As with everything.

First, I need to find Kal'tsit and ask for permission.

One of the things I have learned to truly hate in my time.

19.5 - 04.02.1097.

Almost a month into my godforsaken attempts at freedom and progress, the 2nd phase.

Always an obstacle, always a roadblock.

We push on, nonetheless.

Look'in back.

I've progressed a lot in these few days.

The plot thickens, as they say.

I got my grubby little fucking hands on the first pawns.

Progressed on personal relations with the key.

And managed to deteriorate public standing.

All is according to plan for now.

But where the fuck is Kal?

I've been walking for a long while.

Maybe too long...

I'm starting to get tired.

I need to sit down.

But fucking where?

Why do none of these hallways have any benches or chairs?

So I had no choice but to walk on and on.

Getting more tired by the minute.

Breaths per minute increasing, heartbeat spiking.

Overall oxygen levels decreasing, the tiredness setting in-

IS THAT A FUCKING CRATE?

Thank the fucking LORD!

I immediately sat down on it without even thinking.

I was probably visibly out of breath by then.

I just needed a minute to sit down you know?

It is not easy running around a fucking battleship with a disease-ridden body.

Good thing no one was here to-

Crash

Wha-

And that's the story of how I ended up on the fucking floor.

Turns out, this was a wooden crate, I don't know why or how.

Since it was covered in cloth, I didn't realize that.

And to my arbitrary 50/50 luck, it fucking broke when I sat on top of it.

But not only did I break the crate, but I also apparently crushed the materials inside it, which were, valuable, or so I am told.

Told by an Operator that is.

Because as soon as they heard the crashing noise the motherfucker working on this bitch pulled up to see what the commotion was about.

I knew I was in the factory area since I was trying to take a shortcut, which also had the added benefit of having to deal with less people in the hallways.

Yeah, that's right. I'm not fucking stupid.

How are you gonna give me those stares if I don't walk on the main halls bitches.

But I thought for sure I was far away enough from the main factory area to not get caught in some bullshit situation like this.

Sadly, turns out I was wrong, a rare instance where I fuck up.

Apparently, I wasn't far away as I had imagined I would be, just the fact that I was tired was making me feel as if I was far away.

When in reality I had only managed to move like 20 meters.

I feel like I am rotting in broad daylight.

...

The brutal silence, however, was broken, soon enough.

To my aid and despair, came a cat?

Blue...Light blue...

What was she called again?

''Are you okay mister?''

Kid. I actually can't remember.

Guess I'll ask her after solving this mess.

''Well, not in the best conditions right now I would say, but no major issues. What was that crate anyways?''

I say as I get up from the ground.

At first, I wanted to see if she would lend her hand to me.

She didn't.

Either she knows, or there are circumstances.

We'll see.

I brush off the dust on my clothes with just a little annoyance.

Yeah. What the fuck was in that man?

She is silent for a few seconds.

Worry seeps through, but it is extinguished.

Hm?

''It-It wasn't much. Just some materials. D-Don't worry about it.''

...

Yeah, I'm not buying that.

Let's assess the damage.

I begin to claw my through the wooden splinters, to find some sort of broken, fine china?

Yikes, absolute dust is all that remains.

Flex seal ain't gonna fix this one.

I look up at the girl.

She seems worried.

This was probably something important.

''I'm sorry kid. Any way I can help to lessen the, uh, damage?''

She looks stressed, she is trying to hide it, failing in the process.

Which makes me feel, heavy-

What?

No, I am not wrong.

This isn't something like a mental attack, not on emotions.

I feel physically heavier.

It suddenly feels like everything just got heavier.

As if gravity just shifted-

I've recovered a bit, so I manage to keep my back straight.

And the impact juggles my memory.

Holy shit.

I remember who she is now.

And why she didn't lend her hand.

''Rosmontis. Right?''

I managed to catch her attention.

''Have we met before?''

No, we have not, you walking fucking gravity sphere.

Telekinesis huh? What a fucking boon.

If only I had it, eh, I will have it eventually.

So I spent the next few minutes trying to get her to stop panicking, so that I wouldn't get crushed by the gravity of the fucking arts, turning into mush.

Apparently what I had broken was something important.

Meant to be sent to Lungmen.

What a pleasant coincidence.

She then muttered something about knowing this would happen, and why the doctor put her here even though the Doc knew she wouldn't be very competent.

''That would be because the Doc didn't send you here. I did.''

The moment I said that the other Operators nearby began to flood the hallway.

3? No. 4.

2 on each side.

But I'm not fucking doing this again.

I have other shit I must do, can't waste my time here.

So I hold up my hand, before they can even mutter a word.

''Before any of you even say anything. I did not do anything bad, on purpose at least.''

With my other hand, I point to the remains of the uhh, goods?

''This was an accident on my end, I will talk to Kal'tsit about it myself, so don't worry about that.''

I stop pointing at the crate.

''And if you are wondering what I was doing with the kid. Nothing. She just came to check what the commotion was about since she was nearby.''

''Now everyone, since I am technically the one managing you all. I will give you-

I check my watch.

''-10 minutes, to talk to the kid to make sure that I am not lying. Since apparently, every single person in R.I. has trust issues when it comes to my words and actions.''

''I will be leaving now. Hope you all have a good business day and keep up the good work. I will give you all a small bonus for the inconvenience, expect that on your next paycheck.''

With that begin walking away from the RIIC.

None of the Operators stop me.

Even though there were some formidable ones.

I could see at least a 5-star OP there, I forgot their fucking name, but I could remember their star count.

What a fucking genius I am.

I guess the strict boss act was too good, they all just couldn't even respond.

I needed to keep their discipline and morale up though.

I chose every single one of them on purpose.

From what I can tell, most game mechanics of Arknights had corresponding effects on this, universe.

So I chose by hand all the Operators that had bonuses, in-game, working in the RIIC facilities to ramp up efficiency.

It was a test. I will see by the end of the week if that is true or not.

I have gotten WAAAY off track though.

Let's get back to the agenda, and deal with the larpers.

Need to learn their contacts first before we fire our shots.

How else would they be able to do what they did otherwise?

They must have had support, but from who?

That's what's important, It will be a huge advantage for me.

Since, if they are willing to support an evil, why shouldn't they support another-

Ah!

There she is.

Found the cat woman talking to Amiya in the office.

The little bunny girl looks kinda sad, I'm gonna bet on it being related to a side story or just personal shit, either way, I don't give a fuck.

Business doesn't care about feelings.

She immediately starts moving off to another room, they cut their little chat short when they spot me.

I can hear, Kal'tsit said that she will talk after she is done with, well me.

Good.

Keep as far from me as possible you mind reader.

You ain't gonna scramble this salad.

Unless you want to doom yourself with knowledge, and then doom me, then my paper empire, then Terra.

She leaves, and the door is locked behind her automatically.

We can begin the shitshow, now.

''Kal'tsit.''

''Patient Azmych?''

Oh yeah, she is fucking deep into that doctor roleplay. I forgot for a second, after all, most of our interactions revolve around her reacting as a leader of a company to my shenanigans.

''Drop the bull. Wait. Can I even say that? Would that be offensive to any of the races? Oh shit, I'm saying this all out loud.''

''...''

I do a little cough to mask the shame.

Damn it.

What a blunder.

''Forget that. Just wanted to check on some things first. How is everything holding up?''

She knows what I mean.

She can read the lines.

But I tried anyways, who knows?

If I make blunders, maybe she will too, from time to time.

We are all human-

NO.

WE AREN'T.

That's the problem in the first place.

Even worse for her case, fucking demi-god lookin' ass.

Missionary of an ultra-advanced bygone civilization that can revive, yet she has failed to make progress for, YEARS, pfffft.

What a fucking joke you are, so much for that comptence act.

''Your methods have been holding up. Profits have once again increased, and productivity on the Doctors end has almost doubled, but you wouldn't come here asking for something as simple as that.''

She arranges the papers in her hands.

''What do you want?''

Haha.

Welp, there was an attempt.

I go and sit down on one of their chairs on the other side of her desk.

''First of all, I have submitted my report on some of the experiments that we decided to hold. Not very promising.

Since none of everything I know, and what Terra knows-

Nothing matches, it might just be impossible to replicate, well, anything of my homeland, I will try anyways though as per our deal.''

No reaction.

I guess she expected this much.

But so did I.

''Now for why I am here. I would like to ask for permission to go and talk to Talulah.''

Now I have her attention.

She stops doing whatever she was doing.

''And why is that?''

Things are about to get spicy.

''Kal. I have decided to move on. For I have done all that needs be for now inside Rhoes Island. Staying here any longer would be a waste of time right now. I would like to start stage 2, and leave the landship for missions of my own.''

Now this, is serious business.

''And why did you think for a second that I would agree to this request?''

True.

From her perspective keeping me inside the landship is the most logical thing to do.

I am also untrustable, trusting me fully would be stupid from her perspective.

So not only would it restrict me to only developing R.I.

It would give her greater control and surveillance on whatever it is that I am doing.

It would also decrease my chances of dying in the middle of bumfuck nowhere or never coming back, escaping.

That's what she is probably thinking.

''Because Dr. Kal'tsit, do you remember the first deal that we agreed upon? Could you tell me why we agreed on it in the first place?''

She doesn't even think for a second.

She answers immediately.

''It is because our goals just happened to align.''

Yeah.

''They did, they did. They still do. The improvement of Terra is our common goal.''

''It is just that I will prevail, where you are failing.''

To that, she raises an eyebrow.

Surprise?

Anger maybe?

I can read her, so clearly

''Oh so that is how we are doing this, are we?''

That's what she is thinking, I would bet my life on it.

''Face it Kal. You are slow. You have been working for a LONG, LONG time. That is because, to you, time isn't as valuable as it is to me. Whatever I need to do, I must do it before I die of old age, natural causes, or any other reason.''

''I need to do it all, fast. And I know what you are thinking, because you tried, and you failed. But I am sure to succeed.''

I cross my arms.

''Call me cocky, call me arrogant. You can't refute my progress, because you have seen it all first hand.''

That's right you fucking bitch.

You know.

You know what I have done.

You have seen it all.

To the saving of lives, of important people.

To the expansion and improvement of R.I.

To the limitation on the Reunion threat I placed by cutting all their plans right in their tracks.

To the improvement of the people's views on the infected, I have managed to create by not only handling the retarded things Reunion would have done but by running a successful propaganda campaign.

To the progress, I have given you in terms of science, ideas, and even a possible way to test Originium in a way no other person could, on another species and universe.

You can't turn your head away.

I have succeeded, in whatever I told you that I would try.

The reality of the situation is that simple.

I have won, I always have in the end.

''I need to leave the ship Kal. I need to go to the outside world to continue my efforts.''

''And I know you don't trust me at all, it's understandable really. I too would be freaked out if our positions were to be swapped.''

''I need to go to Lungmen, in a week's time, for a 1- No, make it 2. 2-week mission before you all begin moving R.I. away from the Lungmen docks. And before that, I need to talk to the Ex-Leader and officers of Reunion. To not only gain information but also to confirm some things that I must know.''

''I am willing to negotiate, and make some sacrifices.''

''But know this, if you refuse me right now, you are stopping Terra from hundreds of years of potential and development, going against what you want yourself.''

''Wouldn't that be a shame-

I look around to make sure that no one is around.

From what I could tell, no one was, so I do the thing I am best at.

Fucking around.

I smile under my mask.

I lean into the desk by putting my elbows on it:

''-remnant of civilization, and protector of Terra. Miss Kal'tsit.''