155 THE NEW ASSISTANT
[Some time ago]
"Boss, I think I've found a clue about the raid on our aur bank," Liorea said.
"What did you say? Talk to me later … I'm on my way to a new game," Coracle replied, adjusting his body suit.
"Would you just forget about cosplay and get down to real business for once?" Liorea snapped.
"If you don't like my style, you can always find another job," Coracle said with a smirk before running off toward his latest appointment.
Liorea muttered under her breath, "If you didn't have those cheap psychic tricks that can find people, do you think I'd even work for you?"
She pressed her wristwatch, and a hologram flickered to life — a small boy's face appeared.
"Hi, baby… where are you now? I've been looking everywhere for you."
Then she swiped the projection, bringing up several video feeds.
"These two idiots were the last to use the menu in Six O'Clock Diner," she said, zooming in. "And they didn't complete the transaction."
The footage stabilized on the faces of two men as they left.
"Damen Dark… and the other one — Kail Venn. Which of you broke my program and stole my money?" she murmured.
Her gaze softened as she turned back to the boy's hologram.
"If they can crack my code," she whispered, "maybe they can help me find you, my brother…"
-----
[Back to the present]
"Kail, let me introduce you to our new staff," Damen said. "Liorea Shearak."
"Oh—hi, I'm Kail Venn." He offered his hand, but Liorea ignored it and rushed to her luggage.
"Can you help me with this?" she asked before flipping it open, revealing a small tracker device pulsing with a soft, rhythmic beep.
"Isn't that thing used for locating assassination targets?" Damen asked, frowning.
Liorea's eyes glistened. "No… it's not tracking a target. It's tracking my brother. I lost him years ago. Coracle promised to help me find him…but all he gave me was this device."
"The tracker can really locate him?" Kail asked.
"I think so. But only if he's within a limited range." Her voice trembled between hope and fear. "This is the first time it's ever beeped."
"Wait, let me help," Kail said.
He activated several holographic screens, each displaying silhouettes and names of people within the building.
Liorea leaned in. "What are these?"
"Everyone in range," Kail explained. "If your brother's nearby, he should be on this list. Do you recognize anyone?"
Liorea scrolled through the faces — engineers, technicians, older staff members. None matched the small boy from her memories.
Then she considered Damen and Kail but they were both sixteen already- they were clearly two years older than her brother.
Her shoulders sank in disappointment.
"Maybe the device doesn't work anymore," she whispered. "It's been so long… maybe the psychic signature faded."
Damen folded his arms. "Coracle's still alive. We'll find him and make him recharge it."
Liorea nodded quietly, wiping her tears before forcing herself back into business mode. "Right. Now, back to our operation. I've compiled a list of people with access to the Veyran Industries armory. We'll dig up their dirty secrets and blackmail them into helping us."
"Wait—blackmail?" Kail blurted.
Damen smirked. "Relax. That's how she works. You'd be surprised if you knew her old job."
Kail tilted his head. "And what exactly was your old job?"
Liorea looked at him with a faint, dangerous smile. "Managing the Order of the Cockerel."
Kail froze. "You're kidding."
She leaned closer, studying his face. "And you're the boy who cracked my codes in the diner and stole from my aur bank, aren't you?"
Kail raised both hands. "Hey, it was Damen's idea!"
Liorea's expression softened into a knowing grin. "It's in the past. We're partners now."
She extended her hand. After a moment's hesitation, Kail took it.
----
Valtor Veyran stood on a windswept hill overlooking the valley below.
Beneath him, the repair fields of Veyran Industries were alive with motion — drones buzzed through the smoke-filled air, engineers scurried across steel walkways, and the broken frame of a colossal warship lay half-buried in the mud.
"Report," Valtor said coldly.
"The structural damage is minimal," replied Belgore, holding a tablet of blue holographic schematics. "But the meta engine and several core components were disabled when the anti-meta field surged. We'll have to disassemble the entire drive to repair it."
Valtor exhaled through his nose, his eyes on the cracked hull emblazoned with the name Project Hermes.
"It was a necessary risk," he said. "If we hadn't deployed Hermes, we would've been slaughtered out there. At least we've secured victory."
He turned to Belgore. "I'll be heading to Silver City tomorrow. You'll handle operations here in Melrose until I return."
Belgore nodded. "You can rely on me, sir."
----
Down in the valley, sparks flared, and metal screamed as mechanics worked tirelessly to dismantle the massive engines of Hermes. New recruits and subcontractors filled the site — unfamiliar faces wearing temporary credentials.
"Hey, you there!" an inspector barked at a young man edging toward the restricted zone.
The boy stopped, raising his hands in mock apology. "Sorry, I'm new. I was told to recalibrate the system controls — some corrupted codes need repairing."
The inspector squinted. "You're the tech specialist? Aren't you a little too young?"
Kail flashed a digital ID. The holographic seal of Veyran Industries shimmered across his wrist.
The inspector grunted. "Huh. You tech kids get younger every year. Fine, controls are that way."
Inside the control bay, Kail's fingers danced across the console.
Lines of green code cascaded over the screens as he injected new commands — subtle changes buried deep within the ship's system protocols.
Kail possessed a rare meta-ability — the power to manipulate and rewrite digital code, even from a distance.
But like a radio signal, his control weakened the farther he was from the source. The greater the distance, the more unstable his link became, until even the simplest override could backfire.
That was why he had to come to the site of Project Hermes himself.
If he wanted to alter the mecha's internal codes without triggering its security fail safes, he needed to be close enough to touch its data core with his mind.
After several hours, he wiped sweat from his brow and walked back to the supervisor. "System controls been reset. She's running smoother than before."
The inspector chuckled. "Already done? You're better than the last guy. Maybe we'll keep you around here."
Kail smiled faintly and slipped out of the facility.
Outside, behind the ridge of the valley, Liorea waited beside a camouflaged rover.
She pressed her comm. "Did you do it?"
Kail's voice came through, calm and confident. "Of course. It's as good as if I'd written the system myself."
Suddenly, a shrill alarm pulsed from a nearby patrol unit. Red lights swept across the perimeter fence as a pair of armored guards intercepted Kail.
"Hey! You—stop right there!" one of them barked. "You're inside a restricted zone. Identify yourself."