FFM 2026 5: Borrowed Time

The firefight on the platform below was incredibly loud. Beyari would have to thank the Zomok crew for the new exploit on the α-CX-2049 Mechs next time she saw them, maybe buy them drinks if their timetables aligned (and hope that they would not drink her under the table again).

FFM 2026 3: Dreaming Guilt

Every so often, Steirdrar dreamed of Prius. The dream started the same every time — receiving the assignment of analyzing and improving the planet's subpar defenses. Apparently, after years and years of fixing the results of enemy sabotage, whoever was in charge had finally gotten tired of the planet and its factories being so vulnerable.

FFM 2026 2: A hot insult to injury

Beyari stared at the rubble leaning against her visor. Judging from the dents pressing against her scalp, she was probably overdue an upgrade to a sturdier helmet. Once she had concluded that she had not been injured in the explosion (or the subsequent partial collapse of the building), she started to push herself up. "Well," she paused until the sound of rubble falling off her no longer echoed in the room, "that did not go according to plan."

Whoops: Touch-Starved

Steirdrar was not sure if he would go mad from something as simple as Agent Ket's prolonged touch. Just a hand on his shoulder, a gentle grip. A method of communication — in this case, communicating reassurance.

FFM 2025 30: Explanation(s)

Beyari leaned back, ready to rehash how she usually explained Mind-sense to other people. "I can sense nearby people's emotions that are on the surface passively. I can sense them more acutely if I focus, but it's got a high risk of those emotions sweeping me away and throwing me off-balance, so I avoid doing that. Conversely, I can also block my Mind-sense out if I focus in the opposite direction."

FFM 2025 29: Revelation(s)

Beyari laughed so hard when QWERTY explained what ae and Commander Urrang (and a bunch of other mechs, including the two cute Infini'Tech Labs Courier-series 'bots she had met the other day) had been working on. "So diabolical!"

FFM 2025 28: Proof of Concept

Sifting through the data the mechs gathered was easier to arrange; Steirdrar was already visiting the Afterglow fairly often, after all. Agent Ket noticed him working with QWERTY immediately but when her inquiry got responded only with him helping with one of QWERTY's projects, she backed off with a smile and a "glad to see you two're getting along."