The conversation had to wait however, the pocket dungeon was full, the portable bridge was affixed to the platform and the supplies that couldn't be stored in it were packed on gurneys. These were much larger than the tiny personnel lift could handle, so Ishani was shown the cargo lift in the Armoury for the first time. About the size of a medium-sized shop floor, the lift was made of a sturdy steel frame and had a large, heavy gate. There were no sides, no roof, just a solid platform, a railing around the edges, and a two button control panel. It went to the Armoury and the Hangar/garage only.

Talk was impossible on the rattling and swaying platform, but time was definitely of the essence. When they emerged into daylight, they saw an actual hangar, not the ersatz of the antechamber of the Armoury. There were planes of various sizes from the small to the large, and the hangar was full of them. The smaller planes were at the far end of the hangar, closest to the crew quarters. These were magically enhanced fighter jets, capable of carrying a portable and the warheads that would be needed if a dungeon breech ever occurred. The larger planes were in the middle of the hangar, and were the ones that would be used to transport teams to high danger dungeons, as well as ship relief efforts to affected areas. These were the spiritual successors to the old Globemasters and Hercules planes. Unlike the old polluting planes, all of these ran off matter anti-matter reactions. Magic hadn't diminished humanity's ingenuity, and instead had opened new possibilities for the development of technology. Things like anti-matter production abruptly stopped needing many kilometre wide reactors and the output of a nuclear power station for a few grams a year. Now a properly cast spell could create a gram of it in a few second, and have it held in a magical stasis chamber until it was needed. This had two effects, the fuel storage for planes was now very much lighter, one gram of anti-matter had enough energy to propel a fighter jet for literal months of continuous flight. The other effect was that a breach in the stasis chamber would release something akin to a nuclear explosion.

Much of this was lost on Ishani as she was ushered quickly into the waiting belly of a Galaxy-Ranger class transport vessel, through its cavernous hold and into the cabin. The Cabin was richly appointed, with a large, well-lit, round table at the centre, clearly used for the most important meetings of the passengers. The table was covered with a large selection of maps, logistics information and some hot drinks dispensers. The only tell that this wasn't in a boardroom somewhere was the seatbelts on the otherwise unremarkable leather chairs around the table. Mere moments later, the team was all seated and the door was closed to the cargo space.

Chris claimed one of the two chairs facing forward, Lin the other. Next to Lin, Wolfgang was sat, and next to Chris, Adili. Somehow Ishani had ended up sat on the far side of the table, isolated and facing the team as though this was a job interview. With a start, Ishani realised that it was either that or a tribunal, ready to pass judgement on her crimes. Not that she could remember committing any crimes. The last couple of hours had been frantic, overwhelming and honestly she still wasn't over being summoned to The Dome on her day off at very short notice what had felt like a week ago, but was actually only about three hours. The plane jerked as the cargo hatch was closed, then almost immediately afterwards Ishani felt the weight of her body fall into the straps that held her to the seat. The sound of the engines annihilating the air inside them was deafening, which was at once an intrusion and a welcome break from the non-stop motion of her day. As her parents had taught her, she took this opportunity to meditate. A deep breath in, straightening her neck as much as she could against the G-forces. Exhale, allow the brows to relax, the eyes, the jaw. Each breath in pull in the fresh air and alertness, each breath out, let out the stress. The body becomes a sack hanging off the pillar of the spine. Turn the attention inwards, noting each motion of the body for each breath. Thoughts rise, they're noticed and then attention returns to the breath. The feeling of the plane banking is acknowledged, the attention returns to the breath. There's no fighting against the sensations, against the thoughts. All of these are noted and the attention returns to the breath. This pendulation between the delicate and light attention on the simple act of breathing and the traumatic and confusing experiences around her gradually narrows and slows. By the time the plane levelled off, Ishani was largely focused, centred and barely deviating from paying attention to her chosen touchstone.

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Her eyes opened and now she was clear of the fear and confusion that the day had brought. I'm here because I've done what I was asked to at every step of today. I've worked as hard and as well as I can, and I'm damn sure that it's harder than anyone else in my class could have. But they're putting me here and treating me like it's a trial? No, this is not going the way they think it will. She'd passed through fear, she'd left confusion behind. She'd spent time in the clarity inside her own mind and there was only one thing she knew now. These people in front of her needed her, and they were treating her without respect and without care in some cases. She was not as old or as high a level as they were. But she was sure that she was angrier than they were.

"What, in the names of the gods, is going on. I've been put on this team without so much as a by-your-leave and I need some answers before we get to our destination. You," she pointed at Chris, "you're the avatar of Magic, so why do you even need a team? More especially, why do you need me, someone so much lower level than you that I'm not even a rounding error on your power level? We've got maybe three hours, I hope you can explain enough of it in that time."

Chris looked absolutely stunned. "I... I was... I just..." He shook himself, physically as well as mentally. "I'm not actually a god, and avatars here are not the same as avatars on the other side. I've only got the real power when I'm right next to a bridge. I'm on a team because of my protection. You do not need to know about that yet, it's not something I'm allowed to give you. I do not give it lightly either. I'm here to support these three. They're the real team. I'm effectively classless. They're the muscle, I'm the insurance. That's why I've got a team."

Wolfgang butted in "We're also the brains, Bagpuss here is great for carrying heavy things though!"

"As I was saying, I have reasons to be on this team, and this team has reasons to take me. Now I've probably been a bit brusque with you, and it's not your fault. You're in this as much against your will as any of us. I apologise, we've not been fair to you." This sentiment was quickly echoed by the rest of the team, showing that while he might protest that he was merely there for support, the rest of the team viewed him as their leader in more than name alone.

"But you have some answers to give us too", Chris went on. "This elfward will only work against actual elves. Not against the humans who express their magical selves as elven. That means at the very least, you're not one hundred percent human. That's pretty rare, and it should be in your file. Now, I've not actually had time to do more than scan the headlines while you were meditating, but I didn't see anyone who's come over the bridge in your ancestry."

It was Ishani's turn to answer, and she took a moment to best order the facts. "I'm not a human, I'm an elf. I am not from this side of the bridge, but I was born a human here." She hesitated. "I was born to researchers on the other side, not terribly unusual, but it was at the same time as the breech in the Domes. So the realms were far closer than they are normally."

Adili chipped in, "I remember that day, the bridge was in a state of flux. I was in the middle of a conversation with some of the researchers, and then they were there and here at the same time. Every experiment went awry. I was just a junior diver then."

"Yes, the day a dungeon had three Gates, one on each side of the bridge and one inside the Bridge. Which was supposed to be impossible", Lin sounded like she was about to go on a lecture about transplanar dynamics, when Chris interrupted her.

"We all know what happened, please continue telling us your story."

"Well, I was born in both realms at the same time. But then as I was being welcomed into the world, the dungeon closed. The bridge snapped back to its normal size and half of me was left here and half in the other realm. My parents were with me on the other side, and they rushed back through to try and join me back together. They succeeded, partially, there's only one of me, but I was human on the outside. When I go back to the other side, I become an elf. As a child, I was kept here, it seemed better to keep me in a lower magic area to prevent side effects. I've been back a few times, but I won't actually move back until I've reached elven adulthood. It's a real pain to shrink to a child again when I cross over. It doesn't happen in high magic zones here. No one knows why."

She sat back, a little exhausted from the conversation. It wasn't often she revealed her elven heritage, but it was always cathartic.

"I am amazed no one thought to tell me about you" Chris said, after a moment's consideration. He reached down to take the coffee that an attendant had somehow managed to pour without anyone noticing, and took a sip. "Then again, I've got fifty years of dispatches to go through, maybe it's in there. Arun really should have told me though. Thank you for sharing that with us. Right, here's the strategy when we land at KIA..."