I listened to the two men in front of me drone on about why they wanted permission to excavate the obelisk from the ground and see about moving it to various areas in the base to allow them and others to study it without having to go so far from their labs. I was losing patience and struggling to stay awake and pay enough attention that when I inevitably told them no I'd have good reasons for it. An exercise in futility, as one of my high school teachers would say.

".... the projected support devices, here and here, would allow us to more easily propel the relic without having to waste the time and energy of the containment unit or our security teams," the first man droned while pointing to the diagram they'd drawn up that seemed to show the obelisk with a series of clamps, braces, and handles. They claimed it would help them to move it, and to me it had all the look of a way to more easily move and hide the obelisk. I couldn't let that happen.

"Mr. Jenicks, I understand that you feel the relic's mobility is an issue," I interrupted him, "but I must deny any and all requests to attach devices to aid that mobility when they don't have a justification I feel is important enough to risk the relic being taken from us. To remedy this problem, I can allow you all more time to study the relic individually, so as to ensure that each of you are given the opprotunity to make any measurements or tests you are allowed to make."

"I see," the man said with a tight, unhappy smile. "Thank you, Demigod James. We will strive to make that work for us."

"Is there anything else?" I asked brightly despite having shot down almost all of their various requests.

"I don't think so," the woman who'd been chosen as their speaker said with a smile that did nothing to betray her own frustrastions at my continued refusal to grant her vanity the attention it seemed to require. At least she was holding up better than the man who'd asked if I would consider moving the obelisk back to Earth because "the air in London was more agreeable for his team." That man was still fuming and had a dark flush of red creeping up his neck.

"Then, I'd like to thank you all for your time," I said standing and smiling to all of them. "I hope if you have any other concerns or requests, you feel free to approach myself or Horseman Applewood with them. We will be able to answer any and all question and address any issues that arise. Have a good day."

I turned and left with one last wave. I'd barely heard the door shut behind me when all of them began to shout at one another and accuse everyone else of ruining their idea or making it difficult for them to convince me of another, similar idea in the future.

"Cai, tell Jinks to keep a closer eye on all of them," I told my Cyber. "I didn't trust them when I selected them and most of that did nothing to alleviate my distrust."

"I have informed her," Cai answered. "When do you believe they were approached by others from Earth or the Wardens?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I don't think that any of them were approached by the governments," I said. "Most of them just have that slimy feeling to them I get when I have to talk to politicians. They know how to play those games and much as I try to avoid them, I seem to have to work around them or risk pissing everyone in charge of the public off. I wouldn't be surprised if we have someone try to sneak something harmless like data or samples out of the containment building just to test how far the team is willing to go."

"Shall I inform an incineration team to be on stand-by?" Cai asked.

"No. I hope it doesn't come to that, but having them on standby is just asking for them to step a toe over the line," I told him.

"I've got paperwork to get back to," I sighed. "Let's go, before one of them steps out and sees me standing here talking to you about this."

"Nervous, Cadet?" Carrie asked as the shuttle bounced slightly from turbulence.

"A little," Bunny said. "I'm not sure this was a good idea."

"The chance to decide that sailed when you went along with Sarah's plan," I told her. "Now you've got no choice. Carrie tells me you're a good shot with the mag-rifles."

"I try, sir," she said.

"You'll work with Carrie at the back, looking to add ranged damage to any Scourge that show up," I said. "Don't hit Sarah and I and we'll all get through this without a problem. Clear?"

"Yessir," she nodded vigorously.

"Good. Carrie try to keep the rabbit alive," I said.

"Little Bunny's in good hands," she grinned at me. "You just keep my sister in one piece."

"That'll be easy," I said. "This is just a scouting trip. Any Scourge in the area are supposed to be gone. That was the idea remember? Something safe so Bunny can get her feet wet and I can stretch my legs. Nothing serious."

"Everything ends up serious when you're involved, sir," Sarah spoke up. She was still upset about her demotion, but I hoped she was mature enough not to let that distract her if combat occurred.

"We're approaching the landing zone," Cai told us. Sarah, Carrie, and I rose to our feet smoothly from all our practice up to this point. Bunny was a step behind and didn't seem to know what to do with her hands, so she nervously started to double-check her mag-rifle's ammunition count.

With a thump that barely transmitted through the floor, the shuttle landed and I was moving to take the point position before the door had even opened.

"Clear," I said as I looked around at the spindly cactus-like growth that passed for plant-life on this planet.

"Clear," Sarah echoed a moment later just before Carrie and Bunny walked out. "Plan was to start southeast and make our way out twenty miles to check sensors, right?"

"That's the idea," I said. "I'll take point. Sarah, you and Bunny are in the middle. Move to engage if something shows up and keep an eye out on the sides of the gametrail. We don't know what could be out here. Carrie, you're at the rear."

"Copy," both women said as Carrie pulled her own mag-rifle from her back and the shuttle began to take off. This scouting trip was more of an inspection of some of the sensors that had been set up to keep an eye out for any surviving wildlife or any Scourge that had been missed when the area was cleared.

Cautiously, we all began to make our way through the undergrowth and brush that blocked our way, keeping an eye on our designated directions. After another hour when nothing had jumped out to ambush us, Carrie started to talk and fill the silence.

"So Bunny, did you have a boyfriend before you came out here?" she asked. I was in for a long hike, I could already tell that.