Summer was coming.

Camellia could tell that Ul’thetos would soon begin to grow. The nearby tentacle swayed like it was a great, leafless tree, complete with pulsating branches. The clear sky warmed the land, pulling the temperature up to sixty degrees, warm for Lurren at least. Ul’thetos’ branches had what could only be described as pink buds.

Camellia kept her distance, careful to stand farther back than Eva. She wanted to say something to Eva, to console her friend. Yet, Eva seemed so grim. Camellia had no words.

Androids exited the bunker and stared at the creature’s hovering tentacle. Eva glared at them. Already, they refused to help move supplies, and Eva had warned that they may be little better than self-arranging statues, of no help to the mission.

Eva took Camellia’s arm and nodded that they should go back inside. At the threshold of the bunker, Camellia and Eva paused. They waited for some of Rooks’ crew to pass.

Rooks’ force moved supplies from the shuttles to the bunker. The men and women worked, taking crates from shuttles two and three.

Shuttle one had become something of a pantry, and the crew already adopted the nickname. Loose ready-made meals, and fresh vegetables littered the floor; every one was under suspicion for Camellia’s fake allergy. Camellia winced, feeling bad that she threw suspicion over innocent food stuffs.

The doorway became unoccupied, and Eva led Camellia inside. They traversed the hall, avoiding workers, and joined Rooks in the largest room. Camellia realized that they were the last to join the gathering.

Rooks gestured for them to sit and began, “We need a fall back location.” She stood crowded in a room of organics and synthetics, but to her credit, she hardly seemed to care. “Shall we choose Faustina’s beach?”

“Faustina would love the company,” Meladee said.

Rooks looked at Camellia.

“It’s clear.”

“Alright, are there any structures on or near that beach?” Rooks asked.

Eva shook her head. “No, we won’t find anything along the beach. That area was used as a pleasure location, with shoddily built beach houses. All have since fallen into ruin.”

“No good options for a base then.” Rooks paused.

“There’s Faustina!” Meladee grinned. “She’s tiny. Not really base material. But, in my heart, she’s the homiest structure around.” Meladee put both hands on her breast and made a serene face.

Benham smiled and snorted. Meladee gave him a look of mock indignance. Camellia wondered if their disagreement had finally ended.

Rooks ignored the statement. “Eva, are any materials left over from the old beach houses?”

“Yes. Wood mostly. Possibly some stone and maybe even some metal.” Eva inclined her head and set her gaze on the ground. “I doubt it will serve against the creature’s flesh.”

Rooks held up a hand. “We just need a fallback location. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Alright, listen to the plan. Benham, I need you to scout back and find Faustina. Make sure to note any signs of the creature. Go now. I need you back here as fast as possible.”

Benham stood. “Sounds like it will be a long walk. Two days if I choose to rest.”

“Lucky for you, I brought a little helper.” Rooks gestured for one of her men to retrieve the so-called helper.

Benham furrowed his brow and waited by the room’s entrance. A crewman returned with a small electric bike, and Benham’s mouth dropped open. He ran his hands over the bike’s handlebars, seat, and headlights.

“On this, I could do it in a few hours.” Benham stroked the deep blue finish.

“Yes, very quiet too.” Rooks turned her attention to the entire room. “As soon as Benham returns, he’ll take several robots to build a small base. Androids too – if we can make them help. I’ll call reinforcements from the Bardiche and an airdrop of supplies. Both will be left with Faustina in case we need them.”

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Meladee cleared her throat. “Can I go with him? Faustina’s under a protection spell that only I can lift. If I go along, I could lift the spell, and we might as well set up the base without returning back here first.”

“And what about the robots you need to bring with you?” Rooks asked.

Meladee frowned. “Didn’t think of that.”

Eva stepped forward. “The robots can follow. They don’t need to keep pace. The beach is clear, right Camellia?”

Camellia started. “Yes. It is definitely clear.”

Rooks raised an eyebrow. “Nothing in the water?”

Camellia shook her head. “Nothing.” She felt some tension in the air, probably regarding the tentacles in the south sea, the ones that Eva probably knew about.

Rooks sighed. “Okay, go ahead. Meladee, Benham, make our fall back base. You can report to me by com, and the robots will follow. I believe two will fit just fine on that bike.” She shooed Benham and Meladee. “Go. I need you both back here as soon as possible.”

Meladee and Benham took hold of the bike and wheeled it out the room, ready to ride away from the bunker.

Rooks waited.

Camellia listened as Meladee and Benham chattered down the hall and out the door. Finally, she heard the familiar slam and squeak. Her friends were on their way.

Rooks drew a breath. “We’ll need Benham to scout deeper into the continent, so until he gets back, we get this base in shape. When we have Meladee and Benham again, we’ll send Benham ahead and have our team of archaeologists close behind. Camellia, Adalhard, Cernunnos – I’ll give you a small contingent of men to protect you as you move inland. Your goal is to find that creature’s head or a likely path to it. Camellia, no unauthorized communication with the creature. We don’t want it to know our locations.”

“It probably has a very good idea of where we are,” Camellia warned. “The thralls will be able to relay messages, and there weren’t a lot of places for us to land. Thralls might be on their way now.”

Rooks held up a hand. “I realize that. That’s why shuttle one is sealed, and shuttle two and three will be sealed immediately. We have people on watch. We’ll be ready. Just focus on your job, and I’ll worry about our defense.”

Camellia nodded.

Rooks faced a sullen Alim. “Doctor Tomaine. I need you to get a sample of the creature. Analyze it. Take care because we don’t want to alert it or bring something hostile into the bunker.”

With a short glance at Camellia, Alim came out of his dark reverie. “If we don’t have a chamber where I can isolate the sample, I don’t think we’ll be able to set up a safe study environment.”

“Study it outside then,” Rooks said.

Alim nodded shortly and turned to leave. “I’d like to determine the best way to take a sample. I’ll need a little time.”

Rooks dismissed him with a wave and ordered, “Stay close to the group. If you find anything, inform Sten. He’s still our lead scientist.”

As Alim left, he ignored Camellia, and she didn’t blame him. She kept her eyes cast down and ignored him back. When he’d gone, Camellia raised her gaze.

Rooks set her eyes on Sten and Eva. “Watch those androids. I don’t trust them.”

“Neither do I,” agreed Eva.

Sten nodded his consent, but he seemed torn. “I intend to watch the androids, but an even better use of my time might be here in this bunker. I should become familiar with Lurrien technology. These robots and these computers are a good place to start.”

“Excellent point.” Rooks looked between Eva and Sten. “Alright, Eva, get Sten started. Then, go watch your compatriots. Sten, take some time to learn, but don’t disable anything we need.” Rooks’ scrunched her nose and added, with emphasis, “And don’t take apart any of the robots here. We might need every last one of them.”

Sten nodded again. “I won’t interfere with our success in any way, but I need some freedom to learn.”

Rooks spread her hands. “I understand. I just don’t want a repeat of the Ubbs incident.”

“I won’t,” he promised.

Eva waved Sten over to the computer bay. In a quiet voice, she asked, “What did you do in this Ubbs incident?”

“I just dismantled a battle bot. We turned out to need it.”

Camellia didn’t catch the rest of their whispered conversation.

Rooks smiled. “That leaves the Ferrans.”

Inez and Eder huddled in a corner. Both watched the toy robots with half-wary, half-smitten eyes. At Rooks’ declaration, they gave the Commander their attention.

Rooks ordered, “I’ll need you both to stay in the bunker, until we’ve determined a good place to test the bombs. How many do we have? I know you were making them up to the last minute.”

Eder glanced at four crates.

Inez met Rooks’ eyes. “We have two large bombs, Commander. One of each. We also have two small decay bombs, and three small wormhole bombs.”

“Very good.” Rooks smiled. “Do any bombs have location markers?”

Inez grinned. “Yes, ma’am. Two”

“Wonderful.” Rooks turned away. “Sit tight.”

“Can we play with these toys?” Eder blurted, sweeping his hand over the small, playful robots.

Commander Rooks regarded the toys with narrow eyes.

They whizzed and whirred. Some stretched, and some made themselves small. Camellia thought they all did their best to look cute.

Finally, Rooks shrugged. “I can think of no alternative. Just keep it to your spare time.”

Inez and Eder looked at the toys, and Eder eagerly snatched one up: a slimy little bubble.

It burbled with joy and shouted, “Squeeeemeee!”

“What did it say?” Eder asked. He looked at Camellia.

“I’m not sure. My best guess is ‘squeeze me.’”

Eder’s eyes grew wide, but he gently squeezed the small bubble. It chortled and sang one long note.

Inez shot her brother a disgusted look and picked a less sticky toy, a small owl with spinning eyes and head. It flapped one mechanical wing, and then, the other.

Rooks clapped her hands. “Everyone, get to your tasks. If you have nothing to do, keep watch and assist with supply transfer. Remember to take your anti-infection medication. Rest. And, if you can’t sleep, squeeze the bubble.”

The group dispersed, and with all her friends occupied, Camellia found her two colleagues.