Chapter Fourteen - Unexpected Fallout

"The obsession with youth is an unchecked virus. The fixation on appearing young is less about vanity and more about survival in a culture that equates power with youth. And yet, the reality is that all political soft power is in the hands of the old.

In the digital age, where everything is accelerated and disposable, youth is weaponized, sold, and idolized. But in chasing an endless cycle of perfection, we miss the deeper, grittier truth; true strength is forged in the scars of experience, the wisdom of survival, and the beauty of becoming something more than a perfectly polished avatar.

--Excerpt from a speech by Bernard Dotter at the Grey Hair Con of 2045

***

"Yo," I said as I walked up to the Bastion. Olivia had peeled off a while ago, almost as soon as I was within line of sight of the ship, and now the only stranger left was... that dude that was accompanying Lucy. Emmet? Easton? No, it was... Ethan?

"Cat!" Lucy said before she ran over and gave me a quick hug. "I''m glad you arrived. Did class go on for a long time? Also, you stink."

I laughed, then shrugged. "A bit? I think it finished early, but I had to get changed."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense," she said. "Anyway, Ethan here was just keeping me company, but he''s heading out now."

"I am?" Ethan asked.

"Yup," Lucy said. "Thanks for stalking me around all over, it was nice of you! I''ll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Oh, yeah, right," Ethan said with a goofy smile. If it wasn''t so obvious that Lucy had a leash on the poor idiot I might have considered socking him in the nose, but... yeah, no, he was giving off mad himbo idiot vibes.

Lucy waved as the boy took off, then she turned back to me. "Can we go home?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said. "You in a hurry?"

Lucy nodded. "I''ve been holding it in all morning."

I barked a laugh, not expecting that reply. "Really? They have bathrooms here, you know?" I said as I walked over to the Bastion and sent a command through my augs to open it up.

"Yeah, I know, but... public washrooms suck," she said. "I hate the stalls. They''re always super narrow, and there was never room for my crutches."

"Okay," I said. She didn''t have crutches anymore, and I was pretty sure the washroom back at the orphanage couldn''t be any narrower without breaking some physical laws, but I knew better than to point that out. If she had hangups about it, then whatever. "There''s a washroom on the Bastion. Never used, either."

"Really?" Lucy asked.

Mostly the consequences of your call to action at the funeral you attended recently. The call to action which was broadcast internationally and which has had a marked effect on the number of riots and acts of political activism across the region. I suspect that some entities wish to talk to you about that.

I paused in the act of mussing shampoo into my hair. "Wait, what?"

There''s also still an ongoing global incursion, though it is mostly contained and seems to be slowly winding down. The area around New Montreal is quite secure, but there are still pockets of resistance.

"Right, okay," I said. That much was easier to deal with.

Finally, I believe that the army had put in several requests to communicate with you, including some sent directly from members you are familiar with. There is also some mail from local vanguard who wish to discuss various topics with you.

"Urgh," I said. I took a moment to dunk my head under the flowing water of the shower. It drowned out my thoughts for a few moments. "Okay," I said as I pulled my head out. "Fuck me, that''s something. Can you like... order them by importance or something? Tell me who''s at the top?"

A surprisingly difficult thing to ask, but I believe I can manage. At the top of the list would be the representatives of the Keiretsu and Nachtwa?chternetzwerk. They want to set up a post-operation debrief in the coming week. They are giving you some leeway since New Montreal was hit hardest by the falling Phobos remains, but I suspect that they''ll want a meeting sooner rather than later.

"Makes sense," I said. "Who''s next on that list?"

The Family wishes to speak with you.

"They always do," I muttered. "Yeah, okay, let''s... do a meeting with the doc and the Japanese samurai in the morning if that works for them, or in the afternoon if it doesn''t. Timezone fuckery and all that. Then the Family around noon. Anyone else?"

Vanguard Deus Ex recently sent a request via text for a meeting.

I blinked, then regretted it when I get some water in my eyes. "She''s back on Earth?" I asked.

No. But her station is nearing Earth. Enough to make a videocall possible. She''s requesting a meeting at any time, at your convenience.

"Huh. Yeah, okay. Talking to the pipsqueak might be worth the time."

Deus Ex was a weird one. So far, she''d always been... kind of a superior? As far as samurai had superiors, that was. She was several tiers above me, had years more experience, and was teched-out to an obscene level. I was very, very far from being able to do shit in space, and here she was, with a station that could move from Earth to Mars and back.

Still, for all that she was way stronger... it was hard to take her seriously sometimes. She was too small and cutesy, even if I was pretty sure she was more hardcore than even some of the most badass metal-chewing super soldier types I''d met.

I shut the shower off, then stepped out. "What time is it?" I asked.

Almost two PM, currently.

"Oh... well shit, for some reason it feels like today''s over," I said. "Right... well, in that case, let''s get some food in me, then see about doing some work at home. I feel like shit''s gonna get busy sooner than I''d like, and I want to get as much done as I can while I can.

***