[voice]

[synthedick]

[Can robots get tired? Because Nick sure sounds tired as he comes onto the network this evening. He's got work to do, though -- and only a limited amount of time to do it, if Fear's proposition still holds.]

All right, let's get a status report on what areas are clear.

[Which isn't as easy as expected, given several of the main landmarks of the city have been obliterated in the long assault. Better to make an attempt at it than not at all, though.]

Whether you're on the Guard or not, chime in. We've lost a lot of people in this madness, and we need to know every last one of them is gone... and if they're not gone, we need to know where they might be hiding.

That's all. [Click.]

Comments

[voice]

[puzzlingly]

「Guardsman, huh? Right, Rey mentioned him. Not quite as a mere Guardsman, though.」

Thanks, Nick. Thank you for your hard work. Try to not over do it.

[voice]

[synthedick]

[She doesn't generally mention him as "basically her dad," either.

His voice is just a little lighter on his end as he replies. He doesn't do what he does for praise, but it's nice to get a word of gratitude every now and then all the same, especially from a stranger.]

You do the same out there. Holler if you need anything... and thanks. If we all work together, we might come out of this yet.

[voice]

[puzzlingly]

「More like second in command. That's huge. Leadership is not easy. He knows.

Nick might not see it, but that last, it makes Atem smile a little, so that brief pause before he speaks again is just that. He needed to hear that, from anyone else but himself, to know people believed in cooperation and in others, that together they can overcome this and more. That little thing, as insignificant as it might seem, lifts his spirit, and for someone who is pretty much that, it's quite a big deal.」

You got it.

「Fingerguns! (No, not quite) And he's gone!」