Story Reader / Affection / Alisa: Echo / Story
Thank you for your cooperation.
Echo gives the Construct a nod, except the Construct is fully absorbed by the terminal in hand.
When you see Echo stepping out of the meeting room, you quickly save the draft with the few words and phrases that you've come up with.
Gray Raven Commandant? Yes, it's over. Great to see you here.
We will need Echo to take the next Earth-bound transport craft back to Earth—and as her temporary guardian, you're kindly asked to ensure that she is sent to the specified location.
Let me mail you about the specifics now... Done.
Checking the mail, you see that the specified location is right around the next branch of Utopia, and the transport craft that you and Echo are taking... is leaving in no time.
Given her unique identity, Echo can't be seen sticking around for too long now...
The Construct sounds hesitant, apparently not having seen that reaction coming at all.
The target that both the military and I are after isn't here. That much is certain.
And even with the arrest warrant revoked, people here are probably still going to feel a little confused if they see a commandant with some Construct they've never seen before, no?
The Construct salutes you before proceeding to disappear around the corner of the hallway.
Oh, is that so...
Unlike you, Echo seems somewhat excited.
But it indeed makes sense that I shouldn't be seen around now, given my identity.
But I still very much look forward to reading your work with the insight gained from the books, Commandant, and it may allow me to experience their charm in a different way.
That's fine. Time is no object... Wait, when's our flight? Think we need to get going now, right?
You grab Echo by the wrist and start running down the hallway.
H-hey! It says on the wall that you aren't supposed to run here!
B-but...
Looking down at her wrist, Echo blushes, perhaps feeling embarrassed about doing something the signs explicitly forbid.
Fine... just this once, then!
All that can be heard reverberating further down the otherwise quiet hallway are hurried footsteps.
You wake up to a violent shake.
Seeing a blanket on you that you don't recognize, you figure Echo probably put it on you.
You've been working non-stop for quite a few days now, but you still don't think it's appropriate to fall asleep on a transport craft.
You look out the window as you rub your eyes for a clear head—and notice that the transport craft is quickly descending through the night sky.
Don't worry. We're just descending.
We just received an emergency notice that there will be a meteor rainstorm soon, and we'll lose our connection with Babylonia if we keep going as planned.
Best we wait it out before we take to the air again. Now, hold on tight. We're touching down.
Upon landing, the plane doesn't shake as violently as you thought it would, thanks to the pilot's skillful maneuvering.
With the engine turned off, the craft eases into the silent embrace of the night.
Motion sickness? No way...
Ohh... well, just don't wander off...
The Construct casts a glance at Echo.
You hop out of the craft and wave back at Echo.
You start a campfire near the craft and sit on the ground with Echo.
You're getting more and more proficient at starting a campfire now.
So, you didn't really come out just to start this campfire here, did you?
...Me? As far as those guys from Babylonia are concerned, I should probably stay where they can see me.
But truth be told... I think I'd much rather be stepping on actual ground than being inside a craft.
You see a tinge of sadness in Echo's eyes, and you can't help but wonder if she's reminded of her days living in Pickman's flying fortress.
I'm not turning a blind eye to my past, though... and it's not like I've got nothing but bad things happen to me anyway.
Says Echo as a star swooshes past the night sky, leaving a silver trail in its wake before disappearing into the heavens behind her head.
A second later, countless stars cascade from above, turning the night sky into a canvas with mesmerizing star trails.
This isn't the first time you've seen a meteor shower, but this is one of the few times you actually have a good look at it.
You trace the stars until they disappear in the direction around Echo's face.
Engrossed, she looks up, her mouth curling into a smile. Aglow with starlight, her eyes are as bright as the stars she's gazing at.
Looking at Echo, you're every bit as absorbed—and it isn't until she starts talking that you quickly look away.
Cecily and I did this a few times when I was still a kid.
She had her eyes closed this one time when a shooting star flew past. I asked her why she was doing that, and she told me she was making a wish, because shooting stars can bring people luck.
The star was gone by the time I was ready to make a wish, and that got me feeling very upset for quite a few days.
So, Cecily carved me a little star to help me feel better. She told me it was to make up for the shooting star I missed... Now that I think back on it, I was really a child at that time.
Yes, but since I'm giving it to you... I'm going to add a little twist to it.
Well, besides the star itself, maybe I can also...
Says Echo as she takes out her notebook and starts writing away.
You look at Echo, immersed in the moment.
Your terminal seems to be the only thing you can write with at the moment when you're done patting yourself down... except a pen and a piece of paper seem more fitting for an occasion like this.
I do. Please give me a second.
She pulls out of her bag a pen that looks the same as the one she's using, then tears two pages off her notebook and passes them to you.
Are you talking about your poem?
For me, the tools don't matter that much... This is just a personal habit.
She taps on her paper with the tip of her pen.
I'm speaking purely from my experience here, but when it comes to writing poems, I think that feeling the moment seems more important?
Take this very moment, for example. See how we're having such a great moment now...? And by that, I mean the meteor shower!
Com—man—dant, your shoulders are shaking. You are not trying to hold back a laugh there, are you?
Seeing Echo clench her fists, you jump to your feet and take a step backward. Before you know it, the two of you start circling and squabbling around the campfire like kids.
...The shooting stars are long gone when the two of you look into the heavens again.
If there's a chance, I'll make sure to have someone get me a copy of "World Government's Rules of Etiquette, Third Edition", and I'm going to make you read it! Sometimes, you really just throw your manners out the window, Commandant!
Of course they do!
I'm way past the age when I used to believe that God would lend us an ear and make our wishes come true... But you're right. I'm going to make a lot of wishes nonetheless.
And you'll see what I mean exactly when you get...
Echo's voice becomes so quiet now that you can barely hear what she's saying.
My wishes are going to be heard anyways, is what I said!
Echo says with a smile, her eyes now glistening with the warm firelight rather than the cold starlight.
