Diana

Brian Ulrich. My biological father. Here on stage at the semiannual conference for our precinct. This was beyond unprecedented, my father worked for New California as a whole, he wasn't the type to make a visit to a relatively small meeting like this unless… it was going to impact New california as a whole.

His eyes only met mine for a brief second before he turned his gaze to the rest of the captivated audience, their attention hooked as his lips moved to reveal a voice no less impactful than Annabelle's.

"New California is my city, although I may be an immigrant, I would die and bleed for this nation and I very well intend to when the Swarm reveals itself. The fall of our brethren to the East one century ago brought havoc across the continent, a refugee crisis crippled our infrastructure for a decade and that was before the damned earthquake hit us!

"Nature… is a cruel mistress. And it continues to move forward without us, and so we must make our sacrifices to thrive onwards, pledging our souls to the humanity within each of us, letting our struggles pave the way forward through the death of those inglorious invaders! For that is the only way we may prosper against the whims of bastard aliens!"

The crowd roared in agreement, even Choirmen gave a 'huphup'. It was obnoxious.

"New California stands as the only remaining Free City in North America now, and we hold a much larger populace than SynTec's New Port City along the North-East Coastline. I don't need to spell out that means for you all, you've been dreading it as much as I have. The Infinite's gaze is upon us."

The reactions faltered at the word of the MALtitan… why would anyone want to acknowledge a terrible and certain death approaching us.

"Alas, as many of you know, I was once a member of NeoCore's advisory council on behalf of SynTec. Now I stand before you as the Corporate Advisor for this great and Free City! For what good is wisdom when you are not free to use it! So as the years passed by, I toiled to bring my dream to fruition, to build a bastion of peace within this very district wrought in chaos. And for that I have earned a declaration from not one… but two Founders."

The room went silent at that. The Founders had… declared something for Westbrook? With a snap of his fingers, light shone as a sprawling of text.

"Here, it reads… New California has undergone reevaluation for the dual MALtitan threat posed in the forms of The Infinite last seen in The Floridian Gulf, and The Typhoon which remains dormant within the Pacific Ocean. In view of this, New California has been declared a Class VII priority target for the MALswarm. Current analysis indicates a complete eradication of the city and its populace of 387,000,000. Such a catastrophic loss to Humanity cannot be allowed. Declared by The Founder of Neocore, Michelle Silvha, and The Founder of The Free Cities, Beauregard Mazhyr, New California — and in particular it's District known as Westbrook — will be receiving aid in the form of a donation of Implants and NeoCore personnel who will involve themselves within the defense of New California. The exact donation entails approximately 100,000 Iron Implants, 20,000 Bronze Implants, 600 Silver Implants and 6 Gold Implants to the city, of which 60% will be directly assigned to Westbrook. Alongside this, the Lieutenants of Westbrook's first three precincts shall all be raised to Gold Grade before the Swarm is to commence."

To say awe had struck the crowd was an understatement. The sheer value in those Implants was… enormous. It was definitely several billions of Shardyne just tossed our way. And to have direct NeoCore support in Westbrook? That was something only the Corporate Nations recieved.

But my entire body shivered, with that many Implants… it would be so easy for Soul Killer to sneak their own into the mix. I didn't know if this was something they planned or not, this was too large of a scale to simply be caused by them. They didn't have the ability to convince a Founder, let alone multiple to do this.

That was a fact.

Which meant that what was happening right now, was historic in it's own right.

"This investment into the city's defenses will no doubt benefit us all." Brian Ulrich… my biological father said once we absorbed the fact. "In fact, it has already benefitted us. You see… your Lieutenant Anabelle Grazhe isn't the only one whose making her father proud. There's another very special person among you who has taken it upon herself to prove that she was worthy of the gift she gained on her own merits. You see, she wanted to prove herself against all the odds, even if that meant going against me…"

No.

"The truth is, my daughter has been working among your fine crop. Some of you might have even heard that she has a Silver Implant, but the truth is, she wields a Gold SIM. We waited, the lieutenant and I, until she would be strong enough to use it without being threatened by those coveting it. And now, she's shown herself capable of singlehandedly dismantling conspiracies that have riddled this district for decades. Diana Ulrich, may you please."

Choirmen snorted at me. "There's another Diana here?"

The fire within me stirred, but for the first time in weeks, I was thinking clearly. My mind acted on it's own will, as I stood up with a proud smile and stared at my 'father'.

All around me, were those who wanted to use me.

Well then, it's about time I started using them back.

They wanted me to be Diana Ulrich, then fine, I'll become the spearhead they want me to. I'll make Soul Killer bleed until they have no choice but to acknowledge that bastard.

Walking confidently, I moved onto the stage alongside my father and the lieutenant. My father smiled at me, that same business-like smile he always had — and I mirrored him. He raised his arm to the microphone, and I obliged, my words streaming effortlessly.

"That's right. My name is… Diana Ulrich, and it's honestly embarassing having that secret revealed like this. Some of you already knew this about me, I'm sure. But to those who didn't… I'm grateful I had the opportunity to act without being treated differently. Recently, I took it upon myself to lurk within Westbrook's elite criminal society, where I uncovered decades of conspiracy threatening us to the core…

"But. Their secrets were not enough to keep them safe, Simon Jugosla is one of many who has met their deserved justice. Those who live in the shadows do not bide well in the light. It is our duty to firsthand prune the corruption that has permeated our city and district, to bring an end to that which threatens the stability of our society. They see our great civilizations as a cage, and they won't stop until they break out of them. They sow the seeds of chaos within our files, but we aren't so weak, are we? We don't have the leniency to be vulnerable in times like this… not when there are those who will gladly reap our souls. Both inside and outside of this city.

"This District will stand. It will prosper. And let all who stand in our way know that the Fifth Swarm will only strengthen us, that it will reveal the weeds festering in our shaded corners. And they shall burn in the light of their injustices. We stand together, and we stand proudly, citizens of Westbrook and New California."

The stunning silence hung in the air, many of them obviously still captivated by the fact that had one of their executive's daughter working among them. Some whom dug deep into my message, those who understood why I said what I had. I'd basically blatantly revealed that there was a darker presence within our District, from mentioning broken cages to the method in which Soul Killer spreads his mutation through alluding to plants…

But most of them wouldn't open their eyes to that fact. To them, they only understood that I was important due to my family.

And importance equated an applause. I took it in stride, smiling and waving my hand to them all. Those of my old squad looked the most surprised, but were clapping the hardest. News reporters snapped their pictures of me, some trying to break through the cheers to get me to say more.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

My father patted my shoulder, his smile never failing for a moment as he grabbed the microphone. "Smart." He whispered into my ear. "You got that from me."

"Of course." I faked my smile back.

I took my stand next to the Lieutenant who gave me an approving nod. Once the quiet resumed, my father began speaking again. "I couldn't be more proud to have her… and with that, I think it's time we began to detail the achievements of our Investigators who have long deserved to move up in their ranks. Although, forgive my excitement, but I won't be starting with the new Special Investigators. Instead, I would like to personally grant my daughter her promotion up not one, but two ranks."

Wait.

"Diana Ulrich is hereby a First Class Investigator, with the designation of Associate Special Investigator."

Associate Special Investigator? That wasn't possible, the first step to becoming a Special Investigator was to apply as a First Rank in which you would only get the associate title if the Liutenant themselves saw you worthy of it after a lengthy application process… but, needless to say, I never applied.

"And is the newest recruit of the Westbrook's Special Intelligence Operation Unit."

Oh shit. I might have skipped a few steps, because now I would be working at the very top of my precinct.

And here I was hoping the nepotism had ended.

———

I hadn't gone back to my table, but rather once the medals were given and the promotions of the other Investigators settled, I immediately walked up to Brian Ulrich and pleasantly demanded a private audience.

And so, here we are inside this quiet little office. My biological father leaned his feet on the table like he owned the place. Honestly, he might as well have.

"So that was your plan? Huh?" He began. "Real nice wordplay, spreading seeds, cages being broken. Wow, good job scaring those who know too much."

"Soul Killer took me, I heard you helped. Though… you kind of fucked things up." It was because of him that Royce Keagan — if Dryder was right — brought Anthony to the animal sanctuary.

But it was because Dryder was spying on Anthony that I had been saved in the first place.

"Right." He clicked his tongue. "Keagan's alive, SK ain't that stupid. We talked for a bit and they told me they were going to let you go."

"And you believed them?"

"Hell no."

"Then why didn't you-"

"Did you want me to help you or not, Diana? Make up your damn mind."

I folded my arms. "I didn't want Anthony involved."

"Well he was our only lead."

"But don't you know more about The Uncaged than we do?"

He shrugged. "The Uncaged are the enemies of The Corporate Nations. Not us."

"Well from what I'm seeing, it doesn't help that they're basically feeding on us."

"It won't matter soon enough, with the Fifth Swarm those casualties will be miniscule when compared to what's to come." He settled his eyes on me, drawing a sense of seriousness on them.

I was more frustrated than ever. "So what, you're letting them do what they want?!"

"Not… exactly. They've been working their little hands into this city from before I was ever transferred here. By the time I began working my magic, it was too much of a bother to, as you said, burn them out."

"So then you are letting them do… whatever they want?"

"Like hell I am, obviously, I told Soul Killer to let you go when Keagan was taken by them. Surprisingly the bastard didn't ask for anything… but they did mention something interesting."

I let hope grow in me, as stupid as it was. "What?"

"That you chose to go by the name Silvereye." Brian Ulrich chuckled. "Now that's a marketable name. I've already gotten the trademark, just need to work on getting you a few affiliate deals and you'll be great for our economy and military. Get you in a photoshoot, and I guarantee we'll be seeing an up in police recruits!"

"Are you… fucking kidding me." I wanted to shoot him in the face. "You're going to market me as some… poster girl?"

"Exactly." He snapped his fingers. "You're an Ulrich, you're Gold, you got the looks and the style and you just made headlines with the case of Simon Jugosla. You'll be a celebrity by tomorrow morning, a living and walking heroine for this city to believe in, for them to… invest in. Way better than the initial 'making you an actress' idea, you really outdid yourself."

Oh this smug bastard… "Hah, you cunt. So that's your fucking priority? Still clinging on to losing mayorship? You're not going to do shit about The Uncaged?"

He remained calm and collected. "Funny you mention that, because it's not me whose giving them free reign, it's the very mayor I lost to. Johan Trask… recognize that last name?"

"Trask. Of course, the rebel grandson of Nolan Trask, Founder of SynTec."

"Oh please, the old man's the furthest thing from a rebel, you know how those ancient kingdoms had vassal states and all? Well, spoiler alert, that's basically what New California is for SynTec… to a certain degree. Yuzhou's got their mitten on us too — don't even get me started on how it was before the civil war, I've basically been the mediator between them for the last few decades in this unspoken conflict of theirs."

My father, if there was anyone in this city who was wise to what the corporate nations were doing, it was him. He was the damn advisor to our government about them anyway.

"Where was I?" He tapped his temple. "Ah yes, The Uncaged really aren't my business, and they shouldn't be yours as well. They're planning their own war against the Corp-nations in our gutters, and as long as they stay there it won't matter to us."

"Well it's a bit late for that, Soul Killer's infected the-"

"Lieutenant. Yes, we've known for a long while, her father did too. Alongside that, there's a different Mutation they use to rewrite her memories so she doesn't know it, keeps her away from what happened to her sister too. Don't worry your head too much about it, she's barely even in charge in the first place — we just use her identity as a Grazhe to keep the peace. Besides, Soul Killer's hold on her is already a little shaky. Think the police building doesn't have anti-psionic countermeasures installed?"

"Then… you're not making any sense."

"Soul Killer's whole thing is that they're just frankly curious and endless in their pursuit of the secrets of MALkind, the whole controlling other's minds is just a way for them to improve… productivity. You'd be shaking in your boots if you think the Founders aren't doing more of the same and hell, The Uncaged are anti-Founder. Sure the unfortunate of us are their little test subjects, but we aren't on the receiving ends of their-"

"They were planning on destroying the precinct itself! You know this little Implant in my head, guess where it's MAL was supposed to end up! Here!"

"Hm… now that I didn't know." My father placed more of his weight onto the chair.

"Well the lieutenant did, guess she didn't tell you now, did she?"

His eyes met mine evenly. "Not to me, no. Still, the destruction of the precinct? Now that's interesting, why commit to years of inaction before suddenly… ah, so that's how it is."

"How what is?"

"They wanted NeoCore to come here."

"What?"

"And it's worked." He mused. "That explains a lot."

"Explains what?"

"Don't you think it's strange? How an Enforcer and more importantly, an Inquisitor were on standby to take down your MAL? Sure, they have a few agents scattered here and there, but those Tusk and Archangel were called in from SynTec territory a few weeks before the MAL attacked. Arriving… just in time."

"How on earth could they have been baited before the MAL even attacked?"

"NeoCore's founder is known for her peerless insight, it's common knowledge that she has clairvoyant abilities of a sort, many people believe that it's an advanced form of prediction based on information-processing that works on a scale unimaginable to us. I, however… know that it's actually the ability to peer into, let's call them, alternate timelines."

"…what?"

"Haha! Oh you're only scratching the surface of what humanity has done in the last four centuries. This place is primitive compared to Sanctuary. A Fourth-world country, you could say. But moving on, if what you said was right, then The Uncaged wanted NeoCore here for a reason, and… huh, it appeared to prompt them enough into sending additional reinforcements to the city."

"So they were responsible in a way for bringing us those Implants."

"It seems so." He puckered his lips. "How curious… it appears that they want Westbrook safely guarded from the MALswarm, a shame… some of my colleagues were touting a different plan for the District."

Everything he said didn't make any sense. "A different plan?"

"Nothing much, just a redevelopment timeline post-swarm. This District is the most vulnerable, so don't be surprised that we weren't willing to bet on it's survival."

"You really seem to have a thing for letting people die." I gnashed my teeth, trying to stuff down all the hate I had.

"Diana… I'm a Titanium Tier III SIM Adapter. I'll live for another two hundred years, many of my peers will. And I didn't get this strength by rebelling against The Founders…" He suddenly grew quiet, and his face twitched, like he was in pain. "At least, not openly. My plans, and especially The Founders, run on the scale of centuries. Do you know how quickly humans can repopulate given they have enough food? We really like fucking. Post-Fourth Swarm had the world at a population of 4 billion people, for this Swarm we have 9. People die when they're weak, that's the cycle of life, but they grow back."

"That still doesn't warrant all of this meaningless slaughter you're allowing!"

"Nothing is meaningless. You learn that with age, the smallest of threats can grow into forces of destruction, I'm not stupid. Yes, The Uncaged are dangerous, but so are The Founders. And their plans for this city. We need to play on both sides if we're going to survive."

"What now? What plans?!"

He stayed silent for a moment, before enunciating his next sentence with a tap on the table. "A MALtitan."

"A… MALtitan?"

"I don't know if it's The Infinite or The Typhoon, but NeoCore… Yuzhou, SynTec, they're taking a risk that could change the world — and it starts here." He laughed, and for the first time I got the sense that he wasn't so confident about himself.

I… I think I understood what he saying.

"Whichever one they choose, the Corporate Nations are planning on using this city as a staging ground to wage war on one, which is why it's wise to have friends from all over."

Regaining his business-like posture, he folded his hands and spoke with pride.

"New California will be where humanity first kills a MALtitan."

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