#nelefinn 02.

When the power cuts out and the radios fall silent, an eerie silence fills the hotel. The sirens have stopped their screeching and she can see the group growing restless, the din of panic slowly swelling around them as people begin to harass each other for information, out of fear and concern for loved ones still outside. Mara doesn’t blame them, her mind humming loudly with thoughts of Teddy and Felix, but she knows what happens in times like these – when people give into hysteria, they need time to calm down and find balance again. And yet, she doesn’t see that happening and knows Nele won’t have a choice but to act if they get out of hand.

She hates standing still, idle hands itching for something to do. Not for the first time, Mara’s grateful for her spirit, the one that prompts her to walk up to Nele and clear her throat, already formulating a plan she’d need help with. Glancing at Vincent standing apart from the crowd of people, it crystalizes. “I need a minute,” she says, gesturing towards a corner with a window that hadn’t been completely covered up by dust or rain. It was still too dark to really see past it but it was enough. “We need to get comms back up and running unless you want an uprising you’ll have to put down.” It’s the truth. Plain and simple and ugly. As much as Mara hates to admit it, even she knows that order is essential at a time like this. And restoring it was of paramount importance.

Mara glances over at Nele, “Do you remember when we had that electrical storm in ‘42?” It had been nothing like this hurricane but lightning had struck the hotel twice close succession, short-circuiting its power grid. “They had to do a hard reset since the breakers weren’t working.” She only knew this because the tech who’d gone had cut himself rather badly on damaged metal which had been charred and mangled from the lightning strike. She looks back out the window now and presses her lips together, shifting from one leg to another before voicing her idea. “We need those radios back.” She’s sure Nele knows that, given her position, “So I can go.” She nods as she says it. It’s not ideal but with how on edge everyone was, she doesn’t predict they’d be calm enough to head out into the storm and accomplish what they need to do. But Mara? She’s always thrived under pressure. “I can reset it.”