Aurora Over a Dead World

"These labs are still strangely well preserved," I say to Cecilia, who’s looking over some documents we found. Unfortunately, they’re in a language we don’t know, and there’s no way for Nexus to translate them right now.

"Who do you think did it?" I ask her, to see if she’s figured anything out.

"I don’t know. It looks like they’re from one of the countries in the central part of the continent. They’re a long way from home. Their writing is kind of strange..." Cecilia looks like she’s about to laugh, but then she catches my expression and holds it back.

"I’m not mocking them, Commander Nadir," she corrects herself, as if I were accusing her of something.

"I know. Just finish gathering everything and take it to the ship... Actually, I found some papers that are in the language we use." I wave the papers so she can see I grabbed some interesting ones.

"Several countries were probably connected to this lab. Unfortunately for them, Aurora Island was always the best solution for humanity’s survival. Ground-based labs are too dangerous." She says it with a slightly mocking attitude.

Because in the past, instead of humanity fully uniting, different sides split off and even fought to defend their own ideas. Of course, in the end, most of those ideas failed.

And even Aurora Island wasn’t the best idea. It was just the one that worked — even if it has its problems here and there.

"Hey, Commander Nadir, do you think the ship changed direction on its own?" Cecilia asks another question while I’m putting the papers I found into a folder. I don’t know when we’re leaving, so I’m not even checking most of what’s in them.

"Honestly? No. I think someone did it... but I have no way to prove it. Nexus hasn’t said anything about anyone messing with the ship either... so there’s no evidence or proof at all."

"But I feel it. That abrupt shift felt unnatural. But it wasn’t impossible for it to happen, and that’s what makes it all the more confusing."

"Besides, if it really was someone’s doing, what would that person gain by sending us to this place? There doesn’t even seem to be anything here. It’s not that different from any other ruin."

"If I had to say, it’s actually worse because there are barely any valuable components for us to collect." I’m honestly a little disappointed with this place. We don’t know what they were trying to do here, and nothing here seems to have much value.

"Commander Nadir..." A few soldiers enter the room armed, which means trouble.

"Did something happen?" I ask them, setting the bag with the papers aside.

"Some monsters showed up. For now, the security system is holding them off. We want permission to provide support, but it could be a bit dangerous if the security system doesn’t identify us as allies."

"...How many?"

"Only ten."

"...You can go, but stay inside or on top of the walls. Don’t go outside, or the security system might actually target you." Just because I’m in charge doesn’t mean I have to handle everything myself, so I give them permission.

"..." They accept the order and start leaving while Cecilia lets out a little chuckle.

"Commander Nadir, you look tense. You were already getting ready to head out." She teases me, picking up the bag I had been preparing and heading out with it.

"You know how I am... Besides, normally Zenith would handle this." Her powers are really convenient. Even without using any ability, her heightened spatial perception lets her notice this kind of thing before anyone else.

"I know. She really is missed here. But let’s set that aside for now. Should we go to the next room? Or head back to the ship to rest?" She proposes, lightly swinging the bag in her hands.

"...You can go back to the ship. Take these folders and store them, and take some time to rest. I’ll explore the site a bit more." I say, heading toward one of the rooms while she gives a light nod of agreement and follows.

"Nexus, what did you find in the full scan you did with the drones?" I ask, picking up a device that looks almost like a brick. It has a simple screen with no buttons and is basically only good for talking to Nexus — and also works as an emergency bomb to blast through walls.

"There are some underground complexes, but I couldn’t find the entrance. The city is also fairly large, but most of it is residential. Additionally, most of the lab is on the surface because it uses solar power."

"But the panels are already too damaged. As for the security system, it runs on vector energy, so it’s relatively intact, since vector energy is clean, long-lasting, and abundant in quantity when generated."

"Wait, they used solar power for the labs? Why? Vector energy is way better. Solar power is extremely limited in comparison and doesn’t even come close to having enough power for extensive research use."

"I don’t know."

"..."

’Solar energy...’ I look at some of the destroyed spots in the room. All I can think is that their research was trying to branch into data with no direct connection to vectors.

"Do you think they were trying to do something with monsters? Because there are humans and monsters in the tubes... what was this place really meant for?"

"I’m sorry, but I have no way to know. The data we’ve obtained needs to be taken back to Aurora Island for analysis. But visually, and by connecting the data, it seems the research was more focused on humans than monsters. There are currently records of 267 tubes. Of those, only 74 are monsters. The rest were humans."

"...Good to know... I’ll keep looking around. Maybe I’ll find the entrance to the underground."

...

...

...

"Zenith!! I’m so glad you came to ask for my help." Delilah says to me in an extremely excited way as she pours me a cup of coffee. I push it aside without interest.

"I just wanted some help with this..." I set a case on the table. Delilah is someone who bothers me a little because of her strange enthusiasm and because I haven’t been able to find out much about her.

But she’s good with technology. A year teaching at the academy showed me how skilled she is at it, so today I decided to ask her for help with something.

"Wow... this is..." She picks up the weapon from the case — a pistol that looks simple but has a pretty interesting extra attachment.

"It’s an amplifier. I’ve been testing it recently." Because of my "new" prosthetics — that cube that can’t really be broken — I can now use amplifiers.

This weapon is a test. It’s an electric amplifier. If I use it, it would give me the ability to fire extremely powerful lightning compared to what I can do today.

Of course, using it normally would destroy my prosthetics, but since my new ones rebuild themselves and have no issues with electricity, I can start trying to use this and other amplifiers. Besides, the Cube still hasn’t left me.

Apparently, Ashlyn can still talk to it even in this state, and the cube seems one hundred percent convinced that I’m important to it. Because of that, the cube makes it clear it won’t leave my body.

Unfortunately, we discovered a limitation. The cube is no longer a human consciousness. It seems stuck in certain behaviors. That is, the Kaira who became this cube is alive, but trapped in a cycle of repeating the same behavior and memories.

She can’t perceive the change in her position relative to space. She can’t perceive that time has actually passed. To her, it’s still the past. In her view, she’s still working as a Kaira.

"The model is really good. Where did you get it?"

"I bought it."

"Impressive!! I’ve never seen a real one. They’re super exclusive and only adapted to certain types of vectors. This one’s electric, right?" Her excited smile is almost comical.

"Exactly. It’s an amplifier for electric vectors. It works by storing charge, shaping that charge inside itself, and firing it along with electric strikes, amplifying electric attacks while preventing overload."

"Okay, what kind of help do you need?" She gives me a smile.

"...How about modifying it for me? It’s not well adapted to my power. I need someone to calibrate it... and remove the safety lock. It gets in the way." I look at her desk and see parts. I step closer, but she moves in front of me.

"I can do it in two days!"

"...Those are expensive parts. Can you afford those on a teacher’s salary?"

"Huh? Oh, they’re gifts. I don’t have money to buy this stuff, but some people ask me for help—"

"These parts look really expensive. Like, really expensive..." I step past her and pick up one of the plates, turning it over to look at the logo.

"Star Industries, Moon and Pyramid... isn’t that a company from about 160 years ago? Their parts can only be obtained outside the island. That means it’s not something you can just get anywhere."

"..." She looks tense. After all, these aren’t just any parts. They’re nuclear engine components — specifically conduction plates meant to handle the heat from the cores. They’re a really good material that absorbs and redistributes heat efficiently.

"I feel like I’ve seen you before. Not before the academy... but on the street... where did I see you?"

"Zenith, is there a problem?" She asks, taking the plate from my hand and putting it back on the desk.

’Where the hell have I seen her...’ I rub my temples, trying to remember, but I have no idea.

"No, nothing... forget it." I grab the amplifier.

"I don’t need help anymore... I can calibrate it myself using Nexus’s help." A whole year, and I still can’t bring myself to trust this strange woman. That bizarrely exhausted appearance paired with her genuine happiness makes me uncomfortable.

"Ah... of course... sorry for any trouble." She steps back, looking a little hurt.

’Why is this woman so strange...’ I’m not one to be prejudiced against people. It’s just this weirdness that makes me uncomfortable.

"You never leave the academy, do you? You should go get some sleep." I offer her some friendly advice.

"...Sorry, I think you’re right..." She starts putting the things on the desk into a box.

’Am I being too harsh, or am I missing something...’

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