Story Reader / Affection / Lucia: Crimson Weave / Story
Lucia: Crimson Weave I
>Ransacked and left in heart-wrenching ruins, a conservation area can be seen teetering in the bone-chilling winds on the arid snowfield.
From the emergency tents that now stand on the ruins, stifled cries escape and rampage through the damaged streets alongside the rusty winds.
With Lucia under inspection and the military's considerations, you're now operating independently of your team.
You've been put in charge of retrieving classified data for Project Winter—shortly after which Nikola sent your way a few Praying Mantises to assist you, given their proximity to you, and asked that the data be retrieved at once. This, based on CC's calculation, was the most efficient arrangement.
You left for the conservation area as soon as you'd been assigned the mission—only to find that you arrived a little too late.
A group of armed rioters has pillaged the conservation area and damaged the CPF in it.
While a safe zone has formed around Hetero Tower, the safe zone can only offer protection for those living around the Tower.
People living in conservation zones away from the Tower rely on CPFs to keep their heads above water.
And now, with the density of the Punishing Virus rising by the second, the clock is ticking down on the conservation area...
We're done checking the CPF here, Commandant. The parts in the centrifuge array have sustained severe damage. Immediate repair is implausible.
We... never imagined the damage to be so severe, and... with what happened to the technician that tried to keep the CPF from being destroyed...
We're a little too late...
This is a simple retrieval mission—or it should have been, at least.
And if we can't bring the CPF back to life anytime soon...
I'm afraid the quality of life of those living in these two conservation areas is going to suffer as a result.
You notice a longhair by your feet that's come out of nowhere. Picking up his pace to circumvent the cat, Crowe continues his reading off his terminal.
Based on reports sent our way from the conservation areas, they're currently in dire need of immune serum and resources to get through winter, and many have come down with symptoms of a slight infection.
So... what exactly are we supposed to do now?
It'd take forever for the replacements for the damaged parts to arrive—not to mention that fixing the CPF is already challenging enough in and of itself...
About 230 kilometers. We only have one large vehicle up and running now with some fixes needed, but let's not forget about the surprises we might stumble across on the way...
You put the elders and children onto the vehicle that will transport some resources to another conservation area. Then, you divide the Praying Mantises into two teams—one to leave with the vehicle, and the other to assist you in transporting the rest citizens and tracking down the rioters.
Brought up to speed on the situation, most of the citizens are willing to cooperate. With Team A on its way, Team B starts getting itself ready.
While you're waiting for them, your mind wanders off to what happened the day before...
The night chilled you to the bone with absolutely no mercy.
Having won yet another battle against the Corrupted and sustained injuries to varying degrees, all of you were exhausted from days of fighting—and it didn't help that the environment had made it tougher, and that everyone was still trying to get used to fighting alongside their new comrades.
With the injured taken care of, you were ready to have a talk with Crowe on what you planned on doing next—when your Mind Beacon suddenly became overloaded.
...Commandant? Commandant [player name]?
From the buzzing electrical noise that came through the channel, you picked up a voice—one that struck you as oddly familiar.
...[player name]?
With it, you seemed to see a white figure materialize out of the winds and snow.
No... way...
I see you still remember me.
Oh, I can be anywhere I want to be.
And given that you're here, I take it that Babylonia is up to no good again, huh?
Well, I just thought you were supposed to be sipping away your tea in the comfort of your lounge in Babylonia when some technicians backward-decoded their way through me to learn about what's up with Ascendants.
So, what is it that Babylonia wanted to get out of me again? Tell me what it is and I just might lay it out for you.
Unless, you know, Babylonia was stupid enough to screw up and give you this chance to speak with me.
...Hah.
You caught a measuring device beside the tent just in time that had been knocked off balance by a gust of wind.
...I gather you're on the surface?
Alpha couldn't pinpoint where you were, but what happened just now most likely gave you away.
A moment of silence later, Alpha spoke again, her voice cold.
Well... I've been busy hunting some rats—rats that have crossed a line they shouldn't have.
Well, what are you doing down here yourselves, then? For the Red Tide? Ascendant? Or Hetero-Creatures?
You decided to be dodgy.
...Hmph.
In a huff, Alpha fell silent, apparently deep in thought.
Does it?
A few moments of silence later, Alpha cut the line.
Did Alpha do all that on a whim? Or are they up to something?
Alpha didn't seem to know you were on a surface mission, but given what was at stake and what Alpha had done, you knew you didn't want to take any chances.
What happened just now, Commandant?
A what?!
You quickly brought Crowe up to speed.
A forced connection... Boy, never thought they could do that.
Which means it must be dangerous, no?
You thought it'd be a good chance...
For you to learn something new about Project Winter or other Ascendants from Alpha.
And if you're lucky enough, you just might be able to find out where she is, too.
At the same time, given that Alpha might force another connection on you when you least expect her to, you knew that you couldn't really do anything or have a change of plan.
You quickly finished the mission report—in which you mentioned your encounter with Alpha—and sent it to Babylonia. Before long, you received a reply.
Duly noted. Extra hands will be sent your way immediately.
Proceed with caution and stay connected.
With it, you decided to continue heading toward the next conservation area—while waiting for Alpha to reach out to you again.
Having identified a route you believed the rioters might have taken, you decided to take this particularly long path alongside the citizens.
With gusts of wind swooshing past you, you recall hearing the same swooshes coming from Alpha's end of the channel during the conversation.
Remembering the swooshes, you wouldn't say they were the most pleasant of sounds—yet you found yourself surprisingly calmed by them.
Right then, you caught sight of snowflakes making their way through the chilly dry winds.
