The Time from Before

Gradual Independence

I am so damn tired. Seriously.

Being a Private is no joke. It's hard work, long hours, and little reward. I don't even have a chance to climb up the ranks unless some high-ranking officer decides to notice me and give me a promotion. But that's unlikely, since the highest rank we have here is a Sergeant. And he's too busy with his own stuff to care about mine.

Speaking of stuff, I've been working on the HVAC system in the bunker for the past week. If I'm gonna be honest, the thing is an absolute piece of shit. Most of its parts have been preserved, but the wires decayed, and the whole thing is a nightmare!

You probably don't want to hear me rant about it. It's not exactly thrilling. But it's been my main focus for a while now. I had to replace, fix, and test every single component of the system. And that's not even the worst part. The worst part is that this bunker was designed to have only one HVAC system for the entire place. One!

That's insane from an engineering perspective, but it's hell for a mechanic like me. The vent network is so complex and intricate, that it's impossible to keep track of everything. The airflow is uneven and unpredictable. Some vents are collapsed, others are shifted or have gaps, and some are completely sealed by Cv-7 entirely. If I, the greatest mechanic to currently live, had to say anything about it... I'd rather jump off the cliff without a parachute.

Sorry, I'm getting off track.

The point is, I've had a lot of time to think while working on this project. And I've finally managed to sort out my thoughts.

Let me see if I got this right...

To begin all this, I was first in the bunker, and then an alarm went off. Most of us were rushed to the capsules, and then we were placed into stasis.

...

And then I was woken up by, well, my acting family. They pleaded with me to go, but... I refused.

A-And then, Allen woke me up from stasis. He questioned me, set me straight, and got to work. If he didn't do that, I don't think I would've continued serving the Dominion. But I guess he's always been like that. You know, professional yet caring.

Uhm... Ah, then we were searching around the outside of the bunker, Allen made contact with those Inklings, and we set up a watch post to keep an eye on things.

Turns out, Allen believes it's much more beneficial to remain out of their sight. In my opinion, I would've just introduced myself or something. But, then again, it's not my choice. But uh... Right, then Allen and I headed down to where he said they were. I don't have the greatest eyesight, so I trusted his words.

I get to see an Inkling up close, we split off, I have a mental breakdown, and Allen finds Sasha in a submerged bunker. Wild.

Then the three of us find a group of Inklings and two Octolings standing in front of the bunker. And I'm sure Allen was pretty tired already, so he simply ignored them and escorted us both into the bunker. When Sasha and I were clear and safely in the bunker, he stayed back and confronted them. I don't know what happened there, but I do know what I did. I found something to eat for the two of us, and then secured Sasha a sleeping area. Most of the blankets were moldy when I found them, so we were in short supply.

...

Ah, then, Allen heads into the city on his own. Over the course of a few days, he scouts out the general layout and size of the city. But, before he could find a suitable place to move into temporarily, we ran out of food and he was forced to make a hasty decision. He takes us all into the city, and we quietly traverse a certain path to a large building where we meet Marina. Turns out, she speaks English and agrees to take us under her wing for the time being.