Commandant and his Constructs [PGR]

Chapter 19

"[So what is it that you wish to discuss with me?]" Asimov stared at the Commandant who stared back at the man. "[Lucia told me that you wanted to come in contact with me and so I set up this call.]"

"Thanks for taking your time out of your day." The Commandant smiled at Asimov. "Sorry if you were busy."

"[I was indeed busy... but that can wait for later.]" Asimov closed his eyes and thought. "[Also... is there a reason why you're in the bathroom with the shower turned on? I can hear it vividly even with you suppressing the noise around you.]"

"About that..." The Commandant chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I'm actually sitting here on the toilet—"

"[I'm gonna end this call—]"

"W-Wait I'm not using the bathroom or anything!" The Commandant waved his hand in front of the holograph out of embarrassment. "It has to do with Lucia. She's the reason why I'm here pretending to shower! She doesn't know that I'm calling you right now." He made sure to keep his voice to a minimum to entrust that Lucia doesn't hear him.

Knock Knock

"Is everything alright in the shower, Commandant?!" Lucia asked from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Yes, Lucia I'm fine!" The Commandant called out. Once he realized that she stopped talking, he can only laugh nervously. "Phew... that was close."

"[Just explain...]" Asimov frowned.

"Somebody or something managed to interfere with Lucia's system. She was shut down last night and now she's all worried for my safety. She's concerned to the fullest. Apparently she heard a feminine voice before she blacked out."

"[A feminine voice?]"

"Yeah... now she won't let me out of her sight. She was scared ruthless when she was beginning to shut down. She was deeply concerned about me... and now that she's back, she won't let me go anywhere without her by my side."

"[...]"

"Of course... I told her that I was gonna shower. She objected at first saying she'll be inside the bathroom to entrust my safety. Of course I—"

"[You objected and she didn't quite accept it."] Asimov said as if he already knew what happened.

"Yeah... and now she's guarding the door just to be sure. It took me a lot of convincing to have her just stay outside."

"[Do the others know about this strange occurrence then? Did anything happen?]"

"Lucia informed the others yes... but as of if anything happened... I have no clue. Whoever shut down Lucia, seemed to have not done anything with her. She seems fine... except for her overprotective manner."

"[It makes sense of her to act that way... she lost you once. She wouldn't want to lose you again. Now she's dealing with mental issues because of the event that happened last night.]" Asimov said with a frown.

"..." The Commandant stayed silent as he looked at the ceiling, then he slumped down and grabbed his head with a tired expression.

"[Is something the matter Commandant?]" Asimov noticed the tired expression that came from the man.

"I've been... hallucinating."

"[Hallucinating? This is the first time I've heard about this.]" Asimov frowned at the new piece of information. "[Is the vacation causing these things—]"

"For the longest time. Before I arrived at Babylonia."

"[...]"

"Look... it's been happening more frequently lately. I see... people that aren't part of this world anymore. I see old friends that don't exist anymore. Sometimes it feels too real... and most of the time... I hear their voices, blaming me for their deaths." The Commandant began to mutter.