《Once upon a tomorrow》 In the heart of a moment In the heart of a moment Some time before noon a classroom is listening quietly to the lecture the teacher is passionately giving. The cold the old autumn nearing its end does not bring many colors to life, but brown and dark shades are present everywhere. The room isn¡¯t that better either, the thick walls, relics from the past are as white as the lack of paint on any well made ones. Time didn¡¯t spare the either, most of the dust accumulated on the boring minimalistic wooden shelves full of strange, often broken equipments is not within normal margin by amount. The benches are somewhat better, clean as much as they are used. Still, they are remnants of the short communist age that destroyed more than any holocaust could have, but they still do their job remarkably which cannot be said of any of the shiny new equipment other classrooms have. Many argue about the past, that we still often enjoy the fruits that were left by it, but without question no one would want those times to be repeated again. In this classroom multiple students, young adults listen to the teacher trying to scribble down as much as they can, as they cannot even think as fast as the greyed haired man is counting in his head. A perfect example of the case when the brightest mind is dumb when they are unable to make others understand them properly. Among them one person in the furthest in the back freezes for a second until after a quick movement the reflection from a red screen starts to shine from her eyes. ¡°As I was saying, if you move this vector along the this one you can create a deltoid. Then, we can calculate the area using Alpha. Any questions? None? Also¡­ Hey, Ms. Avialy. May I ask you, what is so important you ignore my class and use your phone?¡± The teacher¡¯s question did not reach the intended target by calling her first name, but the audience became much more curious instead of girl in question. She was sitting there staring at the screen with an unreadable emotion, that contained traces of the not often seen mental state of fear. The teacher started to walk towards her in concern, as it a really unexpected act from the graceful young lady. As far as he knew she had a hard time trying to represent her well known and respected family even if she wasn¡¯t known for any outstanding abilities. She knows many things, is intelligent and beautiful, but she is just not outstanding in any of that. As any child from a rich family she was having troubles fitting in society but at her age this is not unusual. With all that, her unexpected expression was a sign that there must be a reason for all this. Even with his quick decision, he is not the first to reach her. He only reaches halfway when to door is abruptly kicked in, even though it was open and man dressed in military uniform and guns in hands step in ready to fire. Before anyone could understand the sudden event, one of them starts to rush in the back while to other aims at the teacher. ¡°Everyone stop and don¡¯t move or I¡¯ll shoot!¡± He shouts to which everyone complies. The teacher halts mid step, on foot still in the air. ¡°My name is Geldor Viktor, ADF-3 second rank leader. Our mission is to evacuate Ms. Avialy Beata ASAP. Do not intervene or you will be shot without further warning.¡± He explains and with a gun in his hand his words are quite convincing. In a country where you have to go through an expensive and long process of examination to own a 9mm pistol, the name of the Avialy Company¡¯s Defence Force is famed. Them holding assault rifles which are outright banned is a proof of their identity, if not their confidence and demeanor. The people unable to turn even their heads while the second man reaches the girl in the back. He motions to follow him, but she doesn¡¯t move and keeps staring at the red screen. ¡°Please pardon me but we have no time.¡± Says the man while putting the weapon on his back and grabs the girl. He lifts her and like a baggage and with a quick jog they leave to room. ¡°My apologies and good luck.¡± The leader that stood in the doorway ready to shoot offers a sincere apology then follows them, closing the door as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. The students and the teacher are silently staring at the door unable to comprehend the weight of the events as the footsteps of more than two armed men disappear in the distance. The teacher starts to sweat in a delayed manner and quickly approaches the last bench still warm from the person that was sitting on it. He reaches for the phone with the red screen that was dropped on the ground when the girl was taken. On the modern touch-screen phone there are no buttons or openings at all and it¡¯s likely that no other person than the girl could use it. Afterall, it was surely a company phone with important information on it. But this didn¡¯t really matter as the red screen on the front never gone away. It read: While reading this the old siren remained from the second World War started to cry loudly, announcing the fate of the unaware people of their demise they cannot do against. No one expected a war to start and definitely not this suddenly. In the current world where the internet knows everything before the people, it is strange to even guess that there are people who are not against killing. Better yet, who could ever want to turn against the whole world when there are many other problems left to solve. A single moment, a number reduced by one. A simple mathematical subtraction. This was enough for the capable man to understand everything. He turned towards his class and started to speak. ¡°All of you listen to me and don¡¯t panic. We are in danger, it seems bomber planes are headed towards us. I¡¯m not sure what happened but you don¡¯t have to be afraid. The only thing worth wasting ammunition on is the industrial area which is pretty far away from here. But to be sure, we should head down to the basement as rouble and air pressure is still quite dangerous. Stand and line up, calmly walk down the stairs. There is no need to hurry so don¡¯t rush it.¡± When all of them are properly line up, he opens the door and leads them. The probability of this place getting attacked is low, but being careful is a must. Panic is more fearful, it can kill many even there is no actual danger. Hundreds of scared youth trying to escape on a stair will result in injuries. It¡¯s really important to keep calm to avoid accidents.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it They exit and slowly walk down the staircase that is right next to them. By luck this room is in the back side of the building and this place is rarely used by others. Other teachers are likely to ignore the siren as it¡¯s normally very unlikely for an emergency situation to happen. Yearly tests of it¡¯s usefulness do happen afterall. He knows that announcing loudly will have an undesired effect and the basement is nowhere near big enough for all the students. ¡°Hey, Peter. From now on you are in charge. Take them to the room A6. The one they sort used school books before redistribution. You helped last September didn¡¯t you? I¡¯ll be there in a minute, I have something else to do.¡± Finishing his sentence he turned away and left towards the teachers office. The student he addressed sighed at the strange man. It¡¯s not like others will listen to him no matter what he says. They all simply continued together down the stairs, albeit the previous organisation disappeared which actually made them faster. ¡°Just don¡¯t rush and fall down like me last time. I don¡¯t think we can carry you to the hospital right now.¡± Small jokes start to appear along with the usual murmuring. Without someone to watch over them, they are just students who like to take rules as a general direction to avoid. Children in a peaceful world tempt to not understand the weight of things, ignoring the fact they are a danger to themselves. Even the best people do stupid things when they are frightened and they are. But to some, it is also a little bit exciting. This is a really strange phenomenon. All through history normal people hated fights. Why fight when it¡¯s certain to shorten one¡¯s life? But when there is a reason, there is a cause. People who don¡¯t know the cruelty of war, the danger of weapons and the reality of death tend to be interested in it. This strange innocence often lead those people to start a war in hope of an easy victory, it made people want to fight. Defend your country. Eliminate the threat before it spread and you can¡¯t stop it anymore. These worlds caused more futile deaths with unprepared and halfhearted wars that one can count. ¡°If there is war, you think we will be drafted?¡± ¡°You? You are still 16. The youngest in the class. Maybe Peter will be drafted though, he is already 18. Even then, they will start from age 25, I think.¡± ¡°Look at the genius, like you know anything. You are just guessing aren¡¯t you?¡± At the three talking others also react. ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it. It could be a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Yeah, and the Avialy Company is just messing around with toys. Didn¡¯t you see them? Those were military, not bodyguards. They took the princess just like that.¡± ¡°You still call her Princess? Well, she has the money, but she is actually very nice if you bother to talk to her.¡± One ot the girls objected to the talk to which she got a few strange stares. ¡°Talk? Never seen her talk to anyone by herself.¡± ¡°If you talk to her she answers.¡± The unusual conversation lead nowhere as they reached the door. Peter opened it and waiter for everyone to enter. After looking around he entered and closed the thick fire door behind him. The basement consists of two corridors that meet parallel at their end. One corridor has all the rooms, 3 fire doored classrooms and a small shelter with a repurposed steel, ship flood-door. As there is no sea connection within the country border, it should be an after war product. Before the lost wars the country were so different we can¡¯t imagine what would it be like if we didn¡¯t participate in the meaningless struggle. ¡°She certainly is almost as weird as teacher.¡± ¡°But there is no person weirder than him.¡± ¡°You got it.¡± They joke as they walk towards the junction the enter the front corridor which has the rooms. At the corner the front people suddenly stop. ¡°I guess this should be expected.¡± One of them motions at the soldiers standing in front of the door of the room they are supposed to enter. They walk towards them trying to engage in a conversation before they are stopped by their voice. ¡°Wait. You can¡¯t come here. Enter any other room freely or use the corridor, but you can¡¯t come near this door.¡± His refusal is simple and understandable, they are simply doing their job. Just like the teacher, the soldier identified the safest place in the area and to hide. There is not much difference between the room and the corridor, but 1% is a whole lot when you are protecting someone with your life. Unable to refute they settled in another room. This didn¡¯t stop them from bickering though. ¡°A whole room for one girl. Certainly luxurious.¡± ¡°Two standing in the front, I think there are more than three other with her inside. The soldiers are also humans, they want to stay safe to.¡± ¡°Not sure, all that genetic manipulation they research must be good for something. I once saw one of them break a car¡¯s door of by hand when they couldn¡¯t get the injured out in an accident.¡± ¡°Lies. There is no way. It was probably broken or they used a tool you didn¡¯t see. And don¡¯t call them soldiers, they hate it. It¡¯s ADF. ¡± ¡°There are a few thousand of them at least. Think they could defend us?¡± ¡°Against a real army? No way.¡± ¡°They have all the money and equipment. Why not. They might join the war too.¡± ¡°Unlikely. Two thirds of their income is from industry which are the first one to be destroyed during a fight. A war might be the end of them, our country has no way of defeating anyone.¡± ¡°Even then-¡± As they argue loud enough for those in the other room to hear it, a sudden noise silences them all at once. The sound of explosion, but not any kind, it¡¯s the sound of planes going supersonic. The sound is followed by the loud engines tearing the air up, flying far away in the distance. In the other room more meaningful conversations occur. ¡°Please don¡¯t fear, Milady, it should be alright. There is no way they would attack civilians.¡± Says the soldier named Viktor to the girl trembling in front of her. The girl shivering from fear is hugging her legs, not hearing the man. ¡°save me brother¡± she quietly whispers again and again, while Viktor tries to soothe her. Another man with his ears on the air hole conveys his findings to his comrades trying to not disturb the girl. ¡°I hear engines heating up. Jets. That should be a sonic boom. I think they glided quietly, but why? It made them easier to spot on the radar. They seem to be leaving. No background noise, they are not turning. They are going away. Good. I only hear one bomb, it should be heading towards the industrial area. Put your ear mufflers in.¡± The men obey the command and take small cotton wools which is a simple but good solution for the problem. The girl is another problem. They can¡¯t just push it in her ears as they still fear their lives, but she doesn¡¯t seem to be capable of doing it herself. Instead she is put on an old headphone style ear defender, the one typically used in military vehicles. While having her hair sorted out is still touching her unneeded, the difference is like the one between lingeries and swimsuits. The first covers more but it¡¯s still inappropriate to show to others. The men adapt to the situation just as expected from them. Even if they never actually fought in a war, they all been through life threatening circumstances which is a must need to be part of the Defense Force. There aren¡¯t many of them but they are certainly well trained and equipped just as the rude kids in the other room say. They all lay on their bellies except the girl who is surrounded by literal human shields and the bomb explodes into the distance. The soldier did not make a mistake, it was only a single one, but that one from such a distance shakes the earth and building altogether. The pressure from the great distance easily lifts cars, roofs and even some building parts, even the school with 1 meter thick wall sounds like a part of it is collapsing. It¡¯s hard to imagine what happens to the smaller homes and buildings, but the sounds of bending metal and rubble exploding from impact is serious enough that the soldiers make a thankful prayer towards the Avialy family that taught them the how and allowed them to survive. ¡°There is no god, thus we can only thrust the Avialy.¡± Is what leaves Geldor Viktor, ADF-3 second rank leader¡¯s mouth. Next: Exodus - to a small and simple place to call home Exodus - to a small and simple place to call home Exodus - to a small and simple place to call home A long silent five minute follows the bright catharsis as the darkness envelops the land below the sky. Small noises still linger, like the whimpering of the girl kept safe in in the middle of the room. The occasional noise of static turns into comprehensible words from the radio of a soldier. ¡°Unit A2. Report requested. Please confirm the status of Princess-1. I repeat-¡± Comes the dark voice from a radio over and over again until it¡¯s clear enough to understand. Then, the man raises it to his mouth to answer. ¡°This is Unit A2. SITREP. Princess-1 is safe and unharmed. Null damage to A2. Requesting heli EVAC.¡± ¡°Copy Unit A2. Heli EVAC denied, airzone is unsafe. Armored transport is on their way. ETA two minutes. Leave the building immediately and head to the main road. Other routes are inaccessible. Damage assessment is not ready yet. Your mission stayed the same. Please confirm.¡± ¡°I confirm, all clear.¡± ¡°May the Avialy keep you safe.¡± With the long distance conversation over he repeats everything to the others again even if they already heard it, just to make sure no mistakes will be made. He then walks to the girl and kneels for their eyes to be at the same height. He gently takes the ear muffles off before talking. ¡°Ms. Avialy. My name is Horvat Bilze. Can you understand me?¡± The girl stopped sobbing and looked up at one of her saviour with red, wet eyes. ¡°I... do.¡± She muttered making the man smile gently. ¡°Please listen to me. We have to escort you to the base. There should be nothing dangerous outside anymore but the rubble. Could you collect yourself enough to walk together with us? Mr. Roland would be troubled to see your in tears.¡± Hearing her brother¡¯s name she frowns a little, but putting on a gentle smile quickly she wipes away her tears. When she is done she obediently nods like she was taught, putting on a mask as she always should. They open the door and with the lead of Geldor exit the room which is mostly intact. The same thing cannot be said of the corridor. The walls are solid, no question, but the pipes running along it broke. Not only they hit a few students hiding there, it trapped more of them along with jamming the door of the other room. It is only opened slightly which is enough to let her hear them asking for help. She cannot help but wince, so she asks. ¡°How much time we have?¡± ¡°One-point-five min.¡± ¡°Help them.¡± ¡°No time.¡± Her words have no effect on the men, so she results to the way she despises to use. ¡°I order you to help them exit the room and save as many as you can in 30 sec. This is an important location we will return in the future and we know that outside the casualties must be high.¡± With a firm tone she orders them, bringing about charisma quite opposing to her previous self. Snot in her nose and red eyes, she stands firm. The squad¡¯s leader stops and stares at her for a second until he finally gives in. It¡¯s not worth wasting their time arguing, if she said it would be better to save them then it will be. With quick instructions it takes them only a few seconds to remove the pipes and pry open the stuck door with plenty of time to rescue other injured. Twenty seconds in they are already finished, ready to move. Beata stands in front of her injured classmates and curtisies. ¡°I would really stay longer to help but we have much to do. I promise to return and lend you a hand as quick as possible, but with solely my two hands I am but a human as well. Until then, may the Motherland keep you safe.¡± Of course to her sudden change the others were unable to properly respond. It was the Teacher and her classmate Peter who could actually return the gesture. ¡°May the Motherland keep you safe.¡± They said in perfect unison which the others repeated, but by then the girl was already gone. The strange group quickly walks up the front stairs and exits the building, if the big hole still counts as an entrance. As a school it was designed to be easy to enter and exit in the good faith of communism. In the present capitalist society this idea fared much less, strangely. Usually only one small door was open for all the hundreds of students to enter and exit at the same time. But now, the creation of freedom and new age, windows and plastic is gone trashed to the other end of the street while the walls of blood and terror stand proudly. At least, this was her opinion before actually leaving the building and seeing the outside. What outside, it¡¯s a joke. Everything above the second floor became one with the once green park in front of her. The homes and shops are left with no walls, only death knows how many survived this disaster. One bomb? A single bomb dropped so far away viped all and everything around here? No, there must be others, most homes have cellars. At least some should have managed to hide in time. She is looking to find anyone alive or dead, but as they climb over debris and rubble no signs appear of people. They must be buried or worse, their frail bodies flew away. Maybe this rubble is also from homes hundreds of meters away. She stops her futile glance search, if there is anyone there she will find them even if she doesn¡¯t want to. But the dreaded question in her mind is that such a large explosion could easily level the school too. Why did it not? After only a few seconds, she finds it out quick enough right as the black armored car opens its door in front of her. The hospital. The hospital was between the explosion and the school. Although not made of the same quality, it is four times bigger than the school itself. She should be able to see it easily¡­ But all she sees is a pile of rubble amassed at the back of the school in an arc. Concrete, pile, around 19 degree angle. Yes, it¡¯s a perfect alignment for the material¡¯s ¡®natural¡¯ state. Maybe, just maybe it¡¯s the lives of an older generation that saved her¡¯s. There was a hospital there once, she corrects herself, trying to get it out of her mind. It doesn¡¯t really matter to her, she has her own medical factory. Or does she? What if it¡¯s also destroyed?This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Better to ask brother.¡± With this her doubts are cleared, same as in her whole life before. As the door of the car opens a man exits it searching for something fanatically. As his eyes rest rest on the girl standing close to her still glaring at the terror all his doubts go away and he charmingly smiles. The girl hearing the noise turns to find her brother smirking at her close up. She freezes for a second but in a quick motion jumps at him, hugging his neck tightly almost clinging off him. The well-built, tall young man smirks at her, gently pulling her face in for a kiss which she stops with a chop on his head. ¡°Bad big brother. You know how scared I was?! And you try to take advantage of me?!¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Weren¡¯t you the one saying you want to marry me when we were little?¡± ¡°We were little! I don¡¯t care what mother says, I love you very much but not like that. If you try something I will hate you!¡± ¡°My little Princess, you surely jest. I¡¯m a true gentleman, your sta-¡± As the two are messing with each other in their moment of happiness, Viktor the team leader interrupts them with a fake cough. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry, but could you continue this inside the car?¡± He asks which they compel not a bit embarrassed. The two enter the black armored car and it starts rolling forward circling around the debris on the mostly empty four lane road. The cars must have been thrown further away, as strong as the explosion was. They sit in the car and watch the surroundings from the one way window. The mood is somewhat stiff as Beata can¡¯t really put her thoughts into words. ¡°Do you know about¡­ you know¡­¡± Her timid voice barely reaches her brother, but he answers happily. ¡°Yes. More or less. Dad is in China. Surprisingly they declared neutrality, at least for now. We have many allies there so he should be safe. Mother on the other hand¡­¡± he paused a little. ¡°Mother went to the Global Peace Union a few days ago to introduce our new gene modified crops. Her plane was accidentally attacked and they had to emergency land on one of our research island. She was injured but they promised that she will not die. She can¡¯t die.¡± His words trail off in the end, as his anger piles up. ¡°It¡¯s mother, after all. She is invincible.¡± Says Beata with a smile. ¡°Listen Bea, we have no idea what started this. We have idea what side we are on. Suddenly nukes went off and they started to point fingers.¡± He started to explain, turning a world map on in the middle of car on a holo projector. ¡°We are still on the better side, somehow. West attacked east, east attacked west. We are but a small nation in the middle of the two. We are allied with both but have bad relations so we have no idea who to fear. Even with that, they fear us as they don¡¯t know if we attack them in the back. Hence the genocide. Their people die dog¡¯s death day by day, why should they care about others? I say it¡¯s a miracle they didn¡¯t outright shot mother¡¯s plane with missiles¡­¡± The two try to piece together the events but their attempts meet no concrete end. One of them is but a 24 year old man learning to be a businessman and the other is still a high schooler. With all that there is still more to say thanks for to the Motherland as it¡¯s surrounded by steep hills on all sides with poor infrastructure. The enemy will not be stupid enough to fight here, these lands offer a natural barrier making it easier and quicker for everyone to just go around. Even if they fight here it will be a long and uncertain bloodbath for all sides. With the long discussion ended they just stare at each other in silence. It is Beata who speaks first again. ¡°Big brother, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Comes her simple confession. ¡°I know, Bea. I know.¡± Is the simple answer she receives accompanied by a sigh. It takes more than 10 minutes even with empty road to arrive at their destination. During their travel they have the chance to see the damage outside of the small town. In a huge range crops were damaged, it should be lucky if third of it will be still edible. The vegetables should have been fine but is already off season. There is fertile land everywhere but the variety is low. It was cheaper to import goods which should be impossible now. They go through large iron gates to enter an enormous area enclosed by slightly damaged reinforced walls. Inside there isn¡¯t much to see, only a few small and sturdy buildings somewhat damaged. The least impressive sight is the large marble main house which once stood in marvel but was reduced to an interesting pile of rocks. This is not their destination however. They pass it only to stop near a smaller building then they drive down in a slope to enter a large underground garage. It takes seconds for the giant steel bunker gate to open and close. There aren¡¯t many places in this country like this. Maybe a few other Avialy Company facilities and the single National Nuclear Shelter. Most likely it serves a great purpose for the little fifty-thousand people that fit in. So few of the 3 million that lived in the capital. Mentioning weapon factories is useless, they invented bunker busters for a reason. The two exit the car and the girl simply follows her brother leading her deeper into the rabbit¡¯s hole. The two don¡¯t stop until they reach an elevator which tickles the girls interest. ¡°How long are we going to have power?¡± ¡°The micro nuclear reactor should be capable of powering all facilities for five years, give or take one, with the current amount of materials. Under full capacity it can sustain five hundred more households for two years. We have little natural gasses so they are reserved for the research center. Oil, we have more than enough. We also have twenty retractable giant solar panels. The underground food farm provides enough for all workers and some surplus. We should be perfectly alright, which is hard to say about the outside.¡± ¡°Damages?¡± ¡°70% of global production is gone. Most departments were literally wiped out. Currently we are self sufficient with surplus and the workers are faithful, but I have serious concerns.¡± The two proceed down on the elevator with a simple melody playing in the background. He doesn¡¯t have to hold the truth back from her and speaks honestly. Beata is not good with company related matters and she never tried to understand it fearing her brother would see her as a rival, but she could easily recognise how close they are to become the same as the others. Normal people who lost everything in flash, most even their lives. She couldn¡¯t even imagine what would happen to her without him. She knows that her brother has romantic feelings for her and at this day of age the old word incest disappeared along with most once fatal diseases thanks to science. Love inside the family is not unusual, especially among the rich, there is nothing to stop them if they decide to marry. But as she grew up, she understood the difference between different kinds of love. She loves her brother dearly but not in the way he and her mother would like her to. Thankfully no one forced her, apart from spoiling her rotten which she tried to stop experiencing the negative effects on herself. She didn¡¯t want to become the kind of person she could have become. The door of the lift opens and a woman with short hair stands right in front of them, greeting them cheerfully. ¡°Welcome to the pits of Base Delta, where all your wierdest dreams come true!¡± She exclaims pushing a phone similar to the one she had before in the hands of girl. Next: We have the stuff We have the stuff 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.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. 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 Brotherly love Brotherly love The heavy doors of the elevator open and a handsome man steps out of it. His eyes are held on the device in his hands. It is not hard to recognise him as Avialy Roland, the youth inheritor of the Avialy Company from his well known and easy recognisable face. His gaze is projected solely on one spot, on the picture of his dearly loved little sister. He dosen¡¯t really know when he fell in love with her but the burning sensation in his heart has been there for a long time. It¡¯s not usual for inexperienced influential sons to declare love on their siblings for the sake of ensuring their business¡¯s future. However, he never found this trait desirable. Opposite to that, he genuinely loves her from the depths of his heart and dedicates his life to earn her recognition. He finds other families who take away the free will of the lesser party, be it the man or the woman, utterly disgusting. An Avialy knows that a happy slave is still one. There is a certain charm in affection unfolding after forced marriage but true love cannot bud from from that, at least that¡¯s what he firmly believes in. With a sigh he puts his phone away as he arrives at the conference room. Heated but certainly not spiteful arguments leak out from behind the door as they try to convince the other party. The moment he enters the people in company uniforms go silent to greet him then continue from where they left off. He sits down on one of the chairs to listen to the conversation. ¡°The whole Western-Szegy is cut off connection. The underground cables are damaged at multiple areas. We should not waste any effort in neither of the wastelands that were once a capital nor the Industrial City. They are gone and we can¡¯t do anything about the radiation yet. We have to go and check the Szegy department and rescue our people! They are trapped with little food and no electricity. Everything runs on the private power grid. They can¡¯t even leave the building.¡± ¡°I agree with that but we can hardly spend that much effort. Repairing the line would take too much time and we don¡¯t even know if they are still alive or not. The capital should not be fully contaminated, we have to move to grab the opportunity to gain a foothold there.¡± ¡°What about our people?! They are the most important, we can¡¯t leave them alone to die.¡± Man and women from young to old are sitting behind the large table debating about future actions. The Company does not really care who you are and where you came from, if you are a true member of the family and your abilities are recognised you are given the role most benefitting for the Avialy Company. Even with that, differences often arise which lead to new unique viewpoints of the situation that helps gaining an edge over other companies. The almost religious faithfulness and reliance on each other is a rare virtue in the whole world. Ever since religion itself was banned and frowned upon, science marveled and people began to bond in other ways. Still, this level of cohesiveness is uncommon. Roland frowns a little hearing the news. He is the one who has to decide in the end so to stop useless topics take up the the already meager time they have, he cuts into their words. The other people in the room are a bit surprised about this but with a mere nod they let it go. ¡°There is no way we can leave our own alone. The Avialy never leaves their own behind. We will rescue them as soon as possible.¡± To his decisiveness they all fall into deep thought already trying to find the best way to solve the problem. ¡°Are you sure?¡± A short haired woman ask this question not so after. As he turns to the direction of the voice, he recognises her as Palma Viola who represents the research and development branch. He smirks a little thinking of those quirky people. They rarely bother to sleep, let alone get out of their labs or workshops. They don¡¯t care about politics or inner competition at all, they always send the newest employee so that they are not interrupted in their work. They are really nice people, but only if you go to them. They never really noticed or cared about the current events either, continuing their job as if nothing happened. No matter what, even the ¡®children¡¯, as the workers call new employees are all already competent people with a long history of success. There are exceptions for prodigies, but that is not an everyday occurrence. Roland answers her question. ¡°The repairs are going well and we already began to refit Base Delta to be the new HQ. I see no problems, in a few days we should be able to expand. Until then, we have to save our own we swore to protect. Base Szegy might be still intact, which is important to know as important data might get stolen. Or worse, others might try to claim it to live inside safely, underground. The ASDF has more than two thousand guards on standby with nothing to protect. I say we go and check it. On our way we can inspect the damage to the connection and if we can repair it. No use in having them sitting around doing nothing.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡° ¡®On our way?¡¯ you said?¡± An older man sitting close to him asks surprised. ¡°Of course. I have to go to enter the databank and the vault. Worst case we bring back some supplies from the storages.¡± Few people in the room are already standing over a map, marking different areas they have intelligence about. There are many smaller towns in the way that are completely intact, but they are full of scared people with without running water or electricity. They have food for a few days at best. Even if some have more stored, they won¡¯t be able to transport it very far. Most cars are electric as the oil became really expensive ten years ago. This ordeal was a small catastrophe that drove technology further really quickly, at least until it was resolved. People used the well developed mass transit systems that became even cheaper than before. Well, the Avialy never had such problems from the beginning. Although it¡¯s inefficient, they can synthesize enough for themselves. The electric cars can¡¯t carry heavy loads as that cuts their travel distance drastically. The ones that still use diesel are mostly the farm machinery and lorries. Those will get people to other people, but then what? Give their own precious food and supplies to others? Waste the little fuel they have to use to grow food? There is no way people are that kind, unless they have enough for themselves first. The people commented, that¡¯s their job, their purpose. Even Roland himself doesn¡¯t really like the idea that he himself has to go, but he is the only one who has access to the vaults. He can¡¯t leave sensitive information behind and without the connection he can¡¯t have it self-destruct. No, there is someone else, but her sister should stay in a safe location. He gave her the authority to protect her, not to put her in danger. He grows into a smile thinking about her beautiful and kind sister. That girl never in her life had a selfish thought and stayed away from the company for his sake, so that he can build up respect without fear of competition. In his heart he knew, she could do much better than him which left a sour taste in his mouth. Roland knows that if the two of them turned against each other he couldn¡¯t bear to lose to her. He wouldn¡¯t give up even after his genius sister stomped his face into the mud a thousand times with little to no effort. But she just doesn¡¯t like doing it for some reason, thankfully. She hides her strong and beautiful personality behind a timid and lovely one people can only adore. Long ago, he thought she feared that others will start hating her, but he realised, her sister doesn¡¯t see the company more important than a rock on the street. She would not care if she was reduced to a simple working class, normal girl. She just¡­ doesn¡¯t seem to find a reason for herself to fight and live for. ¡°It might be actually a sickness¡± He mumbles under his breath with no one hearing it, then raises a question to the girl that spoke up before. ¡°How is the QUA.. QMUEG... whatever the acronym is project going? Why did father approve of this name...¡± ¡°It¡¯s quantum mechanics under controlled electro-gravity fields.¡± ¡°Yeah. That.¡± ¡°I believe we provided a detailed report. Why?¡± ¡°I want to know one thing. When will it reach the level of usefulness?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t be sure. It can be now, tomorrow or years later. We work day and night and use the best supercomputers and simulations in the test field, but it¡¯s impossible to predict.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯m sorry, but it seems we have to put this on freeze for the time being. We need the monstrous amount of energy you use up for the base. I promise you get back to it as quickly as we are done.¡± He stands straight as a drop of sweat drops from his face. As the head of the company, he has to tell this to them. It¡¯s not like everyone pushed the troublesome task upwards. The girl frozen still gazes his face with empty eyes, she is already gone to the wonderlands. This is the problem with these genius scientists. At times like this they are like children who got their favorite toy taken away. When they fall into the frenzied state all that is in their heads is the research they are working on. They are like the religious fanatics back then. As the girls returns to among the living the others flinch in the room. She darts towards Roland and clutters. ¡°Right? Right. It¡¯s expected. Just a few weeks at worst, right? Right. It¡¯s normal. But boss, are you sure about that, you will cut electricity from us completely? Everything?¡± As the girl speaks to him closely lining in his face, he has a hard time not stepping back. ¡°Of course not. You will just be limited to the normal energy levels other facilities have.¡± ¡°Then the computers will work, right? If it¡¯s the normal energy and we cut down the back..and we disassemble a few cores. It should, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it should. Only the test fields will be at null.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She steps back, and start to chew on one of her nails. ¡°I see. We can.. Somehow live through that. I apologise Mr. Avialy.¡± The girl dashes quickly out of the room, but Roland knows that for a few days he can expect a few stares on his back. It¡¯s not like they will really hate him, they are the most rational people on the planet, it¡¯s just not easy to swallow this for them. He also understands that interrupting an incredibly complicated task is very taxing on their minds. With a sigh he returns to his previous business. Thus, it was decided that they will leave the next day before her sister gets back. He forbid anyone to inform her beforehand. Next: The people of the city