Alanna

[Code Name] Alanna

[Gender] Female

[Combat Experience] None

[Place of Birth] Rim Billiton

[Date of Birth] Apr 17

[Race] Savra

[Height] 163cm

[Infection Status]

Medical tests have confirmed that no infection is present.

[Physical Strength] Standard

[Mobility] Normal

[Physical Resilience] Standard

[Tactical Acumen] Normal

[Combat Skill] Standard

[Originium Arts Assimilation] Normal

Alanna, former truck driver from Rim Billiton's Big Pillar. Proficient in operating and maintaining machinery, and currently works in Rhodes Island Repair Workshop No. 3 as she participates in R&D for all kinds of new equipment under Closure's supervision.

Imaging tests reveal clear, normal outlines of internal organs, and no abnormal shadows have been detected. Originium granules have not been detected in the circulatory system and there is no sign of infection. At this time, this operator is believed to be uninfected.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 0%

Operator Alanna shows no signs of Originium infection.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.13u/L

Operator Alanna demonstrates sufficient awareness of and experience in protecting herself from Originium. According to her, she has worked in high-risk industries like mining, which has made her a master of many folk remedies for Oripathy prevention and treatment. Alanna claims these methods work, but their actual clinical effectiveness remains unverified.

I doubt she worked those dangerous jobs for more than a few days before packing her bags. She seems like the sort to value her life above all.

—Warfarin

Alanna's first job was helping her father scrub the burnt bottoms of baking trays, and her second was collecting compensation for a mining disaster on behalf of her parents and the other workers.

She did not shy away from talking about these distant memories, and even actively threw in details HR did not require. For example, that when the accident happened, she saw the carrot juice in her cup shaking while the pots and pans on the stove danced, and that she collected the compensation money on an afternoon where a sudden wind blew in a sunshower, ruining her formal suit and rendering it unwearable due to shrinkage.

For whatever reason, she suddenly paused when mentioning the clothes she threw away. She made herself a cup of hot tea before continuing on a new topic.

Following that incident, she had few choices left for survival. Once, after being kicked out of a mine by the manager for lying about her age, a passing truck driver gave her half a sandwich. During his brief break, the driver boasted about his lucrative income and even showed her a family photo from his wallet. This left Alanna determined to buy a truck.

Carrying luggage, waitering, repairing water pipes, drilling wells, attending parent-teacher meetings for children doing poorly in school... Alanna was not at all choosy about the work she did, for she knew that she was unqualified for the right to choose. She worked day and night without rest, like a glass factory furnace. Every time she got paid she would put the money in a tin biscuit box, and slept with her head on it at night, as if she could hear a truck galloping through the wilds. When the box was so full it could no longer be shut, she let out a relieved sigh, slept an entire day, and then rushed straight to a transportation company office, yelling: 'I WANNA BUY A TRUCK!'

But not everything can be bought with just hard work. Alanna paid a hefty sum for the truck's deposit and driving lessons, signing a three-month training contract with the company. As she was about to walk out the main door, she happened to turn around and saw a familiar looking driver taking a stack of cash from the banknotes she had just handed to the company.

Alanna finished her tea, and as if remembering something funny, raised her eyebrows and showed off a scar on her arm to the HR Operator. On the day she received her keys, a group of burly truck drivers were blocking the door, smoking and cracking jokes, completely oblivious that they were in her way. They even bet a few beer bottles on whether that little girl would even dare to get into the driver seat, and if she would be scared silly by barrens sandstorms.

Alanna, who had gotten to know all sorts of people in her many jobs, soon figured out the root of the problem. Thus, she made a bet with their leader on who would cry first. Alanna won when she punched the leader's nose hard, his broken sunglasses scratching her arm and leaving a scar.

It was the first time she had made a bet. She won, but did not like the feeling.

Alanna first came to Rhodes Island as Warmy's guardian, with no plans to stay long-term.

She would occasionally wander outside the Medical Department, and once accidentally found herself in Engineering's break room, where a group wielding tools were arguing incessantly over some drawings. No one minded her, so she began to stop by regularly, listening in on their shouting matches from the door. Most of the time, she failed to understand what they were even arguing about. However, one day she realized she could almost understand the jargon they used, as if they were simply fancier names for the truck components she was familiar with. So Alanna felt compelled to offer her own opinion—and started arguing with everyone else in the room. The next day, she brought in her 'thesis' to continue yesterday's debate. But this time, whenever she felt mentally stuck, someone would show up behind her and contemplate the problem together until her thoughts were sorted out. Through simultaneous learning and debating, Alanna became a regular visitor.

After that, she once walked into the room and saw a girl she didn't recognize scratching her head at a screen. She coolly walked up to the girl and began instructing her on what to do. The girl's face quickly turned from surprise to confusion. Alanna thought she failed to explain it properly, so she repeated her words patiently. To her surprise, the girl angrily stuffed the computer into Alanna's hands, saying: 'You fix it then!' Left with no choice but to slowly tinker with the computer, Alanna slowly jabbed at the keyboard with alternating fingers to enter all the commands. Before the girl left, she asked Alanna how to spell her name.

The next day, someone from HR came over saying Closure wanted to put someone called 'Alanna' on her new robot dev team, but they had to triple-check the personnel list before realizing it wasn't an operator at all! My first reaction? Of course I wanted to know who the heck Closure was! Turned out to be that girl! Didn't think she was the head of Engineering. What happened next? I signed a contract to join Rhodes Island, pretty much. I'm pretty fond of the guys in Engineering. Of course, it's also because Closure said that from now on only Engineering operators are allowed to argue in the break room.

—Alanna

She fixed it wrong—super wrong—but I saw the energy she had. She wasn't bold OR careful, but she didn't give up... I mean, what's wrong with unconventional methods? Plenty of people here in Engineering weren't hired the usual way, y'know.

—Closure

[Shoddy handwriting on calendar message board]

Monday: Gyroscope's broken and under repairs, so don't tell it to breakdance! Also, we're collecting a codename for it this week!!

Tuesday: Closure, are you illiterate? I told you not to tell it breakdance! All the wheels came off!

Wednesday: Why all the fuss? I just made it do a robot dance. I put the wheels back on, and BTW, Alanna: I'm right next to you, so just turn and talk to me if you need to.

Thursday: It's over if we don't figure out a codename soon!

Friday: Lanns, I left you a midnight snack in the fridge, don't forget to eat it.

Saturday: Potlid's stew is sooo good... why not call it Nutty, btw? Thoughts, Closure?

Sunday: No comment.

[Audio log]

'What did Potlid think about it?'

'Um, not a fan.'

'I saw its full name on the report. Neural Unit Terminal Driven Maintenance and Combat Assistant... Well, it's a robot car you can use on the battlefield. Listen, just call it Nutty. Short and intuitive!'

'Uh, then I better figure out how to break the news to Potlid—look at all the chili powder she sprinkled in my lunchbox! To think she'd protest against the name like this!'

Potlid agreed to the name in the end. Actually, I didn't even try to convince her, she even saw the machine long ago. I only asked if she didn't like the name 'Nutty' itself, or if she didn't like me using that name on that machine. Potlid racked her brains for a long time, but still couldn't say. So I switched it up and asked, do you like it when everyone calls you 'Potlid'? And she said: 'Only you can call me that, Lanns.'

Now I understood. 'Potlid' holds a unique meaning to us. Though, I want to tell her it's not just a name that ties us together.

Fate's a grumpy old man. It tore us apart from our own families, and then used a huge spanner to fasten us together like screws on a board. No matter how much the truck jumped on the rocky beach, we stayed close to each other the whole way. Why did fate do that? I dunno, maybe it thought we were so alike, or maybe it thought it was better for us both this way.

I've never told that to Potlid though. I'll wait. Maybe one night when she can't fall asleep, I'll make up a story for her.

As for how that day ended, I handed a small wrench to Potlid and invited her to join me in maintenance work on her Arts staff. She followed me and twisted the screws left and right... I smiled, and she followed suit, her face slowly returning to that perfect 100 degrees smile.

—Excerpt from Operator Alanna's monthly HR interview log

When I had just returned to Rhodes Island, I often got lost and missed many meetings. I know its a new nomadic plate, but there just isn't enough decent signage around here. That day I wrote a whole complaint letter to Closure, but lost my way as soon as I left the stairwell!

I almost had a panic attack until I saw a chubby robot headed my way. Silly looking thing. I tried to communicate my search for Closure, and it actually understood me! It showed me the way, and even pointed out the new signage on the walls as we went. I was so emotional the whole time—that disaster didn't break the resolve of the operators on-board, but granted them the courage to re-innovate and rebuild.

And so, by the time I finally found Closure, I tore up the letter and heaped praise on the operator who designed the robot. But for some reason, the more Closure heard, the madder she got...

—Excerpt from 'Letter of Thanks to All Engineering Operators'

According to an enthusiastic operator's report, it was discovered that Alanna, an intern from Workshop No. 3, had been using the 'Nutty' with a navigation module installed to do her volunteer work of 'showing Operators around' and pasting signage while she would hide in the lab to sleep, later exchanging her volunteer credits for a large amount of experiment materials.

Her actions have violated the spirit of the volunteer system, but Operator Alanna has realized her mistake and willingly accepted the following:

1. Operator Alanna will voluntarily deduct the respective amount of time from her clocked internship hours and postpone her evaluation for promotion;

2. Due to the outstanding reviews by various Operators of the 'Nutty' showing them around, Operator Alanna will be allowed to keep all previously exchanged experiment materials, but must use them solely on subsequent iterations of the 'Nutty' and voluntarily accept Closure's supervision.

This document is only for archival purposes and cannot be circulated. Please sign below to confirm your acknowledgment and consent on the matter.

—'■■■■ Informed Consent Form'

[Audio Log]

'Agh, got it. I stayed up a few days straight to help you draft the design, and I also had to help Potlid modify her staff. So I just wanted to catch up on my Zs.'

'I can't be bothered to reason with you...'

'Hehe, but you gotta admit my Nutty's got a pretty deceptive look, yeah? Just think about it: even our most veteran field Operators failed to detect it. How're enemies on the battlefield ever gonna guess there's miniature bombs and flamethrowers hidden inside?!'

'Wait, didn't you say it was an air pump and heat gun for repairing tires?'

'Think about it. Those aren't mutually exclusive.'

'No way! Take them out! NOW!'

[Classified Log]

Sender: Rim Billiton Big Pillar Gotta Go Fast Transport Co. HR Dept

Recipient: Rhodes Island Rim Billiton branch c/o Alanna Engineering Department

Alanna, are you planning to return to work? Your contract is still valid, so even if you want to quit, you have to sign off and forfeit your deposit in person.

Additionally, there are some issues with the truck you returned. We found a huge hole in the right side chassis, as if it were hit by a bomb, but the outer metal layer is intact and undamaged—might you have any idea how this happened?

Best Regards!

Gotta Go Fast Transport Co.—Wheels are always faster than legs!

Sender: Rim Billiton Big Pillar Gotta Go Fast Transport Co. HR Dept

Recipient: Rhodes Island Rim Billiton branch c/o Alanna Engineering Department

Alanna, what do you mean by 'Got caught. Screw it, I quit'?

Also, 'Use the deposit to buy the boys a round of beer'—who are 'the boys' referring to? Does this include Peter from HR too, the one who always has two pairs of glasses on. You've met me, when I helped you request a LOA.

One last thing: the company has discussed the issue you raised in your last reply, and this is what they settled on: You can buy the vehicle if you wish, but you must pay the towing fee as well. After all, the wheels on it were removed long ago, and now it's in line to be scrapped for parts.

Best Regards!

Gotta Go Fast Transport Co.—Wheels are always faster than legs!

Sender: Rim Billiton Big Pillar Gotta Go Fast Transport Co. HR Dept

Recipient: Rhodes Island Rim Billiton branch c/o Alanna Engineering Department

Good news, Alanna! You can save on the towing fees! When the boys saw your proposed bet in your last reply—that no one would manage to drive that broken old thing for over three miles, they instantly installed tires on the truck, and were all ready to drive it over! I wanted to join them, but my boss didn't let me take the day off.

You previously wrote that you're allowed to take any day off you want, you get overtime pay, and your salary isn't deducted for using sick days. Is that true?

Also, does Rhodes Island have a strict work experience requirement?

Lastly, thanks for the beer!

Peter, Gotta Go Fast Transport Co. HR Dept

[Courier Delivery Receipt]

Recipient: Alanna

Shipment information: Half a cart of homemade carrot soda, half a cart of 'Big Bottletree' Beer, and the vehicle itself.

PS: Charlie the Sproglet here! Take us up quick! I finally won a bet with you!