Chapter 10
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Zoey was on edge. She could not sense any threat from the woman in black, but that made her even more threatening. The standoff did not last for very long.
The woman spoke. "Let's make a deal. I know your Administrator left you a database. I want access to it. In exchange I will give you access to my own database, or at least a small part of it. That should be enough to help you integrate with the world and the culture." She gestured to the wilderness around them for effect. "You know nothing about this world, or about how our universe functions. instead of explaining everything to you myself, I prefer you do the work yourself."
She was very straightforward. Zoey was a little more at ease when she realized this. She was used to military style directness. She took a moment to gather herself before nodding her head in agreement to the deal.
The woman smiled. Zoey was a little stunned by the simple beauty that showed on the woman's face at that moment. It seemed like she was truly happy to make the deal. The woman pointed to Zoey's left forearm, and Zoey felt a slight sting that made her jump. When she looked at the inside of her arm, a black tattoo had appeared there. It was extremely intricate and took the shape of a slender serpent intertwined with 3 mechanical gears that were interlocked with each other. Zoey instantly felt a flood of memories come back to her. The 3 interlocked gears were the same emblem that had defined her unit back before Gaia had been attacked. They were called the 77th Engineer Squadron and Zoey had served in that unit until every member had fallen to the enemy. The serpent that had entwined itself in the gears seemed to be the symbol of the woman who placed tattoo.
The woman spoke again. "That tattoo represents the deal, and the connection between our universes. To access its functions, simply focus your thoughts and senses on it, the rest you will learn with time. Anyway, it's been nice chatting, but I have data to sort. Bye." Then she disappeared. Zoey thought she had seen her eyes light up with a strange light when she had mentioned data... How odd.
Zoey was alone again. this time with nothing but a strange tattoo on her arm. But in the time since leaving Gaia, she had long since recovered the flexible mindset that she once had. She would adapt. The woman had left practically as soon as she had shown up. In a way this was very similar to Pfortner, although the situations were very different. Zoey was able to have peace of mind knowing that Pfortner's data would not go to waste. Hopefully it would allow this universe to be prepared if the enemy ever showed up. Even if it was a Tier 3 universe, the ease with which the enemy had consumed her own, made Zoey apprehensive.
But, dwelling on things that hadn't happened would get her nowhere. She needed shelter first and at some point she would need food. Her metabolism was an order of magnitude more efficient than before, but Zoey liked being prepared for the worst. Additionally there was the tattoo. She would need to find a safe space so she could inspect it to see about how it would help her. The woman had said she would give her access to her own database, but Zoey still had no idea how to access it.
With these thoughts in mind, Zoey set out. Her adventure in a new world was about to begin.
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Zoey was on edge. She could not sense any threat from the woman in black, but that made her even more threatening. The standoff did not last for very long.
The woman spoke. "Let's make a deal. I know your Administrator left you a database. I want access to it. In exchange I will give you access to my own database, or at least a small part of it. That should be enough to help you integrate with the world and the culture." She gestured to the wilderness around them for effect. "You know nothing about this world, or about how our universe functions. instead of explaining everything to you myself, I prefer you do the work yourself."
She was very straightforward. Zoey was a little more at ease when she realized this. She was used to military style directness. She took a moment to gather herself before nodding her head in agreement to the deal.
The woman smiled. Zoey was a little stunned by the simple beauty that showed on the woman's face at that moment. It seemed like she was truly happy to make the deal. The woman pointed to Zoey's left forearm, and Zoey felt a slight sting that made her jump. When she looked at the inside of her arm, a black tattoo had appeared there. It was extremely intricate and took the shape of a slender serpent intertwined with 3 mechanical gears that were interlocked with each other. Zoey instantly felt a flood of memories come back to her. The 3 interlocked gears were the same emblem that had defined her unit back before Gaia had been attacked. They were called the 77th Engineer Squadron and Zoey had served in that unit until every member had fallen to the enemy. The serpent that had entwined itself in the gears seemed to be the symbol of the woman who placed tattoo.
The woman spoke again. "That tattoo represents the deal, and the connection between our universes. To access its functions, simply focus your thoughts and senses on it, the rest you will learn with time. Anyway, it's been nice chatting, but I have data to sort. Bye." Then she disappeared. Zoey thought she had seen her eyes light up with a strange light when she had mentioned data... How odd.
Zoey was alone again. this time with nothing but a strange tattoo on her arm. But in the time since leaving Gaia, she had long since recovered the flexible mindset that she once had. She would adapt. The woman had left practically as soon as she had shown up. In a way this was very similar to Pfortner, although the situations were very different. Zoey was able to have peace of mind knowing that Pfortner's data would not go to waste. Hopefully it would allow this universe to be prepared if the enemy ever showed up. Even if it was a Tier 3 universe, the ease with which the enemy had consumed her own, made Zoey apprehensive.
But, dwelling on things that hadn't happened would get her nowhere. She needed shelter first and at some point she would need food. Her metabolism was an order of magnitude more efficient than before, but Zoey liked being prepared for the worst. Additionally there was the tattoo. She would need to find a safe space so she could inspect it to see about how it would help her. The woman had said she would give her access to her own database, but Zoey still had no idea how to access it.
With these thoughts in mind, Zoey set out. Her adventure in a new world was about to begin.
Zoey was on edge. She could not sense any threat from the woman in black, but that made her even more threatening. The standoff did not last for very long.The woman spoke. "Let's make a deal. I know your Administrator left you a database. I want access to it. In exchange I will give you access to my own database, or at least a small part of it. That should be enough to help you integrate with the world and the culture." She gestured to the wilderness around them for effect. "You know nothing about this world, or about how our universe functions. instead of explaining everything to you myself, I prefer you do the work yourself."She was very straightforward. Zoey was a little more at ease when she realized this. She was used to military style directness. She took a moment to gather herself before nodding her head in agreement to the deal.The woman smiled. Zoey was a little stunned by the simple beauty that showed on the woman's face at that moment. It seemed like she was truly happy to make the deal. The woman pointed to Zoey's left forearm, and Zoey felt a slight sting that made her jump. When she looked at the inside of her arm, a black tattoo had appeared there. It was extremely intricate and took the shape of a slender serpent intertwined with 3 mechanical gears that were interlocked with each other. Zoey instantly felt a flood of memories come back to her. The 3 interlocked gears were the same emblem that had defined her unit back before Gaia had been attacked. They were called the 77th Engineer Squadron and Zoey had served in that unit until every member had fallen to the enemy. The serpent that had entwined itself in the gears seemed to be the symbol of the woman who placed tattoo.The woman spoke again. "That tattoo represents the deal, and the connection between our universes. To access its functions, simply focus your thoughts and senses on it, the rest you will learn with time. Anyway, it's been nice chatting, but I have data to sort. Bye." Then she disappeared. Zoey thought she had seen her eyes light up with a strange light when she had mentioned data... How odd.Zoey was alone again. this time with nothing but a strange tattoo on her arm. But in the time since leaving Gaia, she had long since recovered the flexible mindset that she once had. She would adapt. The woman had left practically as soon as she had shown up. In a way this was very similar to Pfortner, although the situations were very different. Zoey was able to have peace of mind knowing that Pfortner's data would not go to waste. Hopefully it would allow this universe to be prepared if the enemy ever showed up. Even if it was a Tier 3 universe, the ease with which the enemy had consumed her own, made Zoey apprehensive.But, dwelling on things that hadn't happened would get her nowhere. She needed shelter first and at some point she would need food. Her metabolism was an order of magnitude more efficient than before, but Zoey liked being prepared for the worst. Additionally there was the tattoo. She would need to find a safe space so she could inspect it to see about how it would help her. The woman had said she would give her access to her own database, but Zoey still had no idea how to access it.With these thoughts in mind, Zoey set out. Her adventure in a new world was about to begin.
