Mother's Instinct - A GWH Story

Mother's Instinct - Chapter 5

"What's that over there?" Mika asked, pointing out towards a building not too far from them.

She thought it would be best to change the subject for a moment. Too much aggressiveness could produce the opposite effect that she was looking for in her interlocutor; awkwardness was undesirable in this scenario.

The ginger lifted her eyes and looked at what her guest was indicating. It was a capsule-shaped building with a huge antenna on top. It wasn't bigger than the other buildings surrounding it, but what made it stand out was its shape; all the others were aerodynamic as well, but definitely less round than the one in question.

"That houses the capital's terraforming generator. Every city and town on Nexia has one. They are the result of our ancestors' survival instincts and hard research; they project a mini-atmosphere that shields the city from the harsh winter outside, creating a nice ambience for us to live in."

"Oh, that's neat-" Mikaro began, but Prilynne wasn't done yet.

"Every one of these generators is interlinked; they sustain each other with their own energy through a unidirectional flow of electricity. If one fails, the others will automatically sacrifice some of their power to keep it running. It's a very secure system, controlled planetwide from the terminals in that particular building, which is also connected to the palace by an underground passage."

Both of them fell silent. The dark-haired woman wasn't expecting such a rich information dump as that one without even asking for it. Those pieces of knowledge were within classified range, as well, given their nature. Mika was hesitant to ask for Prily's motivation behind her daring actions... But she didn't get the chance to, for the attendant looked at her wristwatch and then back at the soldier, speaking up first.

"I must be getting back to the palace soon; I have some important matters to attend to. Do you remember the way back?"

"Uhh... Yes?" Mika answered, surprised by the ginger's sudden rushed attitude.

"Excellent. You are free to look around the city some more, if you wish. I have unlocked some parts of the archives for you, so you can use our resources to aid you personally in your search for Commander Riku. The library room has been set up for you to use it as you wish. Please excuse my rudeness, but I really must go."

And with little more than a bow, Prilynne hurriedly walked off in the direction of the palace, leaving her visitor standing there with her eyes squinted and in deep thought.

That girl was starting to become as suspicious as Kathryn herself, if not even more. What other business could she have, if she was assigned to only accompany the guest? Fortunately, unlike the Nexis Prime, she was just an underling. It was much easier to keep an eye on her.

I'm going to follow you, Mika decided.

She trailed her to the palace, making sure she didn't reveal her presence to the Nexian advisor along the way. Both of them entered the building and navigated the halls, one after the other, until the girl reached a door with a console. Swiping her card key on it, she quickly went through the door, closing it behind her. Mikaro had been given a basic access code to enter certain areas of the palace, so she tried it on this barrier. However, the console showed the security level of the code was insufficient. She wouldn't be able to get past this door.

Groaning in annoyance, the young woman considered another course of action. She could try procuring a higher-level access code from somewhere, but how would she do that without appearing suspicious to the Nexians? Unless...