"Time travel?" Akira repeated, trying her best to sound like she was actually considering the plausibility.

She was painfully unsuccessful.

"You obviously don't believe me," Danya snapped, pulling her restraints taut. "Of course you wouldn't. I'm just that crazy psycho that goes around ripping people's limbs off for no reason!"

Initially, Akira was afraid Danya actually had experience in that exact area and would gladly demonstrate her skill on Akira. But after a second of panic, she realized Danya was only referencing what Hale had said earlier over the comms, before they realized Danya could hear them.

"I just..." But when Akira's lagging mind failed her, she cursed at herself.

Unfortunately, Danya couldn't know Akira's vulgarity was directed inwards, and the rage in her face grew even more vicious.

"I'm talking to myself, okay?" Akira blurted out, scrambling to her feet and holding her hands in front of Danya, as if that was capable of stopping her.

Silence followed. The first thing Akira noticed was that Danya had gotten significantly calmer. While she still kept a glare on Akira, it was more of a "pissed off" look than a "murderous" one.

The second thing Akira noticed was that Danya's arm restraints were no longer secured to anything. Thankfully, that detail wasn't as important as it could've been.

"Sorry," Akira said belatedly, dropping her hands back to her sides. "This...this is a lot, and I just need a moment to think without you looking like you want to kill me, okay?"

Danya grimaced a little before averting her gaze.

"I'm not going to kill you," Danya mumbled grumpily.

"Well, thank you, that's good to hear. I'll remind you of that the next time you look like you want to kill me."

With that settled, Akira began to pace.

From Danya's perspective, she was "made" in the year 2193, the same year Verus Rex took office and began calling himself a king instead of the president he was elected as. Concordia declared war in 2194, but started losing at some point—an event Akira would have to ask about later. Eventually, it got so bad that Concordia actually began to fall, possibly physically, politically, or both, and Verus Rex took Danya with him...to the past.

Akira still didn't understand how that worked, but she'd just have to roll with it for now.

Danya claimed they stayed in Pali Uli for a couple hundred years before something changed in Verus Rex. At that point, there was some kind of fight that ended up with Danya buried alive and Verus Rex traveling to the future where he kept Concordia from losing when they were supposed to.

Akira supposed Danya's story made sense, as long as she ignored the improbability of time travel. Then again, Danya existed, didn't she? And she had proven she possessed technology years ahead of the UN. The only other explanation was that Danya really was a human weapon sent by Concordia... If that was the case, they were screwed in more ways than just having an insider threat.

Akira did not want to think about that possibility; time travel it was.

"When did Concordia start losing the war?" Akira asked.

Danya looked at her skeptically, probably thinking Akira was just humoring her. "Sometime around 2198, I think."

"And what did you mean that Concordia 'fell'?" Akira continued. "Physically, or—"

"Physically," Danya said, her cynicism lifting slightly. "We probably would've fallen faster if we didn't have civilians with us and weren't over UN territory at the time. But once that changed, it wouldn't have taken long."

"We've never had that kind of upperhand," Akira muttered, then elaborated at the first sign of Danya's returning glare, "this time, at least. I meant that he must've figured out where he went wrong, and we're living in the version that he changed."

"Isn't that what I said earlier?" Danya said, annoyed, but at least not homicidal.

"Right, sorry," Akira said, even though she wasn't sure what statement Danya was referring to.

Akira continued to pace, every once in a while asking herself if she really was assuming time travel existed. Maybe Danya really was telling the truth. But maybe Akira just wanted to believe her because the alternative was possibly much worse.

"How did Concordia start losing last time?" Akira asked, hoping that Danya's answer could provide her with some guidance.

Danya shrugged. "It didn't happen until the last few months before we left. We, Concordia, were much more advanced in technology, thanks to Orel. He expected all the land-based countries to unite, yeah, but he didn't expect any interference from above."

"Hang on..." Akira froze, then hurriedly sat back down. "Above? As in space?"

"Uh, yeah?" Danya said, confused. "He thought he had worked out some deal with the space colonies, but they ended up double crossing him."

"Those were one of the first things Concordia attacked," Akira muttered. She wasn't sure how knowing what changed benefitted them now, but the revelation was still surprising. "And you said all the land countries united? Do you really mean 'all,' or 'most'?"

"All of them," Danya said, slightly intrigued. "Is that not what happened?"

"I mean, most countries joined the UN, but a few sided with Concordia." Akira gasped excitedly. "If we can get them on our side, maybe we'll stand a chance?"

"Good luck with that," Danya said with significantly less optimism. "After getting double crossed by the space colonies, Orel would've made sure that wouldn't happen again. He probably has plans to prevent those kinds of contingencies, or at least make them regret any form of betrayal."

Akira frowned a bit, but she still kept the idea as a possible contender. "What else do you remember?"

Danya turned her gaze to her lap, absentmindedly running her fingers through the pile of plastic dust that had fallen from her hand. Initially, her face was pinched in concentration, but after a minute, it gradually transformed into contorted frustration.

"I...I don't know," Danya hissed through gritted teeth.

"That's fine," Akira said quickly, not willing to risk her life again just yet.

"Why don't I know?" Danya suddenly yelled.

"It's okay, we'll try something else," Akira said, hurriedly thinking about a question that would be simple but not condescendingly so. "You must know who he is though, right? Maybe what he looks like?"

Danya turned her anger on Akira with a glare and scoff.

"Of course I know what he looks like!" Danya snapped, clearly offended despite Akira's attempts. "Doesn't everyone?"

"No, no one does!" Akira said. "At least, no one outside of Concordia. He's worn a mask for as long as he's been in the public eye."

Akira's words were enough to make Danya pause, and her fury melted into innocent surprise.

"A mask?" she repeated, confused. "That's strange. He never wore one before."

As shocking as Danya's rapid mood shifts were, Akira was too overwhelmed by excitement to care.

"So you know what he looks like then?" she asked, leaning so far forward that she was barely touching her seat.

"Uh...yeah," Danya said, eyeing Akira warily.

"Perfect!" Akira exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "I can sign out a mind reader, and we can run the image through our database! If we can identify him, then maybe we'll finally know his weaknesses!"

"You're not talking about those computers that hook up to your brain, are you?" Danya asked. "Hell no, I'm not doing that."

"It doesn't hook up directly," Akira said, trying her best to not seem too pushy. "It just reads your brainwaves and records what you see."

"And it leaves you open to mind hacking," Danya said. "Yeah, I know the stories. There's no way I'm doing that."

Akira couldn't counter an argument like that. Most people in the UN had lost trust in technology after Concordia's constant sabotage, many reverting back to the days before helper bots and AI. The military was no exception, quickly replacing bots with people to fill positions from security guards to cafeteria workers. Eventually, the only bots that remained were for jobs like custodial services and self-driving vehicles, pre-programmed to complete extremely specific tasks.

Besides, even if Akira had a full presentation ready on the safety encryptions of mind readers, she knew better than to push her luck with Danya.

"I'll...see if we have a really good artist around?" Akira said. "Maybe they can draw him from your description."

Danya contemplated the offer for a few seconds before nodding. "Old-fashioned. I'm fine with that. Maybe grab another slice of this apple thing too."

Not wanting to make any promises or outright rejections, Akira simply chuckled nervously before turning around and hurrying out the door, hoping Danya wouldn't call her out on her non-answer. In the hallway, something seemed different, but Akira was in too much of a rush to know exactly what. And then it hit her: the guards were gone.

A phone call interrupted her confusion. A quick glance at her wristband showed she didn't know the caller, but she retrieved her phone and answered it anyway.

"Captain Dunn," Commodore Marino-Roth said, her voice now extremely familiar after the lengthy post-incident meeting. "Could I have a word with you please?"

"Yes, ma'am," Akira said, silently hoping it wouldn't take too long. "I'm... I can be at your office in—"

The commodore chuckled. "I know where you are, Captain. And no, you're not in trouble. I'm just down the hall, in fact; room B114."

When the call ended on that note, Akira did her best to maintain a calm facade as she walked briskly through the corridor. If the commodore knew Akira was exactly where she wasn't supposed to be, that would be enough grounds for a disciplinary hearing. The only saving grace was that the commodore said "you're not in trouble," and Akira just had to trust her word.

A short walk and brisk knock later, Akira entered a hospital room similar to Danya's, except the lighting was its normal white, and an array of surveillance footage was projected on the opposite wall. There were about a dozen different displays, each of Danya's room from different angles. Half of them showed the room in strange colors or gridlines; Akira guessed at least one of them was for thermal measurements.

Sitting before the intricate setup was the commodore and Izzy. The former smiled and stood upon Akira's entrance; the latter remained hunched over as he continued to scribble frantically in his notebook.

"You had him trick me?" Akira asked bluntly, belatedly realizing she hadn't even let her superior officer speak.

Thankfully, Marino-Roth merely gave her an apologetic smile.

"No, actually," the commodore said. "I didn't think acting was his forte, so I had him overhear a conversation that—Danya, is it?—was regaining consciousness. Once he called you, I invited him here to gather the data he needed from afar while you...worked your magic."

"You used me," Akira said, still too bothered to care about military hierarchy just then. "You used me to get her to talk."

"I really am sorry for the lies and secrecy," the commodore said, and while she seemed honest, Akira wasn't sure what was true anymore. "But you're a very genuine person, and Danya seems very perceptive. If we told you we wanted you to talk to her beforehand, she would've seen right through your attempts to be friendly."

"I thought we have people that specialize in that," Akira said, trying and failing to restrain the heat from her words. "To them, it's just another form of interrogation, isn't it?"

"You may not realize this, but you have a way of not just making people trust and respect you, but like you as a person. I hear your mother had a similar talent, and that's what we needed." The commodore shrugged one shoulder. "Plus, you already had a connection with Danya."

"'Connection,' as in she tried to murder me several times in the past twenty-four hours that I've known her."

The commodore beamed. "Exactly. Besides, we wanted more than information; we wanted a bond. Like you told her, we want her to work with us. And you, Captain Dunn, are the perfect person to help make that a reality, to act as a liaison between the military and Danya."

Akira frowned. While she didn't appreciate being tricked, and she felt like she had betrayed Danya for violating her trust yet again, the opportunity sounded like something she wanted. She wanted to work with Danya, and Danya seemed willing to help. It was a proposition worth considering, if anything.

"I have to ask Danya first," Akira said, not wanting to seem like she was fine with the sudden turn of events. "What kind of arrangement were you thinking of? Ma'am."

Marino-Roth smiled. "Perfect, you're already stepping into the role quite nicely."

Ten minutes later, Akira headed back to Danya, her heart racing and her movements stiff. She needed to tell Danya what she learned, but she wasn't sure how to do that without getting a limb broken. Even if Danya said she wouldn't kill Akira, that didn't take maiming or seriously injuring off the table.

So when Akira reentered Danya's room, she panicked and selected a wide, forced grin as her greeting.

"What's wrong with your face?" Danya asked, disgusted.

Akira was torn between replying with "What are you talking about?" and "My face is fine."

"What face?" she blurted out instead, then forced out a laugh to make it seem like she was kidding.

Danya replied with a heavy sigh.

"Spit it out, Captain Dunn," she said, brushing some dust from the smashed table onto the floor; the rest of the table and remnants of the plastic spoon were already on the ground, directly on top of the folded paper bag Akira had dropped at some point.

"Okay. Alright."

Akira returned to her seat and folded her hands in her lap. As she thought about her next words, she tucked some hair behind her ear before putting her hand back down, only to reposition her hands once more.

"Akira," Danya snapped.

Akira jumped, slightly startled by the sound of her first name in Danya's voice. "Right, sorry. Okay, well...just to let you know, you're being monitored right now. You have been for our entire conversation, and probably before I got here as well. I'm sorry I didn't realize this and let you know sooner."

For ten long seconds, Danya returned her admission with a blank and silent stare. Eventually, she sighed.

"Wow," was all she said.

Akira winced. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Danya scoffed—but the small curl at the edges of her lips spoke differently. "No, I knew they were watching me. I'm just surprised you told me. And that you didn't think they'd be constantly watching my every move."

"I mean..." Akira hesitated, unsure of the direction the conversation was taking. "I figured someone would be. But...do you realize who is watching you?"

Danya looked up to one of the room's upper corners, directly where one of the cameras was probably concealed. "A high-ranking Navy officer and that giraffe scientist? Yeah, I know."

Akira froze. She hadn't realized Danya's heightened hearing had returned, judging by how worn down her body still looked. Was her physical health the lowest priority on her healing list?

"Oh," Akira said, too distracted to think of a better response.

"So, are you going to tell me the deal the commodore offered?" Danya asked, crossing her arms. "Or can we just acknowledge that I know already and skip ahead to where we work out the finer details?"

"Um...let's skip ahead then." Akira cleared her throat. "So, what are your terms?"

"They want me to give them full access to my phone?" Danya shrugged. "Fine. I just want that explosive-loving raccoon who dropped the building on me to come and ask me themselves. I'd like to personally thank them for the job well done."

"I'll...see what I can do," Akira said, suddenly keenly aware of Sergeant Gupta's wellbeing. "Anything else?"

Surprisingly, there wasn't much. She wanted a warm shower, real clothes, and a proper meal. She also wanted her phone and wristband back as soon as they were done looking for information Verus Rex was "too smart to leave behind." And she wanted her own furnished room with windows, along with at least three meals a day with desserts after all of them; yes, including breakfast.

In exchange, Danya agreed to accompany and cooperate with them on any mission directly related to Verus Rex, and she was willing to consider participating in other assignments on a case-by-case basis. However, if anyone tried to attack her, regardless of their allegiance, she had the right to follow the laws of physics and attack them with equal and opposite force with no repercussions. Additionally, she considered any attempt to weaken her—such as projectile tasers, minimal to no light, and dropped buildings—as personal attacks, and she would still be allowed to retaliate.

She also requested a restraining order against "that irritating science giraffe," but after a quick text from Marino-Roth denied it, claiming it would have too big of an impact on overall mission fulfillment, Danya shrugged with a mumbled "worth a shot."

"Oh, another thing," Danya said, tilting her head inquisitively. "I'll only listen to you, Captain Dunn."

Akira was so surprised Danya would include such a term that she almost forgot to respond.

"Wait, what?" Akira said, wide-eyed. "Why?"

"Are you saying that's not possible?" Danya asked, idly fiddling with the broken restraints that still hung off her wrists. "If so, then this whole deal is off."

"Well..."

Akira glanced at the upper corner of the room at Danya's back, and her wrist buzzed a few seconds later.

Deal, the commodore texted.

"To add to that then," Danya said after Akira relayed the message, directing her attention to the camera she faced earlier. "If I get in trouble for doing something I'm not supposed to, Captain Dunn won't be at fault."

This time, Akira was too stunned at the added disclaimer to think of a response at all, and she only spoke again to relay the commodore's next message.

"You got a deal," Akira said, then cleared her throat after realizing her tone sounded more surprised than she intended. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Danya said, turning back to Akira. "When's my meal gonna get here?"

Unfortunately for Danya and her stomach, the sketch artist arrived, accompanied by a pleased Marino-Roth. While the artist took Akira's seat and began to work, the commodore beckoned Akira to the side.

"Well done, Captain Dunn," she said, her voice lowered but not completely hushed. "Keep this up, and you might see a promotion in your near future."

"Respectfully, I'm not doing this for the promotion," Akira said, then added a last-minute, "ma'am. This is to end the war, or at least get closer to it."

"Noble answer," the commodore said with a light chuckle and a small smile. "Regardless, I'm planning to assign a small team to you in the new future to focus on...specialized missions. If all goes well, maybe we'll both be right."

At the suggestion, Akira could only stiffly nod before turning to the center of the room. In front of her, Danya was irately critiquing the 3D projection of a man's face that spun in the air between her and the frazzled sketch artist. Even though she was angrily rambling about how the eyes didn't look "stab-able enough," Akira couldn't help but feel hopeful. Sure, Danya was more dangerous than reliable, but Akira had a feeling she was exactly what they needed to turn things around.

But Akira's instincts had been wrong before. With that in mind, she vowed that she wouldn't make the same mistake again.