Vagrancy

★CHAPTER FOURTEEN|THE CLOSE CALL★

At first glance, the old ruins that Milari spoke of look almost identical to the facility on Jupiter. At least, once they'd activated the Jupiter facility's electricity. The walls are the same, nearly flawless plastic and brightly white. Tori felt this way on Jupiter as well, but she has to note just how eerie the place is. So empty, and sterile.

They've yet to run into any security, no robots or booby traps; this only serves to put the group even further on edge. According to Milari, there's no way that the old ones don't know they're here.

Even so, the group advances as quietly as possible, relying entirely on hand gestures to communicate. Minhyuk takes the lead, and those behind him keep their eyes peeled to their surroundings. The technopath is too absorbed in the map on his omni-display, too busy navigating to truly pay attention to his surroundings. Through several door he leads them, down a hallway so large and grandiose that Tori is not the only one wondering about the people who must have inhabited these walls.

It is before a door that stands out above the rest that Minhyuk finally stops, and gestures for the group to huddle around him. The other doors have all been the same shade of white as the walls, with little aside from a slit in the wall's surface to indicate that there is even a door at all. But this one has a giant, glowing glyph on the front of it, in a curious shade of optic powder blue.

"Behind this door there is a horde of enemies, " Minhyuk speaks quietly, the others have to lean in and strain to hear him. "And the energy readings are off the chart. This is the room we're looking for."

"I wonder, " Changkyun whispers, "was there a glyph like this on the door back on Jupiter? It might be impossible to know now, since the power was off when we approached the door, but if there was then it stands to reason that future facilities might be easier to navigate."

"He's right, " Jooheon murmurs. "This is something worth noting."

Behind them, Tori backs up ever so slightly and indicates with her hand that the others should scoot to the sides. She fiddles with her visor for a second, and then looks about in order to find the proper angle. Then, she presses a tiny holographic button on her omni-cuff and whispers "take a picture."

The visor complies.

It lights up for a brief moment, and with a flash, it snaps a photo of the door. The surprised faces of her crew-mates and guide also show up in the photo. Despite everything that's going on, Tori can't help but smile a little.

"For future reference, " she explains, voice little more than a whisper.

Milari's crystalline fingers tremble a bit as she fingers the door's surface gingerly; a gesture that- to Minhyuk's excitement- displays emotion. More than ever he wants to pick her mind, find out what makes her so special. If he can figure out what makes her tick... Although, that excitement dies as she turns around. Upon her cheeks are glowing, actual tears. Minhyuk feels a little like an insensitive ass, perhaps for the first time in a long time.

He reaches out and cups her shoulder with a firm hand.

"Are you okay?" He asks quietly.

"I'm fine, " she sniffs, "just give me a moment."

Minhyuk nods, and the rest of the group follows silent suit.

Milari wipes at her cheeks furiously. She promised herself that she wouldn't cry, no matter how sad it is. Unlike so many of her kind, she doesn't blindly hate the old ones. In her synthetic heart, what Milari wishes for more than anything else, is peace. She longs for the old ones and her people to reunite, even though she knows it will likely never happen. The war between her people, and the old ones, is one that has been active and heated from the moment her kind awakened. Even during their escape from this place, her kind had needed to fight for their lives. And now, she's here to kill them.