"NASA Director Abby Shaw, Space Force Major General Tyler Webb, Army Major General Daniel Robbin, and Air Force Major General Lorelei Stafford testify to the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

The testimony was behind closed doors; however, internal leaks have stated the military was reporting the progress of a top-secret program called Ptero. Nothing is known about the program itself, but the name is an apparent reference to Pterodactylus, an extinct dinosaur. Rumors are that the program is related to SpaceX, but no official statement has been made.

Last week, there was another closed-door testimony related to a program called Ottawa. Ottawa has been an open and closed program to the public going back to 2009. Related to the current US Army Future Vertical Lift program, one subsection of the program has become a joint venture between many branches, the Future Heavy Lift Tactical Aircraft (FVL-Ultra) or previously known as the JMR-Ultra.

The FVL-Ultra concept was developed in 2009 as a radically new kind of helicopter, being the size of a tactical fixed-wing aircraft however it still retains the helicopter VTOL capabilities. The Army has struggled to find a role for this new concept while other subprograms were prioritized, mainly the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft and Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft.

The Ottawa program was given importance last year after a closed-door meeting with SpaceX. Since last year, the Space Force and the Air Force have agreed to join the ventures. Since then, the program went into a blackout.

With the emerging space economy and with SpaceX's first Starship first arrival to the Moon last week. It was considered a testbed, bringing personal, habit modules and a repurposed NuScale Power to support the Armstrong Outpost construction. Some believe FVL-Ultra is related to space in some manner, but all is still speculation.

While SpaceX has become a dominant player in the Space economy, Boeing and Lockheed Martin squeeze out market share. In addition to this however, SpaceX has the bid for both the Orbital Assembly Space Station (OASS) from Boeing and the Orion spacecraft weapons module from Lockheed Martin from Space Force. The goal with the OASS program is to allow NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Space Force to construct larger spacecraft and not need to launch everything in one rocket launch.

The OASS program is a part of NASA, ESA, and JAXA's plan to construct the Nautilus-X spacecraft, and SpaceX Starship modules. As well as In addition to helping with the maintenance of spacecraft and satellites. Currently, there are forty-six people at Armstrong Outpost, with an additional hundred and eight on the seven space stations around Earth and Lunar orbits from multiple nations. This number is expected to grow to over a hundred within the next two years as Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Dragon capsules and Starship begin regular travel between the Moon and Earth.

The Russian Federation has remained a core partner with the United States with the International Space Station or ISS. When the ISS had first constructed two decades ago, its purpose was to be an orbital research station. As new private space stations become online from Boeing, Bigelow Aerospace, Axiom Space, and Aurora Space Station by Orion Span, the ISS has been retooled as a commercial docking station. While the Russians are thrilled with ISS's progress, allowing its space industry to continue and expand, Russia has stated they have not been happy being excluded from the other space expansion and exploration adventurers.

China has partnered with Iran to expand both large Chinese modular space stations. Both countries partner to use the Chinese station for their upcoming mission to land on the far side of the Moon. While China does not publicly state the amount of personnel they have in space, experts believe there are about eight Chinese and two Iranians between the two stations." – Space News.

***

--- Fort Alnus, DARPA Facility Mystical Development and Research Office ---

Date: May 21st, 2026

As Lelei gets out of the HUMVEE, she looks up at the six-stories tall, but the length is massive, almost a full kilometer long. Just like the other military offices and barracks at Fort Alnus, this one feels different. Above the entrance says the word's DARPA.

Sharpe said DARPA is short for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. That the organization is the United States most advanced and research agency in their government. Since his people first came to Falmart, DARPA set up a facility to research the many different races, artifacts, monsters, magic, everything that is different in this world. This is the third time they came to this facility; however, it is far more extensive than last time.

The last time they came here was to test DARAP new XM77 Taser prototype and the VISOR goggles. Rory helped push the XM77 after Sharpe encountered Giselle. Their theory with the taser pistol worked against Giselle, and Rory was a test subject to see how effective the rifle is. She did not like.

The last time Lelei was here was to help with the VISOR prototypes along with Frayen. She and Frayen allowed them to test the VISOR's capability to pick up magical signatures, as well as different degrees of it. She also helped explain some details about magic to calibrate the goggles to what they needed, which proved useful at the Darlko Facility.

"I hope these people don't make me a lab rat for any crazy weapon projects anymore. I mean, why not test it on Giselle! She is available all the time as an inmate," Rory complains.

"For what we know that you are stronger and more experienced than Giselle, so we need to test on you to see if it works on Taylin or not," Sharpe explained. "And let's be honest Rory, you kind of deserve it at times."

Rory sticks out her tongue at Sharpe.

"You should be grateful; they compliment your superior strength compared to most Apostles to test weapons on you. I thought you like being strong," Lelei adds.

"I am not falling for that reverse psychological tactic again," Rory spat back. "Next time they want to do tests you owe me dinner."

They walk to the front desk, where two women are sitting. One is from the US, while the other is one of Tuka people, a High Elf woman. There are three Army Military Police plus one Minotaur in the same MP uniform. Besides those four-military folk, everyone else is wearing professional civilian clothes to her shock. She has grown used to seeing military uniforms in Alnus, not civilians.

"Rory, Lelei, this is a secured facility," Sharpe said as he passed out their ID cards. "Remember, there are a lot of classified projects here, and if you get lost, let's just say bad times."

Rory laughs. "I would love to see them try." She then sees Sharpe's death, command stare which scares her. "Ok..."

"There is he."

Lelei looks at this man. He and Sharpe shake hands and do some small talk. She met him before, one of Sharpes old Delta soldiers. Sergeant First Class Arron Hào, a Vietnamese man.

"Hi Girls, long time no see." Hao looks around. "No, Tuka?"

"Tuka is in the Coan Forest, busy helping people in their new village," Sharpe said. "Yao is with her people too, helping with the resettling. The State Department and some mining company wants to start mining that ore at Mount Tube as quickly as they can. And they want to rebuild Yao village and get it out of the way."

"That is right, got to make those PR people happy. Or stock holders, whatever comes first," Hao said. "Congress has recognized their lands are official countries. Big day."

Currently Yao people are resettling the Roldom Valley as part of the US's economic agreement and other countries to mine in their territory, especially Mount Tube. As part of the economic agreement these companies are required to invest in the tribes. With Tuka people, because the Coan Forest was abandoned, Congress agreed to give the region to Chief Hodor Marceau to form the Koan Woodline State.

Lelei found it strange that the US gave up the Coan Forest to the Tuka people. Roldom Valley made more sense, but nations rarely give up territory if they don't have to. Sharpe explained that the US already had enough territory to manage. The Coan Forest has no military or economic interest in the region, and the cost of development would take decades to regain. Congress felt bankrolling both elf tribes and having them develop and manage would be more cost-efficient. In return, both elven tribes agree to tribute to the war and sign the regional defense pack and FETA. This would also help in the propaganda war, stating that more countries have sided with NATO and showing the other nations on Falmart there are alternatives to siding with the Empire.

While everything Sharpe said made sense, Rory had an alternative theory. In private, Rory wondered if the US and NATO are still hesitant about non-humans, mostly elves, because of how long they live. The fact that Yao is older than most nations on Earth, including the United States. They are still trying to figure out how to handle that. Rory reminded her that these Other Worlder Terrans are still known to this world and these races. Simply put, it might be easier to coexist if the elves have their own nations for defense and trade.

Hearing both Sharpe and Rory's perspective on the matter, Lelei decided she will never go into politics.

Hao knees to Selina. "You have gotten taller. Still shocked that your father settled down. Time is definitely changing."

Selina giggled. "I have a question I've wanted to ask you."

"That is?"

"Is it true that you soldiers stole that couch while in the Philippines(1)?" Selina asked.

Hao laughs and looks at Sharpe. "Really? You told them that story?" He looks back. "It's called the Philippines, and I am sorry, Princess, that is classified."

"That is what everyone says. All the good stories are always classified..."

As everyone follows, Sharpe tells Selina to stay with him at all times.

"She can stay with me, Sharpe," Lelei said as she took Selina's hand. "It is like the time we went to Camp Galileo."

Sharpe looks at Lelei. "Alright."

Hao lightly hits Sharpe's shoulder. "Still cannot believe you are a family man, sir. Thought you were married to the flag."

"There is room on the flag," Sharpe said.

Hao laughs. "I guess there are seven more stripes on the flag that's still open. Anyway, all of you follow me. Since the last time you came here, we have been expanding rapidly."

As they walk, Hao begins explaining what this facility is about. Rory kept asking Hao war stories.

"Lelei, Doctor Edward Dawson has mentioned you many times," Hao said. "He said you have taken an interest in space?"

"That is correct, sir," Lelei said. "I have been emailing Doctor Dawson. He has been sending me pictures of the other planets in the solar system. Jackson and I have also been watching Star Trek. It is amazing."

"And me," Selina added, wanted to be included.

As they move through the hall, Lelei and the other Girls see windows after windows. Behind the windows are all these scientists, engineers, and other people, all in white suits.

In the third room, they passed, and she saw two researchers taking notes on a red amulet. What they are doing with it confuses her as she has never seen an amulet used like that. "Sir Hao, can we please see what they are doing?"

Hao stops and looks. "I am sorry, but I cannot. It is a cleanroom. This is our artifact research lab. What we do is test all the artifacts we find."

With a closer look, Lelei sees all the computers, containment pods, storage, even a car battery. "What are you people doing with that amulet?"

"They are trying to figure how the amulet works," Hao said. "It looks like they are studying how much energy the amulet can take."

"Barbaric."

Rory giggled. "Be careful, Hao. Lelei takes this stuff personally."

"I am not in charge of this department, and we mean no disrespect," Hao said as he looks closer. "From what I understand, that was part of a necklace. We understand a mage can use amulets to enhance their abilities or cast spells. We also know you can place spells on the amulets like in your recent report Rory about the brainwashed bunny."

During the second raid, Rory and Tuka said they fought a bunny who was protecting the Empress. It was a strange sight, a bunny helping the Empire, but it is not her fault. Amulets are a useful tool for mages, allowing them to be creative with their magic.

"What we are trying to do is see if we can use amulets with our technology," Hao added. "If we can program them like how you do with your spells, the possibilities are endless."

"Where did you get all those?" Selina asked.

"Wherever we can," Hao replied. "The rarer stuff we keep in a vault. We found a lot of goodies after Legrath fell. Some towns that we were forced to surrender we took some. We went to town to town and bought what we could, but that has proven not sustainable."

"Because of the Imperial blockage," Rory said. "Those types of goods come from Sadera or Rondel. Since all these towns you occupy are cut off, fresh amulets, scrolls, and crystals won't arrive. They might be losing the battles but they have successfully cut you guys off from the economy."

As Rory and Hao continue explaining all the applications of merging amulets, crystals, and other artifacts with technology and how hard it has been in gathering these tools, Lelei leans into the glass, looking closely at the amulet in the containment pod. "It is a fake."

"Excuses me, Lelei?" Sharpe asked. "How is it fake?"

Lelei rolls her eyes, finding the Americans' ignorance humorous and annoying at the same time. She is glad to see them trying to learn magic, but she still sees the faulty premise. It is like how she thought Uros was flat(2). "Yes. Who gave that to you?"

"We have a native mage in the facility," Hao said. "He has been helping us understand this stuff. He also has access to the magical black market, getting us what we need when we need it. Trust me, we blew through many crystals and amulets in our tests. Are you telling me everything we have is fake?"

"I doubt it," Lelei said. "But this one is a fake. That is why you are not getting the reaction you want. All magical artifacts, tools, and enchanted objects always have some faint mana residue within it when a mage makes them, but these have zero mana residue."

Hearing what Hao said, Lelei understands what happened. They were tricked by a scam artist mage. A mage saw these Other Worlders or Terrans as the Alnus citizens started calling the Earth Humans now ignorant when it comes to magic; he or she saw a chance to scam them because they are like a baby trying to walk. She wonders how wealthy he got because these people do not fully understand the differences yet.

Hao pulls out his cellphone and soon enough security pulls the mage from his office and drags him down the hall. She recognizes him, seeing him at the Magical Academy at Rondel before. He was blacklisted by the Guild for this, selling fake amulets, crystals, orbs, magical clothing, and more.

As the mage is dragged, she waves goodbye. She then looks to Hao. "I am sorry you were tricked."

"It is ok," Hao said, annoyed. "It actually makes a lot of sense now. When something is too good to be true, it usually is."

"What is going to happen to him?" Rory asked.

"He is probably going to get ten years in a prison," Sharpe said. "Maybe twenty-five years because this is technically treason. He agreed to help us and betrayed our trust, hampering our efforts to learn magic."

"Damn," Rory mumbles. "I would have just killed him."

"Never know," Sharpe replied.

Now Lelei feels terrible. She wished she could be more useful on these matters. However, she has no idea how to contrast these tools; she just knows how to use them. The Guild keeps a monopoly on this secret, so they manage the assembly of them. Even though mages on Earth have been discovered, even if they do not have the knowledge, manufacturing, or institutions to help with this merging of science and magic, their expertise and facilities have been lost in the past centuries, especially during the Witch Hunt. The experts in Rondel are needed, like Arpeggio. Now she misses her sister again.

"While I don't know how this works, can I go in there and give it a try?"

"Sure."

Lelei and the others walk into the lab. "Where do you keep the others?"

One of the scientists walked over to a cold storage unit. Lelei has no idea why the storage unit is so cold, probably another one of their many pointless regulations. She walks over and tosses one third of them into the trash, seeing that they are fake or such low quality they're worthless. However, the rest seem to be legit.

After the excitement from the lab, they move down a long hallway. Selina lets go of Lelei's hand and rushes to the long window. "What is in here? Why is it so dark and the glass foggy?"

"Good eye, kid," Hao said. "Let me show you."

Hao walks over and types on a keyboard on the wall.

As the lights come on, Lelei and the rest see what is inside. Her eyes widened, shocked by sight. It is the remains of the four Flame Dragons from the Battle of Mount Tube(3). One is the mother, and the other three are her babies. It took the Air Force F-22s and a Hypersonic missile to kill them. "I see why your facility is so big."

Hao chuckles. "Yup. It was a pain in the ass to get them here."

"Why is it cold inside it?" Selina asked.

"To keep the body fresh, Selina," Sharpe said. "You know how the body decays after dying. If you keep it cold enough, you can slow it down."

"That is correct," Hao said. "We keep it around below ten degrees, so the meat does not rot away."

"It is crazy, isn't it Lelei," Rory said. "The Flame Dragon was considered the bringer of death for so many people. The ultimate apex predator in this world and the body is laying in a cooler as a lab experiment."

Lelei feels what Rory feels. It is strange sightseeing one of the legendary beasts laying in pieces in a meat cooler. She wonders if this is the future, once feared monsters and beasts now a distant memory. The idea is foreign to her but seeing the dragon remains like this shows it is possible.

"What are you doing with it?" Selina asked.

"There are two primary focuses without research," Hao said. "First is the scales. When we collected those Wyvern scales when we first arrived(4), we discovered interesting properties. We discovered they can deflect small bullets and redirect some like spectrum. It is impressive how dense the scales are but how light they are. We are trying to see if they can help with firefighting or in engineering."

"What about the big one?" Lelei asked.

"I was getting to that; I just wanted to give you context," Hao said. "The big one, we discovered the scales are as tough as tungsten. We are studying the DNA of those Flame Dragons, and our readings are unbelievable. We have at least a decade of work with these dragons, but if we can reverse-engineer this, it could radically transform how we construct buildings or provide new types of weapons."

"What is so special about it," Rory asked. "I know scales are valuable, but you are treating it like they will change everything."

"It is hard to explain, but because the Flame Dragon is so big, the body produces so much body heat," Hao explains. "While the scales act as a protective layer, they allow the body to vent the heat. And the fact that they are light allows it to fly while deflecting a .50 cal round. The scapes might be the solution to our body armor problem."

"You think?" Sharpe asked.

"The scales can deflect a .50 cal, sir," Hao said. "But the armor would be smaller so a man can wear it. Still, it could block 7.62 mm, and you know how big that bullet is. On top of that, it might deflect magic."

Hearing that shocked Lelei. DARPA has always been trying to develop new body armor to help stop magic attacks. They have developed three different versions in the past year, and all three versions have failed. They believed they developed a good one, the Uros Modular Body Armor Vest or known as UMBAV(5), was deployed; however, it ended up as a complete failure.

Hao takes a breath. "Out of the six hundred and thirty-three soldiers who died and four thousand four hundred and seventy-two wounded from this war, two hundred and nine died from magic and two thousand seven hundred and thirteen wounded from magic. These scales could make the UMBAV more useful."

"The problem we have been having is that we cannot design body armor to counter everything. We can design one to counter fire magic, but what about ice and energy? If we design the armor for one group of magic, it's worthless against others. It's purely random, and the Army hates random."

"And you are not including power levels, sir," Lelei said. "Because you might design armor that can protect against a spell, if the mage is powerful enough, that armor is still worthless. Oh, I am sorry for stating that."

"It is ok; it is the truth," Hao said. "It's why we are here.

"As I said before, we have a decade of research to do; we still have to analyze the dragon droppings to see how effective it is as fertilizer. An animal like this, we bet it would be useful."

"I have a question; I was wondering why you wanted our blood and brain scans?" Rory asked. "I know you told me before, but I am still struggling to understand these radio waves that come out of your head."

"They are called neural oscillations, or brainwaves, Rory," Hao said. "They are very different. I wish the elves were here for the next part but let me take you to the lab."

With that, they all follow Hao to the next lab. When they arrive, they go inside and see some scientists on the computers. On the many screens, she sees data and pictures of DNA and RNA. Lelei read the terms in a book after the first time she came here to give blood. While she was fascinated by how small things can be and how important they are to her body, the subject was hard to understand.

"Hello, Lieutenant Colonels and girls! My name is Angelina Herena, council member of the North American Coven Council and master of curse and hex, at your service," a blond, beautiful Wiccan mage in lab clothes playfully greets and bows at them.

Herena shakes everyone's hands, especially Lelei. "The Grand High Witch asked me to come to support matters in the arcane and as well as some conventional science as well as to do some other matter that involved cursing. You see, NATO has recently initiated Operation Grimoire, which is similar to Operation Paperclip, to forcefully recruit captured imperial mages to work for them in various arcane research and development in exchange for shaving off their sentences. However, as usual, you cannot trust the enemies who are forced to work with you too much, so I am also providing security for that."

"I placed each Imperial mage with a curse mark that will make them combust in flame on my command if they are out of line. To lift the curse, they have to use the release spells or simply walk over my dead body," Herena conjures a curse mark in her hands.

"That was smart," Rory said. "I am also an expert in hexs. We will have to share notes next time."

Lelei notices sleeping bags, blankets, and clothes bags in the corner. "Do you two live here?"

"Oh, sorry," Herena said. "Yeah, we live here most of the time. Long hours."

"By the way, have you two eaten today?" Hao asked. The scientist and mage glance at each other confused. "Anyway, the Girls here want to know what you've been doing with their blood and neural oscillations."

"Really?" Rory said. "This is a lot faster than I expected."

"Well, I am not fighting in the war, so I don't have to go through boot camp, thank god," Harena said. "I also wanted to see the differences between Earth magic and Uros magic. At first appearances, everything looks similar, but it turns out there are key differences. That is why I am here to find out those differences."

"As you know, the topic of magic has been hard for us to understand," Hao said. "With Lelei here, we wanted to see how the brain reacted when she cast her magic. We are still analyzing all that data but found the brain reactions are shockingly impressive."

"Can you say this in English, please?" Sharpe asked.

Herena holds her head. "How can I explain this?"

"We tested Lelei brainwaves too," Herena said. "The increased brain waves are not based on someone's intelligence, just evolution. We discovered in past tests with Lelei that when she uses her Magic, her brain becomes highly active."

"Have you ever tested yourself," Lelei asked.

"We wish we could have," Herena said. "Going to the hospital was considered too dangerous. If we were caught, it would put our kind in danger. This is the first time we have been able to do research on this scale without worrying about discrimination. Now let me explain more."

As Lelei listens, she struggles to understand the information related to the brain. She is shocked that they can see the mind and how it works, making her think this could help her become more efficient with her new magical spells. Her recent battle with a high-class magic-user showed her that she has more work to do.

"We also discovered one other thing," Hao said. "We believe that magic is genetic. It will take years to figure out the genes, but we discovered that some Humans have a gene that allows him or them to use Magic. Not everyone has this gene which helped explain why Magic easily disappeared on Earth."

Herena laughs. "I told you that already, but no, you people have to discover everything yourselves."

Selina looks around, confused. She then grabs Sharpe's pants. "Are they talking about magic jeans? I am confused."

Lelei looks at Sharpe too. "I am also confused. I know there's no magic clothes on Earth, so do they mean DNA?"

"Sorry, Girls, it is easy to forget you don't know all these terms," Sharpe said. "Genes, not jeans. I see the confusion. Genes are the basic cells in your DNA; they help make you what you are."

"Someone remembers science class," Hao said. "That is the basics."

"I understand," Lelei said. "And I can confirm this. Very few Humans can learn magic, so the Magic Guild invests huge resources in finding magic sensitive children. Usually, if someone does not show signs of magic between the ages of eight to twelve. If they do not, then they are not mages."

"Interesting," Hao said. "We think we have discovered the origin of how Humans and some races can connect to the... Eter? Is that how you say it Lelei?"

"Ether," Lelei said.

"Ether, got it," Hao said with a thumbs up. "We believe there is a connection with the Ether and the pineal gland deep inside the brain. What the pineal gland does is help regulate a person's sleeping habit but many scientists believe it does more. It is nicknamed the third eye which some believe allows someone to see into the spiritual realm."

"The pineal gland is one of the most unknown parts of the brain," Herena said. "We believe this gland allows the person to connect to the Ether and summon magical abilities."

"What about me?" Rory asked as she hopped on a desk. She plays with a pen between her fingers. "I allowed you to have some of my blood because I was curious what the results would be. I did it because I trust Sharpe, and he said I could trust you."

Hao stares at Rory, scared. "Where do you find them boss?"

"eBay." Sharpe takes a deep breath. "Now answer the girl before things get interesting."

Hao walks over to a computer and shows some data on the main screen. "I have no way to describe what we learned from your DNA. It is perfect, Rory."

Rory smirks and then moves her hand up her leg. "Perfect." She said sexually.

Lelei rolls her eyes, knowing what Rory means. Rory always talks about how excellent and powerful the female form is, which fits into her world and sexual view. That male might be physically stronger on average, Rory considers an afterthought by their creator while females got the most essential traits. She has no idea how or why Rory does that. She has been told all her life that men have big egos; even Sarah points that out. However, Rory has had the most giant ego she has ever met. Sometimes she is jealous of how comfortable Rory is with herself. "What do you mean perfect?"

"I mean perfect," Hao said. "Usually, there is some decade or corruption like cancer. A genetic disease or deformity, something." He pauses as he comprehends what he is saying. "There is nothing wrong with your genetics Rory. It is like a brand new car that has never been driven. Everything is new and never touched."

"We tested these results with Frayen DNA," Herena said. "Same results. He was perfect for an elf. We cannot believe it. Nothing in science can explain this."

"Well, when a god picks someone to be their Apostle, they change the body to allow us to do the feats we do," Rory explains. "This is running fast, jumping, ultra strength, extra smarts, everything. A god does not want their Apostle to be at a disadvantage in battle."

"Please correct me, but the reason why you collected our blood and other races' blood was to do tests," Lelei asked. "LIke to see if you can find cures."

"That is correct," Hao said. "On Earth, we test different species all the time. Let me give you an example, Tuka, and Yao."

"From our tests, Elves and Humans are remarkably close," Hao said. "We and other species share a ninety-nine percent genetic commonality. It is why so many races can vary interbreed. We still don't understand why, though."

Sharpe thinks on it for a moment. "In Star Trek The Next Generation, the same thing can happen with different species. The reason behind this was because most humanoid species are descendants of an ancient species, so we all shared the same basic genetic code."

"I had a feeling you were going to bring that up," Hao replied. "We ruled that idea out."

Lelei finds the conversation fascinating. It never crossed her mind that this was not normal. It has always been the norm in this world, and it never dawned on her. Now that she thinks about it, she realizes this is not the rule for some beast races like Bunnies. "Sir Hao, what about races like Bunnies and Goblins?"

"That is one we are still figuring out," Hao answered. "We are assuming it might be because the beast genes are more dominant, but more testing is needed. We also don't understand why the Bunnies are so female dominant and why Goblins are pure male dominant."

"With the Bunnies, we assume it might be an evolution balancing feature to prevent overpopulation," Herena said. "Like the Elves, on average, they can live a thousand years, but their fertility is extremely low. They might only be able to have six to ten kids total in that time frame."

"While Nekos can have half breeds, unlike Bunnies and Goblins, their genes still seem to be more noticeable compared to races," Herena added. "We just wish the Nekos and Bunnies would answer our volunteer requests. We pay and all."

"What is the matter?" Selina asked. "Tyuule and Delilah seem fearless."

"Think about it, sweetheart," Rory said. "Nekos and Bunnies have been slaves for years. The idea of going to a lab and being tested is not that attractive."

"Yup," Herena replied. "That is what we concluded. We just need to do more outreach, but that issue can be resolved."

As Lelei listens to the conversation, she is confused by the goblins. They have always been the vermin of Falmart, even to other Darklings races. The Empire had to wage countless wars to suppress them and created a tribute system to ship slave women to breeding and slave men for sport and food. At the time, it was considered one of the great deeds by the Empire for stopping them.

"Have you found out why goblins are so different?" Lelei asked. "I remember this being a topic in Rondel in one of my classes. Even the other Darklings like Orcs are more civil than them. It has baffled my superiors for generations."

"They have been a baffling race to study," Herena replied. "Their race defies everything we know about nature. At first, we thought they were asexual, but that was proven wrong. They still need a female to reproduce however we discovered they have no X chromosome, only Y. It is so baffling how a species can only be male. We assume there had to be females on their homeworld before coming to Uros but that is only a theory."

"Current theory is why they act so primal," Hao added. "To put it politely. It must be hardwired that if they don't find another mate their race dies. Evolution is a bitch."

"White it will take decades to scan and read their genetic code, we have discovered they are resistant to many chemical weapons, going up to nerve gas," Herena said.

"I read up on your chemical weapons," Lelei said. "They are still immune to your advanced poisons? Impressive... wait, how did you learn this?"

There is a short silence in the room. After getting Sharpe's approval, Hao answers, "All the goblins, trolls, orcs that came to Earth were all executed and then researched on. We were hoping to find live goblins to research on, but Congress extermination law on the monster races is strict."

"That is what happens when you have them eat and rape people live over the Internet," Sharpe said. "And lack of diplomatic options makes the situation hard, but I am not going to lose sleep over it."

"That has been the opinion of you military folk," Herena said. "We need some alive to further our research."

"Bad idea," Rory said. "I told General Stanford and Ambassador Willington a long time ago not to waste their time on them and the other monster races. You are better off just purging them and forgetting about them."

"Very bold statement Rory, but I happen to agree," Frayen said as he wheeled into the room.

Lelei looks at the Apostle. His head is attached to his body. The head was discovered in the vaults of Legraths, and the body was being experimented on at the Darlko Facility. He also has his left arm, a foot, and the opposite leg. The Rangers and other Special Forces have made an effort to locate his body.

"Frayen, I am glad to see you are getting better," Lelei said. "Have you figured out what the Darlko mages wanted with your body?"

"Sorry, but no," Frayen answered. "I have been studying all the notes you collected from the facility. The problem I have is that it is written in an ancient language and written in encryption. I need my notes to decipher them."

"Give it to Lelei; she is the smartest girl in the world," Selina said, making Lelei blush.

Frayen stands there, unfazed by Selina's joke. "Intelligence is not the answer to this problem. I remember seeing some of the symbols before at the Library of Elaish." He then looks to Sharpe. "Sir Sharpe, permission to speak with Miss Lalena."

"Permission granted."

Frayen walks over and waves Lelei to follow.

After going into a private room, Frayn looks at Lelei. "Miss Lalena, I have a proposal for you."

This is all confusing for Lelei, as she does not understand what an Apostle wants with her. From what she understands, Frayen only socialized around Krysist. "What can I do for you?"

As Lelei watches, Frayen walks over to a computer and begins pulling videos of her military career. Lelei is shocked to see how quickly he learned how to type and navigate through the operating system.

"I have been following your development of magic since I first saw you during the first raid on Sadera(6)," Frayen said. "You have been inventing a new kind of magic like neither world has ever seen before. Earth science and Uros methodology and experience."

Lelei blinks. "I was just curious. I wanted to see how I could improve my spells with their knowledge. I was impressed how much detail they had on their world and thought it could apply." That is when she realizes what he said, that he has been watching her. "You've been watching me? All that time?"

"Of course, how did you think Krysist ran into your convoy so easily(7)," Frayen said. "I will admit, though, I underestimated your strength the first time we met(8). Very insightful."

"That is why you didn't battle me in Havcristen(9)?"

"I was prepared to fight if you wished, but I just wanted to see who you were," Frayen said. He pulls up the helmet video of the fight with Lord Valker.

"Were?" Lelei asked in confusion. "Do you mean are?"

"No."

It showed how Frayen took control of Lelei, and he transferred his mana to Lelei. She never felt more powerful in her life as the energy flowed through her body. More mana than she ever could

have imagined having in a dozen lifespans. She remembers unlocking new kinds of magic like combination spells, using two or more spells at once.

During the fight against Lord Valker, Lelei used three spells at once to overwhelm him. Since that fight, she has not been able to repeat that event. "Why are you showing me this?"

"You are powerful, Lelei, but raw," Frayen stated. "While you have developed power spells, you have yet to learn to properly manage them. You burn through your mana quickly, and all those spells are inefficient. I saw your fight against the Dark Empress, and you should have killed her. You were stronger, but she easily prevented that."

Lelei frowns, thinking back at her fight with the Empress. No matter what spell she used, Famulis kept deflecting or dodging. It was almost like all her hard work was worthless. "I know. I was there."

"Don't be an upset young one," Frayen said. "You are still young with much to learn. For you to continue to use this new mage, you must learn to control it. You must learn to make these spells more efficient otherwise, one day, they will get you killed because you depleted your mana reserves."

"I am trying Frayen, but I am alone here," Lelei replied. This conversation is bothering her. "Sharpe and the others have tried, but they are not teachers of magic. When I chose to stay with them, I could not go to Rondel for help because of the war. Earth mages can surely help, especially the Shaman with their natural energy techniques or the Ying Yang technique of the Asian mage, especially from Japan or China(9) but right now NATO is still not trusting the Earth mage's enough to let much of them in here to teach me properly. So far, they only let Harena here! I am doing my best."

"I know, Lelei, do not take offense," Frayen said. "This is my proposal. I will take you under my wing, and I will teach you the necessary skills and disciplines you need to advance your development so you don't need to wait until NATO can let more of their mages here. I will help you along with Herena here. In time, you can have more arcane teachers from Earth to teach you their exotic magic, you will have a good foundation of how to manage mana flow efficiently."

Lelei blinks, shocked by this. "You, you want to help me?"

"Yes. And together, we will unlock the secrets and take magic to a new understanding. Also since I and Herena will train you, I think I can learn something about curses from you, Herena. I want to know how Earth magic really is," Frayen states.

"Well and you can teach me about Phantom Magic, Frayen! And Lelei, we're gonna have a lot of fun together. I can make you master some curses that will make your enemies never forget!" Harena states.

***

--- Roseisle Forest, Dun-Kat Haryo Facility ---

Date: May 1st, 2026

Agent Katherine Moss is thrown into a dark and dirty cell. She hits the stone ground hard as, with no care from their prisoners. She hears the door lock behind her.

The recent brand burn on her back still hurts, being very fresh. While working for the CIA she has seen many horrific things in her life however the past two hours have been barbaric. They stripped her and branded her with a mark.

In the branding or forge room she saw blood and body parts everywhere. The Haryo clearly had no concept of hygiene and sanitation protocols but she could tell there is some kind of mad scientist exterminations going on.

At first she thought the rumors were dumb, believing that everyone on Falmart was to primitive to do biological research. After seeing what she saw she is willing to entertain any horror theory.

"Another one."

Hearing a weak feminine voice she looks up. She sees about a dozen men and women, all naked. All of their facial expressions show that they are soulless, defeated, horrified, like they have seen the worst, all lost hope in life. Some of them are missing body parts, confirming the ones she saw belong to them.

Before Katherine could respond she then noticed most of the women are pregnant which shocked her. While most look to be five or six months, two of them look to be eight or nine months.

"I assume you all were taken from Philadelphia?"

There is a long delay before someone responds. The delay showed how little they care. "I actually forgot the place name. Yes, we came from there." One of the black men said in a depressed cold tone.

The situation is worse than she ever imagined. Katherine mine races as she tries to figure out what is going on here.

"I take it we are losing the war," a woman asked. "Third one this month. It is hopeless."

Katherine takes a deep breath to control her emotions. She looks around and sees the man she was looking for, Doctor Isaac Duncan. He is sitting by a wall that's next to another cell full of people. She notices his left arm is gone and deep cuts in his body, like barbaric surgery of some kind.

Duncan was taken from Camp Galileo(10). While he was not the first to be kidnapped, that was the first time the US government realized their people are being targeted.

As she moves closer to him she hears a loud scream echoing the halls.

"Doctor Duncan?"

Duncan hesitates to look up. "I have not heard that name in so long."

"I know," Katherine replied. "What is happening here? Why are all the women pregnant?"

"To make sure that they don't run out of us for testing," Duncan said.

That is when the woman next to him starts to cry. "I gave birth, I think three weeks ago and I never saw him again. They took the baby away."

Hearing that Katherine covers her mouth. "So they are testing on us."

"I see you've been branded to," Duncan said. "They see us as cattle and nothing more. Even the NAZI's were more human. They just don't care. When someone is taken they come back missing something, if they come back at all."

"You are not part of the breeding program," a woman said coldly. "That symbol means they are going to open up your body."

Katherine takes a long, careful look around the cell. "Is this everyone here?"

"No," Duncan said. "There are three cells full of people plus another cell somewhere else. We don't know where that one is but we can always hear the screaming."

Duncan finally looks up. "Because you are new I can see you were recently taken. Has the war gotten that bad? I thought we were winning."

Katherine debates if she should tell them. The last thing she needs is one of them telling the Haryo Tribe of Operation Ghost Soldier for it to fall apart. She has no idea if her GPS signal is getting picked up by NATO. From what she can tell they are far away from the frontlines. She gives it a fifty-fifty shot that a rescue party is coming.

Katherine does a cross and makes a short prayer.

"There is no god," Duncan said. "No god would allow this."

"Don't be so sure," Katherine said. She takes a quick look around. "I am CIA and I came to free you. There is a GPS chip inside me so our people can find us."

There is a long silence in the room until this young woman looks up at her. "Wait? CIA?"

For a moment Katherine thought she saw hope in that young lady's eyes. "Only if no one tells. Our people are coming. I don't know when but they are. God won't let them fail."

***

--- Roseisle Forest, Dun-Kat Haryo Facility ---

Date: May 23rd, 2026

The Oprichnina guard yawns after another long night. "This assignment is such a horses pie."

"No kidding," The other guard said.

The Roseisle Facility is a research and development base for the Haryo Tribe. Clan Chief Bouro has been taking as many Other Worlder prisoners they can find and bringing them to facilities like these for research. As part of their alliance with the Empire, Preator Svenhard Lupus Moon agreed to provide security.

"But I would rather be bored here then on the front lines," the guard added.

In the quiet night, a loud, painful scream is heard coming from the facility. The scream came from one of the Other Worlders prisoners. He does not know what the Haryo Tribe is doing to them, asking questions is forbidden except for their superiors, but the screams are normal. He has killed a lot of people in his life but this, even this seems wrong. Even for Siflis followers.

"I don't know," he said as he walks along the inner wall. "Sometimes I wonder if being on the front lines would be better than here. I struggle to sleep now from the screams."

"Don't be weak my friend. Good pay, good meals, let the fools die. We are safe here. From what I understand the enemy do not even know about these places. The Haryo's are strange but they know how to hide."

"True." He walks along in deep thought. Besides the screams this has been the best post. No threat of death, hot food, bed, nothing.

He stops and looks out at moon Idos. From the light he can see the outer defensive wall. He can see eleven guards on the ballista. Some are standing around while others are laying on the ground asleep. Guards asleep while on duty here has become the norm from boredom.

They also seem bored until he notices something strange. All the guards who are sleeping are laying on a pool of something. The ones who are awake are now lied down.

Suddenly, more people in black appeared on the wall, from the outside. His mind struggles to understand what he is seeing until he realizes they are the enemy. It should be impossible but they found this facility. "We are under atta-."

Before he could finish his sentence, a furry hand grabs his mouth and his neck is instantly snapped.