October 11, 2152
Emory woke up cold and groggy on the hard floor of the ship, tired from the sleepless night before. Slowly, she crawled off the floor and made herself a cup of hot coffee. While drinking it, she reflected on the vision she had as images flashed in her mind. At least her dream had shown how damaged Selena still was, and Emory felt like she had improved significantly since fighting her last. Still, there were too many things that she didn't understand about the Apleem society to fully understand the discussion. After finishing one cup of coffee, she brewed herself another and sat on the edge of her bed to make as much sense as she could of the scene she'd seen.
While the coffee brewed, a message rang in her head from Athos. He greeted her kindly, "Good morning, Emory. I talked to Bramimond last night. He has a mission for you, if you are sure you're up for it."
"Why did you say it like that?" Emory asked, "Is it a particularly difficult mission or something?"
"Have you ever heard of the three production facilities for the Mantoan?" Athos questioned.
"A few times. Mostly from your reports," Emory answered, "But I've heard the Apleem leaders talk about it in my visions as well. It's one of the places they create Mantoan, right?"
Athos nodded gravely, "Indeed. About a hundred years ago, I led a secret mission to destroy the base, but we were stopped and could only leave large seals that inhibited the plant from working well. Unfortunately, they've restarted production. The seals we left seem to be wearing down, which means the plant produces more each day. Bramimond is forming another elite team to either rebuild the seals or destroy the facility completely and would like you to be a member of that elite team."
"Yes, I'll do it," Emory interrupted him, "When do we leave?"
"Are you sure? This mission is incredibly dangerous," Athos reminded her.
"More dangerous than you know," Emory frowned, "Petrine is going to be at that facility soon. I saw it in a vision last night."
Athos glowered, "Perhaps it's too risky then. If she'll be there, the mission has an even lower chance of succeeding than we had expected."
"No, it's too important," Emory disagreed, "She's going to get the facility back to a hundred percent. If that happens, we'll have a bigger problem to deal with. It's fate that I go on this mission."
"There's no use in trying to convince you otherwise. Fine, I'll send the team to come get you later today. But pack a bag because you might be there longer than you expect, even with all your power," Athos sighed. The connection ended, leaving Emory alone again with her thoughts.
She took a deep breath before getting up to pack her bag. Instead of taking her infinite bag, she grabbed a backpack from the closet and threw a few changes of clothing in. After her clothes, she also packed the medical kit they had prepared when the Apleem showed up initially. Luckily, hers was still fully stocked because she didn't end up using any of it then. Since she didn't know if she would get into conflict right away, she decided to wear her armor and gauntlets instead of cramming them into her bag or sling it along the side. With her gear on and packed away, Emory headed to the Command Center and sent Cath and Tethys a message to meet her there.
When she reached the room, she found Cath and Tethys already there and waiting. But their expressions turned sour when they saw Emory in full battle gear. Tethys groaned in exasperation, "Are you leaving again so soon?"
"Yes," Emory sighed, "I'm going to help the Elandrian with their part in this war. I don't know when I'll return."
"But Lady Supreme, there's still danger here. Can't we wait for the rest of the army before you go?" Cath pleaded.
"Unfortunately, no, there isn't time," Emory shook her head, "The Apleem are getting ready to ramp up things on their side, so we need to strike now."
Tethys frowned, "I understand but it sucks. What do you want us to do while you're gone?"
"First, keep training, especially with the rest of the army that's on its way," Emory directed carefully, "Second, keep an eye on Greg. I don't know what he's up to but there's definitely something going on. Finally, call me if you have any major trouble. I'll try to come back as soon as I can."
The three girls stood up and gave each other a hug. Afterwards, Emory went to the teleport pad and waited for the rest of the elite team to come get her. About an hour later, a group of particles began to shimmer over the top of the pad. To her utter surprise, Soren and three other Elandrian stood on the platform.
"Soren! What are you doing here?" Emory exclaimed.
"We're the rest of the squad," Soren laughed, "Emory, meet the team: Ilyana, Sothe, and Titania. They've been with me through some pretty tight spots. Everyone, meet Emory the Ancient." They all straightened up and bowed when Soren introduced her with her title.
Emory shook their hands, "Pleased to meet you. I hope I don't slow you down."
"Nonsense!" Soren cheered, "Are you ready to go? We can wait a little longer if you need to clean up things here."
"I'm ready; let's get going," Emory replied somberly. The group of five arranged themselves in a circle and linked hands before disappearing in a flash of light. Before Emory even opened her eyes, she felt the water in the air that clung to her body and an overwhelming heat she hadn't felt before. When she did open them, she was shocked to see a small tent surrounded by overgrowth that stretched as far as she could see. Rays of light pierced the canopy overhead where it could filter down to the mossy undergrowth that blanketed the ground. This was the type of place she had only read about in books: a tropical jungle.
Two Elandrian in green camouflage popped out of some nearby ferns and greeted them quietly. "Lord Soren, we didn't expect you so soon," a woman mentioned, "We only got the orders that you would be coming early this morning."
Soren replied coolly, "No worries, friends. How are things going here?"
"So far, we've avoided detection," a man answered, "Though we have had to take out some Mantoan that wandered too close. We're still a hundred miles from Facility Three, but it's better than the thousand miles it would be from the main base."
"You did very well to get this far. Clean the area and then return to the main force; we've got it from here," Soren ordered. The pair nodded and began taking apart the tent while everyone else looked around and stretched. Sothe drew a pair of daggers from his side and twirled them around before throwing them at a nearby tree. With a flick of his wrists, the daggers unwedged themselves from the tree trunk and returned to his hands. On the other hand, Titania pulled a greataxe from her back and began swinging it around as well. Ilyana just did simple stretches that resembled tai chi but pulled no weapon from her side or back. Soren even drew his sword and swung it around a few times before stabbing it into the ground and gathering the group together.