>>5281828…but it’s a prospect all the same, and as you tear your eyes away from the windows and back to those gathered ‘round, the atmosphere palpably shifts as you lean forward in your seat with Amara on your knee.
“I appreciate all this. I really do.” You declare with a well-meaning smile, almost sorry to do so as you command the attention of all present. “...but I think it’s time we made some westward progress.”
With a round of affirmative—if reluctant—nods around the table, you continue. “As we discussed before, I’d like to venture out with two teams for maximum coverage. Our targets will be Amalgams to hunt for both new abilities and biomass to augment our current builds, and Waystations so that we don’t lose any forward progress when we pull back to refresh and restock. Julia, Dorian, Amara, and I will be on one team, with Gina, Rath, November, and Francine on the other.”
“Uzu, Holly, Jo, and me on home defense?” Isabelle posits, and you give her an approving nod. “Okay, consider it done.”
“Greatly appreciated, you four. Now, before we do any pre-venture prep, is there anything I should know about that transpired while I was asleep?” You ask, quickly adding when you notice Gina rolling her eyes; “I know, I know, if it was anything bad, you’d have told me.”
“Well, Behemoth and Magnus are straight-up obnoxious together.” Rath chuckles, leaning forward on her elbows with her cup clutched in both hands. “No developments with Paloma and Em’s infiltrator, but Magnus and the Big Boy are working on the logistics of sticking the Fortress on his back. Oh, and I thought you should know…”
She leans towards you with a wink; “...Behemoth hasn’t let BattleBuzz out of his sight. Guy’s obsessed with the little bugger.”
“Hah…well, given how everything went, it was the least I could do.” You say with a grin you quickly eclipse with your half-finished cup of wine.
“Fran and I took a trip out to Laoc to see how Cassandra and her people were settling in, and you’ll be happy to know everyone there welcomed them with open arms.” November intones.
“They’ll be working directly with Jeraha to bolster the city’s defenses and streamline their expansion efforts.” Francine chimes in, relishing the last sip of tea before she sets the mug down with care. “I also took the liberty of checking in with Thelis and Veilen, who’ve watched over the hatching of six freshly-hatched Daughters. Thankfully, Jeraha’s been able to re-tool some of her on-boarding material to better suit Daughters fresh from their cocoons. She also sends her regards for the excellent additions you made, Julia. I’m told it’s been quite well-received.”
If she had skin to blush with you’re certain she’d be red as a beet, but Julia still holds her head high with pride and a shy smile that causes saccharine admiration to flit across Dorian’s face.
(Continued)
