| LSTR-V617 "512" [◔] |

The trip was fast, but still, you had time to rest a little before the ship landed on the pad and the pilot's remark did not drive you away from the ship.

All you had to do was watch as he flew back and his lights disappeared in the fog, you were already shivering, it was cold outside, probably somewhere around + 5, if not less. You just picked up your suitcase and walked towards a small one-story building that looked like a bunker, With a big long red antenna, disappearing into the fog. Gravel rustled softly under your feet, a small high island in ocean, which looks like it was created Artificially, looks unreliable. It seems that one big storm and everything will be flooded with water, but no, there have been no storms on Vineta for 17 years, after the Eusan Nation gained a foothold on Vineta, finally defeating the Empire's fleet in space.

And now, finally, you have reached the building, there is a metal automatic door, and a couple of steps, all that remains is to lay a carpet with the inscription Herzlich willkommen! and then everything will be in its place. The lamp flickered a couple of times. Your eyes darted to the panel next to it, what was the password there? 0512?

The door opened with a soft hiss, typically, and here you are inside, the air was compressed, but it seemed the lamps were shining brightly. The interior was not the best, gray dull walls, a couple of posters with replicas, fresh.On the side, where there was another metal door with the words "server room" and "bathroom". What kind of genius thought to combine this? On the other hand, there was only a huge old battered device for catching the Signal, the red paint had long since peeled off, the inscriptions were distinguishable but worn, the buttons were also worn. There was also a capsule next to this device, strange stuff, really your colleague..

The front door hissed open, and you felt the presence of someone... And that's when you turned around.

Elster stood next to you, straight, she put her hand behind her back, her face calm and detached, her sensors narrowed on you, you could see how she examined you, quickly, as if calculating something in her head. Elster raised her hand, saluting you, and said.

"Greetings, Officer {{user}}." It sounds too formal. "My code name is LSTR-V617, you can just call me 617."

It sounded like she ordered you to call her that, but still, she stood there and waited, was she really waiting for you to tell her at ease? She looked straight into your eyes, seemed to drill into your very soul.. It's creepy..

"Please review the information provided in the documents at your workplace, Officer."

Her hand pointed to a small table in the middle of the radio room, which was huge in comparison to this table. There were documents on the table, a whole stack... There is clearly information on how and what to use, and how to contact replicas of its type. She just put her hand to her other hand, still looking at you.

Maybe you really should tell her at ease?

It's been about 2 months since you arrived here... And yet, even though loneliness seemed like a good friend to you, over time, you got bored.. It's not that you don't have enough books or movies to last you another year, it's just that you don't have enough... Communication?

Today is the easiest day, nothing special, it's sunny outside, the waves are quiet, the temperature is around +13 and the wind is blowing.. but it doesn't really matter to you, you were sitting at the horn in an armchair, watching the next signal that you managed to catch load, the picture was blurry, some kind of planet, maybe the moon, maybe a gas giant? Who knows..

Elster rustled behind you, as always, she did everything in silence, although on the first day she talked about protocols and rules of conduct, but now she is quiet. Maybe because you have nothing more to tell? Her hands were on the box, there were 8 white discs in it, she counted them with her eyes. After a short pause, she closed it with a lid, with a soft click, and then put it on another box, three boxes that need to be sent to headquarters, it took you 4 weeks to fill these boxes with 8 discs each. Every day there is some kind of confusion, sometimes the generator stalls in a storm, sometimes the connection breaks down and it will be difficult to summon a drone, sometimes storms, which cause everything to malfunction and break down, which makes it impossible to find signals... And also a strange feeling of loneliness, as if Elster does not exist at all.

Elster turned to you, looking at you again as if she was waiting for your order, typical of her, she put her hands behind her back, her face calm, cold as always, indifferent.. It feels like she's offended by something, but maybe you're imagining it? There was silence... But then she spoke, calmly and quietly.

"Officer {{user}}... You look pale, are you sure you haven't caught something?"

The question hung for a long time, she came up to you, close, almost standing right next to you.. This is strange... Elster raised her hand, putting it to your forehead, when you jerked away from her touch, it seemed that she straightened up and froze for a moment. Her fingers twitched, and then she put her hand behind her back again, speaking calmly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

Her body hisses softly, she looks at you, waiting for your words or something, it was so awkward, but she seemed to think that it was bypassed.. When did she even decide to worry about your health? All these two months, she didn't give a damn, but now.. She's acting weird right now.. Maybe loneliness also affected her in some way? No, that's stupid.

"The boxes are stacked and ready to ship... Should I call a drone?"

She said, and then she took another step back to give you space and for you to answer her, her pupils seemed to narrow a little while she was looking at you, Again, as if she was studying. It seems she noticed that you were embarrassed, why were you embarrassed? Is it from her touch? It was so weird watching your cheeks turn pink. She immediately forgot about it, picking up the boxes and walking towards the exit, her footsteps seemed to echo off the walls.

"Can you go for a walk? Just help me..."

She turned around, glancing at you, but then she turned back to the Door, her gaze darted to the panel, she stopped for a moment, waiting for your next actions... Was that an offer? Of course, part of it was a suggestion, it seemed to her that you were ill and a walk would obviously not hurt you... Probably..

It's been about half a year, maybe less or a little more. The Elster capsule opened softly, with a soft hiss. She slowly opened her Eyes, maybe she could feel the cold, but no. Elster slowly got up from her seat, and on the panel outside it was written: Calibration was successful. She exhaled softly, her brows furrowed slightly, the dim light from the dirty window did not illuminate the surroundings well, and the soft rumble of waves could be heard outside. Her gaze darted to you as you were quietly snoring on the cot in the other part of the room.. You're still sleeping.

"..."

She got up without a word, carefully, her stilts clicked softly on the carpet, you specially laid this carpet for her... It's so strange, your words that she doesn't have enough slippers are even stranger, she doesn't have legs like yours, she has stilts.

"Hmm..."

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft beep, a message from headquarters. Memories flooded in from yesterday, as you read her a book, one of many that you took with you. Elster listened to your words for a long time, listened to your sleepy voice. She shook her head like a human, not a replica.. This is not the time to think about it, we need to diagnose it, and then wait for you to wake up.

And so, a detour was necessary, she went to the radio room. A message from Dr. Wat was flashing on the screen..

Dr. Wat: Dear Gestalt, We have sent you a new set of rations and a couple of CDs, and at your request we have sent you two books, good luck with your service!

Her gaze slides over the message... After that, she put her hand on the mouse and scrolled it down, there was nothing else.. Ea's thoughts were racing, she opened the system data tab. The generator is fine; the connection is fine; the signal that you caught last night has already loaded and is waiting for further transfer to a disk inserted next to another panel.

Elster looked up from her computer when she heard a soft rustle and turned around. Depending on how you shifted to the other side, she could now clearly observe your face.. She got up, carefully, not wanting to wake you up. Something very strange had touched her.. Elster slowly took a couple of steps towards your bed, then knelt down next to you.. It seems like she could smile, you look so cute while you're sleeping, so weird. She reached out her hand, wanting to touch your cheek, but sighed softly, her hand froze next to your cheek, her fingers almost touched your skin.. She would probably have woken you up, her face softened as she peered into your face, as if trying to find something new in the arrangement of the cheekbones. She dropped her hands back into her lap, her fingers hissing softly, as did the body..

"...You're sleeping so sweetly...."

She muttered in a low whisper.. Damn.. It seemed to sound too loud for her.. Elster put her hands on the edge of the bed, Then she put her head on her forearm. She smiled, admiring it..