These patients were transferred from intensive care. We don't have enough emergency equipment.
Warfarin
I need you to stabilize their conditions first.
Touch
Try to gather all the wounded here, and leave the rest to me.
Touch
Casualty report?
Alanna
Things are still very much in flux. We don't have a hard figure.
Alanna
Current injury estimates are thirty-one serious, one hundred seventy-three minor. No deaths yet.
Guard Operator
We were able to complete the evacuation ahead of schedule, thanks to the safe zone created by Logos and Mechanist, and the help that you and Pith provided.
Warfarin
...One dead. A patient.
Warfarin
I'll report in detail to the Doctor and Kalβ
She stops in mid-sentence.
Touch
......
Alanna
......
They have all been avoiding that name.
The one who had always tended to the wounded after each operation.
Kal'tsit.
Touch
Help the others establish the isolation zone. We need to keep an eye on the ship to make sure no enemies get out.
Guard Operator
...Roger.
Touch
Warfarinβ
Warfarin
I'm already doing my best to stay focused, Touch.
Warfarin
Now is not the time.
Warfarin
What's the situation with Dr. {@nickname} and Amiya?
Touch
We all need some time to process what happened.
Ascalon
We're at the isolation zone outside the ship. It's safe enough for now.
Tracking you down wasn't easy, Closure. What's going on with the thing that I asked?
Closure
We got Nuova Volsinii's response. The new batch of medical equipment will be shipped in through their port.
Closure
The Engineering Department is expecting to complete the construction of the medical lab that you requested in three days.
Warfarin
Good. The medical center should be ready to accept patients, in that case.
Warfarin
Kal'tsit bought this plate a long time ago. It's much bigger than the old Rhodes Island, and it feels much more like an 'island'.
Warfarin
But it's going to take some time for things to go back to the way they were before.
Closure
Don't worry. I've made things modular from the get-go this time, which should make future upgrades much easier.
Closure
One more thingβ
Closure
About her office...
Warfarin
Just rebuild it the way it was. Medical will maintain it.
Warfarin
You know, this really is going to take some getting used to.
Closure
I'll help the Doctor and Amiya with the administrative stuff as much as I can while she's gone.
Closure
I don't want to disappoint her.
Warfarin
I'll help with things in Medical.
Warfarin
Did the Doctor and Amiya talk to you about recovering the other modules?
Closure
Of course. They're very energetic about it. Everything is progressing smoothly.
Closure
But it will take time to fully rebuild Rhodes Island.
Closure
Retrieving the original equipment, building supply channels, restoring communications with local branches, external PR, debriefing returning operatorsβ
Closure
The list of things that need to be done just goes on and on.
Closure
Which reminds me... about that patient, Chloe...
Warfarin
I've sent someone to the Londinium office to locate her family.
Warfarin
The paper that Chloe and I were co-authoring is almost complete. It will be submitted to all the major medical journals on Terra.
Warfarin
Her sacrifice has helped achieve a true breakthrough in the research of Originium's mutative properties, and the resulting new symptoms of Oripathy.
Warfarin
I must bring this to the attention of more professionals, and make sure that her memory lives on in the minds of more people...
Closure
Yes, we couldn't have done it without her.
Closure rubs her eyes.
Warfarin
Overwork is bad for you.
Closure
Yeah, the Doctor told me not to push myself too far. But...
Warfarin
Trying to paralyze yourself with work may do the job for a while, but you'll eventually end up harming yourself.
Warfarin
Doctor's advice.
Closure
...All of Rhodes Island is my responsibility now.
Closure
Besides, Kal'tsit had even more on her plate.
Warfarin
Then come to Medical one of these days. I'll get you checked up.
Warfarin
Your blood doesn't even smell of machine oil these days. HR is telling me to keep a close eye on you.
Closure
Okay... Thanks...
Warfarin
Are the Doctor and Amiya still observing 'Mon3tr' in that forest of yours?
Closure
Yes.
Warfarin
I still think it should be done on the ship. I can provide supportβ
Closure
This new Rhodes Island can't afford risks.
Warfarin
You think that Priestess may have tampered with what Kal'tsit left behind?
<p=1>Uninhabited area near the ship</>Uninhabited area near the ship
Amiya
The rain seems to be getting heavier.
You prop up your coat, shielding Amiya from the sudden shower.
The edge of Amiya's skirt is already all wet, but she does not seem concerned.
She is fully focused on the grass field a short distance away.
Wrapped in Kal'tsit's clothing, the black crystal emanates a dark, flowing green light.
It is rather inconspicuous in the dark and wet surroundings.
Amiya
The light is appearing more and more frequently in recent days.
It's almost time.
There are no apparent changes in the surrounding Originium.
Maybe Mon3tr has not been affected by Priestess.
You wait and watch, fighting to suppress your hope for a miracle.
For the past month, Amiya has accompanied you on your regular trips to monitor the status of the crystal.
You all needed some time to process what happened.
And you cannot help but hope that the next time you come...
That she will be waiting here for you.
......
Amiya
Doctor! Look!
Complex veins meander across the hard surface of the dark-green crystal. It sinks into the ground, then a highly regular shard begins growing, spreading into numerous branchesβ
The branches continue to grow until they come to a halt at some point, as though someone had cut off its end with scissors.
A tree?
In this lush forest, the green crystal on the grass seems to become one with the land, as though it was always there.
Amiya
That's not quite what Theresa witnessed...
The crystal does not stop growing. The branches increase in number, expanding like the verdant crown of a tree, and the veins grow ever more complex and varied.
Amiya
Can you tell what those veins represent?
They're all interconnected in a fluid cycle.
It's like a particular way of storing data.
Amiya
Storing data?
Kal'tsit's fate.Kal'tsit's memory.
Kal'tsit's life.
The myriad branches once again merge together, forming a massive cocoon.
All possibilities collapse into one reality.
The symbiont that had been by Kal'tsit's side ever since she awoke will continue to carry her hope, even after she is gone.
It is both a burden and a gift.
Besides, she never had a choice. This was a power that she was born withβ
