Per 
Drip.
Karil awoke. Groggily getting off of her bed, she fumbled towards the bathroom in her apartment-like home and doused her face in cold water. Sighing, she looked in the mirror. A pale face stared back at her, its brown hair contrasting against the sickly white of its skin. Extracting her contact lenses from their box on the sink, she inserted them into each eye. Blinking a couple of times to activate them, she looked around the room as digital descriptions of objects popped up.
Drip, drip.
Studying the interface, she gingerly tapped on a small icon at the corner of the screen. Laying back in her chair, she watched as the lights activated automatically, revealing a sleek room. The yellow light illuminated the ornaments adorned on the walls and pictures of her past. Karil smiled with satisfaction at the modern efficiencies of her quarters.
Spinning out of her chair, she waltzed towards the windows. A sensor went off as she entered its threshold, prompting the motors to pull the curtains apart, unveiling a large underground city. The ceiling of the cavern was scattered with lamps that were suspended in the air, closely resembling pendant lights. The ropes holding the lanterns dangled from the ceiling, swaying side to side as the cold air in the underground swirled around.
Admiring the view for a few moments, she opened her wardrobe and started putting on clothes for work. She looked in the mirror once more, ensuring that she was completely ready before leaving her home.
Drip, drip, drip.
But she stopped. She heard the sound of water droplets within her home. Panicking, she scurried to find the source of the noise, to which she realized wasted water was going down the drain in her bathtub all night. Thankful it wasn't as serious, she still lamented on the fact that she wasted a valuable liquid. Water just seemed to find it's way through the cracks and tubes in her home, often resulting in a lot of it being wasted. However, she shook it off and closed the tap for good, then left for work.
Karil typed on her holographic keyboard. Moving it to the side, Karil opened a drawer, containing old records of an anomaly in containment. With a granola bar in her mouth, a co-worker nudged her side.
"Hey, Karil, what's up with Randall?" He asked, sipping a cup of coffee.
"Randall? No idea, anything happen?"
"Dunno, I asked the question for a reason."
The two worked quietly, sifting through various documents and typing on their computers. The silenced permeated through the air, but that was quickly interrupted, as the PA system turned on. With two beeps, a deep, hoarse voice could be heard.
"Dr. Karil, please report to Director Edison's office. I repeat, Dr. Karil, please report to Director Edison's office."
"Edison?" She muttered, hastily cleaning up her desk and throwing her wrapper.
Then, she left her own office. Making her way down the steel-plated walls, Karil walked silently, nervous for what was to come. Pushing a button near the office door to notify Edison of their arrival, the metal doors slid to the sides, revealing a large, clean office room; Edison sat at his desk with his coffee cup in the corner of it. Sitting in front of him, was a colleague of Karil's named Randall, who worked in the Foundation as an MTF operative.
"You needed me?" Karil questioned as the door closed shut, stopping the cool breeze from entering the room.
Edison grimaced and rested his chin on top of his interlocked fingers. "Yes, it's an urgent matter." He gestured towards one of the empty seats in front of his desk, "Take a seat, it may take a while."
She sat on the vacant seat. Karil was slightly unnerved, with goosebumps appearing on her skin. She cast a sidelong glance at Randall. His head was down, facing the top of the desk as he refused to make eye contact to Edison.
Edison sighed. "You're being reassigned."
Karil diverted her gaze, facing Edison the moment he made that sudden statement. She blinked twice.
"What?"
"I said I'm reassigning you."
Karil's hands tensed. Her heart started to beat faster as the seconds passed.
"W-Why?"
"The operation team needs a 'specialist' for their upcoming mission." He continued, "You fit that bill perfectly."
"But why me? There's gotta people far more qualified than I am."
Karil shifted uncomfortably in her seat as though it would help her ease her way out of the sudden change.
"We did a round check on all of the researchers in the field for this operation. Honestly, you were the only one suitable for this job."
"But I—"
"Karil, you may not realize it, but none of the researchers here are as suited to field work as you are."
Karil shut her mouth. Casting her eyes downwards for a few seconds, mulling over the unsuccessful exchange.
"Understood." She said in an unenthusiastic manner.
"Thank you."
The cup of coffee in the corner of the desk suddenly spilled, falling all over the floor. Edison furrowed his brows, as he glanced over at the spilled coffee. Karil ignored the spillage, and instead asked a question.
"What about Randall?"
Randall shot his head up at the sudden question. He was oddly quiet for the exchange between the two.
"Naturally, he's going to take part in the operation as well."
"Did you brief him earlier? Before you called, I mean." Karil looked at Randall for a few moments.
"…Yes, that's right." He picked up a cloth, getting up and placing it over the spillage. "I didn't plan for him to join the operation, but circumstances change all the time."
"I see…"
The room was silent once more for a few seconds, before Edison broke the silence.
"That's all then, you're dismissed." Edison eyed Karil for a moment before glancing at Randall, "You as well, Randall. I'll be seeing you at the operation."
She grumbled in response, "Likewise."
Randall nodded silently, before the two of the left the room, walking down the quiet halls. Ahead, there was a minor observation area, curving in an arch outwards from the wall to allow for more room. Karil observed the scenery as they walked, showing a massive part of the underground city. The pendant lamps scattered across the stone ceiling resembled stars in the night sky. The breeze coming from the vents blew on Karil's white coat, swaying as she looked outside. The lake just outside of the facility glistened, with a stalagmite located right at its center.
"It truly is a stunning view, isn't it?" Karil said, stopping and facing the glass wall.
Randall stopped in his tracks. "Huh? Oh— yeah, it definitely is."
The two stood still, without facing each other as they overlooked the scenery. Randall scratched his head, his left hand clenched.
"Look, Karil I—" Randall turned his head to face Karil. His face twisted with sorrow, like he'd just seen the death of a loved one.
Karil cut him off. "You've been acting weird all day."
"Huh?"
"Did ya really think I wouldn't notice?" Karil frowned as she moved her head to face Randall, "Out of all the people I know, you're probably the most expressive."
Randall chuckled nervously, his index finger scratching his cheek. "I-Is that right?"
"You've gotta be joking. You've been called out so many times for showing too much on your face, man."
"Yeah… Yeah, that's happened more times than I can imagine." Randall's arms fell to his sides.
"Damn right. So what's up? What's gotcha so worried?"
"It's just…" Randall shut his mouth for a few seconds, before speaking up. "It's about the operation."
Karil kept silent for a moment. "What about it?"
"It's dangerous."
"Well, of course it is. It's field work, even I know that much." Karil scoffed.
"That's why it's dangerous for you." Randall replied, "You're just a researcher. You're not meant for this kind of stuff like I am."
"I know, I'm not an idiot." Karil shot back.
"But even so," His hands tensed, "what if you get hurt?"
"I'll get hurt either way."
"What if you lose a limb?"
"It'll just be harder for me to work."
"What if you quit your job?"
"Listen man, I'm pretty bummed out I got reassigned so suddenly. And I'm in a pretty bitchy mood right now."
"But you're…" He lowered his voice to a mutter, to the point which Karil couldn't make our what he said.
"I told you earlier, I'm not stupid. And if that idiot Edison could wrap his head around the fact that there are many other qualified people, then maybe something could be done."
"You don't know that." Randall insisted.
"Sure, I don't. But I know for sure that as long as you're watching my back, I'll be okay."
Randall kept his mouth shut. The two stood in silence, listening to the air blowing through the vents like a quiet conversation that they would've been having on any other day.
"I'm sorry."
Karil furrowed her brows. "Sorry? For what."
"I tried to tell Edison that he shouldn't reassign you."
"It's not your fault." Karil looked out the window once more. "Shit happens, and it just did to me."
Randall kept silent for the next three minutes. Karil's face was already reddened from her sour mood. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up to face Randall, but his face was turned towards the floor, and not once did he look away.
"I'm sorry…"
Sniveling, she slightly faced the ground as a small amount of tears fell to the ground.
"Don't be."
Comprised of a total of six people, Karil, Randall, and the other MTF operatives taking part in the mission stood in a horizontal line. Edison faced the team, walking side to side as he debriefed the plan.
"This is our target." Edison pulled out a document, handing it to the right end of the line.
Eventually, the document landed in Karil's hands. Eyeing the photos taken of the brown-haired individual, she ingrained the appearance into her head.
"I've provided a tracking device into the contact lenses. It should appear on the top-right of your sight."
There, Karil noticed a mini-map where Edison informed her it'd be. A red dot was visible, completely still at the very top of the map.
