Karen Blaze
"......"
The intense night at the underground water plant had been a blast.
But should this be called the aftermath?
The next day, a silence that was more like the calm before the storm hung over the commander's quarters.
And right in the middle of it...
"Commander, say ahhhh."
"...I can feed myself, Pomen."
"I know. But you used up so much energy yesterday, right? So I'm feeding you myself."
"No, really, I can eat on my own. And... could you stop groping my butt?"
"Oh? Did I? I must've slipped. Hehe."
There was Pomen, naturally massaging my thigh while shoving Concentrated Nutrient into my mouth as if to show off.
She had idol-level looks, but her actions were straight out of some sleazy old man's playbook.
All I could do was let out a dry laugh.
"......"
And watching us from across the room was Noah, glaring with a beaming smile.
She was twirling her wrist like she was about to clock Pomen in the jaw any second.
"Noah, twirling your wrist like that will mess up your joints. You're not as young as you used to be."
"Oh my, Pomen. Our birth dates are only a few months apart."
"Still, I'm three months younger than you."
For a split second, it felt like the Saintess had turned into an inquisitor hunting heretics... Was that my imagination?
"......"
Playing ECHOes of Humanity — ECHO often showed commanders watching ECHOs fight like dogs over them.
Growls, barks, yelps—the whole package.
It was a cute way to show their competition for the commander's affection, but seeing it in real life? I was just embarrassed for everyone.
Anyway, it wasn't as fun as I'd imagined.
I'm not some harem protagonist...
Part of me wanted to yell, Quiet, you bitches, how dare you fight in front of the commander?! and pound them until I reeked of sex.
But I was still a noob in this world.
Plus, my stamina was that of an average guy who could barely handle one Pomen.
I was truly and utterly fucked…
Still... yesterday's threesome was honestly thrilling as hell.
When in life do you get a threesome with hot girls throwing themselves at you because they like you?
Wait, what if I order Pomen and Noah to...?
Maybe get them to play nice in bed?
That very wholesome, peaceful thought crossed my mind when—
"Commander. The cultivation process for Karen Blaze from the Ironwork Squad has been completed. Only synchronization remains, and it should start soon."
Arva, leader of Arclight Squad, announced over the commander's office speakers.
Her voice felt like a savior descending into this chaotic mess.
"Pomen, Noah. Let's go welcome the new member."
I shot up from my seat, escaping this suffocating love-and-war zone.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ark 69's ECHO hangar.
By the time I arrived, the massive cultivation pod was already spewing cold steam as it opened.
"Whoa, isn't this a total mess? Which ECHO let an important hangar like this fall into such disrepair?"
Karen, already out of the pod, was scanning the place, inspecting every detail.
Perhaps because there were no clothes, she was wearing only bottoms, her smooth upper body fully exposed as she clicked her tongue while looking at the hangar's rundown equipment.
She was exactly as I'd seen her in Hongwei-7.
Ironworks Squad member, Karen Blaze.
The Original ECHO in charge of Ark 69's repairs and manufacturing.
Finally, she stood before us.
She was the first ECHO I had created from the genetic level since coming to this world.
"...Huh?"
After thoroughly eyeing the hangar, her red eyes lost focus and wandered.
Then she slowly spoke.
"Wh-Where is this...? Is this Ark 69?"
Her voice was laced with utter emptiness.
"How'd you know?"
Pomen tilted her head, intrigued by her demeanor.
"Oh, oh?!"
Spotting us at her voice, Karen scanned the Arclight Squad members one by one, greeting them casually like old buddies.
"Long time no see, Arva, Pomen, Noah. Tch. Seeing you here... pretty much confirms this is Ark 69. So the escape mission failed after all?"
Surprisingly, Karen retained her memories with the Arclight Squad intact.
"Karen, how much do you remember?"
Arva asked cautiously.
"Remember? Ah... Right before departure, when the Fleet Commander issued the final expedition order, I backed up my memories via the Central AI. Just in case. Seeing I'm back here, I figured the escape expedition failed."
Oh...
It seems ECHOs could back up memories mid-mission using the Central AI.
This was my first time hearing this. Something like this never came up in the game.
So other dead ECHOs could be revived if we just backed their memories up? It was definitely useful information. I tucked it in the corner of my mind for later use.
"So what happened? How'd we all get wiped?"
Karen asked flatly, like inquiring about someone else's story.
"Ark 69 main force encountered Crawler Queen during the expedition. It was total annihilation for us."
"Crawler Queen?! We ran into that walking disaster? Where?"
"...Hongwei-7."
"You're kidding, right? That's right next door to Ark 69."
"Yeah. Nearly got us too."
"Talk about rotten luck. Or rather, the previous Fleet Commander had no brains, so no surprise. But you guys..."
Suddenly, Karen's gaze turned to me.
Her red eyes scanned me up and down.
It was a look of pure curiosity, as if she had discovered something very strange and novel, different from anything she had ever witnessed.
"Wait, who's this guy first? Why's he in the Commander’s garb...?"
Karen trailed off, shaking her head.
It seemed that the image of the previous Fleet Commander who ordered the Final Expedition and my appearance were mixing in her head, causing her confusion.
"...Explain the situation, Arva."
At her request, Arva nodded and replied.
"As you can see, he is our new commander. The previous ones all died in the last expedition."
"...Somehow we got a new one. But if we got wiped, what happened to me?"
"Yes. You were in a terrible state."
"I see. How'd I go out?"
Was it an ECHO thing or something?
She asked about her own death like an engineer querying an old machine's specs—calm and serious.
I couldn't bring myself to answer.
Truth was, I didn't know how Karen died.
What came after was too horrific, but...
The others did. Pomen, arms crossed, smirked and stepped up.
"Don't know the final moment, but... when we found your corpse in Hongwei-7, it was quite the sight."
"...Corpse?"
"Yeah. Not sure if Crawler Queen got you, but you were dead. Core shattered too."
"The others?"
"Saw some from the Palanica squad. Didn't fully search the place for the rest. But the fun part was next. The Carapace Lord was playing with your corpse."
"......Ew?"
Karen's calm face stiffened for the first time.
"H-How...?"
"Just your basic corpse desecration? Anyway, that's how it was. We beat the thing, grabbed your genes, revived you. So say thanks already."
"Haa... Got it. Was Lena there too?"
"Nah, no signs of Lena."
At that, Karen quietly shut her mouth.
Clenching her fists, she was trying to suppress her emotions.
I seized the chance to shift the mood.
"We revived you for a reason, Karen. For the reconstruction of Ark 69. Will you help us?"
"Uh, y-yeah."
Did my request catch her off guard?
She blinked, then slowly nodded.
"And put some clothes on."
"...Pardon?"
Looks great, but... it was getting a bit embarrassing. I'm a healthy guy, after all.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Karen changed into clean work clothes and headed to the command center's commander's office.
"Conference room, huh..."
Back when the potbellied old Fleet Commander was around, ECHOs weren't even allowed in the commander's office.
But the current Fleet Commander – also acting as a general commander – was a bit different.
He was young, and perhaps because of that? Strangely, he didn't seem to keep himself distant from the ECHOs.
I thought I was going to have a core meltdown seeing how Pomen was clinging to the Commander.
Any normal human would've executed her on the spot for that behavior.
But the new commander just looked awkward, unable to push Pomen away strongly. It was a shocking sight, to say the least.
Is it because we are the only Originals left on the Ark?
With those thoughts churning in her mind, she arrived at the office. All the ECHOs were already seated.
"S-Sorry I'm late."
Karen quietly took her seat, eyeing the hologram screen.
It laid bare the Ark's dire state.
"...What? Nothing's running? Just the underground water plant? That's it?"
Her breath was caught at the horrific state of the Ark.
"The previous Fleet Commander trashed the Ark right before leaving."
Arva answered while Pomen added from the side.
"Zombies even invaded inside. We nearly died just sweeping them out."
Karen shook her head.
It was an all-encompassing disaster. Anyway, first things first…
"Solar panels are top priority repairs. We need to secure at least the bare minimum energy to run the Ark properly. And..."
"And?"
"I think we need to solve the food problem too."
Arva tilted her head at Karen's words.
"Food? Concentrated nutrients should suffice, no?"
"...From the perspective of us ECHOs, that’s true. But the humans get sick without real food."
All eyes turned to the commander at Karen’s explanation.
Sure enough, he was shaking his head vigorously.
"Did the Concentrated Nutrient taste bad?"
At Noah's worried question, the commander forced a smile.
"...Eating only that's a bit much, isn’t it?"
Karen inwardly clicked her tongue.
They'd been feeding the commander nothing but nutrient packs this whole time?
Despite that, seeing him not get angry once and not utter a single curse, she felt he was a bit different from the previous Commanders.
Anyway, to normalize the Ark's operation, energy had to be secured first.
"Then we use restored energy for next steps. Build defenses or increase ECHO numbers. After that, scout and secure external resources."
It was a very basic plan.
But everyone gaped, impressed.
"......"
Arclight Squad were combat ECHOs, after all.
It made sense that they didn't know anything about Ark management.
Still, they were shocked by just the basics?
Karen shrugged inwardly.
Then the commander, watching her, smiled and spoke.
"Impressive as expected. So this is what the ace of the Ironworks squad is capable of, huh?"
"—!"
Karen's mind went blank.
The commander's praising voice, gaze, the word ace.
Words and feelings she'd never heard surged through her core like electricity.
D-danger, danger, danger—!
Was she this weak to praise?
Thinking back, she'd never gotten encouragement from humans besides the ECHOs.
Karen bowed her head deeply, both embarrassed and elated.
And so, she failed to see the subtle smile the Commander was directing at her.