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7:00 AM Headache

The shutters rolled upward, flooding the store with the glow of the megatropolis outside.

Aoi stared at the store's security panel. The security panel stared back. Neither of them moved. Aoi finally sighed. "Okay... who's idea was it to open at seven?" She was still half asleep, her teal hair slightly messy, her BlastersBB jacket only half-zipped. She held a cup of convenience-store coffee in one hand and desperately tried to remember the security code with the other.

"ACCESS DENIED."

Aoi blinked. She tried again.

"ACCESS DENIED."

"Seriously?" She looked at the keypad. Then at her coffee. Then back at the keypad. "Oh." She had been entering her apartment door code. Aoi rubbed her eyes and tried the correct code.

"ACCESS GRANTED."

Virella
Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:53:57 -0700

"Good morning, Aoi..."

She walked behind the counter, dropped her bag, and switched on the displays. One by one, holographic weapon catalogs flickered to life. Pistols. Blasters. Rifles. Heavy weapons. Accessories. Aoi yawned. "Nobody better come in for at least ten minutes."

DING!

The front door opened. Aoi slowly turned.

A customer stood there. "Good morning! Do you sell–"

Aoi raised one finger. "Coffee first."

The customer stopped. "...What?"

"Sorry. Employee safety regulation."

"There is no such regulation."

"There is now."

Virella
Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:40:45 -0700

Aoi prioritizes drinking coffee before serving customer.

Virella
Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:19:13 -0700

The customer laughed, slightly annoyed. Aoi grabbed another coffee from beneath the counter. Then the store alarm suddenly screamed.

"WARNING. UNAUTHORIZED WEAPON ACTIVATION."

Aoi froze. The customer froze. From somewhere in the back of the store came a loud metallic CLUNK. Aoi slowly put her coffee down.

"Of course." She grabbed her store-issued scanner and headed toward the back.

The customer followed. "Should I call someone?"

Aoi glanced over her shoulder. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm pretty sure I know what happened."

They reached the testing counter. A promotional display blaster, Viper-X9 Plasma Carbine, was sitting on the floor. Its barrel was smoking. A tiny maintenance drone hovered beside it. Aoi stared at the drone. The drone stared at Aoi.

Virella
Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:19:24 -0700

"...You."

The drone beeped innocently.

Aoi sighed. "You're supposed to be cleaning the display cases."

The drone beeped again.

"And not testing the merchandise."

Another beep.

Aoi crossed her arms. "Don't give me attitude. You're a cleaning drone."

Virella
Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:24:23 -0700

The customer looked at her. "Does this happen often?"

Aoi picked up her coffee. "Only on days ending in 'day.'"

She walked back toward the front counter.

The customer smiled. "I'll take that Viper-X9 Plasma Carbine. A new one."

Aoi stopped. "Of course you will."

She looked at the clock. 7:14 AM. Fourteen minutes into her shift. Aoi took a long sip of coffee. "This is going to be a very long day."

Virella
Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:15:14 -0700

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