Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 516: Lord Emily Stafford.

Sunshine stopped dead. Lord Emily Stafford! It was that ridiculous name which had made her roll her eyes. She had not imagined that they would be clashing so soon. But if Emily had come for a fight, she would give it to her,

Her jaw tightened. She pressed her fingers to her temple and exhaled slowly. "Of course, you demand to speak to the leader. Like a cliche speech out of some alien arrival manual." she muttered.

Tracy appeared at her side again, eyes wide. "Did she just say Lord? My hearing is so good...I mean, its super hearing. Still, I am not sure that I heard the right thing. Did she really call herself a Lord? I heard rumors about her from Jon. The merchants that came from Kingsbridge say she is dwelling in the ruins of the Quinn manor. I hope my house is still standing and unoccupied. I would hate to find that riffraff has been sleeping in my quarter a million bed."

Sunshine snorted and nearly laughed. In such a situation, there was someone capable of thinking such irrelevant things. "Why are you still here Tracy? Get to safety. What if Bob is injured while you are away?"

Tracy gasped and took off. "Bobby, mommy is coming." She shouted desperately as if the cat had truly been harmed.

Sunshine straightened, squared her shoulders, and started toward the command center. "Lock everything down," she ordered into the walkie-talkie. "I want people on every inch of the wall in every town and all over the mountain. As for the people outside, no one engages unless I say so."

The moment Sunshine stepped into the command center, the noise hit her first. The overlapping voices, boots scraping the floor, the low electric tension that always meant something bad was flirting with the idea of happening.

Lisha turned from her console almost immediately, fingers already hovering over a panel like she was itching to press it. "Should we implement external controls?" she asked briskly.

Everyone in the room knew what that meant without her explaining_ pull the dragonoids from the walls, raise the metallic shield, activate the current nets in the ground that were strong enough to fry anyone foolish enough to step close. Fortress Four didn’t just close its gates; it bit back when threatened.

"Landmines?" A comms officer whispered to another.

"Probably tear gas." The other whispered back.

Sunshine didn’t answer right away. She scanned the footage from the cameras instead. Outside, armed figures clustered beyond the Westbrook Eastern gate, disciplined but restless, their weapons visible but not raised.

Some were superhuman, they were flexing their powers to show off what they were capable of.

Hades entered the command center and stood beside Sunshine. "I heard something about external measures being deployed. I say we hold off." he said calmly.

Lisha frowned. "Why? They’re hostile, that is obvious. And one of the pyrokinetics shot a flame ball of fire at the gate."

Hades tilted his head slightly. "It was just one and Major Elio said it was shot in the air, not at the gate. They’re armed, not hostile. There’s a difference."

Sunshine nodded. "Exactly. No need to show them all our teeth before they even growl. Besides, not all enemies are supposed to be fought physically, some you use diplomacy and save your weapons for a more important battle."

Lisha’s lips pressed into a thin line. "So, we just... wait?"

"We observe for a little while," Sunshine replied. "And we don’t hand them a brochure of our defenses on first contact."

More people filtered into the command center then_ the five billionaires swept in like they owned the place, which, annoyingly, they partially did.

Screens lit the room, each one displaying live footage from a different angle outside the gate and the drones above the bubble, on the mountain. There were fifteen of them.

Soldiers flooded the top of the walls, dragonoids mounted but deliberately still, disciplined fingers off triggers.

Above the bubble, squads in exo suits hovered in formation as they waited for orders that hadn’t yet come.

"They’re about one hundred fifty people outside," Hades said, eyes narrowing as he studied troop movement patterns.

Warren rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Not a big number. We could squash them in one minute."

Sheldon grinned, lifting his drink slightly. "And we should. This would serve as a beautiful example to anyone else thinking about testing us."

Sunshine shot him a look. "They haven’t attacked, and you are not a war strategist. Drink your Appletini and stay quiet."

Sheldon shrugged. "Just....they look like they will."

"They’re here to talk," Sunshine said firmly. "And if I had to guess, it’s about Joy. That is why they demanded to speak to the leader instead of shooting first."

Hades clapped his hands together once, sharp and sudden. "That’s it." He turned to the others. "Joy was a spy from King’s Bridge. This is a negotiation party."

Warren’s brows lifted. "How could I have forgotten tomato the spy with black wings?"

"That’s right, Miss tomato who is lounging in our prison. It looks like she was not just an ordinary spy. She held some importance to Lord Emily." Sunshine muttered.

Hades winced lightly. "We still don’t know if it is the spy they really want. We should not draw to conclusions quickly."

The voice came from the drone again, the same voice booming with theatrical authority. "I, lord Emily Stafford of Kingsbridge demand to speak to the leader of Fortress Four within five minutes."

Outside the Westbrook gate, a car door was opened and a single figure stepped out. The fortress four drones shifted position, zooming in on that person. The screens sharpened, focusing until her face as she moved to the front.

Sheldon sputtered mid-sip. "I_I" he coughed violently, sloshing liquid everywhere. "Clumsy Emms?"

The room went quiet. Slowly, everyone turned to look at him.

"I’m sorry?" Sunshine said.

Sheldon wiped his mouth. "Emily Stafford. Clumsy Emms. We know her." The other billionaires exchanged looks.

Warren sighed. "She has lost weight.....damn, she looks sexy as hell in that solar suit."

"Shut up Warren." Lisha shouted.

Hades glanced at Sunshine. "Emily Stafford is the third daughter of Rufus Stafford. Their family lost their wealth some years ago. The father was arrested for embezzlement, bribery and other charges. It was a big deal."

Sunshine blinked. "Stafford..." Then it clicked. Headlines. Collapses. Power struggles. A family that had burned too bright and imploded spectacularly. "Ah," she said.

"I bought their pharmaceutical company for pennies." Sheldon snorted.

"It is not surprising to hear that you took advantage of a family at their weakest point." Sunshine said.

"It’s how business works." Sheldon raised the glass to his lips.

Sunshine stepped forward, fingers hovering over the general microphone. She inhaled once, steadying herself. "Lord Emily Stafford," she said clearly, her voice echoing beyond the walls. "I’m coming out to speak with you."

Hades turned sharply. "You cannot! Someone else will do it. We cannot let you...the brains of the base to just go out there. What if...."

"I would actually like to meet her," Sunshine replied. "They asked for the leader. Let’s not insult them before we even know what brought them over."