Story Reader / Affection / Karenina: Scire / Story
The emergency brake has stopped the platform in the middle of the elevator shaft. The two of you sit down, leaning in a corner.
Luckily, your comms is still working. Reporting your situation to the supervisor, you are told that rescue will arrive soon.
With nothing else to do, you can only wait. Karenina, meanwhile, keeps staring at the CPF blueprint, mumbling to her as if investigating the cause of the malfunction.
****! How could I miss such a small problem?
Even for a Construct, continuously operating in such high intensity like Karenina has been could have long overloaded her M.I.N.D. Not to mention that her sleeping pod was given to the children in the conservation area.
Have you seen those people?
They survived the Punishing Virus. They even survived the Red Tide and the Hetero-Creatures. But their lives are in danger once again because reconstruction is halted and resources are scarce!
No matter how many Corrupted and monsters we kill...
Clenching her teeth, Karenina smashes the fence by her side.
Even after we saved them... we still can't stop them from dying! How can I accept that?!
...All I can do is speed up the reconstruction so that everyone has a place to call home.
...I can't... afford to... stop.
She lowers her head with her arms around her knees, her voice getting quieter.
It's because I'm still not strong enough...
My methods are always aggressive... be it in a fight or research. I don't think my decision was wrong! To all of us, every minute counts.
I know there's a danger to everything I've chosen to do, so I used to think that no one else would get hurt even if I messed up as long as I was by myself.
But that's not true... Because of all the responsibilities I've taken, the consequences of my choices no longer affect me alone.
I keep worrying if I did the right thing... if I've brought misfortune to others... if my choices have hurt the people that matter.
...It's lame, isn't it? How unlike me to think like this.
You? Stop joking... You're more reckless than me...
Your voice is soft and calm. Karenina mumbles, her apparent exhaustion becoming more evident.
You worry if your strategy is the right one. You fear that the people you care about will get hurt because of you.
Making choices means accepting the consequences. And Karenina has never run away from hers.
You do not hear Karenina responding. Suddenly, you feel something heavy on your shoulder. Something fluffy is leaning on you.
You turn to find Karenina's eyes closed. Breathing calmly, she has already entered a short-term rest.
You slightly move her shoulders to make sure she sleeps in a more comfortable position.
She can take a break before the rescue arrives.
You have no idea how much time has passed when you suddenly hear a notification on your comms.
Captain! Commandant! Are you alright?
Huh... huh? Why am I...
Noticing that she is almost completely leaning against you, Karenina immediately awakes from her sleep and springs to her feet.
You point at the screen on your terminal. An Engineering Force member is currently tinkering next to the monitors of the elevator surveillance.
You?
Wasn't expecting you to remember me, Captain...
...Whatever! How's it looking? Can you fix it?
It's nothing major. Leave it to me!
...I can't believe I get to witness our glorious captain Karenina trapping herself inside an elevator shaft.
Another voice appears in your comms.
...Why are you here as well? Shouldn't you be in Babylonia?
You are not sure if you are imagining things, but you feel like Karenina sounded a little disgruntled there.
Uh... The vice-captain was updating me shortly after I arrived at the conservation area when the supervisor came and told us that our captain had been trapped inside the CPF and required our help.
The vice-captain is very concerned about your situation and asked me to keep the call connected.
I wasn't concerned. I just didn't want to miss any moment she made a fool of herself.
T-E-D-D-Y!
Karenina jumps up, her Inver-Devices standing with a swoosh. Clenching her fists, she would have lifted Teddy by his collar were he in the same room. She is so forceful that the elevator seems to shake from her movement.
Lovely to see you so sprightly.
Still, I recommend getting some good sleep. You looked like an idiot snoozing all over the Gray Raven Commandant.
You hear the sound of the call ending on your terminal. Teddy just barely missed the raging scream from Karenina.
Hahaha... Captain, Commandant, I'm about to connect the transistor manually. Stay away from the door.
I'm glad you're not hurt...
The two of you exit the CPF to find the supervisor and the residents from the conservation area waiting outside. They all look concerned.
People were worried... Fortunately, it was nothing serious.
That's good...
Captain, we came here as soon as the problems with the base to the west were fixed. The materials from Babylonia are arriving tomorrow, so the reconstruction team can finally start!
I've also confirmed that the CPF is running again. It will return to its normal output in about two hours.
Good. Remember to check the other arrays. There was something wrong with the numbers on arrays 03 and 06 in Sector C...
What?
I know! Stop buzzing like a bee!
Yeah, Captain, leave this to us. We'll make sure it gets done.
Alright. And the maintenance on the filter cartridges...
I...
...
You win... Fine. I know.
I'll leave it to you guys.
