Gaston returned to Neo-Tokyo after his dealings with Constable Yu. His heads-up display showed a constant beacon on the Constable. “Janna, I have installed the beacon on the Constable. Are you sure that you can trust this guy?” He typed in a message on the wrist pad.

Gaston didn’t have to wait before he got a reply.

[Monitor him with the beacon. We will trust him, but beyond that, we suspect him of being part of the cult as well. Your vitals are stable, but you’ve been fighting for two days straight. Rest.]

[Got it, Boss.]

Gaston sent the message and crossed a street. A light drizzle sprayed the city of Neo-Tokyo. Bouncing multi-color lights, VTOLs’ flying overhead, the busy city, congested crowd, and the sight of the ad placements gave a strange feeling to Gaston. He strolled the sidewalks of the City before finally arriving at the Earthside Consortium branch of Japan. He entered, went to the elevator, and headed straight to the office where Ayumi was typing on a keyboard.

“Hey, Ayumi.”

She looked up. “Good job, Gaston.”

Gaston twisted in the chair and opened up his workstation. He started doing his report while avoiding any information regarding his investigations with the Constable. He summarized what he had seen during the storming event. The effects of the storming event and important details such as when USS Sable appeared to save the Ward.

He redacted the gruesome details and instead referred to the USS Sable and the fire teams that mopped the place. After writing his report, he got out of the work, and didn’t wait for Ayumi, who was clearly busy with the aftermath of a giant storming event.

Gaston walked out of the Earthside Consortium when he saw a man in a long coat standing out like a sore thumb. He sauntered next to the man who was staring at the ads of the city.

“I’ve envisioned something like this. I mean, I saw it on images and search engines, but seeing it up close really makes you wonder if they mean something or do the people even think about them?”

“How long are you going to be here?”

“Today. I may not look like it, Gaston. But I am a busy man.”

“Guess they are your concern now, huh?”

Gaston walked with him.

“True, we have suspected them in dealing with the new mutates. Even if you don’t get involved, then it wouldn’t be long until we catch a whiff of these bastards.”

“Must be hard, Reginald.”

“It can be. Unlike you, I enjoy my job.”

Gaston didn’t reply. He focused on the road while keeping an eye out for the traffic.

“Two events like this… I thought it was because of the things they found in the ocean. The Pacific ring of fire acting up doesn’t bode well for this region of the world.”

“Asia’s fine for now, but she might get a bit of pounding with the recent increase in monsters. The belua does not easily die off, and although we profit from killing them, it doesn’t mean we want them. Anyway, Gaston, stay out of our way for the next two days.”

“Got it. Anything else?”

“That’s all. As much as I like to send you a message, there are things that are better said in private. Recording electronics is easy, and when dealing with a techno-cult like this requires… diligence.”

***

Gaston returned to his apartment. He felt rather relaxed. Still carrying his gear, Gaston being fully armed was no longer strange in this century. He wanted them off while in his apartment. Gaston took his webbing off first and placed the gear in the storage closet. He sat cross-legged on the floor of his apartment, turned on the TV, and sat back while munching on the snack that Ayumi left.

It’s complicated here, Gaston thought. The Ahra Cult was silent, but it seems like there is something about this region. Janna, why did you send me to this place? I know that my debt is quite high, but this is beyond my pay grade.

Gaston had quite a debt to settle with the people who rescued him during the Golden Gate Accident. The Breakers who had done him good during that time. He had to pay them back, and he didn’t want to make his debts long overdue. As Gaston rested inside his room quietly, his AR-module received a call directly from the Commander of the Babaika Company.

Lady Romanov in her full glory.

He was still wearing his suit, so he didn’t bother to move from where he was sitting. Gaston wore his ‘professional demeanor’ like a handy mask as the Lady stared at him.

“Good work, Adjutant. You have been helpful in our affairs in the Ward.”

“It’s in my contract.”

“Yes, you go beyond your original pay grade, but I guess that’s what makes your records well-kept despite the debts you’ve accumulated over the years.”

Gaston stared muted. The Lady Romanov chuckled lightly.

“There were complaints during this incident. As we have expected, there are those who found our services lacking. My HR department has been buzzing about this, and yet they seemed to expect us to guard the area whole.”

Gaston thought that was foolish. Despite the contract that the Babaika Company had signed, and their jurisdiction in the regions of Japan. They were only in charge of a few regions and the areas around Tokyo and Okinawa. Most of the rights that the Babaika Company won were over the deep sea mining rights of the Ichorium. Protection against the beasts was only second in their clauses. Gaston had seen the contract for himself, and how most of their operations were going to be. Patrols over the cities were a third priority for the Babaika Company.

“It makes us look bad, Madam.”

“I agree. However, some of them had the gall to challenge our rights to mine. I read that USS Sable was present during the extermination in the storming event. I say that they have the guts to demand, but I understand they need to get their dues. The ammunition they wasted costs them.”

She was laughing at the report. Amused at the sight of the ‘demand’ from USS Sable. Lady Romanov crumpled the paper before tossing it into the shredder on her left.

“I shall send a letter of thanks to them. As for you, I have a report from Boris that you have done well. The rookies can handle their own, but they are still inexperienced with this industry. Give me your thoughts on our rookies, Adjutant.”

Gaston wondered why he was being asked. “May I ask why you want my opinion, madam?”

“Why not? They considered you a veteran in your field. You must have seen a lot of rookies in your seven years of freelancing. Not to mention that you are a close associate of the UEDF.”

She smiled. Gaston wondered how much information she knew of him? Although he was confident that they well kept his dossier, there are still issues regarding his records, but not even Lady Romanov should have that access. Not that he has anything to hide.

“Yumina Houki, she’s cool headed and calm. I think that she’s used to fighting the Type-class monsters, but she needs more time to adjust to how the Professional Industry handles large events like this. She’s not a soldier, and she will take time to get used to how the industry does its thing.”

“Understandable, her Master was quite the adventurer. She’s used to doing simple extermination jobs.”

They assigned most of the Breakers with a bounty system. They hunt the monsters roaming the land, stray ones, and report their hunts to the local authorities to get their rewards. Most of the small-time breakers associated with the local governments are… what they would call creators who used their abilities to get funding and following within society.

Content creators who vlogged about their experiences in fighting the Type-class monsters. Some do live-streaming while hunting down monsters. Most of these creators are actually somewhat working for the tech-company called Albion. It was a tech-giant who had developed a Breaker-related website and forum. Not that new that some daredevils can earn money through streaming their kills.

Yumina didn’t go down that route despite her looks.

“And what about Shion Jin?”

“He’s a complete rookie, but he handles himself like a soldier, at least.”

Breakers joining a Consortium-licensed company mostly made of Breakers. It disillusioned some of those who joined for the ‘badass’ companies only to find that most of their work is mostly standing up and guard duty and patrols over areas where they had jurisdiction over. When something happens, then mostly it is mechanical, thorough, and precise. Everything is within the plans of the Commander, Handler, and the Bridge providing Overwatch.

Breaker Companies provide benefits, funding, and ammunition which the rest of the solo Breakers don’t have. Then again, the world was desperate enough to allow superhuman individuals to perform and livestream their hunts. Split-realms are still a total mystery and the world has been trying to make sure that they could somewhat prevent these split-realm openings to tear the fabric of space, creating an explosion that sinks fifty miles of land.

“Hmm, what do you think of the event?”

“You can read my report on it, madam.”

“No, I want to hear it from you now, Adjutant,” she said forcibly. “What do you think of the storming event that affected the whole ward?”

The look in the Lady’s eyes could pierce through his soul. Gaston felt like there was a clear suspicion in her tone. The way she spoke made Gaston wonder if she knew about the cult as well. Not that hard to find any information on them, but gathering the attention of the cult was never a wonderful choice to make.

Gaston didn’t reply and kept his silence as if he was in a deep thought. Lady Romanov patiently waited, eyes not looking away, and that stoic face of hers made it impossible for Gaston to avoid this question.

“There might be something going on with the storming event. It is unheard of that there are two large-scale anomalies like this happening. The appearance of USS Sable, and the late arrival of the JSDF, proves that there might be… something going on. I believe the Commander had read the report of how the system that predicts the appearance of these split-realm openings are… delayed and possibly tampered.”

“I have."

Lady Romanov was eyeing something on the side as she talked with Gaston. Gaston wondered what she was staring at before keeping his eyes locked on her.

“These accidents are bothering our operation. It means that your commission might get lower if this keeps happening. Lately, the stipends and subsidies promised by the UEDF and UE have been lacking. I believe they are running their coffers dry with the expenditure in the African Regions.”

Gaston had recently heard that the split-realm anomalies in Africa were troubling. It has become a place where upstart Breaker Companies head first to prove that they have the capabilities of acting like professionals. Global crisis, and the threat of an entire region suddenly collapsing because of a threat made by the world… restless.

“So what are your thoughts, madam?” Gaston asked curiously.

“Adjutant, what do you think I know about you?”

“Enough that we don’t have to bother about the skeletons in our closets, madam.”

She smiled. “Good, I like it when my adjutants are tactful. The last one was quite nosy in our operations. Hmm, the events have proved that you are quite adequate in our time here. Perhaps we might even persuade the Consortium about your contract if you continue to be this tactful, Adjutant.”

“Will that be all?”

“That will be all. Report to me tomorrow. The Consortium demands your presence during the start of our actual operations here in Japan. Good day, Adjutant.”

“Same, madam.”

Gaston plucked his AR-module and placed his headset on the table. He typed in his identification code on his wrist pad and set that the voice message received all incoming calls unless it was an immediate threat.

He landed his back flat on the floor and stared at the ceiling.

The cult… the Babaika Lions… my debts… the split-realm anomalies. It looks like this wasn’t truly a simple job. Maybe I should feed Janna some allergens next time I see her.