Kalani brought the rest of the crew to convene in the outposts center plaza. Even knowing her decision, Aurelio couldn’t help but fidget in place and purposefully avoid the attention of Elena.
“Alright crew. We’re two for two right now and I expect us to do great on this third expedition,” Kalani started, the rest of the crew captivated by her speech, “But I won’t be attending this next expedition.”
Her reveal was nothing short of surprising.
Elena leaned into her outburst, “But commander! You’re not planning to have this-this near stranger lead the rest of the crew, are you!?!” She didn’t wait for a response, her muscles coiling to rip Aurelio to shreds if he so much as shifted to the side in a suspicious manner.
“No offense to the newbie, and I can’t believe I’m in the same camp as Crazy Commando here, but shouldn’t we be running under your leadership? We were able to handle things just fine with you out there.” Phineas interjected.
Cantwell, true to form, remained silent and impassive, merely watching the spectacle unfold.
“And you’re right in the belief that Aurelio wouldn’t suffice as a leader out there. Too wet behind the ears still,” Kalani walked up to Elena and placed both her hands on the soldiers shoulders, “Which is why I’m looking to you to lead this expedition out of harms way.”
The venomous aura surrounding Elena dissipated. She was gobsmacked.
“Wait, me?” Elena asked in bewilderment.
Kalani chuckled, “Don’t think there’s another Elena in our midst to handle things for us. It’d make my job a ton easier if we did have an army of you running around at my beck and call.”
Elena’s face soured, her glare redirected from Aurelio to the commander in an uncharacteristic manner.
Noticing the faux-pas, Kalani pulled away from Elena and stated plainly, “Frankly, you’re the only one I think can handle the responsibility of leading the team at this moment in time. Phineas’s role takes him out of the loop too often for him to respond to sudden developments. Cantwell isn’t one for words. And Aurelio, despite being one of our premier assets, doesn’t have the experience necessary to make me comfortable having the crew in his arms.”
It hurt when Kalani discussed her plan with Aurelio and doubted his capacity to lead. It frayed on his nerves more than she knew.
But she was right. It’d have been delusional for Aurelio to take on the leadership position so fresh into living in this world, regardless of what the system and Monolith wanted of him.
Which meant he needed to position himself to learn the role. Grow into the leadership position wherever he could, scaffolding his knowledge with the efforts of those around him and emulate their strong characteristics.
He wasn’t formally forming a lesson plan to glean leadership notes from, but keeping their kernels of wisdom in the back of his mind would bear fruit over time.
“Why though?” Phineas asked. “Seemed like it was a good thing we had going on out there. The kid got to spend time in that library of his and we got to look out for each other like we usually do.”
Kalani sighed, “Two reasons motivate me to stay behind, as much as I’d like to get out there with the rest of you. The first is that the knowledge about this planet and the monsters that live here is being monopolized by Aurelio and that peculiar stone of his.”
He winced at the accusation.
If only it were up to him to alter that aspect of their arrangement.
“Not to say he’s doing this purposefully,” she quickly added, noticing his discomfort, “But the mission of getting out of here needs more than one cook in the kitchen, yeah? Lio here has all the knowledge that stone’s delivered to him but he’s only got one perspective to approach it. I want to be the second perspective here. I’d be more at ease being familiar with what the planet can throw at us and planning accordingly.”
Elena raised an eyebrow, “What’s the other reason that you’re staying behind though?”
“It’s to our benefit that Aurelio gains strength along with the rest of us.” Kalani stated. She looked at him, indicating it was okay for him to speak.
He took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand.
“Kalani is right. There’s a treasure trove of history to parse through in the archives and my recent attainment of the [Archivist] role means that I was able to provide her with extensive access to all the building has to offer. It’ll be slow going for her to go through the material with a primitive decoding system, but better some knowledge than no knowledge, yeah?” Aurelio elaborated.
He pressed his open palm onto his chest, pulling out the cerulean flame to reveal his sheet with the rest of the group.
[Name] - Aurelio Cancio
[Status] - Healthy
[Second Wind] - {X} {X} {.}
[Species] - error
[Heart] - 2
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[Ignition Points] - 11
[Ignition Regen] - 1
[Ignition Cap] - 11
[Role 1] - Archivist
[Role 2] - None
[Mov: +1 | Acc: +1 | Str: +1 | Eva: +0 | Spd: +0 | Lck: +0]
[Weapon Class Specialization] - RIFLE (1)(7WP until next Milestone)
[Spark Level] - 0(2XP until next Milestone)
[7 Innovation Points Available in the Outpost]
“I’m already two levels behind from the rest of you. I need to go on these trips to catch up. Quick math tells me that the next lowest is Phineas at 2XP. We only have, at most, thirty eight days left before this planet’s consumed by the ink blot up above us. If I’m going to help out the group, I need to have the means to actualize the knowledge I have, and that means getting my damn hands dirty.” Aurelio couldn’t help weaving his frustrations into his tone. He wanted to be a dependable ally to the rest of the crew and despite his efforts, he was inadequate.
A disappointment.
But that didn’t have to be an absolute.
They’d save the Doc and gain insight from his life on the planet. They’d prep the outpost for an expedition into the catacombs. They’d secure the [Monarch] role for Aurelio.
There they’d be cooking with gas.
Elena was uninterested in Aurelio’s seemingly petulant justification, “You’ve got that gun on you. Isn’t that enough power for you?”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you!” Aurelio spat back. Prey struggling against predator, Elena’s teeth baring at his act of defiance. “I’ve been nothing but beneficial to the crew and all you’ve done is lay out baseless suspicions at my feet.”
She unleashed the tension in her muscles, barreling past Kalani towards Aurelio, pinning the chubby man onto the ground.
“You think it's baseless, huh? Well let me touch base with you, yeah?” Elena leaned in close to his face and growled, “You don’t get to earn a pass with the rest of the crew just because everyone wants to smooth things over. Not when you’re in cahoots with an alien whose motives are far beyond the lot of us, especially from a snot-nosed civilian like you. What makes you think that knowledge of yours won't lead the rest of us to our doom?”
Aurelio held his tongue. Part of his need to exit the outpost was to assess the veracity of his knowledge, as Elena wanted. But admitting that much to her would be ceding ground he didn’t want to provide.
“What? Stone’s got your tongue? Mushed up that jelly spine of yours?”
Elena was peeled off of Aurelio forcefully by Cantwell, his massive hands yanking the soldier away from his prone body.
Kalani let out a heavy sigh, “Elena. I can’t believe I have to do this but, I’m calling in our arrangement from Stagi-X22. Bunker talk.”
The name of the planet rang a distant bell for Aurelio, but for Elena, she relived the statement in moments. Whatever anger welled up inside of her was forcefully bottled up.
The soldier collected herself.
“Alright, commander.” Elena replied through grit teeth. Without another word, she left the plaza, making her way towards the barracks where the suits were being held.
Phineas helped pull Aurelio up from the ground and wiped him off, “The head honcho must think you’re premium goods if she’s willing to call an old favor like that.”
He raised an eyebrow, “What’s all that about?”
The rogue lifted up his hands over his head, “Not my place newbie. Get the full scoop from either one of those. Only know enough from the rare time’s Elena and I have shared shitty drinks together.”
Kalani approached the crew, “She’s not taking it well but she’ll manage. The rest of you, I want a report on your expedition delivered to me on first arrival. This distress signal is a secondary priority, stress mine. I don’t want you all to risk your lives responding to a distress signal. If things prove too tough, cut your losses and run.”
After assessing that Aurelio was fine, Kalani walked towards the barracks. Hopefully she’d be able to salvage the situation and make Elena less of a hot headed beast by the end of things, because with the way their conversation had gone, Aurelio doubted Elena was going to be amenable to listening to anything he’d like to suggest.
---
The commander looked at the rest of the crew with a motherly adoration. Elena was fitted with her [Carbon Cleaver], the severe look on her face taking on a dour and contemplative disposition. Phineas was swinging his [Black Needle] around in front of Cantwell, attempting to show off his combat prowess with a reenactment of their previous bout with a Vessel. Cantwell nodded along, leaning on his [Slab of Iron], mostly humoring his friend over events that he was clearly also present to experience.
Aurelio shifted uncomfortably within the exo-suit, his [Ember Lance] acting as a fidgeting tool to keep his mind and his nerves occupied with something to do. It was a reflexive motion he’d taken in breaking apart the [Ember Lance] from its compact form into its combat ready transformation.
“I wish you all luck on your journey, team. The stars will find you home.” Kalani opened the outpost gates and watched them walk away from the sanctuary.
Phineas was leading the crew with Elena taking point behind him. Aurelio was third while Cantwell covered the rear.
“Alright crew, we’ve got two objectives on our hands. Respond to a distress signal and take out our target over yonder.” Despite the shit-eating tone Phineas adopted for the bulk of his conversations, the man was competent in his skills as a [Scout]. At once, their internal diagnostics display pulled up a rudimentary map of the scanned biome, thick green scrawled lines trailing out to two destinations not far from one another.
“The beacon’s closer than the fight, so I’m partial to adding some firepower to the crew if we can opt for it with this extra muscle,” Phineas turned to look at Elena, “So, cap’n, what are we looking to do first?”
Elena didn’t waste any time assuming the position, “We’re going to walk to the edge of the biome and choose our route from there. This place has a way of turning itself around on you and I’m not letting it get that advantage on us. Keep moving and keep your eyes and ears peeled on anything that might ruin our day.”
With a silent salute, Phineas pulled out further ahead through the canopy of pine trees into sights unseen.
Despite his best efforts, Aurelio couldn’t avoid feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach.