The Deep

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[scene: Hyperion]

Threresa and her crew left Arc City. They hoped to track down Kiana with the data stored in the Ningyo's brain. Cocolia, an enforcer of Anti-Entropy (AE), then contacted them. Cocolia wanted the Hyperion to meet with her to transfer the Gem of Desire held by AE. The Gray Serpent, believed to be dead, then hacked into the Hyperion's system via the Ningyo. After a hard struggle, the crew managed to restore order to the chaos caused by the Gray Serpent. But the Ningyo remained unconscious. The group have to decide what to do next.

Einstein: I've severed the link between the Ningyo and the mainframe of the Hyperion. But we lack the facilities to awaken her. We must use what we have at the AE HQ.

Tesla: But what about Cocolia? She said she needed support and claimed that Schicksal sent a large force to seize the Gem of Desire. Things will get worse if Schicksal gets their hands on that Gem.

Einstein:....... I talked to Madam Theresa about this. I came up with two plans. One: ignore Cocolia's request for aid and return to our HQ to repair the Ningyo. Though we'll give up the Gem of Desire to search for Kiana, focusing our focus will minimise risks. We basically give up the Gem and let Cocolia and her forces get defeated by Schicksal. This plan may not be the best.

Bronya: What about the other plan?

Einstein: Split our forces evenly for AE HQ and for helping Cocolia. We'll solve both issues if we're lucky. But Schicksal might defeat both forces and we'll end up losing everything. Plan 1 is less risky, but we'll definitely lose the Gem of Desire and Cocolia. Plan 2 is an attempt to keep what we have, but it's a more dangerous gamble.

Tesla: A tough choice...

Theresa: We should vote on this.

Einstein: Let's think about this for 5 minutes and cast our votes afterwards.

Everyone then went to think and way they choices. Mei walked over to Einstein to hear her opinion.

Mei: I'd like to listen to what you have to say, Dr. Einstein.

Einstein: I'm going for Plan 1. Kiana is essential to Otto's plans. We should try to find her first. And we shouldn't trust Cocolia. She's the one who framed your father and transformed you into a Herrscher.

Mei: I know... I won't forget what she did to me.

Einstein: But to be honest, Plan 1 isn't perfect either. There's too much uncertainty. Can we keep ourselves ahead of Otto? How useful is the Ningyo's intel?

After hearing Einstein opinion, Mei went over to Tesla to listen to her's.

Tesla:......

Mei: What do you think, Dr. Tesla?

Tesla: I'm still thinking about it. Mophead is right. We risk losing all if we split our forces. But I can't leave Cocolia on her own. It's not her that I care about. Her Mech regiments will AE much-needed reinforcements. We suffered terrible losses after all that stuff we went though....... And before I forget, isn't Cocolia that little girl's Matushka or something?

Mei: Bronya...

Tesla: Cocolia's a sly fox and I really don't like her type. But Bronya might see her differently. What should we do?

After that Mei walked over to Theresa to listen to her thoughts

Theresa: We can't afford to lose the Ningyo's intel nor the Gem of Desire... Do you have any idea, Mei?

Mei: I'd rather look for Kiana. Four months have already passed. I'm really worried about her.

Theresa: Me too. But I don't want to risk everyone....... I guess we have to go for plan 1.

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