There was so much to do all of a sudden, Gemma found she had no more time to dwell on things like worry or sadness. There was just frenetic go, go, go, and keep going!

She would be meeting the spearheader of the program that focused on dismantling Gosidiona’s interdimensional travel schemes soon. There was her meeting with Hello, Goodbye, as they planned out their next album. All of that was mixed in with caring for Nellie.

Skyler had tentatively suggested ‘other options,’ one evening when they were eating dinner together.

“I’m not leaving Nellie under anyone else’s supervision for that long,” Gemma said, her voice firm, “I could never live with myself if something happened to her. And isn’t that what I have the Babysitter Class for?”

“Okay,” Skyler said, backing off, “but keep it in mind.”

“Hmm,” Gemma said, not commiting.

Her appointment with the anti-interdimensional travel team (AITT) was the next day. She scooped Nellie into the sling she’d bought, since the carriage was often a nuisance to haul around, and flagged down a car.

“Registrar’s Palace, please,” Gemma told the Dewuar driver.

“Sure, miss,” he said.

Gemma watched the scenery buzz by, and patted Nellie’s back absently.

She’d wanted answers ever since she’d arrived in Travalar, and Fiona had given many to her when she’d recruited her.

Why did people have to be so passionate about their beliefs, that they took it to the point of hurting others needlessly? Why couldn’t things be simple?

Gemma’s musing was interrupted by the car pulling to a stop.

“Thank you,” Gemma said as she exited the car.

The Registrar’s Office stood so many stories high it made Gemma dizzy thinking what the view from the tallest tower would be like. The Frillish government had poured a lot of money into it.

But as gorgeous as the outside was, the inside was derelict.

“Weird,” Gemma said under her breath.

She approached one of the front desks, and mentioned her appointment.

The Avian woman blinked slowly, “You’re in the wrong place. You need to enter on the other side of the building,” then she gave more exact directions.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Gemma sighed and exited.

The sudden sense of her Skill TLC activated, and Gemma found herself clenching her hand as a foreign power tried to make it move to pat Nellie’s back.

“Come on,” Gemma whispered. Her knuckles were white.

Gemma gave in and found herself patting Nellie’s back.

Nellie burbled, happy with the attention.

“That’s a new record for resisting it,” Gemma said as she continued patting Nellie back.

Gemma found the much less grandiose entrance that the Avian lady directed her too, and was let in after her identity was verified. Where the other side of the building was falling apart, this one was in tip top shape. Another Avian lady directed her to a particular office. Gemma thanked her and made her way through the lustrous halls.

Danger Sense went off the second Gemma walked into the room, but she felt no need to flee. It made that sense for it to be activating. Gemma brushed it off.

“Hello, Miss Dale. My name is Greengage. I head the AITT.” Greengage was a stout man who was not human, Avian, or Dewaur. Which meant he was a Lost himself, or descended from one.

His knuckles had two extra sets of joints, and his facial hair was short, but thick, and a shade of purple so bright it was startling upon first glance.

“I know,” Gemma said, taking in her potential boss’s unusual appearance.

They sat down, and Greengage went over many of the points Fiona already had.

Gemma shuffled through a lot of paperwork pertaining to secrecy, compliance with the law, and her current Skills and Classes.

“You're asking for the right to decide the rest of my Skills?” Gemma’s eyebrows raised, “Isn’t that a bit much?”

“Not if you want to operate as safely as possible in the field,” Greengage said.

“I’ll give you say in five of my reamaingming Skill slots,” Gemma said. That would leave her with four to work with.”

“Fine, but be open to negotiating that with us in the future,” Greengage said, “We want you to be as effective as possible, and you yourself may decide to change some of your own Skills. We'd be willing to help with that.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” Gemma said.

Once they completed the paperwork, and it had gone on long enough that Gemma put Nellie down so she could crawl around on Greengage’s plush floor, Greengage decided it was a good idea to lecture Gemma.

He outlined the history between Frillin and Gosidonia, and Gemma took it all in with a grain of salt. She was no native, patriotic Frillish citizen. Gosidonia would have their own version of history to tell, a reason for their efforts beyond the Frillish explanation of them being power hungry.

In a succinct manner it came down to style of government and policy leading to diverging views on interdimensional travel between the nations. It was one thing for it to happen accidentally, like how the Lost ended up in Travalar to begin with, but to intentionally reach out into the void between dimensions, to reach between stars to other planets? Greengage spent another five minutes lecturing on how catastrophic that would be. Gemma tuned out that part and smiled at Nellie, and reached down to run a hand along her soft hair a couple of times.

Fiona had gone over the same details Greengage was enumerating on, anyway.

Greengage also brought up about how the other reason the situation of the Lost wasn't commonly spoken about was because, relative to the population, they were barely a number in the far decimal places of a single percentage.

After Greengage was done with the official lines and what-needed-to-be saids, he got to the meat of the meeting.

Gemma paid full attention, and didn’t distract herself with Nellie’s presence.

Greengage has some interesting things to say about what, exactly, they intended for Gemma to do.