On the next day Airo's plans were put into motion. Vorzii left the hidden base and took off toward the Beacon Highway in search for surviving settlements. Yeoman Cloud had made an extensive data analysis, projecting an approximate advance front of the Revenant. The origin point started at the Shard on the equator, and then spread in an outward circle. The skyship was tasked with skirting the periphery of this theoretical front, evacuating all mapped settlements while on the lookout for trouble. These patrolling incursions were to be done continuously, with Vorzii on constant duty, while the crew rotated between missions. Airo was aboard the skyship every time, since he wanted to personally supervise each operation, and because the mere thought of sitting idle back at the stronghold made him restless. Veralla followed him tirelessly, much to his surprise and annoyance.

During the first incursion, they visited two settlements nearby one another, at the edge of some lowlands west of the Shard. They needed little effort to convince the worried populace to come with them; people had heard vague news and rumors about the planet-wide conflict, and jumped at the opportunity when offered shelter.

The second incursion didn't go so well a couple of days later. They found only snow-buried ruins where the map pointed to another settlement. It was a wretched, forlorn sight, with the ruins eerily bereft of corpses. Nevertheless, morale remained high, as the Radiant Knights finally felt they had a purpose after so many weeks of dormancy and despair.

On the third incursion, things happened differently still. The target settlement at the southern ring of the Revenant front was deserted. Examination showed no signs of battle, but dwellings and facilities lay in disarray, which meant the inhabitants had left in a hurry. Vorzii scouted the area, and found a large refugee caravan further westward, escorted by Consortium troops.

The caravan was in trouble. Revenant were pursuing it, refugees fleeing in panic, while the soldiers fired in vain at the rushing enemy. Vorzii appeared on the scene just in time, as the Revenant were about to close in on their targets.

"Hostiles detected!" Stamat reported.

"I see them," Airo replied, reading the telemetry on the bridge's CIC.

"Your orders, sir?"

"Engage with onboard weaponry only. The dragons might scare the soldiers. Paradrop a combat squad if there is a risk of melee."

"Yes, sir!"

The skyship flew low, sweeping in a wide arc, and fired its broadside batteries. The powerful, veronite-enhanced energy beams engulfed the rushing Revenant, vaporizing the main bulk of their forces. Zozzy, who was again the skyship's first pilot on this patrol, brought Vorzii right above the refugee caravan, and Radiant Knights stormed out of one of the huge hangars, equipped with resonance fields and jetpacks.

The strike force engaged the remaining Revenant, coming between them and the caravan. The refugees continued to flee, and the Consortium troops, seeing an opportunity, seized the chance to disengage. The Radiant Knights caught the Revenant completely by surprise with the ability to harm them. Within a minute, the apparitions were completely wiped out.

"Status report," Airo said once the situation was resolved.

"The Consortium soldiers aren't firing at us yet, sir," Stamat said. "They seem pretty riled up though, and they demand to speak with... well, you, Commander."

"Prepare the transport shuttles," Airo said. "I am going down in one of them. Stamat, Kiana, Zuckeroff, you are with me."

"Can I come too?" Veralla pleaded.

"Yes," he sighed. "Come on everyone, move."

It took them several minutes minutes to go from the bridge to the hangars, and then a couple more while the transport shuttle brought them groundside. It would've been faster if the whole skyship landed, yet Airo wanted it always battle-ready, loath to take foolish risks. By the time the shuttle touched down, the Radiant Knights and the Consortium soldiers had squared off, both groups regarding each other warily.

Airo stepped off the transport shuttle, and approached the soldiers. "I am Commander Airo, current leader of the Order of the Radiant Knights. Who is in charge here?"

The Consortium soldiers didn't react right away, all of their attention focused on Veralla at his side. He sighed inwardly and waited patiently for his words to override the dragonet's magnetism. At last, one of the soldiers stepped forward and retracted the armor's helm, revealing the severe expression of a man with a neatly-trimmed dark moustache.

"I'm Captain Riley, Sol Force 944th combined-arms division, 12th company," the man said. "I thank you for your timely intervention, Commander Airo. You saved a lot of lives. Excuse my intrusion, but I see you and some of your subordinates are wearing Sol Force ID tags. Can you please clarify the situation?"

"We work against a common enemy, Captain," Airo said, also retracting his helmet. The cold pierced his exposed flesh, but he ignored it. "I will explain everything in due time; for now, know that these creatures who attacked you belong to neither the Union, nor the Radiant Order, nor even the Consortium, if such rumors circulate. They are agents of another force altogether, acting towards its own ends."

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"Believe me, Commander, this information actually explains a whole lot, given how these monsters are impervious to literally everything we have," Captain Riley said, gesturing at his company. The Consortium soldiers all had powered armor and carried heavy weaponry.

"The Revenant are not completely immune to harm," Airo said. "And the Radiant Knights have the means to destroy them."

"Yes, that was a very convincing demonstration," Riley agreed, glancing at the skyship. "Now, I've heard a few things about the Radiant Knights, and can draw some conclusions, but the question remains: why did you save us?"

"The Radiant Order needs allies in the war against the Revenant," Airo said. "And while on a political level we are all enemies – the Consortium, the Union, and the Order – on the frontline we all fight for our lives."

"Pretty speech," Riley nodded. "And?"

"The Revenant can be fought with veronite," Airo said, tilting his head toward Veralla. While Vorzii flew across the frozen wilderness, back at Ilsorin the nanofabricators were fed draconic blood, churning out industrial-grade veronite. There were already a couple of crates aboard the skyship, ready to be given to a fighting force. "We can supply you with it."

"In exchange for...?"

"Unofficial alliance."

Captain Riley nodded again, thinking. Airo regarded him while waiting for his answer. The man had kept his cool despite the extraordinary situation. He was a Corelander, judging by his facial features, though his bulky armor concealed any other details. Airo liked the Riley's professional demeanor, and suspected he would make a valuable ally once recruited. He glanced at the other soldiers. They didn't seem exactly relaxed in the presence of the Radiant Knights, but looked like they trusted their officer.

"All right," Riley said at last. "I want to accept this proposal. However, I have orders which prevent me at this time from doing so."

"What orders?" Airo asked.

Riley pointed to the horizon. "The Union has blockaded a key mountain pass ten paraklicks to the west. Without access to it, our forces would lose control over the entire region. My company was ordered to retake it."

"A mountain pass?" Airo repeated. "Why would you need to bring reinforcements by land?"

"Everything's moved by land now," Riley said sourly. "Ever since we lost the local starfleet at the start of this deusforsaken war, our aerial capabilities are near-zero. I haven't seen a single aircraft in weeks. The brass keep tanks, ACUs, and landcruisers behind to fortify strategic locations. Commlinks also fail regularly, so we have to rely on messenger platoons, like we've gone back to the Ground Age. If you're out in the wasteland, your only option is to walk and pray your supplies are enough to reach the next populated area."

Stamat abruptly stepped forth. The stout Knight also retracted his helmet to look less threatening. "Why did you bring these people with you?" he asked, indicating the refugees. "We thought you were all fleeing the Revenant." His tone sounded faintly accusatory.

"They chose to come, when they learned we were leaving their settlement," Riley said. A shadow of anger passed across his face. "I can't speak for other Sol Force detachments, but my soldiers haven't mistreated the inhabitants on this world in any way – either now, or in the past." His expression softened. "We warned them of the risks, but they still insisted on coming. They're afraid of these... Revenant, as you called them. Before today, I hadn't seen the monsters myself, but now I understand the locals' fear."

"Listen," he continued, "if you help us break the Union blockade, me and my company will accept to serve you to the best of our ability without betraying our allegiance to Sol Force and the Consortium. What's your answer, Commander Airo?"

"Deal," Airo said. "We help you clear the blockade, and you come on our side against the Revenant."

"Agreed," Riley said and offered his hand.

"Wait a minute!" Stamat shouted. "We didn't agree to this!"

Airo stiffened. "What?" he asked in a dangerous tone, turning to face the Radiant Knight.

"He means you want us to kill innocent people," Kiana retorted.

"Oh, no!" Veralla exclaimed in horror. "Airo, you said you will not kill any more people!"

"Did all of you forget what I said?" Airo snapped. He gestured at the refugee caravan. "This is war! We do not have the luxury of ideal circumstances. We must keep our priorities straight!"

"But Airo..." Veralla whimpered, her wings and tail drooping.

"This is wrong!" Stamat said. The other Radiant Knights behind him muttered in agreement. "You can't trade one set of lives for another just like that, sir!"

"Um, I can't quite wrap my head around how a hostile force can be, uh, innocent..." Zuckeroff remarked.

"Because their only crime would be standing in our way, gamebrain," Kiana said darkly.

"Remember your places!" Airo raised his voice. He glared at the Radiant Knights. "You swore to follow me and do as I command!"

"And I say taking another's life for personal gain is against the Pure Vow to which I've pledged myself," Stamat said severely. "I refuse your order, sir." The rest of the Knights made similar declarations.

Airo was furious. Stamat's public refusal had plunged him into an ugly predicament. He could rescind his deal with Captain Riley – after all, in truth he wasn't too fond to fight one stellar civilization to gain favor with the other – but if he did so and these Consortium soldiers survived, word-of-mouth could severely impede the success of such future encounters. However, if Airo held to his end of the bargain, he'd be on his own – but his reputation would remain intact. Provided he survived.

He snorted angrily. "Fine!" he said, voice bitter with resent. "Evacuate the civilians back to the base, and leave me a transport shuttle."

"Understood, sir," Stamat said, closing his helmet. He and the other Radiant Knights turned away and began to board the transport shuttle.

"And you," Airo said to Kiana and Zuckeroff, "are you going to desert, too?"

"I'm with you, Boss," the astrior said, saluting with two fingers to his helmet.

Kiana glanced sidelong at Zuckeroff. She looked like she was about to say something, then shook her head. "To the void with this," she muttered, and walked away in the direction of the transport shuttle.

Airo looked at Veralla. "You should also leave. You are still a fledgling."

"No, I will stay," the dragonet said. "I want to be with you. I..." she fumbled for words, "I am sad that you must kill other people, but I will stay."

"Very well," he nodded, and instructed the power armor to put the helm on. "I warned you." He turned to Captain Riley, who had followed the whole exchange with a stony expression. "The Radiant Knights will take care of the civilians, Captain. I and my remaining team are ready to depart at your convenience."

"Right," Riley drawled. "Well, to be frank, Commander Airo, I counted on a more significant force. But I guess even a couple of extra hands could be useful," he added, glancing at Veralla. "Let's hope you're good shots. The Union legionaries will give us a tough time."