Project 863: The fifth Subject

Chapter 35: The RSD

~January 24th, 2022. Pearson's POV~

"Hey there, what's up, tickle me Matthias?" I quip as Matt pokes his head into my office, to which he responds with a laugh.

"Hey, my name's Matthias." Mimicking Elmo's voice. "So, what's going on?" I inquire.

"We're going to look over the new device, so let's go!" Matt says, prompting us to head downstairs. "Woods?" Matt calls out.

"What?" comes Woods' reply from another room.

"I was thinking, could you go get the device while I make some coffee?" Matt asks.

"I can," Woods affirms before heading over to Red Base. Sam and I follow Matt as he prepares his drink. "Actually, I'm in the mood for hot chocolate," Matt decides, grabbing a cup. "What's your instinct on this, Sam?" he asks, rummaging through the fridge.

"My instinct is that this confirms that the Spire is actually good," Sam remarks. "And you?" Matt turns to me.

"I think we should do whatever it takes to find the Spire," I assert. Sam probes further, "What's your emotional response to learning the truth?"

"About Deb? You guys were the ones defending her for the longest time because it took so long for me to finally convince you that she's bad," Matt states, reminiscing. "You also didn't have proof for the longest time," I remind him.

"Do I trust Deb anymore? No. Do I trust Wes? Well, if he were alive," Sam reflects, "I would too, but he's dead, so we don't really have anyone to trust," Matt acknowledges, taking a sip from his drink. "Well, what's your reaction, Matt?" I ask.

"Just feeling justified in how I've always felt," Matt responds, to which I nod. "Okay," I sigh, "Where's Woods?"

"He's probably just grabbing the device," Sam suggests.

"Alright, it's just taking him a while. I wonder if he's actually grabbing it," Matt ponders.

"Why would he not be grabbing it?" Sam questions.

"Why would he steal a document?" Matt counters.

"Do you still have some trust issues with him?" I interject.

"Kinda," Matt admits. "But he did say that he was gonna commit to sticking around to actually help us," Sam points out.

"If you two trust him, that's enough for me," Matt concedes, taking another sip of his drink.

"There he is!" I exclaim as Woods enters wearing some odd glasses. "It's freaking sick!" Woods exclaims.

"What the heck are you wearing?" Sam asks, puzzled.

"Let's just look at the device," Bailey suggests.

"It honestly looks like it should plug into something," Matt observes. "I just don't understand why this was in the wall," Sam muses.

"Well, it needs to be plugged into something square," Matt suggests.

"Well, that narrows it down," Woods quips sarcastically.

"So, I know this may sound a bit weird, but... We should check the RSD," I propose.

"I mean, there's a chance that the Spire could show up," Bailey agrees.

"But have we delved into the settings?" Matt asks.

"No, because we haven't had a need to," I reply.

"Okay, shall we?" Matt suggests.

"Yeah," Sam and Bailey chime in unison as we head up to the vault. I place the device on one of the shelves as Woods starts up the RSD, Matt opens the options, and presses "specify type," revealing two more scan methods.