Zeroth Directive

Archive II

'Well, they weren't completely to blame... It's true that we weren't in the nomadic city, and they didn't really follow normal demolition procedures, but who could've known the Originium explosives would blast the debris that far away? 'And the shard just happened to come crashing through the window of the temporary dorm. And I just happened to be walking down that hallway, and just happened to get cut by glass shards tainted with Originium dust...' When she got to this point, Poncirus earnestly summarized her entire life as equally uneventful. However, given this series of unfortunate events, 'uneventful' may be a particularly unconvincing turn of phrase, especially considering how every single person who heard the story of her infection came away dumbfounded—there were simply too many once-in-a-blue-moon coincidences involved. Fortunately, Poncirus herself was relatively optimistic about this event that completely changed her life from the ground up. Even after being infected by Oripathy, she was unwilling to become a Pioneer. By chance, she heard that Siesta was about to migrate to a nomadic city and was recruiting workers for the big move. Remembering how her late grandfather had always wanted her to go back to Siesta to see it for herself, and realizing that she had no memory of its beaches, she began her journey to find both her homeland and a job. Although a homecoming journey certainly sounds nice, in reality, she was throwing her fate to the winds by hitchhiking across the barrens... and of course, given her luck, she was merely drifting around all over the place while stopping at several false 'destinations.' By the time she finally arrived in Siesta, everyone had already moved to the nomadic city, and the old Siesta was already buried under a mountain of volcanic ash. Let us list her misfortunes, then: while working as an intern, the company she worked for pinned the blame on her before she even graduated from college; unable to find any other work, she joined a small demolition crew, only to become infected; she was swindled out of the money meant for her healthcare premium by a con-man; she was taken to some far-flung backwater during the trip to her homeland; and in the end, she didn't even get to see its beaches with her own eyes... If you ignore the odds of all these unfortunate events happening one after another, and looked at her past experiences through a different lens, you'd find that she is a strong and stubborn woman—just like the Siestans who bid their homeland farewell to build a new one. 'Of course I'd never give up so easily. I mean, my talents and abilities are nothing to write home about, but... 'Huh? You think I'm earnest, responsible, and a true professional... just that I've got terrible luck? 'I. Really. Don't. Think. So!'

Archive III

Operator Poncirus's grandfather holds a very important place in her heart. He used to be a construction worker in Old Siesta. When Siesta was but a small coastal gathering spot, her grandfather, still a young punk at the time, worked himself to the bone for the future of his seaside town. Even after Poncirus was born, her grandfather was still active on the frontlines of Siestan construction, albeit doing less intensive bricklaying and plastering work while putting his experience and sharp eyes to work. Of course, his perseverance in building Siesta was rooted completely in his own personal interests and faith. 'Grandpa once told me that back when he helped out in the mines, he once met a young scholar. The scholar told him that she wished the children of Siesta would get to live in a city full of love and kindness. 'He really agreed with what she said, so that became his vision of a 'mature' Siesta.' Yet before he could see Siesta turn into what he always envisioned, the entire family moved away from the seaside town. According to Poncirus, not long after she was born, her family moved to a nomadic city in Columbia because of her parents' work arrangements. She told us that her parents were usually busy, and it was her grandfather who was always by her side throughout childhood. Similarly, it was through her grandfather's stories that she learned everything she knew about Siesta. The thing that vexed her the most was that right up until her grandfather passed away, her family had never returned to Siesta. 'When I was a kid, I thought my grandpa had really weird tastes. He always had a dried slice of sour orange in his water, he always added sour orange dressing to his salads, he always sprinkled sour orange powder on his fried beast steaks, and he even added a few drops of sour orange juice whenever he had ice cream. He did it so much that even I ended up liking sourness—or sour oranges, to be exact. 'I used to think that he just liked the taste, but then I found out that the last local dish he had before leaving Siesta was a sour orange pie. 'Actually, the sour oranges produced in Old Siesta were very sweet when ripe, but the people there liked to eat them unripe. Now I get it. The incomplete Siesta he worked on was a sour orange, and the city of love and kindness that he dreamt of is a sweet, juicy orange. He left all those sweet oranges to the younger generation.'

Archive IV

After seeing her homeland buried in ash for herself, Poncirus spread a few seeds that represented her grandfather's wish to come home. Afterwards, she continued her journey to the newly built Siestan nomadic city. When she arrived in New Siesta, the planning of Fashion Street's renovation was underway and in need of manpower. Just as she'd anticipated, she was able to find work in her hometown that she'd never once visited, and in her field of expertise even: construction. Many of the shops on Fashion Street are ones that had been around since Old Siesta. Both to do her job better and to understand this city that she'd taken so long to visit, Poncirus got to know the Street's old folks and listened to their stories of the beaches, just as she'd once listened to her grandfather's. 'I didn't help them out all that much, really... It's the other way around, the shops on Fashion Street treated me really well. Like that time when I bought ice cream and the wind blew it right out of my hand. The cafe's old owner gave me a new scoop! 'When I spent time with them, it was like I was living the old days along with my grandpa. To tell the truth, I was a little jealous of him. He got to work with all these people toward a beautiful future he believed in. He must've been so motivated, every single day!' We once asked Poncirus if she would like to join the Engineering Department and work aboard the landship, but she responded with a simple, 'There's nothing to tear down here,' and tactfully declined our invitation. Now, aside from her regular visits to the landship for medical examinations, and occasionally providing her renovation services to the Engineering Department, she spends most of her time in that 'reborn' city. We understand that she has formed deep friendships with the local populace and that she is intent on rebuilding her homeland with them. 'While doing renovation work, I was hoping to work on designs with some personality while maintaining Siesta's traditional styles, but I never expected my first job would have me tear down an entire storefront— 'Apparently, after the old owner passed away, his grandson didn't want to take over the shop... It's a shame. By the time I got there, the old store sign was already taken down, and there wasn't much left inside... 'But when I took the cabinets down, I found an old, dusty photo behind them. It looked like a group photo of all the construction workers when the store was built, and my grandpa was there too! 'Grandpa helped build the store, and all these years later, I helped tear it down. It's almost like it was destiny. What I'm saying is, my luck can't be THAT bad, right?'

Search

Poncirus

Archive I

Promotion record

Outfits

Operators

Archive II

Archive III

Archive IV