Operators: From the Otherside

Prologue 0-3

Unknown Location—Great Canteen
0825 hours

The Great Canteen was massive, and that was saying a lot when practically everything in this entire place was mega-sized. From the living quarters to the medical department, to the soldiers' barracks and even the administration area—in this home of theirs, they had made themselves ants in a gargantuan world.

She recalled the first few days of being overwhelmed by the massiveness of this place. The next few weeks were then spent in confusion trying to navigate the place. The years after, she had been utterly calm. The next few decades?

Home is no different than it has been from the start, even with all the little changes and grand overhauls.

Having arrived, the two came upon rows and rows of tables and chairs. With how spacious the place is, the layout was thankfully not so compact, though with how many people had begun filling the seats and others walked about, it was not so strange to bump elbows with others as they walked. Even on their way to get some food, the line was incredibly long, though they were offered immediate bypassing on account of their positions. As always, they refused.

"To this day, I'm surprised that kitties can consume vegetables like carrots. Guess we never really gave it that much thought when we were younger, did we?"

"Well, in this current age, we can't be too picky. So whatever there is, we should just be willing to eat them unless it'll cause toxicity in our system."

"Indeed. And it's a good thing that you were never that picky. Unlike Charlotte, that barbarian."

"Hah. Best you not let one of your lieutenants hear that. I doubt she'd appreciate her superior badmouthing her."

"Please, please. It's just a fun tease. She's invaluable as ever."

Plenty of the seats were taken, though with the constant influx of people, everyone were disciplined in the sense that they would be quick to finish their meals and leave their seats open to the next batch of people. That was why they were able to find a place for themselves within half a minute of waiting, seated alongside four other people.

"Ma'am," a young boy greeted her, to which she smiled back.

"Good afternoon to you as well," she said. "Please, don't mind us. Continue enjoying your lunch."

Despite her words, Alice knew that her presence would cause some amount of discomfort in the people. That was just natural, she supposed, but thankfully, the boy didn't seem to mind all that much and just continued eating. The older boy beside him, his brother perhaps, did not share his calm, but distracted himself with chatter with the rest of his friends.

Satisfied well enough, she put down her companion's food in front of him and set down her own plate, digging in with a metallic spoon. Ace had to leap up and sit on the table, which certainly made for a strange sight, though people had gotten used to that.

Digging into her stew, of which she could recognize the taste of mushrooms and chicken, she relished in the simple taste. It was at a comfortable warmth level, and the constant chatter in the background made it better. Some people preferred quaint silence, but she much rather preferred this sort of setting.

"Mm. Having a good meal immediately after waking up from surgery is always nice," her companion remarked, digging into his plate of fish fillet comfortably. He licked around his mouth. "The animals have to be starved prior to surgery, right?"

"Indeed. Four to six hours, more or less, for cats your size," she said, twirling her glass. "Your vessel's stomach needs to be empty prior to anaesthetic administration because, otherwise, it'll make the vessel vomit while they're unconscious. That risks of pneumonia."