Zoe danced, laughter erupting from her as joy overtook her. Nix was long discarded as the night cooled to more reasonable temperatures, only the control module remained on her arm.

After an hour or so of the local musicians playing and a couple of glasses of alcohol, Zoe dove into the network, linking all the speakers nearby with her network before playing her database of music. Those unaccustomed to her Talent and music from electronics, were startled at first, but seeing everyone else getting into the celebrations, joined in, soon forgetting their cares.

The party lasted long into the night, sparks flying high in the air from the bonfire, lighting up the happy faces of people from opposite sides of the world.

~

Zoe came to consciousness as the sun beamed through the window and caught the edge of her face. A kookaburra called loudly from somewhere nearby, triggering other various noises, like the barking of dogs and a flurry of wings as other birds took off.

Stretching, she slowly got up, dressing in a light top and shorts. Nix had already informed her that the weather wouldn't be so hot as it had been for the last few days. The creak of branches informed her that the sea breeze was there too. Tugging on the armband, she prepared herself for the tasks ahead.

As the door opened, the breeze caressed her, making her smile happily. She caught sight of Tyson, obviously nursing a hangover, being given water by Boo, who had an amused smirk on her face.

Waving to the pair, she went about helping with the day to day tasks as decisions were being made.

~

"To our friends and family, far and wide," Hayden said, holding up a glass. "May we all be reunited, safe and sound."

"Here here!" many of the crowd around him replied.

The mess hall was decorated and tables laden with food. Many faces, new and old, smiled happily as the food and drinks flowed. Hayden sat down next to a young girl and her father, smiling warmly at them.

Leon smiled warmly at him. "You are Zoe's partner?"

"Yes, and you are Leon and Sofia. Welcome, please eat as much as you like. Oh, Sofia, Zoe left you a present. Hang around, I'll go get it."

Hayden trotted off, coming back with a present wrapped in plain brown paper, tied with string. Returning to the visitors, he gently placed it in Sofia's hands. "Zoe thought you might like this."

Sofia, after getting a nod to go ahead from her father, carefully opened the present, revealing a patchwork stuffed bear and a thick woolen hat. Beaming, she put the hat on, the sides flipping down to her shoulders as she hugged the bear tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.

Hayden smiled warmly back at her. "I'll let her know you love them."

~

Ellis wiped his brow, the sweat gathering quickly in the heat. "How do they cope with this heat?" he asked Zoe while looking at the twins who were doing their morning training, blades flashing and striking at invisible targets.

"They asked the same of where we live, they don't like the cold."

The pair stood with several others who were all watching the twins display. "What are your plans Zoe?" Ellis asked.

"I've been given the all clear to help here and investigate some stuff. With our techs and construction crew, we may be able to get a few more things going up north, near Mackay. While that's happening, I want to investigate the south. The Bloodless Pact skipped all the east coast of Australia to go further south and I want to know why."

"Have you picked who's going with you?"

Smiling a little, she shook her head. "I know that the twins and Boo wouldn't let me go by myself and they'll come along."

"I'm not sure I would be of use to you," Ellis replied. "I don't have a Talent and my skills are mostly around being able to wrangle children."

Zoe laughed lightly. "And you do an excellent job of it. Regardless of whether you have a Talent or not, you are still valued. I would be happy to have you along with my team."

Ellis bowed his head to her. "If that's what you wish."

"I'll let you know," she replied, smiling warmly as the sun flickered over them through the moving trees.

~

"The suggestion is six weeks," Elaine stated. "Atlas to return inside un week, refit for supplies and an outpost."

"That would mean the mechanics would be dedicated to Atlas for at least two weeks," Rene added. "That's an easy turn around. The question is do we have the fuel to do the trip?"

Several of the people sitting around a ring of tables in the conference room glanced towards Gregori.

"Yes, currently we do." He turned to look at the large screen. "The problem is supply later on. Currently we're almost out of jet fuel. Mr. Garak is synthesizing as we speak, but it takes him several months for one Atlas tank. The quadcopters are fine for short distance, but we can't go terribly far. We were pushing our luck with Vienna and Prague."

"What are potential options?" another person asked.

"Other than getting lucky and finding a fuel reserve," another added.

"We have a couple derelict refineries," Gregori stated, bringing up their locations on the screen. "If we can find an oil well or a rig intact and secure it, we can ship fuel to a refinery easily enough."

"The Jumino would make a decent boat for transporting across the ocean," Rene said. "If our teams find crude oil, then that's half the problem done."

Several around the room nodded. "I'll look through cloud data for locations," Elaine said as she started rapidly typing on the tablet in front of her. It didn't take her long to find what she was after and send it to the massive screens. Several local and international maps appeared, areas highlighted. Two maps zoomed in, that of northern Europe and of south Australia.

"Zoe's team will be heading in that direction anyway," Gregori said, pointing at the Australian map. Shifting it aside, he enlarged the Europe map. "We can send a few teams out to these locations as well."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A general murmur of agreement filled the room as the meeting turned to planning the next excursions.

~

"You'll come with us to Mackay?" Viv asked.

"Yes, I'm not needed for the plane," Zoe replied. "You said you've got enough room, so let's get as much of everyones stuff onto Atlas and move everyone in one go."

The small airport was a buzz of activity as everything important was packed back onto the plane.

A small outpost had been built next to the airport to house the thirty-odd people who were staying behind. Beds of plants had been planted nearby and a few mobs of kangaroos had been spotted nearby, allowing the outpost to be self sustainable.

Maddison, borrowing a tandem ATV with a trailer, promised to catch up, saying she was going to do a trade run through Woodville. The trailer was loaded with seedlings, a couple of saplings and a few small bags of seeds. Maddison offered the other seat to Zoe, Tyson and Boo, who all refused before she asked Ellis if he wanted to see the countryside. He readily accepted.

Maddison passed Ellis a helmet and sunglasses before putted her own on and driving off as the last of what needed to be put onto Atlas was loaded.

Zoe, fully suited, waved to the last of the people who were boarding before helping close the door and securing it. After trotting down the stairs, she took a hold of the portable stairs, pulling them out of the way before the plane started to taxi, getting to the end of the runway.

Standing with the few remaining to head to the ship going north, they watched the lumbering plane build up speed and lift into the sky.

"Right, let's get going," Zoe said to those coming with her. "We have to catch up with the others."

~

The ships were moored at a small town, barely more than twenty buildings, most of which were not used. Only three buildings had any signs of habitation, all of them due to the ships crew using them. The town was like most that Zoe had encountered in Europe and Australia, long abandoned for whatever reason. She supposed that food supply, if it wasn't already established, may have been too difficult to start or maintain after the war, due to many reasons. This town was tiny, nestled between rock outcroppings and thick vegetation with only a single dirt road leading through the trees to it. To Zoe's untrained eye, she could see why the town had been abandoned, as it looked impossible to grow anything other than wild native plants.

The pair of ships, both small container haulers that had been retrofitted with sails, sat at anchor outside the cove, smaller electric engine boats ferrying people back and forth. From the distance, with Nix zooming her view in, she could see rows of solar panels on the sides and roof of both ships, power lines bolted to the outside, snaking their way towards the back and inside.

"They're Cairns and Mackay's biggest fishing ships," Viv said to Zoe as she joined her at the dock. "They'll be a little smelly, but they go well enough."

Once Zoe had boarded, she had to agree to Viv's assessment of the smell, though Zoe would have used words other than 'a little smelly'.

The journey to Mackay didn't take long, but Zoe took the time to relax and enjoy the sea breeze.

~

Henrietta put her hands under the sheets of metal, her hands in thick gloves, similar to Zoe's. Glancing at Zoe, she nodded and the pair lifted, several hundred kilograms of metal being lifted easily between the pair. Walking sideways from the trailer, they carried the metal sheets to the side of the Jumino, carefully placing them leaning against the ship.

"Thanks," Zoe said, smiling warmly at the younger woman. "You seem happy here."

Henrietta nodded. "I found that I enjoy the warmth and have made friends in Cairns. They like me too."

"Good. Have you requested a transfer yet?"

Henrietta went wide eyed. "I can't ask that!"

"Why not?"

"I…" she tried to reply, faltering. "I just can't. No one would allow it."

"But you were allowed to come along due to your connection with Cairns. Would you like me to ask for you?"

The young woman nodded shyly, completely at odds with her towering stature. She was confident with her strength, as she had grown up with it, but was still a late teen, trying to find her place in the world.

Smiling warmly, Zoe ordered the request to be sent through the network. "While we wait for an answer, let's help get these into place for Luke to weld."

Following Zoe's lead, Henrietta picked up a single sheet, following Zoe to where repairs were actively being done on the ship.

~

Luke pushed the metal, making it act like clay to his touch. Reaching into the metal, he mixed the old metal from the ship with the newer metal plates that had been brought to him. Reaching through the gap, he smoothed it out between his hands, sliding his hands over the mess he'd made.

A loud 'clang' greeted the arrival of the next plate of metal, making him glance over his shoulder. "Thanks," he said to Henrietta, nodding to Zoe before going back to his work.

~

"Luke estimates another few days at most," Boo stated to the screen and camera in front of her. "The ship layout should be uploaded shortly."

"Good work," Gregori replied, nodding. "Get Zoe, Tyson, Maddison and Anisha for me please."

Boo nodded and touched her ear comm, relaying the request. As she waited, Gregori turned away from the screen, busying himself with reports being brought in.

Anisha appeared with a small crack of displaced air first, using her Talent to jump between the shadows. Tyson arrived moments later, Maddison on his heels, the pair coming into the cooler temporary shelter, nodding to Boo. Peeling off her suit collar, Zoe entered a few breaths later.

"We're all here," Boo said as she moved aside and back so the five of them were in camera view.

"Excellent." Gregori put aside the tablet he was holding, turning his full attention to the group. "Zoe, your teams next assignment is in Australia. We want to know what the Bloodless are doing there and where their center of operations is. Make sure to not actively give yourself away as Talented and try to hide your accents where you can. Pose as traders, take what you need from the supplies, trade what else you need from Mackay and Brisbane. Your charade with Newcastle should be your first approach, Tyson lead with Zoe as trade partner, Maddison and Anisha as security, Ewa as a travelling doctor." He paused a breath. "Map potential acquisitions, but your primary goal is information. Make whatever connections you need to to get the job done. Return to Cairns in six weeks. Questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Good, dismissed."

The screen went dark as the connection was terminated. "When do we start?" Maddison asked.

"May as well get started now," she replied. "Let's take a truck and a trailer, make sure we have supplies for three weeks, plus food to trade. Tyson and Boo, please arrange for items to trade, Maddison, get the truck and trailer, bigger is better, then we'll meet up at the plane. We'll head off in the morning."

"Roger," Boo replied, the twins nodding in acknowledgment.

"What do you need me to do?" Anisha asked.

"Let's go and find some other stuff to trade from the Atlas supplies."

~

The following morning broke clear and cool, the cacophony of wildlife becoming familiar to the foreigners. People were already up and about, going through the day to day routine in Mackay, the city now becoming more active due to the visitors.

A large truck had been found and loaded with supplies for the team. The roof was augmented with a durable and flexible sheet of solar panels, providing extra power for their tech. Zoe raided several Community vehicles for extra batteries and a second foldable solar panel, which she laid over the trailer, hooking it up to the battery storage. She had also supplemented the radio on the truck, adding long range receivers and a small satellite dish, making sure that it was able to connect to her network the prior night. Final modifications made were to add a couple of small, padded 'bunks' behind the back seat. Even Zoe, the shortest of the group, would have to fold her legs up to sleep on them, but they were there for naps on the road.

Maddison sat in the driver's seat, reluctant to give up control now that she knew how to drive. Anisha immediately crawled into the lower bunk, grumbling something about daylight and jet lag. Zoe let her sleep, knowing Anisha's Talent functioned better at night. She also still had a little jetlag, so sympathized.

Zoe sat up front with Maddison as Tyson and Boo moved a bag from the back seat to the floor before sitting on the now empty seat. The bulk of Nix was stored under the back seat with only the control on her arm.

"Safe travels," Pat said, patting the side of the truck.

Watching in the side mirror, Zoe kept her eyes on the group watching them leave before her view was cut off by the passing trees.