Beauty of Annihilation

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A quick and relatively streamlined fix, Teleporter Z-A was back up and running.

As Takeo rounded the corner to sweep the generator room, the scientists were finishing packing away equipment, ready to move on to the next pad.

Both silently walked past, Chloe giving a courteous nod to the older man on watch duty who had noticed she had gained her weapons back and disposed of the stained hospital gown over-top her clothes.

Through the halls of the animal testing laboratories and climbing the curved staircase up to the joining walkway, the crunching of gravel under boots could be heard below as the men set about prepping for the remnants of the evening and subsequent morning.

Military, she thought, always so prepared like the righteous little soldiers they are.

Though she found it unusual that such a force working against them would continue in pursuit of attacking. Then again, in terms of the supposed enemy's intelligence, it was severely lacking in more than one department. Acting as a single group with a basic directive rather than individuals achieving a larger goal - which one could say means the same thing, but loose terms for generalised arguments seemed the right way to explain it to herself.

In other words, the undead's lack of teamwork and tactics made them vulnerable enough to the point where a small group with limited teamwork could beat them. She almost felt pity for the poor drones.

As they crossed over into Teleporter room Z-B with the Matter Transference laying on the floor ready to be assembled, the air seemed slightly more upbeat. She was finally going home after all, where she would be free to do whatever she wanted.

Though maybe it was the vapours from the cooling fluid situated in the large vats either side having some adverse effects.

She set herself to work immediately, keeping a close eye on Richtofen as he referred to the modified image and added notes.

The Doctor, though exceptionally competent in his abilities, found himself continually questioning some of the design choices that Chloe had stressed were important for the machine to function effectively. Needless to say, he was struggling with adjusting his perfected design to match her modifications when not caught up in his own questioning of the reference material.

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Takeo watched the two scientists make their way past and out of the room.

The teleporter at Z-A was now back together, blithely pulsating with its blue light. Humming quietly above the generator.

Earlier on watch, Dempsey had noted something - A distant giggling was heard when he went to get a bottle from the Juggernog machine nearby. And now Takeo, on his watch duty, was investigating if these strange phenomena were still around.

Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, at least not that he knew of. Checking the room to the right of the generator obviously for any lingering undead presence, his guard was up and ready to silence any that dared appear. He checked down the corridor leading to more of the facility's laboratories. There was nothing as he made his way down, meticulously checking the unlocked rooms before double-checking as he made his way back up.

Good.

Nothing to disturb them for the rest of the night.

Then he heard it.

The sound of a small child, laughing in the distance.

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Chloe, reflecting on her earlier interactions, the Doctor seemed to prefer being the one to ask questions rather than to answer them.

Glancing from her current part-reconstruction, she found her curiosity leading to the man in question.

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