"You're still thinking about it," says Ko-lee, as we make our way towards equipment training. It's been just about four weeks since I first acquired the engine, and I've thought about the words written on it's frame six ways to Sunday. The only conclusion I've managed to come to, is that they were likely meant for notekeeping. "42 - Jaksun - Earth - Protected from cityWatch: No Touchy!" my mind helpfully reminds me. Over the weeks, I kept my eyes peeled for more English text in the market, but I never found any more words surreptitiously written on the side of drone parts, or anything else. I had also translated it with Ko-lee, and we had bounced ideas back and forth, but even I had to admit that we were at a dead end.

  That still didn't prevent it from taking up a large part of my mental real estate. "Seriously, what could 42 mean? 42 engine? 42 as in the meaning of life? Jaksun is a name, which can mean anything, and Earth is almost definitely where it was going. Also, the 'No Touchy' thing is still so weird. What's the point of telling someone not to touch, if they can't read it? Unless others can read it? But almost definitely not someone in cityWatch. Damn, I'm missing something really obvious," I muse. Ko-lee grabs my hand, pulling me back to the present. "Antimony!" she says, somewhat sharply. "It's not going anywhere."

  "I know, I know," I tell her, trying to ignore the six new ideas that just popped into my head. "It's just... we're shipping out in like a week, and I still don't have anything close to answer. I don't even really know where I'm supposed to start with something like this." I watch her bite her lip, her brows furrowed. "Well," says Caz on my left, "after we're full operatives, we can check out some Venusian colonies. I'm sure there will be operations that take us in that direction. We can pull double duty, keep an ear out." I nod. "And you're sure about the cityWatch thing? It's definitely Venus?" He just shoots me a flat look. "Yes. I'm pretty sure."

  "Yup! I've been all over. cityWatch is specifically the Venusian colonies," says Rease from behind. I take a deep breath, and force myself to smile at my friends. "Well, thank you, guys. I know I've been a little shifty about this, but it means a lot that you're willing to help," I say, making eye contact with each one of them. "Of course, Annie!" responds Rease. "We're a squad! We're always going to be here to help, even if you are lying to our faces." Ella and Ko-lee are quick to jump on his case, while Caz backs him up, but my face burns red regardless. He's not wrong. I'm being read like a book, and they know it, and I know it, and they know that I know.

  I can't even make a promise to tell them later, because I don't know whether that would be betraying the Loutus' trust. She never explicitly told me to keep it a secret, but she didn't need to. "Well, that and the conversation with Ko-lee was rough, and you don't want to go through that again," my mind whispers. "No point in lying to yourself." Regardless of the ribbing, everyone is in good spirits, and we eventually all settle into our chairs, waiting for the screen to flash to life like usual. Instead, it stays dark, and we all look at each other, confused. Before anyone has a chance to voice a question, the door behind us slides open. In walks a man I don't recognize; a Tenno with a scruffy beard and a lanky body, sort of like a mad scientist. He's pushing the cart and on it are

  MODULES

  I feel my heart miss a beat or two, in an attempt to jump from neutral to 5th gear. Excitement hits my veins like a linebacker in the Super Bowl. As the man pushes the cart around to the front of the class, the screen springs on, and Scientia gives their usual greeting to the squad. "Today," Scientia continues, "we will be applying modules to the TEPA! With me is Master Oriviri Hastins, and his reason for being here is twofold. First, he will be my hands in this class, as the application of a module to your TEPA is not a particularly intuitive process. We've found that it helps to have someone a touch more corporeal than me, to walk recruits through the process for the first time. Secondly, the value of the modules on the cart in front of you exceeds 150 thousand credits per set."

  I wince inwardly at the number. "Napkin math says I'd take like, 5 years to earn that kind of money with the customs job. Which, T B F isn't going to be my main job, but like... ow. Just for a basic set of mods. Still, better than the morbillion years it was gonna take prior," I think. A quick glance at the others shows that they're all taking it more in stride than I am, or they all just have great poker faces. "Yeah, actually, why am I surprised about this? Isn't a single F22 like... 350 million dollars or something insane like that?" I turn my attention back to Scientia. "Now, you've all had the basic rundown on modules before, but a quick refresher before we get started. A module uses void energy in the form of endo to empower a medium of Orokin memory plasma, which can then imbue abilities onto equipment. That equipment can include weaponry, your TEPA suits, and of course, warframes."

  "A swarm of nanodrones will apply the plasma to your equipment, and using the control locus, can be recalled when the module is no longer in use. That is what we'll be doing today." The Orviri grabs four mods from his cart, and lays them down onto marked spots on the table beneath the screen. After he finishes laying them down, a sourceless spotlight highlights the one farthest to the left. "Redirection," says Scientia. "This mod increase shield capacity. This module will be your bread and butter, as a large portion of your resilience in the field is reliant on your shields." Scientia pauses for a moment, as a spotlight highlights the second mod.

  "Rush. This module will increase your sprint speed. Now, please be aware, the language here is precise. This module does not increase all speed. In most scenario's, you won't notice it's effect at all. As Rush has been known to give recruits trouble, we will actually be moving to the track before applying this module." The spotlight moves to the third mod. "Fast Deflection. This module will increase the recharge rate of your shields, which will act as an efficiency multiplier with Redirection. You'll have stronger shields, that last longer, and recharge faster. The less downtime your shields have, the less likely you'll perish, which is something we'd like to avoid." A small chuckle from the crowd, and the final mod is highlighted.

  "Lastly, Shock Absorbers. This will increase your shield's resistance to non-elemental damage." I'm hit with a wave of confusion. "Shock Absorbers? Do I know that one?" I wonder. "I mean, I don't think I've ever used it in a build, or even heard of it being used in a build. Is that a real mod? Like, in game real? Are there non game mods here?" My eyes pass over all four mods once more, before a a question occurs to me. I raise my hand. "Yes, Recruit Nova," says Scientia. "Is there a reason we're only using four mods? Instead of eight?" I ask. The Orviri straightens up from his relaxed position against his cart, and glances at Scientia. "Yeah, I can take this one," he says casually, before locking eyes with me. "Unlike with weaponry and the warframes, the TEPA can only handle four mods at a time. On top of that, in my circles, there's something we've come to refer to as capacity. It's sort of like a limit on how much a piece of equipment can handle. So, imagine that number was 100-"

  "Or 30," I say, the words slipping out of my mouth before I'm able to stop them. The ITO frowns at me, his scruffy beard shifting as he does. "Sir, I'm sorry, please, ignore me," I say, feeling tendrils of shame and frustration settle in my throat. I can feel eyes boring into the side of my head, but I ignore them. "...Okay, so. 100 capacity. A module like Shock Absorbers, even after being fully charged with endo, might only take up 15 capacity. But something like Redirection, well that could take 45 capacity if you fully charged it up." I nod, and wait for him to mention Orokin capacitors, or Forma, as the soution to the problem.

  But after a few seconds, I realize he's not planning on saying anything else, and he's waiting for me to ask follow up questions. "Oh. Uh, is our Redirection fully charged, sir?" He shakes his head. "No, it wouldn't fit if we did that. Speaking of," he says, shifting his attention to the rest of the squad, "I ask that if you do get your hands on endo during an operation, that you do not charge the modules in the field. First, they're not yours, they're Tenno property. Secondly, we have a procedure that needs to be followed. It's for logging and tracking purposes, as well as to make sure you've done it safely and correctly."

  "Finally!" he shouts, causing me to jump slightly. "If you charge a module, then you'll likely end up with one that won't fit on your TEPA. If you do that, best case scenario, the nanodrones refuse to apply. Worst case, you get a bio-voidic feedback loop, and melt inside your TEPA, as endless elemental damage is pumped directly into your cells." My eyebrows try to escape my face. "Is... has that happened sir?" I ask, feeling a touch more apprehensive about applying the mods. He clears his throat, his previous confidence faltering. "Well... n-no, not... exactly that. But it's been theorized!" He exclaims. "Regardless! Don't mess with the modules! You can put them on, and take them off, and that's it. Any other questions?" I lean back in my chair, and give him a shake of the head.

  Stolen story; please report.

  He mutters, and returns to his position near the cart. "Great!" says Scientia, with boundless cheerfulness. "Now, Master Orviri Hastins will walk you through the application and removal process of a module! I'd like you all to pay close attention!" Hastins awkwardly stands back up, clearly unaware that he'd be immediately called back to the front. He picks up one of the silver, inflated discs, and points to a ridged section on the object. "This right here is your control module. Nowadays, the process is a lot easier than it used to be. The Corpus have created a display that projects the status of the mod, so pretty much all the guess work is taken out." He hits a switch, and the screen pops up, an inch high and sparsely filled with Origin script. He brings it close so we can read it, and my eyes scan the text.

  Redirection / Last activated: Dominium 33rd, 10145 AO / Status: Ready

  "As long as the status says 'ready'," explains Hastins, "you'll be able to apply it to your TEPA. Next, you'll need to press your equipment against the scanner. In this case, that is any part of your suit. And I mean your suit. Not your eyes or mask," he chides, pointing at his headset and mask. His finger moves from his face to the underside of the device, at what looks like a strip of three bars. "This is the scanner. Press here, and keep pressing until the screen changes to say 'Identified'. Then, and only then, can you stop." He goes through the motions, and I watch as the status line pulses on the screen, before changing to Identified. "Then all you need to do is hit this switch," says Hastins, pointing at a third portion of the device, far from every other button.

  "Once you do, the control locus will send out a command to the nanodrones, who will automatically apply the Aya- sorry, the memory plasma to your equipment. It only takes a moment, but it can be a bit off putting at first, so just be aware of that." He hits the activation switch, and I watch as a surprisingly small amount of what can really only be described as luminescent blue slime floats out of one end of the module and proceeds to start eating the ITO. The glob appears alive, the emergent behavior of trillions of nano robots working in concert to spread the plasma thin, covering every nook and cranny of Hastins. It's viscerally uncomfortable to watch, but it only takes ten or so seconds until the process is complete. "Once you've applied the module," he says, without missing a beat, "you can remove it by hitting the same deployment button. Please remember to remove the module when you're not actively using it! The internal forge system needs to occasionally replenish lost drones, and it's important to expose the memory plasma to the endo as much as possible, for maximum efficiency."

  "Sir, how big of a drop in efficiency should we be worried about?" asks Ko-lee. He waffles for a moment. "Ehhh, maybe a 1% drop every two to four weeks?" he states. "Oh so don't wear the mod for a year straight. I'll see if I can manage with such a tight timeframe," I think sarcastically. He hits the same switch one more time, and the floating slime uneats the man, coalescing once more into a glob, before disappearing back into the mod itself. "Also, be aware that once you've unequipped a module, you'll need to rescan yourself before applying it again. Of course, if you own your own modules, you're free to save yourself in their memory. Not these ones though. They're not yours, they're ours."

  "...Well?" he says, after a few seconds of silence. "Come on up, grab a set. We're applying everything except Rush, so, ya know. Hop to it." We all filter out of our chairs and make our way over to the scruffy ITO and the table, picking up three mods each. One by one, we get consumed by floating slime, and when it's my turn, I notice my hand is shaking. "Nerves? Excitement?" I wonder briefly, before the thought is immediately overwritten. "Actually who gives a fuck? This is mods! REAL mods! I mean, shit, this is the ability to actually do something." A wave of sensation runs from the back of my neck, down my chest, to my toes; a feeling of release, of catharsis, like I'd been tense for the last however many months, and I had just relaxed a bit for the first time. I hold the disc to my right arm, and watch with bated breath as the screen pulses, before changing to Identified. Then, before I can psych myself out of the process, I hit the switch.

  I watch as a deep luminescent blue exits the disc to float in the air unsettlingly close to my face. It's a perfect sphere for only a moment, before it shifts and thins, spreads and flattens until it becomes nearly transparent. I watch as the impossibly thin layer of Aya and nanomachines is applied to my arms, thighs, stomach, chest, neck, crotch. There's a brief ionic tang in the air, something I hadn't noticed until this exact moment, and my skin tingles from the trillions of tiny drones making adjustments... or maybe it's all psychosomatic, and there's nothing to feel at all. "Two more," says Hastins, after the little robots finish up, and I repeat the process with Fast Deflection and Shock Absorbers. "Fantastic, class!" says Scientia, as the last mod is applied. "Please, make your way to the track before applying your final module." As she says that, a path pops up on the floor, directing us towards the door, and out into the hall. "See you there!" chirps the Cephalon, right before the screen goes dark.

  It's only takes a few minutes to reach the track; a winding, multi elevation running course that snakes around itself three or four times before completing a full loop. I'm familiar with it; even though Ko-lee and I had stopped training together regularly - mainly because the training with Terror Wins was more than enough - I had found her here more than once. I had even run the course once or twice, just for the novelty of it. We're not alone at the track. Over at the raised benches are a spattering of Tenno, talking amongst themselves. "Welcome class!" says Scientia, startling me. The cephalon is projecting down from the ceiling, and because of it, they're a full 3D orb, nearly 3 feet in diameter. "I'd like for you to all apply your Rush modules, but please, do not move until Master Orviri Hastins says for you to."

  Hastins is stood at what could be considered the beginning of the track, watching us and the mod... containers, which are sat on his cart. We all apply our mods, four blobs of angry jello eating four space recruits. Ten seconds later, we're stood in formation, waiting for further instruction. "Alright," says Hastins, stepping over towards us. "I want you to walk to the first bend in the track. As long as you stay walking you should feel totally normal. Once you're at the bend, I want you to head back here, and as you do, slowly increase your speed until you're sprinting. Once you've hit a sprint, you'll know it. The best thing to do is just keep moving; don't think too hard about the mechanics behind your speed, or you'll trip over your feet."

  "Good luck," Ko-lee says to me, with a bemused grin. "What, why me?" I ask, confused. She just chuckles, and I roll my eyes at her odd behavior. The five of us saunter over to the first bend in the track, and our different stride lengths means that we naturally end up sorting ourselves in order of height. I'm only a few feet behind Rease as we turn to start making our way back. I start out with a power walk, then lengthen my steps until it turns into a jog. I increase the pace, each step sending me a touch further than before, moving closer and closer to a dead sprint. I'm about three quarters of the way there when I start flying. "Woah," I think, as I suddenly have the ability to sprint way faster than before. Each steps just sends me farther, almost as though I'm running on a moving sidewalk, or I'm wearing moon boots.

  A touch of giddiness hits me, and despite my speed, it feels entirely natural; I'm not at any risk of falling. I push harder, my arms pumping, as I do my best to catch up with Rease. I just about manage to blow past him before he realizes what's happening, and he starts to tear away from me when he does. "God, it's like I just suddenly became an Olympian," I think, my cheeks hurting from the grin. Me and Rease are neck and neck, but we're rapidly approaching Hastins, and so I start to put on the brakes. I dip under the bar for whatever counts as sprinting, and suddenly it's like the ground is sticky, and the air is thick. I stumble, but the feeling isn't too dissimilar to what I had been expecting, and I just barely manage to keep my feet under me. I hear a cheer off to my right from the peanut gallery of Tenno in the seats.

  As I slow down to a stop, I see them all cringe, and a chorus of "ooo's" emanates from the sparse crowd. I turn away from them to find Rease sprawled out on the floor, only a few steps in front me. I have to swerve widely to avoid running him over, but I manage to prevent the 2 mph collision. I come to a complete stop, and turn my attention towards the last three members of the squad. As Ko-lee slows, she stumbles not dissimilarly from how I did. This time, I catch the rising "wooooahhh" from the onlookers, until she manages to get her feet underneath her. Her act of balance is met with cheers. Ella, in a similar display, also stumbles, but she isn't able to recover her balance, and she goes down, tripping over her own feet.

  Caz is still at breakneck pace, likely because he just finished watching the four of us nearly or totally eat it. Instead of slowing down, he tries to stop on a dime. It only half works; his feet are both planted on the ground, but the rest of his body doesn't get the message in time. He topples straight over, and slides nearly a foot from his momentum. The audience throws their hands up, and I see a few credits change hands. "Ignore them," says Hastins, with a frown. "Well done, class!" exclaims Scientia. "We have one hour, thirteen minutes, and forty two seconds left of class, which is plenty of time for practice!" Everyone on the ground picks themselves up, and after a few grumbles, we take off down the track once more.

  not a reliable narrator, I'd like to remind readers. Her biggest traits are the autism and forgetfulness.

  is a mod. Also, Ko-lee was memeing on her because she ate shit in Lykka Lake. Wanna talk more about the fallibility of the MC? Join the !