Cog in the Wheel

Who are you? What's your business here?

This is a dangerous place. You need a security pass—

Let me check my application... Oh, Director Qin's got it approved already! Thank Talos for that!

Greetings. I'm Lykor and I'm in charge of cleaning this place up. And this is Laeya, our facility engineer.

The Ankhorfall damaged plenty of our facilities. The areas near the Ankhor got the worst of it.

But we have yet to move an Originium refining unit in the place. People heard explosions from the area today. It was probably caused by an incomplete Originium reaction.

If we can't take care of this facility, subsequent cleanup will be extremely difficult. Can we ask you for help?

Alright, then! Let's go! There's still time to shut the thing down. Any delay will only increase the risk of a refining unit meltdown. We gotta act quickly to save lives, people.

Mr. Lykor, I...

What is it, Laeya?

Nothing. Let's go.

We've already moved the usable facilities elsewhere. Those left here are damaged. Some are no longer powered, but...

They're still breathing. They just passed out. I'm calling a medical team!

The operation manual is here. They probably tried shutting down the Refining Unit, but it exploded and the shockwave knocked them out.

This is the Originium refining unit.

Laeya's our best facility engineer. You should head in together. I'll stay here—

Me...? Mr. Lykor, maybe I should stay and wait for the medical team.

I ... I don't think I can go any further. I'm scared.

The Ankhorfall has injured so many people here. I can't help but think that if someone dies, if I...

Sorry. I should've been more aware of your feelings.

The base has taken a serious hit. You need a breather and time to settle yourself.

I'll take you in. Laeya's got sharp ears. She can tell if something's broken by the sound it makes. But over the last couple of days, she might have heard some ... disturbing noises.

I have a detector and an operation manual, so we're still good. Let's do this as a team. It'll make the work quicker.

......

This is the refining unit. The manual tells me that I only need to do this...

Hmm. The terminal isn't working anymore. Synchronization controls aren't responding either!

The terminal is down and the manual failed us! We should get to a safe distance and request another facility engineer...

Why are you here?

I ... I'm an engineer. I can't ignore the dangers just because I'm scared. The medical team is almost here. Is there anything I can do?

The synchronizer between the two terminals isn't responding. That's your area of expertise! Get on with it! Quickly!

I'll take a look!

I found the problem! I'll take care of this broken terminal. I'll also need your help, masked expert. Can you switch off the power of the other terminal?

Such levels of damage ... I think I got a way.

Good job, Laeya! And thank you, my dear expert. But ... how should I address you?

Wha?! You're the... By Talos, I never realized that!

No wonder! You handled the incident with such decisiveness! You're really amazing.

The Endministrator actually does visit the frontlines...

I'm alright... I was just a little scared because ... because I saw ... that ... that thing.

Everyone was working, then the sirens started shrieking. The broadcast told us to evacuate, but nobody moved. We had to shut down the facilities, or things could get worse. And then ... the Ankhor fell from the skies.

I remember seeing the ground rippling, buckling, and breaking apart like a piece of paper... The shockwave sent me flying and knocked me out. Everything had changed when I opened my eyes again.

Someone tried to protect me and got badly hurt. I was so afraid those Aggeloi might jump out at anytime.

It's not your fault, Laeya. When I saw the Ankhor for the first time, I was also pretty shaken up by the destruction it caused.

Talos-II is a dangerous planet. We have to face Ankhors, Aggeloi, the Blight, and all sorts of threats that we barely understand.

By supporting each other, we shall prevail over the tribulations. And behold ... we now have the Endministrator's personal assistance.

You did well, Laeya. We couldn't have successfully shut down the refining unit without you.

Anyways, thank you, Endmin. The real you turns out to be really ... different from what I had in mind.

It was a pleasure working with you! Your assistance has granted me courage.

But as dangers grow, it becomes even more important that we remember our duty. No matter how small a job may be, we must do everything we can to get it done.

This isn't the time to get emotional. There are still a lot of places that need to be rebuilt.

Then let's keep going. I think I can start assigning jobs directly to you.

Yeah!

...Just doing my job.