Then, against all his expectations, the number of remaining Haxlards slowly dwindled until finally there were only two left.

Ace is initiating a basic unsecured voice only communication procedure, accept?

Um, yeah. What’s with the more elaborate notification?

Additional details from data I’ve acquired outlining the details of various methods of in-game communication. Those with various tools may actually listen in on basic “calling” in-game, while more secure lines cost credits.

Wait, shouldn’t you have mentioned something about this before we opened up the insecure line between me and Thiago?

You didn’t ask. I don’t believe it would have made any difference upon the outcome of the battle, as we were simply listening as Thiago outlined his position. Accepting communication now.

“Hey, Alan," Ace said. "I’ve managed to eliminate the rest of the Haxlards, with Daisy’s healing. She apparently bought some sort of skill, and managed to boost my strength. It’s temporary though, so we should try to find the remaining enemies soon. I have no idea where the last two Haxlards might be, so be careful. It looks like the Predecessor will arrive in a few minutes too.”

“Um, alright," Alan said. "Good job. Do you think we should head out, searching for them?”

“I’m not sure… they could be anywhere, with this mist and all. Why don’t you stay in position, we’ll make our way to you once we’ve rested a bit.”

“Sure.”

Ace ended the conversation while Alan let Kitana know what had happened. Kitana told him to remain vigilant. There was something that was making her uneasy. A few seconds later, a sudden flash of light emerged in the distance as Kitana’s blade met another. Alan swung his sniper rifle to try to aim at Kitana’s attacker.

STOP.

Out of nowhere a glowing, fiery light blue sword emerged, right at the tip of Alan’s jugular. Alan halted in his tracks, watching as a Haxlard shimmered into existence. The Haxlard had a monochrome light silver faceplate, covering his face like all the other Haxlards Alan had seen. He was wearing armor similar to Alan’s, although while Alan’s was black, the Haxlards was a light grey, blending in seamlessly with the fog. The blade in his hand was a long blade, jagged on one edge, straight, razor-sharp on the other. It was covered in a soft blue fiery glow similar to the red glow that covered Alan’s laser knife when it was activated.

“Tell your comrade to stop fighting," the figure said. "We do not wish to fight you; it would not please the Three. If we wished to, we could have eliminated you long before now.”

Do it, Eve commanded.

Alan quickly sent a message to Kitana, telling her to stop fighting. A few seconds passed, then the sound of clashing blades stopped.

The Haxlard nodded, and removed his blade from Alan’s throat, deactivating it. It was made of a silvery material.

“We have detected a Predecessor incoming to the location of a Tutorial base," the Haxlard said. "We assume this is the base you began in, correct?”