Communication. That was key to any battle.

Unfortunately, the enemy, these unknown, mutated roaches, clearly had that capability. Meanwhile, the human side had been utterly crippled in this regard.

The only people with fully-functional comms were the Count, Hiiro and their men. But only because their earpieces were meant for instantaneous, long distance communications during ship-boarding incursions.

It was also a lifetime commitment, as the tech was hardwired into their Cortex Frameworks. Removing them meant risk of irreversible brain damage.

Meanwhile, Radio signal-based tools meant for military and civilians were unable to pierce through the thick ship plating and hulls. They required amplifiers built into the hulls, to reach other floors and decks. Unfortunately, said amplifiers were disabled along with the wired intercoms, after the fuel cell detonation.

This meant that many were left screaming into microphones, without anyone hearing and unable to hear anything. Unless they were somewhere with electricity and a working PA system. Which was only half of the Serenity's remaining liveable space.

This was why most of the evacuees were doing so blind, or completely unaware of the larger situation.

These also included Ariel and Guila. But unlike many others in their situation, they had the advantage of faith. At the very least, Guila certainly did.

"Anything, at all?!" A man in his thirties yelled at the top of his lungs, with his back held against a door which several dog-sized roaches were trying to squeeze through.

"Nothing!" A woman screamed back, before she slammed the handradio against the table, then she ran up the stairs which led up to where the man was and readied her charged pistol. "Damn it!"

She aimed at the opening that kept getting wider, and as the weapon hummed to life, the man leapt to the side.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

Three shots pierced seven roaches and though it didn't kill any, it was enough to stop the attempts for just a brief moment. Enough for the man to spring back to life and slam the thick steel door shut - engaging the locks.

"You almost killed me!"

"Shut up! I could see you just fine!"

Before the two could begin roaring at each other again, a light flashed over them both. An LED Torch.

"I… I found a bunch of these…" The flashlight was held by a dark-skinned, blonde teenage boy of around 14 years old. The boy was Joshua. While the older man who had similar features was the boy's father, Josef.

The woman on the other hand, was Private First Class Corteza. A recent graduate who joined as part of Serenity's Security and Trauma Response Team.

They'd found themselves inside Ventilation Maintenance Entryway B26, located at one end of the Helian Shopping Centre. Though it was more of a shopping suburb than one large building.

B26 was a small, 20x15 meter room with one end leading back up to B Deck and a series of airlocks that led to the Interdeck between B and C.

Normally, this is where maintenance workers were stationed until they were needed or their shifts ended. Currently, there were just desks, tables, metal closets and messy beddings on the six bunks.

"Great job, hand me one. And give another one to your Dad." Joshua quickly did as told, while Corteza went towards the far end of the room where the airlock was.

"Do you have a plan?" Josef gasped, while he opened the metal closets. They were all sweaty, mostly due to the ventilation systems going bust without power.

But Josef was especially sweaty. He hoped to find a towel or maybe even a change of clothes. However, he was only dismayed.

He quickly gave up on the idea and walked over to the sheets.

"Hey dad! There's a water dispenser here!"

"Thanks son!" He answered with a wide smile, before turning to Corteza who was struggling with the door. "Miss, we found water!"

"I heard." Corteza answered with a sigh. "Did you find anything in the closests?"

"They were empty."

"Shit. There should've been skinsuits and helmets. Of course, the first team took it with them." She cursed before staring closely at the room beyond the airlock

Her night vision gave a more bluish hue to the bare metal hall and mesh flooring that forked into three, with the middle path leading down. Then, she pressed her ears against the glass.

It took some focus to filter out the noise from their side, but she was able to hear... dripping.

"... luckily, it doesn't seem like there's a vaccuum. We should be find on that end. You go drink first, I'll get this open, soon enough."

Josef and his son glanced at one another, then to Corteza. The man then gestured to the cups next to the dispenser with his torch, followed by pointing to her with his chin. It only took a second for Joshua to nod back.

"Miss, here." The boy said, as he approached with a cup held in both hands.

"Thanks… Josh, right?"

The boy nodded when she recieved the cup with her right hand, then turned to his dad, before Corteza faced him as well.

"... I'm sorry." She said softly, before sighing at her reflection on the water and downing all it.

"It's fine." Josef chuckled sheepishly with his hand on the back of his neck. "I don't mind it, at all. In fact, we never thanked you. For taking us with you, I mean. Had you not. We'd… well."

"Don't mention it. It's… it's my job."

A silence formed between the two, until an insect slammed against the door with a buzz then went away. All the while, charged weapons and firearms echoed through the air like distant storms.

"So, that's the way out of here, right?" Josef said with a confident smirk.

"It should be. If we make it through to the other side of the interdecks, my radio should work again. So long as someone is there to receive it. The problem is that the airlocks were designed to only be opened remotely by the bridge crew. Terrorist threats, sabotage, all of that. I was hoping to hotwire it. But I guess we'll have to wait for the swarm to pass and head for Deck C the normal way."

"Why can't you jadio radio through the airlocks? It's glass, isn't it?"

"They thought of that too. That metal door and these walls are lined with lead. Same for the other side."

"Well, shit. After centuries of cutting corners wherever they could, they chose now to stop?" He downed another glass of water, before making his way to the airlock as well. "Let me go at it, then."

"Hm?"

"I may not look like it but I was part of the Reconstruction Corps." He said with a confident grin on his face. Then, his already burly limbs seemed to increase in size. No they did.

Unpainted chrome was now present in between his biceps, triceps and other muscles. But, most eye-catching were the wire ports near his right wrist.

"These arms have quite a good power source. Using them and some tweaks, I should be able to trick the locks into opening."

"Oh…?" Corteza perked up. While Joshua had a bright smile on his face, giddy and clearly infected by his father's confidence.

"I guess, I'll leave it to you, then." She smiled, then pushed against her knees and walked back to the center of the room. While Joshua followed.

"Um… Miss Corteza." Just as she was taking another sip of water, the boy called out and he turned to the door. "Do you hear that banging?"

Outside, the situation was only getting worse. At least six hundred thousand dog-sized and even larger roaches had taken flight, along with countless smaller ones.

Whatever light and sound that those in the Opera House created, had been drowned out by the buzzing and the insect's numbers. But, occasionally, red charged ammunition pierced through the thick dark cloud before losing energy and vanishing from sight.

"They're not going to survive." Guila whispered, while she and Ariel hid inside a mostly pristine hotel lobby, staring out the windows. "Charged weapons can only burst fire at most, and are designed for piercing. Even with automatic weapons, there's just too many."

Meanwhile shivers ran up Ariel's spine, due to the stinging from her wounded feet and the dread that the formless sounds brought with them. But when she felt Guila's trembling hand despite her composed tone, Ariel found the strength to grip back.

"How long do we stay here, Mistress?

"Best case scenario, is we let them gather completely. Then we make a run for it."

"On the path?"

Guila didn't answer further, instead she kept her eyes glued to the undulating, black sky. Then below, towards the wide brick pathway, with no roofs and barely any trees that could be used as cover. Finally, she stared at her map.

Though it was incredibly detailed, Guila believed that the map was doctored to hide specific areas from the general public. Because she knew that there had to be maintenance areas, actual armories and walk-around paths to ensure that the passengers didn't encounter the crew and vice-versa. She just couldn't begin to guess where those locations might be.

Then, Ariel's ears perked up, and so did her tail. Between the painful buzzing from above and the distant cacophony of combat, came three sharp pings from close by. Way too close, in fact.

"Guila, is there a door that leads outside in the back?"

"Um…" She didn't know why Ariel asked, but she checked the map to see. "No. There isn't. The other side is just another hotel. Why?"

"... the map might be wrong. Follow me."

While holding each other's hand, the two broke into the employee's area, until they reached the kitchen.

"I told you, there aren't any doors." She was right, of course. Not just once or twice, but thrice she confirmed it. Yet, Ariel just shook her head.

"Can you lead me to a wall?"

"... sure?"

They went around counters which showed that the chefs were still in the middle of prep when the disaster happened, with ingredients and tools scattered across the floor. Eventually, they reached a tower fridge that they were able to move out of the way, allowing Ariel to place her ears against the unblemished tile wall.

"... I was right!"

"Right about what?" Guila asked excitedly. To which Ariel gave a bright, beaming smile.

"The wall leads outside! If it really did lead into another building, then the noise from there should be quieter than in here. But it's louder, instead!"

The news was almost enough for Guila to jump for joy. If not for her leg. But she needed to confirm it first, even if she wholeheartedly believed Ariel's senses.

She also pressed her ear against the wall, and even with her much weaker senses, the volume difference was clear.

"... You're right! We'll need a concrete saw, then."

Ariel promptly handed her the spear and she unwrapped the pointed end, showing a glowing, golden dust-like, double-edged blade.

"Guila…! Your face, it's…" Now illuminated for the first time since they left the Janitor's closet, were several gashes on and other smaller wounds on her forehead, temples and neck.

Ariel was shocked by the sight, and there was no hiding it. Because unlike Guila, she didn't suffer such injuries. Though she did have scratches, they were the kind that would heal in a few days.

But more than anything, she was worried. If left to heal on her own, Guila would have to endure even more mockery and derision from the nobility. A fact that Ariel was all too familiar with, thanks to the implanted memories and their recent experiences with them.

"Don't worry, the clotter implant did its job. I won't bleed out. Unfortunately, it was never meant to deal with bigger wounds." Initially not understanding the reason behind Ariel's words, Guila tried to reassure her while gesturing to her right thigh.

When she finally did, she gave a wry smile.

"Thanks for worrying. But I doubt our husband would let me keep the scars when we get home. I'll be fine after a few hours in the healing pod."

"By then, however, you'll be the one with worries." She teased, knowing full well what awaited Ariel as her sister. If she hadn’t experienced it already.

But it was a lot more likely that their husband wanted to introduce Ariel first.

"You'll probably handle it much better than I did. Then again, you're also smaller than I was. Well, we'll deal with that together."

Half-way through, she'd broken eye contact with Ariel and spoke while focusing on the form she wanted the tool to take. After a few more seconds, its shape morphed into a slim, round tipped, paper-thin oscillating blade.

“...”

But during all that, Ariel was focused on Guila's truly blissful smile.

Was that the smile she had, when she told her story? Was she making that smile, despite her tears?

Even when she was out of it and dreaming of her mama?

Was her master really such a wonderful man, that she too, would believe in him and love him as much as Guila did?

She asked herself so many questions, but she couldn't voice a single one. She just stared blankly, until Guila returned the spear.

"I don't have the strength to push it in." She said with a bashful grin. "It's going to be very loud, though. Cutting through the concrete, I mean. Do you want me to find you something to cover your ears, first?"

"P-please, if that's okay."

"I'll be right back, then. Keep an ear on the other side."

But as Guila faded into the darkness, still walking on her toes despite her injured leg, Ariel asked herself one final question.

"Do I want to love someone, in the same way that Mistress does?"