Falling for them (love and deepspace X OC )

Onward Again

After several Aether Core fragments were retrieved, Special Operations shifted its focus onto Ever.Their involvement in every recent Aether Core incident was far too frequent to be a mere
coincidence.This business conglomerate, which started in the biotech industry, isn't as "clean" as it appears at first glance.

"Our positions aside, Ever's technological advancements are pretty impressive."Simone sits next to me, slipping some ice cream into her mouth as she jabs the computer screen in front of me.At this moment, Ever's biannual product launch is about to be broadcast worldwide. "They can achieve things proficiently with machines when people with Evol couldn't."

"Pfft, machines?" Andrew's voice came from behind a row of translucent displays.

"Based on what I can tell, it's not possible for them to make consecutive technological breakthroughs in such a short period of time. Not through normal means, at least."

"The frequency and ways Wanderers have been appearing these past few months continue to steadily increase.."During the broadcast, the spokesperson holds up a device that's about the size of a bottle cap. "We'd like to introduce to you our newly designed portable Flux Stabilizer.It can regulate the frequency of surrounding Metaflux fluctuations, thereby stabilizing the Protofield and reducing the likelihood of Wanderer materialization."

The audience erupts in thunderous applause.
Meanwhile, away from the screen, I exchanged knowing glances with my team members.

"Sounds like it operates the same principle as the devices that attract Wanderers, but it has the opposite effect. Ever made this gadget and we're supposed to believe it's for the greater good? As if."

They aren't doing this out of the kindness of their hearts.Simone frowns at the screen.

"This is nothing but a blatant provocation." Simone said "We barely had time to suspect something was off before they brought out this product launch."

"Yeah, they're being brazen about it too.It's like they're daring us to keep investigating with what we know so far." I said.

"That's unlikely to happen."As soon as Simone and I hear Captain Jenna's voice coming from the entrance, we stand up behind the screens. Andrew nods at Jenna."The fact that they're hosting a high-profile product launch means they've already covered their tracks. They wouldn't take this risk if there were a possibility of us finding incriminating evidence."Jenna walks over to the command desk and places a thick folder on it. The three of us gather around her. "The analysis report for the previous fragments has just come out. Let's take a look."She taps the command desk twice. An irregular spherical structure appears before us."They're from the same Aether Core. Based on its characteristics, we're officially naming it Spatium Core. A "Spatium Core" that can manipulate space... I know of at least three different Aether Cores now.As more Aether Cores appear, it's only a matter of time before the public becomes aware of this extraordinary energy source. "It's just that the fragments of the Spatium Core are held together by some kind of gravitational pull."
She points to the center of several fragments. "Right here. One fragment is missing."Jenna leans forward, looking at us again.
"Special Operations' next objective is clear: we must recover this crucial Aether Core fragment before further complications arise.Oh right, silver, there's something you need to know..."

With quick reflexes, Simone intercepts Andrew, distracting him under the pretense of exploring new avenues for weapon enhancement with the recently collected data.