Siren's Elegy Volume 1: Orphans of Ashen Earth

Chapter 6: Crunch Time

May 16, 4021 14:30 [Matriarch 07- Cliffside Hangar]

The grating sound of machinery echoed throughout the Cliffside Hangar, a machinist's haven supporting a wealth of mechanics and technicians as they worked on weapons, transportation vehicles, combat prototypes, and their own pet projects in their free time. It was here that Indra's younger sister Aisha spent her days elbow-deep in axle grease working on DIVE Suits, skin-tight exoskeleton combat suits.

She worked as a mechanic, making use of her 'Molecular Reformation' Trait to transmute pieces of raw metal ore into processed and functional parts for various types of hardware. She felt her position to be an unfit designation, however, given that her Trait allowed for any inorganic material to be transmuted into any other inorganic object she could visualize; it just felt like her potential was being overlooked.

Yet, she didn't care to complain; designation evaluations were based not only on physical and intellectual merit but a close examination of a person's psyche was also taken into consideration when determining where one might exhibit the most efficient work ethic. For Aisha, remaining in the confines of Matriarch 07 provided her with comfort. She would be content with remaining within the Matriarch if allowed to, spending her days building machines with her own two hands and utilizing her recreational time to enjoy the plethora of amenities that Lunar Gate offered. Her friends, her family, all were here; Matriarch 07 was her home. Why would she ever want to leave? Her brother still had faint memories of their parents and their home in Dvaita, but to Aisha, those memories didn't mean much. She did not feel remorse or regret for leaving faceless entities she could hardly remember. She had her brother, that was all she ever needed.

Finishing up some last-minute tuning on the DIVE suit, Aisha powered down the frame, setting aside her tools to lift up the hood on her welding mask and wipe the sweat from her brow. She removed the mask and a bandana tied tightly around her head, letting down locks of curly brown hair. She slipped on a sweatshirt over her tank top and removed the baggy flame-retardant pants she had been wearing to reveal cargo sweatpants underneath. She checked her HoloPad for the time. 14:30. Yikes. I might have stayed a little longer than expected. I should head to the Great Hall. Mirai's probably been waiting for at least half an hour. I shouldn't keep him waiting any longer.

Scrolling through the social feed on her HoloPad, Aisha crossed the lengthy hangar floor, reaching security. She swiped a keycard with an air of indifference before stepping into a decontamination unit, removing any trace of Virya or other external bacteria transposed from incoming vehicles. Once clean, she stepped out only to be taken by surprise, finding Mirai standing outside the gateway to the decontamination room. He wore a black jumper and matching jeans.

"Mirai! You scared the shit out of me! I thought you were waiting in the Great Hall?" she exclaimed, pocketing her HoloPad.

Mirai laughed. "Surprised you? Seriously? I waited for at least half an hour before coming here. I'd say I'm the one surprised you didn't get carried away with your work again," he said, gesturing for her to lead the way.

"True, I do tend to get carried away sometimes. Immersion doesn't even begin to—" she furrowed her brows. "You seem relaxed," she stated trepidatiously.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it's 'cause Indra's not around," Mirai leaned in to whisper. "He's a little too observant when it comes to his little sister. I think he's starting to pick up on us, y'know?"

"Us? Keep dreaming, Kitahara," Aisha rolled her eyes.

"I'll win you over one day, you'll see," Mirai grinned.

"I can't wait," she laughed.

Though she didn't say it, Aisha agreed with Mirai's assessment of her brother. I just wish he was a little more perceptive of his own issues, though.