This wasn't the first time Akira was injured enough to be confined to a hospital bed. While she was familiar with having the urge to dive back into her work but not having the ability to do so, it didn't make the situation any easier. Instead, her stunt only gave her additional tasks to accomplish before getting back into her real work.
As always, her first assignment was her dad. As much as Akira loved him, assuring him that she was fine would take a lot of energy and patience, and she was severely lacking in both. While she could never be fully prepared for the onslaught of emotions that would accompany his visit, she hoped she would at least have time to mentally prepare after she just regained consciousness, negotiated with an agitated Danya, and endured Sam's baseless accusations. Unfortunately, she had lacked the foresight to realize that sending Danya to get her soup would inevitably bring the chef instead, and his hurried footsteps were audible long before he burst through the door.
Their conversation went as smoothly as Akira expected, which was not at all. It was both a blessing and a curse that he was too scared to hug Akira, fearing she would crumble to dust with a single touch; even though Akira's aching body was spared, it was clear her dad struggled to keep from lunging at her with a hug every two minutes. For his entire visit, her dad tried and failed to maintain a strong front, and Akira could only awkwardly comfort him with gentle pats on his shoulder every time he teared up.
The others were no help either. Danya stayed in the far corner of the room, observing the unfolding scene with a blank face. In contrast, Sam made sure he was involved in the ordeal by supporting each of Ray's recommendations, such as Akira "should try the okayu" ("yeah, Akira, aren't you hungry?"), or she needed "to be more careful" ("you're not a young kid anymore, Akira") and "eat the rest of the porridge" to regain her strength ("there's plenty more where that came from, Akira").
Thankfully, her dad's fretful visit, along with Sam's unhelpful additions, was the most stressful item on Akira's to-do list.
Next up was a medical evaluation and the inevitable lecture that followed. By then, Sam had ushered her dad back to the kitchen to prepare for dinner, leaving Danya to watch as doctors and nurses put Akira through a series of physical exams that invaded her personal space more than she liked. It concluded with a few key takeaways: she was lucky to be alive, she had to stay under observation for a few more days, and they were confiscating her boosters until she was completely healed. Additionally, they highly recommended to avoid doing something so reckless ever again, at least if she wanted to live past the age of thirty.
Finally, there was the moment Akira was most interested in: an explanation of what had happened since Dubai.
The rest of Akira's team gathered in her room the following day, procuring extra chairs from the neighboring rooms and circling the foot of her bed. To her right, the Gupta siblings sat next to each other with Elodie taking Navin's other side; Quyen stubbornly kept her distance from them on Akira's left, forgoing a chair and simply leaning against the wall. It was a little awkward, considering they hadn't gotten very close during the one official mission they had together, and Akira assumed they were only there to be polite. Regardless, she appreciated the gesture, especially since their discussion gave her the illusion of being immersed in her work.
"It was a bloody fiasco, if you ask me," Jivan said, their extroversion thankfully unaffected by the uncomfortable atmosphere. "I don't know how it went down on the north side, but where we were, we had staircases collapsing, glass raining down from the ceiling, all that good stuff. Thanks to that, we had a clear view of that building next door almost crashing down on top of us. It was mad!"
"Why didn't we get word that Concordia was in range again?" Akira asked. While she knew it wouldn't have made much of a difference, especially since Dubai didn't have the necessary defense systems to protect against one of Concordia's attacks, an advanced warning would have let them at least find shelter.
"That's..." Jivan's eyes drifted to their right, and although they couldn't actually see Danya watching from the far corner without turning their head, the action was clear. "I don't think we can talk about it here."
"You know I got cleared a few days ago," Danya spoke up for the first time since the team arrived, glaring at Jivan before relaxing her gaze when she turned to Akira. "The giraffe found something in the nanobots that were in my leg that he stole. Apparently, they all have an uptime of around thirteen hundred years, proving that everything I said was true. So you're just going to have to get used to me, buddy."
"I don't know about 'everything,'" Elodie hurriedly said before Jivan could say anything snarky.
"She's fine," Akira assured, mainly because she knew Danya would find out herself anyway, but partially because she needed her curiosity immediately sated. "What happened?"
"Concordia wasn't in range," Quyen eventually answered when Jivan still seemed skeptical. "They managed to attack from the other side of the planet."
The revelation made Akira's stomach sink. Throughout the war, their one advantage was that a Concordian city had to be directly above their target to do the most damage with their favored attacks. While the UN now had ways to defend their populations in most scenarios, thanks to Ex Deo, there were still some situations where they were helpless. In those cases, they at least had the resources to strike Concordia first, and to protect those measures from Concordia's ground troops. But if they didn't even have that reassurance now...
"And it was probably just a test, considering there wasn't much left in Dubai," Quyen continued. "Which means the real attack will likely be worse."
While her added bit of pessimism seemed unnecessary, Akira had a feeling Quyen had ulterior motives. The majority of the team knew there was more in Dubai than what it seemed, and the fact Quyen made a point to not reveal the reality to Danya hinted that the information definitely needed to remain confidential. As concerned and curious as Akira was, she forced herself to hold her questions for a later time.
"Look on the bright side," Danya offered chipperly, thankfully not noticing Quyen's hidden message. "At least you know that Ex Deo didn't betray you. That's what you were worried about, right?"
Judging by the lack of response she got, she was absolutely correct.
The team began to file out a few minutes later; Elodie and Navin had a "prior commitment," and Jivan insisted they would tag along to chaperone the "definitely not a date." They invited Quyen too, but she turned the offer down with a gruff "I'd rather not."
Akira did have more questions though, and while their brief meeting had exhausted her more than she would've liked, her need to know greatly exceeded her desire to rest. Thankfully, Quyen agreed to stay back for a moment while the others left, and she only made a point to glance at Danya who remained in her corner. In turn, Danya stared back with a neutral expression.
"Danya, could you give us a few minutes please?" Akira asked, not having enough energy to think of an excuse.
For a few seconds, it didn't seem like Danya was going to listen as she kept her gaze firmly on Quyen. Eventually, she turned to Akira, stared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged.
"I'll be in the mess," she announced as she strode across the room to the exit. "I'll be out of earshot in two minutes. Call me when you're done."
While Akira trusted Danya's word, Quyen didn't, and she followed Danya out into the hallway and returned three minutes later.
"With all due respect, Captain," Quyen began, closing the door behind her. "Is it really okay to let her wander around Base like this?"
"The commodore cleared it," Akira said, knowing full well that the fact probably wouldn't make a difference to Quyen. "But I trust her. She...may have a different demeanor than the rest of us, but I believe we have the same interests."
"Whatever you say, Captain," Quyen said, clearly not convinced. "So, what'd you want to talk about?"
"Your mission," Akira said, eager to get down to business. "How'd it go?"
Quyen sighed softly, dropping her gaze ever so slightly.
"It's gone," she whispered, her fist clenching as she relayed the news. "The entire facility caved in with that earthquake. There may have been a chance to salvage it before, but now..."
"And the researchers?" Akira asked when Quyen didn't continue. "The engineers? Are they okay?"
"They're fine," Quyen said through gritted teeth. "But all of their work, all of their notes? It's gone. We're back at square one, and now the Concordians have something new to throw at us? How the hell are we supposed to kill them now?"
"We'll figure it out," Akira assured, trying to hide her surprise at seeing Quyen so agitated. "We still have researchers working around the world. And, like Danya said, Ex Deo is still on our side. Maybe they'll find out how Concordia attacked us, just like how they helped us get our current weapons, and just like they've had our backs for this entire war. We haven't lost this yet. Not by a long shot."
But even as Akira said the words, she wasn't sure if she could believe them herself. Dubai had held the UN's most advanced research facility, responsible for progressing the UN's weaponry while they hid under the rubble Concordia made early on in the war. No one thought Concordia would strike a city they had already decimated, but apparently they were wrong. And since the researchers had stopped trusting digital security after dozens of Concordian cyber attacks, whatever was destroyed was likely gone for good.
"Why'd you do it?" Quyen suddenly asked, breaking Akira's train of thought. "Why'd you use another booster? You had to know what it could do to you."
Akira didn't answer immediately. Her mind was still focused on the five-year setback to the UN's weapons development program and it took her a while to understand what Quyen was saying.
"People needed help," Akira eventually answered. "And I knew I could save them."
Quyen waited for a moment. "And that's it?"
"What do you mean?"
"You don't like that feeling?" Quyen asked, her eyes narrowed. "The feeling of being stronger than before, like you can do anything? Or maybe...you like the feeling of saving people?"
It was quite the opposite, actually. The boosters left Akira's muscles burning, singed with an itch she couldn't scratch. While the strength was helpful to do her job of protecting civilians, it occasionally made her feel mad at herself that her natural strength wasn't enough.
Belatedly, Akira realized the abnormalities in Quyen's question. There was something about her tone that sounded accusatory, as if she was interrogating Akira. The doctors had asked Akira about her decision too, but they had easily accepted her answer. So why wouldn't Quyen?
Finally, Akira remembered her glimpse of Quyen's profile: the corporal wasn't medically cleared to use boosters.
"I'm not addicted to them, or to what they give me," Akira insisted, already knowing her words wouldn't be good enough. "I use them because I have to. Nothing more."
Judging by the still stare Quyen gave her, the woman didn't believe her.
"Let's say that's true," Quyen proposed. "Still, you should know what it did to you. You should know what we saw."
Akira braced herself for the incoming lecture, training her face to maintain a solemn neutral expression.
"I know you heard it already, but I'll say it again: you almost died. You were...some unnatural shade between red and purple. One second, you'd be screaming your goddamn head off; the next, you'd be gasping for air like a fish out of water. And when you had a seizure, all this blood started pouring out of your mouth. Gupta was losing their mind—they thought you bit your tongue off. And a lot worse probably would've happened if Beringer hadn't been there."
Quyen paused, as if she was waiting for an argument. Akira remained silent, trying to keep from shifting uncomfortably when Quyen's words reminded her body of the torment it endured.
"So," Quyen eventually continued, crossing her arms. "The next time you decide to play the hero, maybe think about the consequences first."
By the time Quyen left a few minutes later, Akira felt like she was being pressed in from all sides—metaphorically, of course. Her new team was not meshing as well as she had hoped, and the war seemed to be escalating before her eyes. While the Gupta siblings and Elodie would be fine on their own, Quyen seemed to only work with everyone because she had to, and nobody trusted Danya. If they were going to be sent on their new mission as soon as Akira recovered, that wasn't nearly enough time to build any sense of camaraderie.
Before Akira could brainstorm team building ideas, her phone buzzed.
Lemur sighting topside, Danya texted. Am I cleared to move back in?
Akira sighed. If she had her way, she would lock herself in her apartment and hide from the world for a couple days. Alas, she was in the military surrounded by a war; hiding from her responsibilities was not even an option.
Give me a few minutes, Akira replied, once again too tired to think up an excuse.
I'll scavenge for snacks then, Danya said immediately. Then, half a minute later, she added, Get some sleep. You looked like crap. Kind of smelled like it too.
Her advice shocked a short laugh from Akira. She hadn't expected the masked concern to come from Danya, but now that it had, it seemed natural. Her observation was also extremely accurate, and Akira could feel herself drifting off shortly after. So after typing a quick "will do" to Danya, Akira closed her eyes and lulled herself to sleep with ruminations of her team running through alternative versions of the Dubai mission over and over again until she couldn't think anymore.