We have the stuff
“Welcome to the pits of Base Delta, where all your wierdest dreams come true!”
The strange lady repeats her line possibly hoping for a better reaction as the surprised girl is still inspecting the object in her hand. She mutters a small greeting as the device turns on. Her brother smiles at her reaction and greets the woman properly.
“I believe you haven’t met before. Bea, she is Kolvacz Anna, a genius engineer and the head of Base Delta Engineering. Anna, she is my little sister Avialy Beata.”
“Nice to meet you! I saw you a few times when you were little. Do you remember me?”
Beata tries her best trying to recall when she met her, regretting it instantly. She mutters “Glad to meet you, too.” and steps back quickly. In her mind, this woman is a figure that caused many nightmares for her when she was little. They were once left alone for a few minutes when her dad had to check something and they didn’t get along well. They didn’t talk or anything, Anna only tried to be friendly. She promised to show something cool and pretended to drop a sharp object. She detached her robotic prosthetic arm that kept crawling towards the frightened girl on the floor. At that time she was just seven year old and didn’t know a blade can’t cut an arm that easily nor why the woman found her action amusing.
She decided to not hold a grudge but she found it hard to look her in the eyes properly. She could do it when acting seriously which she always avoided to do though. During her upbringing only one thing was beat into her core deeply by her parents, the capability to fully focus her mind and act like a perfect Avialy, so that she can keep herself safe. She hates being like that because for her it feels as if someone else is controlling her body even if it’s not true.
The phone in her hands lights up, displaying the background of one of her favorite drawings. Icons appear one by one as the phone updates itself to the last known configuration. She finds all her data properly on it from her other phone and also a few new apps.
“As Mr. Roland requested I gave you highest level access to all Avialy services. Your previous phone was burned out for security reasons. Please treat this one carefully and talk to Mr. Roland before using it first.”
Asking her brother for the reason he simply tells her that she will need it. She pulls up the app for intelligence and clicks on the file on the top named: [Damage report].
#
Damages overall: 61%
Damages to production facilities: 71% [-list-]
Damages to above ground facilities 14% [-list-]
Damages to research facilities 2% [-list-]
Personnel,
Injured: 14
Dead: 16210
Lost connection with: 1416
#
The report goes on and on for hundreds of pages, most she can’t understand. She closes it checking the other new apps. Her brother stands behind her resting his head on her shoulder and points at the screen.
“See this? This is where you can check where the ADF patrols. You can give new orders or request reinforcements here. You can do the same with a radio, but this is easier for you. Here, you can check the supplies. You are free to use them, I heard you promised to send help to the school. Just remember, people are people. Well, I have to go now. Be careful.”
Giving a small peck on her cheek he walks back to the elevator. He starts to fiddle with his phone and the door closes, leaving her alone with the woman. The two stand silent for a few seconds, not sure what to say or how to react.
“Your phone has a detailed map of the base, but since it’s the first time I will give you a quick introduction and show you your room.”
Beata follows the woman not saying a word. She, on the other hand cannot bear silence thus tries to engage in a conversation.
“Your room is in Zone C, Crew Quarters, Room 2. It’s right next to Mr. Roland’s. You can enter the canteen any time you feel hungry and if you want something not on the menu request one hour beforehand with your phone. You can order clothes from the warehouse app. Actually, because of the... events the warehouses will be repurposed in the near future and everything we can’t sell will be used as fuel or repurposed. Request anything and as many as you want, we can even go down and check it ourselves. In the future the variety will lower of everything so I recommend doing in now. What do you say?”
The girl only shakes head with a smile. Without her brother she has trouble interacting with others, even if the whole Avialy Company sees itself as a big family. Feeling thankful she does give her gratitude while still walking inside the dim lit underground corridors of the bunker. She’s never really been underground before. She only used the metro in the city once, only to try out what it is like. But then, she rarely left for the city spending most of her time home, playing with her brother or alone.
The two reach the room after a few minutes and the girl properly, lifting her long skirt on one side and bowing her head a little, thanks the woman for the assistance. Her style of giving gratitude is common among the people as they often spend their lives owing it to others. During the long decades after the war people had time to practice such useless little actions which made them more honest and honorable. These two traits were always among the most important things in one’s life. If you lost trust in others it is really hard to get it back, it certainly shoves you towards failure. Their forefathers did many seeming useless things which surprisingly greatly benefit the present. More so benefitted, because the current present is still largely new and unknown.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Her escort leaves and she closes the door behind herself. Entering her new room she looks around to get herself familiar with it. She takes her shoes off and puts it on the holder next to the door. The floor is properly heated, her feet does not feel cold. The room is a fairly large place arranged very similarly to her previous one. Her brother must have prepared this the ease her a little but she didn’t mind it at all. She is not attached to any items apart from a pair of golden earrings her mother, and a lightweight, metallic, flower-bracelet her father gifted her. The second item has many functions unknown to her, but she is sure that it is one of the most complex invention her father has ever had to be made.
After making sure the door is locked properly she takes her dress off, only the underwear remaining. She always liked the breeze tickle her skin, similar to the one the air pump provides. Not only is she feeling much more free, it helps her concentrate on her more creative side. There is always an easel in her room which she likes to draw on, laid on the ground just as she currently is. Her drawings are not for artistic purposes, it’s simply her hobby.
For now she sits on her bed, opening the warehouse’s list on her phone. She quickly finds the woman’s clothes tab with thousands of different choices. The company did make clothes to sell on the market, but now most of them will be burned or thrown away to provide more space. It’s a pity to see all these beautiful dresses suffer this fate. Now it’s in her hands to decide which will survive and which will become sacrifice for saving human lives. A simple task that only she can overthink.
There are many different styles from all around the world that were waiting to be exported. Because of this her choices were limited to only a small portion of it. She clicked on the filter to only show the ones she can wear. On her screen the icons reduced to show only short sleeved, long skirted and light colored one piece dresses without high cut. This is the modern version of the tradition dresses of the country. Capitalism bought many new things and the freedom of choice, she is also sure the her brother would love seeing her in a short skirt and a blouse, but the very thought of looking like a whore on the streets sends bad shivers along her spine. She can’t help but stop thinking about it to not vomit and swears again to never wear something like that even in private. She just can’t understand those girls who find these clothes proper.
She catches sight of a few good dresses quickly and marks them to be delivered to her room. For starters she also reserves enough food for a hundred people for a week and have it loaded into two trucks. For safety she assigns five bodyguards for them and herself. She doesn’t really think anyone will try to attack them but this is the minimal amount the Defense Force agrees to. If not else she can have them assist in the rescue operations. To treat injuries she is only allowed to take five basic medkits but is provided with an enormous amount of bandages. She has no real scientific knowledge on the subject apart from the basic red-cross training required to take by everyone so she trusts the people advising her. She only has to make sure the people survive, it’s impossible to treat all little injuries.
In the end, she is not really concerned about their lives but her own. If people die it will hurt the Company, her brother and her too. If she doesn’t help the Company will lose the people’s trust and will be blamed for not lending a hand when they are clearly able to. Even if she is mostly ignorant about the events she knows that people easily get controlled by envy and fear. Her brother is working hard to keep the Company together, working like a machine and she has nothing else she could help with.
It only takes a few minutes for her to decide her plans. She wants to support her brother as much as possible so she wants to do what she can. Opening the warehouse app again she checks the position of the dress she liked the best. Her current one is dirty and full of sweat, she can’t appear like that. After getting clothed again she exits the room and using the map heads for the warehouse. It’s only a few floors away, it only takes a few minutes of walk and an elevator to get there. On her way she is greeted by multiple workers busily going through the changes that are needed to be made to adapt efficiently to the new situation. She greets them back gently smiling, without stopping.
As she gets closer to her destination the number of people dwindle. This section seems to be not widely used currently. The lights only operate at minimal capacity letting the darkness get a hold of the cold corridors. The walls often change from metallic to concrete then back from part to part. The extra reinforced parts seem to be important or vital areas.
In the near dark empty passage her own concerns begin to resurface. She did decide to go outside, but then she has to go into danger without her brother. She can trust the soldiers, but who knows what is the situation outside exactly. But, this is the whole reason she goes there, no one else will. The Company would happily cut connections with the world if they didn’t need them. Currently all exposure will be unbeneficial to them and they are still occupied with the recovery. They need to retreat and mend their own wounds first, they can only spare the minimum for others. Her job shouldn’t be too hard either way..
She finally enters the room her current objective is held in. Following the numbers and letters she finds the container swiftly. With a press of a lever it opens and reveals a stack of beautiful high quality dresses only the most important women can possess. Even so, she ignores most but the two she choose already and checks them as retrieved inside her phone. After taking them out she closes the container and returns to her room to take a shower and dress up properly for her standing.
When she is done she heads to the garage seeing the message that everything is ready for her to depart. With all the preparations done so quick she feels a little bit relieved that the Company has no problems that would hinder its existence. Her brother will surely make it work no matter what happens.
The moment she arrives she finds two altered cargo vans fitted with armor protection. Even if she finds it excessive she knows they won’t let her go without this much at least. What she is more surprised about are the familiar faces she recognises. The same men who saved her life and cared about her gently while risking their own were waiting for her there.
“Ah! Guys, it’s the Little Miss! Everything is ready, we can move out!” Calls out Geldor Viktor, ADF-3 second rank leader to her cheerfully.
Next: Brotherly love