I flinched at his mechanical movements.
Around me, constant work was underway. The engineers were expanding the fort, and the HMEE was driving around helping everywhere.
I looked away from the Chief Recon Officer.
"Report."
He began some monotonous, overly complicated report.
"Keep it simpler."
He handed me the tablet. I looked at it.
A blue diamond near the lake — headquarters. And fields scouted within a two-kilometer radius in all directions. There was also a thin, curved line — a path where wagon movement had been spotted. Beyond that, only the road and adjacent fields had been scouted. The line led to a small cluster of gray squares and a long black line.
Everything was still in English, military software.
I sighed.
"Can I set my language? French?"
The Chief Recon Officer leaned toward his radio.
"Software change. Code: France," he said monotonously.
I waited. The tablet didn't change.
"How long will it take?"
"Thirty-seven minutes, sir."
I sighed and tucked the tablet under my arm. I'll figure it out later.
I glanced at the Chief Recon Officer's chest — not wanting to look at his face.
He's really going to do everything? Are these some kind of robots...?
"Jump?" I said uncertainly.
The Chief Recon Officer jumped. He didn't even bend his knees — just lifted off the ground and landed just as stiffly, kicking up a cloud of dust.
I looked away and walked quickly toward the noisy pump, which was already filling the Eurocubes with water.
I stared in shock. How?! They only just installed the pump...
To hell with it!
I quickly unscrewed the tap and drank some water. The icy water pleasantly coated my throat. If you ignored the noise of this place, the process would've been much more pleasant.
I quickly scanned the area. Still the same faceless Engineers and the Chief Recon Officer.
Feels heavy somehow.
With quick steps, looking at my feet, I headed toward the fort. A loud generator stood next to it, with cables running inside and up to the roof, where an Engineer was fiddling with antennas.
I need to rest. I don't want to find out what they're doing.
Inside the fort were three rooms, separated by thin green mesh.
In the first — something like a headquarters. Engineers sat at laptops. In the second — a warehouse, packed to the ceiling with bags and boxes. In the third — some kind of archive.
I held onto the HESCO section walls as I walked through the rooms, getting more and more surprised. There wasn't even a place to rest.
I dashed out of the fort and walked across the field, moving away from the noise of the generators and Engineers.
A field. Just grass and nothing else.
I lay down and looked at the clear sky with some relief.
"I died and was reborn in a new world..." I reached my hand toward the sky. "Strange feeling."
I didn't even believe that guy was really God. I thought maybe it was a hallucination before death. Or a dream. If I'd known it was real, I probably wouldn't have been so bold. Wouldn't have asked about the stone he can't lift...
I chuckled.
And he didn't act like a god either. Kind of clerk-like. Papers, formalities, a "good luck" at the end.
I probably would've asked for some kind of sword or magic, but my boldness gave me a mobile superpower.
I sprawled out on the ground.
But... Yeah, it's cool. I have protection. But it's also really creepy.