Despite the protests screaming from her body, Marina hauled herself to the edge of her bed. She held her head in her hands as she woke, trying to keep the room from spinning. She gave herself five minutes, no more, no less, to just sit. No eyes were on her, no expectations loomed above her head, no rules to obey or appearances to upkeep. Five minutes to face the reality of her world. Five minutes to be herself.

It was agonizing.

Her body hurt. Her mind reeled. The room spun even with her eyes closed.

When the time passed, Marina mechanically forced herself to her feet. She pushed all the dread, hunger, anger, and exhaustion to the side of her mind. There wasn't room for any of that in her day.

She stumbled around her room, gathering what she needed to prepare for her day. Her uniform, sash-shaped armor, WSU headband, clearance armband, and goggles all joined her in the washroom, ready to be worn. Dressing and freshening up didn't take long, but staring in the mirror did. It was imperative that she get her look right, she had an image to maintain. From the way her goggles rested on her mantle, to the way her bob-cut tentacles framed her face. The way her armor sat against her taller frame, or how her orange engineer's sleeve wrapped around her right shoulder. Even the laces on the combat boots she wore at all times had to be tied properly. All of it had to be perfect.

The only thing that wasn't perfect after some effort was her face. The bags under her eyes were too big to hide (and had been for some time). Her face naturally fell into an exhausted frown. She never met her own eyes in the mirror. She knew she would see her silent pleas to just stop reflected in them. I didn't used to loom this tired, she thought morosely.

But she couldn't do that. Not any day, but especially not today. Marina forced her face into a flat, focused look, giving her an air of authority and distance. The faded teal coloration at the end of her tentacles and claws rapidly swapped to military Octavian pink, albeit also somewhat faded. Marina mentally locked herself into this look, this mindset, for the rest of the day. She marched from the washroom, then paused by the shelf where her octoshot was resting in its holster. After a few moments of debate, she decided to leave it behind, not quite trusting herself to coordinate firing a weapon as she currently was. She was out her front door a moment later.

Her morning walk was, as always, plagued by her doubts. This short, maybe eight minute long walk was always the hardest part for some reason. Maybe she wasn't fully in the 'Head Engineer' headspace yet, or she was still tired after only three hours of sleep. Maybe she was just hungry. Regardless of the reason, she habitually picked at the doubts otherwise shoved to the corners of her mind. Why do I do this? She questioned, as she had every morning for the past several years. The answer was deceptively simple: she was the Head Engineer.

As much as Marina may try to deny it, that reputation didn't come unearned. She had revolutionized product transport throughout the Domes before she left schooling. She was the main developer in the wireless system upgrades. She was the one to discover a rudimentary way to treat human metal, make more efficient engines, and develop a new style of personal armor. She was also the first to successfully fix human tech in the Domes when she brought the heat lamps in Agricultural 4 back online. That put seven more crop fields back into production that had been thought lost for good. Marina was more than suited for the role: compared to her peers, she was overqualified by significant margin. There were a lot of good things about it. It was stimulating. She got to pick any problem she wanted and was given anything she could ever need to see it solved. For someone like her, who was always thinking, that part of the experience was fantastic. Not everything was so good though.

Marina knew she was just as much a propaganda piece as an engineer. Her accomplishments did improve life for the people in the Domes, that much was inarguable. But each success also pushed her pedestal a little bit higher. As her name became more and more known, so too did the amount of scrutiny she had to face.

Things didn't start out so bad. She took any excuse to avoid all of the recognition being pushed towards her. She was friendly, if somewhat awkward, with her coworkers. She shared her ideas freely, trying to get other engineers in on her projects to share the workload. Things quickly started to turn. She was giving speeches before growing crowds of soldiers after just a year out of school. The scope of her projects increased, while the number of other engineers she worked with decreased. Time to socialize with her peers vanished, replaced with more work. This only served to further the cycle, leaving her increasingly isolated from everyone else she knew.

Before long, people stopped seeing Marina. Instead, they saw Head Engineer Ida; brightest mind in the domes. The Head Engineer who revolutionized life in the Domes thrice over. The Head Engineer too far beyond her peers to collaborate. The Head Engineer known for her impassioned speeches and model behavior. She was an icon, a leader, a life-changer, the shining star of the octavian military. She was the best of her people, and she was alone.

Everybody had roles they were expected to fulfill. The soldiers trained and fought, the cooks prepared the food, the technicians maintained the systems. Why should she be treated any different? Just because her role was harder? She was clearly capable enough to handle it. No, she assured herself, it isn't something I can fight.

As Marina reached the same conclusion she had every day prior, she stopped outside the doors for high command. The attending soldier checked her clearance armband before waving her forward. Really, her clearance level could get her into any door in the Domes save for Octavio's own, but she followed proper protocol as she was supposed to. In the lobby, the large red digital clock hanging from the ceiling read 0500, exactly as it had every other morning she walked inside.

As she marched past the downstairs reception, two subordinate engineers fell into step behind her, flanking her on either side. Itcha and Kashi, members of Unit D, primarily hydro-engineers. No relation. Two of our sharpest minds, reduced to running slates to me.

"Report, Ma'am" Itcha said as he passed a slate forward. Yesterday's report was written on it in magenta chalk, slightly recessed into the metallic surface. Marina read the report diligently, though she really didn't need to. She herself had penned this report not five hours ago, before she left her lab last night.

Marina passed the slate back with a nod. "Clear it, record my orders."

She heard the distinct scraping of an eraser as Itcha wiped the board. the chalk rubbed right off while the eraser's embedded magnet pulled up on the indent, flattening the board. He grabbed the magenta chalk pen from above his ear and poised it over the slate. Across from him, Kashi pulled her slate out as well.

"Engineer Unit A is to report to the testing facility and fix the loose panels documented yesterday on the third face. Unit B is to run final diagnostic on the AI. Unit C is to check fuel, oil, ink, and coolant levels." She outlined dozens more orders for other units, groups, and individuals; all of which were diligently noted by the engineers beside her. She continued distributing orders even as they stepped into the elevator, nearly two minutes later. "Tamassa is to assist me in the control room by analyzing data. Hayze is to coordinate the delivery of portable respawners from Redridge Garrison for the diversion team to use."

There was a four second pause before the Kashi spoke. "Noted. Is there anything else Ma'am?" Her slate was about two lines from full, nearly a mirror to the other engineer's, which was filled completely.

"Do not disturb me, unless it is critical to the project. I will be on-site before things begin." When the elevator doors opened on the 22nd floor, Marina strode through them, calm and confident. Her footsteps echoed across the entire floor, as almost all of the walls had been removed in favor of open space. Light from outside poured through the glass walls, reflected throughout the floor by carefully placed mirrors. A large collection of engineers-- roughly 3 units worth-- were gathered in the studio near the elevator. The only ones who didn't stand and salute were following her direct orders to not break their concentration if they were working. She could spot various different diagrams and blueslates for several ongoing projects, all of which Marina could name without a second thought. Itcha and Kashi left her side, stepping over to one of the groups to begin distributing her orders over to the rest of the engineers.

From the other end of the building, the bright flashing of ongoing welding strobed through a tinted barrier sectioning off a large part of the floor. Several other engineers were inside the prototyping zone, working on some other fresh ideas. She paid them no mind as she marched across the floor towards the row of offices along the back wall. She passed other clusters of engineers; some gave quiet talks on mobile whiteboards, others experimented with small devices or demonstrated ideas to other engineers. Every single one of them stopped what they were doing to salute their Head Engineer as she walked past. The attention still made Marina's skin crawl, but she didn't let it show. She couldn't.

She wasted no time at the entrance to her private lab, opening, stepping through, and closing the door in one fluid motion. Compared to the wide open floor and glass windows of the primary lab, her space was small, cramped, and dark. She breathed a silent sigh of relief as the pounding headache she'd been ignoring relented slightly. A mixture of blueslates and real paper blueprints were stuck to the window, blocking out most of the light. The sprawl wasn't limited to just the window; it clawed its way around the remaining walls, the back of the door, and a few of the less important ones were strung from the ceiling. Countless prototypes, working and otherwise, littered the countertops. Marina wandered past her abandoned projects without a second thought; she hadn't touched any of them in years anyway.

She came to a stop before her desk and the mess spilling off it. Unlike the clutter in the rest of the room, nothing here was without purpose. On the left, several blueprints from her older projects hung on the walls, chief among them, the flooder. To the right of the desk dozens of blueprints for new parts, fasteners, computers, trackers, sensors, and ways to combine them all swept across the wall. Blueprints of increasing complexity covered the desk itself; a motion sensor, a gyroscope more precise than anything seen in the Domes before, spring loaded mechanisms capable of launching multiple tons, among many others. Beside them, a dim laptop screen displayed several lines of raw assembly code. On the wall directly in front of the desk was a single design, combining all the other blueprints. The culmination of all the work spread out before her. The last three years of continuous, exhaustive effort.

Today was the day her creation would be put to the test. Today would mark the day that life in the Domes would truly change. Today would be they day they finally began their march to the surface, and it all started with the soldier that had become so infatuated with her home.

"Captain, I'm not sure I like this." Quinn whispered as he crawled along a series of suspended catwalks. He was currently in one of the military Domes, crouched directly above one of their encampments. Soldiers walked to and from various buildings seemingly built out of scrap metal plating.

"The zapfish is near the edge of the dome." The Captain calmly informed him over the radio. "Maps of this dome label that building as unutilized, but under construction. But the map hasn't been refreshed in several months, so there's no telling what's actually goin on there. The Zapfish's presence clocks it as an active project, be careful Agent 3."

Quinn gave a quiet grunt of acknowledgement in lieu of an answer. A full squad of soldiers were lined up below him now, he didn't dare risk anything louder. He continued to crawl, keeping his chest flat against the ground as he slowly worked his way forward. His movements were very deliberate, chosen to reduce the amount of sound he made, a task with considerable difficulty given the thin layer of camouflage he had donned outside the Hero Suit. As much hassle as it was, it more than made up for the pain by mostly hiding him from view.

Just the night before, he, along with The Captain's help, had managed to finish the first iteration of his camo cloak idea. It seemed to be working just as he thought; the dark material blended in with the shadowed catwalks, while the blue of the sky reflected off the other sections. He had to be careful with it though, the cloak was incredibly thin, and likely to slide around and reveal something if he wasn't careful. The cloak wouldn't provide any protection in a firefight either - ink would soak right through it - so he'd need to remove it before anything big happened.

He very deliberately looked over the grounds below him, filing away minor details for updating the maps later. A large cluster of small, two story buildings rested near the front tunnels, probably some kind of administration center if he had to guess. Out beyond that, towards the center of the dome there were rows of long, thin, single story buildings. Judging by the sheer number of soldiers that swarmed around them, it was safe to guess they were barracks. And wow, there was a lot of soldiers down there.

There was only one thing that didn't line up with the old map: that under construction building The Captain had mentioned. According to the the other agent's best guesses, the space was designed to be some kind of elevation-based training ground. He expected to see a large circular inner platform, surrounded by a lower level along the outside with short walls built around the edge of the platform.

Instead, he found a large, multi-story building completely encasing the training space. Judging by the scarce few windows along the outside, there was at least two stories worth of actual rooms within the ringed structure. It went much higher than that, maybe four more stories up if he had to guess, and was topped a flat, metal roof. Worst of all, his zapfish was somewhere inside. He would need to infiltrate the building somehow.

Quinn steadied his nerves by devising an escape plan for getting spotted on the catwalks. He could only take three charger shots before it really began to affect his mobility, so super jumping would be his best bet. He'd need to be careful, though. The catwalk's grated surface wouldn't catch much of his ink, so his jump range would be very limited. The secret exit in this dome was up in the ceiling as well, so his best bet was going back the way he came, through the tunnels. He'd just have to be fast enough to beat any counter measures they set up.

He continued his slow but determined crawl. Past the barracks and over large, open training spaces with active combat drills happening below. These made him even more nervous as these soldiers already had weapons loaded and at the ready. In his ear, The Captain quietly regaled him with stories to help steady his nerves. They were mostly about his grandsquids or the other agents, but there were a few war stories sprinkled in among the lot as well. Quinn took a quiet comfort in the tales. The quiet yet passionate delivery was a great aid in keeping him calm in drawn out situations like this one.

The Captain was right in the middle of laughing about Agent 2's first clumsy use of a roller when Quinn paused him. He was past the fields, now above an empty stretch of concrete between the military camp and his destination. What caught his attention was the lone soldier walking below him, seemingly on the same trajectory as him, though there was something distinctly different about her. She wore a sash-shaped piece of armor rather than the usual plate. Large, gray headphones covered her ears, and she wore the red glasses The Captain had noted on his board. She carried no weapon or ink tank. Maybe not a soldier then, but certainly someone of some kind of importance. That meant there was almost certainly other people within the building. Fantastic. He quietly relayed this information to the captain, who just told him to be careful.

With little other choice, Quinn set his eyes forward and kept crawling.

Marina held her head in her hands as she looked out of her window, trying to keep the world from spinning. She was looking down into the large circular arena she had renovated. It hadn't been hard to gain control over this place - after all, several departments had a vested interest in her project. It had been much harder to get permission to get the testing facility up, but a few extra promises smoothed that over as well. The engineers had done as she instructed earlier, all final checks had been preformed, and the data logging had been properly connected. There were a lot of variables in this fight, and they needed to keep it as controlled as possible. She had managed every single aspect she possibly could, and a dozen more after that. All that was left was for the inkling to appear.

But that wasn't why Marina was nervous.

0110 ACHT --> MIDA
I'm outside
How bad is security
going to be

Records would officially show she was meeting with a network technician about the Domes' robust wireless systems. In reality, Marina wanted one last chance to see her friend again before everything changed. It's been almost a year since I met with Ahato. Things are already so different from back then, I hope she's doing alright.

0114 ACHT --> MIDA
Finally in
We're having a fancy meeting then
How about that

The entire idea of this meeting stressed her out. Not because Marina didn't like her friend, but because Ahato was coming to see her. Not the Head Engineer, her. Ahato didn't care one scrap about the reputation or status she was supposedly owed. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was incredibly grounding to have someone who didn't buy into the hype surrounding her. It also meant that Ahato expected something completely different from what everyone else did. Ahato was coming to see the friend she made before Marina was promoted so high, and Marina wasn't sure she could meet those expectations anymore. She wasn't the sky, bright eyed optimist she once had been, she was the Head Engineer now. How was she supposed to disregard that? She wasn't given any time to find a solution, as the door to she small office she was in swung open.

"Yo, Marina. Sup?" Ahato said, flashing a piece sign as she closed the door behind her. Her voice and mannerisms were exceptionally casual, like one would expect when meeting a friend for lunch.

Marina had to swallow her automatic corrections. "Acht! It's so good to see you!" This is easy, she tried to reassure herself. *I just need to be me*.

"Still using that old nickname, huh?" Ahato said with a dread in her voice that really didn't match her smile.

"Don't blame me!" Marina jokingly defended. "It's what my brain defaults to!"

"I guess four attempts to speak and sneeze at the same time would rattle the brain some," Ahato smirked, lazily flopping her hand forward and pointing towards Marina.

Marina laughed, and for a moment it didn't feel like she was faking it. "How have you been?"

Ahato sighed dramatically as she fell into one of the two chairs at the small table in the room. "Same old same old. System here, station there, you know the drill."

"Ah, that's good at least, nothing bad then?"

"Well, Imari's being... herself these days. Caused a bit of friction, you know how it is." Things must be pretty bad for her to mention it at all. I hope they calm down after today.

"Aside from that," Ahato continued, "The brass practically has me crawling through every square inch of this place looking for loose wires. I just don't get..."

Ahato continued with her rant as Marina's mind leapt in the background. 'The Brass? No one should ever so casually insult their senior officers, it's an affront to the entire structure of the military! She bit back the second reflexive demand for respect that rested on her tongue. She knew about Ahato's troubled relationship with the military, and the problems such a demand would cause. Ahato wasn't technically a soldier either, so she could let it go. She could.

She tuned back into the conversation just as Ahato was winding down. "...just commission like, four more permanent systems, let me hook 'em up and then that'll save us all several headaches a week for the rest of our lives!"

"That's not an unreasonable solution." Marina offered. "I might be able to talk to someone about it."

"Nah, it's a good thing are fine overall, I guess. Keeps me out and moving, even if it is a pain. Plus that'd mean making more tech, cuz those grounded stations would need to be stronger than the traveling ones. Enough about me though, how 'bout you??" Ahato asked vaguely waving in Marina's direction with her hand.

"As the..." Marina caught herself again. She almost gave her boilerplate talk about 'The responsibility of the Head Engineer' which was decidedly not what she wanted. She instead covered her hesitation with a cough. "As the head of this project, I've been kept quite busy. Engineers to organize and parts to move, you know?"

"Man, I can't even imagine all the rusted headaches you have to put up with." Ahato admitted with an easy air.

Marina frowned at the vulgar language, but stopped herself from saying anything. "It is a lot of work, but I manage." She pulled two boxed salads, specially requested for this meeting, from a cooler that had been pushed into the corner. It took a concerning amount of restraint to stop herself from ripping the box open and eating it were she stood. She pushed the worry that caused to the back of her mind for later.

"How about lunch? I know it's nothing fancy, but it's here." Marina set one box in front of Ahato, and the other in front of her own seat. Marina sat and bowed her head in appreciation, as was custom. Taking a few silent moments to contemplate Octavio, the Original Engineers, and the current workers was a universal gesture in the Domes.

"What- oh, right." Ahato started, before seemingly figuring out what was happening.

Well, Marina thought, near, universal. She had to stop her head from cocking to the side in annoyance. Another blatant act of disrespect -but no, she couldn't call it out, she was being Marina herself. She was being herself. These little things didn't used to bother me, she realized. Ahato's acting exactly the same as she used to. Have... have I really changed that much? Another thing to shove to the back of her mind for later.

A few moments later, she pulled her head up and grabbed her chopsticks. With conversation politely stalled, Marina took a bite of her salad. An immediate sense of relief washed through her, so nice she leaned her head back and coo'd slightly. Damn did it taste good. How long has it been since she's eaten?

"So have you been doing ok?" Ahato asked, before eating her own bite.

"Hmm? Oh, I've been fine. A few late nights here and there, but that's just the nature of things." Marina lied through her teeth with a casual shrug.

"Sure..." Ahato agreed though the food in her mouth.

"What, do you not believe me?" Marina bluffed.

"No, not that." Ahato swallowed her bite before continuing her explanation. "You just coo'd after eating a bite of plain lettuce."

She froze for just a moment, strangely afraid of being caught in this lie. "It's just a good salad is all. I've been eating ration bars for the last few days trying to bring this all together."

Ahato frowned at her for a moment longer, but relented. "Man, tell me about it. Would it kill them to put at least a little flavor in those things?"

Marina laughed, partially out of relief. "That would be nice..." Marina finished another bite before she spoke again. "Pretty much all of my work has gone into this project, which should hopefully start soon. We're just waiting on a guest to arrive." An additional few bites passed without conversation. Ahato kept glancing at her occasionally, some unknowable expression gleaming in her eyes.

Marina couldn't stand the scrutiny. "Has your... other project had any progress?" She asked, adding a slightly playful lilt to her sentence.

"Mm!" Ahato pauses to swallow her bite before continuing. "I have actually! The day we scheduled this meeting, I sat up on the roof for a few hours of mixing, but didn't get anything from it. I gave up for the night, right? Cuz four hours of no success is pretty damn demoralizing regardless of what you're doing. So instead, I - well, hold on, lemme tell you this first. At the install site earlier, someone really fucked up because there were a lot of parts that shouldn't have been there. I snatched an antenna from the pile and hooked it into my headphones later on the roof."

Marina scowled at yet another sign of disrespect and the blatant admittance of theft. Has she always been so... free spirited? Again, she shoved her instinctual response down. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Ahato put her hands on the table and leaned forward. "I caught a signal, it wasn't from down here. It wasn't like anything I've heard before!"

"You got music from the surface?" Marina asked, her demeanor calm.

"Yeah! It was by pure chance, but Marina, it sounded heavenly. I had to- I just worked. Imari found me on the roof the next day."

"How did you do it?" Marina asked, finally not having to fake the excitement in her voice.

"Oh, well, you see right here?" Ahato took her headphones from around her neck and tilted the left earphone upwards. A quick flick of her claw exposed a port on the flat side that Marina was fairly sure was new. "The radio receiver I have built into this is kinda trash, but it was the only thing I could get my hands at the time." She pulled an antenna from her pocket and easily slotted it into the port.

"That's a piercing class antenna!" Marina cried. "You shouldn't have that!"

Ahato shrugged. "Eh. No clue what inventory was supposed to be with, because it certainly wasn't on the install's It's mine now though!" She plugged the antenna into the port on the side, and then held it for Marina to see.

"Still! You sh--" Marina was cut off by a subtle rumbling. "It's starting."

"What's starting? Marina what the hell was that?" Ahato asked, a suspicious edge to her voice.

Marina stalked to the door, completely abandoning the half-eaten meal she was enjoying. She motioned quickly for Ahato to follow before she strode out, not checking to see if her friend was coming.

There were two people waiting in the control room. The first was standing near the wall-length viewing window. He was an older octoling-- at least two generations before her-- with a stern face and a commanding presence. Most likely, he was sent here directly by Octavio to see the project's results.

The other was Engineer Tamassa, who met her at the door. "All data collection systems are online, Ma'am!"

"Fuel, oil, and Ink levels?" Marina asked without pause. "The spot on the left face? Diversion team?"

"Yes Ma'am." Tamassa replied with a nervous look. "The diversion teams have already respawned in the lobby below us. Everything is on track as it should be."

Marina spared a glance backwards to check on Ahato, though she disguised it as a glance towards the nearest report console. "Good." she said, before striding up next to the window. "General Carver sir, things should begin momentarily. She folded her arms behind her back and looked down into the multi-tiered arena below.

Standing slightly off center was the inkling soldier that had been stealing the zapfish from the outer eastern wing of the domes. He was looking upwards, towards the zapfish that was rapidly being pulled into the ceiling. Her trap had worked.

"Do you mind explaining what exactly is going on here?" General Carver demanded with a polite growl. "A lot of resources have gone into this project, and I only know it's a weapon of some kind."

"Of course sir." Marina answered, an easy smile in her voice. "When we were forced underground over one hundred years ago, we were at war. The original engineers had plans for that war that had to be shelved in order to bring the Domes to life."

[editing note, I'm unsure how to style this section where her speech alternates with the action. I've each of the sections in a different way, tell me which one looks better, A or B?]
[Section A]
Marina savored the moment. A series of loud, deep mechanical clicks echoed from above. "General, I present to you..."

Something massive fell from the ceiling.

"From the plans of the Original Engineers... " A cube of metal three stories long slammed into the ground, creating a proportionally massive splatter of magenta ink.

"With the blessing of Lord Octavio himself..."

The box leapt into the air, rotating ninety degrees, and landing on a pair of sturdy, metallic mechanical legs. The machine leaned its head back and roared a cry so loud it shook the building.

"THE MIGHTY OCTOSTOMP!"

In the arena, the inkling looked up at the machine towering in front of him in blatant terror. The Octostomp wasted no time before launching itself into the air towards the inkling, fully intent to crush him.

"With painting capabilities far beyond all existing weapons, handheld or otherwise!"

The inkling just barely managed to roll out of the way of the second stomp, taking a not insignificant splash of ink in the process.

"A self contained, closed system powered entirely by a single zapfish!"

The inkling narrowly dodged another crushing attempt by super jumping across the arena.

"All controlled by a much more sophisticated version of the Flooder tracking AI!"

The Octostomp rocketed across the arena, straight at the inkling.

Marina turned to look at her companions before she could see the results. Tamassa bustled between the various consoles that had been set up, as she had been instructed. General Carver looked very pleased with what was happening. Ahato... looked perturbed, her gaze flicking between the arena below and Marina. Why did her friend's disturbed look unsettle her so deeply?

Marina found herself subtly reaching out to her friend. "A.. Ahato... I--" she weakly started before she was interrupted.

"Well, this does seem a bit overkill for a single inkling, as annoying as he may be." General Carver blurted.

"Oh, no sir!" Marina spun back towards the general, her face all smiles. Her hands folded neatly behind her back as she talked, voice equal parts placating and confident. "This is just the dry run. You have to do a few controlled runs to test all the systems and find the bottlenecks. For example, right now, we're using spare ink from the flooder system, rather than dedicated fighting grade ink. Such a thing won't work out on the surface when we're fighting an army, but against a single soldier, it should be more than sufficient." She paused for a moment to frown as the inkling dodged another attack. "Any shortcomings or issues highlighted by this trial will be fixed before another test."

The General grunted his affirmation, but didn't speak further. Marina turned her attention back to Ahato, who was looking over the arena with a look of open concern. Marina's train of thought screeched to a halt. Why does that look bother me so much!? Marina distantly puzzled in her mind, trying and failing to wrap her thoughts around it. This is a good thing! She reassured herself.

Ahato's gaze remained hauntingly transfixed through the window, growing tense as she stared. Marina took a step closer, holding out a hand. "Acht, what's--"

A deafening CRUNCH silenced any other sounds as the entire building shook. Marina's head whipped to the window. The Octostomp had just crashed through the walls on the other side of the arena, breaking straight through the building. She could see the inkling on the ground near the Octostomp, cheering with his fist in the air.

Marina looked through the room she was in. Tamassa was frantically running from console to console, simultaneously taking notes and inputting commands to try and stabilize and/or stop the Octostomp. General Carver had run out somewhere, presumably to mount a proper attack on the inkling. There was a silent cry of relief in her mind now that he was gone. The only other person in the room was Ahato, who waited by the window, her body stiff with emotions Marina couldn't read.

"He's goading the Octostomp into crushing the building." She mumbled, watching with a muted fascination. Marina paused her controlled panic to follow Ahato's gaze. The inkling stood against the wall, precisely positioned at just the edge of the Octostomp's range. He was talking to someone between gasps of breath. An idea sparked in her mind just as the machine leapt into the air once again.

Marina turned from the window just before another deafening CRUNCH blocked out all other sounds. She dashed to a specific console on the opposite wall. She cleared her throat as she approached, causing Tamassa to jolt before quickly sliding out of the way. Marina grabbed the edge of the counter to stop her momentum. She scrolled rapidly through the logs, blinking through all the radio signals the Octostomp had encountered until she found a source she didn't recognize. The signal was modulating every six seconds, changing frequency to stop it from being tracked. That must be the inklings then. Everything clicked together in her mind.

"Acht!" she shouted, pointing towards Ahato while reaching on top of the console and pulling down a slate and chalk pen. She didn't look up from the slate as she quickly listed the six most recent frequencies the foreign signal had been using. Another deafening CRUNCH blasted through the air. She squinted at the slate, the gears in her mind spinning as she calculated the algorithm behind the inkling's frequency hopping.

"Ahato!" She demanded while writing her first guess at the algorithm. "Your headphones." She held out her left hand while still fervently writing with her right. First try was a bust, failed on the third frequency.

"My what...?" Ahato asked, confused.

Marina groaned, but didn't stop writing. Second try was a bust, 5th frequency didn't match. "Your headphones," She explained in a slow voice. "I need the antenna."

"Marina..." Ahato's tone was defensive and hurt.

There wasn't time to play these games. "Head Engineer, Mizuta," she snapped on reflex. Third and fourth try are both out... but what if... For a few moments, the world faded around her as she concentrated purely on the numbers in front of her. Another crunch, this one further away, echoed over the arena. Marina didn't pay it any mind.There.

She had an algorithm that moved between the six frequencys without issue. Using it, she quickly wrote out what the subsequent frequencys should be. A scroll through the logs a few moments later confirmed her theory. She could follow the inkling's radio signals wherever they shifted.

With a frown, Marina turned to Ahato, who was staring back at her with pain clearly written on her face. Her friend mindlessly reached for her right shoulder as their eyes met. They were filled with hurt and betrayal, but also confusion, anger and pity. On a deep level, Marina knew that look would haunt her for a long time, but there was no time to acknowledge that now.

"Technician, your headphones. That's an order." Marina held out her hand. Ahato pulled the headphones from around her neck agonizingly slow. The moment Marina could reach them, she snatched them out of Ahato's hands and forced them around her head. It took less than 4 seconds to figure out the controls. Marina matched the frequency of the headphones to the inkling's current frequency as reported by the Octostomp. She was rewarded with one side of a conversation spoken in inkling. An older voice calmly, quickly and firmly spoke words she couldn't understand. Then the signal abruptly cut off.

Marina quickly adjusted it based on the newest report, and sure enough she was listening to the same conversation. Ignoring the reading now, she shifted her focus to her algorithm. She quickly worked out the next frequency the inklings would be using and tuned the headphones there just as the signal cut out again. It picked right back up as soon as she swapped. She repeated the process three times, just enough to ensure it wasn't a fluke.

Marina eagerly shot up from the console and turned towards the window, and froze. The inkling stood on the edge of the central platform, just in front of their window. He was waving his hands in the air tauntingly while staring down the Octostomp. Directly across the arena from him, and her by extension, the Octostomp rose to the taunt. Time seemed to slow as Marina watched her creation barrel directly towards her. Marina could distantly hear Tamassa screaming, but she didn't pay that any mind. She was looking at Ahato, frozen directly in front of the window.

Marina didn't think. She ran across the room and tackled Ahato from behind. She spun so her armored shoulder impacted the glass window, letting her momentum carry them out of the building. For one terrible moment she looked up to see her legacy fly overhead, barely an arm's length away.

CRASH!!

The Octostomp's impact echoed through the arena as Marina hit the ground. She grunted as her shoulder bore all her weight and momentum, and then Ahato's in turn. Her friend landed on top of her, slamming Marina's body into the hard concrete floor of the arena. Her entire body ached. It called for her to just stop. She'd been balanced on the edge of her physical limits for years, this might finally be what pushed her past them.

Magenta ink oozed from the ruined building behind them. Marina felt Ahato flinch as a few stray drops of ink splattered to the ground around her. That was enough to kick her back into motion, as stiff and pained as it was. They were in the lower outer edge of the arena, surrounded by parts of the building that been knocked free. She pulled herself to her feet, and then helped Ahato up as well. They both turned to look up at the Octostomp currently impaled on the ruined command center.

It lay crooked on the uneven pile of building below it. One of the building's support columns pierced through it's left side. A nasty combination of oil, grease, and ink leaked from the gash, and several other meters-long tears along its armored layer. Sparks, often accompanied by surges of electricity, danced along the Octostomp's sides, trying to find grounding amidst the rubble it was trapped in. The remains of a portable respawner peeked out from below the far corner of the Octostomp. The others were no where to be seen, likely lost in the debris.

Ahato said something, but Marina could only hear muffles through the ringing in her ears. Marina shook her head, feeling lost. Ahato grabbed her hand and pulled. Marina let herself get tugged away as she stared at the dying machine before her.

Despite the ringing, she could still hear the dull thud of a superjump landing nearby. Marina and Ahato both froze as the inkling's gaze swept over them. He turned away from them, directing his focus to the Octostomp. Marina's hand swept against her hip, where her octoshot would have sat if she'd had it. It wasn't there. That's why he turned away, she realized. We're both unarmed.

Ahato pulled her hand again, and Marina let herself be drug a few steps back, but she planted her feet when the Inkling started shouting. She couldn't hear it well, and it's not like she could understand it anyway, but Marina could recognize a taunt when she heard it. Twin feelings of anger and terror flared within her as the inkling goaded the Octostomp to throw itself at him again.

A request the Octostomp couldn't possibly refuse. Marina watched as the machine lurched its way upright. The deafening scraping of metal accompanied it as it turned to face the inkling assailant. The Octostomp let out, the same synthesized scream it had opened the battle with. This time, it was garbled and distorted, most likely from failing hardware. To Marina it was a cry of agony.

She watched as the culmination of all her work hurtled itself towards its demise. She couldn't help but wonder if it knew this was its end. Perhaps that's why it let out a final cry before its assault. Perhaps it was just a coincidental malfunction. Ahato pulled her arm again, and Marina let herself slowly be led away.

Another echoing Crash filled the air as the Octostomp landed face down on the ground. The inkling stood beside it, having completely evaded the attack. His head was tilted back in laughter. Marina watched in horror as he changed to swim form and launched himself through one of the tears in its side, venturing into the Octostomp.

NO!! Before she knew what she was doing, Marina lunged towards the Octostomp. "I have to stop him! I HAVE TO STOP HIM!!" She half ran, half fell her way forward, until her charge was stopped by someone grabbing her arm. "NO!" Marina shrieked, twisted, and thrashed, disregarding the waves of pain ripping through her body as she tried to break free. "I HAVE TO GET HIM! I CAN'T LET HIM DO THIS!"

"MARINA!!" Ahato shouted from behind her. "You can't fight him! You don't even have a weapon!"

Marina only thrashed harder. "HE CAN'T DO THIS. MY BIGGEST ASSIGNMENT! MY BEST WORK!"

"Marina, please!" Ahato begged. "There's more you can do!"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Marina drove her elbow backwards, straight into Ahato's stomach. "IT'S ALL I HAVE!" She sobbed as she wrenched her arm free.

Ahato staggered backwards with a shocked cry, her hold on Marina broken. Tears burned in Marina's eyes as she tried to run forward, only to slip on some ink and land on her knees. She grunted in pain, already trying to throw herself back to her feet as her head whipped up to look at the Octostomp. The large machine jolted, every mechanism within it seizing at once, before they all released. The glow faded from it's eyes as her creation drew still.

A wail of agony ripped itself from Marina's soul as she watched. Every ounce of anguish left in her being came spilling out as she watched the Octostomp die. Her throat tore itself to shreds a she desperately reached out towards her creation, her life, her failure. When her scream gave way to silent sobs, when the anger fell away and left only despair in its place, Marina fell with them. She crumpled to the ground, her entire body going limp, nothing moving except her heaving chest as she sucked air in on reflex.

Marina didn't respond as Ahato shouted something to her. She couldn't. Her spirit had finally given out, pushed so far past its limits it had nothing left to give. That's not right... she thought with a detached curiosity. I can't move my arms.

Marina gave no response as Ahato's arms forced themselves under her body and hoisted her into the air. Her head rested against Ahato's right shoulder, which she could feel rapidly tensing, almost like the muscle was strobing. The only thing that sparked a reaction was a streak of blue with hints of yellow flying through the air above her. A single tear rolled down her face as she watched the inkling escape with another zapfish.

A loud crunching sound followed by several thuds came from the Octostomp, each one causing the still metal frame to shake. Several distant voices started shouting, but Marina didn't care what they said. Whatever they said was important to Ahato at least, as she started trying to run with Marina in her arms.

What was everyone so worried about? She wondered idly. It was over, the inkling was gone. Her work was gone. Why even bother anymore?

They barely made it into one of the destroyed sections of the facility when the Octostomp thudded again. Then a third time. A shockwave blasted from the corpse of the machine. The blast knocked the already unsteady Ahato off her feet, causing Marina to tumble to the ground in front of her. Marina rolled until she was facing the Octostomp. A massive tidal rush of ink surged outwards in all directions, coating the entire arena in the inkling's blue. Oh, right the respawners were crushed.

Is this it then? Marina bitterly thought as she watched the rush of blue approach. An abject failure after completely betraying my reputation? She should get up. Run. She could superjump and make it out if she was fast. Her body wouldn't move. She didn't want to. I'm sorry, Ahato.

A large thin piece of metal slammed down in front of her, setting into a groove on the ground. Marina could see Ahato's shoulder braced against the metal barrier as the flood of ink crashed into it. Ahato held in place, screaming horribly as she did so. Her entire right arm was shaking violently. Blue ink splashed around the edges of the barrier, battering her entire upper body. Her color drifted... Marina thought in muted wonder. Several stray drops landed on Marina as well. They burned, she couldn't give any reaction besides the most faint of twitches. Ahato was crying. Marina could only tell when the tears landed on the ground beside her head.

And then the surge abruptly ended. Ahato fell forward, collapsing onto Marina. Besides the involuntary grunt of air forced from her lungs, Marina didn't respond. She just looked out over the arena, now thoroughly washed in the blue of defeat. Ahato pulled herself off of Marina, landing on the sheet metal she'd used as a shield. For just a moment, the two just laid there, eyes locked together. Ahato's eyes were a mixture of hurt and anger, but also genuine concern, and fear and a hundred other things she could only ever dream of understanding. Marina's eyes were just hollow.

"Marina... I..." Ahato started, before cutting herself off with a muffled cry. She looked away and shook her head, chest heaving with repressed repressed sobs. Her right arm throbbed, muscles tensing without her control. She never finished her sentence, instead she just stared into the distance for a moment longer. Ahato clumsily pulled herself to her feet and limped over blue ink, out of Marina's line of sight.

Marina just lay on the ground, her body still refusing to cooperate. She was found maybe half an hour later by a unit of soldiers sweeping through the arenas ruins. They had tried to help her to her feet, but when they found her unresponsive, they carried her all the way back to High Command.

It took several hours of rest, and a lot of food, to regain any control of her body. Everyone attending to her was respectful, but she could feel the tension in the air. The moment she could stand on her own power, they had her in front of a crowd, reading off a pre-written speech. Marina didn't have the energy to fight, so she gave in and did the only thing she truly knew how to do: be the Head Engineer. Of course she was in the thick of the fight. Of course the inkling used cheap, underhanded, and pathetic tactics to destroy the pinnacle of Octavian ingenuity before it was finished. Don't worry though, she learned so much from the encounter. She was one of very few people to engage the inkling and not be splatted after all. There's a reason she was the Head Engineer after all, this was just a testament to both her skills as a soldier and her wit as an engineer.

All the lies spilled from her mouth with an ease unlike ever before. She didn't fight it anymore. There wasn't a reason too.

The rest of the evening passed in a completely unmemorable blur. She spoke to the generals, other WSU members, and her subordinate engineers. She eventually marched into her apartment, facade up at full strength up until the moment she was truly alone. Marina didn't even take off her goggles, falling against the door as she sunk to the ground.

For hours, she didn't move, she just lay on the floor, silently weeping as she mourned the life now forever out of reach. A life without an immutable reputation, free from the gaze of thousands. One where she could wake at her own leisure and work on the things that brought her joy. A life the Head Engineer wouldn't ever live.

At some point, sleep overtook her. She woke up the at the same time she did every morning, still sat against the door. Marina felt empty.

Mechanically, the Head Engineer stood and walked to the washroom to prepare for her day. It was her role to fill, and she would see it done.