The next day, Sera and I leave the apartment for the Ministry of Defense Headquarters downtown. Sera is wearing the same thing she wore yesterday - and the day before that: an old worn long sleeve with 'NOPE' written across the chest and some pajama pants. She rotates the same few sets of clothes, but apparently that is her favorite set. She's turned down all my offers to get better acquainted thus far, seeming quite content to be left to her lonesome. This is probably one of the only times we've ever gone anywhere together. I rarely see Sera step outside for that matter.

  "When was the last time you went outside anyway?" I ask her.

  "Uhm, donno. I go outside to grab the mail and take out the garbage for us."

  "That doesn't count as going outside." I figure now that we're talking, I would press her a bit on her lackadaisical lifestyle. "You know, I think I'd feel a bit more comfortable if you got an actual job instead of staying home all day playing games. What did you say you do for money, gambling over the net? That doesn't seem very stable. Are you sure you'll be able to keep paying your share long term?"

  Sera waves her hand. "That is my job! Don't sweat it, I make more than enough. Besides-" Sera is interrupted by a sudden, loud, bark. Sera almost loses her footing as she bolts back up the stairs and lets out a shriek.

  From the woods behind the complex a large white canine emerges and sits at the bottom of the stairwell. I approach the dog and kneel down next to it. "Hello Sunny! I haven't seen you in a while, where have you been?" I give the dog Sunny vigorous pets. He hops up and down a bit eager to lick my face and circle around me several times. As Sera tries to sneak down the stairs past Sunny and I, Sunny growls and lunges at her. I hold him back as Sera leaps away. "Sunny, knock it off!"

  Sera rubs her arm and clings to the stair's rail. "Stupid beast! You know I'm scared of monsters, make him go away!"

  Sunny takes refuge in my embrace, the rascal seems pleased with himself to have spooked Sera at the bare minimum. "He's not a monster! He's a normal dog!" I continue to brush my hand through his thick cotton white fur.

  Sera thrusts her finger toward Sunny, the accused. "THAT is not a normal dog! He's half as big as you are! Look at those huge teeth and those beady little eyes! He's clearly a monster!" True, Sunny is quite larger than most normal dogs. His appearance certainly would make most people think he is more wolf-like.

  "It's not like he's ever done anything to you.” I say. “He just barks a lot... at you. Otherwise, he's a good dog. He just gets excited easily." I go around to the driver's seat of my truck. Sera shuffles into the passenger's seat, but only after Sunny jumps into and settles in the truck bed."

  "It's only a matter of time." Sera says. She glances back at Sunny through the rear window. "He's a mangy mutt born in the gutter somewhere. His thirst for blood can't be sated by kibble. You feed 'em once and they keep coming back for bigger and better meals. Next thing you know he's gnawing on your arm like it's a drumstick! The worst part is that he comes and goes whenever he pleases. Who knows what he does when he's out and about?"

  "You're just being dramatic. He isn't that bad."

  I drive us from the sparsely populated city limits, where our apartment is, into the city proper. I navigate the bustling roads of Jealousy's downtown and eventually arrive at the Ministry of Defense's main office: their headquarters.

  We step out of my truck and marvel at the massive structure. Sunny seems content to remain in the bed of the truck bed soaking up the sun even without my suggestion. He wouldn’t be allowed in anyway. The headquarters isn’t as big or modern as the military hospital, it is a much more rustic structure, but nevertheless still impressive. It is one of the largest buildings in the city of Jealousy for certain and part of a generally impressive skyline."

  Sera shields her eyes with her hand and looks up at the building. "So, this is the Ministry of Defense’s office huh? It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of people around though. The parking lot is freakin empty."

  "Well, it’s their only major office on this side of the planet." I reply. “Most people don’t have a reason to visit the headquarters unless you’re looking to enlist. There isn’t a lot of momentum for that sort of career path in recent years. So, yeah, I don’t think it’s ever really that busy.”

  Upon entering the building, we find an empty lobby with some cheap plastic plants and chairs scattered about. There isn’t even a secretary at the main desk. We wander around the open space looking for assistance. From the corner of the lobby there is a hissing sound, a hissing jettison of steam, and an aggressive mechanical noise like grinding gears. We turn to find a peacekeeper-type dolse approaching us.

  The dolse are various machines driven by artificial intelligence. They are a modern innovation, only having become widespread within the last hundred years or so, at least on the planet Frontier. They are all made off-world and imported by the government. It is said they were created by humans for humans, to assist in various capacities, but it’s common knowledge they are mainly used for war and propagating violence by the government, mainly the Ministry of Defense, and the few people who can afford them and qualify for licensure.

  The machine before us, a peacekeeper, stands almost twice my height. Rusty green metal boxes constitute its main parts: head, chest, and limbs which are bound together by thick black cables. Whatever intricacies allow it to think and move and act are all buried somewhere beneath its metal skin and corded muscles. It is only vaguely humanoid in posture. A metal golem, or automaton, would be a more fitting descriptor. The emblem of the Ministry of Defense is painted on its chest.

  The machine fixes its glowing green optical lens upon us. “Civilians!” It greets us with a deep, jovial, but distorted and crackly voice. “Civilians! How can this unit help you today?"

  Sera circles around behind me and whispers, "Yikes, a dolse. We won’t get anywhere talking to this hunk of metal. We’d be better off to find a kiosk or something."

  "We might as well try it,” I whisper back. “Nobody else seems to be around anyway." I face the machine before us. "I’m looking for information about an ongoing investigation."

  "Wonderful!” The dolse answers. “Please describe the nature of this investigation."

  I continue, "My... friend, he’s an arenka, he was attacked coming home from work one night. The assailant is still at large, but I was told they left their weapon behind. I was wondering if we could get some information about the weapon."

  "Thank you! Please wait." the machine affirms. "Loading... loading... loading... loading complete.” The machine crosses its arms. Its optical lens turns red and its voice somehow becomes even more robotic. “This investigation’s status is: classified. The status of your inquiry: denied. Thank you for your patience! Do you have any other queries to make?"

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  Sera pokes her head out from behind me. "You can’t just throw out our question like that! At least tell us why!"

  The dolse’s disposition takes an immediate turn. It steps back and pulls out a submachine gun from a compartment on its side. "Civilian detected attempting to engage a dolse peacekeeper. Step back civilians or be forcibly suppressed."

  I raise my hands. "W-wait! Stop! We aren’t trying to engage you! Look, we're backing away, alright?" I take a few steps backwards. Sera hides behind me.”

  The dolse takes aim. "Increase in resistance detected. Loading riot suppression sequence."

  A door opens from a nearby office and an older man sticks his head out. He shouts out, "Hey! What are you people doing?"

  The dolse lowers its gun. "Sequence paused."

  A rotund human officer emerges from the nearby office. He hobbles down the hall to the dolse’s side and glares at the two of us. Before I can say anything, Sera jumps out from behind me. "We were just looking for some information and your crazy machine started waving its gun around!"

  The officer lets out a heavy sigh and waves his hand. “Stand down, O-Four. Why don’t you go patrol the perimeter or check the parking lot or something?" Between violent coughing fits the officer wipes his mouth with his sleeve.

  "Affirmative." The dolse puts its gun away, salutes, and departs.

  The officer laughs and tucks his thumbs into his suspenders. "Sorry, those things are good for fighting monsters and keeping the peace, but they are terrible secretaries. We’re kind of short staffed right now, so we leave them out in the lobby to deal with most things. What can I do for you?"

  I answer, "We’re looking for some information about an ongoing investigation. My friend was attacked about a year ago. He’s the arenka being treated at the military hospital."

  The officer puts his hand to his chin. "So you’re the one who's been badgering the Ministry of Health and Welfare for months? You’re the so-called immortal one’s friend huh? I’ll hear you out, but I can’t promise anything. Why don’t we go to my office?"

  We follow the officer to a nearby office. Some rather obviously placed military recruitment propaganda decorates the room. The officer sits across from us at his desk. After coughing and hacking a few times, the officer extends his hand. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

  "No thanks.” I say. “We don’t want to take up too much of your time."

  The officer sinks back into his chair. "Fair enough. Now, just what sort of information are you looking for? Understand that this is a very sensitive matter. Your concern for your so-called friend is admirable, but, ultimately, we need to look out for the public wellbeing first and foremost. We certainly don’t want to create a panic."

  “What does Iskir's situation have to do with the general public?" I ask. “What do you mean by a panic?”

  The officer shifts his attention to his computer and types away as he speaks. "The higher-ups believe there is reason to take... certain precautions. That is they intend to keep the details of the investigation a secret for the time being. You are aware of the arenka’s position, aren't you? He's an important figurehead for the people of Frontier. If news got out that something happened to him, an immortal being, there is no telling what the consequences of that could be. Not just here on Frontier, but it could shake the very understanding of how the galaxy views the arenka as a whole, or some I’ve been told. It goes beyond our little republic, and even all humanity for that matter.”

  I put my hand to my chest. "I really don’t care about the investigation or the attacker. I don't want to cause trouble either. I just want to help my friend. The doctors at the hospital said that if they could see the weapon used in the attack it might help them figure out some sort of treatment."

  "That is out of the question.” The officer rebuffs. “As we’ve told the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the weapon is far too dangerous to be taken out of storage. Although, I suppose there is no harm in telling you that the weapon is a hatchet of sorts."

  "A hatchet?" I repeat, taken aback by the discovery the weapon used to attack Iskir is so inane.

  Sera chimes in after having been quiet the whole time. "Hold on, a hatchet? An ordinary hatchet wouldn’t cause grievous wounds to an immortal being! There must be something strange about this hatchet of sorts!"

  The officer shakes his head. "That’s classified, I’m afraid. I’m sorry, that’s all I can say."

  Without warning Sera slams her fist onto the table, which draws the attention of both the officer and I. Sera fixes her gaze straight into the officer’s eyes. "Officer! What’s so special about this hatchet?! I think we deserve to know!"

  "Sera!" I grab her arm and pull her back.

  There is silence for a moment. The officer sinks his head low. "...No...yes... I suppose you are right. You do deserve to know." Sera’s outburst seems to have caused the officer to comply, much to my shock. He suddenly looks worn out as he puts his hand to his forehead. His posture and face sink into his hand as he speaks. "The hatchet is a relic of the ancient world, or so the university researchers say. They say it could be a fragment of a weapon made to cut down the Tree of Life. Something to do with severing the connection of the energy of life to mortals. I don’t really get it, not even the higher-ups seem to understand it all too well either, but it is extremely dangerous. Three people, including your friend, have been in contact with the hatchet’s blade. The other two both died shortly thereafter. The researchers theorize that the only reason your friend is still alive is because he is one of the arenka, beings said to be immortal. It seems the only thing that the blade doesn’t destroy is the sheath that was found with it." The officer peeks through an opening in his fingers. His empty and heavy eyes are barely visible. "...That’s about all we know."

  We leave the office and make our way toward the exit of the building. I feel somewhat encouraged by our discovery. Sera seems to have calmed down as well and returned to her usual, disinterested, self. I break the silence, "I thought that officer was going to stonewall us, but in the end, he actually helped us out a lot."

  Sera nods along. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I suppose. Just gotta put some spirit into it." Sera suddenly stopped and turned around. "I just remembered; I have my own thing I need to ask about. You can go home without me."

  "Huh? We’re on the other side of the city! How are you going to get back? I’ll wait for you, it’s not a big deal."

  Sera is already on her way back into the building. "Nah, that’s okay. It’ll probably take a while so you can go ahead and head on back. I don’t want you to take up the rest of your day off on account of me. I’ll just hitch a ride back so don’t worry about it. I’ll see you later, m’kay?"

  I cross my arms. "Okay...? See you later I guess." I can’t help but be a little concerned but I don’t see a reason to push the issue. Sera has already disappeared so there was no reason to argue about it.

  I hop back into my truck and drive home with Sunny. Sera did not return that evening even as night fell.

  Late into the dead of night, there is a knock at my bedroom door that startles me awake. Even in my daze I figure it must be Sera. "Ugh... Sera? Is that you?"

  Sera peeks her head into my room with a devilish smile. "Oh good, you’re awake! I’m coming in." Sera flips on the light and jumps onto my bed, holding something behind her.

  "Where have you been? Don’t you know what time it is?" I shield my eyes.

  "Nope, that’s not important though."

  "What do you need?” I groan. “I have work tomorrow."

  "I got something for you. Here, open it. Carefully." Sera holds out an oddly shaped package she has been hiding behind her back. After my eyes adjust I look over the strange package. I tear open the package. In my hands I now hold a peculiar looking hatchet.

  “W-what is this?”

  Sera grins and raises her finger. "The attacker’s weapon!"

  I don’t even know what to say as I stare at the weapon. The first thing that came to my mind is to wonder how Sera got her hands on it. Perhaps it is better not to ask. "Thanks, I guess."

  Sera crosses her arms. "You guess? That’s all you have to say after I went and got it for you? You don’t think I got in some duplicitous manner, do you?"

  "Ah, no, it’s nothing like that. I'm just surprised. That’s all."

  "Good. I assure you, I got it strictly through true and honest means. So wipe that suspicious look off your face!"

  I guess it doesn't really matter how she got it. Without knowing more about this weapon and what's so special about it, I have no chance of helping Iskir.

  Sera rolls around in her spot on my bed. "Sheesh, what’s with that look!? You look miserable! You could be a little more grateful y’know! I’m feeling a little under-appreciated to be honest!"

  "...Thanks Sera." I wrap my arm around her shoulder and give her a half-hug. She seems pretty happy to receive my appreciation. I didn’t think she was one to enjoy such physical gestures.

  "Hehehe... what about treating me to dinner? Something big and fancy!" Sera hints at what she really wants.

  “I think you’ll have to settle for a hug for now.”