Both girls were awake again late that night, having finally been able to get enough rest. Rosa’s treatment had been going very well in the process, leaving both girls feeling a lot better.

Kori was honestly feeling a bit sore, but fortunately not due to anything serious. After discussing the struggles Rosa had gone through, Kori had decided that getting to personally test her own DNTI would be a pretty smart move. While she was recovering after the operation, Rosa had run back to the underground cavern to collect some rocks. From Kori’s perspective, there was a degree of smarts to it, having their cybernetics shut down from using Rosa’s little trick could really cause them some problems. Rosa probably had it the worst there, but Kori knew that a lot would be really awkward with her dominant hand unavailable, it was an experience they had already undergone before. What Kori was thus left considering is the cross effect of how variables transgressed the barriers of known logic between worlds. It actually helped her a lot in considering the principles of how elementals worked in the other world, being a variance of the periodic elements with a shifting integrity of molecular energy. In that world, the process was generally safe, although void energy itself could be very dangerous. Of the two stones she had collected though, one of them was mostly fine, the molecular shift being slightly inert and having restored itself quickly. She actually found the rock to have exhibited minor magnetic properties instead, without even being ferrous. The other one however was outright isotopic.

It hadn’t taken her long to figure out the cause of such distinction either, not with her own DNTI installation where they had to install the OSIDF into her arm. Both of Rosa’s knees were designed to be identical, but the DNTI only needed one OSIDF, and the one that contained it was the same knee with the irradiated stone. The elemental process was thus leaving the molecular balance rather weakened, and an ionic reaction outright severed the atomic integrity. If they were going to work with both features, there was going to be some use for ionic and radioactive shielding. Meanwhile, she also knew that the cybernetic system needed to be redesigned to integrate instrumentation features, the current rough design being very difficult to work with. It didn’t help that she was stuck considering all of this on her own, her nanites not being available to help with the process. She didn’t blame Rosa for the loss of her nanite culture, but it really did sting sometimes. Of course, such a thing wasn’t permanent, the culture would be capable of repopulating and reteaching each other from backups.. but that was neither an easy nor quick process. It also wasn’t genuinely the same culture anymore either. As a result, she had no estimates on how much would need to go into the design to support the creation, but with the added shielding.. it was going to be important to make sure everything was compacted carefully. More than just being an upgrade, this was a revision to a cross-world styled cybernetics, a rather insane concept.

Being so forward thinking though, she also started considering such principles inverted. If Rosa could invert such world principles.. then what was stopping her from doing such from the other side too? The structural system would have been biologically adaptive, the usage of minerals over metals not being in whole a problem. However, unlike their cybernetics, there was a need to keep blood pumping through the cybernetic system for gift usage, such blood would stagnate in the arm without a real pump to keep the process going after the gift itself went stagnant. The cybernetics also would need it’s own power supply, possibly their biggest concern. They had solved power-supply issues here with Rosa’s random rock discovery, but finding a plasma core in the other world might be a lot harder. She also had to make sure that they were careful about any cross-reactions from any additions either, but it really didn’t help that she didn’t fully understand any potential reactive principles the elements were concerned about.

“Hey, Kori, sorry to bother you, but we got reports of someone approaching our little outpost. I expect it’s Rosa’s guest.” “Oh, you mean her sister. Is she driving a really sleek black drifter, all too obviously looking more expensive than it actually was?” “Uh, I guess that works. Yeah, yeah, probably.” “Great. I’ll go meet her out front then.” “Is there any problem? You sound pretty stressed all of a sudden.” “You obviously don’t know Sophie.” Tristine followed Kori down to the main level and out to the front, still not understanding. Kori knew Tristine was the one who actually replaced the previous beacon, so there was some value having the other conduit present, but the technician better be ready for the sudden wave of intensity. Sophie had stood against a landslide that had threatened to destabilize her life’s goals, but she had done so by herself being the bigger landslide. The girl’s reckless ambition was much more reclusive when relaxed, but this really wasn’t a normal situation. That girl was probably a time bomb ready to blow.

In the distance, she could faintly see a black speck approaching in a white surf, the snow billowing in a cyclone around it. Of course, this is why Sophie always insisted on her choice of vehicle, drifters could go anywhere. However, Kori knew there was more involved than just that. Sophie pulled in at high speed, not even slowing down on her approach, passing through the main gate in a blur, she shifted the propulsor to a fierce side shift, going into a dramatic drift. Kori casually stepped behind a steel fence, leaving Tristine to be covered in an avalanche of snow. Sophie continued in a wide circle, evening out in a quick 360 before coming to a complete stop in the middle of her spiral. The thing quite simply was not called a drifter for nothing. Sophie herself was moving in her own momentum, herself leaving the drifter as it parked. Kori was beside the vehicle as Sophie was getting some of her possessions out of the back seat.

“Hey Kori, where’s Rosa?” “Attending her latest project, she’ll want to tell you all about it.” “Oh, perfect. I’ll bring Iggy inside then. Can you grab a handful of the stuff from the trunk and show me where I’ll be staying. Thanks!” “The heck, why is your trunk full of rifles?” “There was an aerospace program distributing this stuff like candy bars, I just grabbed a few extra. I mean, if you and your new friends were out here, you probably would have missed out on the whole thing.” “Wait, why is aerospace services giving away firearms in bulk?” “No idea, something about proactive protectionism. They’ve also reinforced the barrier perimeter with some serious smoke. Whole place feels like the coming of the storms of war, but no sign of who we’re on the watch for. Oh, actually, I guess letting you carry a firearm is kind of illegal, isn’t it? Whatever, doesn’t matter, never liked that anti-conduit drivel anyway. Where am I staying?” “I’m not sure, ask Tristine, she would know.” “Who?” “The girl over there you buried in snow.” “Great, that works.” Sophie was already gone before Kori managed to get a collection of rifles out of the trunk. Kori knew that, technically, carrying such a weapon was very illegal of her.. and had been ever since the end of the conduit uprisings. In all accounts though, it wasn’t as if she wasn’t already dangerous, such a rifle might be simply the most practical weapon she had at her disposal. Even in direct comparison, she had access to a plasma particle cannon already on site, something way more devastating than the little things in her arms.

“Kori, perfect, I managed to get a good design setup for an instrument, though I would like your opinion on its shielding. If the model works, we can figure out how to upgrade… What in the world are you running around with now?” “Gifts from your sister, she’s already making herself at home.” “Oh, maybe I should go say hello.” “She’s right now finding a good place to store her pet, which she brought along for some insane reason.” “I can say hello later. Want to get this done while waiting?” “Sure, why not. I kind of lost track where all of this stuff is supposed to go anyway.” Rosa lightened a bit of Kori’s load to help make the trip easier as the two of them looked into what Rosa had achieved so far. That was to say, Rosa took almost everything, set it on a holo, and walked along empty handed. Kori was impressed, such a direct control over a holo would have required quite a lot, it wasn’t even something she was certain she could do. However, considering how such a thing worked, Kori could tell what gave Rosa such an edge. Managing focus was just something you got really good at in the other world overtime, especially for an elf, Rosa was probably just used to this sort of thing.

Additionally impressive, it was seeming as if Rosa was adjusting quite well to the sciences of this world too. Applying a thin coating of lead to the stones was a brilliant move, especially since lead obstructed ionization and was rather decent with radiation. Kori had no idea what impact that might have had elementally, but expected that Rosa would have accounted for any troubles already. This did however have a notable increase in weight, but the gyro was adjusted to make use of that properly. In all technicality, that would just mean that her arm would have a lot more strength than it normally would, even beyond simply weight compensation. It was all too obvious that Rosa had been using a lot more advanced materials, stuff HyperTech had given her access to. Kori wasn’t even sure why she was worrying, Rosa had this stuff down way better than she did. Getting everything installed didn’t even take Rosa much effort, having gotten used to such a process as well. Testing her grip, Kori found that her arm moved possibly too well, this was an immense upgrade. Kori at least got to help Rosa install the new upgrades for the DREs on Rosa’s ears, a task that was wrapping up as Sophie walked in.

“Wow, that is quite the look for you, sister. I know you said you might be an elf in the other world, but you look something of the part here, like that. Knowing Kori, it’s not all for show either, is it? Nevermind, I don’t know your techy stuff and I don’t want to start now. All that matters to me is that you end up looking fashionable in the process. I know, I know, practicality matters too, that’s why I brought some stylish practicality, right here. I made sure to pick some sleek styled designs for these puppies. Sorry that the colors were all garbage though, but I expect that wouldn’t be hard to fix either. Yes, I did take an opportunity to look at the numbers too, they are supposed to do the good works as well as they do the good looks.” Sophie was all over the rifles at that point, clearly and pointedly finding appearances more valuable than efficiency. It seems her goal was to provide for the people she cared about, especially considering how rough things were going. Going over updates of their travels only drove Sophie to be even more protective, leaving the other two with no choice but to pick their favourite from the collection she provided. Kori went with a fairly intuitive-looking plasma projection design, trusting it to work fairly well with her cybernetic arm despite herself never actually using one before. Rosa was even more ignorant, but at least opted for a light ionic laser rifle after a slight familiarity in design that developed working with Tristine on the same energy form. Rosa meanwhile was cautiously aware just how useful this sort of thing might have been earlier, facing off against her previous foe. A single one might not be much, but a collection would have shredded the thing. Rosa clipped the rifle to the side of her leg, finding it rather easy to attach to another mechanical piece, leaving Kori to figure out where her own choice should go. Kori eventually clipped it over her shoulders, attaching it to the upper-side of her cybernetic arm and otherwise supporting it with a shoulder strap.

“Stylish, awesome. You know, with all this cybernetic stuff, why aren’t you two going with a stylish techy look? You would have thought that silicon plating would have not just made things work better, but also provide some extra protection. You two are doing so rough stuff, can’t just depend on that holo stuff, need to think ahead and take extra precautions. Look, if it's cause you two just aren’t slowing down long enough to look into it, I’ll help out. That Tristine lady looked like she knew some stuff, I’ll run ideas off of her and come up with something stylish, you two can keep doing what you’re doing.” “I think Rosa had something about working with Tristine first though, something about looking into working on the defenses for this place as a whole. If you want to help though, I’ve got some routines I need you to hold onto, stuff to help my nanites when they get back into action. You’re still going to need to meet Drew as well, since he’s pretty much coordinating everything here, we’ll go meet him afterwards.” Sophie did not like having her plans shifted so suddenly by Kori, even though she had only just come up with said plans. Even so, she understood she was still adjusting to how things worked around here.. all the techy nonsense throwing her right off most of all. Regardless, Sophie was still happy to be here helping out, a bit of a voice of reason for people blinded by technology.. and mostly an opportunity to help take care of two people who really mattered to her. She hadn’t mentioned that she had sort of lost her apprenticeship because of a suspicion of her being related to an identified arsonist, another reason to have been compelled to overstock on protection. If she played her cards right, HyperTech might find use for a stylish individual such as her. Such was why, after having a copy of the routines Kori wanted her to keep handy, she knew she had to be at her most professional when facing this Drew person.

“You would be Drew, right. Sophie. It is a pleasure to meet you, I must thank you kindly for all of your support in the endeavours of my sister and her friend here. It is great that you have taken such good care of them, something I am endlessly thankful for. In light of such, I’ve arrived to make an offer of my own services in thanks for everything you’ve done. I’m a trained stylist, with an extensive background in textile designs. I know such isn’t directly of service to you, but please be aware that modern methods of textile designs extend to both holo and mechanical aesthetics, something which I’m certain would be of value to you.” “Well, true, there is value in aesthetic design.. but we’ve actually found an expert already very versed in the subject. You would even know her, from what I’ve heard, as she would be your own sister. Kori here isn’t that bad on the subject, either.” “I.. well.. uh…” “Look, I can see you mostly just really want to help out, and that’s very admirable, but it helps to be honest about these sorts of things. Around here, there is no pressure in trying to fit in, there is rightfully plenty that needs to be done to get things running properly. I’m guessing your concerns are that you’re not that well versed in matters of technology, unlike your sister. That’s fine, we also have a lot of other things to look into, such as quite a number of business-level responsibilities. If you’re willing to be open minded, I’m sure we can find a number of things for someone as visibly motivated as you.” “T-thank you.” So even Sophie couldn’t keep up to the management style Drew had going for him, Sophie looking quite displaced suddenly. Kori had known Sophie for a long time, this was the first time she had ever seen a display like that before. Drew was honestly even visibly the younger of the two, clearly a natural at climbing the chain of responsibility. Kori could tell that Sophie wasn’t very comfortable, but had nodded regardless.

“Kori, as for you… It has come to my attention what sort of things were discovered hidden below us, and I would like it if someone as analytical as you could return to such caverns and investigate the place further. Rosa and I had discussed the matter previously, I have some suspicions of the place being very integral to conduit history.. a thing I’ve heard you have some interest in. Knowing this, my request should not be considered an obligation.. more of an offer. Would you be interested in seeing what sort of place your ancestors might have worked with in the past?” “I.. they.. it.. uh…” “Obviously, the decision is entirely your own, but I hope that you would be willing to share what you discover were you to take up such an offer. Now, if you would both excuse me, I’ve got a lot of work to look into. Sophie, I’ve heard you at least know Tristine, can you please go reach out to her. Tristine can point you in the right direction, I’ll make sure to forward her any related instructions. You might need to be patient though, the woman has been very busy, she will need to find a good opportunity to get you started as well. All of us have a lot on our plate, so I look forward to seeing what you can do to help lighten the load for us all.” Drew went back to work quite suddenly at that, Kori being worried that she might have picked a bad time to stop by. Of course, after the attack from before, everyone was a bit worried.. so maybe that was only to be assumed. Sophie wasn’t slowing either, already gone off to find Tristine as per Drew’s instructions.

It was this realization that made Kori feel a little guilty, being basically told to go enjoy herself in matters of history while everyone else got some real work done. However, she recalled there was a request that had come with such an offer, Drew wanted some more information. Of course, it would be sensible for the guy to be aware of what foundation his operations stood upon, there was a lot of value in such awareness. Taking such into consideration, she rushed to locate the opening Rosa had visited earlier, making her own way down. Even reaching the area with the generator, the place having warmed up immensely in operations, she found a passage that went even deeper down a side corridor. At a certain depth, the rugged stone parted to reveal a chamber with the same stone clearly polished to a finished gem, the entire hall glittering as glass in her ionic lamp. Nothing about the hall was synthetic, synthesized, virtualized, or holoed, this was all pure and natural.. except for possibly being manually shaped. A richness like this in such crystalline composites was unheard of, not on this side at least. To Kori, there was no way a sight like this belonged in this world, this was far more a sight of the other world. Even standing there, she felt like she was actually already upon the other world.

As her thoughts shifted to being elsewhere so openly and unrestricted, Kori accidentally began a shift for herself to the other world. Before she could do anything about it, the room around her had shifted dramatically to one that was obviously considerably more wild.