Night settled over Ashington as the last scattered city lights faded, leaving Grefort almost completely dark.
Within a dimly illuminated room on the urban fringe, a group of people gathered around a rectangular table.
The lamps burned brightly over the table, but nobody around it looked particularly comfortable.
"Commander, the situation is dire," Marco broke the silence. "Electricity has been disconnected. The faucets no longer pump water!"
"He's right," Elena jumped in, lightly slamming the wooden table. "If the stove is off, I cannot cook good meals for everyone! How can I also wash my stuff if water is not available?"
"The lines must have been cut off," Walter, the middle-aged technician who led the maintenance team from before, added. "If we can repair the lines, then—"
