First Assignment

Now that Ada was fully operational, the last phase was for Lisa to get inside of it.

It's time. Call me, so I can aid your call.

Lisa extended her arm, as such did Ada, one by one the pieces were incorporating into Lisa´s body, now Ada would speak directly to her from the helmet.

How does it feels?

It's feel... great! I feel I can do much more things now!

Care to take a test drive?

Sure, what are you plan- 
Whooh

Ada took off as soon she got the confirmation, the dome sphere opened up for them, they were flying upwards at full speed, Lisa felt an overwhelming sense of freedom that she never felt before.
They flew around the city, outside of it there were only nature scenery, were it not be the city you could mistake it for an appealing vacation place on Earth.

Enjoying the view?

This place is...beautiful. For the first time I feel at ease on this place. Lisa showed a sincere smile.
They landed soon after. Ada proceed to talk with Lisa

I consider that to be a successfull fly test, don't you think?
Now, how about we try those fangs so you familiarize yourself with them.

Sounds good.

I took the liberty to make the instructions very straight forward and intuitive for you.
In order to use the fangs, you'd need to give hand commands depending on the order.
Do remember that there are twelve fangs in total, they are divided in two control groups, one for each hand, so you can control them with utmost precision. 
Let´s start by raising one hand, open the hand at the height of your should to activate the control group number one. Close the hand to recall them.

Lisa was following the instructions closely in order to learn how to use the fangs.

To move the fangs around, use your index finger as a pointer and move it around in the areas you want the fangs to be.
Excellent, lastly, to assign a task to them please refer to this visual manual I made up for you, each possible tool comes with a hand gesture in order to be activated.
 As you can see, a shield form can be adopted if you close your fingers together, turn the back of your palm at the front and finally learn your hand at a 45 degree angle.

Lisa could manage to achieve the shield form by doin the hand gesture.

Excellent, you can issue different orders for each hand at any give time, I encourage you to practice this in order to get the grip of it.
That concludes the basic training.

Lisa nailed the training, but she felt somethin was off.

I understand the principles of it but, how can I be of use when I can not fight with them using my own means.

Owner, you are missunderstanding your purpose, your role is to aid to your teammates, not to attack, this is in line with your core values as a human, isn' that right?

I suppose you are right, I just don't know if...I'll be capable to be helpful at the right moment.

Fear not, all the training courses were surpased with more than favorable results, should you keep this perfomance, and you'll be doing an honorable job out there.

Lisa smiled.

Thanks, that makes me feel more at ease, also, please call me Lisa, Ada.

Sure thing, Lisa.
Incoming transmission.

A small video call displayed from the helmet of Ada, it was Eden.

Having fun?

Oh, Eden, yeah. I am slowly getting used to this.

Don't want to interrupt you but I assembled the team so I need you to head back to the Hub

Oh, got it, I'll be there soon.

Lisa flew to the Hub.
When she entered, she noticed Eden was alongside three other people. Eden proceed to introduce them all.

Alright, since everyone have gathered already. I'll proceed with the introductions.

The bulky one and a half man that you see over here is better know as the "Architect". As you all see, he has the peculiarity that his armor is hanging from the back of him, just half of it since they only need one pair of legs. They do specialize on crafting required tools on spot for the mission. The process is simple, he thinks on the concept, then the armor craft it, the complex the tool, the more energy it requires. I'd say they do make a brilliant duo combination.

( Architect's armor design outstands the regular ones considering that it contains a single big rounded eye visor (similar to a cyclop) covering almost the whole helmet, this provide a more broad field of view. It also uses pincers as opposed to regular arms since their purpose is to craft tools on the spot. Due to their purpose, design and weight, it does not containts propulsors by default,meaning that if the need to fly arises, they would have to craft disposable ones).

Next in line is Harper, the "sky navigator", their armor specializes on long range scans, raw data analysis and terrain research, basically, the compass that will lead the expedition and the one answering all of your scientific questions.

(Due to their role, Harper´s armor would be less thick than the regular ones. . In exchange, it would carry pockets to carry field samples and a  small laser located at the side of his helmet that is able to analyze on-field substances/materials. The visor was narrow horizontally wise but broad vertical wise)

Over here, we have Luna, a trustable overseer who will issue the instructions to the team and be in charge to report directly to me any findings that the team gets to.Their armor specializes in crowd control, she will keep everyone safe.

(Luna is one of the tallest person from the Nexus, measuring a total of 6'2" feets and a worked out body, overall an impotent aura. her armor would reflect their physical appearance, demonstrating a sense of authority, it contains purple traces on the joints and a rectangular shaped top of the helmet.)

And lastly, our newest member that is the talk of the town, and who just got her hands on an armor, Miss Lisa.
She will be there to offer support during the operation.

Everyone seemed to agree to it, Harper didn't show a lot of eye contact with the rest. Luna´s glaze was judging Lisa all over.

That will be for the introductions, you'll receive further instructions once you all depart.

As the scene comes to an end, a dark figure was watching closely from the shadows.

The assembled team reunited at the border south of the city. While they were preparing to take off. Luna took the iniciative to talk.

Alright, listen me out, we will be adopting a single line fly formation as follow:

1.Harper
2.Architecth
3.Lisa
4.Myself

That is the fly order, we are racing against time so let´s not wait any time further. Lisa, I take that you won't have any problems stayin in flight, right?

I should be ok.

Good, you can always use automatic pilot if you need to.
On my mark.

3...

2...

1...

GO!

On their way, the team received a transmission inside their helmets from Eden, who was talking through encrypted communications through his armor in order to not be publicly heard.

"Officially, this is a non transcendental training exercise, extra officially...
You all were tasked with investigating the abnormal behaviours presented from the howlers, the group will head outside the city in search of clues, be swift, be quick, and be back for dinner, report to me any findings , clock is ticking.

The transmission was cut off, in their way, Lisa decided to kill time by approaching the team in order to getting to know them further. Architech was the first to reply.

Say, do you all work for Eden?

Yes, the entire team is assigned to him

How well do you all know him?

Not more than what we need, we owe him a lot so we'll just do what he need us to do.
Why do you ask, Is there something that concerns you about him?

 I... have heard he has detractors and a lot of contrary opinions.

As any public figure would have, nothing new if you ask me.
Just follow orders and everything will be fine.

Understood, where should we start heading to?.

This time Harper was the one to diminish Lisa´s concerns.

Howlers tends to disrupt the air atmosphere that they are in due to their contaminated bodies, I have modified my radar to detect anomalies in the air proximity, were I to see something unusual I'll point it out.

They flew close to one another in a straight line for a while. Lisa was captivated by the scenery.

This world seems so vast...
It's Nexus the only settlement that exists?.

Can't tell for sure, we have no information of other cities so far.
Long-range radars have catched high sources of ether flowing in several areas at certain points.
Now, that does not necessary indicates ether-flow usage like we do, they could be natural phenomena, like hurricanes and storms. There are still a lot unknown things to us that we have not discovered yet.
What about you? How did you end up showing up in the festival back at the arena?

I didn't mean to, I woke up with no memories and got dragged there.

Luna broke her long silence to address Lisa´s word.

Sorry if this seems too blunt, but many people have doubts about you considering your records.

Doubts?

Correct, not only did you arrive on this planet in an odd place, but as soon as you showed yourself everything have been turned upside down, the event, the howlers...
Call it whatever you want to, but that raises suspicions to anybody who have been living here for a time..

I guess that would make sense for others, but I swear I have no memories of anything prior to that.

Only your actions will clear you out of doubts, now let's focus on the mission at hand.

There was a small sound alert coming from Harper´s armor.

I am catching abnormal readings beyond the nearby mountain.

Sounds like we got our path decided. Said Luna to the team.

The team followed the lead they got, went they flew by the mountains they could discern there were dark fogs beyond the nearby areas. Harper´s reading were increasing exponentially.

Suddenly, Lisa started to hear a distant voice inside her head. Someone was in distress, she looked around her but there was none besides the team.

Pl--se, so---ne --elp

This...can not be.

What is the matter?. Luna asked to Harper

Well, I am picking an ether-flow source right in the middle of the anomaly source.

How is that possible? I though the howler´s contamination disrupts the ether flow.

In theory, that would be correct. But seems like in practice there is more to it.

The voice inside Lisa was slowly starting to be hear louder. 

Anybody.....help

Does anyone else hear that voice?

A voice? A voice from who?

I am not sure, but I feel that someone is in danger right now. Could it be...

Are you implying that the ether signal we are picking is a person who is in distress?

Is the only thing that seems feasible.

Your hypothesis have been noted, we'll proceed with utterly caution. 
Architech, Harper, remain on standby.

Lisa, you are coming with me, we'll get closer to the signal to get visual identification. 

Both of them flew to the signal origin. As they drew closer, Lisa spotted a person who was being attacked by a pack of howlers.
The voice inside Lisa´s got clear this time around, she was hearing from afar the person that is now right besides her. As soon Lisa got aware of the situation, she didn't hesitate to head into the fray in order to aid the person. Luna warned her.

Wait!

Lisa charged head on, she positioned in front of the person to provide safety. They both exchanged glazes for a moment.

Being face to face, Lisa could look closely the other person now, who resulted to be a young girl not so different from her, there were some visible painted marks on the body that were mildly glowing, she was wearing an uncommon attire, even for what Lisa has seen in Nexus it didn't match anything that she has seen before. The young girl expression suggested that they were thinking the same thing. But the shock of the moment did not let any of them utter a single word.

They did not have enough time for a talk as the howler were already upon them, as soon as a howler was going to land a hit on Lisa it got inemdiatly desintegrated by an attack from Luna. She was annoyed at the fact that Lisa charged without a second though.

Lisa, rendezvous with the team, now!

Wait, there is someone who needs our help

What are you talking about there is none here besides us.

No!, there is a girl right.... 

Lisa turned around to point at the girl she just saw, but she appears to have run away, losing all tray in the fog.

You are not making a good first impression by acting on your own, head back, now!.

Lisa was about to give up and head back, but as soon she was about to fly off, she heard the distress voice again in her head.

"I just want to go home..."

she turned her back around  and went off to search the missing girl.

"Tskk", this girl, I swear!

Luna was finishing off the rest of the howlers while dealing with the current situation. She got a transmission from Harper.

The signal seems to be moving from your current position.

What, now you tell me that the ether is moving on is own?

Seems so, Lisa appears to be heading their way.

I got my hands full right now.
Harper, Architect, go ahead and provide cover to Lisa, she might have found a clue out of this mess.

Roger that

Acknowledged

Both of them were catching up to Lisa, meanwhile, she was desperate trying to locate the girl by heading into the direction that the voice seemed to be coming from.
The visibility was worsening by the second as a storm was starting to form right where they were.

Ada gave an advise to Lisa.

Everything indicates that the ether signal is coming from the subject that we just encountered. Under normal conditions, I could pinpoint their location, but the current weather conditions  interfere with the radar functions.

Both Architech and Harper arrives at Lisa´s location.
 Architech started raising walls to convert it into a shelter to provide safety from the storm. Harper approached Lisa to help her with the search.

Harper handed his data pad to Lisa.

This is a a proximity scanner, it produces a beat that gradually increases the closer you are to the source. Don't wander too far from here as communications could be affected.

Lisa nodded and proceed to search the girl further into the storm. Harper remained with Architech.

With the proximity radar, Lisa found the missing girl once again.
Due to not having an armor to protect her, the girl was covering her face with her arms to avoid the strong gusts of wind. She was stuck and unable to move. Lisa approached her.

Take my hand!

The misteriours girl hesitated, at first, a howler appeared out of nowere and went to attack both of them. Lisa made a shield with her detachable fangs that protected her. The howler was attacked from behind and got obliterated. The weapon that attacked the howler was one different from any weapon that the team were carrying. 
Seeing as how she saved her, the girl took a leap of faith and reached Lisa´s hand, Lisa put her fangs around her to protect her from the storm.

Stick with me, I'll lead us to safety.

When she returned on her steps, she spotted the shelter that was now finished, both entered in.

Architech and Harper were inside of it, Luna was the only one missing. Architech was the first one to hand questions.

Is that the so called signal source that have us running around like headless chickens?

Harper was more intrigued by the marks on her body

What are those marks on her body?

Not sure, but they seems to resonate with our armors.

The marks would highlight stronger when any of them would get closer to her.
 Harper was forming his own hypothesis based on his initial impretions.

 Judging by how they resonate with our ether-powered armors, my hyphotesis is that they are natural made ether-flow conductive material, as for where they come from or how their inner functions works is beyond my actual knowledge, I have never seem something like this.
 
The mysterious girl never pronounced a single word all this time, she stood quiet and letting everyone speak .

Luna arrived soon after. 

I see you were not lying, but are shady girls that pops out of nowhere the last trend or something?

What are we going to do with her?

We´ll escort her back to Nexus, but first we need to wait until the storm ceases out.

The girl dropped to her knees, digging the sand beneath them.

The rest of them were confused at the action but patiently waited for the outcome.

After digging enough, the girl uncovered what looked to be a hatch. Luna

Architech, can you decipher what is this?.

It looks like some sort of sewer , but it seems too big to be made for the disposal of materials, also the location is odd as well. There are no buildings nearby, we are in the plain open.

The girl put her hands on it, both her marks and the hatch started to glow, the hatch would open with a mechanism. The girl seemed to be interested in jumping in. Luna was weary of her actions.

Hold on, just where would this lead us to?.

Harper replied.

I ran a scan through the inside of it, is so large that I can't cover the entire lenght of it, this is definitely not a sewer. 

I don't like where this is going, we could deviate severely from our path if we enter.

Lisa addressed Luna´s concern.

She is not dangerous, if we enter we might find more clues about all this.

Stay put, I'll try to set a comm with Eden to request instructions.

Luna tried to comunicate with Eden but the signal was poor.

Damn it, it's no use.

Suddenly, a lot of noises were started to be hear outside the shelter.

The howlers have found us. Said Harper.

Great, just what we needed.

The mysterious girl raised her index finger which started to glo and slowly started to move it around, leaving a trace behind, this formed a visual symbol with energy that everyone could see.

Lisa heard the girl´s voice inside her head.

Home

The symbol, it means home
Wait...
That's it!
The hatch leads to her home!

How did you come to that conclusion?, Luna asked.

I can hear her voice

Excuse me, but there are 4 persons in this room and no one seemed to hear a thing out of her.

Trust me.

The howlers were starting to tear apart the shelter.

Just great, well, we seem to be running out of options so I'll take your word for it, but were she do something suspicious I'll aprehend her right away.

The howlers were very close to get inside the shelter.

Quick, everyone, get in!.

The entire team and the girl entered the hatch.