Enjoying the typical breakfast of eggs, bacon, and side of assorted fruits, Han was trying is best not to attract any attention to himself.

"Mom! I can't believe you snuck in after telling me I couldn't! You're such a hypocrite!" Jennifer hissed, trying not to draw attention to their table in the cafeteria.

His mother was casually eating looking satisfied, like a cat that got the cream. Such an attitude was what caused Jennifer to criticize their mother during the whole way to the cafeteria.

In his infinite god-like wisdom, Han did his best to stay out of it and ignored the constant glares from Jennifer that seemed to say, "Stop being silent and stand up to this nonsense." What made it harder for him was how he used to enjoy sleeping next to either his mom or sister while he was growing up until he began to notice that they were developing thoughts that hinted they didn't see such actions as purely natural bonding. He still wondered how such things came about, thinking it may be due to his abilities like someone being around radiation too long and showing radiation sickness. There was no indication of such a leak and when he checked the interface screen only reinforce the lack of an issue.

Tapping on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts. Turning towards the person, Han saw that it was a man wearing a uniform for the management department.

"Captain wants to see you about something," The man said in a relaxed manner.

Lifting up his wrist, he checked to see if he had missed a notification. The screen just showed the time and other random day-to-day type information on it.

"She wanted it to not be logged," The man said understandingly. "I'm not sure why, but it sounded pretty important considering she's been in her office for so long."

Finishing the food in his mouth, which prevented him from talking, Han answered, "I'll swing by her office, right now." He avoided the look from both his mom and Jennifer who narrowed their eyes, suspicious about how eager Han looked to meet with the captain. The look they were giving Han seemed to convey the message, "We know that you're just trying to escape. Wait until you get back and you'll see how we deal with you."

Feeling sweat drip down his back, Han tried to look unaware of his mother's and Jennifer's signaling. Taking his tray, he moved to where he could dump his food and leave his tray and then proceeded to follow the man towards where the captain was.

Leaving the cafeteria, the two of them made their way onto the scenic area. The area that this cafeteria was located in looked very similar to a quaint village square, which had a few shops and other stores that people could enjoy as they sat on the many benches or tables inside of the miniature village. Around this place was the usual artificially created nature grounds that gave the impression that you were out in the world before the modified humans appeared.

While walking towards the edges of the common area, Han remarked, "I'm still surprised how they were able to make the wall appear like a continuation of the common area. Sometimes, I forget that we are inside and underground instead of out in the world."

"The research and development department and maintenance department truly did wonderful work in creating such an illusion. I heard that they were feeling sorry for their and all the other families in being trapped underground denied from enjoying the sun and fresh air. Without them, I worry about our ability to stay ahead of the modified humans who still seem to test our defenses." The man nodded his head in worry.

Han felt himself agreeing and thinking how lucky this place was to not only have access to the facilities designed by Star and Moon, but also house those who are technically capable of modifying such resources available.

As they approached the edge, the image of the continuing forest on this side faded away. There was a faint rectangular outline that could be seen.

When the man approached the outline, a small rectangular screen next to the larger outline began to glow and display information. The screen revealed the identity of both Han and the man, in addition to their position.

Glancing at the man's name, Han watched as a portion of the wall sunk into the wall and slide open.

"Welcome, Sean and Han. Do you require any assistance?" A voice spoke to the two of them.

"We're just heading to the Captain's office. I'm escorting Han to meet with her." Sean answered.

"Please follow the path." The voice cheerfully told them.

On the floor was a bright line that continued down the hallway and turned left at the first branching hallway.

"I know that it's trying to be helpful, but I've been to the Captain's office numerous times. Though sometimes it has me going down different paths. The funny thing is that I get the feeling I saved some time just following the path it shows me." Sean chuckled at the thought.

Han merely listened to Sean's words as they walked to the Captain's office. The hallway wasn't busy with people, with them only running into a few people on their way to official business. When they saw Sean, they greeted him in a semi-relaxed manner.

"Seems like you're someone important?" Han asked, curious as to the treatment Sean was receiving.

Hearing Han's question, Sean laughed and shook his head. "I'm just someone who's been a part of this university for a while, allowing me to have a wide range of knowledge in various administrative roles. I just happened to be on my way to talk to the Captain about documentation that needed to be filled out to the regional government." He seemed to trail off as if remembering something from his past. "They were just doing a standard audit of the university's financials... I figured I would get the paper and then call my wife... She always talked about me being too occupied with work, so I thought a lunch date..."

They had stopped walking as Sean recounted what he remembered from that day when the world went to shit. It was something Han had seen many times during his time inside of the facility. Not everyone was able to bring in their family, leaving loved ones behind to bear the full brunt of the apocalypse.

Putting a hand on Sean's back, Han waited for Sean to compose himself.

The touch of Han's hand brought Sean slowly back to the present. Using a thumb to brush the tears away, Sean looked embarrassed by his sudden demonstration of emotions. "Sorry, you had to see that. I thought I had gotten past what had happened, but every now and then I seem..." Sean trailed off and grimaced. Breathing deeply, as if to purify him of his ghosts, Sean smiled and said, "I don't want to keep the Captain waiting."

-----

The office of the Captain was impressive in how it conveyed a sense of profound importance. It was a mixture of what private companies fashioned their office to look, with a pinch of the minimalism that the military had. It gave a sense of tranquility though, at the moment, Becky didn't feel any such comfort.

"Has Star and Moon returned our inquiries as to the continual change to the chamber?" Becky asked her secretary, a former administrative lady from the university.

The woman looked annoyed and answered, "I keep getting the same auto-reply over The Wire about how 'Star and Moon is a company that values the opinion of its consumers and is working tirelessly to help solve any potential issue.'"

"We don't hear from them after the world craps out for several weeks, the usual channels silent. Then all of a sudden we receive a message about a new update to the training areas? No word about the status of the world outside but instead just updates followed by updates, many of them feeling impossible." Becky smacked a hand on the table in annoyance.

Becky turned to look at her monitor that had information about the stores that were made available to them, allowing their team to begin to modify weapons by picking up crystals inside of the battle simulations.

"The most frustrating thing they haven't confirmed is the resurrection mechanism inside of the game. If we're allowed to remove weapons created inside of the simulations..." She remembered the several days where the doors to the training areas and simulation area were closed off, with the only information being a colorful graphic rotating and having the words 'UPDATE IN PROGRESS' in bold letters. "What were your thoughts about this, Sandra? You have a little experience with this. I remember that your sister had knowledge related to Star and Moon and the technology they developed."

Sandra brushed some of her long hair back over her shoulder. "She's as confused about everything as I am. Her knowledge is built upon her extreme desire to understand everything related to Star and Moon, so it's just the level of a hobbyist. Her study was primarily on being a computer engineer. Even now she's primarily been locking herself inside of the Research and Development department, likely getting in the way of everyone there." A sigh passed through her lips as she thought about her sister. "When she's not in the department, she's been diving deep inside of the dungeon late into the night when a sane person would be sleeping."

"Oh?" Becky raised an eyebrow to this information. "What's she doing in the dungeon? Is she thinking of joining the team?"

Sandra paused as if to think of how to phrase her thoughts in a particular manner. "She has a belief that...," She wasn't able to finish before the door crashed open.

"It's not a simulation! The dungeon isn't a simulation of a fantasy world!" A woman yelled out, laughing maniacally with her hair in chaos, covering half of her hair.

Becky and Sandra stared at the woman who was breathing heavily and saying crazy things.

Sandra was able to

recover faster than Becky, likely due to her exposure to her sister's personality. "What are you talking about, Scarlett? And you can't just barge into the Captain's office whenever you feel like!"

Becky looked between the two sisters, still not understanding how there was such a difference in personality while sharing one thing in common. Both women were beautiful, still able to rival most of the women on the team even though they were both older, looking like they should be raising children, but the issue was how they seemed to interact with others. While Sandra had a warm personality and appeared happy to talk with others and Scarlett was nicknamed the Ice Queen, the two of them kept others at a distance. At the current moment, Becky felt like she was beginning to understand why they kept others at a distance.

Scarlett opened her mouth to answer her sister only to be interrupted by a man's voice. "What's going on here?"

"Captain, am I interrupting anything?" Sean's voice was heard behind Scarlett's body. "I've brought Han. You said you had something to talk to him about?"

There was a flicker of recognition on Scarlett's face when hearing Sean's words. Becky watched as Scarlett seemed to be trying to remember something and turned to look at the man behind her.

After Scarlett had turned around, she said in confusion, "Han?"

Han's voice was soon heard asking, "Ms. Palmer? What are you doing here?"