The pair of drones lifted from the ground beside the truck, the span of the blades being wider than the vehicle they had been packed down in. The buzz of their propellers vanished into the darkness of predawn. The occasional flash of their running lights being the only indicator they were there also vanished a few breaths later.

"They'll last long enough?" Boo asked.

"Yeah," Zoe replied, looking up from the tablet in her hands. "I scavenged some crystalline batteries and some of the super dense solar panels for them. I've estimated their running time as twenty four hours, given constant sunlight. Obviously that's impossible, so I reckon about eighteen hours. Plenty of time."

~ E.T.A., 5:48am local time. ~

"And if they get shot at?" Maddison asked.

"They're high altitude, so someone needs to be an amazing shot with a long distance weapon to have a chance to hit them." ~ Standard high altitude scan and surveillance. ~ "I'm going back to bed for a while," Zoe stated, yawning widely. "They'll take about fifty minutes to get to the target area."

Waving over her shoulder, she returned to one of the buildings that they had been given to stay in. Even though she was over most of the jetlag, waking early was still a hassle and she was glad to have had the foresight to set up the drones the previous night.

The pale whale swam around under the roof and above the trio of mattresses in the biggest room in the house, Anisha sleeping soundly furthest from the door.

Reaching out, the whale passed through her fingertips. Even though there was nothing there but light, she could still feel the data that went into making the image, making her smile faintly.

~

The heat was what woke Zoe before the sun or the cacophonous birds. The temperature was already warmer than an average summer day back home and it was barely past dawn. As she stood, she checked on Anisha, who had her single sheet bunched over her head, but was still sleeping soundly.

Quickly dressing in light clothing, she scooped up the holo projector and pocketed it.

~ Where are they? ~

~ Surveillance receiving equipment is 10.26m northwest. ~

Mentally sighing at the precise location given, she pushed open the door of the abandoned house, heading to Lerma's house next door, pulling the front door open.

"Dining room," Maddison called out at the noise of the door.

Yawning widely, Zoe entered the room to find Maddison with Lerma, Tyson and Boo, a small station set up on the aged dining table. One big screen had a map that was growing with the images being taken by the drones, which were being displayed on a pair of tablets with the telemetry data scrolling by on another screen.

"Hey Gramma," a small voice said as the diminutive teen came into the room behind Zoe.

"My darling Tweet," Lerma replied, kneeling and hugging the girl. "Can you help our friends?"

Tweet was tiny, barely bigger than a six year old, but her face and body structure were older, that of a late teen. Lerma had explained to the visitors that it seemed to be part of her Talent, the ability to shift into various birds, the largest being an emu or a wedge tail eagle, the smallest being a budgie or a myna. Like a few other shifters Zoe knew, Tweet couldn't shift away huge masses of body weight so her human self was incredibly light. Marcus was similar, he was heavier than most people.

"Sure, what's up? That looks like the Pact base."

Lerma nodded as Zoe waved Tweet over to the large screen. "Can you tell me what you know about the base?" Zoe requested.

"Sure."

The group spent the next few minutes adding notes to the map. Tweet gawked at Zoe, who didn't even touch the control panel to make changes to the map. Finally noticing the attention, Zoe gave praise to the teen for her observations and her ability.

"It's nothing," Tweet replied shyly.

"No, really, your observations have made mapping their base easier, and being able to shift into more than one form is a rarity. You're special." Zoe smiled warmly at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Boo here studies Talents. Have you heard of a shifter with multiple forms Boo?"

"Only Lauchlan, but he doesn't have full forms, only parts of." Taking a tablet from the table, Boo came around and knelt next to Tweet, pulling up personnel files. "Marcus has a gorilla form and Naomi has a black cat form." She flipped between files, showing pictures of people and their forms. "We've met a few here in Australia too."

"Like Danni?" Tweet asked.

"Yeah, she has her koala form," Boo replied. "But only Lauchlan has multiple, but, his drawback is that he can't do a full shift, only parts." The picture changed to one of Lauchlan with arms covered in orange and black fur, claws protruding from stubby fingers.

"That's cool," Tweet said. "Really, no one else has multiple forms?"

"Really," Boo replied warmly. "I would really like to spend some time with you, seeing what you can do."

Tweet nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm happy to let you two talk later," Zoe said, looking at the map. "For now, if we can finish the mapping, that would be good."

"Sorry," Tweet mumbled.

"No, don't be sorry," Zoe said, sighing and rubbing her face. "I'm sorry that didn't sound like I intended. Once the mapping is done, which it looks like it almost is, then I'm more than happy to let you two go. I just need to figure out what they're doing and why."

Boo nodded. "You're right, I'm also sorry for getting distracted." She lent her head towards Tweet. "I get easily distracted by cool Talents," she whispered, drawing a giggle from Tweet. "Let's finish up, okay?"

"Okay!" Tweet chirped.

~

The mapping didn't take long and Zoe let the others go once it was done. Sitting at the table, she folded her fingers together and lent her chin on them, elbows propping up her head on the table.

Anisha entered the room behind Zoe and came to stand next to her. "What're you thinking?" Anisha asked.

"I'm thinking you have the best chance of scouting inside the buildings," Zoe replied. "You and Mads."

"That sounds like fun," Anisha said, stretching. "A race against Mads sounds fun."

Zoe rolled her eyes at Anisha. The pair were fiercely competitive, though they were also fast friends. They regularly competed while doing training, each using their Talent to try and get the advantage. "I'm not wanting a race, I just want intel."

"Doesn't mean we can't be competitive."

Zoe waved Anisha away as she went back to scanning everything, trying to make sense of what to do.

~

"I've always been able to shift," Tweet said, sitting to the left of Boo at a table.

Boo rapidly typed notes into a tablet. "That's different from most shifters too," she replied, deep in thought. "Your parents? Did they have Talents too?"

"Gramma says they didn't."

"That's also odd. Typically those who have Talents from birth are second generation Talented. Maybe they just hadn't developed them." Boo smiled warmly at Tweet. "People like you are the reason I enjoy my study, so, thank you for agreeing to sit with me."

"It's okay," Tweet replied. "Gramma asked me to help, so I am. She tells me that people can help in all sorts of ways. I'm not strong, but I can fly."

"Your grandmother is very wise," Boo said. "And yes, you're helping not only me, but those who will come after us, just with words and allowing me to study you. We don't, and can't, know how what we do today will affect the future. We just have to do our best." Picking up a small handheld device, Boo showed it to Tweet. "This is a medical scanner. What it does is takes a picture of you and tells me about what we took a picture of." Turning the tablet to Tweet, she scanned her own left hand. The picture showed up three times, one of the bones, then muscles, then complete. "See?"

~

The complete list of residents remaining in Asquith and any Talents they had scrolled past and, other than Tweet, no one stood out to Zoe. She already knew the teen had already done everything she could. There was no way she was going to ask her to join what was likely to become a very dangerous situation.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The option of the 'rods from heaven' was still there and Zoe was slightly tempted to just get them to open fire on the base. While the option was there, she still hesitated to use it.

Opening a comm channel to her team, she called them to join her.

One by one they filtered in, Lerma and Tweet joining them.

"Tweet, I want to thank you again," Zoe said. "Without you, this entire operation would likely take a week or longer."

"It's okay," Tweet replied, a little more confidently than before.

"I also want to stress how dangerous it might be from here on in, so, Tweet, please avoid going near the Bloodless Pact base, even in bird form." Tweet nodded as Zoe continued. "My team is going to go with the truck tonight, leaving the trailer here, intending to scout inside their perimeter as much as possible."

The buzzing of the drones reached their ears as the pair of drones landed outside, cutting their motors. "I need a hand packing the drones down, but we also need to get as much rest as possible for tonight."

~

The truck bounced its way along the road, the low lights and the full moon giving Maddison plenty of light to guide her.

The truck rolled to a stop in a small car park between several buildings, out of sight from the main road. Opening her eyes, Zoe confirmed that the radar was as clear as they could hope for.

"There was a small group in this area," Tyson said as they began unpacking body armour and weapons. "I can't hear any of them currently, but there are plenty of voices where we're going."

Maddison and Anisha broke away as soon as they were ready, knowing that their destination would likely take then most of thirty minutes to get to, even with their faster than the average person's speed.

~ Quick systems check Nix, ~ Zoe requested as the last piece of her armour was connected and secured.

~ All systems green, ~ Nix replied a moment later. ~ Suit radar active. Suit comms active. ~

"You two travelling fine?" Zoe asked into her comm unit.

"Yeah," came the slightly breathless reply from Maddison. "Just had to avoid a whopping big snake. We're still on schedule."

Looking over the other two with her, Zoe stared as Tyson, who was reclining, eyes closed, in the front seat while Boo was going about setting up their small surveillance station. As she approached, the corner of his lips curled up into an amused smirk. "I'm monitoring through Mads," he said softly. "I'm not intentionally dodging helping, I'm helping in a different way."

Zoe felt her annoyance at him fade away as she nodded once, turning to help Boo.

"I'd like you to give me access to Nix's bio monitoring systems," Boo asked softly as they worked. "I am requesting this as your friend, not as your doctor or team medic."

Emotions rolled through Zoe, finally settling on trusting Boo. Without a word to Boo, Zoe linked the suit's bio monitoring systems to the tablet in front of Boo. "Done," she murmured.

Leaving the tech for a moment, Boo approached Zoe, placing both her hands on her shoulders. While wearing Nix, Zoe was almost eye to eye with Boo, rather than half a head shorter. "Zoe, I only ask as a friend who cares for you and your health. You may not have realised it, but, you are being more irritable than you typically are. I want to rule out any lingering effect from the incident. Okay?"

"Okay," Zoe replied, feeling a little better. "Thank you."

Boo smiled at her. "We couldn't do our mission without you. The four of us don't have the same leadership qualities you do."

"Speak for yourself," Tyson said from his seat. "I'd be a great leader, if I could be bothered."

~

Taking a calming breath and crouching, Anisha 'jumped', her Talent causing a blast of icy of air to wash over her and a dull thump of displaced air as she vanished from the rooftop, aiming for the inside of an office building inside the boundary claimed by the Bloodless Pact.

Appearing in the same stance as she vanished in, she moved a hand to her sword and waited for a few moments while she slowed her breathing and her heart rate. Her Talent, while incredibly useful for stealth missions, still took a little bit of concentration and a chunk of energy to use. She could get away with small quick jumps in battle due to adrenaline, but she was usually a wreck after.

Scanning the room slowly and carefully, she tapped her comm unit. "Clear," she whispered to Maddison.

"Clear below you," Maddison whispered back. "Stairwell to the west."

"Roger," Anisha replied, heading for the stairs. Carefully pushing the door open, she quick-stepped down, barely making any noise as she joined Maddison.

"Tyson confirms this building is empty," Maddison said before turning, looking back towards where they had come from. "Which would have been nice to know earlier." She shook her head and turned back towards their targets. "He says there's people patrolling nearby."

A few landmarks stood out, all with lights brightening them, even from the distance. Quickly consulting the tablet with the map, Maddison took pictures of their targets from their vantage point, sending them back to Zoe.

"Closest point of interest would be barracks," Maddison said, pointing towards a building nearby. "Tyson is getting sleep thoughts from that one."

Pocketing the tablet, the pair went down the stairs to the ground floor. While the upper floors were offices, the ground floor had once been shops. The staircase led directly towards the compound ahead of them and they were both glad that no patrols were in the area as they had no cover.

Quickly darting their way across a street, they entered an alleyway, ducking into a recessed doorway. Anisha gently twisted and pulled the handle, getting no result on either action. "Probably locked on the inside," she whispered.

"I think this building is similar to the previous," Maddison said from her crouched position, looking at the tablet which lit up her face. "Shops below, offices above, which is likely where they're sleeping."

"Let's go towards their command center then," Anisha said. "We might be able to find something more useful there."

"Agreed," Maddison said, moving the map. "That way," she said, pointing down the alleyway.

~

Boo studied the scan of Zoe's brain, as Zoe took off her helmet comparing it to previous scans on file. "You definitely have some new scarring," she said, showing Zoe. "It's very minor, but anything brain related could be major."

Zoe unconsciously put a hand against the base of her skull. "What do we do about it?" she asked quietly.

"Monitor it," Boo replied, matter of factly. "There's not much we can do other than that. When we get home, we'll get Mary and Tony to look over you, okay?"

"Okay," Zoe muttered, feeling much smaller and less sure of herself.

"Hey," Boo said, wrapping an arm around Zoe's armoured shoulders. "You are still you. You still shouldn't question your choices or doubt yourself. If you do or say anything out of the ordinary, then we will let you know. Okay?"

Zoe nodded, moving her hand from her head to Boo's hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "Thank you," she said weakly.

"We have your back, don't forget that." Boo ruffled Zoe's hair. "We won't let you fail because it means we all fail too. And, remember that there are people who make decisions above us that have thought you are right to lead." Smiling warmly, Boo pulled a chair out next to her, patting it for Zoe to sit on while she sat at her own. "Now, no moping, the girls are relying on us."

~

Maddison and Anisha had switched to just hand signals while Tyson tried to help remotely, warning Maddison as far ahead as he could.

The pair had easily gotten into the command centre, just waiting for a patrol to pass before walking quickly across the street, the bright moonlight illuminating them more than any of the existing street lights did.

Entering the open doorway, Maddison led, Tyson letting her know the first free room to enter. Trying to open the door, Maddison paused as she felt the handle resist turning. Quickly pulling a few lock picks out of thin pockets on the inside of her forearms, she went to work on the lock and, barely ten seconds later, she was pushing the door open and storing the picks away again.

As Anisha shut and locked the door behind them, Maddison flicked on a small torch, shining it around. The windowless room was a weapons locker, various made and scavenged weapons on racks and in boxes around the room. Grinning, the pair quickly took photos of everything in the room.

Pausing, Maddison cocked her ear, listening to Tyson. Turning the torch off, she turned off the tablet, ducking into a corner not visible immediately from the door. Anisha followed suit, ducking behind a pair of crates barely big enough to hide her.

A few seconds passed before the sound of someone trying the door handle reached their ears. After a moment, a key inserted and the door opened, a face glancing in, boredom evident on his face as he took a quick look before leaving, locking the door behind him.

Both women released the grip they had on their swords as they slowly came out of hiding, several breaths after the door had closed again.

Next room, me first, Maddison signalled. She tapped her head, then ear, then held up a finger. Tyson hears only one, the signal relayed as she pointed back where they had come from.

Anisha nodded, keeping inside the door as Maddison moved along the corridor. At her signal, she followed, locking and closing the door behind her, catching up easily as they climbed a set of stairs and entered a meeting room off the main corridor.

Slinking into a secluded spot, a small kitchenette behind a dividing wall, the pair drew on the tablet, mapping the inside of the building, making note of everything.

Hearing the low hum of an engine, the pair looked out, looking through the large windows near them. Below on the street was a utility truck that had only three occupants, two standing in the tray, their rifles with underslung torches scanning doorways and, as Maddison saw a shadow turn their way, she ducked back, pulling Anisha with her. A moment later, the light passed over where they had been watching from, scanning the entire window before moving on.

Move on and up? Anisha signalled, receiving a nod from Maddison, who took the lead again.

~

"They're coming up to where Tweet thinks the Pact communications are housed," Tyson said loudly enough for Zoe and Boo to hear. "There are only a couple of people near them."

"They're safe?" Zoe asked, receiving the data from their gear as it transmitted back to them, updating maps as she compared them against the drone footage.

"Yeah," Tyson said lazily, yawning. "The two are screwing in a room and are very distracted. Their thoughts are very loud that I don't need Mads as a relay to hear them. Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't woken anyone up."

Zoe stared at Tyson who was yawning again, contemplating stabbing him with an adrenaline shot. "You're not invading their thoughts?"

"God, fuck no, I wish I couldn't hear them, but I'm putting up with them for the sake of Mads and Ani." He yawned again.

"Get up and walk," Boo ordered as she approached him and kicked his leg which was dangling out of the truck.

"Fine," Tyson grumbled, following the instructions as the pair linked arms and started wandering. "We'll be back," he said to Zoe. "Just going around the block. I promise no screwing."

Zoe chuckled and nodded, knowing Tyson and Nix would warn her if anyone was in the area as she entered her mindscape and reached out to the phone Anisha carried.

'We're in the comms centre,' Anisha typed into the phone.

Zoe sent a confirmation message, beginning her work remotely, accessing their very unsecure network. No one expected someone like her to be able to do what she did in a world where functioning tech was not common.

After connecting to their network, she copied all of their data, leaving behind a backdoor for her to use later. The entire progress took only a handful of minutes, even with Zoe working remotely through the phone.

Sifting through the data, she sent an all clear message to Anisha, letting her know she was out and they were good to keep going with their scouting.

~

The pair finished scouting and headed back, arriving at the truck an hour or so after midnight.

Zoe, Boo and Tyson had moved the truck into a nearby garage and moved their tech into a nearby office, away from prying eyes. Zoe lead them to the portable beds, which sat ready for Maddison and Anisha, two of them already occupied by Boo and Tyson.

"Zoe, sleep," Anisha said to her, picking up on how tired her leader was. "The night is mine."

Nodding wearily, Zoe retired, keeping her armour on, thoughts of what to do circling her head, eventually giving way to sleep.