Story Reader / Affection / Lee: Hyperreal / Story
The morning sun shines through the window in the reception room onto the floor. You have a massive headache, having spent the whole night filing all kinds of military applications and observation reports.
You wonder how Lee's M.I.N.D. is doing since he decided to stay in last night due to feeling unwell...
You open the door to the maintenance room, and you are greeted with—
Aaargh!
The folding chair aiming for your head somehow changes its trajectory at the last possible moment, only grazing your arm. Still, it has left quite a mark.
Following closely behind the chair, Lee rushes toward you, holding his weapon against your neck.
—Where's the exit?
Despite knowing that there are no bullets in his gun, you are still quite uncomfortable with how you are being threatened. You struggle to move your neck, and the gun on your neck loosens a little, to your surprise.
Hearing the noise, Lucia and Liv burst into the room. Lucia has her hand on the hilt of her blade, baffled by the indifferent-looking Lee.
Start talking. What is this place, and where is the closest safe exit? Otherwise—
...That's impossible. I couldn't have arrived on Babylonia without taking a transport craft, and I don't remember taking one.
And Babylonia isn't in operation yet... Speak. Who sent you?
Please calm down, Lee...
Give me a map. I'll let the hostage go once I'm gone—
Seizing the opportunity, the quiet Lucia takes advantage of her Construct body and strikes with lightning speed, restraining Lee's arm with the gun and pinning him to the ground.
Are you alright, Commandant?
This has been quite a chaotic morning. Lucia is holding Lee down on a chair nearby while Liv takes the extra medical supplies from yesterday to patch up your grazed arm.
You're bleeding... Luckily, the folding chair wasn't rusty. Otherwise, you'd need an injection of tetanus immunoglobulin.
...
Realizing that he cannot escape Lucia's restraint, Lee closes his eyes, looking as if he has accepted his fate on the butcher's block.
Why else are you monitoring me? My mission has failed. I have nothing to say.
...
Lee turns away, pursing stubbornly in silence, acting like a captured soldier in a Golden Age movie who would rather die than give in.
Has... a new M.I.N.D. shard taken over Lee?
You have been getting nightmares ever since Lee's M.I.N.D. disorder began. You just have not expected them to come true.
You look at the broken parts on the floor resignedly. The low-level drone that got mistaken for a spy camera is still struggling, its signal light blinking red.
"He" probably did not notice the folder the drone was carrying—
The night before.
By the time you complete the report on the elimination mission at the conservation area, it is already midnight. You are planning to make a cup of coffee when you are startled by a figure standing by the door.
Commandant...
The child-like tone in his voice is gone. Lee sounds like his old, reliable self again.
For the moment. The M.I.N.D. shards are still compiling. Any one of them can take over at any moment.
Why do you sound like that's a shame, by the way?
Hmph...
It's just a M.I.N.D. disorder. Nothing special.
I'm planning to apply for an emergency observational room and stay there until my M.I.N.D. shards are sorted.
I've talked to Chrome. If an urgent mission comes up in the meantime, Wanshi or Kamui will support Gray Raven in my place.
That is my best plan, Commandant.
You've seen all my files. If a shard who doesn't know you or Gray Raven takes over, I can't guarantee how things will turn out.
If you or someone else got hurt...
The central control system has switched the light in the room into a warm yellow this late at night. As Lee's blue eyes reflect the dim glow, you can see his tense jaw and worried expression.
The squad is still under maintenance, so there is no mission that requires all members at the moment. Isolation is not ideal for someone with Lee's conditions, and the observational room... is not the best place to be.
His new frame has already stirred up some unsavory folks. If something happens when Lee is alone...
Being with Gray Raven is still Lee's best option. As long as he is with you, no one can take him away.
I can take care of myself...
Lee's voice grows quieter as he looks into your doubtful gaze. Eventually, he shakes his head resignedly as if recognizing something before handing you a filled cup of coffee—the most familiar fragrance.
...Plan B is me temporarily removing my clearance to enter any room apart from my maintenance room in case "he" gets into the armory or gets his hands on the spare weapons in the repair room.
I'll also write a document and record a video that explains the current situation. If what I worry about happens, show "him" this folder.
"He" may not believe anything you say, but his own handwriting and the video should convince him.
If the folder doesn't work... Lucia and Liv should be able to control the situation before "he" can hurt you.
Lee purses his lips again, clearly dissatisfied with this arrangement.
...
It's not that I don't trust you. I just...
I can't trust who I was.
I'll inform the Purifying Force. We'll ask Bianca to help if necessary.
It's late now, Commandant. Go rest after you're done with your work.
I'll try my best... to handle everything.
And he closes the door to the lounge determinedly.
You pick up the folder that contains every file on Lee, including his graduation diploma, the Construct surgery agreement from Kurono, and his reassignment to Gray Raven. Each is hand-signed by Lee and stamped by the related authority.
There is also a small memory device in there. Lee's hologram appears when you connect it to a terminal.
Noticing the strange yet familiar "Lee", Lee stops his scuffle with Lucia, glancing at the projection with seeming indifference.
I don't know which period of my mind you came from, but whichever it is, you better listen to me carefully.
[player name], the Gray Raven Commandant, is someone you can trust.
...
The folder contains all the files you need to verify the situation you are in.
Follow the commandant's orders at all times. Your only objective is to protect the commandant.
Don't let Commandant get hurt, no matter what.
...
Is the technology for deception this advanced already?
Despite what he says, Lee seems to have stopped struggling in his chair for a while.
He steals a glance at you from the corner of his eye before quickly looking away.
In front of him lies the folder, his graduation diploma, his Kurono employment, his Construct surgery agreement...
All these documents span Lee's entire life.
...
A skilled assassin certainly recognizes all kinds of markings—despite the sharper edges on some of the strokes, the penmanship on the files does not appear fake. Some were even undoubtedly signed by this "Lee"...
Lee looks away. Lucia relaxes her grasp on him, and he does not try to break free or start another fight.
...I can tell you, but no one else.
Commandant?
Lucia looks at Lee worriedly before turning toward you, seeking confirmation.
...Understood.
You motion Lucia and Liv to leave for now and gently shut the door.
How confident.
Lee seems to be a little more relaxed now that only the two of you are in the room.
That was a one-time mistake.
He looks down in silence briefly before speaking again.
...I was carrying out an assassination. I had just infiltrated the target location when I opened my eyes and appeared here.
I thought I had failed my mission, and my target had discovered me, locking me up somewhere strange.
That was the last memory I have before arriving here.
An assassination... Does this Lee come from the time when he worked as an assassin for Kurono?
There is a photo in his folder that was probably taken when someone was monitoring Lee's mission.
In the photo, Lee was hiding in the shadow of a building, aiming at a nearby target with one eye closed. His profile still looked youthful, but his demeanor was as mature as the Lee you know.
This M.I.N.D. shard must be even younger. After all, the documents suggest that Lee was eighteen when he became a Construct.
Taking the folder on the desk, Lee goes through all the files one by one as if trying to piece together what happens to him afterward.
Is this the Construct surgery agreement...
Why would I do the adaptation test? Was it because...
Reading the back of the agreement, Lee seems to have recalled something. You can tell from his blue eyes that something is bothering him, but you are not sure what.
What about Murray? How is he doing?
Murray has been acting elusive again as the war slows down.
But based on the messages he left in your terminal recently and the rumors you have heard about the Cerberus Commandant, Murray should be doing fine, physically and mentally.
...I see. Thanks.
Lee rubs his forehead, looking tired. The amount of new information may be too much for him to digest all at once.
...Is that my room? I woke up there.
I... would like to take a break.
With your permission, Lee takes the folder with him into his room and quietly shuts the door. Even the way he closes the door is the same—blocking the door briefly with his fingers so that he does not make any noise.
The holographic projection has finished playing, and it is replayed again. Blurring momentarily before clearing up, the holographic Lee looks calm and serious, his voice filled with certainty and conviction.
[player name], the Gray Raven Commandant, is someone you can trust.
