Dex had time to clean the kitchen and reorganize the cupboard before his partner knocked at the door. “It’s open,” he called out.

Darsi wrinkled her nose at the sudden smell of cleaning products that washed over her when she entered. Usually, Dex’s place smelled of baked goods, a testament to his popularity among certain unnamed hackers. “Going to clean my place when you’re done?”

Dex removed the rubber gloves he had been cleaning with and stashed them under the sink. “You’re never over there, so I’m sure it’s spotless.”

“Probably.” Quicksilver stepped close, wrapping her hands around his waist before he could turn around. “How was Nova? Did she bake you anything?”

“Fine, and yes.” Dex squeezed her hands where they were clasped in front of him. “We’ll use the Tandem jumper, I’m hoping Syntax will join us.”

Retaining a grip on one of his hands, she pulled him out of the kitchen and toward the loft stairs. “Something is troubling you?”

Dex nodded, following her up the stairs. “You have your thumb ring? From now on, I want you to wear it and swipe every time you log off.” Then, naturally, his eyes strayed downward to Quicksilver’s shapely backside.

Darsi paused suddenly, glancing over her shoulder. Her lips curved in a smile that caused his face to redden. The temptation to tease him was there, but she passed on the opportunity. “It’s part of my hacking kit now.” She gave him a thumbs up with her free hand, displaying the ring.

Dex let her get into the Tandem jumper first while slipping into his jumpsuit. Then, he paused in front of her, leaning forward until their lips touched. “I wasn’t staring… the timing just happened to catch me looking.”

“It’s a fabulous ass; I’d stare at it too.” Darsi’s pretty blue eyes shone with mischief. “Maybe we should knock down the wall between our apartments.”

“Not sure I’m not ready for that.” Dex finished getting into the jumper and raised his arm for a fistbump. “Ride the wave, Quicksilver.”

“Hmmm… Ride the wave, Dextron.”

The partners simultaneously appeared on v-Earth’s navigation platform a few moments later. Darsi favored the younger hacker with a smile and moved to the controls. “Mind if I drive, Dex?”

“Go ahead,” Dex glanced at a movement on the edge of his vision. Syntax had arrived.

Darsi glanced over her shoulder, doing a double-take when she spotted the Hive’s AI. “Looking good, Syntax.”

The inked lettering that the AI displayed earlier was now dark purple, matching her hair which had also changed. It was shaved close on the sides and back, sporting a two-inch-high crest of hair running down the middle of her head. Syntax’s skin had an attractive olive coloring, and her eyes reflected a dark purple hue. “Thank you, Quicksilver. I am slowly figuring out what I like best.”

“Turn off the weather,” Dex spoke quickly when they appeared suddenly in the cloud-filled skies of v-Quebec. “Are you going to accompany us on this one, Syntax?”

Syntax shook her head, an awkward-looking gesture that was too exaggerated to be natural. “No, I am notifying you of a world alert that will be posting to all channels in a few minutes.”

Dex shared a glance with Quicksilver before replying. “What is it now?”

“There are two of them. Forwarding,” Syntax replied.

[World Alert]

IAW (In accordance with) UN Mandate 343-11, the states of New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island were successful in their attempt to secede from the United States.

[World Alert]

The former independent nations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have united under one banner, the Baltic States Union.

Darsi whistled softly under her breath. “The whole fucking world has gone crazy…”

Further discussion was interrupted when the navigation platform lurched suddenly, something that had never happened in v-Earth.

Dex moved to the side of the platform, his sharp eyes scanning the landscape below. “Those are new…”

Darsi followed his gaze; workers huddled around the shelter of a makeshift construction site that paused when the skies of Quebec decided to turn stormy. “Some sort of com-tower?”

Dex nodded as the platform moved closer. “Not just one.” He pointed in the distance where a second and third tower had already been constructed. “Let’s follow the towers.”

Quicksilver followed his advice, her blue eyes watching Syntax as the AI knelt on the platform. “How could we have run into something?”

“They are creating virtual nodes.” Syntax replied without looking up; code swirled around her body while she focused on the task at hand.

A half-hour journey showed that nearly thirty towers had already been completed, spaced evenly apart on the borders of the newly formed territory.

“These virtual nodes…” Quicksilver paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “They are doing what we did in the v-Hive?”

“Yes,” Dex replied. “But on a much smaller and detailed scale.”

Quicksilver muttered a curse. “What does that mean for v-Earth? We obviously ran into something when we approached.”

Syntax stood up suddenly, sweeping up the two hackers with her glance. “Virtual Quebec will be a node within v-Earth. Our abilities to operate inside their node will be severely limited, but they will not be able to affect v-Earth itself.”

Dex nodded in agreement. “It pays to be first.”

“Won’t they just replace v-Earth?” Quicksilver glanced from Syntax back to her partner, feeling like she was missing something they both knew.

“Dextron has placed an infinity code within the fabric of the stealthed capsule. When I evolved his original creation into v-Earth, it became the building block that serves as the foundation.” Syntax stood suddenly, smiling at the young hacker. She touched her own face, feeling her lips to verify that they were carrying out her intent. “This expression is meant to convey that I am impressed with you. Am I doing it right?”

Dex nodded, returning the smile. “Yep. Let’s continue our mission; if more of these towers come online, we’ll be forced out of the node.”

“I’m leaving,” Syntax made a slight wave-like gesture before vanishing from the platform.

The factory that served as their destination was surrounded by a three-meter-high chain-linked fence topped off by swirled razor-wire. Two heavily guarded gates marked the only entrances to the facility. Dex and Quicksilver abandoned the navigation platform and hovered in place while they teamed up to control on-sight cameras and electronics.

Within a few minutes, they filled in the interior details of the main building.

“You created an infinity code?”

Dex shrugged slightly. “That’s what Syntax is calling it, but I’m not sure.”

They moved through a crowded office area, sectioned off by tiny cubicles separating individual workstations.

Quicksilver paused near one of the office workers. “This guy is coding.” She peeked into the next cubicle before turning back toward Dex. “They all are.”

“Let’s put that aside for now and head to the assembly line.” Dex grabbed her hand and pulled her through the wall.

“Holy crap…” Darsi stared open-mouthed at the sleek, black jump capsules. Somehow, when seen in their stock-piled condition, they were much more impressive. “Let’s try to link up with a few of them.”

Dex nodded and raised his v-Glove; a moment later, the capsules jump menu popped into his hud. “This is pretty tight.”

Darsi pursed her lips slightly while she interfaced with a nearby capsule. “Our original thought was correct; these capsules will form a network. Downloading the schematic, let’s get out of here.”

The duo exited the factory a few minutes later, taking the time to copy both video and audio feeds for later analysis. Neither spoke while they reboarded the Nav-Station.

Darsi gripped his hand tightly. “Something big is coming; I can feel it.”

“Agreed. These changes that are happening have to be related somehow.” Dex considered the recent world events of the last few weeks. “All we can do is prepare.”

Darsi dropped his hand, sliding an arm around his waist instead as they stood side-by-side. “How?”

“What’s the name of that company that your Inferno friends use for Deep Stasis?”

Darsi grinned at the mention of her guild. “Vasai Virtual, it’s not that far from the Hive. Going to play with us?”

Dex didn’t answer the question, but he obviously wouldn’t mind. “Could we acquire it?”

“You want the Hive to buy Vasai Virtual?”

“If it’s possible.” Dex paused the conversation when the platform stopped. “Let’s log out.”

Quicksilver exited first, swiping her thumb ring when she saw Dex doing it. A tiny vibration pulsed through her hand, letting her know they were no longer virtual. “Towards what end?”

Dex closed up the Tandem jumper, following Darsi when she sat on the edge of his bed. “Whatever is going on, we don’t have enough information to stop it. So the best we can do is prepare.”

Darsi waited until he sat next to her before leaning her shoulder against his. “Time for a Bottom Feeder meeting.”

“Yeah…. Invite your Colonial friends, Nix and Hara.”