Scrunching his eyes to attempt to focus his vision, Zan saw nothing. Grumbling, he unfurled his seeing lens. Age-worn buildings dotted the horizon near the border. "Ruins?" Zan replied.

"Ruins?" Jiehong repeated. "In the Kingship? I didn't think the Kingship had any ancestral grounds."

"Other than the weird Order of Shiv stuff we're a part of you mean?" Zan said in good humor.

"That's different. Orders set up here and there with no regard for personal territory. They set up wherever they feel they will have the highest recruitment rate and local society be damned!" Jiehong said, unveiling an animosity toward Orders which Zan had never before seen.

"So, how's this different, then?"

"Actual ruins like these denote an actual civilization. People. Laws. Real order. Like the Kingship. I thought the Kingship was the only entity to ever claim the land. I guess that's a silly notion, though."

"I don't know if it is silly or not, but I am guessing these Wizard Towers have a bunch of weird stuff surrounding them. Remember the much on our approach? I bet ruins are a feature of the towers," Zan replied.

"Why would you think that?" Jiehong asked.

"These towers are highly advanced technology from another age. Right? If you lived back then, you would have flocked to a place like a Wizard's Tower. I bet there's ruins near a lot of towers precisely because of their advanced-ness, so to speak."

"We're see in time, I guess," Jiehong said, ending the conversation.

Nearing the ruins, Zan saw they were of a medium size. Not something as large as a city, no. Nor something as small as a hamlet. Clearly, a town.

"Boy. We're now surrounded," Whiskey said. "These ruins snuck up on us."

Zan saw what Whiskey meant. What had once been a smudge in the distance now cornered them on every side. Weather-worn remains from another time and place became their new sight. In the sky, the airship loomed, larger than ever.

Speaking into his echo-beetle, Zan said, "We should split the group."

Winters replied back: "To what end?"

"Survival? The airship can only track and attack one of us. We can use that to our advantage. Split and hide one group while the other runs."

"Not a bad idea, Zan. I will take on group. You with my sub-commanders can take the next. I will take the viceroy."

"Understood, sir. Over and out," Zan replied.

Zan let his friends know of the situation change. Of course, with Winters's men corralling and dividing everyone moments later, Zan's words were hardly needed. "We're heading up this half of the group," Jiehong said, Winters's men close to him. "Now what? Are we looking for something to use against the airship?"

Some chatter amongst the guards and the soldiers. A small debate on whether they should focus on felling the airship or evasion.

Ending the annoying chatter, Zan said, "We're looking for a secure place for the civilians. What else would we be looking for?"

Getting closer to the border and by extension the airship, Zan's worry multiplied. 'What if we can't find refuge for them?' Zan thought. The answer to Zan's question, however, was plain: if they couldn't find shelter, it would be a murder.

Slowing the group down, Zan pinged the Screen Master. "Simulacrum. Do you have any information on what might help us? You see everything, yeah?"

"I do see everything. Unfortunately, I am not sure I have anything which would be of assistance. I've been scanning the ruins. I think these ruins are of a middle period between the construction of the Wizard's Tower and our current period. Meaning, they are ancillary and would not belong to a civilization I have records on; not that my memory banks are well-healed on this front. With the headset project completed, however, please know Sigma-Prime and me are hard at work in giving the memory banks our full attention. When you return to the command center you will have many more educational resources at your disposal," the Screen Master replied.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Crap. Do you have anything useful?" Zan asked.

"Per general advice? I do have one piece: seek underground shelters for the civilians."

Zan thanked the Screen Master and reported to his friends. Whiskey said, "Shit. I could have told you that. Of course, we should look for underground spaces. Assuming they're stable, they can act as impromptu bunkers."

Normally, Zan was quite chirpy with his teammates. Currently, he was running out of steam. "If you could've told us that then why didn't you?"

"I'm sorry. I was focused on personal thoughts..."

Letting it go as quickly as it came on, Zan ordered everyone to spread out and search for shelter. A large basement of several medium sized basements was what Zan had in mind. Zan updated Winters on their progress and also said, "We might be late crossing the border. Finding shelter for the non-combatants is more important than our doom-date with an airship."

Winters and Zan did not converse, though. Winters thanked Zan for the update and returned to whatever it was he was doing.

Precious minutes passed. No basements of note. To Zan's displeasure, it looked as though whoever had built this town many years ago, had not built the town with basements in mind. Some broken buildings had cellars, but they were tiny, and therefore impractical when they had dozens of people to hide. His so-called 'map-in-miniature' was no help as it only showed tiny shapes and half-shapes which represented buildings and the destroyed interiors they visited. Zan was thinking finding shelter for everyone was an impossible task when a radical idea came to him.

Zan drew in Whiskey, Jiehong, and Winters for a group chat via echo-beetle. Darn, I'm loving these beetles, Zan thought. The situation might be fraught, but at least communication was easier than ever!

"Guys. We aren't finding any underground structures. I think I have a solution, though. Can we just leave the civilians in the border ruins? If the Expanse isn't going to cross the border to get to us then surely, they wouldn't cross the border to get to the civilians, especially while fighting us. Right?"

Hearing the crunch of gravel underfoot, Zan could tell his proposition took everyone off guard. The silence was the giveaway.

Winters finally replied and said, "That is a bold plan, Zan. I love it. I do agree with you. The Expanse is many things -- brutal, authoritarian, expansionist -- but they are lawful of the pacts they make with the Wizard Tower Authority and Sunstar Industries. There would not be any reason for them to violate sovereign territory to get at civilians, whether or not they could be used as slave labor. Not worth the risk to their international standing. Not when there are plenty of slaves to be obtained from the country they are presently invading, that is. Find a place for them out or range of the fighting. Then, when they are good and ready, return to my position. Over and out."

"I think this is how we know we are not thinking straight," Whiskey said. "When our simplest solutions are right in front of us, and we waste how much effort trying to think of a miracle!"

Jiehong replied before Zan could get a chance: "It's a high-pressure situation, so please calm your self-flagellation. We're all still tired and hungry. We're getting by through the skin of our teeth. Vita-pods, little snacks. Give yourself some credit. I think once we get to the city, we're all taking some well-deserved rest and relaxation."

"Yeah. Whatever. I'm just saying..." Whiskey said.

Stepping in, Zan said, "You're right, Whiskey. We're making mistakes. We're over-extending ourselves. Sometimes in these intense scenarios the correct action does not come to us. This is fine. We're only human, right?"

Whiskey did not take the bait and engage Zan in conversation. This was fine, to Zan, since he didn't like talking too much in general. However, ever since using the echo-beetles, he found himself more willing to talk. Why? He did not yet know. But considered it might have something to do with the distance between he and his interlocuters? Whatever the reason, Zan would be here, as Leader and friend, if Whiskey -- or Jiehong! -- needed him.

"Okay. Let's find places for these people. Wherever we stick the civilians, it should be a place which is somewhat capable of hiding them, should the impossible happen and the airship closes in for the attack. Given such a horrible situation, we should make an effort to find ruins where they have a fighting chance at fleeing if crap splatters," Zan said, leaving out the 'whatever a fighting chance means given the ruins all around them.'

The question remained -- where? No single place seemed good. Thinking it might do them just as well to tell the people to find their own hiding places, Zan knew he couldn't. If everyone was left on their own, they might wander far away. When the danger passes, and Colonel Winters rounds everyone up, stragglers might be left behind. Of course, Zan considered he could also tell the villagers to not wander too far from each other. Continuing to think the problem over, Zan thought he was getting close to a solution when he heard a loud noise.