Normally, this would not be an issue for the recipient. Also normally, it wasn't 3:14 AM. The slight blonde woman's eyes slowly opened as the sudden sound woke her. Reaching over to her nightstand, sleepily turning on a lamp and answering the phone.
"This is Carol."
"Professor Elfnein! Hello!"
Professor Carol Elfnein sighed, instantly recognizing the voice of Yoshiko Tsushima.
"Good morning, Yoshiko. What's up?"
The line went quiet for a moment except for some ambient noise. Somebody was yelling and shouting. Carol was about to ask about the noise when she heard gunshots, nearly dropping her phone in surprise.
"Oh! It's...oh...it's very early. My apologies, Professor!" Yoshiko said. Carol could practically hear the Getter pilot bowing. "I wouldn't have called if it weren't important though, I promise! You can trace my signal, right?"
"Yes." Carol rubbed her brow. "If you call the LAB and not my personal number."
"Sorry, sorry!" Yoshiko apologized again. Carol could almost make out another voice yelling at Yoshiko. "I'll call back then! Sorry! Bye!"
The line went silent and the professor sighed, climbing out of bed, slipping on her slippers, and quietly walking from her bedroom, heading deep into the rebuilt Stratford Institute, going past the hangar with the new combat robots, and entering the control center. As they were not technically a military installation, there was only one person in the heart of the Institute supervising the surrounding area. They began standing as Carol entered, but she waved them off.
"Don't mind me," she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
Carol made a face after taking a sip; not cold per se but it had been sitting out for awhile. She found a seat next to the room's phone, knowing Yoshiko would call as she as she remembered the number. It was only a few minutes before the phone finally rang, the professor promptly picking up.
"Stratford Institute, this is Professor Elfnein speaking," she said if only for the sake of ceremoney.
"Hello, Professor! Thank you for answering so swiftly," Yoshiko said, the background only full of more gunshots.
"You're welcome, Yoshiko. How can I be of assistance?" Carol answered, knowing the question.
"Okay! So...did you know...there are Dark Matter Cults?" Yoshiko asked. "The ones that cry and moan because we got rid of Dark Matter completely?"
"I'd heard of them, yes."
"Well...I found one! They're...very interesting," Yoshiko continued. "This one found the remains of a creature that once had Dark Matter in it and now they're worshipping it."
"Sounds...yawn...horrible."
"It is, it is. Anyway...this cult's leader is a robot that Dark Matter had reprogrammed and now it's-" Yoshiko's phone emitted the high-pitched whine of an energy weapon. "It's got some kind of salvaged mech or something and they're all trying to kill me, so..."
Carol reached over and began hitting a few buttons. The Stratford Institute's satellite began searching for Yoshiko's cell signal across the globe, linking up with the major phone carriers of the world to find its GPS. Ah, somewhere in Africa. A few more button pushes later and the Institute rocked gently as the sounds of Getter Robo taking off faded into the night.
"It'll be a few minutes," the sleepy professor reported. "Try not to die."
"Thank you, Professor!" Yoshiko chirped. "I'll be by tomorrow with it. Thanks!"
"You're welcome. Good night, Yoshiko."
The call then ended and Carol yawned, looking at the time. It was...time to go back to bed. So she did, her footsteps softly ringing out as she returned to her quarters, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Just another night on Heart Star.
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