The glow slowly faded and along with it the shard disappeared. And then shortly thereafter, within the same period of time in the same room, a violent howl was heard.
Beatrice fell to the floor writhing in pain, the hand with which she touched the shard filled with silhouettes under her skin that expanded inside her like the root of a plant.
The moment her muffled screams stopped Keo opened her eyes.
Well...I guess, I'll bring the tulips, your favourite to your funeral...｣ he thought.
But his surprise couldn't have been greater, seeing Beatrice struggling to stand up again on her own in a silent battle against her weakened legs.
Seeing her like this he immediately ran to her and helped her up, supporting her on his shoulder.
He was about to ask his companions to take her to the medical wing, however, he was interrupted by the sensation of something slipping.
With trembling steps Beatrice walked to the next box and touched the other guarded fragment.
Apart from the small convulsions in her arm there was no other response.
"... Enough evidence for a new report?".
"..." Surprised Keo was speechless. Shortly after he shook his head and replied "Yes..."
"Good." After saying the above, Beatrice walked away leaving the evidence room behind.
Keo tried to approach, however, he was completely ignored.
Thus he was left alone with his thoughts. If we ignore the fact that his two companions were in a panic due to the recent events.
"..."｢She was always brave but never stupid, she would never have put herself first for something so absurd? Just what could be going on in her head? To act as if her judgement was clouded? Will he go?｣.
She approached her workbench and gently slid her index finger on the table ｢I feel bad leaving her alone.... Unfortunately she is not able to let me be by her side if I am not of necessity｣.
...
Once she crossed the door frame, the silhouettes under her skin stopped spreading.
The pain was replaced with a feeling of freshness.
She looked wearily at her hands, even without the pressure they were still shaking.
She took a seat on the couch and slowly let herself fall onto her side.
With her gaze fixed on the teacup she sighed.
"Jack... Really?"
Cling!
The metal spoon hit the porcelain cup on its own, this alerted Beatrice.
She contemplated the scene before her eyes, wagged a finger and her thoughts shifted.
...
...
...
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Keo knocked softly on the door that happened to him.
Without any detail, the door opened in total silence.
Keo entered at a cautious pace.
Beatrice lay on the couch yawning.
"How?" was his only question.
Beatrice sighed "It should be obvious".
Keo dumbfounded tried to formulate an explanation in his mind ｢The fragment.... Instruction plate... Fusion...instant deactivation...Magnetic field.... Magnetism? Sure, interactions with energy sources generated magnetic fields.... My God｣.
Keo gulped "Do you have any idea what you just did?".
"Gamble."
"Exactly, you bet your life. What would you have done if it was a poison? Or worse, in case it was a biological weapon."
"Nothing at all, I'd be dead. Most likely.
Keo ruffled his own hair in frustration, "God, god, god, god, god, what's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? You're totally different from yesterday's Beatrice."
Beatrice paused for a second to contemplate herself.
"...".
She couldn't answer, or maybe she didn't want to. The cold silence held its reign until broken with a simple sentence.
"The report... Tell me what you felt when you touched the shard and what happened after you left the area."
"Every fibre of my body... It felt like it was being crushed, cut and torn continuously. When it stopped, a phantom sensation of pain ran through my insides, finally after reaching my room all pain faded away".
As she uttered that explanation she slowly shrank back on the sofa.
Keo sighed slowly ｢Three stages...｣ "I will assign a special team to monitor your condition" after saying that he left the room.
As his presence disappeared a final statement echoed "Captain, admiral, soldier. Regardless of rank, clouded judgement is a mortal danger."
✠ - ✠
------ 4 February 2553 A.D.
--- 7:23 PM
On a bed Jack lies asleep, around him curtains with little separation. Beyond them other beds and hallways.
Kelly found herself sitting beside him, typing on a holographic keyboard.
She gently slid her fingers across the frame and it disappeared. Her eyes resumed their course, landing her vision on the monitor adjacent to the bed.
He sighed deeply as he dropped his face onto the bed.
He sighed deeply as he dropped his face to the bed.
He weakly poked Jack's leg with his left index finger repeatedly.
In the absence of response he buried his face in the blanket ｢Well.... I'll wait｣.
...
...
Jack opened his eyes but, the reddish sky never reached his pupils, instead a homogeneous white.
He slowly turned to his left side, noticed curtains around him and a monitor beside him ｢An emergency medical section.... I guess at least they were kind enough to go pick up the mess｣.
He almost sighed, if it wasn't for his lungs hurting ｢With probably so many people surrounding me behind those curtains, it gets pretty lonely｣.
Finally turning to his right side, he looked at Kelly in surprise. She stood still, with a blank stare and her hands clasped together.
She smiled slightly ｢At least someone was expecting me｣ she cleared her throat.
Kelly reacted in surprise, she hid her hands behind her back "I-I see you've recovered."
Jack moved his left shoulder slightly "I could be better but, yeah."
Kelly waved her hands nervously for a few moments, averted her gaze and after clearing her throat asked "... What happened? When the rescue team arrived you were completely dead, yet there wasn't a single dead body around you."
"They disappeared."
"Hum?" Out of her control she returned her gaze to Jack.
"After destroying the core, they disappeared. They slowly vanished into thin air" She emphasized her words by unclenching her fist.
"Hmmmm, they vanished after losing their core? Unstable matter?" Kelly brought the palm of her hand against her forehead hesitantly.
"Either way, I should file the report." She lifted her torso off the bed. A stabbing pain blanketed her abdomen and she paused.
"Wow wow wow, calm down" Kelly immediately stood up and walked over to Jack, once in front of him, she slowly pushed him back against the bed "No need, they've already marked the operation as completed. The moment you're healed, we'll be good to go" .
The pain in his abdomen faded as he clung to the bed "Healed...?" he murmured.
"With the technology present you were supposed to be ready in a day..." As he settled his entire torso, he lost the balance of his leg, the weight of his body pushing down on Jack's shoulders.
"Ack" Jack moaned softly, he saw Kelly's face just inches from his own, Kelly's lips quivered softly, but he was able to see it clearly.
He closed his eyes and felt the pressure fade from his shoulders, only when he heard the sound of the blanket moving did he open his eyes "Was it supposed to....how long has it been?".
Kelly was adjusting the blankets, when she replied "Three hours, your regeneration rate is amazing but, you're still not fully healed.... Just relax.
"... Fine" She resigned all strength in her body and simply sank into the embrace of comfort ｢Hmmm What should I tell her now?｣.
"..."
After the silence, Jack smiled slightly, "I'm glad you waited for me."
Kelly's lips tightened wanting to expel withheld words.
One of the many curtains opened, from it emerged Brendan wielding a hoover "How's it going?" he asked.
Jack laughed in response "Have you decided to stay or why did you get a job?".
Kelly didn't react, she froze.
Brendan clipped the hoover to her curtain holder "Being guests doesn't mean we can't help."
✠ - ✠
Location: Osiris System, Ahtem
A lonely and silent room, only one man was enough to fill the vast expanse with his presence.
His jet black hair was no darker than his thoughts.
On his desk several screens manifested, on them rows of numbers continuously decreasing.
Then something caught her attention, a message of great importance came into the system.
After opening and reading the report, fury filled his being.
"... Looks like I'm going to have to clean up some trash" He then left his desk.
He adjusted his glasses as he made his way to the door "Call the council" He said bluntly.
In response a voice echoed in his mind ｢Right away｣.
He left the room, the screen still on and within it read:
From: ID: S01
To: ID:A01
Subject: Progress in investigations
After recovering connections with the lost bases, the criminal investigation department began its work...
All indications are that the origin was within the earth, a mandatory emergency token has been issued during the beginning of the day.
The Osidias investigation department apparently organised a presentation...
Testimony suggests that the presentation was negligent and failed miserably.
The consequence is a vicious and malicious invasion. We suggest the suppression of Osidias and redirection of the army.
✠ - ✠
???
A man dressed as a butler crosses a dark hallway, each step echoing over the narrow space.
As he approaches a golden door
✠ - ✠
???
A man dressed as a butler crosses a dark hallway, each step echoing over the narrow space.
As he approaches a golden door he stops dead in his tracks "My lord, I have sold to update you on the invasion."
The door shook, a hoarse voice came through it "Speak".
"We have wiped out three solar systems" The butler replied.
"...".
Despite the silence the butler kept his face steady, unchanged.
"Just that?"
"Just that."
Cof! Cof! Cof!
The person behind the door coughed loudly.
"Where did we fail?"
"All of our predictions were wrong; the monitoring group measured the differences with our forecasts.... Apparently that universe has a turbulent history, all the parameters are broken."
"I see... We have lost this battle, order the supervisory group to execute order seventeen."
"Understood, my lord" After bowing the butler retraced his steps.
The voice, being left in solitude muttered to itself "If it is not safe to blitzkrieg.... I will see if I can decimate them."