Shortly after our talk I messaged the others, giving Fran, Daniel, and Terry an overview of what was going on. I didn’t tell anyone about what had just happened to me, though, albeit I felt almost like Daniel should know. At the very least I don’t think he would respond too negatively, and would be more worried than anything else.
At the moment we had more pressing concerns. I did happen to worry a great deal about my own mental state at this point, of course, but there simply wasn’t enough time to deal with it. Perhaps later I’d hash this out with Smith to make sure there weren't any other potential surprises waiting for me.
Wolven was in the area and judging by its path, it wouldn’t be long before it would come to attack Gilramore. At best, we had a few days, and the worst case scenario… well, I’d rather not even consider it.
Even so, we had to account for everything. I calmed myself, sinking into the sensation of electricity in the back of my mind, seeking the connection to Shade. Surprisingly, it came easily, reflexively even, and I was able to sense the simple minded A.I. on the other end clearly. I didn’t have to think at it long, a condensed instructional packet that detailed what I wanted the vessel to be doing while I spoke with the other leaders of the city. Being a leader was strange, it wasn’t actually as much pressure as I thought it’d be.
Given that I’d offloaded a great deal of my work to Doug, I suppose that’s fair. I grimaced at that, realizing I’d need to fix that sooner rather than later.
First things first, I sent Shade off, watching as it eagerly thrummed to life, gliding over and between trees on its scouting mission.
“Alright, we need to meet up in the town square. I’ve already given Doug a heads up, he should be getting an emergency summons together.” I spoke to the group, “Louis, sorry about this but you guys don’t get to take a break yet. Settle Yaga and his people in and take shifts. We don’t need someone getting nervous about having them around.” I stopped for a few seconds, emphasizing this, “If you need anything, get it and let me know, I’ll clear it.”
Louis blinked rapidly before nodding, a flash of a smile on his face before he hid it with stoic acceptance, “Got it, we’ll keep them safe.”
I nodded with a smile on my face, mask brightening a moment before returning to normal. In a way, I guess this would be a good test to see how they would work as a task force for more delicate situations. Already they’d proven themselves more than capable under duress.
“The rest of you, return to your stations, set up a ranging perimeter. If you find Wolven, disengage and try to keep an eye on the situation.” I quickly ordered the rest of the Legionaries that were currently in a perimeter, “Any sightings need to be reported immediately.”
I heard a resounding array of affirmations over the headset and out loud. I turned to see Fran smiling knowingly at me, “See, it’s not so bad, is it?”
I reddened at the cheeks, that much more happy that I had my helmet, “Yeah, yeah, let's get moving.”
“He’s embarrassed,” Alice snickered quietly, only loud enough for our team to hear. The others ran around, quickly organizing themselves for the new task at hand. They weren’t seamless, but considering many of these people hadn’t had proper training I would say that they were doing quite well.
I hopped up on Daniels side, grabbing onto the metal where a semi-convenient handhold was available. The mech began to lope quickly through the city, the volume quickly alerting anyone who might be on our way. His rhythmic stomps became background noise, and distanced further as Doug called me over the system.
“Doug.” I greeted him simply, “What’s the situation on your end now?”
He answered in his formal tone, the same one he used when people were around us, “Getting better, the emergency summons is bringing everyone together. We’re still waiting for some of the civic sector, but most of the Bulwark are here. I’ve taken the liberty of having a few others present here as well on our side, I hope you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine, though I’m curious as to why?” I asked, though I could probably guess that he was grooming some individuals to be his assistants or the like.
“Oh, you know, not leaving untapped potential and all that,” He answered vaguely, “I’ve also contacted Richard - you’ve met him before - to see if he can get eyes on Wolven out there.”
I paused for a handful of seconds in silence before realizing that I had, in fact, met Richard. A while ago. ‘Right, I just grabbed Jack Knight. Richard was the 3rd ranker. The Adder. How do you even know someone like that, Doug?’ I shook my head, not voicing that question, “Understood, let him know that there’s an automated vehicle that belongs to me that’s also looking, just in case.”
“Will do, also, was there anything else? I’m assuming you’ll want to relay the bulk of the information regarding Wolven?” Doug queried.
“I should,” I answered with a sigh, “In the meantime, I don’t think the bulwark would have a problem with us asking our good friends in construction to move their projects northward for now. We need the wall immediately.”
Doug was quiet for a moment before he responded, “Yeah, that’s a good idea. They’ve expanded a good deal, but that’s definitely going to be… tight. To say the least.”
I shook my head, “We can talk tactics and strategy when we’re there. We’re overstepping our bounds a bit already with getting involved with the wall right now, but circumstances as they are, I’m sure we’ll get a pass on that one.”
We didn’t comment on that, either way we didn’t really care what anyone else would say for that. Everyone in that council chamber knew what Wolven was now, and with how much mass it’d gained now… Well, we didn’t have time to worry about jurisdiction.
“See you soon, then,” Doug sighed, “I’ll keep a seat open for you.”
“Appreciated. In a bit then.” I closed the link, uploading last minute information to our Reaper Net, the information about Yaga filtering to the other Legionaries. There was a heads up regarding Wolven as well, so I was happy to make sure that every single member got the priority notification. Anyone not doing anything critical was to be kitted as much as possible. They could hoard Matter Energy for big purchases later.
That thought amused me for a moment, hoarding M.E. like a dragon for a big purchase. Not that I had any room to talk. On that note, I addressed a few purchases that I felt were greatly in need.
Ammo, grenades, and attachments for weapons were my priority. There was a rechargeable item as well, one that as I purchased added weight to my back, but also lumbar support. That was the extent of what I could purchase, however. The bulk of my Matter Energy would be going straight into the construction projects and heavy weapons for the wall. There weren’t a lot of purchases that I could make for me personally to increase my combat potential at the moment.
I froze as I looked at my menus for shopping, realizing with a start that a great deal of technology seemed to be missing suddenly. We had access to our earth based technologies still, but plasma wasn’t available at all anymore.
“Hey, Daniel, can you check your general shop? Do you see any alien tech at all?” I asked, glaring at my screen with annoyance.
“What? Uh, sure?” He paused, looking through his list even as he kept running. “The hell?”
“Nothing?” My question was accompanied by Fran checking hers at the same time.
“It’s like most of the list just vanished. Shit. And I was hoping to buy a space ship.” He sighed, “The hell is going on?”
“Same thing over here,” Fran seemed confused, “There’s some stuff that I’d consider as more advanced than what we had, but nothing crazy.”
“Ditto,” Alice blinked, “But there’s still some stuff, looks like blueprints and such?”
Terry breathed a sigh of relief, “Power is still available. General stuff for industry and fabrication seems fine too.”
I ground my teeth at that, “That’s great, combined with the problem with Sis… what the hell is going on?”
“Problem with Sis?” Alice asked, slowing briefly as she ran alongside us, hardly winded, “Is she saying there are issues?”
“The opposite,” I shook my head, “She’s not available at all. Neither are the simpler A.I.’s she left for general information.”
Daniel rumbled, “Well, that’s just great timing.”
“Nothing for it now, I guess.” I let out yet another exasperated sigh. “Perhaps we’ll get more answers later. Wolven first.”
We tacitly understood that anything not related to Wolven was secondary at this point, none of us could likely think of anything we could do about the Obelisk system in the first place.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Minutes later, we arrived outside of the council chamber. “Alright, I’m off here.”
“I’ll go with you.” Fran stated, “If nothing else I can fill in the blanks.”
I nodded to her, “Sounds good, how about the rest of you?”
“I’ll help get people moved away from the north,” Alice answered without missing a beat, “Better to get everyone away for now.”
“Good idea. Take some Legion with you.” I nodded to her.
“I’ll work on a project, might help us out in the long run. Have to run some tests first. I’ll catch you guys later.” Terry waved after wishing the lot of us good luck, moving quickly to our Reaper building nearby. I was curious what he had in mind, but wasn’t sure what he was up too.
“Eh, I’ll go in too.” Daniel shrugged, “I’m not much for these kinds of things, but at least we can show some more bodies this way.”
I grinned at the two of them, “Wouldn’t rather anyone else.”
“We’re like the three musketeers,” Daniel answered with a broad grin as he stepped out of his mech, the machine taking a knee to let him out, “Only much cooler.”
I did note that we’d drawn a lot of attention in spite of the more dramatic things we’d been seeing out of people of late.
“Alright you goofs,” Fran teased, “Let’s go before they start without us.”
I nodded, leading the way, the act of walking confidently that virtually took all of my attention before now as easy as breathing. It was bizarre, I’d have once walked into this place with anxiety rushing through my veins.
But now? It almost felt like a familiar place; not quite a home but perhaps… a battlefield?
Silently I chuckled at myself for that, we’d see how this would fair.
After less than a minute of navigating marble tiled halls, glossy oak finishes, we’d come to the council room with broad, heavy doors. They were open currently, admitting a few others that had still been trickling in, though it seemed to be the last. We entered at the end, not early, but at the very least not late.
At the front of three sections sat Doug and a surprising number of Legion behind him. Beside him was someone that I recognized immediately. Tabitha Daughtry, the sniper who’d gone into the mines with me, fought beside me against the Hive Queen. Last I’d seen her was after we’d lost Ziek.
Now, she seemed almost at home. Her stern, razor sharp attitude seemed to be an excellent pair to Doug’s mutable, flexible style. And, if I wasn’t incorrect, it looked like she had a number of files in front of her.
We walked towards them, catching the attention of much of the room. I passed by the other sections, Civic and Bulwark, with nods to those at their heads. The Mayor, Alan Dietriet, and a few others headed the first table of Civic, clearly having rushed to the Emergency Summons. I regretted having to pull them away, I’m sure they were busy with other issues in the city, but this was gravely important for them to be a part of. The head of Bulwark, Charlie Song, was flanked by three others, one of whom was James Maddoc.
With our mild pleasantries exchanged, I reached Doug, several seats open nearby, the center forum in front of everyone available for such emergency meetings and the topic therein.
“Seems we’re not late,” I nodded to him, clasping his hand as he rose to meet me.
“Indeed, I’m glad everyone got here so quickly.” He then smiled, a twinkle in his eye, “Tabitha is helping me with the meeting and personnel here, she’s been a great help.”
I turned to her, who rose and clasped my arm, a much more personal touch, “Good to see you up and running.”
“The wheel never stops turning,” she answered with a wry smile, “Got yourself into more trouble?”
I suppressed another sigh, “Always. Tabitha, meet Daniel and Fran.”
“Pleasure,” Fran answered, followed by Daniel as they greeted one another.
“The information packet is uploaded,” Tabitha briefly messaged me an outline of the map around Gilramore, “We’ve highlighted relevant information for your presentation to make it easier to palat, the screen will take care of the specific locations. We included the approximate location of those… things.”
I nodded, “The psuedo-biotics, Yaga and his people. I’m not sure how to feel about it either. Luckily, though,” I paused, flipping through a few general information pages before looking up, “That’s the Bulwarks job now.”
Tabitha grinned, “Good, I have enough personnel issues without having to worry about biotics.”
I specifically didn’t mention that there was a possibility that she might, indeed, have personnel issues with biotics. I did suggest Yaga should check in with Doug if they wanted to see if the Legion would help them out.
“Call to order,” Doug spoke out, pressing a button on his desk that let a light buzz ring out through the room. Within seconds the room quieted down, leaving me as the only one standing at our desks.
I nodded to him, moving out towards the podium, “Thank you everyone for attending this session so quickly. I’m hardly one for overdrawn introductions to a topic, and you all know who I am, so I’ll get to the point.” I started before even hitting the stand, turning and surveying the crowd to ensure I had their attention.
As a group, I’d say that the council had already made great advances in efficiency. The bureaucratic red tape had already been trimmed down to its bare necessities, thankfully, otherwise this might have been far more arduous to arrange.
I felt for a connection to the electronic screen at my back and received a slight twinge in response. The screen came alive as I forced the map of Gilramore and its surrounding area to appear. “Wolven was sighted a few hours ago, here.” I jumped straight into topic, immediately noting the tenseness that filled the room. Even so, it was of a milder source, one that set me to frowning behind my helmet. I’d imagine the same kind of response to if a bear was roaming somewhere around your neighborhood, not abjectly terrifying, but something to be aware of.
I continued, they’d know the full issue soon enough, “In this same area a team of ours recovered a group of Psuedo-biotics that are humanoid in shape and temperament who are thus far non-hostile and aided us in location Wolven. I won’t go into details about that right now, so please hold your questions. I’ll note only that they’re currently being watched on the outskirts of the city for further arrangements and negotiations by proper parties, namely Bulwark and the Civics.” At this I nodded respectfully to them, letting them know that I hadn’t forgotten where my jurisdiction was supposed to end.
That pacified any negative response, it seemed, because Charlie and Alan simply nodded to continue.
“While we have yet to personally locate Wolven, it’s last reported location matches up to what myself and my team had found. When we’d made first contact, as you know, Wolven was here-” I gestured over my shoulder as an ‘X’ lit up on the screen to the east of Gilramore, “-and from there it escaped, moving counterclockwise and at a great distance from the city for several days. It wasn’t idle in this time, gathering what appears to be a truly titanic amount of biomass and energy.” At that, I showed images of the trail as we’d found it, sequentially starting with small locations. Among the early images, simple scratches in the trees and ground, then it progressed to gouged wood, snapped tree limbs, to entire trails completely uprooted and mulched.
Then came the truly massive circles of devastation, “In these areas we suspect that Wolven cornered and corralled large packs of biotics, most likely wolves, and then incorporated them into its form. We found evidence of more of them, but I believe that it should be obvious that we’re looking at a near worst-case scenario in terms of how much mass Wolven has found.”
At that point, several individuals muttered in the background. Charlie and Alan themselves spoke briefly to their confidants. I continued, “Thus far, we have no idea when Wolven is coming, but we have strong reason to believe that it is coming. There aren’t many more hordes out there, and the west has been cleared out. I’ve taken the liberty of having construction efforts for the wall refocused on the north, though I realize that may be overstepping my bounds. Given the situation, I ask for understanding in this.”
Charlie glanced to Doug for a moment, a look of contemplation on his face before he let out a nearly imperceptible sigh. “The Bulwark moves that that action, given the circumstances, is fine. Though, in the future you could just message me directly,” he shook his head, “Beyond that, this is an extreme situation. We don’t have current eyes on Wolven?”
“We’ve dispatched teams who are looking as we speak. It’s dozens of kilometers away as is, but we can’t be sure how long that will last. My Legion will engage in hit and run tactics and work to delay Wolven, we’re hoping also to make sure that we can drive it into the northern wall.”
“Good idea,” Alan answered, cringing, “I’d hate to imagine anyone fighting that thing without a wall. We have a great deal of the south and east covered, but nearly nothing in the North. We can coordinate efforts with a newly minted construction division on that front, but we’ll need more Matter Energy to make that happen.”
I nodded, “The Legion will devote what we can, though we don’t have much left on hand.”
“We Bulwark have a great deal of Matter Energy reserved from them already,” Charlie explained, “Though, we’ve no issue spreading that around. A joint project between our divisions would be the best bet, I think.”
“I agree, we can sort that out in the post-meeting.” Alan turned his attention back to me, “We’ll start on evacuating the northern reaches of the city. At worst we have only a few hours. At best, we’ll have several days, but there’s no harm in moving people to the safer side of the city in the first place.” He shrugged, and I figured he was right. The south already had the wall developed, which honestly shocked me. It was ideal, however.
“There’s something else, though I strongly suggest we factor this into our planning, we don’t devote too much in the way of resources towards this in the meantime.” I kept myself from sighing yet again, noting that I’d had to do so frequently of late, “It appears that something is happening to the A.I. of the Obelisk system and that our available purchases are categorically reduced. Weapons are back to just above human levels, while fabrication and industry related areas are still allowed. Blueprints are still available, however, so I believe we’ll still be able to gradually manufacturer advanced technologies. Even so, it will potentially constrain our preparations.”
This left a far greater impact when combined with the growing realization of how much of a threat Wolven might be.
Charlie frowned, a dark expression that made me feel the slightest bit nervous. ‘Damn, that guy still seems intimidating.’ I chuckled quietly to myself. No wonder why nobody had contested him when he said he’d take over command for Bulwark.
“Oh? So you’re saying we still have access to our technology?” His frown suddenly quirked to a grin, “Then we’ll be just fine.”
‘Yup, intimidating as hell.’ I nodded to him, “I’ll leave the defensive fortification to you then.”
“Most people won’t be up to much, but just in case, we can have general militia at the ready to help harass and take care of the wounded. I’m no expert on this, but we can think of something,” Alan nodded, looking as though he were writing something down in mid air. Then I realized he was doing something with the system. That was curious. Whatever it was, he finished fairly quickly, “There’ll be a meeting for those who are engage on the more specific levels after this, I’m sure that most of us will be busy with the big picture - not to sound arrogant - but this way we can leave everyone to the jobs they know how to do. I’m no architect, for instance.” Alan’s confident smile and charismatic demeanor showed through. That was why he was the civic leader, of course. Trusted, charismatic, and knew how to use his people.
“Then we’re of accord?” I asked.
“We are.” Charlie confirmed.
Alan gave his affirmation next, “Indeed.”
I nodded to them, stepping off of the podium as I handled smaller tasks with Charlie and Alan, namely directing them to where Yaga would be.
And of course dropping the remains of that mess in Doug’s hands. He chuckled and shook his head, before gesturing to Tabitha to come with him. I’m glad he got help, but I was worried for Tabitha at this rate.
Maybe I really should force him to hire on a lot more help?...