Silence ensued in place of Ruth's breathing, her eyes slightly widened at the figure before her.
Rene's shock was evident, too. His iris caught glints of the red light, reflecting the outline of the figure before him.
"You... are not my Overseer...?" The awakened woman spoke.
Her voice, oddly nuanced, sounded as though she were a human roused from a nap.
Of course, she wasn't human.
"You are not my Captain either...!" Her gaze turned to the 'man' beside her.
Even amidst the dark, both saw the shock in each other's eyes.
"Do you recognise us?" Rene questioned, leaning in closer.
"An Overseer... and the Captain of a Neighbouring Unit... Rene."
Her voice began to clear, adopting a somewhat human but also monotonous quality.
An assessing look appeared on Rene's face as he calmly scrutinised the other woman's features. He let his gaze flicker to Ruth for a moment, then posed another question.
"Do you still remember your... objective, Rose?"
"Of course, though, considering our situation—with 'A New Tomorrow's fall'—and the lack of instructions from my Overseer, I'm not sure what my objective is right now..."
"That's what we're figuring out now."
Rene consoled the awakened woman, Rose. He sighed, his head rising, his back straightening, as he looked over at the silent woman on the stairs.
Ruth's silence was not unnerving. Rene knew what was going on in that head of hers, so he decided to ask the questions in her stead.
It was now that Ruth finally decided to pitch in.
"I will assume temporary guidance over you. Do you have any problems with that, Cleaner Rose?"
"Of course not, Overseer."
"Good. What is your charge at?"
Rose paused for a moment, absentmindedly looking down, as if gauging something.
"Forty-two."
"Do you have any problems with internal functions?"
"I don't feel anything wrong. No rust, no difficulty moving... nothing."
"What about your programs. Are they fine?" Ruth's tone dropped by a degree, poking a little more sternly.
"All remain online. No foreign presences are detected."
"..."
Ruth fell into silence once more.
The red light of her Comm. Device cast a warm, faint glow over the Cleaner before her. Both cleaners, as Rene shifted into view.
"If she claims to be fine, then that means... she can 'help us', right?" Rene inquired softly.
Thinking for a moment, Ruth nodded.
"My original intention remains, but we'll worry about that later. I have one last question for you: how did you end up in the town square's fountain?"
"I received an order... but I don't remember why," Rose muttered.
A contemplative look fell on Ruth's face, silent for a moment, then eventually sighing and standing up.
"So be it. For now, both of you come upstairs; we'll continue searching for signals."
Watching Ruth ascend the stairs, Rene hurriedly stood up, then offered a hand to Rose, a relieved expression on his face.
"Welcome to the team, I guess."
"Mmhm."
...
The faint pita-pat sound resounded from outside.
Ruth sat back at the top of the stairs, Comm. Device flickering as it made a 'beep' sound.
"One signal."
Rene guarded the back door, while Rose stood by the door leading to the store's front. They stood silently as instructed, gaze landing upon the flickering red light of Ruth's Comm. Device.
Ruth pressed a button, stilling her breath as she waited...
"..."
"..."
"Di-Dit-Dat-Dit...—"
Ruth's eyes widened a fraction. She listened to the somewhat distorted series of short and long beeps. But Ruth made out the sounds, patiently waiting for the concluding,
"—Dit-Dat-Dit-Dat-Dit-Dat."
And so, she responded with her own short series of beeps, mirroring the series of 'dits' and dats', forming a word in Morse code that translated into 'friend'.
"Identify yourself." Ruth took the initiative to question.
The Comm. Device garbled, but it didn't reply with words, but more beeps.
"Di-Di-Dit...—"
Ruth furrowed her brows as she awaited the eventual conclusion, figuring out the message it relayed, muttering,
"Shield?"
But there was no response.
The Comm. Device abruptly fell silent as the connection to the other signal was cut, returning the backroom to its quiet, pita-pat-filled atmosphere.
"What does shield mean?" Rene questioned from the side.
Turning the Comm. Device off, Ruth went silent as she thought for a moment, brows tightening ever so slightly.
"It's likely referring to the Aegis Defence System; one of the Aegis outposts is held within the Militia District of Anapaou."
"So... did the signal originate from there? Is that what it was trying to tell us?"
"Not likely... Considering the message was conveyed through Morse Code, the signal would've come from a Carpediem member; someone from our fleet.
"But how could they be inside of Anapaou's Aegis outpost? We are far from the Militia District; a signal originating from there would not reach us."
"Then a rendezvous point? But that would be walking into enemy territory..."
Rene contemplated as he rubbed his chin.
"If we were able to connect to this signal, that means the sender is nearby, right?" Rose posed a question.
She pointed at Ruth's Comm. Device to elaborate.
"That person sending the message should be nearby, no? Shouldn't we try to find them?"
"That 'person' would already be gone."
"What do you mean?" Rose raised her brow, watching as Ruth directed the Comm. Device's screen in her direction.
"I lost connection due to the signal leaving the device's range. The person sending the message had undoubtedly fled the area, thus forcibly cutting the connection."
"So the one on the other end is gone..."
While Rose fell into quiet thought, Rene picked up on Ruth's subtle insinuation.
"So it wasn't a 'person', but a Cleaner?"
"Yes, but 'who' doesn't matter right now."
Ruth pinched the bridge of her nose. "The reason why Aegis was mentioned is the problem.
"The Aegis Defence System's program was attacked and shut down remotely; it isn't operative. At least, it isn't supposed to be."
Standing up, Ruth checked on her wound, then addressed Rose.
"Clear the cabinets; we'll be heading out."
"Are we actually going to check out the outpost?" Rene shifted, abandoning the back door to stand by Ruth's side.
The wooden cabinets groaned as they slid across the floor; Rose removed the 'barricades', revealing the door that led to the rest of the store.
"If Aegis comes back online, we won't be able to receive reinforcements. Keeping it offline is our current objective. In fact, seizing control of the outpost would benefit us."
Ruth paused as she signalled to Rose, the latter nodding, turning to exit the door first. scouting ahead.
Turning back to Rene, Ruth quietly warned,
"Of course, be on guard at all times. Considering our abrupt change in circumstances, I can't say for certain that all is as it seems."
"..."