Leave The Monster Alone

"It finally set up. Hurry, get the boss and tell him we set the communication array up" Mark woke to those happy words, his mind still having the effect of sleep. From his position, he could not see much that was going inside the room.

But his body did not want to pick itself up and check inside physically at all. His mind was urging him to go back to sleep and to catch up on his missed rest.

"Stop sleeping, Mark. I did not put in this much effort for you to sleep it all through" something soft hit him, but he did not mind. As long as it did not hurt then it did not matter to him.

"Wake up" something heavier hit him but still not enough to actually hurt him. However, this time his brain could not take any more abuse like this and he woke up.

Since his eyes refused to open up fully, he saw the Rika with the tiny gap they allowed him to look through. She looked happy, content even at whatever news she was going to present him with.

"Go wake yourself up in the washroom and hurry. I'm sure you don't want to miss this at all" she pushed Mark lightly once he was stable enough on his feet. His body moved automatically, crossing the room and finding the water source. 

Once his bodily needs were taken care of, the water did more than enough to wake him up completely. His brain still did not retain anything Rika had said but that was alright since she was just outside.

Once the bathroom door opened, he was met with one person he had tried to avoid thus far - the base captain.

"Good work Mark. Now we finally have a power source for our operations. Too bad the other two did not decide to stay here since they could have been a tremendous help in the future fights" ah, Fidi and Vodi had left.

He did remember them saying something about leaving before he went to sleep. The captain sounded almost sad at their departure, still not aware of their true nature. 

However, Mark who knew of the danger felt relieved at the departure. Their mere presence here screamed danger. He could see Alan and Rika letting out a sigh of relief at that piece of news.

"Is the communication array finally set up? Have you started it yet?" Mark made his way over, observing the still blank screen.

Well, it was not really blank since it had a series of coded data displayed but it might as well be blank to Mark who could not read it all. Even if he could ready it, he would not actually want to since it would take up precious brainpower.

"It's set up but we have not started it yet. We were waiting for you to see if you could contact Liam on the home base. We still need to experiment a little before we can say it's a success" so they wanted him to check in with the other?

It was no problem at all. 

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We have the communication array set up. Are you ready on your end?

_____________________

Honestly, Mark had thought it would take a few hours or at least minutes for the other to reply back but the answer came far swifter than he had expected.

He looked back at the message on his screen in wonder. 

_____________________

Headquarters informed me to be ready in advance. They said you retrieved the energy source already

_____________________

Wait, these bases could actually communicate in-between them all alone. Even if the common folks could not, their shared benefactor could make sure they had a stable communication set up.

Was there really a need for such a grand set-up to take place at all? Why had Mark made such an effort for this power source again?

"He says he's ready and expects us to contact them. You can start now" Mark's voice almost had a bitter tone to it. He got a questioning look from Rika and Alan but he was not in a mood to entertain it right now.

Once the ending sequence began to be entered, everyone's attention shifted toward that side. Everyone except the base captain and Mark still held bitter feelings overall.

"Don't look so disappointed. Even if we can communicate using the headquarters, it's not really efficient since we need to pass through many gates to get the message across. Also, this is not something we can tell other NPC's. They have been acting weird as it is" it must have shown on Mark's face for the other to comment on this topic.

Mark felt his disappointment and anger lessened a bit at that explanation. What the other said held merit in this context.

"Thank you for the power source. I'm guessing that you will leave for the other bases soon?" The other was making idle talk but to Mark, it felt like the other wanted them to leave as soon as their task was finished.

"We'll leave in a day or two. There are still things we need to check here" the other did not say anything anymore and neither did Mark add anything else.

They just watched as the final part of the coding ended and the program was finally run. There was tense anticipation in everyone's mind. 

And then the screen connected to a place very familiar to Mark. the central office back at their home base with a very familiar face on the screen.

The image was not fully clear but the satellite they were using for this operation was positioned perfectly and needed maintenance. However, Liam's voice came through all those negative thoughts that fled Mark's mind.

They had succeeded finally.

"Can you hear me? I'm speaking from the -'' Mark tuned it out since it was the initial formalities. The feeling of relief that took over his senses was immense and overall-consuming.

_____________________

Current status update: Bases found 1/2. Communication fixed - 1/2 

Mission update: Head to the next base. Location on the map marked

_____________________

The first part of the mission is finally over now.

"-I'm assuming you'll be heading to the next base now? Keep me updated on the progress since it will help in the food restoration mission" Mark felt a small nudge at his side. Alan's doing most likely and he barely caught the last part of the sentence.

"We'll likely head out in a few days. Have you set a date for the food mission yet? What about the other matters at the base?" The other matter he was asking about was the resistance.

While he was sure nothing major had happened yet, there was still room for doubt and surprises. It would not be good to be caught up by them and then there was that leader with the 'god-complex.'

He would have to thank Rika for dodging that bullet at least.

"Things are alright. We announced the success of this communication right now so we'll have to monitor others' responses for a while longer before we can make a final decision. Captain, we'll talk more once I have a better plan for us all to follow" there was an almost bitterness to the expression the officer at his side gave.

The eyes flashed with something Mark did not like but he could not question it. It was gone in the next few seconds, replaced by indifference.

"Yes, we'll talk later. For now, we should cut it off to conserve the power source" and then the screen was once again blank. However, this time there was a feeling of joy and relief.

"I'll go make this announcement. Professor, expect a few more people to join you here. Also, I think it's time we expand this room a little bit more. I'm sure the wall between rooms could be taken down right now" the professor looked stunned, almost on the verge of crying.

This was the first time his efforts had been acknowledged. When he had taken this post he had friends and comrades here. Most of those people had left, unable to take the burden of this post. 

Then they had gradually disappeared till only he had remained. He had never actually expected things to change till his death or the collapse of this base but they were changing.

"T-Thank you. I'll be sure to work harder" the party did not know whether to pity this poor human or to admire him. The conditions he had suffered were really not ideal at all and yet he had prevailed.

"Do you need our help any further?" Mark asked, taking pity on the person who had worked so hard. Surely there was something they could do here to lessen his burden.

"Help? Will you? Help me?" the professor was not looking at him but at Rika who let out a groan of protest but finally nodded her consent.

"If we are staying a few more days then I might as well help out. What do you need help with?" and the professor looked beyond happy.

What a deprived man he was.