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Your mother maintains her gaze upon you for a long while before she asks, "Did your mom tell you where I was the last few days?" You nod, saying that she mentioned that the Major was at a top secret meeting and didn't know when she was coming back. She nods and says, "Correct. I'm also guessing that you already figured out what the meeting is about, given the…incident that you were involved in last week."

You nod your head and wait for the Major to hit you with the worst news ever. She continues to talk, not noticing the way you tensed up. "The board had received the preliminary report from the investigation team regarding the incident, and compared it to the incident in which the artifact was recovered. I was invited to attend the meeting, obviously, but I was not allowed to participate in the…important decision at the end of the meeting, due to obvious reasons," she gestures at you and you nod grimly, understanding why.

"Of course, the board is disturbed by what the report says, and coupled with your own report, this new enemy is a serious matter and all available resources will be devoted towards gathering more information about it, so that we might be more properly equipped when we deal with it in the future. Expect to be called upon by the board to participate in this matter soon. You're our only expert, unfortunately," she says, grinning sardonically, and you allow yourself a slight smile yourself.

"And there is also the matter of the artifact itself," she continues.

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