"Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You assumed, that Yamamoto corp would not be able to build the Akagi. You thought that Hajime would come begging for budget allocations that you could sit on, and that he would not turn the entire Aomori prefecture into his own heavily fortified personal fiefdom," said Daniel Goldberg, as Kenji Mitsuharu cowered before him.

"P-please, Mr. Secretary! Even if Hajime tries to deliver that monstrosity to the JMSDF, he will not succeed! I implore you to give me more time to halt his progress!" said Kenji.

"More time to do what? Train your Kurdish thugs into mercenaries and try to take him down? You think that would work against HellVortex helicopters? And before you ask, no. You cannot use the 7th Fleet or any US resources. That would be way too obvious," said Daniel.

"I’m not that boorish! I’m marshalling my contacts to build a smear campaign against Hajime and the Akagi. It worked the first time, it will work again. Don’t underestimate Japanese skittishness when it comes to nuclear power," said Kenji.

"All right. You get exactly one month to try that tactic. After that, we’re cutting our losses and moving our influence operations out of Japan and into the rest of the Global South. If Hajime and his cohorts think they can rebuild the Axis using private capital, they’ll soon find out why their respective countries lost the second world war in the first place," snarled Daniel.

---

"Whoever engineered this genome knew exactly what they were doing. The level of DNA chemical control here is incredible," said Alexandria, as she marched into Kavitha’s office.

"What have you found out?" asked Kavitha.

"First, the fertility thing. This genome basically removes the ticking clock. A woman with this mutation can replenish her eggs and remain fertile indefinitely. The physical toll on creating an egg is mitigated by the anti-aging genetics, and the fact that the eggs that a female has won’t age, so they can be replaced," said Alexandria.

"OK, so they certainly were not worried about population control," mused Kavitha.

"No they weren’t. And gene modifications this extensive is extremely risky to try to reverse, especially in a grown person. However, if we use a blood plasma serum, we can create a retroviral vaccine that you can inject in anyone to give them the effects. And yes, women can pass the same genome to a different man through sexual contact," said Alexandria.

Kavitha let out a low whistle.

"Let’s not get to far ahead of ourselves. What other potential effects have you found?" she asked.

"Aside from the whole eternal youth thing, the engineered genome also raises the potential for cognitive skills and intelligence. How much of that is realized depends of course on other environmental factors such as education and nutrition," said Alexandria.

"I can’t believe a pair of Soviet scientists on the run developed this," said Kavitha.

"Neither can I. This level of genetic engineering is challenging at best with today’s technology. It should have been next to impossible in the 90s," said Alexandria.

"OK. Keep working on this, Alexandria. We need to know exactly what this thing does. And keep the serum research under lock and key. That is too much temptation, even for me," said Kavitha.

"Got it," said Alexandria, and left the office.

Kavitha slumped back in her chair.

"This is way bigger than I thought," she sighed, as she started to write a report for Aaron.

---

"Mom! I’m in! I got in!" squealed Adelaide as Alexandria entered the apartment.

"You got into St. Ignatius?" asked Alexandria, still trying to get her bearings in the face of Adelaide’s excitement.

"Yup! I did, although I didn’t make the cut for the scholarship," said Adelaide, sobering up, and showing her the acceptance email.

"Well, you did qualify for aid. I’m sure we can manage without troubling Axel," said Alexandria.

"He already agreed to take me for the orientation interview and pay the fee then," said Adelaide.

"Fine. When do you start?" asked Alexandria.

"Orientation and uniforms are tomorrow. The term starts on the 4th of September," said Adelaide.

"OK then, how about you help me with dinner now?" asked Alexandria, slipping out of her heels, and padding into the kitchen.

"Sure," said Adelaide, following her.

It took a moment for the clicking of Adelaide’s heels on the floor to register in Alexandria’s tired mind.

"Wait, why are you wearing heels inside the house?" asked Alexandria.

"’Cause I like it," said Adelaide, twirling in front of Alexandria.

"Fine, don’t come crying when you break an ankle," sighed Alexandria, pulling out a package of bratwurst sausages from the fridge.

"You haven’t been there, have you?" asked Adelaide, as she sliced onions.

"Where?" asked Alexandria.

"The Feminine Professional store. It’s where every Sirius Software girl shops. Surely your colleagues have told you about it?" asked Adelaide.

"Yeah, they’ve mentioned it. But I have enough heels, thank you very much," said Alexandria.

"Trust me Mom, you’re missing out. Wait, we’re now the same foot size right? Here, try these on," said Adelaide, slipping off her sleek black leather pumps.

With a long-suffering sigh, Alexandria, slipped her feet into the pumps.

"What the hell?" she asked, as the memory foam inside the pumps molded and cushioned her just-recovered feet.

"Told you," said Adelaide with a smirk, as Alexandria, took a few practice steps in them.

"OK, these are comfortable," conceded Alexandria grudgingly, and began to cook. Oblivious to the fact that she still had them on.

Adelaide smirked, and slipped away to don another pair.

She returned, and set the table for the two of them to eat dinner.

"Aah, that tastes good," sighed Alexandria, taking a grateful bite out of the Bratkartoffeln that she had made.

"No talking with your mouth full," chided Adelaide, with a smile.

"Am I the parent or the child here?" asked Alexandria, after swallowing her mouthful.

"We take turns once in a while I suppose," chuckled Adelaide.

"Hmm. Well, since you like playing adult. How about you do the dishes? I’m tired out," said Alexandria.

"No problem, we do have a dishwasher after all," said Adelaide.

"Not so fast. The skillet I have is cast iron. You can’t put that in," said Alexandria.

"Fine, I’ll wash that by hand, but use a dishwasher safe utensil next time," grumbled Adelaide.

"Then it won’t taste as good," countered Alexandria.

"Fine, fine. You just want me to ruin my manicure, don’t you?" sighed Adelaide.

"You got a manicure?" asked Alexandria.

"Jesus, Mom. I get that you’re tired, but you can’t be this oblivious," said Adelaide, showing Alexandria her deep red and glossy fingernails.

"I’d like to see you stand at a lab station all day in three inch stilettoes! That’s what that slave-driver Zakhrov makes us do for that fat paycheck that you’re so eager to blow on manicures and private schools!" snapped Alexandria, her temper getting the better of her.

"And I’d like to see you accept the damn perks he gives instead of complaining all the time! You cooked dinner while wearing my damn shoes!" shouted Adelaide.

"Wait what?" asked Alexandria, finally realizing that she still had Adelaide’s shoes on.

"That’s right. Now give them back, and you can get your own pair, or suffer in the inferior ones you already own," demanded Adelaide, as Alexandria, shuffled out of the pumps.

"Now go take a shower, and get ready to leave. I’ll be gracious and use the allowance Father gave me before he left to get you an appropriate work wardrobe," ordered Adelaide.

With an air of resignation, Alexandria padded to the bathroom to take a shower.

---

"I was wondering when I would see you, Dr. Messerschmidt," said Margaret as Adelaide pulled Alexandria into The Feminine Professional flagship store in the Sirius Zone.

Alexandria looked around the store.

It was massive, with stark white walls, and brightly lit from white OLED panels set in the ceiling.

There were racks of clothing, and rows of high-heeled shoes and boots in the main area of the store, with a pair of large Portal-like 3D body scanners near the changing rooms.

Next to the portals, were tables with sewing machines for performing alterations, and near the far end, was the main billing counter.

"How much is this going to cost me?" asked Alexandria.

"For the last time, Mom. I’m paying for it through my allowance, now stop complaining!" snapped Adelaide.

"Actually, all you need is your Sirius Software employee ID, and you can get it on store credit. Didn’t anyone tell you that you get a clothing allowance of two grand a month?" asked Margaret.

"Um, yeah, they did. I forgot about it," mumbled Alexandria.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Mom? You forget even the damn perks? Are you even doing your job properly?" demanded Adelaide.

"Hey! I’m doing my job just fine! It’s still a big adjustment for me to find out that my boss is buddies with my ex-husband!" snapped Alexandria.

"Fine, now that you’re here, and you’re getting a wardrobe upgrade for free, how about you just go with the flow?" asked Adelaide.

"Fine, let me browse then," sighed Alexandria.

"This way," said Margaret, and showed Alexandria the items that were within compliance of the Sirius Software dress code.

"I still don’t get what’s so special about these," said Alexandria, as Margaret passed her a sleek navy blue blazer and skirt, with a white blouse, and black pantyhose.

"Try them on, and then you’ll find out," said Margaret, showing Alexandria into a dressing room.

"Hey Margaret, do you have anything that can get my mom to stop being on the edge of exhaustion all the time?" asked Adelaide.

"I’m pretty sure that the stuff I gave her will solve about 80% of that. The stuff she had on was synthetic crap that just looks premium," chuckled Margaret.

A few minutes later, Alexandria emerged from the dressing room, wearing the sleek navy blue skirt-suit that Margaret had given her.

"Well?" asked Adelaide.

"I guess it feels better than the suit I had on earlier," said Alexandria, still feeling overwhelmed.

"Shoes next. Those are the real game changers," said Adelaide.

"Indeed," chuckled Margaret, bringing Alexandria a pair of sleek black leather pumps in her size.

"All right, how much is all this going to cost me?" asked Alexandria as she and Adelaide walked up to the billing counter.

"The single ensemble will cost you 900, or you can buy 5 skirt-suit ensembles for a workweek volume discount at 1970," said Margaret.

"I’ll go with the single for now," said Alexandria.

"Why don’t you go for the volume offer? It’s not like your wardrobe is full of skirt-suits. You’ve been wearing the same three all week," pointed out Adelaide.

"Fine," said Alexandria, wanting to get the shopping ordeal over, so she could curl up and sleep.

"Margaret, get her a white one as well, it’s her favorite color," said Adelaide.

"OK, I’ll pack black, ivory, deep red, and gray in addition to navy blue," said Margaret, and puttered about the shop, finding the items in Alexandria’s size.

"Aren’t you being a bit too pushy?" asked Alexandria, fumbling for her employee ID.

"Well, I wouldn’t be if you just accepted all the perks of your job instead of fighting them every step of the way," said Adelaide.

"Fine, let’s just get home after this. I’m at my limit," said Alexandria, fighting back a yawn.