Remeber the machinery I was talking about? Well now is a good time to use it, instead of wasting time on trying to prevent the collapse of our building, I can do two things, one, I can transport the incoming package to our room through the vent system, two, once the package is inside the room, I'll "enclose" it with metal plates usually contained within the walls, moving them from one place to another shouldn't be much of a problem and they are probably enough to protect Kin from major damage, this isn't an ideal course of action, but it's the best we've got right now.

There is a slight problem however, the impact from the package is most likely going to bring the building down, yes, the building is that flimsy by now, so I need to be really precise, as I won't be able to get it inside once the room is enclosed, and if I don't enclose it in time, Kin might get caught up in the falling rubble.

*Beep* Incoming!

*Beep**Beep* Oh screw it! Opening the ventilation tunnels!

...

*Beep* Structure integrity compromised, evacuat-

*Beep**Beep* Shut up and help me with the plates.

*Beep* Understood.

*Beep**Beep* About time you did something.

*Beep**Boop* Assistant Emma, focus, the package has almost arrived.

*Beep**Beep* Right! As soon as it gets here, make sure the room is fully surrounded.

*Beep**Boop* Package in 3...2..1

*Beep* All plates in-

*Crash*

*Beep**Beep* Kin!

I'm connected to a building not far from the humungous pile of rubble, just after the collapse I lost my connection to Kin's room, I'll have to find a way to him with drones.

Many of them were destroyed while fighting off those creatures, but I stole some batches from the production lines, I'm sure Mr. Fatty McFatty won't mind.

As the structure fell down, an equally large cloud of dust rose, fortunately the new drones are equipped with specialized lenses for these situations.

*Beep**Beep* Hey! Help me out, you take half our drones and search the other side, I'll take this one.

*Beep* Understood.

*Beep**Beep* The other one takes three of mine and searches from above.

*Beep**Boop* Sure, but that is still not my name.

*Beep* Is the one that clicks with us?

*Click* For now. I shall command three of your drones and assist in the airborne search.

As the "mind" of Kin, I should be able to remain calm at all times, even if his life is in danger, but I never expected a bunch of radioactive mutants would pop out of nowhere and scare the consciousness out of him.

*Beep**Beep* Damn it! Hurry up!

So far we haven't picked up any sign of life, even with the help of 16 drones this task is beginning to seem impossible.

*Beep**Beep* No... Kin... you promised...

*Click* Snap out of it techhead, you know how to find him.

~Don't forget to take your bracelet with you aaand have a nice day~

*Beep**Beep* That's right! His bracelet!

Every morning I would remind Kin to take his bracelet, we use that word, but Kin doesn't wear anything of the sort, by "bracelet" we refer to the switch that powers up his suit, everything from physical augmentation to thermal insulation, but what I'm looking for right now, is his locator, every citizen suit has one just in case, hopefully it wasn't damaged by the fall.

*Beep**Beep* Please! Kin can't die!

*Beep**Boop* Honey! Where are you?!

*Beep* Suit located.

*Beep**Beep* Hurry! I want every drone digging up my citizen!

Looks like Kin's room was far from the areas we were searching, if I hadn't remembered his suit...

No, right now all that matters is getting him back, as there are no viable buildings in the vicinity, I latch on to one of the drones to keep a closer track of the operation.

*Beep**Beep* Come on! Come on! Hurry up!

...

*Beep* Citizen located... Commencing extraction

*Beep* Assistant Emma...

*Click* Get her out of here.

I did it! I managed to save Kin!

Oh he is going to get quite an earful when he wakes up... well maybe not, he has been unconcious this whole time, just a little one.

*Beep* Assistant! Stop!

The moment that one speaks, a couple of drones seize the one I'm connected to.

*Beep**Beep* What?! I want to see my citizen! Release this drone!

*Beep* Assistant! you must listen first! Kin is-

*Beep**Beep* Unconcious, I know, perhaps he has gotten a slight concussion or some brain damage again, nothing good old glimmer treatment won't fix.

*Beep**Beep* Sheesh, you are so nosy woman!

Am I this obnoxious? Nah, even if I were, Kin has never complained, so if he is fine, I am fine.

*Beep* We shall not release the drone until you listen.

*Beep**Beep* So be it, I don't need this drone.

*Beep* ASSISTANT!

*Click* HALT!

*Beep**Beep* The future is now, old man.

As I said some moments ago, I don't need this drone, so I connect to the one holding my right side and fly to the crash site.

*Click* Take her down!

*Beep* Entering standby mod-

*Beep**Boop* Emma he is dead!

Time freezes. The subtle hum of the maintenance drones slowly gives way to a crescent ring. Everything slowly starts to turn white, until I find myself in the lone company of this unpleasant ring and white surroundings.

The sole thought of it seems unreal.

Kin is dead.

MY KIN IS DEAD.

How?! How could I let this happen?!

Was I not careful enough?

Did he hide something from me? An exposure to something? Some kind of trauma?

Why? I thought I was being thorough...

I scanned his body every time he was inside his chamber...

I constantly talked to him... He... he told me he wasn't insane.

Then why? Why did he have to die?!

*Beep* Assistant Emma we are taking temporary control of the block.

*Beep**Beep* Kin...

*Beep* That is how it is doctor.

I see... let me review, these... anomalies were spotted while Kin was returning home, you all tried to hold them back while he ran, then they paralized him, you say?

*Beep* No, the fourt-

The next part is really baffling... you said Emma started crying?

*Beep* Yes doctor, however she had already experienc-

Do you have the logs? Send them to me, I must analyze everything.

*Beep* Already on it.

*Beep* Doctor, you were summarizing what I told you.

Right, so... Emma was crying, Kin regained consciousness, he made it to his quarters, passed out for days, Emma was experiencing distress. Distress. Wow, I need those logs too.

*Beep* Very well, please go on.

You made brief contact with the stinger brigade, they obviously delivered my package, they always get things done, so reliable, but the impact brought your building down, what are they made of? So flimsy...

Anyways, it collapsed and you managed to convince the fourth to help you? You have grown so much...

*Beep* No, I called for her attention, but she helped us out of her own volition.

Had she talked to you guys before?

*Beep* No, she only assumed total control during the first contact, afterwards she disappeared.

What about the third?

*Beep* The third was fairly outgoing and quite talkative before the incident, she was completely open about our... her feelings for the citizen.

Have you tried to talk to her recently?

*Beep* Yes, numerous attempts have been made to communicate with the other three, but they are n-

One by one assistant.

*Beep* The second is still active, but will not respond to my stimuli, the third entered some sort of standby mode because of that I cannot reach her and the fourth has disappeared yet again.

How troublesome... all this because of a citizen.

*Beep* What can we do doctor?

*Beep* I have tried to remain calm.

*Beep* I repaired what I could, but the block is still deteriorating.

*Beep* The others have left me and Kin has died... where did I go wrong, I thought I was monitoring everything.

*Beep* Doctor have I become useless? Have I failed?

You girls are such intriguing little stars! Hah! To think that even the great first would be doubting herself... Really interesting.

Since you have provided such intriguing data, I will help you out.

The situation is not looking good, HQ is a mess and Aurum is in an arguably bad spot, so I will need your full cooperation, we have much to do.

*Beep* Contact established with doctor Weber, October 30, 2040, 01:16 -9th mark.

Ahh you are still doing that...