After S'haar's speech, Jack carefully observed the faces staring back at him. While he still wouldn't say he was an expert at reading argu'n body language, the emotions on their faces were plain to see, anger, suspicion, disbelief, and even a little fear. Usually, Jack liked to play down the idea of possessing supernatural powers, but he supposed this was the time for a little shock and awe. So he activated his headset before speaking softly. "Angela, activate my emitters. Let's put on a little show... Just try not to scare them too much."

He made a show of stepping forward and turning, so his blind eye was slightly more prevalent as he stared down one argu'n after another. It was a little unnerving staring down predators that could easily tear him limb from limb. He just had to hope his face was even more inscrutable to them than theirs was to him.

Jack spoke softly as he leaned with both hands on his walking stick. Angela translated and projected his words through the emitters, making him sound more gruff than usual. "I can see the doubt on some of your faces at my partner's words. I don't blame you. I don't look very assuming, less so, as time and injury have taken their toll. And even if it is true, looking at me with my blind eye and an injured leg, it's understandable that you'd think perhaps I'm too injured to be of much use these days. But, again, I wouldn't blame you one bit. Typically, this is where I'd pull out my weapons and show you that I can still cause enough damage to kill some of your best warriors with ease. On the battlefield, I'd be able to take out dozens of such foes, maybe even a hundred, but that's not enough, is it? The enemy is coming in the thousands, and even if I can kill a hundred, even if S'haar and the metal goddess you know travel with us can kill a hundred each, that still wouldn't be enough."

Bowing his head and tapping his walking stick on the ground, Jack mumbled even quieter. "Angela, prepare some images and project them for our audience."

Then, raising his head, Jack addressed the crowd before him again. "Then again, you already know what we offer that is far more important than the sum of our might. Your scouts, who have been following us at a distance, watched as a bunch of civilian crafts men stood outnumbered against experienced warriors, and we slaughtered them with few losses of our own. They watched as we were trapped in a valley, surrounded and facing a literal uphill battle, and we walked away without losing a single life." As he spoke, Angela projected images from both events, seemingly out of Jack's cane, into the air before him. There was some muttering, and many of the chiefs and leaders present stood or leaned forward, but the exclamations died down, wanting to hear what Jack had to say.

With a wave of his hand through the floating images, Jack appeared to dismiss them and drew the crowd's attention back to himself. "The simple truth is it's not our martial might you need. It's not my magic or the power of the goddess who travels with us. What you need that we're offering is our knowledge of war. This isn't a raid or a skirmish between villages. This is all-out war. Lord A'ngless is coming to subjugate or destroy you, and your hit-and-run tactics won't work with you being trapped on all sides by mountains and warriors. You might score a few victories, but eventually, he'll trap you, and by then, it'll be too late. You need someone to give you the ability to stand and fight, to win the kind of decisive victory he'll never recover from, and that's what we offer."

Jack stepped back beside S'haar, trying not to show how much his leg ached as he did so. "As for your concerns of us running and leaving you to die, we're trapped here with you. Your fate and ours will be one and the same. All of us can either fight together or die alone. The choice is yours."

-

S'haar smiled down at Jack. She'd known she'd been putting him on the spot, and given his nature, that was not a place he enjoyed, to put it mildly. But given his performance, Jack showed how far he'd come in doing that which would have been impossible for him only a year ago. Even if S'haar could tell he was a nervous wreck due to his profuse sweating and nervous twitches. Luckily, there weren't many argu'n who could read his body language as well as she, and she doubted any of the others present would notice given the more...attention-grabbing portions of his little speech.

After he was done, An'elk, the village chief, nodded in their direction. "You have given us much to think and talk about. Please, return to your camp. We'll send word when we've come to a decision."

S'haar nodded and offered an arm for Jack to lean against as they returned to his camp. Once they were out of sight, she winked. "You did well out there. Sorry I didn't warn you, but when they started comparing us to my father and A'ngles, I knew it would take something drastic to get them to be willing to work with us. So I was kind of making it up as I went, and I had to hope you'd be quick enough to keep up with what I was doing."

Jack chuckled nervously. "I'm not going to lie. For a minute, I was worried we'd have to fight our way back to our camp, but I think you did great. I can't think of any other way we could have won them over. If they choose to fight with us, it'll be due to your quick thinking and adaptability. You really have a natural talent for this leadership thing!"

The taller woman sighed. "Ugh, don't say things like that! Once this is all over, I'm looking forward to stepping down and never leading anyone anywhere ever again! Maybe we could just go live in a small house in the middle of nowhere again. Our reputation as wizard and warrior should be enough to keep any raiders at bay!"

Jack nodded his head. "You know what? That actually sounds kinda nice. I never meant to get involved in local politics, let alone become a central figure in a war to determine the future of everyone around us!"

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Angela chose that minute to cut in on their conversation. "But what would you do to keep busy? I can't exactly see you managing an herb garden! And what about you, S'haar? Just going to become a woodcutter? I don't know what you'll be doing after this, but I don't see either of you getting away without doing something more meaningful than that!"

Jack grunted before answering. "What are you trying to say? A woodcutter and herbalist contribute plenty to society! Hard to be more meaningful than that!"

Angela laughed, though Jack could all but hear her rolling her eyes. "Maybe so, but you know what I mean! People will come from far and wide to learn from the great wizard Jack, and I doubt there'll be a swordsman around who'd pass at the chance to learn from the legendary warrior S'haar! No matter what you do, you two will be inundated with potential students and trainees. So you might as well accept that fact now!"

S'haar simply shook her head and chuckled. "So long as someone else is in charge, and we've got each other, I suppose the rest doesn't sound too bad. We'll just leave it up to you to see away any of the more...undesirable types. How's that sound?"

Angela's sigh was full of exasperation and long suffering. "Demoted from goddess to bouncer! How cruel!"

-

Angela was roving through various headsets, checking in on her people while her body sat in its charging dock. Jack and S'haar were enjoying some well-earned alone time after meeting with the various chiefs. Em'brel and Sare'en were passed out, surrounded by a warm pile of wolgen, keeping them both safe and warm. Lack'nul was patrolling the camp, trying to set a good example by still doing some of the night watches. Lon'thul was telling a few stories to some of the workers relaxing after a long day of hard work repairing equipment and preparing for the conflict to come, and the stories were only slightly exaggerated this time. Fea'en was enjoying a warm tea as she settled in for the night, sighing in a way that told Angela she was likely thinking of Ger'ron. Then there was Tel'ron. He was still up, burning the proverbial midnight oil as he worked on some repairs to various bits and pieces of equipment. A target in her sights, the AI lit up an emitter near the craft master and appeared over his shoulder.

Tel'ron looked up from his work, first in concern, then in confusion. "Lady Angela, what are you doing here? Not that you're not welcome... I just mean... uh, how can I help?"

Angela merely smiled as she floated around while sprawled on her side as if lying on an invisible couch. "Oh, nothing much. I was just bored and saw you were still working. Thought you might enjoy some company."

Tel'ron nodded before returning at least part of his attention to his work, in this case, a belly bow whose firing mechanism was sticking slightly and needed a little smoothing. "You're always welcome in my shop, Lady Angela. I just wasn't expecting to see you up so late."

The AI sat up and shrugged. "Well, I don't need sleep like the rest of you do, but that begs the question, why haven't you called it a night yet?"

In answer, Tel'ron indicated the piles of equipment surrounding him. "If we're going to be fighting soon, all this needs to be in proper working order sooner rather than later. A dozen sharpened spears and functioning belly bows will mean a lot more in a fight than one halfway competent craft master holding a dull spear."

Now Angela was sitting right in front of Tel'ron, staring him down. "Maybe so, but a well-rested craft master can repair more spears and bows than an exhausted, burnt-out one. You gotta at least ensure you're fed and rested, even if you don't hang out with the drunk hunters listening to Lon'thul tell the story of his midnight escape from the wolgen for the hundredth time."

Tel'ron did grin slightly at the thought. "His intensity does manage to keep the story somewhat entertaining, even if it's more fun to heckle him than just listen to it these days." But then he refocused his attention on Angela. "But what about you? What does our 'metal Goddess' do to relax and refresh herself?"

Angela shrugged again. "I'm doing it right now. My body is recharging as we speak."

The craft master examined the AI with his head tilted to the side. "But that body isn't you, and we both know it. Many of us have only known you since you presented yourself in that form, but you've existed without that body far longer than you've had it. Also, I've noticed you always use the body as efficiently and productively as possible. Much of your more mischievous and impulsive nature seems to get lost in that hunk of steal. For you, it's a tool, like my hammer is to me, but what do you do for you?"

That one caught Anglea by surprise. She had to stop for more than a few moments as she thought about it, but he was right. She put up a front, but much of her playfulness got left behind when the ship exploded. Maybe it was seeing the other 'her' die, or all the stress and responsibility of keeping her growing family safe, or perhaps it was something else altogether. Whatever it was, the realization made the AI suddenly feel deeply and profoundly tired.

Of course, despite all the time that passed for Angela, it was little more than the blink of an eye for Tel'ron. The AI put on a brave face and grinned. "Well, I've got my friends and family to hang out and speak with. That's all I'll ever need!"

Tel'ron simply looked at the AI, revealing almost nothing in his expression. If she had better sensors in the room, Angela could have analyzed the craft master on a much deeper level, but with the crude sensor on the emitter, not even pointing directly at his face, it was a lot harder to tell what Tel'ron was thinking.

Finally, Tel'ron sighed. "Well, how about this. I'll put down my tools and 'relax' if you'll come with me and tell me more about the place you and Jack came from. If our little world is so caught up in war and politics, I'd like to hear more about the mechanics of the universe. Tell me about the stars, planets, and other wonders you've seen."

Angela sat back and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and what do I get out of this arrangement?"

Most would've responded with a witty quip or knowing silence, but Tel'ron wasn't most people. So instead of humor, he answered with earnestness. "You get the company of a friend for a few more hours tonight."

Angela was surprised at how much such a simple phrase affected her. She found herself really looking forward to this, even if it was just her telling old stories from her and Jack's adventures.

With a grin, Angela nodded. "Alright, big guy. You win. You talked me into it! Grab my emitter, and I'll tell you a thing or three you'll find impossible to believe! For instance, did you know time can be twisted and bent, kind of like a rod of iron? Several things can affect its flow, gravity and speed being good examples!"

As Tel'ron picked up the emitter and walked out of his work area, Angela continued to regale him with tales of the universe beyond. He even managed to avoid overly fixating on any machines or mechanisms she brought up for once. Though a part of the AI's mind still wandered, dwelling on who she was versus who she was turning into and what future Angela would be like...