198 A: Extra Large

Adrian returned to Eks Corp's Headquarters in Central without enthusiasm. Brendan wasn't here. The only thing that had really changed with his return was that their messages could be exchanged within minutes instead of years.

The station seemed quiet compared to some of the times he had visited. The lighting in the passages held the gentler hues of the night cycle. Not everyone slept during this shift of course, but many did.

He came to a halt at the entrance to one of the lifts, and stared at the overlarge woman standing in front of it. She was beautiful, and in an age when most people were genetically edited into existence, that was saying something.

Her hair was unusually thick and coiled, with a glitter to it that suggested gleaming scales, as though someone had tried to mimic the features of fabled Medusa. Her glare into the lift was nearly as sharp as that legendary figure's gaze too, as though she expected an enemy to rise before her any second now.