The strange techno-centric figure alongside her only listened and nodded, occasionally sipping from his drink in between Amy's descriptions. A light breeze ruffled the umbrella, and overhead the sounds of various sea birds accompanied the soft roll of waves; it was, on the whole, very pleasant, if not for the strange conversation. By the time Amy finished her report, CrypticMan had finished slurping noisily at the end of his coconut drink and started on the one he had offered to her. When it was clear she was done, the hood looked in her direction, and she got the impression of a broad grin and a flash of multi-hued colour from his eyes.
“Well, you've certainly seen much...” Several of his arms stretched and flexed, before he stood up in the same uncomfortable way she'd seen him move before; his feet moved first, stretching out from the beach chair to plant themselves in the sand, before the rest of his body caught up with the motion in an eerie, physics-defying stretch and slide that left him upright and looking out across the waves. “Much indeed... And you shut that charmer right down, too. About time someone put their foot down and didn't just melt into giving him what he wants. You almost did though – careful around that one, dear Amity...” Still with his back to her, CrypticMan shrugged, and several of his arms rose up to the sides in a palm-up gesture. “But you told him no, and didn't give him what he wanted, today, so I'm in a good mood!” His head twisted, looking at Amy side-on, before it shifted again, zipping across the intervening space to hover directly in front of him. His body flowed after it a few moments later while he peered at her, and held up a small faintly shimmering crystalline disc.
“I think you've earned your reward for this outing Ami-Ami-Amity... One support core, clean and primed, ready to be configured as you choose, and no funny business...” As the many-fingered tendril floated it across to her, CrypticMan's grin was back and broader than ever.
“But... If you're interested in a little bonus... Say, a cache of fragments to help get your new support off to a strong start... Maybe you could try and answer another question. It won't take long, just take what you know, and extrapolate...” He drew back, his form sliding away from her until it settled into a neutral stance a few feet away. Two of his arms were folded, two more were pressed together in an excited palm-press, while two more had produced a small blue diamond crystal that hovered between them spinning slowly.
“For a bonus... What, Amity, do you think, happened here; what is happening now; what is amiss? What, Amity, is going on at PARSE? What is your theory, and,” here he paused and one of his eyes seemed to wink for a moment beneath the hood. “What more would you need to know, to be certain?” There was a pause for dramatic effect, before the figure laughed and relaxed again – as much as that was easy to read on him. “If you'd rather not play, there's no harm in that – just a little post-mission game, if you want to try your luck. If not, then it's been a pleasure, dear Amity, a pleasure to meet one as surprising as you indeed. Hoodwink will be so sour to have this fish slip his net... today was worth that alone, and you can know that for truth.” As he waited to see if she'd make a guess, several of his hands began to lightly toss the extra reward cache back and forth between them.
Pelagius Aquatic Research and Study Eco-centre
last edited by Sj
Commendation; not something that Amy was used to hearing. At least, not when she was the topic of conversation. Try as she might, the navi could not stop the corners of her mouth from curling upward, especially as the reward of an SP core was dangled in front of her, the prime directive of their adventure within her grasp.
CrypticMan was right; the fact that she'd almost been coerced by Hoodwink into doing something she wouldn't ordinarily do was something she'd have to address later on. Amy's training was still somewhat limited, but it seemed that her ability to properly interact with others was also in need of attention. That was another problem for another day.
Or maybe not. It was CrypticMan's next round of questions that drew her mind back to the underwater facility. A pertinent question indeed; what exactly *was* going on down there...?
[YOU DID IT.]
Eric's message inserted itself into her thought processes. His line of thinking reflected her own celebratory mood, but a new challenge had been posed to her. A new energy charged through her mind in response to the next query; celebrations (and rest) would have to wait just a little while longer.
[HOLD UP. LET'S NOT RUN AWAY JUST YET.]
[WHY? WE GOT WHAT WE CAME FOR, DIDN'T WE?]
Amy was about to reply, but rather than keep CrypticMan waiting for a response, she ignored Eric's question. Yes, we got what we came for, but... But the question posed to her had piqued her curiousity. The potential reward for a little guessing work was not on her mind as much as finding out what was going on in the facility she'd just toured. It sounded like CrypticMan knew more than he was letting on, and the idea that he may be willing to share said knowledge in reciprocation was too enticing to just walk away and call it a day.
But to answer the question properly, Amy first had to meditate again on everything she'd just said. As she'd already stated, her opinion of PARSE had changed frequently as more and more pieces of the puzzle had been shown to her. Having said that, there were still some large gaps that needed filling, and without those, it was hard to concretely decide what she thought may have been the true nature of the facility.
"Honestly...? To me, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding that place." Her chin came to rest on her right fist as the meditations continued aloud. "What was the back lab for if Aunty couldn't get in there herself? Was someone else assisting her with the research? Reti made mention of two other people, but I never got to meet either of them."
"On that note, I didn't get to meet the navi upstairs either. What was it doing up there? And why did Aunty's coral go all the way up to the edge of its room? Was it for protection? Was it the one in charge of the facility?" Amy's eyes suddenly grew in alarm, a small gasp as she deduced a new possibility. "It... it wasn't a prisoner... was it...?" *That* conclusion would certainly fit the bill of why the upstairs room was off limits as well. It wasn't to do with privacy, it was to do with security. "But then, if that was the case, Hoodwink wouldn't have cared about a marble in the room..." but her voice trailed off. She knew nothing of the navi, and based on the impression given to her by both the book and now CrypticMan, maybe such manipulative behaviour was a little too out of step with his character. Besides, if the navi really was a prisoner, she'd already surmised the possibility of Hoodwink sneaking in and out through his own powers. And then there was the similarity between the navi upstairs and the picture downstairs.
"The history room," she blurted, turning to CrypticMan. "It made a passing mention about the original building being replaced, but nothing as to when, why or how. If that was done maliciously, it might add further meaning to what's happening now. I don't even know who controls the complex..."
[MAY I SAY SOMETHING?]
The message sent a chill down her back. She'd purposefully left him muted for the duration of their conversation, as she'd done for a large portion of their tour. Amy's instinct was to ignore him again, but perhaps some part of her recognised that she didn't have the right to silence him when the question wasn't aimed solely at her, but the pair of them, operator and navi combined.
[YOU'RE UNMUTED. STAY ON TOPIC.]
She could hear Eric clear his throat before speaking. "Uhh... hello. I didn't introduce myself properly before. My name is Eric, and I'm Amy's operator." Amy's eyes bulged and her teeth clenched as she heard the word leave his mouth, but it was too late to stop him now.
Eric didn't realise his mistake and continued. "I think... that the facility is being used for research, just like the name suggests, but I also think they're hiding from someone. Nobody seemed hostile, but it did seem strange to me that we were able to navigate so freely once we entered. Therefore, the security that we saw seemed more like protection for them than it did for the facility itself."
Amy felt perplexed by his assessment. She'd been so focused on the people and their behaviours that this version of events might actually be true as well. On the other hand, there were enough things wrong with this conclusion that Amy brushed it off as unlikely and focused her attention towards her hooded associate.
"Well, I guess... that's a possibility too," she admitted, the tone of her voice giving away her true feelings. "You asked us 'What would we need to know to be certain'? I think that for both of our assessments, having a chance to talk to the navi upstairs without interference from any of the other staff would probably give us the answers we needed. One way or another."
CrypticMan was right; the fact that she'd almost been coerced by Hoodwink into doing something she wouldn't ordinarily do was something she'd have to address later on. Amy's training was still somewhat limited, but it seemed that her ability to properly interact with others was also in need of attention. That was another problem for another day.
Or maybe not. It was CrypticMan's next round of questions that drew her mind back to the underwater facility. A pertinent question indeed; what exactly *was* going on down there...?
[YOU DID IT.]
Eric's message inserted itself into her thought processes. His line of thinking reflected her own celebratory mood, but a new challenge had been posed to her. A new energy charged through her mind in response to the next query; celebrations (and rest) would have to wait just a little while longer.
[HOLD UP. LET'S NOT RUN AWAY JUST YET.]
[WHY? WE GOT WHAT WE CAME FOR, DIDN'T WE?]
Amy was about to reply, but rather than keep CrypticMan waiting for a response, she ignored Eric's question. Yes, we got what we came for, but... But the question posed to her had piqued her curiousity. The potential reward for a little guessing work was not on her mind as much as finding out what was going on in the facility she'd just toured. It sounded like CrypticMan knew more than he was letting on, and the idea that he may be willing to share said knowledge in reciprocation was too enticing to just walk away and call it a day.
But to answer the question properly, Amy first had to meditate again on everything she'd just said. As she'd already stated, her opinion of PARSE had changed frequently as more and more pieces of the puzzle had been shown to her. Having said that, there were still some large gaps that needed filling, and without those, it was hard to concretely decide what she thought may have been the true nature of the facility.
"Honestly...? To me, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding that place." Her chin came to rest on her right fist as the meditations continued aloud. "What was the back lab for if Aunty couldn't get in there herself? Was someone else assisting her with the research? Reti made mention of two other people, but I never got to meet either of them."
"On that note, I didn't get to meet the navi upstairs either. What was it doing up there? And why did Aunty's coral go all the way up to the edge of its room? Was it for protection? Was it the one in charge of the facility?" Amy's eyes suddenly grew in alarm, a small gasp as she deduced a new possibility. "It... it wasn't a prisoner... was it...?" *That* conclusion would certainly fit the bill of why the upstairs room was off limits as well. It wasn't to do with privacy, it was to do with security. "But then, if that was the case, Hoodwink wouldn't have cared about a marble in the room..." but her voice trailed off. She knew nothing of the navi, and based on the impression given to her by both the book and now CrypticMan, maybe such manipulative behaviour was a little too out of step with his character. Besides, if the navi really was a prisoner, she'd already surmised the possibility of Hoodwink sneaking in and out through his own powers. And then there was the similarity between the navi upstairs and the picture downstairs.
"The history room," she blurted, turning to CrypticMan. "It made a passing mention about the original building being replaced, but nothing as to when, why or how. If that was done maliciously, it might add further meaning to what's happening now. I don't even know who controls the complex..."
[MAY I SAY SOMETHING?]
The message sent a chill down her back. She'd purposefully left him muted for the duration of their conversation, as she'd done for a large portion of their tour. Amy's instinct was to ignore him again, but perhaps some part of her recognised that she didn't have the right to silence him when the question wasn't aimed solely at her, but the pair of them, operator and navi combined.
[YOU'RE UNMUTED. STAY ON TOPIC.]
She could hear Eric clear his throat before speaking. "Uhh... hello. I didn't introduce myself properly before. My name is Eric, and I'm Amy's operator." Amy's eyes bulged and her teeth clenched as she heard the word leave his mouth, but it was too late to stop him now.
Eric didn't realise his mistake and continued. "I think... that the facility is being used for research, just like the name suggests, but I also think they're hiding from someone. Nobody seemed hostile, but it did seem strange to me that we were able to navigate so freely once we entered. Therefore, the security that we saw seemed more like protection for them than it did for the facility itself."
Amy felt perplexed by his assessment. She'd been so focused on the people and their behaviours that this version of events might actually be true as well. On the other hand, there were enough things wrong with this conclusion that Amy brushed it off as unlikely and focused her attention towards her hooded associate.
"Well, I guess... that's a possibility too," she admitted, the tone of her voice giving away her true feelings. "You asked us 'What would we need to know to be certain'? I think that for both of our assessments, having a chance to talk to the navi upstairs without interference from any of the other staff would probably give us the answers we needed. One way or another."
last edited by
Amy's employer just listened, two of his arms folded while others toyed with the data crystal as he listened first to her thoughts, and then Eric's. If her operator's use of a shortened name caused him any surprise, the cryptic navi didn't give any sign of it. At the last he nodded, then flipped the small cache across to her as well.
“Interesting theories, interesting thoughts. You answered my question, which was all I asked you to do... but were you right, I wonder?” Again, that amused laughter, and a flash of multicoloured hues swirling about his eyes beneath the hood.
“I'll tell you this much; PARSE has a prisoner alright, but it's not the navi in the bed... or at least, it's not meant to be. Your little excursion has taught me much, and for that, I'm grateful... So I'll give you an extra reward as well; information. One of his spare hands lifted up counting off fingers one at a time.
“ScyliorhinusRetifer.Exe, TridacnaGigas.Exe, TorquigenerAlbomaculosus.Exe and Antipatharia.Exe... These are the four programs who reside at PARSE. Their names are enough to tell you more, if you seek knowledge yourself.” The four raised fingers on the lifted hand waggled at Amy, before his attention seemed to shift; his eyes flicked to the collection of beach furniture, before several hands zipped across to begin packing them up into small crystals. His body flowed over to settle into the space between his working hands a moment later, but he turned his head to regard Amy side on as he put things away.
“Talking to Albert might tell you much; he is supposed to run things, after all. Who do you suppose picks up the slack when he's asleep... and what did dear Reti say... he's been asleep for months now? Curious.” With all sign of his beach-side stake-out cleared away, CrypticMan turned back to Amy, or, at least, his head twisted about to face her properly, while the rest of his body took a few moments to catch up. He bowed his head and spread several hands out to one side in a courteous motion.
“Still... I've learned what I wished, and you have your prize. More knowledge is there, if you choose to seek it, Amity, and you, Eric... but that will be up to you. Enjoy the fragments – those are a particularly potent little batch of shards, just perfect to get your new friend started. Maybe we'll meet again.” He stood straight again, as much as thee peculiar navi ever truly did, but paused as he was about to leave. “And thank you, so much, for giving Hoodwink the brush off. That alone made my day. Until next time, Amity.” With the last impression of a grin, CrypticMan's form seemed to dissipate into a refracting shimmer of multi-hued light and a moment later he was gone, Leaving Amity alone on the beach with her rewards.
((Amity Gets: Support Program Base, + 150 BugFrags as a bonus.))
((Amity Gets: 7 CrypticMan FXP, 2 Hoodwink FXP, 1 Antipatharia FXP, 9 Reti FXP))
“Interesting theories, interesting thoughts. You answered my question, which was all I asked you to do... but were you right, I wonder?” Again, that amused laughter, and a flash of multicoloured hues swirling about his eyes beneath the hood.
“I'll tell you this much; PARSE has a prisoner alright, but it's not the navi in the bed... or at least, it's not meant to be. Your little excursion has taught me much, and for that, I'm grateful... So I'll give you an extra reward as well; information. One of his spare hands lifted up counting off fingers one at a time.
“ScyliorhinusRetifer.Exe, TridacnaGigas.Exe, TorquigenerAlbomaculosus.Exe and Antipatharia.Exe... These are the four programs who reside at PARSE. Their names are enough to tell you more, if you seek knowledge yourself.” The four raised fingers on the lifted hand waggled at Amy, before his attention seemed to shift; his eyes flicked to the collection of beach furniture, before several hands zipped across to begin packing them up into small crystals. His body flowed over to settle into the space between his working hands a moment later, but he turned his head to regard Amy side on as he put things away.
“Talking to Albert might tell you much; he is supposed to run things, after all. Who do you suppose picks up the slack when he's asleep... and what did dear Reti say... he's been asleep for months now? Curious.” With all sign of his beach-side stake-out cleared away, CrypticMan turned back to Amy, or, at least, his head twisted about to face her properly, while the rest of his body took a few moments to catch up. He bowed his head and spread several hands out to one side in a courteous motion.
“Still... I've learned what I wished, and you have your prize. More knowledge is there, if you choose to seek it, Amity, and you, Eric... but that will be up to you. Enjoy the fragments – those are a particularly potent little batch of shards, just perfect to get your new friend started. Maybe we'll meet again.” He stood straight again, as much as thee peculiar navi ever truly did, but paused as he was about to leave. “And thank you, so much, for giving Hoodwink the brush off. That alone made my day. Until next time, Amity.” With the last impression of a grin, CrypticMan's form seemed to dissipate into a refracting shimmer of multi-hued light and a moment later he was gone, Leaving Amity alone on the beach with her rewards.
((Amity Gets: Support Program Base, + 150 BugFrags as a bonus.))
((Amity Gets: 7 CrypticMan FXP, 2 Hoodwink FXP, 1 Antipatharia FXP, 9 Reti FXP))
last edited by Sj
Amy had to blink a few times to catch up with the events that had just unfolded. Or folded, up, technically, as now the only sign that CrypticMan had been on the beach were the holes in the sand where the chairs, table and umbrella had been posted into the ground.
CrypticMan had certainly been an unusual character, but he'd been a man(?) of his word and followed through on his side of the deal. Perhaps there was an opportunity for them to work together again at another time... although Amy was still convinced she'd made the right choice by refusing the swimsuit GMO.
Amy heard a sigh of relief from Eric's end as she inspected the rewards. All the day's efforts had been in regards to obtaining one of these discs, and now, it was sitting in her hands. The urge to triumphantly thrust it into the sky as a trophy crossed her mind, but the thought was quickly squashed as the value of said reward reminded her not to treat it as a toy. If someone or something decided to snatch it away from her, she'd have to do something equally as arduous, or possibly worse.
"So... are you ready to come back Amy?"
The mention of her name reminded her of the previous mistake, and with CrypticMan gone, she had an opportunity to address it.
"I thought we agreed that my name was Amity during this job." The critique wasn't uttered with maliciousness or bitterness; the words were mostly flat. Amy wasn't looking for another fight after everything that had happened, but she wanted a reason.
"I'm sorry... I forgot about that."
Amy's head drooped a little upon hearing the answer, but it didn't surprise her as she tried to hide the disappointment.
"Please remember. Next time might be different."
Her attention returned to the stash of rewards. The disc had been explained, but Amy couldn't work out how a packet of numerous purple shards were supposed to help them.
"Eric, what are these?"
Eric's monitor focused on the purple packet, but the image shown to him was not familiar. "I'll grab the NetPendium," he advised as his monitor image disappeared. Amy could hear sounds of movement, followed thereafter by a distinct crashing sound and a small outcry that was unmistakably Eric's voice.
A couple of minutes later Eric's voice filled her ears again. "I can't find anything in the NetPendium, but I'm probably looking in the wrong section. What does your scanner call them?"
"Nothing," she replied, ignoring whatever had just happened. "I get a checksum of garbage data, but nothing useable."
"We might have to ask Stacey about it then..." Eric concluded, closing the book. "Once we know what they're called, I'm sure it'll be in here..."
"Agreed." Amy's gaze drifted back to the ocean, in the general direction of where she believed PARSE to be.
"Should... should we go back...?" she wondered out loud.
Eric didn't respond. The concept of going back hadn't even been an afterthought, and now his mind was searching for a reason.
"Did... did you leave something behind...?"
Amy pulled up the monitor again so she could talk to Eric face-to-face. "Didn't you hear what CrypticMan said? Something very wrong might be going on down there. I was worried about myself, but you're right, maybe they're hiding from something. We both agreed that 'Albert' was the key, didn't we?"
Eric didn't feel comfortable about this. He hadn't signed up for a rescue mission, they were just getting the SP core. With that directive completed, there was no longer a need for them to be there.
"Do... do we have to go back...?"
The hesitancy in his voice may have upset Amy a little more than she initially realised. "'Do we have to go back'? Of course not! But if there is someone there against their will, and we know this, shouldn't we do something about it?"
Eric tried to formulate a response, but the words kept tangling in his mouth as he tried to find the right way to explain his feelings. He didn't want to upset Amy or imply that she was wrong, but what she was suggesting was much bigger than just the two of them. With that in mind, he didn't want her risking her life over people they'd just met.
"We know the location of this place, right?" Eric finally responded. "We used a link to get here, to the beach. PARSE isn't going anywhere. Why don't we come back once we know a little more?"
The words sounded agreeable to Amy, but would Eric actually follow through with them? That was the thought in her mind as she tried to think of a counterargument that didn't end in her just deciding things on her own again.
"Promise?" was all she could come up with.
Silence. She sound see the indecision in his eyes, trying to find an alternative.
"Eric." Her head tilted ever so slightly as her eyes began burning a hole through his.
"Okay." A single word response.
"Okay what?"
"Okay. Promise."
Amy couldn't take another moment of these conversations. The day's events finally overtaking her, she collapsed onto the beach, her back to the sand and her head to the sky as she firmly grasped their spoils.
"We did it, Eric."
A small chuckle followed as the meaning of those words sunk in. They'd been given a mission, a directive, and they'd pulled it off.
As she raised the disc to her face, she realised her work wasn't done yet. The core still had to be installed, interfaced with the existing data and then loaded into her PET. For that, she'd need to head back to the Steam.
"ScyliorhinusRetifer is Reti. TridacnaGigas is Gigi. TorquigenerAlbomaculosus is Albert. And Antipatharia is Aunty. We can't forget those names again."
That information may have been important, but for a brief moment in time she could now fully appreciate just how beautiful that bay was, as the pure blue ocean lapped up against the sparkling white sand. Sand that would no doubt be stuck to her dress for days, but the care factor right now couldn't be lower.
Answers. Answers are coming.
----------
Mission Successful!
Primary Directive: PASSED
~ Obtained level 1 .SP core
Secondary Directive: PASSED
~ Completed CrypticMan’s request
Tertiary Directives: FAILED
~ Did not complete Hoodwink's request
--- Results ---
Rewards:
1x SPcore1.dat: Acquired
Bugfrags: +150 (0 >>> 150)
FXP Gained:
CrypticMan: +7 (0 >>> 7)
Hoodwink: +2 (0 >>> 2)
Aunty: +1 (0 >>> 1)
Reti: +9 (0 >>> 9)
{>>> To Homepages: {Amlipeda} - Homepage of Amity.EXE >>>}
CrypticMan had certainly been an unusual character, but he'd been a man(?) of his word and followed through on his side of the deal. Perhaps there was an opportunity for them to work together again at another time... although Amy was still convinced she'd made the right choice by refusing the swimsuit GMO.
Amy heard a sigh of relief from Eric's end as she inspected the rewards. All the day's efforts had been in regards to obtaining one of these discs, and now, it was sitting in her hands. The urge to triumphantly thrust it into the sky as a trophy crossed her mind, but the thought was quickly squashed as the value of said reward reminded her not to treat it as a toy. If someone or something decided to snatch it away from her, she'd have to do something equally as arduous, or possibly worse.
"So... are you ready to come back Amy?"
The mention of her name reminded her of the previous mistake, and with CrypticMan gone, she had an opportunity to address it.
"I thought we agreed that my name was Amity during this job." The critique wasn't uttered with maliciousness or bitterness; the words were mostly flat. Amy wasn't looking for another fight after everything that had happened, but she wanted a reason.
"I'm sorry... I forgot about that."
Amy's head drooped a little upon hearing the answer, but it didn't surprise her as she tried to hide the disappointment.
"Please remember. Next time might be different."
Her attention returned to the stash of rewards. The disc had been explained, but Amy couldn't work out how a packet of numerous purple shards were supposed to help them.
"Eric, what are these?"
Eric's monitor focused on the purple packet, but the image shown to him was not familiar. "I'll grab the NetPendium," he advised as his monitor image disappeared. Amy could hear sounds of movement, followed thereafter by a distinct crashing sound and a small outcry that was unmistakably Eric's voice.
A couple of minutes later Eric's voice filled her ears again. "I can't find anything in the NetPendium, but I'm probably looking in the wrong section. What does your scanner call them?"
"Nothing," she replied, ignoring whatever had just happened. "I get a checksum of garbage data, but nothing useable."
"We might have to ask Stacey about it then..." Eric concluded, closing the book. "Once we know what they're called, I'm sure it'll be in here..."
"Agreed." Amy's gaze drifted back to the ocean, in the general direction of where she believed PARSE to be.
"Should... should we go back...?" she wondered out loud.
Eric didn't respond. The concept of going back hadn't even been an afterthought, and now his mind was searching for a reason.
"Did... did you leave something behind...?"
Amy pulled up the monitor again so she could talk to Eric face-to-face. "Didn't you hear what CrypticMan said? Something very wrong might be going on down there. I was worried about myself, but you're right, maybe they're hiding from something. We both agreed that 'Albert' was the key, didn't we?"
Eric didn't feel comfortable about this. He hadn't signed up for a rescue mission, they were just getting the SP core. With that directive completed, there was no longer a need for them to be there.
"Do... do we have to go back...?"
The hesitancy in his voice may have upset Amy a little more than she initially realised. "'Do we have to go back'? Of course not! But if there is someone there against their will, and we know this, shouldn't we do something about it?"
Eric tried to formulate a response, but the words kept tangling in his mouth as he tried to find the right way to explain his feelings. He didn't want to upset Amy or imply that she was wrong, but what she was suggesting was much bigger than just the two of them. With that in mind, he didn't want her risking her life over people they'd just met.
"We know the location of this place, right?" Eric finally responded. "We used a link to get here, to the beach. PARSE isn't going anywhere. Why don't we come back once we know a little more?"
The words sounded agreeable to Amy, but would Eric actually follow through with them? That was the thought in her mind as she tried to think of a counterargument that didn't end in her just deciding things on her own again.
"Promise?" was all she could come up with.
Silence. She sound see the indecision in his eyes, trying to find an alternative.
"Eric." Her head tilted ever so slightly as her eyes began burning a hole through his.
"Okay." A single word response.
"Okay what?"
"Okay. Promise."
Amy couldn't take another moment of these conversations. The day's events finally overtaking her, she collapsed onto the beach, her back to the sand and her head to the sky as she firmly grasped their spoils.
"We did it, Eric."
A small chuckle followed as the meaning of those words sunk in. They'd been given a mission, a directive, and they'd pulled it off.
As she raised the disc to her face, she realised her work wasn't done yet. The core still had to be installed, interfaced with the existing data and then loaded into her PET. For that, she'd need to head back to the Steam.
"ScyliorhinusRetifer is Reti. TridacnaGigas is Gigi. TorquigenerAlbomaculosus is Albert. And Antipatharia is Aunty. We can't forget those names again."
That information may have been important, but for a brief moment in time she could now fully appreciate just how beautiful that bay was, as the pure blue ocean lapped up against the sparkling white sand. Sand that would no doubt be stuck to her dress for days, but the care factor right now couldn't be lower.
Answers. Answers are coming.
----------
Mission Successful!
Primary Directive: PASSED
~ Obtained level 1 .SP core
Secondary Directive: PASSED
~ Completed CrypticMan’s request
Tertiary Directives: FAILED
~ Did not complete Hoodwink's request
--- Results ---
Rewards:
1x SPcore1.dat: Acquired
Bugfrags: +150 (0 >>> 150)
FXP Gained:
CrypticMan: +7 (0 >>> 7)
Hoodwink: +2 (0 >>> 2)
Aunty: +1 (0 >>> 1)
Reti: +9 (0 >>> 9)
{>>> To Homepages: {Amlipeda} - Homepage of Amity.EXE >>>}