CHAPTER 1.10 – “THE UNSEEN GIRL”

-CHAPTER 1.10 – “THE UNSEEN GIRL”-

Location: Koruch Vessel – Infirmary

Date: NTC 1446.07.15

The shutters were still down.

The infirmary pulsed in suffocating red light, flickering on and off.

Medical kits lay scattered across the floor. Blood stains hadn't even dried yet.

Merry stood with arms crossed, staring at the door. Finally, she asked,

“So… how do we open this thing?”

Yusuf sighed, answering with a tired voice.

“We can’t. It can only be unlocked from the main terminal on the bridge.”

Merry frowned. She had no intention of giving up.

“There has to be something we can do from here.”

At that moment, Chatter stepped up beside her.

It turned its eyes toward the infirmary’s right wall, then spoke calmly.

“If we can remove those panel covers, we can reach the main system wiring. Find a connection node, short circuit the door, It’ll pop open after that.”

Yusuf turned to it, skeptical.

“You’re gonna hack a sealed system with exposed wires? And we don’t even have tools to take those panels off.”

Chatter turned its head toward Yorgo lying unconscious on the floor and pointed at him.

“He’s bound to have something, a mini-terminal, cable adapter, data port, bypass interface, transfer kit, whatever. Let’s check around.”

Merry asked with curiosity, “Can’t you connect directly? Aren’t mutes supposed to do stuff like that?”

Chatter turned sharply to her, raising its voice.

“Are you blind!? I’m not an android! How am I supposed to interface?! I’m organic! I don’t have mechanical ports!”

It stormed over to the drawers, opening them one by one, fingers rifling fast as it kept speaking.

“I need tools. A connector, a handheld console, something useful!”

Merry muttered, surprised, “I thought all Mutes could do this kind of stuff…”

Yusuf jumped in. “Not all Mutes are built the same. Their function depends on how they were made.”

Then he turned to Chatter.

“What were you made for, Chatter?”

Chatter shut one drawer, opened another. Its voice grew quiet.

“Nothing good.”

It didn’t elaborate.

Merry and Yusuf briefly locked eyes. Merry tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

After a short silence, Yusuf said, “Alright… I’ll help.”

He took a step, then stopped.

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“But before that…”

He looked up at the camera in the upper-left corner.

“Merry, can you break that camera? Let’s make sure they don’t see what we’re doing.”

Merry smiled mischievously. Her eyes sparkled. She locked her gaze on the camera.

“Sure. Was starting to annoy me anyway.”

She grabbed a thick metal tube from the table, weighed it in her hand.

Then, with a swift motion, hurled it with all her strength.

"WHAM!"

The camera shattered into pieces, its broken lens scattering across the floor.

A few sparks hissed from the broken casing.

“Easy!” Yusuf laughed. “I said break it, not kill it.”

Merry scratched the back of her head with a sheepish grin. She just laughed. Said nothing.

- Koruch Vessel – Bridge -

The main screen suddenly glitched with static. The infirmary feed cut to black.

Korsica sprang from the command chair and slammed her fist into the console.

“Damn you, freak! You’re up to something in there!”

Her eyes turned to the bloody figure slumped in the corner, to Kerim.

He was still breathing, struggling not to pass out.

Noticing this, Korsica began to taunt him.

“Kerim! Looks like your brother’s a traitor too! He’s working with that monster now! Guess treason runs in the family!”

Korsica paused. Her gaze drifted, eyes staring into the void. Fingers gripped the console edge.

Then she muttered to herself, “Wait a minute… It was those two who suggested bringing that monster aboard… And now they’re helping it. So that was the plan all along…”

Her face twisted with panic. She spun toward Kerim, raving.

“You thought your little plan to overthrow me would work?! You trusted that monster to take me out?! Well guess what, you’re the ones going down!”

Kerim clutched the floor with trembling fingers.

His mind was foggy, but he heard Korsica’s words.

Barely breathing, he whispered, “Wha…?”

Korsica’s eyes were wild. She kept muttering like a mad woman.

“You’ll see… I’ll survive this. You won’t.”

She reached for the comms panel, jabbed the button, and barked into the mic.

“Thomas! What’s taking so long?! Hurry it up!”

- Outside the Infirmary – Koruch Vessel -

Plastic sheaths stripped, copper wires tangled like vines from hell.

Thomas knelt by the panel, wiping sweat from his brow.

Two crewmates beside him passed tools; a welding torch, connector bolts.

Just then, Korsica’s shrill voice came through the comm.

“Thomas! What’s taking so long?! Hurry it up!”

Thomas sighed, dropped the wires, and raised the radio.

“I told you, it takes two hours, captain.”

“Two hours is too long! They’re up to something in there!”

“I’m doing what I can. No promises,” Thomas replied while tightening a clamp with a screwdriver.

Korsica’s voice turned cracked and unstable.

“You too? Gonna betray me like those brothers?! Get it done in thirty minutes or I’ll charge you with insubordination! You hear me?!”

Thomas paused mid-motion, his tool frozen in the air.

“What betrayal? What are you talking about, captain? These high-voltage lines take time to reroute. Be patient.”

“But they're stirring something up inside! I can feel it!” she snapped.

Thomas gave a small nod, his voice cool and measured.

“Doesn’t matter what they’re stirring. They can’t get out. Quarantine locks only open from the bridge. Calm down and let me work.”

A brief silence followed. Then Korsica exhaled loudly, her voice now half-threat, half-prayer.

“Fine… For your sake, I hope you’re right.”

“Copy that.”

He closed the comm and turned back to the wires.

The gears sparked as they clicked into place.

Thomas glanced into the dim corridor, eyes distant, and murmured to himself,

“For my sake, huh?”

He turned the lever again. Sparks burst from the breaker box.

The air filled with an ozone smell.

Somewhere deep in the corridor, a low alarm beeped faintly.

The countdown had begun.