Girl Meets Boy and Girl!

He wasn’t sure what to expect, the new mission had outlined salvage as a main priority. But once he saw her, he knew he had made the right choice in not giving up so many months ago. Months of brutal training, weeks of privation and suffering, all of it melted away when he knew he could hear Ranger E’s voice in his comms. The feelings never faded. His fondness for her presence only grew with time.

****

The metropolitan train station was full to bursting even at the earliest train. Two soldiers, shortly after stepping into this world were pressed on all sides by a teeming mass of humanity. Each face they passed seemed fatigued, tired, or weary. Some had clearly gone through a lot just to get up in the morning. Alpha Ethel and Hotaru could almost feel the exhaustion in the air as they filed into the train car like sardines. But even as they were pushed apart by twenty or so men and women in suits and dress slacks they retained beaming smiles they couldn’t hide. They were both thinking the same thing: people!

They watched the elderly reading manga, the students from different schools tapping on their phones to talk in the quiet of the train car, and office men and women double checking their bags for documents and staring out the train windows. Some seemed excited, some sad, but most were bored and half awake.

It was nearly all Alpha could ask for as they made a short trip to where their charge lived. The automated announcer spoke aloud the upcoming destinations, while the two of them inched closer and closer together. After several stops the number of passengers eased and the two could finally speak a bit more freely. Eventually, only a small family and old lady remained in the car as they continued to the Chiba Prefecture.

“Will we be taking this train every day?” Hotaru asked, eyes beaming. Alpha understood that enthusiasm, but she knew better than to give false hope.

“I’m afraid not. From what Omega told me; Ethel 99999-LC lives a short 10-minute walk from school in the opposite direction. Since you’ll be attending classes there, I doubt you’ll need to take the train much.” Her response was curt, but she was still shocked by the dejected look of her comrade.

“Oh, okay.” He responded, glancing around, taking in the cozy but foreign train interior.

“Hey,” Alpha said, playfully jabbing his shoulder. “Buck up! There will be plenty more people, and more importantly, kids your age at school! You’re gonna love it.”

Hotaru smiled again, a bit strained, but otherwise he seemed happy enough. After all, he gets to be with me, huh? While she appreciated how brave his confession had been a few hours ago she wasn’t about to sweep it under the rug without addressing it. She needed him focused on the task at hand first and foremost.

“What’re you thinking right now, Miyagi-kun?” she asked, causing him to glance about nervously. The words caught in his throat. He glanced around then back to Alpha, his face showing a slight flush.

“I just feel very lucky to be here,” Hotaru said.

“Lucky to be breathing air without a helmet, or lucky to be here with me?” She asked specifically. Hotaru could hardly account for himself, only managing a slight but honest smile. Alpha Ethel giggled and patted his shoulder.

“Don’t be so stiff,” she told him. “Today will be a very short workday for us, so all you and Hinako-chan have to worry about is watching Final Ethel and her interactions during the Great Advent.”

“So, what’s this ‘great advent’ you and the other Ethels keep mentioning? I imagine it’s something important otherwise we wouldn’t have been rushed over here on such short notice.” Alpha paused at the question, it wasn’t exactly an easy topic to broach, and it bespoke of a certain peculiar nature in the worldview of Ethelkind. He might find it strange. Better yet, he may not understand it at all once she explained it. Then again, there were other Ethels who would explain it in a more eccentric manner. She sighed, relenting that it would be best if he heard it from her after all.

“The ‘Great Advent’ is an event in each Ethel’s life where their entire worldview changes for the better. But more specifically, in each parallel reality the Great Advent refers to the event in which an Ethel meets her two most important friends: Ame Owari, and Naoko Hajime.”

“So how did the Final Council know that was taking place today?” He asked as an echoing voice announced their arrival in Chiba.

“Simple,” She responded, standing up. “They don’t!”

Hotaru nearly tripped as they exited the train car and circled around to the outside of the train station. Getting off was easy but escaping the throngs of people on their way to work or school was not. And since he didn’t dare ask until other people were out of earshot, Hotaru chased Alpha Ethel’s brisk walk through the station his face stoic and serious as if he were holding in a fart.

Once they had spilled out onto the regular street Hotaru began to ask his questions more fervently. “What do you mean, they don’t know? How do they not know? Isn’t this just another parallel reality?” Alpha shot him an incredulous look as he matched pace with her. Something about his tone she found annoying.

“I kind of thought it was obvious, Miyagi-kun.”

“What was?”

“That the council of Ethels isn’t all-knowing?” She finished. As if it were the simplest thing to admit.

“But, but you’re all so smart!” He contended. “You set all this up, you saved me from the wasteland with some medical technology I’ve never seen! You made a walk-in-closet that changes your clothes for you!” He remarked, gesturing towards his fashionable casual-wear in nearly perfect condition.

Alpha glanced down at her green tracksuit, still wondering if Prime had given her that as some sort of joke. Still, she had to strain to reach Hotaru’s level of ineptitude; he was still out of his depth, clearly.

“You’ll learn eventually that no Ethel got here by themselves. It’s not like we invented everything.” She posited, glancing at her holographic Arkwright Corp. GPS watch to check their progress.

“Sure, that’s true.” Hotaru breathed. “Hinako kept babbling about her right eye, but I don’t really see how that’s relevant to the situation.” Just then a thought struck the young man. As it did, he bumped into Alpha as she came to a complete stop staring at a modestly sized house in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.

“Here we are.” She said, slipping through the front gate and trotting to the front door.

“Hold on. One more question.” He said as she rang the doorbell. “Won’t people find it suspicious that we’re here?”

“Me? Going to my own house? I think you overestimate how attentive people are.” She rang the doorbell again.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Arkwright!” Said an older gentleman from behind them.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Sato!” She replied cheerfully to the old man who walked off without protest.

“You know him?” Hotaru asked, half out of panic.

“It’s a common surname.” She said, ringing the doorbell one more time. “And if memory serves, I’m not the best with names anyhow.” Hotaru buried his heads in his hands. After this, she’d have to ask him to take a nap.

A crash rang out alongside shuffling footsteps and loud pants of: “I’m coming!” Hotaru tensed up as if he would need to provide an excuse to his commanding officer. Alpha Ethel shrugged and relaxed. While she hadn’t been through this particular scenario yet she had learned about it. And she wasn’t worried this meeting would go south. Shortly, the door was opened with a flash and Ethel Montgomery Arkwright came face-to-face with herself.

Ethel 99999-LC was, of course, cute and elegant. Long black hair which was slightly messy from what must have been a good night’s sleep. She was exactly 165 centimeters tall. She had blue eyes and of course, her antennae were tucked into a mostly neat ‘bow’ at the back of her head. Perfect. Alpha thought. She’ll do.

The Final Ethel experienced shock, confusion, and acceptance in all of 1.5 seconds. “Ohhh!!” She exclaimed, hands over her mouth. As Alpha shot Hotaru a smug grin. “My long lost sister!” she exclaimed, wiping the smile off Alpha’s face as she tackled her. The hug knocked Alpha flat onto the concrete walkway with a loud “Oof!”

“It’s you! It’s really you after all these years! I knew you’d find me! What is your name, I’m dying to know!”

“I’m you, dummy!” Alpha shoved her palm into Final Ethel’s face and forced her off.

“What?” Final responded, glancing up at Hotaru as if she’d just noticed him.

“I’m you from another dimension.” She replied, dusting herself off. “This is Hotaru Miyagi, an assistant of mine. You are, according to our calculations, about to go through a rapid and complete change in your life and we are here to guide you through the process.”

“Oh!!” She replied, springing to her feet. “Well, why didn’t you say so! Come on in!” Hotaru stifled a mean-spirited chuckle and followed. Alpha skulked behind and slammed the door as this new Ethel bowed to introduce herself. The young man, quite comfortable, bowed back with a large grin and a considerable blush up to his ears. Alpha had the sudden thought she should have let him bleed out earlier that day. Final returned her attention to Alpha.

“What do I call you? Ethel? Ethel 2.0!?” She gasped in excitement, “Wait, do you have a cool code-name? Are there others like you? Others like me!?” She jumped in a circle, a little too excited. Alpha grabbed the creature by its shoulders to calm it down.

“We’ll answer all those questions in due time. For now, the less you know the better. But I am an Ethel from the dimension Alpha 632-E. You can call me Ethel, Alpha, or Alpha Ethel. Whichever is most comfortable.” She explained as slowly as she could manage. “But for now, could I get your permission to move some items into your lovely home? I’m assuming no one else lives here, yes?” As she said this she glanced about.

The house was quite large for one living alone. The narrow hallway was bisected by a staircase going up. Before the stairs were two open doorways, on the left a modest kitchen and the right a small foyer. It was barely furnished. But it was larger than the apartment Alpha had rented on her world. She suddenly wondered why she hadn’t lived better before the invasion.

“Oh, of course, anywhere you’d like.” Final Ethel said, “but, I’d suggest the living room.” She pointed past the stairs to her living room. A large, hardwood space with a beanbag chair in the corner.

“Perfect.” Alpha replied. She pressed a button on her holographic watch then spoke into it. “All clear. Move in.” She spoke. Just then two ovals of cackling electricity lit up the living room and Foyer. Final rushed to the living room to watch as several lackey Ethels unloaded supercomputer components and cartons of snacks. Hotaru followed Alpha to the foyer where Omega 7-A and Hinako Takayama stepped through as their portal morphed into an octagon.

“Took you long enough!” Omega bellowed. “We were wondering if you’d blown us off!”

“Not on your life. What do you take me for? Ethel 626-A?”

“I take you for the kind of person to take a train to meet a target rather than portaling to her backyard!”

“The train was necessary. It calms the nerves, it’s simple, and it gives us time to familiarize ourselves with this new world.” Alpha finished.

“Fine, but don’t get too comfortable. Remember, this isn’t your world. And we have a job to do.” Omega nagged.

“I remember.” Alpha snapped as the excitable Final Ethel joined them.

“Another one!” She yelled, taking Omega’s hand and shaking it. “This is great! Should we introduce ourselves!? How would you like to do this?”

“It’s okay. Introductions can come later.” Alpha assured.

“What do you mean? I’m still confused on your name. Alpha Eth- Alfa- Ethhh-!” She exclaimed. “Try saying that five times fast! You can’t!”

Omega jumped in. “Alpha-Ethel, Alpha-Ethel, Alpha-Ethel.” She said with a shrug. “Simple.”

Final Ethel gestured to Hotaru, excited for more. “Don’t look at me.” He said, trying to sound cute.

“Not important!” Alpha asserted. “Just call me Hazel. If that makes it simpler.” She pleaded, placing one hand on her shoulder. Final Ethel pointed over her shoulder where an Ethel wearing animal pelts was (quite literally) sniffing around the kitchen.

“What about them?” She asked.

Alpha gave the scene pause then responded: “None of that matters, sweet pea! You just have a great first day of school today and remember! Have fun!” The Final Ethel accepted a headpat from Alpha with a wide grin. Then she froze, a look of horror on her face.

“Oh cripes! School!” And like that Final Ethel was racing upstairs muttering curses to herself and filling the top floor with loud bangs and crashes as she got ready.

Omega turned to Alpha holding out a finger with a bit of what seemed like translucent jelly on it. “Here,” she said shoving her finger inside of Alpha’s left ear and wiping the excess on her earlobe.

“Yah!” Alpha exclaimed, responding to the sudden cold sensation. “What was that for?”

Omega reached up and squeezed her right earlobe. “For more efficient communication.” She said, her voice echoing in Alpha’s left ear twice. “This will help us keep in touch when you’re in the field.”

“Ahh, nanomachines?” Alpha asked, rubbing the spot where Omega had placed the solution. It felt dry and she presumed whatever technology was in that translucent stuff had already painlessly inserted itself under the skin. Handy.

“That took a lot of effort and love to make and bake, so appreciate it, Alpha.” The office lady offered. “And with that, I’d say it’s time we get underway, wouldn’t you?”

Alpha grinned, a sudden eagerness for the operation filled her completely. She rubbed her hands together, psyching herself up. She looked at Hotaru, the bespectacled Hinako, and Omega in turn as the three of them heard more rumblings upstairs from their mark.

“Off we go then!” Alpha said to the team. “Takayama-san, you go on ahead to school and you may as well portal to someplace lowkey so the neighbors don’t see too many people leaving the house.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” She responded, wandering around the corner.

“Miyagi-kun, you help the others unload their stuff.” Alpha added, as a loud crash sounded in the living room.

“Right away.” He droned, heading for the source of the crash.

Omega strode past Alpha before she could get an order out. “I’ll get the toast ready.” She said, stepping into the cramped kitchen and shoving a cavewoman Ethel off the counter.

“Good.” Alpha said to herself clapping her hands together. She turned a small dial on the side of her Arkwright Corporation watch and to her right opened a smaller, stealthier portal for herself. This one was half the size of the ones that had crossed dimensions moments before. The familiar circle-triangle-square-hexagon pattern followed but without the characteristic bright lights and crackling electricity. In fact, unless someone looked directly at it from the correct angle, they would only see a slight shimmer in the light. Alpha stepped through, dropping to a vacant lot across the street from Final Ethel’s house. Pulling a folded baseball cap from her left pocket, she stuffed her hair up above her head and pressed it down, subtly holding the hat with her antennae.

“This should be fine.” She reassured herself, leaning up against a concrete barrier and observing as school-kids filed by in wide intervals giving her strange glances. Mostly fine. She thought.

On cue, Ethel 99999-LC burst through the front door, toast with jam flapping in her mouth as she made a mad dash down the road, tucking her white shirt into her black school-approved skirt as she did. With attention transferred to her double, Alpha walked leisurely forward to follow, just far enough to avoid suspicion, just close enough to keep her in mind. Alpha cracked her knuckles one at a time, breathing deeply, then exhaling all at once loudly a nervous habit from her training days she’d never quite broken.

“Should be fine, should be fine.” She whispered, doing her very best to keep things in perspective as she tailed herself.

****

Hotaru stared at the monitor, incredulous. One of five massive OLED screens embedded in the wall, this one had a large multicolored pattern of ovals within ovals labeled with complex and shifting numbers that looked like a cell.

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell? He thought to himself, unsure of what else could be meant by this thing. He scratched his head as three determined Ethels plugged in massive electrical cauldrons and towers of tech with Omega 7-A directing.

“No, over there you buffoon! Who put you on reconnaissance!? Pampered Ethel?”

“Me lift.” Said the Ethel in Animal skins who was holding a massive tower almost as tall and as wide as she was.

“No. You place! Right there!” Omega said, gesturing rudely to the far corner where a beanbag chair had been tossed. The cavewoman hobbled over, impressively kicking the chair over her head with one foot and placing the tower down with a bend of the other. The bag slumped in the middle of the room bleeding stuffing, another casualty of today’s events.

“Do you have something better to do here, Miyagi-san?” Omega asked, turning her bespectacled glare at him. “Or do you know how to read a dimensional spectrometer you slackjawed jarhead?” Hotaru gave her a sideways glance. The surreal experience of having his crush, but not his crush, call him ‘slackjawed’ was to put it lightly, appalling. Omega may have been ‘human’ but to him, Ranger E had always looked like one of his kind. She was a tad taller, he thought, though it may have been the heels. Omega exuded a far more professional and intimidating aura with her thin spectacles, and dress suit. A suit that he tried and failed not to notice, was modestly tight around the bust and whose pencil skirt made him feel funny. Hotaru was used to being berated by his superior officers just not superior officers who looked so darn cute.

“I’m sorry, a what?” He asked, gesturing towards the screen. “I thought this was a diagram of a cell. Honestly.” He said, hoping that being forthcoming might get him somewhere. He instantly regretted the remark.

Omega Ethel 7-A buried her head in her hands. Pushing her librarian-spectacles up into her hair as she groaned aloud at him. He knew he’d said something stupid, but he would have to get used to that. Every Ethel was a genius after all.

“This, my sweet friend. Is a dimensional spectrometer.” She said, producing a telescopic pointer from her dark overcoat and pointing at the large screen. She gestured to the largest oval-like shape. “This would be the dimension as it is known and observed. Not to scale of course, this isn’t even an estimate of the dimension only a reading of observable space and it’s relative health in relation to those previously measured and observed.” She switched to the second smallest oval with a brighter color. “This is Ethel matter, or matter that those on this team observes as being foreign to this dimension which we are using to manipulate Ameko.”

Hotaru raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Again. Not to scale!” She said, as if that explained everything. “And finally, over here is what we call ‘true Ethel matter’ or matter belonging to this dimension’s Ethel.” She said, pointing to a tiny red dot on the screen with four sets of flashing numbers trailing as it shuffled around. “This actually IS to scale, obviously. And if this reading gets any larger we’re in big trouble. Because that means someone in the world has identified Ethel matter unrelated to this dimension as not being a part of this world. In which case we may have a dimensional tear or worse, someone might blink out of existence.”

Hotaru nodded his head slowly and put his hands together, touching his lips to his index fingers. Omega gave him a stern look as though she expected an answer to confirm he’d gotten all that.

“To scale with what, exactly?” He asked. Omega flicked his forehead which nearly knocked him off balance and into one of the massive computers behind him.

“Not important! All you need to know is if the red dot go big we go boom!” She yelled, turning back to the cavewoman. “Ehtel! You don’t need to insert the cables anywhere! They’re magnetic, touch the silver ends to silver and black to black, capiche?”

The primitive Ethel responded with something sarcastic and the two were arguing again. Hotaru rubbed his forehead and observed the red dot. That had confirmed what he’d feared since the final council and since he’d gotten wrapped up in this mess. The Ethels acted like they had things under control, but this could all go belly-up without a moment’s notice. He felt a chill run up his spine. And Ranger E, that is, Alpha Ethel was out there now, following an alternate version of herself.

According to her, an Ethel is the best thing to follow another Ethel. But that’s what made him worried. If anything happened and she was observed by anyone smart enough to put two and two together there could be a rift in dimensional stability. And if that happened, someone, either Alpha or someone on the Reconnaissance team could pay the price. Or, more simply, if that red dot got bigger, they would all “go boom.”

****

Final Ethel’s “first day at school” came and went without much incident. Although, since it mainly consisted of opening ceremonies and class assignments it wasn’t quite a full day. Alpha was worried when Ethel got turned around in her new school, but she found her bearings and made it to the auditorium with the rest of the students. As a star student and one who had gotten in on her prestigious test scores, Ethel was selected to take part in the ceremonies as a speaker. And while Alpha couldn’t sneak into the auditorium to listen, from the outside it seemed like she didn’t do half bad. Periodically, she heard laughter from the gathered students and after she’d finished, Final Ethel received a standing ovation which Alpha observed through infra-red binoculars.

She had followed Final mostly from concealed positions across the street but also in bushes and trees on the school ground. She risked those hiding spots partly out of the necessity of staying close but also because she’d always wanted to see how good those hiding places would be. The results were pretty satisfying as not a single student, teacher, or janitor caught wind of her positions whatsoever. She’d have to see if this panned out once regular classes started. After the opening ceremonies and after each student had an opportunity to visit their homeroom class the day was adjourned, and students started to leave for home.

Alpha, situated behind a large shrub at the entrance, ate some emergency rations she’d saved from the pocket of her power suit. Periodically, she peeked through her binoculars to observe Final’s movements. Final was collected, comfortable, and most importantly she was getting friendly with other students. Almost time. Alpha thought, preparing to follow her charge to a new location. Pretty soon, this Ethel’s life would change forever.

“Houston, prepare for liftoff.” She said, pinching her earlobe.

“Roger that.” Came a response in her ear from Omega 7-A who’d been following Alpha’s movements from Final Ethel’s living room. The group of Ethels collectively decided they should be referred to as “Houston” for the sake of authenticity. Alpha had accepted it without much fuss considering she could have been hearing Hotaru nag her instead.

Final left school with a spring in her step. Alpha followed at her usual distance, checking her six periodically. No signs of Ame or Naoko yet. That was good. So long as things went well, the Great Advent would start shortly after Final settled on a place to read. At least, that was if this Great Advent played out in the typical fashion.

Final Ethel wandered down the street and turned left into of a large centrally planned park. It was densely packed with fluffy pink cherry blossoms drifting to the ground from bunches of tall trees and there were several groups of people taking pictures and walking through with their families. Finding a secluded park bench, the diligent girl took a small book from her backpack, leaned her legs sideways and began reading. Elegant and charming. Perfect. Alpha thought. This is turning out just fine.

Alpha stopped to observe her from behind a cherry tree a few hundred feet away making sure to have a good view of each sidewalk path that intersected Final’s bench. Soon, from one direction or the other would be two absolute dunces who were perfect for each other. After a few minutes of reading Final Ethel perked up and looked curiously to her left.

Alpha turned her binoculars down the lane and spotted target one, Ame Owari. She was of average height, wearing the same Hiwara Academy uniform with some slight changes, the black skirt was a very subtle near-black plaid pattern, and the traditional Black jacket was replaced by a pastel-colored letterman adorned with various patches and insignias. Ame herself was plainly gorgeous with long eyelashes and a sweet face. She’d dyed her hair a bright pastel pink with tiny dabs of dark red towards the end of her bangs. Her hairstyle, and indeed her whole appearance had the air of trying to look wild and crazy but came across deliberate. She was neat, tidy, everything was in its place even if everything didn’t conform.

Alpha sighed upon seeing her. It’d been a long time since she’d been able to lay eyes on her friend. Seeing her in civilian clothes made no difference. Ame was an oddball ray of sunshine on a dark day; it was good to see her. Ame took her time walking down the path, twirling in a pile of flower petals, admiring the trees and humming to herself. Alpha and Final giggled at the same time, but only Alpha noticed. Final glanced back at her book to try and look natural but Alpha knew she was going to strike up a conversation as soon as Ame passed by the bench.

“Ame Owari spotted. Repeat, Ame Owari spotted.” Alpha reported. An Ethel with a thick accent acknowledged on the other end of the line along with several muttering excited Ethels in the microphone.

Just then down the path to Final’s right a tall dark figure made his approach, glancing listlessly at cherry blossoms. That would be target two, Naoko Hajime. He was taller than average at 173 centimeters. He wore the male uniform as is, black jacket, black pants, black shoes, even the rims of his thin glasses were black. His hair would have been a neat bowl-cut were it not for his left side which displayed a considerable amount of bedhead that he refused to comb each morning. Where Ame represented organized chaos Naoko exuded chaos in what was the most organized and upstanding student. It had been far longer since Alpha had seen him.

She closed her eyes and cracked her knuckles. Pursing her lips, Ranger E breathed out deeply with her eyes closed expelling the painful memory of her Naoko. Not now, she had to focus, she had to stick with the plan as much as she wanted to run up and hug his dopey face.

“Naoko Hajime is confirmed, targets will converge on Ethel 99999-LC’s location in 6 seconds.” Alpha said, counting down as the time approached.

Static and nervous shuffling came back over the comms. “5.” Alpha shifted behind her cherry tree. “4.” Final Ethel held up her book like a shield. “3.” Ame let go of a pedal in her hands and watched it fall. “2.” Naoko looked down from the trees and his eyes widened. “1!”

Ame noticed Naoko as they stopped in their tracks in front of a park bench. She folded her arms, “you absolute asshole!” She spat.

****

Alpha’s voice erupted through the comms. “Houston! We have Great Advent! I repeat! We have Great Advent!” the lackey Ethels tossed sheets of notes into the air as Omega 7-A’s face widened into a satisfied smile. Hotaru had yet to see the like.

Alpha continued, “We have confirmed GA with codes: Vanilla and MK, all is right with the world!” The Ethels seemed even more excited at this news with Ehtel banging her chest and whooping at the top of her lungs as the other two who looked practically identical hugged one another.

“What does that mean? Vanilla and MK?” Hotaru interjected as Omega wiped a tear from her face.

“It means we’re in damn good shape!” She yelled, handing him the clipboard she’d been pouring over for the last hour. On the sheet were hundreds of listed words with almost no similarities. “The Great Advent is different in every reality, but they can all be broken down into specific tropes and ideas. Some are messy, some not so much. For example, ‘vanilla’ means that Ethel meets Ameko in a park on the first day of school. It’s the most common and leads to the most promising outcomes we presume. ‘MK’ means that at the time Ameko meet Ethel they’re having a fight.”

“And that’s good?” Hotaru asked, picking out a few code words that sounded awful.

“Well yeah!” Omega said, pointing to a few other key words. “See, if there’s a code: ‘Geass’ that means one or more brain states were altered in some way. And code: ‘Lyoko’ means someone got trapped in a computer along the way. There are infinite ways in which this meeting could get more complicated than it needs to be. So, naturally, things could me so much worse than what we have! So much worse. With these two, our Ame and Naoko have a good start to their relationship with Final Ethel and therefore the best chance of getting together.” She said, picking up a glass of water and downing it in a split second. “Of course, this is all theoretical since no Ethels have managed to accomplish this. That said! The best chances for success we’ve posited happen when the meeting is simple, concise, and personal.”

“From here on, it’ll be smooth sailing!” One of the lackey Ethels said giving Omega an enthusiastic high-five. Hotaru smiled, bathing in the bright light of success the other Ethels were enjoying. He supposed it must be true. Maybe he had been worried over nothing all along.

Static cut through the celebration like a knife. “I have a code SLC! I repeat! Code SLC, please advise!” The celebrating Ethels snatched their notes off the floor, fiddling with instruments and glancing about nervously.

“Oh no, oh no!” Omega exclaimed, snatching her clip board out of Hotaru’s hands and eyeing the dimensional spectrometer.

“I repeat!” Alpha practically yelled into the comms. “Code S. L. C! Please advise.” She said. Hotaru heard the characteristic click of Ranger E’s sidearm over the comms. He panicked.

“Wait, what’s wrong? What’s a code SLC?” Hotaru asked, breathless.

“Exactly what it sounds like, Miyagi-san.” Omega said grimly, removing her glasses and staring at him with an intense look. “It means a giraffe is involved.”