Stamford Research Lab Part-1

July 25, 2175

6:05 A.M.

The silence of the hill rang through the air, the sky painted in hues of orange and pink. The silence was occasionally broken by the chirping of birds and the rustle of leaves due to the winds and the life forms that were present there.

"Enak, uh, how do I initiate a Kana connection?" he asked as he got into the car and started to browse through various vehicle models that were loaded inside the system.

"Just say link and then the target. I may be an armour with a conscience, but I am still a Cretan artifact, and the Kana network is something even the most basic Cretan accessory has," he said, sounding somewhat smug, reminding Jack of how proudly and enthusiastically his grandfather used to talk about Creta.

"Alright... Link with Diana," he said.

"Uh, hello? Diana, it's Jack. Can you hear me?" he continued.

"Hey there, what's up? I was just teaching Stephen how to get around in the pocket tent," she replied, her voice sweet and soothing.

"Oh, well, just wanted to say that I will be putting out the non-combatant tent and will put it in the car, so it will not be easy to come out. So I asked if you wanted to head back into our pocket tent before I do so," he replied, his fingers mere inches away from the button that undeploys the entrance.

"I see. Alright, I will head over right now," she answered, and the connection cut.

Jack backed away from the door. It opened up a few moments later, and Diana emerged, her face flushed for some reason.

"Is something the matter?" Jack asked, noticing her colour blast in her cheeks as she climbed out and closed the door behind her.

"Oh, um, well, an elderly couple walked up to me as I was climbing out. They said something... endearing. Oh, and they send their thanks," she said, straightening up with a huff.

"I see. Well, I think we should head out. I really don't want to get any unwanted company right from the start of the day. We have to get the non-combatants linked to the Kana network as well once we are somewhere safe," he said as he bent down, retracted the pocket tent door, and placed it into the backseat of the car. "Our pocket tent is placed over there. You can climb inside. I will place it into the car as well."

"Huh? What? No way. Who is gonna keep you company while you drive then? I'm staying with you," she said, her voice playfully stern, leaving no room for further argument.

With a triumphant grin, she retracted their pocket tent as well and placed it beside the other one on the backseat.

"Hmm, let's see," she mused as she disappeared inside the car again and flattened the backseats, forming a plain platform for the pocket tent doors. "Well, genius, only if you had done this. Now we can come out of the pocket tent freely," she said as she settled into the passenger seat at the front, her eyes urging Jack to get into the car and start the drive.

"Woah, thanks. Alright, let's move," Jack said as he got into the driver's seat.

Diana was browsing through the various vehicle blueprints. As Jack pulled on his seatbelt, he was about to start the car when Diana interrupted him.

"Hey Jack, check this one out. Think we should change into this one?" she said, pointing at the sleek car that was on the display.

Jack's jaw dropped in awe.

"No way," he exclaimed, his eyes wide with amazement and excitement.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Diana asked, puzzled at his sudden reaction.

"That's a literal beast right there. It's the Hermes 3rd—15,000 horses' worth of power crammed into eight Kana reactor-type engines. Grandpa sure had quite the collection. And considering our car is made from Cretan minerals, we might get boosted performance," he said, a fire of passion and excitement aflame in his eyes.

"Oh my, looks like our Kratian prince has a thing for cars, huh? Guess men will be men," Diana teased.

"Oh well, my bad. You can't blame me—this is an awesome car. Still nowhere near the Hermes Mark Seventh of its series. That one can break the sound barrier itself. Well, get ready to ride a bullet," he said smugly as he hit the Morph button.

There was a light whirring as the transformation mechanism came to life. The walls retracted and expanded, slowly morphing the car into the sleek and stylish aerodynamic design that was on display.

With a satisfied grin, Jack powered up the engine, and it came to life with a small roar.

"Good thing it is a car with a backseat. Otherwise, the pocket tents would've been a problem," Diana said, pointing her thumb at the back.

"Indeed. Now then, shall we?" Jack asked excitedly, his body shaking with anticipation.

"Be sure to ride on the side tracks," Diana said, excitedly. Jack's excitement had slipped into her mind as well.

On the highways, there used to be 30-metre-wide tracks on either side of the road, reserved for high-speeding cars, military, and official vehicles, and Jack knew he was going to take full advantage of the lack of speed limit for that track.

They descended the hill slowly, and as they drew nearer to the highway, Jack's excitement increased exponentially.

"Hmm? Why did you stop the car?" Diana asked as Jack stopped the car at the end of the on-ramp to the side track.

"To see how fast it shoots ahead from rest," he said, grinning.

"Honestly." Diana sighed with a chuckle.

"Heh~ let's go," he said as he powered it up.

The engine roared and the car shot forward, accelerating at an insane rate. Within half a second, they reached 100 kmph speed, and within two seconds, they were blasting forth at 500 kilometres per hour.

"The suspension and G-force management system is insane. We would've molded into the seats completely if not for the awesome engineering," he shouted as he laughed, his voice still suppressed by the powerful roaring of the engine.

"Wooh, that was intense," he exclaimed as he slowed down the car to 200 kmph. "We've got such an awesome car now."

"Indeed, it was so impressive," Diana laughed.

They continued to talk throughout the ride, and after driving for half an hour, they were driving through the hills, miles away from the forest the Ortho Sapiens were looking for them in.

"So, now we go to Stamford?" Diana asked nervously.

"That's the plan," Jack replied as he pulled off the side tracks and drove into another forest.

"I hope Mrs. Hauston is safe. How are we gonna find her?"

"She will be safe... most likely. Considering how much our family was attacked by Ortho Sapiens after my dad died on duty, my grandfather made her always carry a suit of Cretan armour with her. She will be safe, as long as she didn't run into any of the Kratian extermination units we faced at the hospitals," he said as he killed the engine.

"As for finding her," he huffed as he got off the car and walked over to open the door for Diana, "we can find her with the help of the Kana network." He offered a smile as Diana got off the car.

They unloaded the pocket tents and deployed them near the car.

"Hey Viora, take the car inside, but before that, tell Ethan to come outside. Let's show him the car before we put it away," he said.

"Yes, master, at once," Viora's voice sounded from Jack's holo watch.

"Why are you still using a holo watch? Won't the network connection sabotage our position?"

"Oh, did I not tell you? Sorry. Well, I linked our devices to Viora who masks our location while keeping us connected to the network with the help of a Virtual Private Network," he said, his eyes darting between Diana and the car once every few seconds.

"What?! You should've told me sooner. I was keeping mine turned off in my room," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, I am telling you now," he said, grinning apologetically.

"NO WAY!" a voice sounded from behind them.

"I always have something to make you say that, don't I?" Jack said, laughing as he turned around to face Ethan, who was standing there frozen mid-step, his eyes scanning every detail of the car.

"No way your old man had this in his inventory. Why did you never morph it into this before?" he exclaimed as he finally climbed out and walked over to the car for closer inspection.

"I found out today as well. You can't blame me—my grandfather has more than a thousand vehicles scanned in that," Jack replied as he walked over to join Ethan. He pressed a button on the back and the cover shrunk, revealing the engine.

"Quadra wheel drive, huh? Each of the wheels driven by two Kana reactors?" Ethan exclaimed. "They sure went all out."

"Why do I feel like Ethan knows everything about you and your family's background? He wasn't surprised by anything from Creta, as if he had used them a lot of times before," Diana said, looking away in fake annoyance.

"Because he has?" Jack answered absentmindedly as he and Ethan inspected the car's engine.

"Oh? And if that's the case, why haven't you shown me any of it before—especially considering the fact we are best friends?" she said, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"We are like brothers. I tell him everything—literally. Bro code must be respected, after all," he said as he looked over the car roof to enjoy the look of Diana in disbelief. "Just kidding. Our families know each other from Creta, so naturally they know everything. The 'telling him everything' part might be true—who knows," he said, grinning mischievously.

"Fair enough, I guess. Well, anyways, I will be off to take a shower. You two can continue your, uhh, car inspection," she said with a smile and went inside the pocket tent.

"You've fallen for one heck of a lady, brother," Ethan said after Diana was out of earshot.

"Sure did. It's rare to see you talk about girls. Don't give me competition, bro," Jack said, grinning.

"Nah, man, she is better suited for you. Besides, seeing how long you've been in love with her, I'd probably feel shit if I so much as developed a crush on her."

That's... so nice of you. What about you? "The last time I remember you talking about someone you love was when you fell for that girl who lived on the top floor. She moved out, didn't she? Did you find anyone you fell for after her?" Jack said, straightening up and stretching as they completed their inspection of the engine.

"Well, no. Not even a crush. Sigh~ I don't even know, man. You see, you never stop loving someone whom you've truly fallen for. The best you can do is find someone whom you love more. And for me, I just haven't found someone who fills the latter criteria yet," Ethan said, sighing as he pressed the button and the engine cover reappeared.

"Look at you, a love philosopher now. Don't worry, man. We will find you someone," Jack said, patting his shoulder.

"Let's see. Anyways, let's talk business. I know you didn't call me out to just show me the car, did you?" Ethan said, taking a final look at the car before Viora took it inside.

"Indeed, so here we go. Reason one, I want to see that footage and get in contact with Mom and her coordinates so we can go rescue her and the other survivors. Reason two, I want you to integrate every single one of the non-combatants into the Kana network."

"Thought so. Good thing I brought my devices," he said as he took out a tablet from his item pouch. "As for the other thing, I don't think it will be a good idea to hand each non-combatant an armour just to integrate them into the Kana network. It's risky in case they get mind-controlled and won't be convenient—after all, we have just 200 armours or something, and the vanguard and defence need it more."

"Don't worry about that. Viora, we need some kind of accessory like the ones in Creta that will allow us to connect to the Kana network," he said.

"Yes, master, I will get to it at once. Will rings do? And I will have to use the minerals that were in the weapon vault. Producing them with raw energy will be really time-consuming. So can I have the permission to use the materials from the vault?" Viora requested, a holographic pop-up verification menu popping up on Jack's holo watch.

"Yes," he said and pressed the button on the menu. "Make a batch of 200 for now."

"So this thing has got a factory as well now?" Ethan said, his eyes widening with surprise.

"Royal equipment, bro," Jack said, grinning. "Show me the footage now. Let's go to your room."

Jack walked around the place, erecting walls made of Kana slabs in a 50-metre radius around them. He then made a mesh at the top, enclosing them in an almost impenetrable fortress.

They descended into the pocket tent and went upstairs into Ethan's room. The room was dimly lit and an exact replica of the room Ethan had back in Chicago. He turned on his computer and got the footage rolling.

The Cretan armours have a special property—if during a battle, the armour gets damaged considerably, it uploads footage of the whole confrontation on the Kana network so the other allies know what they are up against.

And it was one of those times in this scenario.