilant, then. Perhaps we can have the dragons keep an eye out as well. They can hide in plain sight and not be spotted. That could be quite handy.]

[I agree. You should talk to Selalea when you get a chance to.]

[I will. I’m back with my friends now. I’ll let you know when we’ve arrived at the theatre.]

[Okay.]

“So, did you get us tickets?” I asked Ben as I sat back down on the couch.

“I could’ve got us tickets for 21:45, but decided on 22:00 instead, which means we’ve got a twenty minute wait.”

“Good. That’ll give us some time to roll off a few more of the Skill Gems,” I replied as I took the Skill Gem pouch back out of my storage.

Of the five Skill Gems, only three ended up being used by any of us. There was another Rain of Fire Skill Gem that had me double checking my pouches to make sure I didn’t drop it in the wrong one, but I didn’t. We got duplicates. The other perk that was thrown in with them was Minor Insight, all of us having something much, much better.

The three that we rolled for and learned were Minor Jack of All Trades, Quick Slash and Gash. The former was won by Ben who rolled a 78 over Sonja’s 48, but I was the recipient of the latter two Skill Gems. Gash would let me take advantage of Barbed Spear’s bleed effect, while Quick Slash was another attack I could use with my sword, rather than just having to hack at my enemies whenever Siphoning Strike was on cooldown.

We had about eight minutes to spare when we were done dealing with the gems, so I let Abi know we were on our way and we used the elevator in the portal room to reach the surface before teleporting to the theatre. After spending a ridiculous amount for drinks and snacks, we held our phones out so she could scan the digital tickets Ben had purchased. She waved us through when they were all verified, and we made our way down to the theatre for the 22:00 showing.

“Well that was pretty much what I was expecting,” Ben said when the lights came back on.

“I thought it was pretty good, but I’m a big fan of action movies.”

“You’re a fan of any movie with guns, fighting, cars and hot women, Mace. You liking it is a given,” Anja replied with a laugh.

He laughed. “What can I say? I like what I like.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it, just that it’s what I was expecting. Another mindless action movie good for killing a couple hours.”

We spent another ten minutes or so talking about the movie before everyone split up. It was now past midnight, which meant that my friends needed to get home. After they all teleported away, I teleported back to the Adventurer’s Guild HQ and went through the security process to activate the elevator to take me back to the portal room.

[Hey mom, I should be able to remove Vixa from her quarantine, right?]

[The seventy-two hours will be up in about nineteen minutes. I’ll get someone to bring a couple of dishes as well as a litter box up to your room for her, but you can head down there now. How was the movie?]

[Not bad. We all enjoyed it in our own way. It was a good way to kill two hours, and almost perfect timing for when Vixa will be allowed out of quarantine.]

She laughed in Mindspeak. [I figured that was the reason why you went to see the movie. I imagine you’ll be going to sleep as soon as she is situated in your room?]

[Yup, I’m beat. Fortunately, I'll be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow.]

[That will probably be the last time you get to sleep in for a while, so enjoy it. You and your friends start training on Monday.]

[Ugh, I forgot all about that,] I said as I arrived at the elevator leading down to the enclosures, and Vixa. I pressed the button and waited. [What will we be working on first?]

[Hand-to-hand combat in the mornings and afternoons, and firearms in the evenings.]

[Why hand-to-hand and not melee weapons?]

[You’ll probably be trained with swords fairly soon, but anything more than that will wait until we get back to Scyftan space. Thomas recommended a very good instructor to train you, but the man is a hermit and will likely not leave the planet he lives on.]

[The way you’re describing it, he’s Yoda and I’m Luke,] I said as I stepped into the elevator.

[What? Oh, you’re talking about Star Wars. Yes, I imagine it is something like that,] she said with a chuckle. [I don’t think you’ll have to swing from vines and navigate a swamp while someone rides on your back, though.]

[That’s good. Swamps suck,] I replied as I left the elevator, drawing another laugh out of her. I teleported to the quarantine ward and was surprised to see someone else.

[I just arrived and someone is here. I’ll talk to you in the morning.]

[It’s probably Tamara Ridley. She has to sign off on animals being taken out of the quarantine ward,] she explained. [See you in the morning.]

The woman didn’t turn around, but suddenly a small reptilian animal appeared from behind the counter she was standing behind. It scurried towards me, stopping when it got within three feet or so. I knelt down and reached out to it when the woman stopped me.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Rajeni doesn’t like strangers and she can kill you with a single bite.”

Nothing would have caused me to pull my hand back than hearing that something was highly venomous. The small animal stared me down for another ten seconds or so before the woman whistled. The whistle wasn’t very loud, nor very long, but it caused the reptile to turn around and run back towards her. As I watched, it ran up her body before sitting on her left shoulder.

“Can I help you?” she asked once she had finished what she was doing and turned around.

“What is she?” I asked, gesturing to the lizard on her shoulder.

“A Sarteran lizard. They’re found deep within Confederation space and are hunted for their venom. I rescued this little one’s mother hundreds of years ago, and I’ve been breeding them since.”

“You’re not worried about her biting anyone?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “I’m working with her to make her less hostile, but I carry several doses of an anti-venom I developed, just in case.”

“Oh. Anyways, I’m here for Vixa. I was told her seventy-two hours in quarantine would be up soon and I’d be able to take her up to the main base.”

“Vixa?” she asked before realization dawned on her. She quickly knelt. “My apologies, sire.”

“Ugh. I really wish people would stop doing that. Get up!” I barked.

She stood back up but I interrupted her before she could start talking.

“The next few words out of your mouth had better not be ‘sire’ or ‘milord’, or anything like that,” I warned.

“No, sir. I had heard about your dislike for those, as well as people kneeling. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Sorry for biting your head off. It’s been a long day and I just want to get Vixa and then get some sleep.”

“I understand. There is still about ten minutes to go, but it’s close enough. You can go get Vixa and bring her up to your room. Someone will be up there with a litter box, bed, and a couple of dishes shortly.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. I do have a bone to pick with you, but it can wait until tomorrow when you’re more alert. Gabriel told me you wanted to meet with me, so we’ll get into it then. The meeting is at 13:00, by the way. Make sure you’re not late.”

I nodded, wondering what she could be mad about, but turned and walked towards the room Vixa was in. I opened the door and she had teleported to my feet before I could say anything. Her tails were going absolutely nuts and she was sitting there staring up at me.

“You can leave now. Ready to go?”

She let out a loud excited bark and began teleporting around me. Before I could turn and see her, there was a pop and she was already gone.

I heard a laugh behind me “It looks like she is very sick of that room,” Tamara said.

There was another pop and then silence. I turned around and saw that Vixa had teleported over to Tamara, who had knelt down and was scratching Vixa’s head. She gave Vixa’s head a final scratch and then stood back up and looked at me.

“If she doesn’t eat, or has any other issues, let me know. I’m one of the only vets around here, so I can take a look.”

“I will. Thank you for looking after her.”

“My pleasure, she’s an absolute doll.”

“C’mon Vixa!” I said, turning around and heading out of the ward. There was another teleport and she fell in line beside me. After we were clear of the room, I Blinked forward and she did the same. It didn’t take very long for the two of us to make it to the elevator, with us teleporting short distances every few seconds, with longer breaks every dozen or so Blinks.

I hit the button for the elevator, with the doors opening right away. Vixa followed me in, and we were soon ascending to the main level of the base. Once there, we continued our little game of teleporting until we arrived at my room. Vixa ran inside as soon as the door opened and began exploring everything. She sniffed around the main room first before checking out the bathroom, followed by the closet. When she was done exploring, there was a pop and she appeared in the middle of the bed.

I laughed and was going to join her when there was a knock. I turned around and opened where I was greeted by a young woman who looked very much like Tamara. She was wheeling a cart that had a number of objects on it.

“Hi, I’m Bria. My mom asked me to bring these up for you.”

“Tamara is your mom? You’re really fast! Vixa and I only just got here a few minutes ago, and we teleported all the way.”

“The power of portals,” she replied with a laugh.

“Ah, makes sense. Come in. I’m sure you’ve met Vixa.”

She nodded as she wheeled the cart in. “I played with her whenever I had some free time. I don’t think she’ll be nearly as bored now, though. There is a lot more room in here, and she’ll be able to roam this level of the base.”

“I know that teleporting out of rooms is possible, but how will she get back in?”

“Rooms can be set up to allow certain people, or animals to teleport in or out. I believe Vixa has already been added to the whitelist, but you may want to make sure. The little book on your nightstand there will have all the details,” she said, pointing at the manual I had looked at to set my alarm the night before.

“I really need to take a look at that manual in some more depth.”

She nodded, “Well, my mom said that you’re tired so I shouldn’t take up much of your time. Where would you like everything set up?”

I shrugged. “I don’t have a preference. What do you recommend?”

“The litter box in the bathroom, definitely. The bed and the dishes can be anywhere, though. She didn’t seem to be a messy eater, but I have some mats that can be placed under the food and water dishes to avoid any messes on the carpet. As for the bed? I’m not sure she’ll use it, but how about just putting it beside your bed, or at the foot of it?”

“Works for me. How about putting the food and water in that corner there?” I asked, pointing to the only vacant corner in the room.

“That works. I’ll set up the litter box and then help you with the dishes. How about putting the mat down and then setting the two feeders on it? I’ll show you how they work in a minute.”

I nodded and she went to work. She carried the litter box in one hand, and a bag of litter over her shoulder while I wheeled the cart over to the corner and put down the rubbery waterproof mat. The feeders she was talking about looked like expensive ones with a display and everything, but were different than any I had seen. The food feeder had four different hoppers, while the water feeder had slots for what looked like three water jugs.

The water jugs on the cart weren’t the normal ones you see on a watercooler, but they were still eight litres or so. Bria came out of the bathroom with the empty litter bag crumpled up in her hand and deposited it on the cart before grabbing two of the water jugs and carrying them over. I went over and grabbed the third while she placed them on the feeder.

“Phenidae have needs that can’t be filled by giving them regular food and water,” she explained. “One of these jugs contains water, while the other two contain various vitamins and minerals that would be in her regular diet if she was living in the wild on Nedovis. The water jug will drain faster so there will be a new one delivered every week or so, while the smaller jugs will be replaced every three months. The food contains more vitamins and minerals, and comes in four different flavors that Phenidae have shown a preference for. They do get bored of the same food day after day, so that is why there are four different hoppers. The food she is given will always be random, so if one gets low enough, the feeder will let you know so you can refill it. I’ll be leaving a bag of each type with you, so you can refill it as needed. Additional bags of food will be delivered every two weeks, as needed. Any questions?”

“What’s with all the buttons and displays on both of them?”

“The water feeder just displays the level of water, vitamins or minerals in each jug, and the buttons are just there to get updated readings. The food feeder is more complicated. I’ll leave a manual for you, but I’ll set it up now. The food feeder will deposit food in her bowl three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. What time do you get up in the morning?”

“06:30 or 7:00. It’s been the former, lately.”

“Alright, that’s when I’ll set the first feeding,” she said, hitting buttons on the feeder. She stood up after a minute or so, and turned back towards me.

“I set the timers to put food in her bowl at 06:30, 12:30 and 18:30. If you look at the display, you’ll see that it is showing 06:30 with a little arrow beside it, which indicates when the next feeding is. On the other side, it also shows the levels of each hopper, so you can take a glance and fill one if it needs it. All four of them are showing empty, but that’s because we haven’t filled them yet,” she finished as she went over and grabbed two of the food bags off the cart.

She dropped them at her feet and then took a knife out of her storage, cutting a slot in the top of each and then setting the knife down on the cart. After that, she picked one of the bags up and began emptying it into one of the hoppers.

“Each bag is color coded for the slot it goes in,” she explained. “People were having trouble remembering which hopper was which, so we made it a lot easier.”

She quickly unloaded the two food bags before turning to the cart and gathering two more, before turning back and emptying those just as quickly. When each hopper was full, she closed the lids and crumpled up three of the bags, dropping them into the one she didn’t crumple up.

“Phenidae are notorious food thieves, so you need somewhere to put these where she can’t get to them,” she said, gesturing to the four bags still on the cart.

“I have some chests in my closet, but they’re all full of weapons and other equipment. Other than that, I don’t think I have anywhere to put them.”

“Alright, it should be fine for tonight, but I’ll be back tomorrow with a locker you can place in your closet. When activated, it emits a field of energy that Phenidae can’t teleport through, which will keep her from getting at the bags.”

I nodded, struggling to keep my eyes open, and Bria seemed to recognize that fact.

“Alright, everything is set. If you have any issues you can let either my mom or myself know and we’ll get sorted. I’ll get out of your hair so you can get some sleep.”

“Thanks for the help,” I said with a big yawn.

“No problem. Bye, Vixa!” she said, wheeling the cart back out of the room.

Vixa yipped and I closed the door behind Bria before turning around and walking towards my bed.

“Alarm set 08:00. Lights off,” I said before collapsing on my bed.

The last thing I heard before sleep claimed me was a chime signaling the alarm was now set for 08:00.