attacking a station (2)

"Come in, Bovine. This is station three. Please come in! All communication was cut and you are the only ones that haven't responded since comms are back. I repeat. Come in, Bovine. This is station three. Give us any kind of signal if you can hear us!"

"It's no use, Jackson. All our long distance communication going down at the same time without any conceivable explanation can only mean one thing. The dungeon master must have interfered to hide how they took down a train. Bovine is gone!"

I don't want to believe it but George may be right. The Bovine isn't a particularly strong train and they are the only train that hasn't answered after the presumed interference. But what could take down a train in less than an hour and on this floor?

The monsters on this floor shouldn't pose any threat to a train. Unless the dungeon master snapped and spawned and overleved and unique monster.

At any rate, it's been a few hours since things happened so I suppose as the station's head of comms I should make the call to tell the station master that we lost a train. As if the Galahead nearly being derailed wasn't enough bad news for the day.

Suddenly, a crackle is heard from my speakers, then a female voice sounds out though obvious interference distorts the voice.

"This-bzzzz-ovine. We are-bzzzzzzzz-attacked-bzzzzz-back."

The interference causing constant buzzes to interrupt the sentences makes it hard to understand but I think that was the bovine. Did they survive the attack?

"Jackson, that voice didn't sound like anyone from any of the communication teams…"

"So what? The interference is distorting the voice and even if it's someone else, they are still aboard the bovine. I don't think any of the other trains would come in like this as a joke."

"What if they were taken over? Some monsters have been observed to know the humanoid language."

"But not at this level. Are you suggesting that a female orc is smart enough to pretend to be the bovine?"

"All I'm saying is don't let your joy of getting an answer get ahead of you. From what I heard, they were attacked and are heading back. We have to report this now so the station can prepare."

At that moment, our internal communicator springs to life.

"Hey, Jackson, can you check with your guys if anyone got a message from the bovine. Their front engine just entered our range of perception but they are missing half their back wagons. The whole thing looks pretty banged up and they are approaching at max speed."

I grab the communicator and answer.

"I just got a short message but there was a lot of interference. It mentioned being attacked and something about back. We thought they might say they were coming back but maybe they were talking about their missing half. Meet me in the station master's office, she'll decide what we'll do."

I tell George to stag behind and relay any further messages to the station master directly. Then, I sprint down to the station master's office. Walking into the office, the head lookout is already present and the station master glares at the both of us.

"Gentlemen, as important as the situation of the Bovine is, I don't need the heads of two posts here to discuss it. We have an internal communication system for a reason!"

I want to argue but at that moment her communicator goes off. George comes in and relays that we received another message from the Bovine. The same voice, this time less distorted, asked for the gates to be opened before suddenly cutting off. George once again reaffirms that he doesn't recognize that voice.

"Now that puts us into a dilemma. If they really are under attack, and we don't let them in, we might let innocent people die out of paranoia. If this is a ploy by some unique monster, the station will take an unknown amount of damage and will likely have to cease operations for the time being. In addition, there is the peculiar nature of this dungeon and its master. This may very well be one of his tests but we do not know what the right answer is…"

"Obviously the right choice is to take the risk and save lives!"

The station master glares at me for my outburst. But how could I remain silent.

"There have been instances where the correct choice was discovered to be the one that seems selfish. I believe there is more to the answers than selfishness. Hence why both selfish and unselfish behaviors have been punished so far… I have a plan, a reverse question so to speak. If they give the emergency signal for opening the gate, we will do so. If they give the normal one or none, we don't. Any objections?"

I shake my head, indicating that I am fine with this arrangement. Anyone capable of driving that train has had those signals drilled into them. If they don't use the right ones, it's beyond our means to help them.

"With that settled, return to your posts. I'll personally oversee the gate. And just in case. Jackson, contact the other stations and relay our situation. That way they will at least know what is happening."

I nod and hurry back to my desk. I call the other stations in order and tell them what is happening. They all react differently but station one directly decides to send an emergency repair train our way. The station master had personally taken my message and he seems equally worried as our own station master. As high level adventurers their gut feeling is scarily accurate and I can't help but worry.

Suddenly, a message is broadcasted to all internal communicators simultaneously.

"The back engine of the Bovine is approaching from another direction! They've activated their magic drive!"

"Everyone, prepare for battle! Drop the gate!"

As the station master's roar reverberates through the station, I pray we won't need that repair train.